I
recently received an email from George, a general manager at a Florida plumbing company. The email states: "Hello, Mr. DiToma. We enjoy each new article you write. We have gained a great deal of knowledge, insight and courage from your writings. We were wondering if you would address the pros and cons of paying commissions to service techs in the field. Whatever topic you choose, we look forward to reading and implementing it. "Best regards, "George" Well, here goes, George. Have you ever wondered about the difference between a union technician and a nonunion technician? I have. I believe the difference is only in the words preceding the word technician. Other than that, technicians are basically the same. They're humans and technicians of their trade. And they all come with varying levels of abilities and assorted degrees of intent. Smart and caring technicians realize that if they do their best and help the business to succeed, their own livelihood will be ensured. This type wants only to deliver excellence to consumers for the dollars that consumers spend with the business employing them. I like to refer to these techs as Star Techs. Their abilities and attitude allow them to deliver excellence to your clientele and revenue to your business. They are the techs you should strive to employ. The clock-watching techs could care less about their workmanship and start their workday when the workday clock begins and constantly watch that clock for breaks and quitting time. This group is hardly capable of being Star Techs and consists of bad apples that can spoil all the rest. Then, there are those who fit somewhere in the middle. They must be monitored and trained to deliver excellence to consumers so they can be Star Techs rather than bad apples. All technicians want to earn a living and not have to worry about money; it's the reason why they work. All humans want to enjoy life. As technicians, they chose their specific trade choice as a career to attain those goals. Even though God created all humans equal, the abilities and intents of individuals may differ. As a contractor, it is your responsibility to hire people capable of performing the services your business offers to consumers in an excellent manner. Some Star Techs are fast. Others are slower, but because of their meticulous manner, they are Star Techs nonetheless. Star Techs who deliver excellence to consumers and stick to the job until it's done expertly, whether they are fast or slow, are who you want to retain in your employ. To do this, you must compensate them in a way that is commensurate with their contribution to your business. Clock-watching, schlock-serving techs can only serve to impede the success of your business. You would be wise to consider why you have them in your employment in the first place. After all, you don't want them spoiling your Star Techs. Your responsibility for your middle techs is to train them how to embrace excellence and shun schlock.
Incentive pay
I dare say that all techs want the most compensation from the businesses employing them. That's only human. To help hire and retain Star Techs, you must develop a compensation policy to help you reward the levels of excellence each tech delivers to your clientele. You also want to compensate techs in a manner that is commensurate with their contribution to your business and helps you attain your goals as a businessperson. Paying only an hourly wage is fraught with problems. If you don't pay everyone the same wage, you will deal with the heartburn that comes when Tech A finds out Tech B is being paid more per hour. Since Tech A believes he/she is just as good as Tech B - if not better - you have to give Tech A a raise. But then, up pops Tech C and so on and so forth. You can leave everyone at the same pay rate. But then a competitor might offer them a dollar more per hour and steal them away from your business. This method surely defeats the premise of compensating techs dependent upon their contribution to your business. You must also consider that if Tech A believes he/she is more productive than Tech B but gets paid less, Tech A will be tempted to be less productive and less excellent than Tech B. In this instance, your business suffers and, eventually, your ability to deliver excellence to your clientele fades into the delivery of mediocrity and subsequently to schlock workmanship. After all, we're only human. Since it's my firm belief that each tech delivers different levels of ability and intent to the performance of their duties, the question becomes - How do you fix this circular problem? The answer is as simple as it is logical. Embrace the same pay level for all techs at their skill level - by that I mean helpers in one category and journeypersons in another category. Then, embellish each tech's earnings by instituting an incentive program based on the amount of revenue each tech brings into your business.
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phc April 2022 www.phcppros.com
BY RICHARD D I TOMA
Develop a compensation policy to help you reward the levels of excellence each tech delivers to your clientele.
Pros and Cons of Technician Incentives
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