Let’s face it, as consumers, when we buy something, be it fast food, a new gun, or even a car or home, we want, and event expect good customer service.  And the more we spend, the more we expect good, if not exceptional customer service.  But what does good customer service mean to you?  In it’s most basic form, it comes down to good, plain courteous manners, with a good dose of respect through in.  Think about some of your experiences both good and bad, and I think you’ll agree that good manners and respect have either been exceptional or lacking all together.  Let’s take it a bit further, and extend it out to the job site and throughout the entire company.

Tip #1:  “Please, thank you, yes sir, no sir, and it’s my pleasure” are all basic manners that people will notice.  This should be clear in any new employee orientation and must be modeled by all supervisors when interacting with employees.

Tip #2:  All employees most dress for success, not just the office staff.  Our employees represent the company from the way the phones are answered to the line workers on job sites.  Clean clothes, well-groomed and good hygiene are key to representing the company in a positive and respectful manner.

Tip #3:  The leadership and management of the company must make sure that they not only care about the safety and welfare of all employees, but clearly communicate this to their employees.  If employees don’t feel valued, then how will they act on job sites?

Tip #4:  Create a culture of high expectations from your employees.  This can be accomplished by setting goals, providing training for skills enhancement, and clearly communicating expectations to them.

Tip #5:  Make sure that all employees follow through with what is promised to the customer.  This can easily be accomplished by simply asking the customer if they are happy with what has been provided to them.  If they are not happy, then find out what will make them happy and deliver on the promise as quickly as possible.

We’ve all heard it before: “Unions served their purpose years ago, but now are just not needed!”   When union organizers show up, many people now feel they are self-serving and only operate to keep themselves in existence, or to keep a politician in office.  And recently, they have been appearing not at job sites, but at the front door of a number of contractors in the area.

But why is it that when a union organizer showing up at an employer’s office it strikes fear into the hearts of some contractors, while others want to sit down and have a conversation with them?  Is it the past experience (or lack of experience) for the contractor?  Is it a sense of loss of control, or the focus it takes away from finding and managing the business that strikes the fear into some and not others?  And those that are fearful of union organizers will also jump immediately into action with new policies, retaining professional services and other activities that “circle the wagons” around the company and their employees.  However, there may be a simple answer to the different reactions when the union comes a knockin’!

But first, let’s go back to my original statement:  “Unions served their purpose years ago, but now are just not needed!”  But what was their purpose?  The answer seems quite simple:  to make sure that employers not only treated their workers fairly, but also paid them fairly.  However, in today’s “modern society” we now have minimum wages, Davis-Bacon wages, Family Leave Act, Unemployment and workers comp to name just a few.  So, do these provisions nullify the value a union brings to their members?

And here’s another interesting scenario I ran across just a few days ago while talking to a casual acquaintance at the gym.  He said that he was not looking forward to going into work that morning.  When I asked him what he did and why, he replied “I’m a database administrator and I made a mistake of going to work for an unappreciative bad company.”  You notice, he didn’t say I’m not getting paid enough or the benefits are bad – it was the company!

Herein lies the answer to the question; it’s not the pay or benefits, or even the job (in most cases); but the company.   When an employer or contractor fears the union, I suggest to you that it’s the management of the company on a day-to-day basis that is the real fear, and not the wages, benefits, or even the job that is the issue.  If management is providing a work environment where employees feel valued, cared about and have open communication, then that company has nothing to fear.  So, are unions still serving their purpose?  If they help an employer become a better manager of the employees by creating a good working environment, then I say a resounding “yes!”

It occurred to me as I reflected on how my week has unfolded, how truly fortunate I am to have experts in my life.  To start out my week on Monday morning, our Journeyman Testing Committee had a conference call, where code and instructional expert, Mike Gunter provided a list of draft questions for the committee’s review.  Then, on Tuesday, we had a Safety Committee Meeting, where I was surrounded by a wealth of construction safety experts, especially, Jack Otting the chairman.  I rely upon these experts to provide me with the latest information on safety, so that I can in turn provide the right information to the IEC membership.  (check out our safety page)

I started yesterday with my annual physical and doctor, whom I’ve been seeing for 15 years and knows me so well that he can remember different, let’s say challenges, without looking at my chart.  He’s an expert who’ve I relied upon for years, and in the process of the exam, he referred me to another medical expert (not to worry, I’m fine).

Then upon arriving to work, I find out that when staff arrived, they saw the dreaded “blue screen” on the server!  They were already on the phone with the IT expert, who eventually had to come over (within an hour I might add) and replace our hard drive.  He had us up and running again in no time at all.  We’ve used IEC member, Lee at PC MAX for over 10 years, who without his help, we would be in sad shape!  If you need computer hardware and/or IT support, call Lee!

During the week I’ve had contact with IEC member and attorney, David Moulds, who has been invaluable with our by-laws update.  He does an incredible amount of work for our IEC members at a very reasonable fee.  And then there’s our webmaster, Debby Parker at Flathead Valley Web Works, who showed me how to update my email signature with html code.  If you need a website, or a more economical alternative to your current provider, check her out!

I could go on with the vast number of experts I rely upon in my personal and professional life, but the one idea I want to stress here, is that by being connected to the IEC, members of our association have access to an enormous amount of not only information, but the experts, to help them with the complicated and ever changing job of operating an electrical contracting company.  Check out the many IEC Partner members and tap into their expertise; attend our next luncheon meeting on March 6, and make those connections – I know I certainly don’t know it all, but I do know what experts to go to for the information I need.  If you aren’t sure of who to call for expert information, please contact me and I’ll hook you up!

If you’re not an IEC member and want to know more about how to join and connect to our experts, contact me at niel.dawson@iecatlanta.org

These days we hear a lot about the low level of work, no margins, and cut-throat competition within our industry.  You hear it on the news, at the coffee shop, and I hear my fair share from contractor members.  We easily find ourselves caught up in the conversation, literally, but mostly in our mind, as we think about what we’ve heard, how we feel about what’s happening, and then, we think about it all over again!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”   And Mahatma Gandi said, “A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes.”  And Mark Twain said, “Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.”

If one believes any of these famous men, then the more we talk about, think about and dwell on the poor state of the economy, the more it becomes our own reality.  I believe God gave us a mind and heart to choose to use our skills, talents and abilities to create all sorts of possibilities that we didn’t think we could do.   But with the right amount of belief and thought in ourselves, and those we choose to associate with, we can and will accomplish great things.

It is a matter of choice to think the positive of our situation and our future.  Here’s what Steve Jobs had to say about choosing:  “A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets.”

You have a lot of power in your thoughts, and you will attract and create for yourself, what you choose to think about most.  Think positive, stay positive, no matter what the others say!

Welcome to the first issue of my blog on “Powering Connections,” IEC’s new tag line.  But, “Powering Connections” is more than just a tag line, it’s a way of doing business, and even more importantly, living your life.

In 2011 both the Atlanta and Georgia Board of Directors embarked on strategic plans that had parrell tracks of spreading the word about IEC, and the power that is there in the 100 plus members, to the construction industry.

As the Executive Director for two different chapters of the IEC, I have the unique opportunity to see and hear a lot of activity within the construction industry, and to help connect people and businesses from not only Atlanta and Georiga, but from all across the United States.  With 15 years of relationships I’ve built across the 60 chapters of the IEC, I’m able to help make connections in very unique ways.  I can easily point out situations where I’ve connected a contractor from Oregon State to a member here in Georgia.  And just last year I hooked up a member out of a Chicago suburb with a member in south Georgia.  Both members got jobs from those connections. Last month several members attended a reception that IEC sponsored, but those members didn’t know each other until I introduced them.  Now, they are talking about joint venturing on a project that neither of them on their own could probably have tackled.

IEC’s thrust this year is to provide more opportutnites for our members to create these powerful connections.  However, IEC cannot force anyone to take advantage of these opportunities – it’s a choice members must make.  Just as you choose to volunteer to teach Sunday School, or carpool children, or lead Boy Scouts.  All of these areas create powerful opportunities to make connections.  Why not take advantage of these opportunities, especially in an era of business that is somewhat unstable.

We can’t do business the same way we’ve always done business, we’ve got to move beyond our normal comfort zone and step out to create new opportunities for our businesses by creating new connections.

To take advantage of the opportunities IEC provides to make these connections, contact me at niel.dawson@iecatlanta.org

If you’re not an IEC member and want to find out about how to get connected to our network of over 3,000 members nationwide call me at 770-242-9277.