Ask the Consultant: The New Normal

Whether you have been operating through the pandemic as an essential business or recently got back to work, the construction industry is looking different than it was before the pandemic. Here are some tips that will help you navigate the new normal. 

Market your strengths. Stress why customers should do business with you and employees should work for you. This could be:

• A safe environment. Many people will still be reluctant to go out or have a contractor work on their home or project. Having safety measures in place can ease the fears of potential clients who need your service. The health and safety of your employees and clients should be your highest priority.
• A strong workforce. Clients do not want projects to go on forever. Promoting a strong workforce that is skilled and efficient can help clients feel confident the work will be completed correctly and on schedule.
• No supply disruption. Supply chain interruptions can be a problem in any crisis. If your competition is struggling in this area, promoting an in-house supply of equipment or materials can help assure customers their project will not be delayed.

Stay in touch with your clients. Keeping communication open with your clients will help reinforce that they are a priority to you. You may want to reach out to discuss previously submitted quotes, services you can provide, or any other topics of interest.

Keep in contact with your employees. If you had to lay off some of your employees, try to stay in touch. Make sure they know they are valued, you are concerned for their welfare, and the company is trying to bring them back to work as soon as possible.

Keep in touch with your banker. Many contractors have a line of revolving credit with their bank. Many of these lines of credit can be called in with short notice. Communicating with your banker and providing updates on projects can help your personal banker feel more comfortable with your account.

If a project you are working on is temporarily or permanently suspended, there are some things you may want to consider before completely demobilizing:

• Do a thorough walk-through with all project participants and carefully document your work performed and the percentage of work completed with each scheduled activity. This detailed report should be issued to pertinent project participants for their review, comments, and acceptance.
• Accurately capture the actual as-built conditions at the time work stops. You should not rely on the schedule, which can be inefficient in showing the most recent work performed.
• Visually document job progress using photos and videos. This documentation can help with future completion plans, resolving disputes or discrepancies that may arise, and proving job status if damage were to occur during shutdown.

At Acuity, we understand the construction industry and are here to help our contractor insureds. Knowing your workload and staffing may fluctuate throughout the year, we offer AcuitySmartPay, a pay-as-you-go program that allows our customers to pay less premium when business is slow and more when it is up.