With my industry ear to the ground, it seems as though stone fabricators are “busy.” In my humble opinion, the industry is about to get much “busier.” As the economy starts to open back up, consumers will be flexing their spending muscles that have been locked down and quarantined for the past year. Those who are prepared to handle the increased demand can capitalize on the opportunities. Those who are not prepared will become frustrated watching their competitors outperform them. It all starts with the people. Be primed and do not get caught off guard.
Always be RECRUITING! If you are a business owner or a manager, it is a helpless feeling to be understaffed, or yet worse, staffed with the wrong people. Success will favor those who are prepared. You need a bench of talent, and it will not usually just happen by chance. I consistently stressed to all my managers that they should always be recruiting. I recommended they always have a file of names for potential new recruits to access when the time arrived to expand the team. Back in March of 2020, my Stone World column focused on the benefits of defining the job role before you even start the recruiting process. The key takeaway centered around the need of clarifying and identifying the specific SKILLS required to be successful in the specific job role. For example, one key skill required for a template person is the need to be detail oriented. If this skill is absent from the person doing the role, they will not likely be successful and the company will pay a big price.