Many field service companies believe better coordination means more control. But when streamlined systems lead to burnout, rework, and high turnover, something’s not adding up. This article unpacks the hidden costs of efficiency - and why the real problem might be the very tools you rely on to fix it. Read More
You left micromanagement behind when you became the boss - so why are your tools pulling you back into it? This article challenges the hidden systems that push good owners to manage in a way that creates high technician turnover. Read More
Why are your most efficient systems still causing technician turnover?
This article challenges the assumption that better scheduling means better operations - and reveals what it might be hiding.
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If your technicians seem disengaged, it might not be their fault. This article reveals how common workflow habits quietly kill motivation, and what happens when you start treating technicians like professionals. Read More
Have you watched the 1985 film "Brazil"? There's a memorable scene where Harey Tuttle, a freelance heating engineer, is overwhelmed by a swirling deluge of paperwork, covering him from head to toe, eventually consuming him entirely. If you can relate to this, read the following... Read More
When companies and employees want the same thing, great things happen. We call this Motivational Alignment, or the alignment of an employee's growth plan with a company's goals. The concept appears simple, yet its influence on day-to-day decisions is significant. The differences between a motivational and a traditional mindset can be 180 degrees apart... Read More
As a service company tries to scale up, barriers to growth are encountered. Faced with these barriers, companies often drag out the usual suspects: Sales, Marketing, Human Resources. However, working harder rarely has a lasting impact. Most companies have already been trying without success, yet remain convinced that if they could just try harder, then eventually success will materialize... Read More
Successful companies make their employees successful. This is common knowledge. However, it is not so easy to do without understanding the fundamental forces at play. A 2018 Neilson poll found over 50% of Canadian employees want to change jobs. In 2011, Psychometrics Canada study found 69% of Canadians indicated that engagement is a problem in their organizations. 43% of millennials expect to leave their job within two years, and only 28% expect to stay beyond five years, according to a 2018 Deloitte study. This is somewhat like playing on a hockey team where half of your players... Read More
I find this chart useful in understanding how management's information technology decisions, relative to the expectation of autonomy, impacts employee empowerment. The bottom axis represents how autonomous managers wish their employees to be. The left axis represents the amount of information management is willing or able to share with staff. If managers operate in a command-and-control, low autonomy environment, where employees are micromanaged, and very little information is provided beyond the minimum they require to follow orders, employees may feel paralyzed... Read More