According to Danny Kerr, Co-Founder of Breakthrough Academy and METALCON guest speaker, “Summer is the time to produce, but your crew members may have other things on their mind.” In an article that appeared in the July issue of Metal Construction News, Danny explains, ” It’s the dead of summer. The days are as long as they are hot. You and your team are doing your darndest to keep up with an insanely busy production season.” He calls it the “midsummer stutter” … a name he uses to describe the nose dive in productivity that seems to plague teams in late June and July.

How do construction companies combat this “midsummer stutter?” Mr. Kerr says to start by “identifying the performance gap by understanding who are your all-stars, mavericks, loyal workers and low performers.” This model can help identify who to focus on in order to increase productivity.

Mr. Kerr explains, “Staff productivity depends to a large extent on your employees’ competence. You can influence knowledge and ability.” He goes on to say, “start with a competency model by giving them a tool that outlines how to do something and then provide a consistent, step by- step method for practicing that skill in a way that the employee can gain experience and gather feedback on his or her performance.”

For the competent employees – the “mavericks,” productivity comes through a different motivation. Mr. Kerr says, “Motivation comes from knowing what is important and understanding why it’s important. An employment agreement is a great tool to clearly communicate why their role is important, why the employee should care about it, how to do it and what needs to be done. Clarification on job expectations can help pave the way to greater productivity for your loyal and competent staff.

Continue reading the complete article in the July issue of Metal Construction News for more tips on how to increase summer productivity. You can also access templates of Mr. Kerr’s competency model and employment agreement by going to www.btacademy.com/resources and use MT19 as your download code.

Be sure to catch Danny Kerr as he makes a return appearance at METALCON 2019 in Pittsburgh. He will be presenting two sessions (click the links to read full descriptions, dates and times): “The 3 Keys to Getting Out of the Day-to-Day in Your Business” and “Structuring Your Company for Maximum Productivity.” All education sessions are included in your Total Experience registration. Registration is NOW OPEN! You won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn valuable and practical tools that you can use for your business.

Danny Kerr is the co-founder and managing partner of the Breakthrough Academy (BTA), a company made to help entrepreneurs in the trades grow their companies profitability while taking back control of their time.