Contractors

Contractors and public adjusters do a lot of work on their own. Whether it is scoping houses, supervising projects, or cranking out paperwork, it isn’t uncommon that they do all of it with little to no guidance or input from others. Autonomy is what helps many of these businesses run successfully; when the employees know what needs to be done, and get it done without needing to be told, it makes the whole company more productive and profitable.

However, just because someone can do something without input from others, doesn’t always mean they should. Communication is essential in the workplace, even when it isn’t necessarily needed. In autonomous roles, such as public adjusting or project management, communication can improve both individual and company performance in a lot of ways. Below we talk about some of the most important reasons to keep the lines of communication open at your company.

Keeps Everyone Connected

While it seems like an obvious point, communication keeps everyone connected. That may seem like a “well-duh” kind of statement, but in autonomous roles, people tend to only communicate with the other people that they need to get their projects done instead of communicating with everyone. When people take the time to communicate with all their coworkers, it fosters the culture of the company, which can sometimes get lost when there are lots of singular roles in a business. Even just asking about someone’s day in passing in the parking lot counts as communication that can help build a culture. When employees like the culture they work in and feel comfortable with their coworkers, they are more likely to stay at that job and enjoy doing their work.

Decreases Problems And Confusion

From scheduling crews, to ordering materials, to keeping property owners properly informed there is a mass amount of information and tasks that keep every project moving forward. For the most part, each person is focused on their projects and the tasks that they need to accomplish, which works, it’s how the work gets done. But when everyone is focusing only on their projects, things can get lost. If project managers aren’t communicating crews might get doubled booked, materials might get dropped and there’s no one there to unload it. If salesmen aren’t communicating they may knock too many of the same doors, call the same property managers, and make no progress. But if everyone communicates on at least a base level, it can eliminate a lot of that confusion. Talking with other project managers and planning schedules together can make sure there are always crews available. Coordinating with the other salesmen on the best way to attack a neighborhood can mean you’ll get more jobs, and not bother people by knocking on their door twice. Keeping yourself up-to-date with what is happening with other projects and other employees can solve problems before they start, and keep the company running flawlessly.

Improves Customer Service

Similar to communicating to avoid confusion, communicating with other coworkers can help improve company customer service as whole. If a project manager is on vacation, and the insurance company calls, someone else can help them if they have been talking with their coworkers and keeping tabs on their projects. If more people know what is happening with certain projects, anyone can help when problems arise. The more people that can help with problems, the better your customer service will be, which is likely to lead to referrals and good reviews from happy clients.

Fuels Accountability

Autonomy is awesome because it means making your own schedule and having more control over how you do your work. But it can also be easy to get behind, put things off, and let things slip through the cracks when you are the only one responsible for you. Communicating with coworkers and managers frequently fuels accountability; if you know someone is going to be checking-up, you want to have everything done. Whether it is asking about scheduling, following-up on a question, or passing on paperwork, if someone else is going to be asking you about your projects, you want to be prepared to answer them. Communicating doesn’t mean tracking schedules and taking away autonomy, but is a way to make sure that the people working alone are still doing all the work that they need to do.

When it comes to dealing with properties, owners, and insurance claims there is a lot of paperwork, a lot to do, and lot of ways things can go wrong. Sometimes there are big problems like the wrong materials getting ordered and crews not showing up, but sometimes there are small, avoidable problems that can cause just as big of a headache.

Has a copy of a contract ever disappeared in the pile on your desk? Did part of the scope get lost between your notes and the estimate? Have you accidentally scheduled two projects to build on the same day? Issues like these can cause big problems but can also be easily avoided. Keep reading to see how Scoperite can help you prevent small problems for your company!

1) Auto-Save

Have you ever spent an hour working on a claim, creating documents, sending emails, adding notes to files, only to have your computer crash or your drive be full? It’s not a good feeling. To see that you have to start over and spend even more time on something that was technically done is enough to make anyone crazy.

With all the technology open to us today, an autosave feature is something that we take for granted, but can prevent a lot of headaches. Within prospects and claims pages, Scoperite autosaves files, photos, and messages that have been uploaded and sent, so even if your computer crashes, anything that has been fully uploaded will still be there. Say you take the time to upload and all the photos from a recent inspection that day and start to work on labeling them, but get called away from your computer before you finish. As long as the uploads were complete, the photos will autosave within the claim and will be there waiting for you to finish labeling them when you have the time.

2) Required Documents

Contracts, carrier estimates, scope notes, invoices and more are all necessary for a successful claim, but when you have several different claims to manage and keep track of at once things can get lost in the shuffle. When creating a claim in Scoperite, users are required to upload certain documents, like contracts and scope notes, in order to actually create the claim.

This means that those important documents will be in the claim from the very start, and, on the off chance that the paper copies disappear, there will be record of them. Requiring certain documents to be uploaded immediately helps users to keep all important paperwork organized, and lessen the chance of it getting lost.

3) Production Tracking and Calendar

Scheduling out multiple jobs can get complicated, especially when more than one type of work is being done at each job. It can be easy to forget to forget to mark a build on the calendar, and then forget it is happening, or double book a crew for that job or another job for that day.

Scoperite’s production tracking and production calendar make it easy to avoid scheduling mistakes. Production tracking is a part of every claim page and lets users add trades for that claim and mark whether they are scheduled for production, the date of production, and the status of production (awaiting, complete, etc.). This makes it easy to see where each job is at in regards to production and to avoid any delays or mix-ups.

Once a trade is scheduled for a job in the production tracking section, it also appears on the production calendar within Scoperite. The calendar contains all the scheduling for all trades for all claims. Whenever something is scheduled it appears on the calendar with a label containing the claim number and the work being done, making it easy to see what is scheduled when and to make sure that no crews are double booked and no part of any job forgotten.

4) Document Uniformity

While it might seem like a lesser issue, documents that look different can cause a lot of confusion for customers, and for you and your employees. When each document has a different header, layout, font, whatever it may be, it can be hard for homeowners and employees alike to know which documents they have, which ones they still need, and to keep the claim running efficiently without wasting a lot of time on paperwork.

With Scoperite, companies can create documents from within the system itself. The documents can be whatever you need, and because they all come from the same place, are similar in layout, which makes them easier to read and understand for both homeowners and employees. Documents created include invoices and estimates, and each template can be specified to you and your company. Having all the documents come from one source makes it easy to keep everything uniform, which makes like easier and might just help your branding.

5) Cloud Storage

Whether you use paper and files or computer drives, it is easy to fill-up the space and start piling things wherever they will go. Unfortunately, piling leads to losing and losing leads to more time you have to spend on things you’ve already done. Finding space to properly store everything can get tough because limits on physical space and the cost of purchasing additional drives for storage space on the computers.

Scoperite enables you to store all the files for current and past claims without running out of space and losing paperwork. Scoperite is cloud based, so there is significantly more storage space for all your files, helping ensure that you have all the documents you need, all the time.

In many industries, most of the businesses are the same more or less; they offer similar products or services, try and build the same aspects of their respective brands, and target the same groups of people. All of these similarities can make it hard to differentiate your business, and encourage customers to pick you.

Despite all the similarities, businesses do still find ways to differentiate themselves in how they market their products, how they treat their customers, who they hire, etc. Oftentimes, though, businesses overlook internal changes that can help differentiate themselves. One such way is by using a CRM; while using a CRM doesn’t make you stand out in a flashy, fun for everyone to see way, it can make you stand out in more subtle, and more useful, ways.

Using A CRM Makes You More Organized and Efficient

Most CRM systems allow users to scan and file paperwork, organize customer information, organize project information, schedule projects, and be able to see what is happening with all customers and projects quickly and easily. When all information is easily accessible and readily available, it allows you to be more organized, knowing where documents are, what deadlines are when, and which customers need more guidance. Being more organized makes you more efficient in all aspects of your business from communicating with customers to getting projects completed, which makes you stand out over other companies who may take longer or be difficult to get information from.

Using A CRM Allows You To Improve Customer Service

Customer service is an essential part of any industry; people want to be heard and feel taken care of when they do business with you. Using a CRM makes managing your customers, and their concerns, a much simpler process. Due to the fact that most CRMs allow you to store and organize customer information in easy to locate files within the system, helping customers solve problems and work through your sales pipeline is simple. If a customer calls with a problem, you can help them immediately without having to search for their information and take additional time to track down others who have worked with them. The system can also be helpful in managing customer relations after the customers have finished their business with you; when all the information is right in front of you, it is easy to remember to pick up the phone and see how they like they’re new product or if there are any problems with the repairs you made. Customers will remember that you took the time to follow-up, and will be more likely to return to you in the future and refer people to your business.

Using A CRM Gives You More Time To Do Your Job

Do you ever feel like you are so wrapped up in the menial, administrative side of your job that you don’t get to the big part, the part that you like? It could be selling, building, creating, fixing, reassuring, whatever part of your job that is your job, the reason you are where you are. Using a CRM makes it easier to handle the administrative parts of any job; be it organizing files, searching through customer information, or creating documents using a CRM can make all of that feel like the fraction of your job that it is supposed. And turning that fraction back down into a fraction, lets you do the part of your job that you like, that you are good at, that will make you stand out because you are happy while you do it. Your competitors may still be bogged down in small tasks, that make them busy and grumpy, but you, with your CRM, have the little stuff taken care of, and get to build your business with a smile on your face.

Even though homeowners are the main source of business for many contractors, they can be difficult to deal with sometimes. It is almost never intentional either, people just care about their houses and want to see them in the best shape possible, but that doesn’t make them any easier to deal with.

There are a few different kinds of difficult homeowners: the arrogant ones, who think they can do your job better than you (disclaimer, they can’t), the clueless ones who don’t know anything about insurance claims or repairs, and question every move you make, and the ones who would prefer to just take the insurance money and not do any repairs at all to name a few. Regardless of which type of homeowner you are dealing with, it’s easy to get frustrated and want to just let the claim go, which is why we compiled a list of our top five ways to deal with difficult homeowners so that you don’t have to lose business over them.

1) Make The Homeowner Feel Heard

Whether it is because they think they know better, or they don’t know anything at all, homeowners will voice their opinions, thoughts, and questions to you. And while it can be easy to mindlessly listen and dismiss them because you know what is best for their property, it can make your life a lot easier to actively listen and respond to them.

People like to feel heard, even when they are trying to tell you how to do your job, and it will be easier for you in the long run to listen carefully to their suggestions and be able to counter them with what you know needs to be done. The same goes for homeowners who don’t know anything about the repairs that need to be done; answering each and every question they have with careful consideration will make them feel more at ease and make them less likely to continue to question decisions and delay the projects progress.

2) Try Not To Let Your Frustration Show

In times of high business when you spend your days running from house to house, going to the house with the difficult homeowners can be downright unpleasant for you. You know that they are prepared with a battery of information that you don’t need, that is going to delay you with while you try and do your other work. It can be really easy to get frustrated with these homeowners, and want to cut them off, tell them that you have it under control, and go about your business, but that is just going to make them more difficult to deal with.

Even if you want to scream, pack it in, and listen, respond, and keep a nice face and tone of voice. Letting them see how frustrated you are, will just make them even more difficult, and more likely to leave you a poor review or spread bad word-of-mouth about you and your company. If you know a homeowner that is going to want to talk and talk to you, when you arrive at the house, say you are going to do whatever it is you need to do first, and then talk to them after. Dealing with your inspection, measurements, or whatever else gives you a minute to breathe and prepare yourself to contain any frustration that may be present when you do go and talk to the homeowner.

3) Put Everything In Writing

Whether it is the way too involved homeowner, or the I just want the insurance money homeowner, they are going to find ways to try and rework things. They might try and change document wording, project scope, colors, timelines, the list can go on and on, and if you aren’t careful, it may never stop.

One easy way to combat these types of homeowners, is to put everything in writing, and we mean EVERYTHING. Obviously certain documents like contracts and estimates are no brainers, but don’t forget about paint colors, shingle types, window treatments, etc. If you are writing that down as those conversations are happening, it is a lot harder for the customer to dispute something they said down the road when they change their mind. Having everything in writing is also helpful in the highly unfortunate circumstance that a difficult homeowner turns into a claim that involves lawyers; if you have everything written down and dated, it will make it harder for the homeowner to make you the problem.

4) Communicate More Than Seems Necessary

Often times, difficult homeowners just want reassurance that you are giving your full attention to their project. They tend to undervalue the fact that you are running a business that has more than one client at a time, and expect you to be fully immersed in their project all the time.

One easy way to combat this is to over-communicate with them. Let them know when materials have been ordered, or when estimates are taking extra time, call and let them know that the window guy is coming even though the window guy called already. Taking the extra few minutes to call and communicate small updates with them, will placate them and leave them feeling like you are focused solely on their project, and will give them less inclination to call you every day and make your life harder.

5) Switch The Project Manager On The Claim

Sometimes certain people just don’t mesh. It doesn’t say anything bad about either of them but they just do not get along, and working together is frustrating for both parties. While it should be a last resort option, switching the project manager on a claim might be the best solution. If the homeowner is mad, and the project manager is frustrated and all other options have been tried, it might be time to just make the switch; let someone knew come in, address the homeowners’ concerns and try and get the project off to a new, better start.