The Urban Dictionary describes ghosting as “the act of suddenly ceasing all communication with someone the subject is dating, but no longer wishes to date.” While dating and interviewing candidates is not the same thing, they are very similar in the early stages and can elicit very similar behaviors. Candidate ghosting is when you are actively engaged with a prospective employee, and at some point before their first day of work, they cease all communication. Ouch!

The market for talent is hot right now and this goes across all industries and career levels. It means candidates have more choices than ever and might be entertaining multiple offers. Even if you assume that job candidates have the best intentions during the recruiting phase of the relationship, sometimes good manners and their own candidate brand fall to the side when there is a lot of interest in their skills. When candidates stop communicating with you, it’s not only frustrating – it’s costly too.

STEP 1: To avoid being ghosted, you must focus on the overall candidate experience. While there is as much head (clear processes and accountability), as there is heart (being respectful and kind) in this process, there are efforts you can make to minimize job candidates ghosting you. Let’s start with these four areas:

Go deep on expectations

Provide a level of detail which includes who is on the interview panel (share LinkedIn profiles) and how they contribute to the decision process. Share the timeline for reference checks and background screening and the role the candidate will need to play, and any tests that might be part of the hiring process with a detailed description of the reason and approach.

White glove travel experience

If the candidate will be traveling for their interviews, make it seamless and build your policies with their experience, not your cost at the forefront. For example, don’t ask the candidate to pay for their travel and wait a period to be reimbursed. Book direct flights (not the cheapest that involve a connection), and book them at reasonable times. A day trip with a morning flight, back to back interviews, and a red eye return flight is not an ideal way for a candidate to learn about your brand or put them in a good headspace to think about entertaining an offer from you.

Stay connected

Check-ins and pre-selling during all points of the process is critical. After every step, you should be asking the candidate how they feel the interview went, what they are thinking in terms of the company and the role, and how interested they would be in getting an offer at this point. You can use scales to ask them to rank from 1-10, and then follow up to understand why their interest is where it is. This shows you are invested in their success and they are not lost in a tunnel of endless interviews.

Ask about shopping

Building trust with the candidates and then boldly and directly asking about their interaction with other companies is critical. Ask what other roles they are considering and what about those roles is potentially more appealing than what you might offer. This will help you be more effective at making an offer that targets their needs and is more attractive.

When planning for the steps above speed is paramount. We live in a world of instant feedback and immediate reaction. While the interview process can take time, if you focus on the candidate experience, they can assume you’re not interested and stop replying. Much like waiting for someone to call after the first date, what used to be a four-day standard is now more like a same day follow up. Candidates deserve to know how long you will take to consider them for the next step in the recruiting process, and that you will get back to them either way.

STEP 2: Let’s assume you have made it past the interview stage and extended an offer. A certain way to get ghosted is to make an offer that is less than competitive. In hourly jobs, $1 makes a big difference. For top candidates in middle management, certain perks are now standard, and multiple offers are common at all career levels.

Sending an offer that is too low or not at all competitive increases the chance that you will be ghosted and remove the opportunity to even improve the offer or negotiate. This is where market data and non-salary perks become important as well. Not every company will be able to get into a salary war for their desired candidate, so knowing what other non-compounding benefits you can offer to sweeten the deal will help your chances of keeping the candidate engaged and interested through the recruitment process.

STEP 3: Suppose you got through the first two milestones and your candidate is ready for their first day. Would it shock you to learn candidates today are increasing their first day ghosting tactics? What a horrible experience to expect a candidate for their first day of work and they never show up. All the work gone into welcoming and planning for their onboarding is for naught.

Many employers try calling, emailing, and even try to contact the new hire through social media – they are often perplexed as to why someone would just not show. At this stage, the reason for ghosting often is because of a terrible onboarding program. After spending weeks of cumbersome processes and silence once signing their offer, they no longer want to be part of your brand. It’s possible they received another offer in that time while your team was not fully invested in them.

While it’s certainly not good for their personal brand to ghost, it seems to be the non-confrontational option of accepting a role where they feel more valued. It was too hard before they even started.

Unfortunately, ghosting seems to be a growing practice. Therefore, your candidate experience is so critical to your success. Examine your practices at all the key touchpoints. Pressure test your process and think about how you can drastically reduce your chances of being haunted by the ghost of offers past.

Jeremy Eskenazi is an internationally recognized speaker and a specialized training and consulting professional, helping global HR leaders transform how they attract top talent.

Steve Carey, president and CEO of the NTEA, the association of the work truck industry, recently made it down from Detroit to attend the ground breaking of Buyers Products major corporate expansion project at its Mentor, Ohio headquarters in August.

Those in the snow and ice community are probably most familiar with the NTEA from the gigantic Work Truck Show that the NTEA hosts every year that is the premier event for any business that depends on trucks to accomplish its mission. However, what many of you may not be aware of is that the group represents more than 2,100 companies that manufacture, distribute, install, sell and repair commercial trucks, truck bodies, truck equipment, trailers and accessories. In addition, buyers of work trucks and the major commercial truck chassis manufacturers also counted among the NTEA’s ranks. Throughout the year, the association provides its members with in-depth technical information, education, and member programs and services.

We got a few moments with Steve following the ceremony to talk about the state of the truck industry and the type of technological innovations work truck manufacturers are developing to bring to market that may be of interest to the professional snow and ice management contractor community.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all segments of our industry. For snow and ice management contractors, what impact has it had on the work truck segment of our industry and what can they expect to see as they begin their preparations for Winter 2020-21?

STEVE CAREY: That’s a good question. It’s going to have to do a lot with what the economic rebound looks like overall and where we can get people back to work. Overall, and among the various construction elements of the industry, we’re just hoping to see the economic developments continue to progress forward through the rest of this year.

With commercial work trucks in general, what sorts of technology do you see manufacturers applying to their new models that may be of interest to the professional snow and ice management community?

You see a couple of general trends overall that are centered around optimizing the truck for the user and making sure it’s as mission capable as can be out in the field. So, we’re seeing a lot of innovation around light weighting – what can manufactures do with trucks with light-weight components? And then there’s also the innovations around electrification. What can the trucks do and be mission capable the will reduce idling and so users can operate their systems, from a hydraulic perspective, without having the primary engine on.

With regard to the technical innovations we’re seeing in work truck, are electric engines going to be a reality with commercial work trucks? Or is battery [powered] technology still light years away from giving operators the same power that a gasoline or diesel image offers you?

Certainly, gas- and diesel-powered engines are going to be with us still for some time. What you’re seeing is that through the ongoing technical advances with electrification of the trucks. And you’re hearing a lot about “electric drive” as the next technology innovation [and] we’re seeing a stronger case being made for that today. And the most interesting development, at least within the work truck industry, is that development around the electric drive and it serving as the catalyst for the electrification of the rest of the work-truck systems through energy-storage systems that are really focused on keeping the trucks mission capable without primary engine loss.

When you look at the main manufacturers who are developing trucks for the working professionals – like snow and ice management contractors – who would you say is in the lead right now with regard to their technological innovations?

I’d say that they are all pretty technologically advanced. I’d say the trucks are becoming more of an integrated system to the [owners/users] business operations. So, [truck manufacturers] are looking at all kinds of ways to put technology into the vehicles from both a chassis perspective and equipment perspective that can tie into the user’s business operations and make these trucks more valuable and a better investment for the business owners who depend on them.

What’s your outlook for the work truck industry for the next couple of years?

Frankly, I believe this year is going to be more of a tougher year and we’re not quite sure what the economic outlook will look like right now. We’ve got some [work truck manufacturers] that are working through supply chain interruptions and getting product out the door and into the hands of consumers. We anticipate that as we roll into next year (2021) that the work truck industry will begin to strengthen again.

Mike Zawacki is editor of Snow Magazine

One certainty about Winter 2020-21: It’s nearly impossible to predict the weather for this coming snow season. Sure, meteorologist examine El Nino and El Nina trends. They ponder the tea leaves in the data of winters gone by for clues as to where we’re at in a three-year, five-year or 20-year winter cycle. Heck, folks even look to Mother Nature for telltale signs, like robins nesting close to homes (bad winter), or squirrels with bushy tails (cold winter), or even squirrels burying nuts earlier than usual (really terrible winter).

What is true, though, is it’s a monumental waste to go into winter unprepared for how to utilize any extended downtime to improve your overall business. So, with the help of some industry friends, Snow Magazine has compiled a Winter 2020-21 To-Do List.

The following tips, practices, suggestions, and recommendations are presented in no particular order. So, when you’re faced with some downtime in the coming weeks and months, you can literally start anywhere. However, I would recommend reading through this editorial package in its entirety to give you an idea of what you can knock out relatively easily, what may take some time and forethought, and what may be an improvement project that requires more than a few free afternoons.

So, good luck. Stay safe. Keep our fingers crossed for a consistent and productive winter season. And in the event this winter proves to favor your golf handicap rather than your bottom line, then at least you can improve and strengthen your operations to successfully weather this season and seasons to come.

TO DO: Assess Your Sales Strategy

One of the greatest mistakes snow contractors make is believing dry ink on a winter service contract is when client relations conclude, says sales coach Marvin Montgomery. Therefore, reaffirming and strengthening client relationships is a productive activity when faced with extended downtime.

“What we don’t want is our customers thinking that the only time we contact them is when it’s time to renew or when we want to sell them more stuff,” Montgomery says. “Not just during periods of downtime, but you need to make time in your routine to reach out to clients.”

Reaffirming the relationship should be introduced early on in the relationship, advises Montgomery. “If you’re a new client, then the first time I sit down with you some of the value-added should be me saying to you, ‘First of all welcome to Montgomery Landscaping & Snow Removal. We’re excited to have you on board. We’re going to meet with you a minimum of three times a year: once right before we start the contract; a second time to go over the contract with you and to make sure everything meets your expectations; and then I’m going to come back mid-way through to see if you have any questions or concerns because I don’t want to wait until the end.’”

Therefore, it is important to develop these touch points and make them a part of the regular routine, Montgomery says, adding downtime is the right time to begin reviewing these again. “For example, I use a customized thank-you note that goes out around Thanksgiving that expresses how much I appreciate the relationship with clients for how every long it may be … one, three or five winters,” he says. “What’s important is that I find a way to customize the note to the particular client.”

Another activity to engage in during extended downtimes is cold calling. “You need to be cold calling and prospecting for potential new opportunities,” Montgomery says. “My philosophy is to not wait for your ship to come in. Rather, go swim out to it. You can’t sit back and wait for something to happen. You must go out and make something happen.”

Some winter service contracts come from repeat business, but others will stem from referrals. Therefore, downtime is the perfect opportunity to engage existing clients for new client prospecting, Montgomery says.

“Always be prospecting” he says. “There are so many companies out there that may not be satisfied with their current [snow and ice management] provider and you’re giving them an opportunity to move to someone who can really take care of them and satisfy all of their needs.”

Now is the prime time to develop a cold-calling formula – or how many cold calls must be made every day, every week, every month to ensure a contractor hit his or her numbers. “Your down-time calls should have three purposes,” Montgomery says. “One, calling to say how and to see how you’re doing. Two, making sure your expectations are being met. And three, if those expectations are being met, can they recommend anyone who could benefit from the excellent service you’re providing?”

Lastly, don’t underestimate the value of virtual meetings.

“The pandemic has forced more and more companies into using virtual meetings as a means of conducting business,” Montgomery says. “And this may be more favorable [with clients] because virtual meetings can be more time specific – like taking only 10 to 15 minutes of an individual’s time rather than having to carve out two to three hours from the day to travel to and from [client] meetings. And those 10-15 minutes can be just as valuable [for relationship building] as 60 minutes.”

“What we don’t want is our customers thinking that the only time we contact them is when it’s time to renew or when we want to sell them more stuff. Not just during periods of down time, but you need to make time in your routine to reach out to clients.” Marvin Montgomery Sales Coach Marvin Montgomery & Associates

TO DO: Determine The State of Your Finances

Any extended period of downtime is the right time to take a hard look at your finances and review the money coming in, the money going out, and the money set aside for lean times. Snow Magazine’s finance and accounting writer Mark Battersby outlines eight areas for snow contractors to focus in on during seasonal downtime.

Taking Stock Of The Operation’s Assets

Disposing of unneeded, unwanted, obsolete equipment or other property deserves some thought as part of year-round tax planning. There is, after all, no point in letting excess equipment take up space when it could be contributing to the operation’s bottom-line.

“Selling, donating those unwanted assets to a charity or actually abandoning them, creates cash and/or tax write-offs,” Battersby says. “Don’t forget to document each event, keep receipts and physically abandon assets, not merely store them away.”

Employee Or Not An Employee

California’s controversial new law for freelancers and others in the so-called “gig” economy is spreading the worker classification issue to more states. And the IRS also continues to challenge whether workers are employees or independent contractors.

Independent contractors are not subject to withholding, relieving the employer of liability for payroll taxes.

“Workers, for their part, can avoid higher tax bills and lost benefits by knowing their proper status,” Battersby says “For those uncertain whether workers are classified correctly, the IRS can provide a determination letter telling how it views the operation’s workers – as employees or independent contractors.”

In addition to using IRS Form SS-8 to request a determination of worker status, an employer can apply to the IRS if it has been erroneously classifying workers as independent contractors. This application for “530 relief” allows the operation to get relief from liability or payment if it has been classifying workers as independent contractors in error.

Shopping For Another Banker

Despite bank branches disappearing in record numbers and the growing number of financing options, credit card processors and other services available from a variety of sources, every small business still needs a bank. However, despite how important banks are to small businesses, the majority of businesses appear to be experiencing significant challenges when it comes to banking services.

According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 business owners, only 9% of small business owners say their current bank meets all of their needs. What’s more, a whopping 69% of small business owners don’t believe their current bank is meeting all of their needs and, thus, would be willing to switch banks.

A credit-card processor may offer less-expensive fees and the fast-growing Web financing community might offer more attractive rates. But only banks allow a business owner or manager to negotiate lower rates based on the number of services they utilize.

“Banks want your business,” Battersby says. “But while they’ll sometimes offer significant cash bonuses for opening a business account, remember, no matter how appealing that cash bonus might appear, it is the operation’s day-to-day banking needs that count. In the long term, meeting the needs of the business will have a bigger impact on the health of the business than any immediate cash benefit.”

Coping With Reality

What better time to take a closer look at the operation’s cash flow? Every business owner should have a plan for periods of tight cash flow, upcoming projects and financing needs.

“With this in mind, it is no surprise that the best-performing businesses in past downturns had strong balance sheets and were even taking on additional debt to purchase more assets, expand or even acquire competitors – all relatively inexpensively,” Battersby says.

Make The Most Of Customers And Clients

The importance of increasing the number of customers the operation has can’t be overemphasized. After all, the unexpected loss of a big customer, contract or project can impact even the most financially stable business. And it is unfortunate that customers are usually the first to go during tough economic times.

“An economic downturn or recession means that now is the time to take care of loyal customers, since they could also bring new customers to the business,” Battersby says. “Telling customers how much their business is appreciated or rewarding them through discounts, loyalty cards and gift certificates can reap big dividends.”

Win A Competitor’s Customers

Any business hoping to prosper in tough times must continue to expand their customer base – and that often means drawing customers away from the competition. This can be accomplished by offering more or something different than the competition does.

“Providing better customer service is often viewed as one of the easiest ways to outdistance the competition,” Battersby adds.

Find A Pro

Now might be a good time to shop around for a pro. While most business owners and managers know their operation inside and out, there are highly technical matters of law, accounting, management and marketing that are usually best handled by outside experts.

The first step to finding the right tax professional requires an inventory of what you – and your business – actually need in the way of services and advice, and equally important, how much you can afford to pay for that advice or services,” Battersby says. “The best way to find someone to render needed advice or guidance is via a referral from business associates, your banker or an attorney.”

TO DO: Train, Train, And More Training!

Zack Kelley, director of operations at Sauers Snow & Ice Management, a snow-only firm based in Philadelphia, suggests organizing training into three specific buckets – Operations, including day-to-day tasks; Risk Management, which encompasses not only legal issues, but first-aid training; and Culture Building, which includes team building and improvement, as well as leadership.

“During any sort of downtime, polishing up on each of these three areas is a good use of a contractor’s time,” Kelley says.

Operations

This is Sauers’ biggest training bucket and includes a number of different subcategories, Kelley explains. “And the biggest thing we’re focusing on is client communication,” he says. “And that goes for the guys shoveling the sidewalks all the way to the individuals managing clients’ sites.”

For example, if a client approaches a Sauers’ employee with a question, to request additional service or has an issue that needs to be addressed, then they need to be educated on not only the appropriate response, but what the next step in the process is, Kelley says. Every employee must have a working and thorough knowledge of not only how to communicate with clients about snow and ice management questions, but then how to communicate theses concerns and requests internally with Sauers’ management team.

Communication can be a very deep training topic, Kelley adds. For example, how many managers know how to write a well-thought-out email, he asks.

“You want to be professional and you want to be concise,” Kelley says. “Your team must communicate the right details. And professionalism is a big point we’re trying to drive home this year. Phone calls and texts … our snow managers run into all of those scenarios throughout a snowstorm, whereas some clients prefer an email, some prefer text, and others want a phone call. So, we try to train for all of those [scenarios].

“We figure, if we’re going to put our time into something, then we need to make sure our clients will be satisfied,” he adds.

“We talk about the importance of documentation and making sure they have the correct weather conditions down and they’re prepared for anything. We must limit risk, and we feel this starts out with the guys in the field.” Zack Kelley Director of Operations Sauers Snow & Ice Management

In addition, Sauers trains its employees on the ANSI Industry Standards for Snow and Ice Management, available through their affiliation with the ASCA.

“We’ll literally go through the Industry Standards with our people line by line,” he says. “The way we do training with our snow managers is weekly, so we’ll cover a few ANSI standards every week as a refresher, and we’ll incorporate photos and videos as examples to reinforce the ANSI standards … Industry Standards is always an area we drive home [with employees and service providers].”

And if there’s additional downtime, Kelley says Sauers ensures its snow managers complete ASCA-C training. “We won’t typically do this in the fall because it’s a crazy time for us getting ready for winter,” he says. “But when it doesn’t snow, we typically have our guys engaged in the ASCA-C training during that time. We feel it’s very beneficial. And frankly, it’s already pre-made, so we don’t have to remake it if it’s already out there.”

Risk Management

As the industry gets more litigious, snow contractors must seek out ways to protect themselves. Sauers addresses this issue at both a high level and at the operational level. So even the guys on the frontlines shoveling know what to look for and what to be prepared for to mitigate slip-and-fall conditions, Kelley says

“We talk about the importance of documentation and making sure [workers] have the correct weather conditions down and they’re prepared for anything,” he says. “We must limit risk, and we feel this starts with the guys in the field. And over the last couple of years we’ve caught more things this way because our ground crews have an eye out for these details. Whereas before, a shoveler or laborer driving a sidewalk machine may not be looking out for potential hazards, like snow left on a walkway. Now, they’re looking for those things and bringing them to their site manager’s attention, or they’re handling these situations themselves.” Risk mitigation also includes first-aid training, Kelley says, and they stress the importance of being well prepared.

“We teach CPR and basic first-aid skills,” he adds. “We make sure our managers are all CPR-certified.”

Culture

“Culture” has been a popular buzz word over the last couple of years. However, the team at Sauers Snow & Ice has really focused on building a productive corporate culture over the last two or three years.

“It’s made a huge difference in how we work and how people view us,” Kelley says. “And it’s certainly something that can be worked on and implemented during seasonal downtimes.”

In a sense, culture building is an extension of Sauers’ extensive training regimen.

“We’ll train on culture,” he says. “We will train people about our company and how we expect them, and want them, to act and how that influences the image they put forth to our clients.”

Part of building a strong culture involves gaining an understanding of what they can do better as a team and as individuals. To achieve this, Sauers reviews every single employee and service provider.

“We want them to know the chain of command and who their managers are because if they have an issue it can be addressed immediately,” Kelley says.

In addition to individual assessments, the Sauers team seeks to gain a clear understanding of how their clients view their performance.

“Since last year was a down year for us for snow, we beefed up our surveying process to gain better client feedback,” Kelley says. “We survey all of our clients, all of our service providers, and all of our employees after every single snow event … regardless if it’s just a salting event or a 6-8 inch storm. Everyone receives a survey on their phone the next day that asks them to grade their manager, their response time, etc. …”

The survey has proven an effective way to highlight service issues that require the team’s immediate attention.

“For example, all of our subs at the end of the year are graded on a scale from 0 to 100 on how they did,” Kelley says. “That grade is based on their communication, the documentation and app usage, their operational skills, were they on time and followed through on the scope of work … this all goes to computing a grade at the end of the year.

“But the service provider is also grading their manager and their experience with accounting,” he adds. “So, it serves as a checks-and-balances for us, as well, to make sure everything is where we want it to be operationally.

With clients, the Sauers’ team recognizes property managers don’t have the time to fill out extensive questionnaires. So, instead, they field a single question to clients: Rate us on a scale of 1-10.

“If they respond with a seven or below, it automatically triggers a follow-up question that asks: We realize we could have done a better job with the storm, what areas specifically did you have an issue?” he says. “These responses go to me and to the regional manager for that property and our goal is to address these issues within 24 hours.”

TO DO: Get Certified!

There is perhaps no better way to distinguish your snow and ice management operations in your market than through ISO 9001/SN 9001 certification. And when faced with an extended amount of downtime, the pursuit of ISO certification can prove to be a worthwhile financial and time investment.

There are a number of reasons why ISO certification is a worthwhile pursuit, but the biggest is the opportunities. Many of the large property management companies are seeking ISO-certified snow and ice management companies to handle their winter duties, says Beth Savastano, of Detroit-based Beth Savastano Consulting, which provides ISO coaching from initial interest through to prepping for the certification audit. “So, if you’re not an ISO-certified company, then the chances are you’re not going to get with many of the big property management companies,” she adds.

In its continued support of contractor education and certification, the Accredited Snow Contractors Association (ASCA) created a quality management system specifically for the professional snow and ice management industry. SN 9001 – a system exclusive to professional snow contractors – works in conjunction with the existing ISO 9001. This program is based on ISO 9001 with additional requirements based on the professional snow and ice management industry and the Industry Standards.

The path toward ISO certification is not as complex or difficult as snow professionals may imagine.

“The first step I’d suggest is reaching out and contacting other snow professionals who have gone through the ISO process and who have earned their certifications,” Savastano says. “Then contact me and we start with a ‘gap assessment,’ which is exactly what it sounds like. It assesses and closes off any gaps in their snow and ice management systems before we bring the auditors in for third-party certification.”

There’s a misconception in the industry that ISO certification is a long and complicated process, Savastano says. In reality, a successful snow and ice management contractor is already doing many, if not most, of the things necessary for ISO certification. “All I do is help contractors get to the final audit,” she says of her role in the process. “I don’t tell them what to do. I don’t look at their financial statements. No one is going to get fired or reprimanded because I’ve been brought in to assist in ISO certification. It sounds unusual, but a lot of contractors and those individuals working for snow and ice firms unfortunately believe this. However, when all is said and done, the typical feedback from ISO contractors is that this processes was easier than they thought it would be.”

Savastano adds that the COVID pandemic has not been a barrier for ISO certification. Many of the meetings that once took place in person can now be handled virtually, which has resulted in a substantial costs savings for snow and ice management contactors.

TO DO: Update Your Handbook

As a business owner, consider an employee handbook as creating the least amount of risk for yourself, and as a way of reducing your chances of being sued over and having to defend against a workplace issue.

One of the biggest issues employers without handbooks have to contend with is inadvertently creating an arbitrary approach to things in the workplace where you allow one person to do one thing, but another person is prohibited, says Justine Baackman, an attorney with the Philadelphia office of Freeman, Mathis and Gary. This leaves an employer vulnerable to an employee’s claim of discrimination.

For example, he or she perceives they are not permitted something due to gender, or a disability, or a plethora of other things.

“You, as the business owner, may have a very good reason for why you allowed one person to do one thing and another person to do something else,” Baakman says. “But from someone looking at this as potential litigation, you want to be able to say you have a policy and procedure in place that is documented, and everyone is treated the same way.

“The laws are constantly changing about COVID policy and we’re constant learning new things about this virus. That’s why it is so important to consult with your legal counsel before you start creating workplace policies on your own about what should be done.” Justine Baakman Attorney Freeman, Mathis & Gary LLP

“And as a business owner, you need to look at [an employee handbook] as creating the least amount of risk for yourself, and a way of reducing your chances of being sued over and defend against a workplace issue,” she adds. “And not only is it important to document that new employees have read your company’s handbook, but anytime it’s updated employees should acknowledge they’ve read the update and understand it, as well.”

A good starting point is to reach out to your legal counsel, who will have a template of an employee handbook document that can serve as a starting point for your company’s own document. In fact, it’s very easy to remove and add particular sections that fit they type of business you’re operating and based on the overall nature of your business.

In fact, a number of recent issues have created circumstances to either update existing handbooks or create an all new up-to-date and all-encompassing employee document.

First, your handbook should include a policy related to the COVID pandemic that address a number of issues. For example:

• • Are you requesting your employees have their temperatures checked every day?
• • Are you going to have them certify when they arrive every day that they haven’t experienced certain symptoms related to COVID, such as a cough or fever?
• • Are you going to have a policy that says if a worker is exposed to someone who is COVID positive, then at what point do they need to report that to you, the employer?

“There are the types of questions COVID has forced employers to deal with, and they need to set policy to deal with them,” Baakman says. “With snow and ice management, you may have people who are working in close proximity to one another throughout the day. Obviously, if they’re working outside, then they can hopefully socially distance. But when they are traveling from site to site in vehicles together, presumably they’re not going to be able to six feet apart.

“So, it’s important to assess and determine what types of policies do you want to have in place to address these issues and to guide employees on what they need to report back to you,” she adds.

The bottom line is you need to have these policies and procedures in place and to be certain that your workforce knows what they are, whether that’s through an email that documents your policies related to COVID and what your require of them whether they end up being positive or someone else in their household tests positive.

In addition, if you have an employee tests positive for COVID, Baakman says the handbook should address the police with regard to notifying others they’ve worked with that they may have potentially been exposed. However, this is considered sensitive medical information, and there is only so much HIPA-related information you can tell your employees about an individual with a positive COVID test.

“The laws are constantly changing about COVID policy and we’re constant learning new things about this virus,” she says. “That’s why it is so important to consult with your legal counsel before you start creating workplace policies on your own about what should be done.”

In addition, a lot of attention has been given to addressing appropriate behavior in the workplace environment, and this is another place that needs to be addressed and updated in your employee handbook.

“There’s a fine line you can walk between how much you want to regulate and what you can not regulate with regard to what your employees say inside and outside of work,” Baakman says. “Something I’ve seen a lot of clients do is to begin a dialogue with employees about what’s appropriate and what’s not appropriate language and behavior in the workplace and establish policy around that. So, someone has overheard another worker say something racial insensitive, then who can they go and talk to about that, whether it’s HR or a manager they can go and talk to.

“You want to make sure employees feel they are in an environment where they can go to talk to someone and it’s not necessarily the same person who said the questionable or offensive thing,” she adds.

This is also a prime opportunity to engage in training around these issues, Baakman says.

“If you are faced with downtime, then this is a great place to provide some valuable training, whether it deals with sexual harassment and social justice all the way to workplace cyber security,” she adds. “Employees appreciate an employer who understands that the state of the world right now is so much different than it was in February and March of 2020 and this recognizes that. It certainly goes a long way to recognizing low morale in the workplace and can end up being a motivating and uplifting exercise for your employees.”

TO DO: Benchmark Your Business

As a snow and ice management operation evolves and grows, the numbers that were once accurate and insightful can easily become obscured and irrelevant. Therefore, utilize any extended downtime to drill down into your financials and focus on providing a more accurate set of business benchmarks, says Joe Kujawa, a snow industry veteran in the Milwaukee market who now serves as a business coach for Bruce Wilson and Co.

The first thing you need to do is to figure out what your monthly number is.

“What’s the nut that needs to be made each month to open the doors and to keep the lights on – all of your indirect expenses … How big is that?” Kujawa asks. “Then, the goal should be to have that figure covered by seasonal contracts.”

So, if it stops snowing and you’re not making any money, then at least you’re not going into the hole.

“And you may have to sacrifice some of the margins on those contracts to ensure you’re getting to that figure,” Kujawa adds. “But in the long run, you’ll find you’re better off doing that because it means covering those indirect expenses. So, in the event it does stop snowing, then you’re not forced to dip into your [credit] line and you have enough cushion to make it to the next snow and/or ice event.”

Another thing, if you find that you’re in the middle of some extensive downtime, then that isn’t the time to begin wondering what you should be doing with that time, Kujawa says.

“Heading in the season you need the “honey-do” list, if you will, and figure out what you’re going to do and what you need done and have everything ready to go when this downtime happens,” he says.

Kujawa recommends contractors have these things ready to go immediately. “If you don’t, then we found it is infinitely more difficult to get those things going with a trigger. For example, X-days after the next event we’ll get on this immediately, dive into it and get it done.”

However, Kujawa cautions contractors on allotting too much time for what he terms as a “winter campaign” – or a complete inspection and overhaul of the company’s equipment. “We learned this was really a cost-intensive time suck,” he says. “Up north in the snow states, part of this is to keep people busy and employed during the winter, but if you have a good preventative maintenance plan in place throughout the season, then you don’t need such an extensive offseason plan.

“There are better and more productive things for your workers to be involved in – whether it’s more training or working on increasing efficiencies during this downtime,” he says. “Now, I’m not saying not to do [an equipment maintenance overhaul], but you need to be really conscious of the time and resources going into it.”

Lastly, Kujawa stresses the importance of having a handle on your benchmarks and what you’re expenses are in the event you need to place Plan A, Plan B or Plan C into action as a result of a poor winter or an extended amount of downtime. “This involves really thinking about what your spending money on and what discretionary spending you can do away with to get through lean times,” he says. “For example, every company has different things – perks – that they may provide employees or the company, like stocking the fridge with soda. When no cash is coming in, do you really need to keep doing this?”

When considering cutbacks, be mindful of your staff, Kujawa adds. “We found laying off or furloughing employees or workers was our last resort,” he says. “That’s why snow and ice management contractors want a clear line of other things you can do away with and leave letting go of people as the final option.

“Remember, if you have a good culture people will be willing to work together to find the right answers,” Kujawa says.

The year 2020 will certainly go down in the record books as a year that challenged us all. It will also go down as a year that allowed/forced smart organizations to adapt and improve their business models in very unexpected ways to deal with shutdowns and labor issues. As things begin to open back up, I urge you to consider the changes you implemented. You may find that much of what you did to meet the demands of the moment actually makes good business sense moving forward. Here are just some examples.

Virtual Meetings

Prior to COVID-19, most companies in our industry had in-person meetings or regular conference calls. After being forced to implement virtual meetings to ensure employee safety, companies learned this method carries merit in many circumstances: virtual meetings allow attendees to participate from anywhere – including from the cab of a truck – saving commuting time back to the office. Even though this type of interaction may not have been as good as an in-person meeting, it was way better than a regular conference call because the collaboration in a video call allowed participants to understand more nonverbal cues (which improves communication quality). Companies also discovered that they could even skip some meetings altogether realizing an immediate increase in productivity (and morale).

Intentional Communication

Casual, impromptu interactions came to a halt because clients were working from home or had restricted access for visitors; meanwhile, many employees were no longer in the office at the same time. Those physical connections helped build and maintain relationships and trust. Smart companies replaced those interactions with more intentional communications. Regular email updates (or better yet – videos) from owners and other key leaders helped maintain and strengthen a company’s culture. Clients continued to see the value in working with the company through regular, strategic communications.

Workplace Flexibility

Most employers did not embrace work from home policies, fearing a decrease in productivity. The pandemic helped speed the implementation of technology, allowing work from home solutions which gave employees flexibility, increased safety and satisfaction without the loss of productivity. This flexibility also allowed companies to open up a large, untapped potential pool of employees, capable people that were unable to work full-time out of the home.

Process Changes

Small simple changes enacted because of the coronavirus helped a lot of companies’ productivity. Some companies implemented staggered start times or direct report to job sites. Others were forced to overcome their reluctance to change and implemented new technology that helped them maintain, or even increase, service levels (for example: smart irrigation, paperless time tracking, GIS estimating, video conferencing, etc.). Outdated systems and health constraints also forced organizations to look at how they did things. Processes were able to be automated, streamlined and often made touchless, increasing speed, accuracy, and quality along the way.

New Revenue Streams

Many revenue streams dropped significantly because many clients scaled back on scope and services. By necessity, companies needed a way to make up the difference. Some added nontraditional services (for example: cleaning and sanitation services, organic vegetable gardening) while others, expanded into new geographic market areas to make up the lost revenue.

Our industry responded to the coronavirus pandemic with creativity and determination. Companies were forced out of their comfort zone and were required to change and do new things in new ways. Many of these changes will be good for our businesses long-term and we need to keep doing them even when a pandemic is no longer an issue.

Snow Magazine contributing editor Joe Kujawa is a senior facilitator and dedicated practice leader for Bruce Wilson & Co. Joe is a 2016 Leadership Award recipient.