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Tip of the Month:

July 2010

Are you talkin’ to me??.........apply your own Robert DeNiro impression here! I am surprised sometimes how the decision makers in communities do not take advantage of an interview process when hiring contractors to perform very substantial work in their communities. Most people wouldn’t think about hiring a new employee without first interviewing that person but I have seen very large contracts awarded without the board interviewing the bidding contractors. The interview process not only allows the board to “kick our tires” and get to meet the personalities that they will be working with. The process also affords the contractors to gain insight to the concerns of the board and the community. The truth is, on paper, many contractors appear the same. If, as a painting and wood replacement contractor, we bid using specifications from a paint manufacturer, odds are that what is said in the proposal about the process and products will be very similar to our competitors.

What may not be apparent on paper is what sets one contractor apart from its peers. For example, it may say that there is a 5-year workmanship warranty but how much grief must the board go through to get warranty work resolved? How are concerns from individual owners addressed? Is payment in advance required? What experience does the company bring to the table? Is the company properly insured to work in a multi-family community? How will the need for any extra work be determined and priced? Since board members are most frequently not experts in area that they are contracting work for, it also affords them the opportunity to gain education.

The interview process also enables the contractor to gain information about the expectations of the community. While we know what work is to be done, we often times don’t know things like when the community wants to start and how long they would like the project to take. We may not know of experiences, both good and bad, with previous projects that would help us to do a better job.

Bottom line is…..the interview process is good for the decision-makers and the contractors too. Take advantage of the process and come armed with some great questions.

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