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How Workforce Health Impacts Restoration Business Health

Two on site restoration team members smileIn the restoration industry, where teams regularly deal with emergencies, fluctuating workloads, and high-pressure situations, the health of your workforce isn’t just a human resources concern, it’s also a business necessity. Today, we spoke with April Slater, HR Director at One Claim Solution. We’re going to dive into what workforce health means, how it impacts your restoration business, and how you can take steps to improve it.

What Is Workforce Health?

Workforce health involves more than just physical well-being. It includes the mental, emotional, and social health of your employees. 

Signs of a Healthy Workforce

According to April, the signs of a healthy workforce are easy to spot. You’ll see things like:

  • Low turnover rates
  • Positive interactions among team members
  • Few unscheduled absences or call-outs
  • Employees who feel motivated to grow within the company

Signs of an Unhealthy Workforce

On the flip side, if your restoration team’s workforce health is struggling, you’ll see signs like:

  • High turnover
  • Constant complaints
  • A culture of gossip

Workforce Health Should be a Business Priority

“If people are going to HR all the time or if there’s gossip and negativity, it’s really hard for them to focus on the work,” April says. The 2024 State of the Industry Report also ties workforce health to business health. Companies investing in better wages, benefits, and leadership development have seen improved retention and productivity. As the restoration industry faces ongoing challenges, prioritizing your workforce’s health isn’t more than just the right thing to do. It’s a smart business decision.

Reasons Why Restoration Workforce Health Matters

In the restoration industry, workforce health impacts your bottom line in significant ways:

Retention and Recruitment Costs

Turnover is expensive. Hiring and training new employees in the trade service industries is estimated at $10,000-15,000 per hire, according to The State of the Industry Report. High turnover also means frequent onboarding and training, which takes away time from other important aspects of your restoration business. April explains, “Constantly recruiting and training new hires takes time and money away from managers who should be focusing on their current team.”

Team Productivity

A disengaged or unhealthy team struggles to work efficiently. High turnover can become a part of this vicious productivity cycle. On the other hand, when employees are healthy and motivated, teamwork improves, leading to better project outcomes.

Financial Efficiency

Poor workforce health can lead to your business wasting a lot of manhours on turnover, training, and managing drama. April explains, “If you track things like turnover, attendance, and even time spent complaining in HR, you’ll often see a direct correlation to how the business is performing financially.”

Measuring Workforce Health

Improving workforce health starts with measuring it. Key metrics to track include:

  • Turnover rates
  • Attendance patterns
  • Complaints and conflict resolution time

April suggests digging into the data to identify patterns. For example, if turnover spikes during busy periods, it may indicate burnout or a lack of support.

How to Build a Healthy Workforce

Prioritize Strong Frontline Managers

In April’s opinion, the most critical factor in workforce health is leadership. “Managers can absolutely make or break a team,” she says. And if you’ve ever had a “bad boss,” you probably agree with her. Strong managers should:

  • Provide timely, constructive feedback
  • Balance accountability with empathy
  • Build trust and rapport with their teams

Having strong managers begins with supporting them. Provide them with resources like clear policies and procedures they can rely on when addressing performance issues. Encourage their ongoing growth.

Address Burnout and Exhaustion

In the restoration industry, busy seasons come and go. When the workload is high following a storm, wildfire, or other seasonal events, employee burnout can be common. The first step in treating burnout and exhaustion is being able to spot it. April explains that it’s important for managers to understand each employee’s performance baseline. Starting the conversation with a struggling team member can be as simple as asking questions like, “How are you doing? Is everything okay?”

Building resilience and coping skills through training can also help. “Not everyone has developed those skills,” April explains, “but teaching them makes a big impact.”

Celebrate Wins and Infuse Fun

During busy seasons, take time to recognize hard work. Small gestures, like treating the team to lunch or organizing a quick group activity, can boost morale. “Sometimes we’ll do something simple, like a dad joke day,” April shares. “It gets people laughing and makes work more enjoyable.”

Encourage Employee Feedback

Employees often have the best ideas for improving their work environment. Regularly survey your team or hold open discussions to gather their input. “If they’re involved in the solution, they’re more likely to buy into it,” April explains.

Strengthen Your Team with OCS

At One Claim Solution, we believe that a healthy workforce is the foundation of a thriving business. One of the things we often hear from restoration companies is that managing insurance billing is getting in the way of their other duties and decreasing morale. Our team supports restoration contractors by taking on time-consuming insurance billing and negotiation tasks and freeing up your managers to focus on their teams. If you’re ready to improve both workforce health and business health, reach out to OCS today to see if we can help.

Connor Trahan

Account Executive

Hi there! I’m Connor, the Account Executive for One Claim. My goal is to guide our contractors through the sales process, ensuring you’re equipped with all the information you need to make your decision and hit the ground running once aboard. We view ourselves as an extension of your business and I strive to make the process an enlightening and consultative one.
My career has primarily been focused in software sales over a few different industries but the last few years were spent helping general contractors solve similar problems to what we’re doing here at OCS! Outside of work, I love spending time with my family, cooking and boating during the summer months.

Nicole Liesenfelt

Director, Human Resources

Hello! I’m Nicole, and I’m here to champion for our employees, recruit for new talent, and impact culture at One Claim Solution. I find satisfaction in supporting a memorable employee experience and bring innovation, problem solving, and strategic view to the process. Nothing is more important than our people, and a healthy culture is my top priority! I have had the pleasure of building my career in various sectors, specializing in small to medium size firms focused on high-growth. My experience is centered around driving and implementing change, leading high-performing teams, and driving process improvements. I am excited to make an impact at One Claim. Outside of work, my family and I enjoy getting outdoors as much as possible to explore beautiful Colorado!

Elizabeth McGlone

Demand Generation Manager

Great to meet you! I’m Elizabeth, and I’m the one behind all the emails and advertisements you’ve been seeing. As the Demand Generation Manager at One Claim Solution, my mission is to connect with contractors like you who need our services. I’m passionate about having an impact on others and I bring a wealth of experience in demand generation and marketing strategy to create moments of delight, curiosity, and education for you.

Prior to One Claim Solution, I had the privilege of building marketing departments from the ground up at companies in a variety of industries, including IT consulting, first protection, and healthcare. Personally, I love being outdoors, playing Dungeons and Dragons and board games, singing, and traveling.

Alisha Yartzoff

Director of Contractor Success

Welcome! I’m Alisha, and I’m here to champion your success as the Director of Contractor Success at One Claim. With a passion for helping contractors thrive, I bring a wealth of experience in onboarding, customer service, and account management to ensure your journey with us is nothing short of exceptional.

Prior to joining One Claim, I had the privilege of scaling SMB and Enterprise Customer Success teams at fast-growing SaaS startups. With over six years of experience at companies like Mavenlink, Teamwork, and ServiceTitan, I honed my expertise in building high-performing teams and fostering proactive, consultative relationships. This background has equipped me with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses like yours, and I’m dedicated to helping you overcome them.

Eric Terry

CTO

Hi there, my name is Eric! I am the Chief Technology Officer here at OCS, spearheading our technical strategy. I have a background in computer science, graduating cum laude from BYU-Idaho with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Technology.

Before coming to One Claim, I served as the Director of Engineering at Slingshot Technology, Inc., a company later acquired by WorkWave in 2021. My professional journey has spanned both emerging startups and established corporations, with a steadfast focus on cultivating high-trust, low bureaucracy teams and innovating technology using agile methodologies.

In my free time, you can find me flying drones, enjoying the outdoors, and spending time with my family.

Cam Smith

COO

Hello, my name is Cam, I’m the COO of One Claim Solution! I come from a management consulting background (Bain & Company) and hold an MBA from the University of Michigan. I have worked at a wide variety of organizations, from Fortune 500 to small-cap, in an equally wide variety of industries. I have over 15 years of experience in operations and strategic growth, and I have spent much of my career focused on developing high-performing tech-enabled service organizations through early stage and high growth phases.

Outside of work, my wife Brittny and I have four kids, ages 13 to 6. As residents of Mesa, Arizona, we love to ski and explore the national parks of the southwest!

Dan Doud

CEO

Hello, my name is Dan, and I am the CEO of One Claim Solution. I am super excited by everything we are doing at OCS to be the market leading insurance billing specialist that advocates on behalf of our restoration contractors. 

My professional experiences are predominantly corporate in nature. My career started at General Electric in finance and accounting. Immediately prior to joining OCS, I spent time as an investor at Bondcliff Partners and management consultant with Bain & Company. I also hold an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and got my BS in finance and accounting from Northeastern University.

Outside of the office, I enjoy spending time with my wife, two young children, and our family dog, Whiskey. We live in Charleston, SC and take advantage of the beautiful weather by spending as much time as possible outside at the beach or adventuring around town

Josh Ehmke

Co-Founder and General Counsel

Hi, I’m Josh! In 2016, I co-founded One Claim Solution with my partner Jeremy Traasdahl, and I serve as General Counsel of One Claim Solution. Working in the restoration industry, Jeremy and I saw contractors struggling to get paid quickly and fairly and we knew there was a need for change. We founded One Claim Solution to be this change and it’s been my privilege to see our company grow and to advocate for our clients as general counsel.

Outside of my passion for helping the restoration industry, I enjoy spending time outdoors, fly-fishing, hunting, skiing, and coaching my kids’ baseball teams. I’ve been married to my amazing wife for 20 years and we have a beautiful family of 5 children.

Jeremy Traasdahl

Co-Founder

Hey, I’m Jeremy! In 2016, I co-founded One Claim Solution with my partner Josh Ehmke. Working in the restoration industry, Josh and I saw contractors struggling to get paid quickly and fairly and we knew there was a need for change. We founded One Claim Solution to be this change and it’s been my privilege to lead our amazing team.

Prior to One Claim Solution, I started my career as an inside sales rep for Avnet, then moved to Pepsico as a district sales manager. Outside of work, I love spending time with my wife and four children, two boys and two girls!