In 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.
Workforce health involves more than just physical well-being. It includes the mental, emotional, and social health of your employees.
According to April, the signs of a healthy workforce are easy to spot. You’ll see things like:
On the flip side, if your restoration team’s workforce health is struggling, you’ll see signs like:
“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.
In the restoration industry, workforce health impacts your bottom line in significant ways:
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.”
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.
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.”
Improving workforce health starts with measuring it. Key metrics to track include:
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.
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:
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.