Help is always appreciated in every field and sometimes necessary too. As a contractor, you will come across projects of different magnitudes, and navigating through some might be easier than others. For handling small projects, your current team might suffice but when you receive a bigger project that requires more staff or expertise in a different field alongside yours, the best option is to hire a subcontractor who can assist you with that particular project. Hiring a subcontractor will put your mind to ease and speed up your project.
However, choosing a subcontractor can be a daunting task. You will be needing someone who understands your attention to quality and respects and replicates the same. But first and foremost you need to ask yourself the question:
Do You Need To Hire A Subcontractor?
To answer such a simple-looking question there are majorly two things to keep in mind that subcontractors offer.
Expertise: The subcontractors that you look for offer expertise in their fields. For instance, if you are in the market to look for a subcontractor who can handle the electric wiring of your project, they will have the technical know-how to finish the task with little to no problem.
Efficiency: Hiring the right subcontractor allows you to fulfil project timelines. You might be expert in your own field, doesn’t mean you can excel the other without any experience or practice. Hiring an expert subcontractor than trying to do the task yourself will cost you less and save time. Here are some more time management tips for contractors to avoid losing control of the project.
Understand and chart your exact needs before you go out to hire a subcontractor. Now that you know whether you want a subcontractor or not, let’s go over what to look while hiring one.
Work History
Looking at the previous jobs that they have done will tell a lot about your potential subcontractor.
Start by looking at the magnitude of projects that they have handled in the past, and compare those with the size of your own project to assess their suitability. You would not want to hire someone whose team is small compared to the work in hand; it can affect your project negatively.
Carefully investigate their ability to finish projects on time and deliver quality in work. You should also look at their safety records in previous projects or ask for their OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) records; these elements mirror their work attitude & commitment towards both co-workers & clients.
Previous References
Home improvement industry requires contractors and subcontractors to constantly work with each other to provide the desired result. Use your contacts to draw out reliable references of people under or with whom they have worked before. Follow up on those references to get a more detailed idea of how reliable they are and what their actual working efficiency is.
Keep An Eye On The Legal Side
Different states have different licensing regulations. Make sure that your potential subcontractor is up-to-date with the paperwork. It is also wise to see if they have adequate insurance coverage. When things are finalized, make sure to chart up an agreement that sheds light on the important matters like the scope of the project, indemnification, and any other provision that you deem important.
Hiring a subcontractor can be tedious, but when you end up with the right one, it’s worth the efforts as only a good partnership can offer solutions to your problems down the road. If satisfied with their initial work, you can then rely on the same subcontractor and develop a good, mutually beneficial relationship with them. Here at CustomFin, we also believe in building mutually beneficial partnerships. That’s why we have partnered with various contractors to offer them solutions to finance their clients.
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