I am not a big fan of the word “subcontractor.” Oh, I admire the talents and skills of companies that do subcontracted work, but I don’t think the word does them justice. It’s a great description of a legal relationship. It says to the world that a company does work that is supporting a general contract.
Building strong relationships with trade contractors benefits the entire industry
You know what a better term is and one I wish the industry would adopt more completely? “Trade contractor.” Trade contractors ply a specific trade, and they are experts at what they do. Trade contractors are metal building erectors, plumbers, foundation contractors, electricians, glazing contractors, sheet metal contractors, excavators, mechanical contractors, ceiling contractors, etc. These are the people who have developed the essential skills necessary to complete the very sophisticated and complicated tasks that building construction requires.
”Subcontractor” does not come close to giving them their due credit and even minimizes their importance to a project. In a way, the term says they are less necessary.
Why is it important to get these terms correct? Words matter, of course, and what we call people and things and services is important to show what we think about them. Many general contractors in commercial and residential construction are developing stronger relationships with their trade contractors.
The history in the construction industry is that the trade contractor is selected based almost solely on price, but as building design has become more sophisticated, the downside to that process has become readily apparent. As a friend of mine likes to say, “If you take the lowest bid, you should probably hire a lawyer at the same time.”
In the low-bid pool, swim the fly-by-night operators and companies who are more ambitious than their skills allow.
Among the better general contractors is the realization that stronger working relationships with trade contractors improves their own abilities and can create more opportunities and business growth. Good GCs leverage those relationships to get better projects and showcase themselves as a company that can handle complicated problems smoothly.
Where do you begin when you want to establish better relationships with your trade contractor partners? As with most things in relationships—personal and business—it’s always a good idea to learn what your trade contractors want. Survey them to find out what their needs are and how you can improve the flow of projects. Get together with them regularly to learn how your own business can improve. Work with them to help smooth the operations of their businesses. In short, establish a working partnership that tightens the relationship between your two companies.
The benefit is that you’ll learn how to work together better, and when a problem does arise (and in the construction industry, problems always come up), you’ll have the foundation necessary to solve the issue without damaging your overall relationship.
The best contractors we talk to have been in long-term relationships with their trade contractors. They work with the same teams on job after job after job, and they’ve come to know each other’s moves in the same way a quality basketball team does. They know how to hand off that job packet in the same way a point guard knows how a shooting guard likes to receive a pass: on the bounce, on the move, feet planted, etc. He offers it up in the way that the shooter is mostly likely to make the shot. He feeds into his partner’s success.
The term “subcontractor” doesn’t capture that kind of relationship.
If I haven’t convinced you yet that changing the term to “trade contractor” is better, let me try this argument. During the shortage of skilled labor we’re facing, everyone agrees that we need to attract more young people to the trades. The “trades.” Not the “subs.” Let’s give these skills companies the respect they deserve and stop calling them “subs.”
