EP #33 – 7 Mistakes Tradespeople Make When Growing Their Team w/ Alexa MacArthur
Overview
Hiring staff is easy. Leading them? That’s where it gets tough.
In this episode of the FieldRocket Podcast, host Tulloch Priest sits down with Alexa from Gas Engineer Software, who shares lessons you only learn from leading teams in the plumbing and heating industry.
Highlights
Leading a team
- (1:25) Leading a team is challenging because people rarely receive training for it.
- (2:48) The biggest mistake engineers make is that they assume they just need to find enough work for their employees. In reality, it’s lots more.
- (3:16) Having employees can be one of the biggest challenges, but it also brings great joy and lots of work.
- (4:22) Employing staff isn’t for everyone. They can help you make more money, but they can also bring on a lot more potential risk.
- (7:30) You need to be careful with the relationship between employees and employers.
- (10:04) Having employees is a lot about giving them what they need. Don’t assume loyalty.
- (11:05) For engineers, a lot of their time is spent on the road alone. Check in with your employees and make sure they’re alright.
- (11:55) You need to learn to delegate and accept that people will make mistakes.
Communication
- (19:20) Communication is key – from an operational perspective, but also a human one. Communicating well makes people feel involved.
Hiring
- (21:30) Anyone can say anything, so you have to make sure people have the skills you need. A couple of days of paid work as a trial period is a good way to test for this, as well as how well they fit in culturally.
Leadership
- (25:50) Being a good leader is understanding that you’re always learning.
- (13:40) People work in different ways, and you need to be close to your team in order to spot mistakes and patterns.
- (16:20) Alexa talks about her experiences working through difficult times (such as COVID)