Do the Job Right - The DunnWell Blog

Aug 12, 2011

What's Up with Promoting "Self Performing?"

I am amazed at how many vendors in the facility service industry promote "self performing" as their primary value.
Posted by: Billy Marshall

Perhaps they consider "self performing" to be some sort of code phrase for "superior management system."  But is that really true?  I don't think so.  In fact, an employer-employee relationship can present challenges that are more easily resolved with a subcontractor relationship.

It is much easier to terminate a subcontractor because it is far less personal - no one is going to the unemployment line (or at least no one with whom you share an office).  Subcontracting also eliminates some of the stress associated with rising and falling demand.  Slack demand creates the temptation to "create work" to feed the fixed costs of employees.  With subcontractors there is no fixed expense - and therefore no temptation to spend customer money doing repairs or maintenance that is not necessary.  High demand creates the temptation to cut corners to get to the work.  With subcontractors you can simply bid the work more broadly or elevate the pay to prioritize the work without creating a future expectation regarding pay.  It is much harder to scale up quickly when it involves hiring employees.

So if "self performing" is not a code phrase for "superior management system," how is a customer to evaluate the management system of a potential service provider?  In my opinion, great management is about great communication between management and technician regarding expectations and outcomes - irrespective of whether it is an employee or subcontractor arrangement.  Ask the following questions about the management system:

  1. How do you communicate job instructions to your technicians?  How do they receive their work paperwork and related documentation?

  2. How do your technicians communicate their work results back to you?  How do you document quality outcomes?

  3. How do you rate your technicians on the quality of their work relative to your expectations? Do you have a closed loop feedback system that encourages high performance?

  4. Can you show me the system?

If you get blank stares on any of these questions, it is time to move onto another vendor - independent of their "self performing" status.

tags: self performing, subcontractor