You’re Fired!
Dismissing employees is never easy. Here’s how to do it carefully and constructively.

Luckily, builders and remodelers don’t dismiss their employees with that flippant phrase and hand flick Donald Trump made famous. But sometimes they wait too long to do something about “problem” employees. Foot-dragging on firing issues costs businesses plenty in diminished productivity, quality, profits, and customer satisfaction.

Some builders and remodelers fire employees improperly—and get themselves into trouble. Pat Sargent has encountered several cases of unfair dismissal. President of Clarkston, Wash.-based Sargent Consulting, which offers training and operations consulting services, Sargent knows builders who gave their employees regular cost of living raises—and then told them they weren’t performing. She’s also heard of builders who fired employees without any documentation to support their termination decisions. “They didn’t have anything written in their files to protect them in a litigious environment,” she says.

Business owners know when they have employees who aren’t team players. “It’s usually not difficult to identify who should be fired. The challenge is figuring out what the employee is doing and then determining how you can do something about it legally,” says Andrew Remm, executive vice president of operations for The Home Service Store, a home improvement contractor located in Kennesaw, Ga.

Use this link to get pointers on taking action on employee performance or behavioral issues.

Don’t Miss the Custom Builder Symposium Early-Bird Deadline!
 

The Early-Bird Registration deadline for the best educational event for custom builders—The Custom Builder Symposium—is next Wednesday, August 31, 2005!

You’ll save $50 off the regular registration fee when you register for this world-class event by August 31, 2005.  So, why not take a moment right now and go to http://www.nahb.org/custom and reserve your spot today? 

There’s even another reason why you should register by August 31, 2005 … you’ll save $15 off the regular price of your ticket into the Andersen Windows Home Tour!  There’s limited space on the tour, so make sure you reserve your spot on the tour … you don’t want to be left behind.

And this year’s Golf Tournament sponsored by Broan-NuTone is being played on the Pete Dye designed TPC of Louisiana.  This course was named the fourth best upscale public course by Golf Digest Magazine!

Plus, new this year is the Sights & Sounds Tour sponsored by Dryvit Systems, Inc. To make sure you get your ticket into this world-class event, go to http://www.nahb.org/custom.

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The Power of Business Planning

A business plan is an operating tool that helps you manage your company more effectively. It eliminates the uneasiness and uncertainty associated with flying by the seat of your pants. Functioning as a road map, the business plan outlines where you want your company to go, how you intend to get it there, and what it will look like when it arrives.

Business planning forces you to evaluate your business as it relates to the competitive environment, to develop strategies to overcome possible pitfalls, to set priorities based on long- and short-range goals, and to create action plans. In addition, it offers the following advantages:

·        Minimizes the potential for surprises and crises, and prepares you to handle problems more effectively if they arise.

·        Helps you identify your resources and determine staffing requirements.

·        Encourages employees to work together, under the same directive, toward a common goal.

·        Establishes the foundation for better time management. Setting priorities enables you to use your human and material resources most efficiently. The way you manage your resources can significantly impact your company's success.

·        Indicates to outside lenders, investors, and customers that you know what you are doing and have a plan to make a profit.

·        Saves you money and time by focusing your thinking, and helps you establish a realistic business strategy by giving you more control over your finances, marketing, and daily operations.

·        Creates an opportunity for you to build your business on paper before putting your ideas to work in the field. Planning allows you to consider several different scenarios for future action and to examine how each scenario might affect your operation. Identifying potential challenges may help you to deal with them more effectively or possibly eliminate them completely.

Managing a business without a good financial and business planning system is like playing the game without keeping score. You never know if you are winning, losing, making progress, making an adequate profit, or simply marking time. Maximizing your profits requires a well prepared, well executed financial and business strategy. Planning is the key.

Documenting the following items ensures that your plan is functional and that you can evaluate your progress at each step in the planning process:

Identify the results you want and expect. Write them down. If you can't state your objectives clearly, you may not truly know what you want to accomplish.

Set priorities. Don't try to accomplish everything at once. Look at all of your tasks and determine which ones must be completed most urgently. Concentrate on these items first. Identify items that must be addressed in the near future and those that can wait until a later date. Attempting to complete all tasks simultaneously is nearly impossible and may prevent you from reaching any of your goals.

Set goals for priority items. Goals must be realistic, measurable, specific, accomplishable within a time frame, and worthwhile. In addition, they must identify who, where, what, when, why, and how.

Develop a plan of action. Without a written plan of action, goals are little more than wishes. Understand how each goal affects the others. Identify obstacles and find ways to avoid them. Be prepared. Recognize potential problems and consider alternate solutions so that you can take immediate action should those problems arise.

This material is excerpted from the PRO Builder Business Plan Guide, which features step-by-step exercises that walk you through the process of developing your own business plan. It offers a specialized tool not found anywhere else—an electronic spreadsheet for developing the financial section of your plan. Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to increased profitability and smoother operations. Order it online from www.builderbooks.com or call 1-800-223-2665.

Do You Have the Latest RCPG?

Get a copy of the newly updated Residential Construction Performance Guidelines, 3rd Edition Contractors Edition, and order economical Consumer Edition copies for your customers. The book helps them understand the basics of how a properly constructed home should perform, and helps you easily resolve customer complaints.  

New features include:

• 50 new guidelines on cabinets, cement board siding, concrete, countertops, drainage, driveways, drywall, landscaping, water infiltration, and more.
• New remodeling-specific content—italicized throughout for easy identification.
• Guidance on how to take critical measurements.
• A glossary of common terms.

Use this link to order your copy of RCPG today.

IRS to Accept Facsimile Signatures on Employment Tax Returns

The Internal Revenue Service has issued new rules allowing corporate officers or duly authorized agents to sign employment tax forms by facsimile, including alternative signature methods such as computer software programs or mechanical devices.

The rules, outlined in Revenue Procedure 2005-39, will reduce burden on business taxpayers by simplifying employment tax filing and lowering the number of returns rejected by the IRS because of signature issues.

“The IRS is committed to reducing burden on taxpayers whenever we can,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “Providing companies with new ways to sign official documents will help reduce administrative burden and free up resources for other purposes.”

Rev. Proc. 2005-39 applies to the following forms:

·        Any form in the 940 series, including Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return (FUTA); Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return; Form 943, Employers Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees; and Form 945, Annual Return of Withholding Federal Income Tax;

·        Form 1042, Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons;

·        Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips;

·        Form CT-1, Employer’s Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return; and

·        Any variant of these forms, such as Form 941c, Statement to Correct Information; Form 941-SS, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

The IRS issued the revenue procedure in response to an Industry Issue Resolution submission presented to the IRS last year by the National Payroll Consortium.

 “The Industry Issue Resolution process quickly and effectively resolved issues that were fairly clear and straightforward, but that otherwise may have taken years to get through the regulatory review process,” said Pete Isberg, president of the consortium. The National Payroll Consortium “appreciates the responsiveness of the IRS in addressing these issues, and we applaud the IRS for developing the Industry Issue Resolution process. It has proven to be a very effective model for resolving complex issues.”

Thank You to Our Sponsors – Wells Fargo and Intuit MasterBuilder

Business of Building e/Source would like to thank its sponsors – Intuit MasterBuilder and Wells Fargo.

Business Opportunities From NAHB’s Councils and Departments

Share Sales and Marketing Ideas With Your Sales Team

Now you can read archived articles from Sales + Marketing Ideas magazine, published by NAHB’s National Sales and Marketing Council, in the Knowledge @ SMI section of http://www.smimagazine.com/. Featuring articles on Design Trends, Market Research, Merchandising, and Sales Management, Knowledge @ SMI is a great resource for you and your sales team.

While browsing Knowledge @ SMI, you can also purchase a subscription online.  See http://www.smimagazine.com/ for more information.

Expand Your Niche

Want to reach baby boomers and active adults, one of the largest and most affluent groups of new home consumers?  Join the Seniors Housing Council to discover how to capitalize on opportunities within the fastest-growing segment of the housing industry – a market that is expected to hit 100 million by 2012.

Council members include builders, developers, architects, marketers, sales professionals, products and services providers, and others trying to break into the 50+ housing market. Your membership in the Seniors Housing Council will keep you up-to-date with the quarterly magazine, Seniors Housing News. Find out the latest research and other valuable information and learn from experts at Building for Boomers & Beyond: Seniors Housing Symposium, the Council’s annual conference. Gain recognition by participating in the Best of Seniors Housing Awards program, which honors design and marketing excellence for the mature market.

For more information or to join, please visit www.nahb.org/seniors.

Enter the Mexican Housing Market

Attend the 3^rd International Housing Conference of the Americas and gain critical initial contacts with professionals in Mexico’s burgeoning residential construction industry. 

The conference will be held November 3-5 in Mexico City at the Four Seasons hotel. The conference features six educational sessions, a property tour of higher-end housing, exhibits, and multiple networking opportunities with industry leaders and government officials.

As an added bonus, the first 100 registrants to the 3^rd International Housing Conference of the Americas will receive a complimentary registration to the 2006 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida.

Select this link to learn more about this successful conference series. Questions? Contact NAHB International at 800-368-5242, x8419.

Member Advantage: Get GM Discount Pricing on More Than 80 GM Vehicles

 GM is offering preferred supplier discount pricing on more than 80 General Motors vehicles, including Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Saturn, HUMMER (except H1), and Saab passenger cars, light duty trucks, vans and SUVs as part of NAHB’s Member Advantage discount program.

Through the program:

• NAHB members get Preferred Supplier Pricing on all eight GM nameplates.
• NAHB members can realize the benefits of other GM offers in addition to the supplier price.
• NAHB members will receive their authorization codes and program details via direct mail from GM.

For complete details, go to www.gmfleet.com/nahb. The GM Preferred Supplier Pricing program runs through Jan. 3, 2006.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For the most up-to-date details on the Member Advantage discount program and all of the participating companies, go to http://memberadvantage.nahb.org/. Or visit http://www.nahb.org/ to explore the full range of benefits associated with membership in your local, state, and national home builders associations.