After the layoffs, however, it’s more important than ever for owners and managers to do what they can to keep the remaining staff members at peak performance and maintain a positive mood in the workplace.

Two relatively simple ways to boost mood and performance are recognition and acknowledgement.

Motivational expert Frederick Herzberg reported in the Harvard Business Review that recognition is 300% more important to motivate employees than the size of their salary or compensation package.

While most builders I’ve spoken with believe that they effectively recognize their staff members, most employees tell me they are under-appreciated for the work they do.

Who’s right? It doesn't matter.

What does matter, however, is how effectively owners and managers can bridge that gap in perception and what steps they are willing to take.

Strategies for Acknowledging Employees

Builders can choose from a number of ways to recognize and acknowledge their staff members.

Regardless of the form, however, be sure that the acknowledgment and recognition are deserved because acknowledging staff members for half-hearted efforts and marginal results diminishes the power of recognition.

The following are several strategies for recognizing employees. Initiate the ones you are most comfortable with first, and then build from there:

• Don't overlook small ways to acknowledge.
  Don't wait for the big event to recognize staff members. When deserved, acknowledge them often and in small ways. An e-mail, quick call or even an “attaboy” in the hallway are simple ways to show that you appreciate their efforts.
  
  
• Acknowledge in public.
  Public recognition inspires staff members and highlights behavior for others to model. Use memos, company newsletters, staff meetings or any company gathering to recognize individuals and their achievements.
  
  
• Acknowledge in private.
  Employees also appreciate when their efforts are acknowledged privately.
  
  
• Recognize employees in small ways.
  Send an employee a “thank you” note when warranted, or share a cup of coffee or a simple hand shake. Make recognizing others a part of your daily conversation, thinking and action.
  
  
• Ask rather than tell.
  Develop the habit of asking questions rather than telling employees everything you think they need to know. This creates an atmosphere of collaboration and is also a powerful form of recognition because employees feel respected and see that their opinions are valued.
  
  
• Recognize an individual in relation to the company's core values.
  For instance, when an employee provides exceptional service, acknowledge that by saying something like, “That's exactly what we mean when we talk about customer service our way."
  
  
• Double the impact of recognition.
  Recognize both who your employee is as well as what he did in relation to his positive traits. For example, tell your employee, “You did a great job running the meeting last week. It demonstrated your people skills and leadership ability. Those are qualities we value.”
  
  
• Delegate to employees.
  Delegate responsibilities that expand your employees' contributions. Effective delegation increases trust and gives employees the sense that they are growing with the company.
  
  
• Follow up and follow through on all promises.
  Under-promise and over-deliver. When follow-up on promises is consistent and timely, it demonstrates respect and value for the people you manage.

As with most business strategies, effective recognition works equally well outside of the workplace. Since the recession has taken its toll on more than your business and employees, take a moment to acknowledge loved ones and let them know how much they contribute to your life.

Dennis DuRoff is a business coach, speaker and author whose clients include builders and remodelers. He also offers a low-cost, turnkey newsletter program that helps builders and remodelers stay in touch with prospective customers and past clients and maximize referrals and increase sales. For more information, e-mail DuRoff, call him at 206-722-6067 or visit www.thebuildersnewsletter.com. [return to top]

“Any home buyer can recognize the difference between a well-kept home and a distressed property that is damaged or not properly maintained. So it only makes sense that an appraiser should be required to consider the overall condition of a property and the specific factors related to a foreclosure or distressed property sale when selecting and adjusting the value of comparables,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson.

Appraisers are often only required to conduct exterior inspections of properties that are being used as comparables because they are normally unable to enter these homes and examine their interiors. Too often,  properties that have been subject to foreclosure or distressed sales have issues related to deferred maintenance or internal damage that an external inspection simply cannot reveal.

“While most appraisers do a fine job, there needs to be proper regulatory guidelines for those who use distressed or foreclosed properties as comparables when determining home values,” said Robson. “It is essential that appraisers have the proper experience and guidance to accurately assess values in distressed markets.”

In neighborhoods where comps include a large number of short sales or foreclosures, appraisers should have the option of expanding the geographic area or extending the time frame for eligible sales to get a more representative basket of the value of homes sold in the area, Robson added.

Currently, improper or insufficient adjustments to the comparable values of foreclosed and/or distressed homes often results in the undervaluation of new sales transactions.

“This practice must be corrected because it contributes to the continuing downward spiral in home prices, forestalling the economic recovery,” said Robson. [return to top]

Unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy responses to the financial crisis and global recession helped prevent the widely touted doomsday scenario from materializing, and a 1930s-type debacle has been avoided.

Even so, the current episode can be fairly labeled the “Great Recession,” and the world will breathe a deep sigh of relief when it finally moves behind us.

The strenuous and coordinated policy responses, together with necessary structural corrections in housing and other sectors, have laid the groundwork for recovery in economic output that should begin to take shape during the second half of the year.

The economy will be battling some formidable headwinds during the early stages of recovery, however, limiting the takeoff to historically modest proportions.

We expect U.S. real GDP to contract at a 1.2% pace in the current quarter, quite a mild setback by the standards of the two previous quarters, and to expand at an average annual rate of 1.5% during the second half of the year.

This type of below-trend growth in economic output could provoke identification of a cyclical trough before the end of the year by the Business Cycle Dating Committee at the National Bureau of Economic Research, although it’s clear that the committee focused heavily on labor market statistics when pegging the cyclical peak as December 2007.

By those standards, the “Great Recession” most likely will stretch out to two years or more, easily the longest of the entire post-war era.

The preceding was excerpted from the June 17 edition of NAHB’s “Eye on the Economy,” which analyzes the economy from the point of view of the housing market. To subscribe to this free bi-weekly e-newsletter, click here. [return to top]

During the session, “Negotiating With Your Lender,” a panel of home builders, developers and a banking legal expert discussed how lenders are open to renegotiating and what best practices builders and developers should follow to succeed in that process.

The presentation, sponsored by Builders CoPilot and NAHB’s Business Management and Information Technology Committee, was held on April 29.

One of the keys to negotiating with lenders is to “know where they’re coming from” and what they are facing now, said Steve Camp, of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an attorney who specializes in financial services and lending transactions. “Banks are beginning to deal with a bottoming economy, loan portfolios going south and stress tests requiring them to raise more money.”

“A lot of bankers have never seen a financial crisis like this. They are scratching their heads wondering how to work their way out of this and what tools to bring to the table,” Camp said.

Under these circumstances, banks are actually looking to builders and developers for solutions, the panelists said, and builders should be proactive.

“Lenders are looking to us to come up with solutions to the problem. We’re the experts,” said builder and developer Curt Blomstrand, of Focus Realty Services and Lenox Homes in Lafayette, Calif.

Builders and developers have to come to the lender with a plan, but the deal will not be approved if it was one-sided, Blomstrand said. Builders must be willing to “put cash in the deal and have a vested interest.”

Another key to making the negotiations work is to be absolutely honest with your lender, all the panelists agreed.

“This is not about winning, it’s about finding common solutions,” said Camp. “Know what your strengths are as a debtor, understand your own situation and be able to explain it to your bank so they can understand it.”

Joe Lemel, of Lemel Homes in Glendale Wis., said builders not only have to know their strengths, they have to be able to clearly articulate how safe they are. “Honesty with bankers really goes back to prior relationships,” he said.

Negotiating in today’s environment requires patience, said Greg Isenhour, of Guts, Inc. a residential and commercial builder based in Chapel Hill, N.C. who also served as moderator of the webinar.

During the negotiating process, builders must continue to keep their lender informed of any changes in the company, good or bad, in order to maintain trust, Camp said. Lenders need to be convinced that the builder is not going to run away.

“Your best asset is your reputation, that you’re a person of your word and that you keep your word,” said Camp. Keep your lender informed of any changes and why those changes occurred, he said.

Give and take is also an important element in negotiations now, said Lemel. Builders must be “willing to give something up that the bank hasn’t asked for. That goes a long way.”

“The last thing that banks want is the property back,” said Blomstrand, but if a builder or developer is not cooperating, the lender “is very prepared to take the property back.”

And they will confiscate the property if there is no cooperation, Camp said. “When you walk in and say, ‘I’m not interested in working out a deal,’ you put a bulls-eye on that says to your lender, ‘Come after me.’”

When negotiating, Blomstrand stressed that builders should confirm everything in writing to avoid confusion.

Camp added that builders should not shy away from forbearance agreements because they serve as a roadmap for the work-out and because they are negotiable. The forbearance agreement will stipulate what the builder and lender have agreed to do and for how long, he said.

Knowing who to negotiate with is also critical, said Chris Valentine, of Hearthside Homes in Kansas City, Mo. Builders and developers should negotiate with the “people behind the scenes making the decisions” — the bank presidents and loan officers.

He also stressed that builders and developers should negotiate in person. “Shooting off an e-mail doesn’t cut it. Negotiate with them face-to-face and frame the conversation in terms of benefit.”

When negotiating interest rates, the panelists agreed that most lenders are not willing to go below a floor of 5% to 5.5%. Troubled assets are costing the banks more to service, they said.

However, Lemel said the interest rate should not be the be-all, end-all of the negotiations. “The interest rate is critical, but the fee structure also is critical. When negotiating, look at the whole structure.”

He said he recently closed a deal with his new bank moving all his operating capital to it, which helped him work out an attractive negotiation with his lender. “That and the fact that I am very liquid.”

To Access a Recording of the Webinar

Members can download and listen to the panel discussion for free through June 29.

To download the webinar, visit http://webinar.builderscopilot.com/Webinar/Recording/Webinar0429.wmv. To download the slide portion of the webinar only, visit http://webinar.builderscopilot.com/Webinar/Docs/Final-Webinar.pdf.

For more information, e-mail Agustín Cruz at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8472. [return to top]

The NAHB, the Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), and the Consumer Electronics Association invite you to take part in a free webinar that will look at the study’s key findings and what they mean for builders, remodelers, and their home technology partners and contractors.  A panel of experts representing these areas will offer their views about home technology’s growing importance, what trends they see emerging, and give insights into how home building professionals can use these to their business advantage.

The program is being offered on Wednesday, July 22, 2:00–3:00 p.m., EDT.  Registration is free and available at Builder Technology Webinar.  You will receive a confirmation of your registration and detailed instructions about logging in.

For additional information Agustín Cruz, Executive Director, Business Management, at acruz@nahb.com or 800-368-5242 x8472 [return to top]

NAHB has a number of resources to help its members comply with the new lead paint rule. Remodelers and builders who do renovation or remodeling projects in homes built before 1978 must soon comply with new lead paint safety requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Any company doing work in these homes must be certified, follow specific work practices and keep detailed records. At least one employee in these companies must be trained in these new requirements by April 2010.

Visit www.nahb.org/leadpaint for the latest news on the rule, requirements of the rule, training, educating consumers, and preparing your firm for the rule. [return to top]