How to Attract and Retain Good Subcontractors

The success of a construction project depends on how effective and capable the contractors and subcontractors are. Usually, subcontractors are involved in the construction process to provide their expert services and perform a number of different tasks at the job site. There is a shortage of labor in the industry these days but the market is still continually growing. This has made it possible for subcontractors to be more selective when choosing jobs. 

If you are having trouble securing bids from qualified subcontractors it could be due to a number of different reasons. It is possible that the subcontractor you want just does not have the capacity to take on the extra work. There are some instances where a prior bad experience can make subcontractors a little apprehensive about working with your company again. Sometimes personnel issues or a bad rap could also deter subcontractors. The following are few things you can do to improve your chances of attracting great subcontractors. 

Improve the Bidding Process of your Company

Unethical bidding practices can be quite damaging to the relationship that a general contractor has with subcontractors. For instance, if in an attempt to obtain a lower bid you reveal the bid price of another bidder, it is called bid shopping. Although it is not outlawed major organisations like the Associated general contractors, the American subcontractor’s association and the Associated specialty contractors have all renounced this practice. 

Bidding Software

You also need to take a closer look at your bid invitations and be certain that they are reaching the right people. If you see that your emails are bouncing, ask the subcontractors to have your company added to their safe senders list. Make sure that the bidding software you use makes it easy to manage and view the status of all bids.

Be Fair when Offering Contracts

The purpose of having a contract is to protect the best interest of the project instead of one party or the other. If your contracts attempt to push the costs and liability onto the subcontractor it would do the opposite of that. The contract should only ensure that the contractor delivers safe and quality work on time. They should not be taking any additional risks. The costs and liabilities associated with other things like heavy equipment failure or power outages are not the subcontractor’s responsibility.

If the subcontractors have done their job you need to make sure that you pay them on time. Late payments and billing issues will only discourage subcontractors from working with your company again. It is a good idea to include a clause in the document guaranteeing timely payment to the subcontractors after the job is done.