📨 Contractor’s Digest – Daily Rundown (April 28, 2025)

📨 Contractor’s Digest – Daily Rundown
📅 Monday, April 28, 2025
🛠 Helping Contractors Win More Jobs, Increase Profits & Avoid Costly Mistakes

🚧 Today’s Rundown
🔹 Feature Story: How Smart Contractors Hire (and Win) During a Recession
🔹 Business Tip: What to Do When an Employee No-Shows
🔹 Tool Spotlight: Hiring and HR Tools Built for Contractors

🏗️ Feature Story: How Smart Contractors Hire (and Win) During a Recession
📉 When the economy tightens, many contractors freeze up—or worse, panic-hire whoever is available.
But here’s the truth: Recessions are opportunities—if you hire smart.

🔥 Why Hiring During a Slowdown Can Be an Advantage:

✔️ Bigger Talent Pool:
Other companies cut good people when cash flow gets tight.

✔️ Less Competition for Great Workers:
You can attract better talent without bidding wars.

✔️ Opportunity to Upgrade:
Replace mediocre performers with A-players.

✅ Smart Hiring Moves in a Recession:

🔹 Focus on Versatility
Hire people who can wear multiple hats—especially in small-to-mid-sized companies.

🔹 Prioritize Attitude Over Resume
Skills can be trained. Work ethic and coachability can’t.

🔹 Use Trial Periods
Offer conditional hires with a 30-90 day evaluation window. Protects you both.

🔹 Sell Stability
Good workers want security. Show them your company's stability, backlog, and growth plan—even if things are slower today.

🔹 Hire for the Next 6-12 Months, Not Just Today
Think strategically. Where will you need capacity when the market rebounds?

🚀 Pro Tip:
You don’t have to overhire. You have to over-select.
Hire one great person now instead of three so-so ones later.

📩 Want our “Recession Hiring Interview Guide” for contractors? Reply and we’ll send it over.

📌 Business Tip: What to Do When an Employee No-Shows
😤 Nothing derails a project’s momentum like a no-call, no-show.
Whether it’s the first offense or a pattern, you need a clear, consistent system to handle it.

🚨 Step 1: Stay Calm, Confirm the Situation

Before assuming the worst, reach out:
🔹 Quick call or text: "Hey [Name], we noticed you’re not here—everything okay?"

Sometimes it’s an emergency. Sometimes it’s an alarm clock.

✅ Step 2: Follow Your Written Policy

Do you have a no-show policy in your employee handbook? (If not, time to create one.)

Common consequences:
🔹 First no-show = written warning
🔹 Second no-show = final warning
🔹 Third no-show = termination

Consistency is key. No exceptions based on favorites.

🔥 Step 3: Document Everything

Every no-show. Every communication attempt. Every consequence. If you ever need to terminate—or defend against unemployment claims—you’ll be glad you documented it all.

🧱 Step 4: Address It Immediately (and Privately)

Bring them in for a conversation.
Not emotional. Not accusatory.
Just the facts:

If they stay on, make expectations crystal clear for future attendance.

🚀 Pro Tip:
A strong culture reduces no-shows.
People don’t ghost teams they respect and are invested in.

📩 Want our “No-Show Employee Policy Template” ready to plug into your handbook? Reply and we’ll send it to you.

⚙️ Tool Spotlight: Hiring and HR Tools Built for Contractors
📱 Top Picks:
🔹 Workable – Simple applicant tracking and job posting manager
🔹 BambooHR – Easy HR management, including attendance tracking
🔹 When I Work – Affordable scheduling app for small field teams
📦 Want a side-by-side guide on contractor-friendly HR tools? Reply and we’ll send it over.

📣 Call to Action
🔥 Know a GC dealing with no-shows and staffing headaches? Forward them this newsletter.
📬 Not subscribed yet? Sign up now + grab your free eBook:
“Top 10 Mistakes Contractors Make in Marketing” → contractorsdigest.com 

👷‍♂️ Build stronger teams, build stronger margins,
— Benjamin Patton