Five Tips for Embracing New Ideas

By The RIDGEPRO®

Make it safe for innovation in your company.

One of your estimators has been pushing you to purchase one of those high-tech measurement tools that uses aerial images to take roof measurements and then creates a comprehensive report and estimate for potential customers. You’ve been putting him off by asking if he’s forgotten how to measure and do the math himself. Just now, you’ve learned that one of your chief competitors is using one of those automated tools and is beating your estimates by enough to get jobs you feel should have been yours. “What’s wrong with people, today?” you ask yourself. “Why can’t we do things the way we always have?”

Many of our processes and work habits have stood the test of time while others have given way to modern materials and advancements in technology. The belief in using roofing safety equipment, for example, has been almost universally adopted with roof anchor systems, fall protection and fall arrest equipment in common (but not yet universal) use. While some contractors waited for regulations and mandates, others signed on early and reaped the many benefits of a safer rooftop workplace including lower workers’ comp rates and a happier, safer workforce.

Keeping up with new developments doesn’t mean blindly adopting every new tool or technology you hear about. That would certainly not be smart or cost-effective. Any new methods must be carefully evaluated and treated as an investment in the future of your company. Whatever you decide on must be right for your business on multiple levels including adaptability and price point. Don’t forget to factor training into your analysis.

To help get started in thinking about adopting new tools, materials and methods, here are five tips for integrating innovation into your company’s strategies:

1. Make yourself smart about roofing trends. Knowing about new materials doesn’t mean you need to start recommending recycled rubber shingles or cool roofs to every potential customer. Learning about them gives you a leg up on the competition when you can explain the pros and cons to a potential customer to back up your own bid. You’ll need to decide what’s right for your market and customer base.
2. Listen to your own people. Sometimes we listen but we don’t hear. What have your crews been asking for, perhaps indirectly? Nothing? Then, ask them. They know what your competition is doing and if it’s working. People are your greatest resource and make suggestions because they want the company to succeed.
3. Believe in the power of small changes. Start small in just one area. If you haven’t invested in safety equipment for your crews, this is a great place to start. Your employees will thank you and you’ll sleep better at night. Once a small change is successful, make another one. One step at a time gives you the opportunity to evaluate the change thoroughly. Remember, you don’t need to change everything at once.
4. Some things won’t work out. Even with the best of intentions and the most careful research, certain changes won’t work out as well as planned. Maybe the measurement software you chose was too complicated and your estimators said it slowed them down. There’s no need to stick with somethings that’s not helping you be more efficient just because you paid “good money’ for it. Cut your losses and find a different software.
5. Accept the concept of continuous improvement. In today’s world, you can’t make just one or two improvements and then rest on your success. Learning and trying new things is a lifelong process. Technology changes quickly and so do attitudes. Once you get into the groove of making small changes frequently, the easier it will be.

Change is hard. We get it and we sympathize with feeling that you just want business to be the way it always has been. Remember, if even the rules of baseball can change… So can you.