Side Work is a Problem in Many Ways, But There is a Solution

RCS Influencer Mark Holencik says it comes down to showing employees the benefits of NOT doing side work instead of how it will hurt your business.

Let’s face it, we all hate regulations. Our employees are no different. In the long run this regulation will have little effect on their behavior. So we will not go into legal issues.

Side work is a problem in many ways:

1. I do not hire the competition. If you allow side work, your employee will steal leads. The customer may be under the impression that you are doing the work and not the employee who stole the lead. When something goes wrong, they call you to honor the warranty.
2. They may get hurt while doing side work, then drag themselves to work and go on your workman’s compensation.
3. They will also steal materials to do the side work.
4. They come to work on Monday beat, because they worked all weekend on their job.
5. This is not a complete list. Add your experience to the comment section.

We present ourselves as a family oriented company. Our pay structure and benefit package allows them not to have to do side work. We tell the employee before they are hired that we do not allow side work. Our reasons are we want them to spend time with their families.

We understand that family and friends will come to them when they need a roof or other service that we provide. Most of these people come to employees to save money. They may apply a lot of pressure on our employees to save them this money. In all likelihood they will never return the favor. Our employees and their families are the ones that are inconvenienced and pay the cost. They may have to give up taking their family to Disney World or the shore to appease them. They have paid vacations that they can take at any time of the year.

As an employee, we will give these people a discount on any work that we do for them. The employee gives us a list of 10 people that will potentially come to them with this request. All they need to do is tell them they are not allowed to do side work, but one of the benefits of working for Holencik Exteriors is I have you on a list of friends and family at work. Just call the office and tell them that you are on my list and the work you want done. Holencik Exteriors can provide you with warranties and service that I cannot.

Like everything else you have to present everything in a way the employee can see how it will benefit them. If you only show them how you it hurts your company, do not expect them to buy in.

Mark Holencik is the owner of Holencik Exteriors, Holencik Gutters and Holencik Insulation. See his full bio here.