What Would You Do Contest: The winner is…

Thank you for all the excellent entries in our most recent What Would You Do Contest. It was a challenge, but we identified a winner.

Marc Esposito of Fusion Homes, Guelph, Ontario sent us the winning entry to the case study we presented. Here’s Marc’s advice he had for ficitional contractor Dave Shankovitch.

“My choice of answer for this dilemma is Option #3: Speak to Pete at the first reasonable opportunity.  Outline the problem with the time sheets and offer Pete a chance to explain.

“I believe the entire issue revolves around managing expectations.  Ideally this conversation would have happened at the time Dave increased Pete’s responsibilities and pay, but better late than never.

“As Dave gradually removed himself from job sites as his trust in Pete grew, he was effectively sending a message to Pete that the “boss” doesn’t need to be around in order for work to get done.  What Dave apparently forgot to mention was that the reason he was able to remove himself physically from the job site was that he trusted Pete to maintain the quality and schedule of jobs while Daven was offsite acquiring new business or managing another project.  If Dave didn’t articulate this to Pete, then Pete might be under the impression that a perk of his position is the ability to come in and leave when he wants.

“Conversely, Pete could be taking that extra hour in the morning (between 8-9am) to organize himself for the day now that he has more responsibility on site that requires more advanced planning.  However, if Pete didn’t tell Dave that he takes an hour every morning to prep before he shows up on site, it may appear to Dave that Pete is taking advantage of his new position.

“Dave needs to explain his performance expectations now that he has given Pete a raise in pay and more responsibility. Pete needs to let Dave know what kind of support or job modifications he needs as a result of this added responsibility.

“As friends and colleagues they need to have a mature, face-to-face discussion to ensure they’re both on the same page and that they’re both able to help and support the other as they manage their way through this transition.”

There’s a new What Would You Do? contest coming soon!
Watch this site for details!