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COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR CONTRACTORS AND SUB-CONTRACTORS

What is the most important part of your project? Time and money seem essential, but not many people really think about communication. Yet, if this last one fails, you may find yourself struggling to bring your project to a success finish. And the truth is that communication is the cord that will bring everything together. Don’t underestimate it!

When you are hired as a contractor to work on a new and exciting project, you may suddenly realise that you have several teams you need to work with. There is your own, of course, and then all your sub-contractors. You might already know them – in which case, you may have hired them again because you can rely on them – but they can also be completely new to you, in which case you’re still waiting to see how you work together.

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These are the most important things you need to keep in mind to create a good communicative environment with your sub-contractors.

  1. Implement Your Organisation’s Standard Policies

We know that it may seem a bit oppressive to get your sub-contractors in a room and tell them they need to adapt to your own standard policies right before starting working on the project. However, if you make sure of stating that the very first day, many problems will be avoided.

It’s not about saying that your standard policies work better – not at all – but, simply, about consistency. If you don’t make this point clear, you can find out later than the standard policies followed by your sub-contractors are contradictory to yours, and that is when you realise that many things have already gone wrong.

  1. Give Access to Your Data

Trust is an essential tool in any project. At the beginning, sub-contractors were not part of your team, that is true, but as long as the project lasts you have to see them as an extension of it. That is why you should treat them equally. Also, you should provide them access to all the relevant data you have available from the company you are working for such as service history, customer information, and so on.

In this way, you ensure they are kept informed so they fully understand the requirements of the project. Knowing what it has been done in the past is key for them to create the best solutions for the future.

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  1. Follow Through

Don’t limit yourself by simply giving instructions to your sub-contractors. Instead, request feedback from them and make sure you both keep constantly in touch while you’re doing the project. You’ll find yourself much relaxed because you will know – any moment –what exact point the project is at. It will also make your sub-contractors feel part of your team, so they will come to you when there are any unexpected issues or when they think they can improve your original planning.

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As you can see, communication is the key to success. Make sure that it is a constant in any project you get yourself into, and the results will always be good! Here at Axess2 we have a great deal of experience as building contractors working with sub-contractors. Feel free to contact us at any time and we will be delighted to help!