In the commercial and industrial painting world, the basic working unit is the painting crew. Knowing how to put together a tightly knit, highly efficient work crew is the defining activity for a painting company. If the company can field great painting crews, then financial success is a lot more likely.
A professional painting company considers the painting crews as the front line of their business. Sure, the clients' project managers and facilities directors talk with the home office, but the crews at the job site see clients face to face every working day. Add in the contact time between the crew and the employees of industrial and commercial clients, and there is a lot of potential for a painting company's people to make a great impression when and where it really counts.
Leadership Qualities for a Professional Painting Company Crew
To put together an outstanding painting crew, start by looking for a leader, someone who can understand the larger picture of a project and is able to communicate that knowledge as needed to the other workers on the crew. Other leadership qualities that are highly desirable include the ability to interpret directions from a project manager, solid professional painting experience, diplomatic skills and sound judgment.
Front Line Workers for a Professional Painting Company Crew
Some employees are natural craftsmen, and prefer to work on the fine details of a project. Other employees are workhorses, able to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time. A professional painting company encourages crew leaders to match the natural strengths of the workers to the tasks presented by a project.
Morale for a Professional Painting Company Crew
Morale is a very important part of a successful work crew. Fighting, rivalries and personal complaints will interfere with the work at hand. In order to produce quality results every time, a work crew must be able to do more than just get along. The personalities have to click, and if they don't click, the crew leader needs to be perceptive enough to notice the problem and skilled enough to deal with the issue before it affects a project.
Ultimately, putting together the ideal painting crew is about recognizing the value of people, and putting that recognition to work for the company. A well-tuned painting crew does more than accomplish work. The right people can actually drive business for a painting company.
