When you are a sub-contractor you spend a lot of time and energy qualifying to take the Utah General Contractors Licensing Exams. Now you have made it and you own your own company. Now that you are at the top, don’t forget what it was like as a sub-contractor and treat those under you the way you wanted to be treated.

Many companies forget that it is important to treat their employees with dignity and respect. They start to look at them as tools to be used to meet business goals, instead of people who can help or hinder an organization. With sub-contractors, the line becomes even more confusing.

These people aren’t your employees, and they don’t qualify for many of the benefits or protections companies have to offer their workers. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a policy in place for how you treat your sub-contractors, or that they are disposable.

First of all, the way you treat your sub-contractors may affect your relationship with your clients. When you are on site, the clients will see what type of relationship you have with those who perform different tasks even if you try to hide it from them. If you don’t treat your sub-contractors well, customers may believe that you won’t treat them well, either. This can hurt current and future contracts with this client.

Second, while sub-contractors may not be general contractors, they are still skilled workers. They should be treated with the respect they deserve because of their expertise in their craft. If you treat your contractors properly, you may even be able to rely on their help if the problems arise on a project.

Finally, if you treat contractors poorly they will be reluctant to work with you again if you need them. In addition, they will let others know about your poor attitude. In the building community word travels fast among contractors. You may find it hard to find skilled workers for a project if you fail to treat them with respect.

You were once a sub-contractor, and you remember those you worked with who treated you well, and those who didn’t. Remember what it was like to put in a hard day’s work and not be paid fairly or when you were given a hard time because a project wasn’t unscheduled. Be the boss you wanted before you took the General Contractors exam.