ARA Convention 2008 - Construction U Seminars Range from Tax Strategies to Safety Management
About 200 attendees learned about such topics as tax strategies, how to hire and train the ideal employee, how to build a sales team, safety management and new technology at this year’s Construction U pre-show workshop at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Sunday, Feb. 10.
Garrison Wynn started the day with his opening session, “The Truth About Success: Being the Best vs. Being Consistently Chosen,” setting the stage for the full day of educational seminars.
“People do not choose the best, but what they are most comfortable with,” Wynn told the breakfast crowd.
Wynn, a certified speaking professional (CSP), runs his own company, Wynn Solutions, based in Houston, and also spoke about ways the top 1 percent of companies usually handle different situations to be more successful than others.
“They never use the word ‘wrong,’ but say things like, ‘I disagree, but I’m willing to listen to what you say.’ You might find out you are in agreement because you listen or least you know why you think they are wrong because you listened. It’s the beginning of trust,” Wynn said.
Wynn said his company also studied trust from more than five years, finding that there are people who might know you five years and not trust you while other may know you for five minutes, but already trust you. This, he said, has to with compassion and competence.
“They believe you care about them and care about your job. If they believe that, they trust you. If people feel they were heard and listened to, they will trust you and then choose you over others. Don’t kid yourselves about the power of making people feel heard,” Wynn said.
Construction U morning sessions included a financial management session, “Understanding Financial Statements and Tax Strategies,” given by Bart Basi from the Center for Financial, Legal and Tax Planning in Marion, Ill.
Basi outlined the history of accounting, leading into a discussion about balance sheets, income statements, cash flow, accounts receivable, inventory, ratios and more. He demonstrated in his examples, why the most commonly used system of accounting, which is designed for publicly held companies, is not the best system to use for most privately held companies.
In the human resources management session, “How to Interview, Hire and Train the Ideal Employee,” speakers Doug Fleury from Rebel Rents in Temecula, Calif., and Carl Arriola from Tate Rents in Boise, Idaho, outlined some of their respective companies’ strategies.
Arriola talked about the types of questions to ask potential employees in pre-interviews, such as, “Can you work weekends?” and “Is your driver’s license clean?” and examples of those to use in the interview including, “Why should I hire you for this position?” and “Tell me about a difficult customer or situation you have had and how you handled it?” to better gauge an applicant demeanor and ability to function in a team environment.
He also said companies should be able to outline its business policies, procedures and culture and then support its philosophy and values to be successful in hiring and training new employees.
Fleury added that companies need to communicate through a variety of efforts, including employee newsletters and Web sites. He also offered examples of different types of inexpensive reward and recognition programs that can help keep employees motivated.
