It’s no surprise that coordinating, managing, and keeping in contact with multiple crews creates a massive headache — heck, coordinating and keeping up with my family group text is a pain, and that’s just six people!
Driving to and from different job sites, getting stuck in traffic, sending out unanswered texts, pestering your guys to call you from the job – it’s just a crapshoot. Will anyone actually answer your call? Will the drive out to the site be a massive waste of your time?
Luckily for you, we’ve got a solution that makes communicating with your crews and staying on top of job progress a helluva lot easier.
1. Set a Standard Process for Jobs
First thing’s first, set up a standard process for your jobs using CompanyCam. Creating a checklist of photos to take as soon as a crew steps onto the job ensures that every project you work on has a solid foundation to refer back to.
We created this 25-photo checklist for roofers, so take a peek and see if you can adapt it to work for your business!
By setting a standard, you can better anticipate how far along your crew is based on the most recent photos they’ve captured.
2. Add Details to Project Notes
Now that your standard process is in place, add all the necessary details to your project notes.
This is a great spot to drop any special instructions: door codes, pet names, or random things to be aware of when stepping onto the job. Everyone on the project can view those notes and know where to park, how to get into the job site, and whether Kujo is friendly.
3. Time Stamp Clock-Ins and Clock-Outs
Once you have your standard process in place, your project created, and your first 25 photos taken, use CompanyCam to clock in and out of each job.
Have a designated crew member take a photo when folks arrive to get work started for the day and another when the team leaves at the end of the day.
Not only does this allow you to check in and see when your crew is getting started, but it also acts as bonus liability protection for your company.
Say something got messed with overnight, but the homeowner sees it in the morning and blames your crew — because your guys took photos upon arrival and departure from the job, you can confidently say that your crew didn’t cause the damage and save you some cash from having to settle that dispute.
Something similar happened to Bernie Lawson and his building maintenance business.
4. Mention Crew Members on Specific Photos or Videos
Okay, so your crews are taking photos, clocking in and out, documenting measurements, and progress is happening. But then, someone runs into an issue.
Rather than calling your office or trying to explain the problem over a text or email, your crew can take a photo or video of what they’re running into, mention the exact person they need in the comments, and hash out the solution directly within the context of the issue.
Think of all those family feuds you’ve seen under a Facebook status, but it’s work-related and actually productive.
5. Add Subtractors as Collaborators
Not the only folks working on the job? If you’re working with subcontractors, you can add them as collaborators to the project, and they’ll be able to see all the progress you’ve made, past issues you’ve run into, and things they should be aware of.
You can even work on the same checklists with subcontractors in CompanyCam (full circle to our first point 😉).
Working with outside contractors in CompanyCam has never been easier. It’s free for you (and them!), reduces the back-and-forth, and everything is in one place. It’s worth looking into!
Communicating with your crews doesn’t have to be a thorn in your side. Using visual-first, photo documentation methods like CompanyCam, keeping the context of the issues front and center, and developing standard procedures and processes are all massively helpful when dealing with one or 100 different crews.
