Running a tight tradie ship? Then you need to make sure you’re keeping your staff sweet so that you’ll get the most out of them. Tradies are among the hardest workers out there, but if you don’t have your management sh*t together, they won’t be putting in 110% and you could lose those valuable skills to a rival company – not ideal!

So how do you keep your tradie team motivated and happy as clams?

Give them a pat on the back

Everyone likes to hear they’re doing a good job, and in this case, a little will go a long way, especially if you’re praising your staff members in front of the entire team. Tradies want to feel valued and like the work they’re doing is making a difference, so recognising when someone has performed really well is key. Not only does it bring out all the warm fuzzies in the team, it also encourages everyone to be the next one to receive the kudos!

Fire out spot prizes

Verbal recognition is great, but if you really want to kick it up a notch, get everyone hauling a** by offering on the spot rewards for above-and-beyond work. This way, the team will know that you’re keeping an eye out for someone to flick a prize to and will work extra hard to make sure it’s them! These don’t have to be big, maybe a voucher for your go-to lunch stop or a gift card they can use whenever they like.

Host team fun days

This might not always be possible, but even a get together after tools-down will really get the bonding going and keep the team sweet. Let them vent any frustrations of the week/month in an epic game of paintball, or test their defensive driving skills at go-karting. These could be a regular occurence, or a reward for a great result – maybe the team finished a job quicker than expected, or maybe they’ve been working extra hard this month.

Create some healthy competition

To make sure you’re really getting the most out of your team, setting up some challenges for the week or month is a good way to go. Tradies love a good challenge, especially if it means they get to one-up their workmates, so make it one with a decent reward – getting to pie the loser in the face is often reward enough! You can also include some funny challenges in there too to keep it light, get the team to vote for the funniest moment or best quote of the week. 

Keep them geared up

Ensuring your team has the best gear is a great way to keep them motivated and will hopefully incentivise them to treat it well! Even if they sort their own threads, you can still give them some branded merch to up the ante on the team-building and loyalty. Something like a cool drink bottle with your company logo and personalised with their name will make them feel pretty spesh, and will ensure that no one nicks anyone else’s stuff!