If you’re like most electrical contractors, you probably hire electrical workers to fulfill immediate needs. You might want to reconsider this practice, however. Before spending the time, money, and effort needed to bring someone new onboard, ask yourself what skill sets the prospective electrical worker will bring to the table that can benefit your customers. Another factor to consider is what level of employee efficiency to expect upon hire in this ever-changing field. Let’s explore a few options.
Scouting talent
The electrical industry has always had a tried-and-true ratio of journeyman to apprentices to help ensure that work was efficient and correct. However, what if your apprentices offer a more robust skill set but lack efficiency?
The increasing demand for energy efficiency and automation in all areas is driving growth in the electrical industry at a rate of 14% per year through 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. These workers will have to be mechanically talented as well as literate in multiple computer and digital environments. Searching for a skilled electrical worker with a variety of experience seems to be an ideal solution. Adapting this experienced worker through training, product partnerships, and continuing education would fill your immediate needs and seemingly plan for future growth. Yet for a small to mid-size contractor to stay competitive locally/regionally and to be prepared to perform national jobs, this approach may not really be a solution to the problem.
Finding workers who can run conduit, who understand what infrastructure expansions in a building are or what is needed, and who can use all of the latest technology to make it a reality for your customers is possible. The argument for “educated” electricians has never been more valid than it is today. As more seasoned workers retire, we are moving into a skilled labor shortage. You can fill these gaps with people that possess next-level skills and train them for your immediate needs. There is a need for a change of ration to train our already skilled workers, because some of these proficiencies will be more time-consuming and challenging to learn. Although this will be more expensive, the increased cost of development, design, and construction has already been absorbed by the industry, with no loss of growth.
Looking to the future
The only way for service companies to expand beyond the local level is to predict their customer’s needs and to grow their business with these needs in mind. One way of achieving this may be through brand partnerships. By using a certain company’s products exclusively, smaller companies can avail themselves of training to offer advanced services in automation and have the ability to solve cross-platform problems more easily due to their sole use of one system. The drawbacks of not offering several brands of this next-level technology can be tempered by developing different partnerships in areas such as lighting, automation, HVAC, and power generation. This allows the contractor to present possible problems to their brand partners, which, in turn, could lead the brand partner to develop cutting-edge solutions — keeping them ahead of the competition.
But where exactly is the electrical industry going, and do we have the skilled labor to accommodate the needs of our customers?
Let’s first address today’s residential customer. For decades, we have been promised a true smart home from Silicon Valley. At first, it was the refrigerator that can order milk through the Internet. Then it was the smartphone that was connected to certain devices in the home that had trouble “talking” to multiple products. Now that seems to be changing. Recently, there has been a flood of less expensive sensors connected to the Internet that makes the smart home actually feel smart. Major manufacturers are betting big on the smart home. From smart thermostats to smart lighting systems, the technology remains too difficult for the typical homeowner to install. Although installing these products may seem simple to most electricians, are we ready for the next wave?
Homeowners will soon be able to put the computer at the beginning of the design and architectural process. They can build a home with the computer as the beating heart instead of the electrical panel. Today, homeowners want their residences to perform mundane yet time-consuming chores.
Take, for example, Beihl Electric, an electrical contractor in Madison, Wis., that started offering smart home technology as part of its services. The company helped build a 5,000-square-foot home in Madison that contains more than 40 windows. The homeowners wanted their home to be fully automated. So, with a simple tap on their tablet, they can now close all their home’s shades via a remote technology interface (RTI) smart system, which they use to centralize several proprietary apps from several different manufacturers.
“The amount of time that is saved every night is amazing,” says Greg Parker, owner of Beihl Electric. “Before, the homeowner spent 30 minutes each night going around closing shades and another 30 minutes each morning opening them back up. Offering these products was a no brainer. Hiring electricians that actually understood the installation was a challenge. It was crucial to the success of our business to train our existing staff on the newest technology so that we could offer it to our customers.”
The RTI is in control in other ways too. It improves the indoor air quality and thermal performance of the house by activating a skylight to release hot air. It also responds to the weather; a fresh air make-up system measures humidity and temperature every 15 minutes and draws in or expels air based on exterior conditions. It’s like a hub that monitors and controls household functions through intuitive interfaces on a tablet device.
These days, contractors can start offering smart systems if they hire or train qualified electricians and stop installing traditional switches, which many people feel clutter their walls. Five years ago, it was revolutionary to have home automation systems. Soon it will be common practice.
Beyond smart homes
Smart systems don’t stop with the home. ESC Pros, an electrical contractor based in Southern California, has installed solar systems for years in both residential and commercial buildings. Now, output can be monitored by the MySolarCity app, and excess energy can be sent to the grid. Smart technology can also be used for energy efficiency through solar-powered AC systems and devices that use sensors to control AC compressor output. These devices are largely self-monitored to not only save energy, but also to save time for business owners.
These are just a few examples of what the future looks like for our industry. As electrical contractors, are we prepared for tomorrow’s next-level growth? As electricians, do we have the skills to accommodate our companies’ future needs? As new products hit the market, it is important for us to continue our education. It’s also important that we hire from trade schools that offer their students training in the latest technology. Either way, the electrical industry is evolving at a Silicon Valley pace. Will you evolve with it?
Jay is the owner of ESC PROS, an electrical contracting company based in Southern California.
