Service contractors are busy people. Already struggling to find workers amidst an ongoing labor shortage, plumbing and HVAC contractors saw demand soar during the pandemic as most people transitioned to a work-from-home environment.

One of the most challenging tasks managers face is terminating an employee. It is never easy, but sometimes necessary. What is all too easy is putting it off when it does become necessary.

Customers can be a fickle lot. You do your best for them, but they move on in spite of your fair pricing and Johnny-on-the-spot response times.

My shop teacher was a wiry man who loved hand tools. We spent a week making a buzzer base. He taught us how to saw, sand and varnish. He introduced me to a Brace & Bit hand drill and went on and on about how this was better than an electric drill. “Can you feel the wood? It’s alive!” he said, and I could.

“Wes is part of our leadership team here. His dedication to Henco Plumbing, his customers and the field plumbers is what made me leave a 30 year career to come onboard at Henco Plumbing Services. 

After learning the trades during two tours in the Navy Seabees, Guy M. Cooper Sr. decided to start his own business — Guy M. Cooper Plumbing & Heating was founded in 1930. While the mechanical contracting firm has a long, storied history of providing high quality work and high quality jobs for all its employees, the third-generation owners Gary Cooper and Glenn Cooper decided it was time for a rebrand in 2021.

Every industry in the United States is currently feeling the constraints of the labor shortage. Employers continue to struggle to bring in new workers and keep existing ones. Job openings far outnumber individuals looking for work — in March, there were 11.5 million jobs to fill, and not enough workers to fill them, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. 

When Robert Broccolo, Jr., owner of Professional Drain Services of Southern New England, answers any service call, he always has one of his company’s 11 video inspection cameras with him — ready to diagnose the issue at hand.