When it comes to construction the prevailing economic strategy is a simplistic supply and demand. Construction and services companies will evaluate the workload and then assign an appropriate amount of manpower based on the current employment environment.

While this strategy is simplistic, it produces unfavorable results.

It drives wages low as supply generally outpaces demand when it comes to bottom wage earners.

It drives up construction prices based on inefficiencies and costly mistakes.

It fosters easy come easy go employment scenarios that leave workers under-equipped and under-prepared to meet challenges professionally and personally.

It leads to unsatisfactory customer engagement and experiences that leads to customers bouncing from one vendor to the next looking for a better outcome only to find its different packaging on the same experience.

The problem with breaking this model is that it is systemic. That means in order to escape it and the perils it brings, businesses must be built from the ground up to withstand the investments of time and resources to change the model.

That’s to say that it’s very difficult to convince shareholders and owners to shift away from this model because it is “the devil you know” and the risk of providing more resources to employees and receiving little in return is a big deterrent, and rightly so. When you’ve molded employees to do the least amount of work by testing them as though they have little value turning around and throwing money at that problem will not fix it overnight.

Enter Fin

Back in 2016 / 2017 there were conversations among what would come to be the ownership group of Fin, that were reflective of larger conversations happening in the Seattle area.

These conversations centered around the fact that certain industries compensated their employees very well, let’s take tech for example. You had an industry that paid well but beyond that had fostered a culture of treating the employees in a way that showed they valued their comforts and convenience and reflected trust in them. For example, they had flexible time off or work from home abilities that helped them to manage personal issues, they looked after their employees needs and comforts while on site. And they compensated so the employees could not just work but also live in those same communities.

This planted a question that the would be partners could not get out of their heads.

What if we applied those same principles to the construction industry??

What if we gave our employees a wage and other resources like paying for meals while they are working, equipping them with transportation and proper equipment and giving them the ability to make purchases according to the needs of their employment.

Would we end up overpaying and putting ourselves at a serious disadvantage to our competitors?

Or would we receive on our investment a return by the way of efficiency, solution-based thinking and avoidance of errors that merited the trust and compensation we had shown in our workforce???

It’s so revolutionary a thought that many are shocked when they hear it.

However it makes us very happy to say that this experiment is three years strong and shows no sign of letting up in the positive outcomes it has produced, for customers, employees and owners alike.

This is the kind of company we want to run and the kind of company we want to be known for.

We are fin, We’ve got this.