A few days ago, we posted a blog sharing some of the most popular questions we get from members. Today, we’re sharing a few more.
From insurance and warranties to prevailing wage and hiring tactics, one of the most important services NSCA offers is feedback and advice to members. Whether it’s through a phone call, an email, an online chat conversation via our website, or an in-person consultation, our staff fields questions daily.
We also answer questions via short video – especially the questions you ask that we think other integrators would find interesting as well.
In this post, we’re sharing a few of our most popular questions – and where you can go to hear our answers on video!
Q: “What’s the difference between productivity and utilization – and why are those terms important?”
Productivity is a ratio describing the time not billed out to a particular project or customer (training, etc.). Utilization is the percentage of time paid vs. time billed. Tracking these two metrics requires discipline, honesty, and cooperation across the board. Listen to our advice on how to properly document productivity and utilization, and the importance of doing so.
Q: “We are seeing more prevailing wage requirements on service work. Are you? Is everyone else?”
We are, but it’s not right. The Davis Bacon Act (prevailing wage) was established in 1931 to create a level playing field for construction projects. This federal law establishes the requirement for paying local prevailing wages on public works projects for laborers and mechanics. (Prevailing wage refers to the hourly wage, usual benefits, and overtime paid in the largest city in each county to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics.) But what does service work have to do with a construction project? Certain cities and counties now require prevailing wage to be paid on everything, including service work. We explain whether that was the true intent of the Davis Bacon Act and prevailing wage.
Q: “How do we get an outside advisory council started, and who should we include?”
A little outside influence and perspective provides clear guidance and a level of expertise that likely doesn’t exist within your organization. We recommend involving professionals with backgrounds in HR, workforce development, law, and accounting, as well as peers within the systems integration industry (but not employed by your firm). Get advice on who we don’t recommend including in an outside advisory council – and why those people should be left out. We also share helpful guidelines and procedures for forming your company’s own council.
We’ve seen it happen. One bad job can negatively impact the entire year for an integrator. We offer words of wisdom on how to select projects that are within your company’s standards and capabilities (both of terms of size and scope), as well as warning signs to watch for with projects that may end up being “bad jobs.”
To see the entire video library, visit www.youtube.com/NSCAorg. To submit a question, contact us at cwilson@nsca.org.
Image by: Stuart Miles