We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Thompson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.

Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?

The Electric Way has gone through several iterations of what our “team” has looked like. From our founder, David, working out of his Honda serving his neighbors, to friends and family getting involved working out of David’s home, to a full-scale office building with robust administrative support, and, most recently, to our “re-birth” as we re-evaluated our needs in a post-COVID climate. After years of trial and error, we have come to identify a few key factors that we look for in bringing on new team members:

1) Do they come recommended by someone currently on our team?

The referrals from our current team members are, by and large, the most successful candidates we encounter. Our current employees know the demands of the job and the work-place culture. They are just as protective of maintaining a positive environment as the owners, which is why we value our employees’ opinions. If they tell us someone is a good fit, we will absolutely create an opportunity to learn more about that candidate, even if they wouldn’t have initially been our top choice.

2) What are they looking for in a job?

The candidates who tend to be most successful at The Electric Way are those who, of course, want to be compensated fairly, but are also looking for more than a paycheck. The construction industry, as a whole, can create incredibly toxic environments that tend to wear on employees. The ideal candidate is someone who is looking for an environment where they can be a valued team member, grow professionally, and have their voice heard. The biggest benefit we see from these candidates is that they appreciate the culture, and, therefore, are willing to engage in it, pushing themselves and the company forward.

3) Do they mesh well with our team?

This has, by far, been the biggest learning curve for us in the hiring process. We have had team members who we have hired and see incredible potential in them, but, ultimately, if they don’t fit well with the existing team, then they are not the right fit for the company. Of course, we are always willing to address internal conflict and work toward solutions, but when patterns emerge over time (or with different people) in regards to the same individual, this can indicate a larger issue. In my experience, one person can drive down morale in the entire company and have an effect that lasts months after they are gone. When you take the time to build a team that you trust and rely on, their opinions need to be a top consideration in your hiring and retention decisions.

Jessica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The Electric Way is a family-owned company providing electrical services to customers in Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas. While we do service commercial properties such as restaurants, retail spaces, medical offices, etc., the majority of our customers are homeowners looking for repairs or upgrades. We put care into each appointment by always sending licensed electricians with years of experience and providing a 5 year warranty on all our services. Like most electricians, we provide troubleshooting, panel upgrades, light installations, and outlet/switch installations. However, some of our differentiating factors from other contractors are that:

-We always provide free quote, so customers don’t need to worry about surprise billing.

– We are Tesla-certified and recommended by dealerships to install electric vehicle chargers. We are also well-versed in all major electric car brands, so regardless of the type, we are happy to help with your electric vehicle charging needs.

– We have convenient online booking and virtual estimate options to allow customers to submit their information at their convenience.

– We give honest, friendly advice, at no charge. Our master electrician is available to talk through your project or concern, even if you don’t end up booking an appointment with us.

– We are one of the highest rated electricians in the area. If you don’t believe us, look up The Electric Way on Google, Nextdoor, Facebook, or Yelp to see what customers have to say.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Our foundational values at The Electric Way are honesty, integrity, and kindness. We keep those values in mind with every team member we hire, every customer we service, and every interaction we have. When David first founded The Electric Way, his motivation was rooted in the frustration with contractors taking advantage of their customers and their employees and he wanted to be something different. He wanted to give someone honest advice, even if that advice led them to not need an electrician. He put care into each service he provided so that customers could rest assured that they were receiving the highest quality work. He wanted to create an environment where employees looked forward to coming to work. These cornerstones still drive us in differentiating ourselves from other companies. Thankfully, our customers see and appreciate this about us and pay us the greatest compliment by spreading the word through honest reviews or by telling a friend. The word-of-mouth reputation we have gained is the biggest driving factor in gaining new customers.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I am a big believer that happy employees drive a happy business. Compensating your employees fairly is an obvious first step in creating satisfaction, but I have found that the non-monetary benefits are often just as (and sometimes even more) important. At The Electric Way, we try to be competitive in our benefits package to get new recruits through the door, but our team often tells us that the biggest factor in their commitment to our company is that they feel they can come to us with any concern and that we always look for ways to make things better. We have monthly team meetings to check in as a group. We touch base about concerns we’ve encountered, new ideas to make things more efficient, or anything anyone wants to address. We also offer bi-monthly individual meetings that focus on each person’s individual progress and provide opportunities for open discussions on anything that may be on that person’s mind. We approach each team member as a person first and an employee second. That may mean we adjust their schedule in a given week so they can take their kid to soccer, or we redistribute their workload because they haven’t been feeling well, or we simply keep an open door policy where everyone is welcome to come sit and vent for a bit in between appointments.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheElectricWay.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theelectricway/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theelectricway/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-electric-way-colorado-springs