The ability to deliver and receive feedback in a constructive manner is an essential tool to help any business, and individual, prosper.

“Creating a clearly planned education and career path for your technicians will help with employee retention and improve the dedication and quality of your restoration efforts,” Lorne McIntyre writes. This article focuses on the role of a technician from day one to an RIA Certified Restorer and can be used as a guide to not only develop employees but attract more talented candidates.

Rather than begin the hiring process by looking at external factors such as unemployment rates or shifts in the perceived value of secondary education (things outside your control), it would be more beneficial to start the recruiting process by looking internally at both your company’s culture and the company’s leadership (things within your control). Chuck Violand highlights three critical areas to invest in.

There is one universal key that, Jennifer Sharpe found, will always lead to an increase of success. That is your own commitment to personal development.

On its surface, restoration doesn’t seem synonymous with “soft.” It’s a hard industry that operates in physically and emotionally tough working environments. Restoring a property to pre-loss condition requires a particular set of hard (job-specific) skills and tools. But there is a soft side that, I’d like to argue, carries more weight.

A coach’s immediate strategy is grooming their silver medalists to become the gold standard in future Olympics. The same can be said for finding talent to add to your team. Many times the silver medalists (“B” players) are undervalued and passed over while an organization searches for the gold.

Is there one leadership style that is better than the other? Which specific leadership style is best for creating a culture that retains employees? Can one have multiple styles at once? In this column, Nicole Humber shares her perspective, and those of her employees, on effective leadership styles.