Wade4Wireless

Deployment is a Partnership, Scope Wisely!


I know you probably think I am talking about a spouse or best friend or business partner, but here I am talking about work partners. These could be the contractors or employees that work for you or with you. I realize how big companies sometimes start to abuse these partners. I have seen it from both sides and always want to see if things can get better. I am going to refer to site work here.

So below I will talk about the contractor, the person or crew hired to do the work, and the company, the hiring company. 

Sometimes the contractor can’t do the job, so they don’t get paid. This is a bad outcome.

Sometimes the company doesn’t want to pay for a change request, (CR), and things get ugly. The contractor may walk off the job or the company will eventually pony up the money and pay them.

Sometimes the company thinks they can bully contractors until the contractors walk off job sites and the company will need to find a new contractor to complete the work.

So, I have seen a big company, let’s call them Bigco, treat their contractors so badly that they eventually ran out of contractors when the industry got busy.

The back story is that Bigco had gotten all the contractors together just to tell them that half of them would not be working for Bigco unless they played ball. They thought they had complete control. Their demands were: 1) do the work for what we tell you it’s worth, 2) forget the CRs because we won’t pay extra money no matter what, and you do what we want when we want. 

When the industry was slow, this worked. Then when the industry got busy, they not only lost all their contractors but they also could not get anyone back. Bigco looked really bad and it nearly destroyed their services business.

I tell you this because I saw so many people in the industry get screwed up by a company that thought they didn’t need anyone else. The CEO of Bigco had horrible Key Performance Indicators, (KPIs). He thought because he was Bigco he could push all the little guys around. He was stupid and burned bridges and caused Bigco to suffer for years for that stupid and arrogant decision.

There were many more blunders, but this is one I was just discussing with a friend and thought I would share. The reason is that many people did not forget it. Even though the former CEO of Bigco is gone, it didn’t matter. He tarnished the reputation of Bigco with his horrible leadership and policies. 

The lesson here is when dealing with contractors you are working with a partner that could make you or break you in the future. I would recommend doing the following. 

  • Create a Scope of Work (SOW) that outlines the work you expect that specific contractor to do. If you are the contractor, read the SOW and make sure you can deliver what they ask for. 
  • Ask for a RACI or ownership matrix. RACI means “Responsible”, “Accountable”, “Consult”, and “Inform” tables to define exactly who owns what task. You could just list all the work items and assign owners, no need to make it too complicated if it’s a simple task.
  • Define in scope items, so that we all agree what the out-of-scope items are, because out of scope items will result in a CR for extra money. 
  • If you anticipate out of scope items then ask for that to be defined up front. If you expect some work to be added or common, that is the thing you can add into the scope. 
  • Something will happen that is site specific, like wireless, and that can be addressed on the site, and make sure it is addressed prior to the start of work.
  • The scope of work defines the work to be done, anything not in scope will result in more money unless the crew deems it a 5-minute job, otherwise they should get additional money. There is a reason we define the scope, so we all get paid fairly. 

These tips should help you. Sure, we all get screwed no matter which side we’re on, but these steps will help make the work relationship better moving forward.

Some scopes are more complicated than others. If you’re responding to an RFP (Request for Pricing) then you may not have the full scope so you have to ask a lot of questions and make a lot of assumptions. 

 If you’re interested: I am going to update my SOW book, it may take a few months and I won’t start it until after I finish my private networks book, but hopefully in a month or two I can have a new book and course out.

Let’s review:

  1. Contractor Challenges:
    • Contractors may struggle to complete the job, leading to non-payment.
    • Change requests (CRs) can cause disputes if the company refuses to pay extra for requested changes.
    • In extreme cases, contractors may walk off the job due to payment issues.
  2. Company Behavior:
    • Some companies attempt to bully contractors, assuming they have complete control.
    • However, this approach can backfire. When the industry becomes busy, companies lose contractors and struggle to find replacements.
    • A real-life example involves “Bigco,” a company that mistreated contractors. They demanded work at their determined value, disregarded CRs, and expected compliance.
  3. Consequences for Bigco:
    • Initially, this strategy worked during slow industry periods.
    • But when demand increased, Bigco lost all contractors and damaged its services business.
    • The CEO’s focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) didn’t prevent this downfall.

What lessons did we learn?

  1. Contractor Challenges:
    • Incomplete Scoping: Contractors may struggle to complete their work if the project scope is unclear or inadequately defined.
    • Change Requests (CRs): When CRs arise, disputes can occur if the company refuses to pay extra for requested changes. Proper scoping helps manage these situations.
    • Payment Issues: In extreme cases, contractors might abandon the job due to payment disagreements. Clear scoping ensures fair compensation.
  2. Company Behavior:
    • Scoping Clarity: Some companies attempt to exert control without considering the importance of scoping. However, this approach can backfire.
    • Industry Dynamics: When the industry becomes busy, companies lose contractors if they fail to address scoping issues promptly.
    • Real-Life Example: Consider “Bigco,” which mistreated contractors. They disregarded CRs and demanded work at their determined value, leading to negative consequences.
  3. Consequences for Bigco:
    • Short-Term Success: Initially, Bigco’s strategy worked during slow industry periods.
    • Long-Term Impact: As demand increased, Bigco lost all contractors and damaged its services business. Focusing solely on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) didn’t prevent this downfall.

In summary, proper scoping is crucial for maintaining healthy work partnerships and avoiding detrimental outcomes.

New book released!

More:

Offers available:

  • All my older Deployment books and SOW training can be bought here!
  • Need unlimited mobile service for a good price? I use Visible and I like them. Think about Visible. Check out this deal https://www.visible.com/get/?ZHfvq, not too shabby.
  • Looking for a new credit card? I have an Amazon Prime card because I get 5% on Amazon purchases along with 2% on restaurants and gas and 1% on everything else. I love it! Use this link to get one.

Small business owners: Looking to sell or merge? I have partners looking to partner with small tech & IT businesses. Details:

  • Looking for companies in IT, Fiber (indoor or outdoor), wireless, Wi-Fi, FWA, Venue or DAS.
  • Looking for owners ready to sell or retire.
  • Smaller companies, maybe 4 to 15 employees.
  • Concentrating on the East coast, but open to US based businesses,
  • Email me at wade@techfecta.com.

Looking for financing to grow, expand, or purchase a business? I have a partner who can help:

  • Who they can help:
    • US based,
    • Someone looking for $10M and up,
    • Needing to grow, consolidate, or merge,
    • Email me at wade@techfecta.com.
  • About the Investor;
    •  Made 155+ completed transactions,
    • $2.4B+ deployed,
    • $1.4B of assets,
    • Focused on Technology, IT, and Wireless,
    • Been around over 15 years.

Update on next book! I am putting together a new book on Private Wireless Networks. Hopefully by the end of the month.

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