Piece work vs. hourly wage

[drwill]

I am new to my business and only need my self and one helper. however by the end of this year i plan on needing to hire more crew people. I live in Texas and am paying my helper $10/hr(brother in law). What are some good pay rates for different levels of experience, and how does that work with piece work. do you pay piece work by rough in ,by square ft, or per opening.

any and all info on how this works will be greatly appreciated.

thanks drwill

 

[highkvoltage]

Re: Piece work vs. hourly wage

Piece work pay has a few problems. Lets say you have a guy that can rough a house 10% faster than another guy put the second guy has less problems to troubleshoot? And what if one guy can do the rough in fast but is slow on the finish? Then you have the disgruntle employee that is jealous he is making less than other employees. To many headaches!

 

[George Stolz]

Re: Piece work vs. hourly wage

In a small company, you might be able to make it work. In the medium sized company I'm in, it's tricky because it's hard to get the guy who roughed it back into the same house to trim it. That is really the only fair way for it to work, because of the variables mentioned above.

For it to work well:
</font>

• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The guy who roughed it trims it. Any mistakes he makes he's paying for, not you.</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The smaller the crew the more attractive the pay. More than one guy on piecework is trickier for them to make cash.</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The pace of the job must not overwhelm the crew. I have a buddy at work that was working over 80 hours a weeks to try to stay on schedule, with 2500 sq.ft. houses every week to rough and trim. Introducing people to "help" through a hard time muddies pay schedules like crazy. You'll end up paying more out to avoid hurt feelings.</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The pace of the job must keep the crew occupied. I got burned dabbling in piecework, because we'd bang out a small house in a day or two, and the project was caught up for a week. That meant that I worked hourly for three days, and earned no overtime, no matter how late I worked on Friday. That cancelled the extra cash I made doing piecework.</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You need to find the right dollar figure per hole, or per square foot. I worked by the hole. When you sign someone into this, be sure to discuss whether you've included the service/panel/odd responsibilities in the dollar per hole, or if these are going to be paid as "three more holes." (I felt as though I stripped panels and services for free, just due to lack of communication, no doubt.)</font>

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I had a bad experience, so I have a bad view of it. It is nice for EC's, because it locks in your labor costs. Warranty issues are easier to blame on the individual, and there is a clearer responsibility there. Wages become solely based on performance, so the individual is more prone to work more efficiently to make more money.

Personally, it seems pretty tricky to coordinate, IMO. A little imbalance and somebody is unhappy.

My 2?.

[ April 30, 2005, 12:42 AM: Message edited by: georgestolz ]

 

[iwire]

Re: Piece work vs. hourly wage

I would never even consider working by the piece.

To many variables beyond my control, if I wanted to gamble with how much I make each week I would start my own shop.

I also feel that the quality of work produced will only fall.

 

[jimwalker]

Re: Piece work vs. hourly wage

"I also feel that the quality of work produced will only fall."

That is the biggest problem.Even if the same guy roughs in and finishes the job,and everything works and passes inspections.Sloppy work is going to be seen.This idea has been tried many times.While great in intention quality will not be there.A man should be paid by how much he does but if we can not easily see if its done right then we have a problem.Some men take far too much time doing the same job and quality.
I almost excepted a job doing piece work roughing in and finishing small track homes.The pay would been great if conditions right.Was luckily warned about this company.They will not schedule anyone,so you are trying to wire with 12 guys from other trades in your way.Or they put the carpet down before its been trimmed.Too many variables to make this a fair game.If the only way a man will make money is by slamming in receptacles and fixtures then you will see problems down the road.

 

[jim sutton]

Re: Piece work vs. hourly wage

I wouldn't do it. Lets say your guys are working by the peice or subbing. Chances are that the contractor would have cut there pay as low as he could to be competitive in his area. (Lower than his hourly cost) I know a contractor that claims he pays 25 cents a foot to rough, no matter what goes in the job. What if one of your guys runs out of 12-2 but has plenty of 14-2 or runs out of grounding pigtails etc., is he going to stop and go get the correct materials or is he going to slip something in thinking it won't be noticed?
You as the contractor have the responsibility, with the help from your men, to have all the correct materials and tools on the job. If you go to peice work you are trying to pass the responsibility of all the problems on to your men. IMO

 

[stud696981]

Re: Piece work vs. hourly wage

Most people who do a good job expect to be paid for a days work. I can say that I would never take a job doing "piece work" pay. When I worked for contractors I was paid by the hour. If we ran into a snag, another contractor held us up, tornado came through, what ever we were paid by the hour. The key was doing the job and not being lazy. Those that were lazy didn't last long.