The best contractors in the industry have the best people. While leadership, strategy, and resources are all important, without the right talent, they won’t be enough. If you want to be a leading contractor, you need to have an extraordinary team of foremen.

Here are five signs of a great foreman and a great company:

1. Foremen are involved at the very beginning of a project. The foremen are the ones running the work so it’s important to have them involved in the pre-planning process. This allows the foreman to think ahead, anticipate potential issues, and properly prepare. When the foreman can effectively manage the project, productivity is increased and costs are reduced.
2. A good foreman is an expert in their trade. Not surprisingly, to be successful, a foreman must be highly skilled and experienced in their trade. They must be able to execute and oversee the work at a high level of quality. As such, contractors should look for foremen with experience and attention to detail.
3. Foremen receive regular feedback. If the foreman running the job doesn’t actually know how the project is performing, something is wrong. Foremen, along with their entire crew, need ongoing feedback about how the project is going. In addition, it’s important to keep the foreman in the loop on the status of the budget.
4. The best foreman is a respected foreman. All of the talent in the world won’t matter if the crew doesn’t respect their foreman. The best foremen build relationships and trust with their tradespeople. In addition, they hold their crew accountable without yelling or berating. A respected foreman will have the hardest working crew.
5. Foreman buys-in to the project goals. If the foreman doesn’t feel the budgetary or time constraints are achievable, the project is already starting off on the wrong foot. It’s important to create a realistic labor budget based on the scope of work. The foreman must believe the project goals are attainable in order to be successful.