Sorry for the radio silence. Getting used to being a Dad for the first time is a very tiring and time consuming thing. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m getting used to a different day schedule while I’m on paternity leave, so hopefully I can get back to posting my own content on a more regular basis.

To kick things back off, I want to visit a poll that closed as our little one came into the world. That was the poll I was running on what we think a fitting team should be paid per week. Money is a mover in this industry, and talent often follows the money. So these results are important.

Question and results

This is the question I posed to my followers on Twitter for a week and the results they produced:

I wouldn’t call this a landslide win for the £1000-£1500 bracket, even though it won the most votes. But it’s enough to say that its a popular enough view within the industry.

Personally, I would have voted for the £1500-£2000 bracket. If an installer want to attract the better installers, they’re going to need to offer better money. And remember, these aren’t really take-home figures. You need to take 20% tax off, van, fuel, insurance etc. And then that team would have to split that wage, so in real life the real figure would be lower than that, so you’d need a higher starting point to get the attention of the good fitters out there, which we know are in short supply.

A few voted for the £2000+ bracket, perhaps there was some regional variation in there. Where I work, and further north, those prices simply won’t fly. Down south maybe, but not up here.

A way to attract talent

Money has a major part to play in combatting the skills gap in our industry. We have spent decades ignoring trades and funnelling everyone through the University system, and now we find ourselves short of all sorts of trades people. Apprenticeships and working with schools is one way to help reverse that trend, but money has to play a part too.

Wages are one of the most attractive selling points when someone is looking for a job, and if we want to attract new young people to our industry, then we have to show them that a career in window and door installation pays well. We have all heard stories that in-demand builders can go home with some huge paypackets, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the same thing could be said for the window and door industry.

Going forwards, if wages are to rise for window and door installers, then it is the home owner that would ultimately have to pay for it. Companies are already having a tough time remaining profitable and growing those margins, and in my eye home owners should be the ones footing the bill. Prices haven’t really risen much with inflation as with other products like cars and kitchens, and if the end result is home owners getting better installers, then it’s money worth paying.

In the coming weeks as I return to some level of normality on the work front, my weekly polls will return!

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