Allowing Trade Blind Spots

Why aren’t you a better partner?

A common refrain we hear from builders is how frustrated they are with trade performance, and the main issues stem from poor communication and feedback. That’s why we developed TradeStar.

Our TradeStar program is a first-of-its-kind solution in the homebuilding industry designed to strengthen builder-trade partnerships for mutual maximum ROI. A two-way assessment series, Eliant’s TradeStar allows the builder’s superintendents, purchasing agents, and customer care representatives to quickly rate their primary trade partners. At the same time, subcontractors provide candid, anonymous evaluations of the builder’s operation. The insights derived can be used to support a variety of the builder’s business-critical decisions including which trades to hire, which to rehire, and how to improve procedures to deliver better customer experiences.

Since the resurgence of TradeStar, however, leaders of some trades have called us voicing their confusion: They have stacks of completed internal surveys showing that the builder representatives have given them high ratings… but they get ranked low on TradeStar. 

That’s because internal trade surveys are biased. Here’s why:

1. The trade foreman normally puts the paper survey in front of the superintendent, waits until the superintendent finishes, and lets him know the owner of the trade will see the ratings. That’s an unfair and biased influence.
2. The process to collect the data is not done by a third party and is not anonymous.
3. The questions aren’t written by survey experts or psychologists.
4. The scale is not a ten-point scale.

Trades have blind spots.  As the builder, it’s your job to help them with this. You need a way to gather front-line feedback from your superintendents, purchasing agents, and customer care reps about recent trade performance, and that feedback needs to come in anonymously and shared in aggregate form with the trades.  This is what a partner would do: this is how to improve trade performance over time.

Contact us to learn more about our TradeStar program. Let’s put an end to trade blind spots and biased trade surveying practices.

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As the home building industry’s Customer Experience experts, we’re committed to providing you with the necessary tools to deliver extraordinary experiences. Contact Christy Salmon at Christy@Eliant.com for more information.