What You Can Learn About Safety Staffing From Home Depot

Lumber aisle at the home improvement store

You’ve heard of DIY. DIY-ers. Do It Yourself.

But what about DIFM, or DIFM-ers? Have you heard of that?

And how about FIFM? FIFM-ers? What?

Between them, Home Depot and Lowe’s sell 90% of the nation’s home improvement products. Ninety percent! But you won’t find their fastest selling item on any of their shelves. It isn’t a product. It is a service.

You see, while it is true that both retail chains supply materials to professional contractors and DIY-ers, there’s now another type of customer. They are the DIFM crew.

They say Do It For Me.

Like the DIY-ers, these homeowners know what they want to accomplish. But unlike the DIY-ers, they can’t get it done on their own. They want help. They buy products and supplies from the big retail chains, but then they hire someone else to complete the job. Most significantly, they use contractors – specialists – Lowe’s and Home Depot recommend.

But most DIFM-ers have a dirty little secret.

Most of them thought that they were DIY-ers. They thought, “Hey, if I do this on my own, I’ll save a bunch of money. Besides, I know what I want, so I might as well figure it out myself. Hiring help is too expensive anyway.”

At some point they realize the truth. They are not able to get it done without mistakes, wasted materials, and lots of extra delays. They figure out that hiring help from the start would have probably been cheaper. Now they are asking for help – Please, Do It For Me!  The truth is, we should call them FIFM-ers; Fix It For Me.  About halfway through the leaky sink, uneven tile, and chunky grout, they realize that…

… even if they can do it, it doesn’t mean they should.

Let’s think about that.

DIY isn’t always cheaper or better than DIFM.

Say it’s turkey season. You heard from a guy where you can go to find wild turkeys and you’ve fired a gun before. Heck, you’ve even killed a deer. How hard could it be to go shoot a turkey? Should you supply your family’s holiday bird? Or should you just let Butterball do that? About half way through plucking out 3,500 feathers, you realize:

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

You take really great pictures of sunsets on your iPhone and your neighbor wants to save some cash on the photography for his daughter’s wedding.  Should you buy Wedding Photography for Dummies and volunteer? When you see the new bride’s mascara running as she looks at your photographs, you realize:

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

While hanging out with friends, you mention you just finished your taxes. Even as you say the words, you sense what’s coming. “Really? Can you help me do mine?”

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Are you doing FIFR Safety Staffing? (Fix It For Me. Please!)

The principle holds true beyond home remodeling. It is true for car repair, plumbing, building a website – really, any kind of specialized skill. Even employers make the same mistake. They try to hire skilled, or specialized labor instead of calling in the specialist. They end up making mistakes and wasting a whole lot of time and money – just like the homeowner with a crooked deck or leaky roof.

  It just makes sense.

And, when it comes to hiring temporary safety staff, mistakes are not only costly, but they can also be dangerous.

3 Reasons to Outsource Safety Staffing to Specialists   

1.              Staff on your own, and you get the leftovers. Your best employees aren’t looking for temporary work. You’re not either. You all want to work full time. Who doesn’t? Choose a staffing specialist for temporaries. Their staff may serve you for a season, but they’re working full time for their employers. Trained, focused and content, they are anything but the leftovers.

2.          Costly turnover chews up your budget. Turnover is costly. You know it. Budgets are tight. There’s no room for poor planning or wasteful spending. Every time you lose a valued employee—full-time, part-time or temporary—you’re starting over. And you can’t afford to train a new group of unskilled workers with every new project.

3.          With every direct hire, liability is yours. When you fill temporary positions yourself, you are responsible. You’re responsible for insurance, personal liability, training, payroll and more. You’ve got a lot on your plate already. More than once you’ve wished you could let some of it go. Well, you can. A staffing specialist takes on that responsibility for you.

It’s hard to manage a home. Running a business successfully is no easy task either. When projects scream for attention, some turn to professionals to silence the noise. Others simply do the work themselves. Still others—even though they’re able—ask someone else to do the work for them. It’s your choice. Choose wisely. Don’t be a FIFR.

Just because you are able to do some things, it doesn’t mean you should.

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