Trying to keep framers motivated to produce, conscious of quality, and committed to staying with you for more than a few paychecks is what makes life interesting for framing contractors. Or a nightmare. I carry between 40 and 50 full-time framers on my payroll these days, and over time I've discovered a few things that work, and a lot that don't. Perhaps most important is realizing what service you're selling. About 70% of my company's work is custom residential framing; the balance is light commercial and multifamily. But overall, more than two-thirds of our total volume of $1.5 million is in labor only contracts. That means our primary product is labor, and labor is nothing more than people. How my
