In this first part in a series, a builder explains how his company pivoted in response to COVID, its aftermath, and the firm’s succession.

Succession and the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic have resided top-of-mind for industry professionals over the duration of the decade so far. For Goodall Pools of Camp Hill, Pa., both phenomena struck at approximately the same time.

The vinyl-liner/fiberglass pool builder was ready to move to its next generation of ownership,

with Rob Goodall holding majority ownership. It would require a new set of skills to move from construction management to company ownership.

Then COVID hit. After the shutdown scares, companies had to adjust or die when demand outpaced capacity, and scarcity and price increases became an everyday fact of life. In the last year, it’s been the slowing down of said leads.

Rob Goodall wanted to position the company to both grow and respond more readily to market conditions as it entered a new ownership era. To do this, he hired outside consultants and analysts to point out opportunities and weaknesses. In doing so, he and his management team landed on a new business model.

Thorough assessment

The analytics firm reviewed the financials and organizational structure, and interviewed all employees before providing suggestions. More recently, Goodall enlisted the help of a leadership development company to develop a long-term business plan, then form an in-house leadership group to keep the company on course. Upper management and some junior managers meet for high-level strategizing, as well as more granular tasks such as developing events to make sure the staff feels valued.

Of all the changes Goodall Pools made at the suggestion of these consultants, one of the most important was analyzing and changing its pricing practices. “Now we have a whole different analytical way of looking at it,” he says. “We’re more prepared now than we ever have been with price changes, because we’re better calculating for overhead and labor burdens.”

This methodical approach helped the team realize something else – that the high-end market best served the builder, which provides vinyl-liner and fiberglass pools.

“We saw where some things weren’t really beneficial for us with the way we’re structured, the crews that we carry, and our overhead,” Goodall says. “The larger, more in-depth projects seemed to be more fitting, and it narrowed down our clientele list to a more manageable group.”

Rob Goodall would have to focus on higher-level strategizing and tasks, so he created new supervisory positions to manage some of his day-to-day duties, promoting from within to fill them.

Delegating isn’t easy for everyone. To help, Goodall read the book Extreme Ownership by Jock Willink and Leif Babin, which discusses decentralized command, a military term meaning to give space for staffers to do their jobs. “That’s really helped me to just guide them along and let them run their plan,” he says. “If they fail or fall, talk to them about it, help build them up and help them grow.”

He largely credits this with the success that the company’s seen so far from its changes.

Shifting gears

In converting to an exclusively high-end builder, Goodall Pools enhanced the standard package it offers, increasing the number and sophistication of features. A premium package included even more elements, such as beautiful paver decking, enhanced lighting or waterfeatures.

To thrive in this market, builders must achieve a certain level of customer service and quality. So the builder made more staff changes. The vice president of construction position took on a more high-level job description, overseeing the department’s financial picture and leaving sales management to a new sales director. Three customer-care representatives were added to communicate more closely with customers.

Based on his experience, he offers two bits of advice:

• “Pay attention to your numbers and your lead counts,” Goodall says. “Making adjustments as necessary is important. We noticed the accounts were starting to go down, so our team started pursuing people who had held off.”
• Next, take care of employees, especially in these labor shortages. Goodall Pools has focused on providing more extras for employees, such as Employee Appreciation Days and special outings. “Your employees are what make your business go,” he says.