The answer lies in sharing the rewards of ownership without giving up control, a strategy that is revolutionizing employee retention for home improvement contractors and trades business coaches alike.
The Retention Crisis for HVAC Business and Plumbing Contractors
It’s a common observation that large tech companies and corporations successfully lock in talent by offering stock options and equity. This works because it directly aligns the employee’s personal wealth with the company’s long-term success.
However, replicating this model for specialized businesses, like plumbing contractors, HVAC business owners, or an independent electrician contractor, is complicated. As most of these companies are structured as LLCs or S-Corps, traditional equity can be a legal and administrative nightmare. This complexity has historically prevented the trades from leveraging this powerful retention tool.
Introducing Reins: The Simplified Phantom Equity Solution
Reins was created specifically to solve this gap, inspired by the desire of a contractor father to have his key people “take the reigns” and allow him more freedom. Reins is an innovative platform that helps contractor management services and owners structure Phantom Equity and profit-sharing plans for their top-performing employees.
What is Phantom Equity?
Phantom equity provides the employee with the economic benefit of ownership, a share of the company’s future value or profits, without actually granting them any voting rights or stock. It’s a mechanism for profit sharing that incentivizes key talent to think and act like an owner.
The Proof is in the Retention: A 94% Success Rate
The results for contractors utilizing this system are compelling. Companies that are “super transparent” about their goals and performance metrics are the ones who adopt Reins most successfully.
Critically, 94% of employees who were granted an incentive through the Reins platform are still employed at that company. For any trades business coach focused on stability and growth, this retention rate proves the value of aligning team goals with the owner’s vision.
Beyond Software: A Full-Service Rollout
Reigns is more than just contractor management software or a simple legal template. Their service includes a full, “white-glove” rollout process:
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Templated Legal Framework: Provides all necessary legal documentation to establish the incentive plan.
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Software Platform: Manages the plan and provides a transparent view of goals and metrics for both the owner and the employee.
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Owner Coaching & Education: Reigns helps the owner select the right people and the right plan, customized for each individual.
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Employee One-on-Ones: The company assists with the in-person meeting to explain the plan, ensuring employees understand the why behind the incentive and how they can personally drive value.
This comprehensive approach ensures that the incentive doesn’t just look good on paper; it is effectively communicated and actively used to change behavior and improve company culture.
Listen to the full discussion on The Successful Contractor Podcast.
The full interview with Chris Buttenham, Co-Founder of Reigns, provides deeper insight into how you can implement these strategies in your business.
Listen here:
