Click here to read the transcript of the interview
Adams and Reese Partner and Construction Team Co-Leader Trent Cotney was interviewed by RoofersCoffeeShop multimedia manager Megan Ellsworth about benefits that employers can offer besides better pay, such as healthcare, dental, vision, 401Ks, gym memberships, and more.
RoofersCoffeeShop is a news source for roofing contractors and employers in the construction industry.
“Employee benefits are a great way, regardless of whether you’re talking about admin or you’re talking about crew or whatever, it’s a great way for retention, and it’s not all about pay, it’s about what other benefits do you provide,” said Cotney. “The obvious ones are healthcare, and dental, and vision, that kind of stuff. But I see contractors doing it in a couple of different ways, right? One, they will provide all or offset a portion of the cost for their employees. The other is, they give them group options so the employee pays for it but at least you’ve got the option where you get access to it.”
Cotney continued that some contractors have gotten creative with benefits, such as gym memberships, 401Ks, pension plans, pet insurance, etc. “A lot of it is about finding out what your employees want and what makes sense from the company perspective. This is a great way to ensure retention, keep people in place, keep them happy, and I think you're seeing more and more contractors offer the full complement of benefits.”
A Partner in the Adams and Reese Tampa office, Cotney is a board-certified construction lawyer licensed in eight states and Washington, D.C. In construction litigation and arbitration, he represents construction and infrastructure clients, including general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, manufacturers, architects, engineers, roofers, developers, and other professionals. He is an EU arbitrator for construction-related disputes.
Cotney focuses his practice on all aspects of construction litigation and arbitration, including OSHA defense, lien law, bond law, bid protests, and construction document review and drafting.