So in just a few days time we’ll be going to the polls, putting a cross in a box and hopefully electing a new Prime Minister.
I’m not going to use this space to bore you with my political leanings, in fact I haven’t completely decided who I’m going to vote for myself yet.
For my sins though I do have an interest in politics, I even considered running for school council in my youth but I figured my hard-line policies on late homework submission wouldn’t be popular among my peers.
I have been fascinated in this campaign by the live television debates which proved to be a great opportunity for all three main leaders to come under scrutiny and to answer questions under their own steam without a baying mob of party colleagues behind them.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg described the debates as ‘the biggest job interview you could ever imagine’.
How I wish as a warehouse manager I could have quizzed prospective contractors with the same level of detail before I offered them any work.
I like the idea of getting three rival companies together and allowing them to debate with each other who is offering the best price, how they came to that figure and whether it’s been properly costed.
By the time they’ve finished squabbling with each other and indulged in endless petty point-scoring the price I’m paying will have gone right down and everybody will be happy – well apart from the two companies that didn’t get the work but they can always try again in five years time.
Maybe I should have given this level of scrutiny to my last employer as well, that way the company wouldn’t have collapsed under my feet just as I was getting nice and comfortable at my desk in the warehouse manager’s office.
It is of course impractical to set up such a situation for prospective contractors but the election debates have got me thinking about how much scrutiny we put contractors under.
If companies or tradespeople want your work they should be prepared to justify their price and service in minute detail, if they aren’t then give the job to someone who will.
It may not be as important a decision as selecting the next leader of Great Britain but making the right choice is just as essential – just ask my last employer.
Warehouse & Logistics News
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