Key takeaways
- Use one group per job or per trade, with the contractor's lead invited as a guest.
- Keep a separate internal group for pricing, staff issues and decisions you are not ready to share.
- Ask for a fixed daily update: done, next, blockers, photos.
- Pin scope, site rules and contacts so nobody works from an old version.
- Owners and admins can audit and export the job group if a dispute comes up.
Contractors are part of your operation for weeks or months, then they are gone. In between, they need instructions, access details, drawings and quick decisions. If all of that runs through the personal phone of one project manager, the company has no record and no control. A shared group per job fixes that without making anyone’s life harder.
Why contractor coordination fails on personal chat apps
- Everything depends on one person’s phone. When the site manager is sick or leaves, the history goes with them.
- Contractors end up in the wrong groups. A painter added to the “site” group reads conversations about other trades, pricing or internal staff problems.
- Nobody removes them. Months after the job, former subcontractors are still in groups that now discuss a different client.
- Decisions are not recorded. “He said on the phone it was fine” is not a record when the invoice arrives.
How C Chat handles contractor coordination
C Chat uses guest access: contractors join a specific group by invitation, not your whole team. Your company keeps ownership of the group, its files and its history.
A typical setup for one project:
| Group | Members | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| “Job 214 – Internal” | Your staff only | Pricing, staffing, decisions in progress |
| “Job 214 – Electrical” | Your PM + the electrician’s foreman | Scope, updates, inspections |
| “Job 214 – Drywall” | Your PM + the drywall lead | Scope, updates, sequencing |
| “Job 214 – All trades” | PM + every foreman | Site-wide notices, access, safety |
On construction sites this pattern scales well; see subcontractor coordination on job sites and team chat for construction companies.
Setting it up: groups, members and roles
- Create the internal group first, so your team has a place to talk before contractors arrive.
- Create one group per trade or contractor and add your project manager.
- Invite each contractor’s lead by link, QR, WhatsApp, SMS or email; see invite by link or QR code.
- Pin the essentials: scope summary, site rules, working hours, who approves changes.
- Make your PM an admin so they can add a second foreman or remove someone without waiting for the office.
Before inviting anyone external, read inviting guests and contractors safely.
Message formats and checklist
A fixed format keeps updates short and comparable from day to day. Ask each contractor to post this before leaving site:
Daily update – [trade] – [date] Done today: … Planned tomorrow: … Blockers / needs from us: … Photos: attached (before / after)
For change requests, use a separate message: what, why, photo, estimated impact. Reply to it directly with “Approved” or “Not approved” so the decision is attached to the request.
Close-out checklist for each contractor:
- Final photos posted in the group.
- Open items listed and assigned.
- Contractor removed from the group.
- Group kept for the record, renamed with “Closed”.
Security and oversight
Job groups often carry door codes, alarm instructions, client names and site layouts. C Chat sends messages over TLS and stores them with AES-256 using a key specific to your organization. Group conversations can be audited and exported by your team’s owners and admins, which is the record you need when a dispute about scope or timing appears. Direct messages between a contractor and one of your staff are private, so make it a rule that decisions are confirmed in the group.
The same approach works outside construction: cleaning firms coordinating subcontracted crews (cleaning and janitorial teams), nonprofits working with partner organizations (NGOs and nonprofits) and care facilities managing external therapists or maintenance (senior care facilities). For related external workflows, see client communication and vendor communication.
Getting started
Create your team at getcchat.com/c, set up the internal group and one contractor group for your next job, and send the first invitation today. It is free for now within the limits on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to communicate with contractors?
Use one written channel per job that both sides can see, with a fixed update format and photos as evidence. Phone calls are fine for urgent matters, but confirm the outcome in the group so the decision is recorded.
Should contractors be in my company chat?
Not in your internal groups. Invite them as guests to the group for their job only. That way they get what they need without seeing other projects, internal discussions or other clients.
How do I handle change requests by chat?
Ask for change requests as a separate message with a description, a photo and the expected impact on time or cost, then reply in the thread with approval or rejection. The group history becomes your change log.
What happens to the chat history when the contractor leaves?
When you remove the contractor from the group, they stop seeing new messages, and the group history stays with your team. Owners and admins can audit and export it later.