When you’re a manager in the construction industry, you’re well aware of the challenges you’re up against, and there are many. From high turnover to multiple safety risks and more, the obstacles are constant. However, there is a solution to these problems that is often overlooked – investing in employee satisfaction and engagement.
Studies have shown that there is a “positive correlation between a company’s levels of employee engagement and happiness and its key performance indicators, such as sales, profits and customer loyalty.” And that’s not surprising to hear. When employees are satisfied in their role and are committed to the company, they are far more productive, engaged, happier and are great problem solvers.
There are too many HR challenges in the construction industry to name, but a few include not enough qualified recruits, high employee turnover in the construction industry and constant safety hazards. As such, we list seven ways you can overcome these challenges to create employee satisfaction and engagement.
- Hire the right staff.
Your construction company will only succeed and thrive if your workforce is the best to begin with. Improving your hiring process from the off means you’re bringing in the most capable and brightest recruits. One of the biggest HR challenges in the construction industry is while searching for the best candidates, you’re battling the commonly held perception that construction jobs are low-paying, highly dangerous and physically exhausting.
So what do you do then? Don’t just focus on offering competitive pay and benefits, make sure to leverage all other strategies at your disposal as well, such as encouraging positive employer brands or your reputation as an employer. You can do this by underscoring a strong and stable safety record, offering multiple employee training opportunities, and asking satisfied employees to share their personal work experience.
- Use a construction time clock app.
Sounds crazy but efficiently tracking an employee’s time boosts motivation and engagement. Using a construction time clock app helps employees work toward daily goals to achieve maximum output. Plus, tracking hours and measuring time spent on jobs and projects helps your workers increase productivity to meet the bottom line. It’s as simple as opening the construction time clock app, clicking the timer, doing your work, and clicking the timer again to stop.
In addition, a digital construction time clock app helps assure employees that little error can occur with timesheets so they know they’ll get paid correctly. However, make sure your employees are aware of why and how you’re tracking time to maintain positive morale and engagement.
- Safety is key.
OSHA says it directly on its website, “The fatal injury rate for the construction industry is higher than the national average in this category for all industries.” With that in mind, prioritizing workplace and employee safety is a must. Not only do you need to consider the direct and indirect costs of injuries, you need to remember that accidents can impair morale because of how wary employees are about their working conditions. On the flip side, when employees know that their managers genuinely value their well-being and safety, they will feel more engaged and committed to successfully completing their goals and company goals.
Therefore, comprehensive safety plans must be in place, which also include regular employee training sessions. Now, there is no way to guarantee 100% risk-free anything, so if an accident should occur, ensure that you have clear protocols in place so as to minimize further harm. Always communicate your safety protocols and consider third-party safety inspections to help highlight risks and to offer unbiased guidance on how to improve.
- Employee training and development is a must.
There are countless benefits to offering multiple opportunities for your employees to further their knowledge and skillsets. We don’t just mean that it helps employees excel at their jobs; when employees have the chance to learn and develop on a regular basis, they feel more committed to the company, thus boosting their engagement and causing them to be more invested in their role.
We recommend offering training classes and employer-sponsored certification programs so you can avoid the high rate of employee turnover in the construction industry. Apart from just offering routine safety training, consider classes in the latest techniques and trends as well.
- Build a career path.
You don’t want employees to just clock in and out like zombies. When your team is invested in their role and the company, they will be more productive and engaged so you can ensure customer satisfaction and meeting deadlines at every turn. When employees know there is room for growth and seniority positions, they are determined to work hard to make sure that role goes to them.
Mention the advancement opportunities during the recruitment stage and during meetings. Be sure to discuss career goals with employees and outline what steps are needed to help them reach their goals. Offer support and praise as employees reach milestones. Doing all of the above will help recruit new employees while building company loyalty so you can avoid becoming another statistic in employee turnover in the construction industry.
- Ask for feedback and suggestions.
When employees know their thoughts and ideas are welcome and can impact the success of the company, you’re immediately fostering employee satisfaction and engagement. So, make sure managers ask for feedback and suggestions from their teams on a regular basis – and genuinely review what is said and implement the best ideas. Chances are that not all the ideas will be good, but in any case, be sure to thank everyone for their suggestions. Just knowing that their suggestion was considered is enough to help employees feel like their voice matters.
- Be a coach.
Going off the last point, don’t wait around for an annual performance review to hear feedback or to better mentor employee performance. Instead, have regular check-ins in order to provide immediate performance feedback, valuable coaching suggestions, and advice on how to achieve senior positions.
Final thoughts
There is no doubt that the construction industry is up against many obstacles, but by prioritizing employee satisfaction and engagement, you have a much better chance at achieving better outcomes through improved workforce performance.
This is a guest post from our friends at Connecteam.
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