Employee-Related Construction Business Problems

Are you operating in reactive mode?

When your construction business has a problem, do you fix it quickly? And then…does it resurface almost as quickly? If that’s happening in your construction business, you aren’t fixing the problem. You’re patching it. That’s what project management consultant Gregg M. Schoppman says in a recent article about employee retention.

5 Ways Employee Retention & Company Culture Impacts Construction Business Profits

Your construction business is unique. There’s no magic cure for workforce problems because every issue is company-specific. Here are 5 common employee-related problems that impact your bottom line:

1. Our bonus program really doesn’t work – If you’re offering terrific dental/healthcare, sign-on cash, steak knives, and no one is responding to your recruit-a-friend incentives, it’s not the bonus program. Your employees are treating the program like owning a lemon-car. You sell it asap, but not to friends. Examine your culture.
2. Our workers aren’t producing and we’re not making money – This is likely a communication problem more than a laziness problem. Schoppman says it might even be a software program problem. The lack of effective communication before, during, and after projects can create a negative culture and profit loss.
3. Our workers aren’t producing because they are unsure what to do – “Training should reinforce the operational model and ultimately illustrate the right methodology to build,” says Schoppman. The process should take about 3 months. If your onboarding and training program is one day of reviewing your construction business manual and a week of following someone around, it seldom works.
4. We can’t pay as much as other companies – This generation of workers (including many in their early 40s) will work for less if the environment meets their needs. Period. If you can pay more for loyalty and industry-best work, you should. But usually, that’s not the core problem.
5. XYZ has been our primary work-supplier since the 1980s – Your faithful employees that want to provide the best possible customer service may be giving away a lot of work to this client. It may be time to do some serious number-crunching and investigate how profitable this customer relationship is – and should – be.

…And depending on XYZ to keep your construction business alive is exactly the reason you need marketing development. Contact Construction Monitor.