How to Keep Construction Employees Engaged

Many construction contractors are struggling to keep projects on track faced with labor shortages and hiring procedures that may not be conducive to attracting the right talent. A growing pool of clients seeking contractors means competitive bidding, and margins are already pinched due to material shortages. Contractors are turning down work because of the labor shortage, and stakeholders are demanding a greater return on their investment.

Ultimately, it’s much easier and more cost-efficient for construction business owners to retain employees than to hire, onboard, and train new ones. If you’re struggling to fill positions or seeing high turnover, it may be time to take a closer look at work culture. Workers will stay in positions where they are acknowledged for their work, growth, and loyalty to their employer.

Streamline the Jobsite

Your workers want to do one thing when they get to the job site, and that’s work. It means they don’t want to have to jump through administrative hoops or cut through bureaucratic red tape. Work with your team and subcontractors to ensure that paperwork and documentation are filled out before the work begins. 

Promote a Culture of Safety

The conditions on construction job sites are inherently dangerous, even if everyone is doing exactly what they should. One small mistake could cause injury (or worse) that throws everything off. Don’t assume that everyone involved knows how to stay safe; provide ongoing and comprehensive, site-specific safety training.

Encourage Communication

Open-door communication also builds a culture of accountability. Let your entire team know that you’re always open to feedback, even if it may feel critical in nature. Simply allowing everyone to have a voice about their job and the company as a whole will create connections with employees that boost engagement, productivity, and your overall bottom line. 

Designate an Onboard Specialist

Staying engaged with your construction employees and keeping their job satisfaction high starts with the hiring process. Choose a team member from within your business to work with new hires to fill out paperwork and ensure they fully understand their scope of work, role expectations, and safety procedures. This point of contact will keep workers plugged in while freeing you up as the business owner.

Invest in Tech

As a construction business owner, you want to do everything in your power to help your employees do their job easier and more efficiently, and this means adopting tech tools. While tech can’t replace some processes (like human labor), there are quite a few that it can – like project scheduling, invoicing, accounting, and even payroll. Less stress means higher job satisfaction and fewer human errors.

Optimize Project Scheduling

Overworked construction employees and subcontractors will burn out quickly and start making mistakes, costing your project time and money. Optimized project scheduling means your business is utilizing every team member based on the phase of the project, and knowing how to use tools like Primavera means business owners aren’t stretching employees thin and creating unnecessarily difficult working conditions.

The construction industry is propelled forward by an immeasurable number of workers from all backgrounds and with all levels of experience, but keeping them engaged and happy is a universal truth of helping avoid the challenges of hiring during a labor shortage. 

This is something we’re all too happy to help with. Our approach to developing a well-defined project schedule leaves nothing to chance. When starting a project with TD Wilson, you have the benefit of not only our decades of experience but also our expertise with today’s top CPM software products – contact our team today!