“To win the marketplace, you must first win the workplace.” – Doug Conant
Managing your people in the workplace is a skill. It is an art mastered by few but admired by many. Making the best use of your workforce while keeping them completely satisfied is a remarkable competence in the business world. It is a skill grasped commonly by successful leaders. Just like the quote above, if you wish to create a strong foothold in the market, you must first create an effectively managed and satisfied workforce.
Effective management of employees aims at maximizing the performance of workers to achieve business goals and targets. The objective is to utilize your human resource in the best way possible to create a competitive advantage over your competitors. But what is the right way to effectively manage employees and that too if you work in the construction industry?
Here we have a list of some useful ways to manage your employees in a construction business:
Train Them Adequately
Yes, you are the manager, and yes, you are responsible for supervising your employees, but do you think you can scrutinize your workers’ every action? Effective management does not only involve looking over your workers performing their tasks. It also includes informing and training them enough to carry out tasks even when you are not around.
Additionally, construction sites pose serious risks if the workers are not thoroughly trained or well informed about their job or the on-site conditions. Therefore, make sure your workers get periodic training and also keep coaching them daily as to how they should effectively manage themselves.
Provide Adequate On-Site Facilities
At times your workers may require staying on-site for days, such as in cases where the construction location is in a remote area. Even if they do not have to stay, working for hours on the construction site may necessitate that you provide proper on-site facilities to your workers. These facilities may include temporary housing, sanitation facilities, on-site canteens, etc.
The provision of these facilities is directly related to employee satisfaction. Failing to provide a proper working environment for your employees may lead to frustration and high labor turnover. It may also tarnish your reputation and hinder your chances of hiring skillful workers in the long run.
Communicate
Professionals and experts place a lot of emphasis on effective communication skills when it comes to human resource management. Keeping communication clear and to-the-point avoids any misunderstandings and unnecessary mistakes. Likewise, establishing a smooth communication flow is necessary to get tasks done correctly and on time in construction projects.
One helpful way to manage communication is to use workflow platforms. Through these platforms, you can assign tasks, monitor updates, or request changes. Such work execution programs allow you to connect with your team by sending alerts instantly. You can also attach documents, diagrams, pictures, comments, etc. which makes communication super understandable.
Apart from work, engaging with your employees and taking feedback concerning their satisfaction levels is also essential. Your workers should feel heard. Ask them regarding any reservations they have and how they wish to resolve it. An inclusive approach goes miles when it comes to effective human resource management on-site.
Motivate Your Workers
Managing construction workers will require you to convince them to listen to you and do as you instruct. It may sometimes get complicated if you do not have a good reputation or relationship with your employees. If your employees do not like working with you, they may feel demotivated and uninterested on-site.
As the team supervisor, you must motivate and inspire your workers to give their best. It would help if you worked on building a healthy relationship with your team. Be straightforward, honest, and try to understand their concerns by putting yourself in their shoes.
Address Workplace Stress
Construction work is an exhausting job. Your workers may feel tired and drained at the end of the day. Top it all with some rifts or fall-outs amongst the team, and workplace stress can mount significantly. In these times, your duty as the manager is to address the issues and reduce workplace stress.
You should conduct interactive sessions to meet a few individuals and ask them about their stress levels. Again, you need to have an open and friendly relationship with your team to tell you everything they feel frankly.
Visit The Workers Often
Unlike an office job, you, as the manager, may not stay on-site every day. However, we advise that you visit your workers frequently to stay updated. If there is an on-site office available, you can also try shifting in and staying close to your construction team.
We say this because firstly, staying close to your team will keep you aware of what they are up to; secondly, it will give your workers a sense of understanding. You can interact with them more and work with them rather than just delegating tasks over a software. Being more interactive will also help you understand your team better.
Conclusion
Effective human resource management is a crucial function of a business. However, managing workers is also about addressing their concerns and resolving any issues that your employees encounter. Since construction work is a tiring and physically draining job, it is all the more important to keep your workers adequately managed and motivated.
