How To Increase Motivation In The Construction Industry
The construction industry is an important sector for any economy, and employers need to ensure their workers have the motivation to complete projects on time and to a high standard. It’s not always a simple task, but there are measures you can take as an employer or manager that will boost morale and encourage workers to strive for a more motivated workplace.
Are You The Leading Type?
If you are experiencing high employee turnover, it’s worth taking a step back and asking yourself: are you the leading type? As an employer, it is your job to motivate your employees, and if you fail to do this, employee retention may drop. This is especially important within the construction industry, where you need reliable employees to help you meet deadlines and work to high expectations.
Consider what makes your employees want to follow you. Integrity, understanding, accountability, positivity, and a number of other characteristics are respected by employees, and failure to cater to their expectations can lead to unhappy, unmotivated employees.
Simple Steps To Take For Motivated Employees
As an employer, one of your priorities is to encourage and motivate your employees to perform with enthusiasm, so they’ll complete projects to the standards you expect. To get bottom-line results from your employees, here are a few steps you can take to increase motivation in the construction industry.
Provide Regular Recognition And Praise
A good manager always takes the time to recognise a job well done. Construction is not an easy field to work in, so one of the best ways to increase motivation in the construction industry is to let employees know when they’ve done a great job or gone above and beyond. Failure to do this can lead to employees that simply do not feel appreciated, which can in turn result in poor quality work.
A good way to ensure that you provide regular praise is to take note of your employees in a planner and be in touch at least once a week, whether it be verbally or through a quick note or email. An employee or team of the month program is another great way to incentivise great work.
Be Caring, With A Positive Attitude
Letting your employees know that you care about them as individuals can go a long way towards increasing motivation in the workplace. Recognise their personal goals, personal development, and the importance of their relationships such as their family. Additionally, ensure that they feel listened to. Few things are more demotivational than a negative boss that waves away personal concerns. Approaching employees with a positive attitude can really boost motivation, especially if you take the time to note some personal details about your employees.
This applies to all fields of employment, not just the construction industry.
Be Clear When It Comes To Expectations
It is much better for you to be upfront about your expectations than to assume your employees can read your mind.
This is especially important in the construction industry, as you are often working on big projects with expected deliveries and tight budgets. Many employees thrive when they have set expectations, rather than being told “do your best”. Setting deadlines for invoices, project completion, timesheet completion, and defining what results you expect are some examples of clear expectations, which can result in more focused employees.
Engage Your Employees
Employees who feel like “just a number” or not part of the larger picture can be less motivated in the construction industry. The best way to counter this is to let them know how their work is contributing to an overall project and how important their role is. An employee who feels like they matter will always out-perform one who doesn’t, so it’s vital that they feel like a respected part of the team.
One way to do this is to also offer upskilling opportunities. If you have an employee who only cleans the building site every day, they will likely feel deflated and unwilling to perform their role correctly. Offering them a chance to try out a new skill will provide a much-needed boost, giving them exposure to a new and possibly challenging experience.
Increasing Motivation with iTWOcx
By taking these steps into account, you can boost morale on a worksite and work toward a more positive construction team. And a positive team means a smooth project! But for any manager/ employer to shift focus on these they need a solid process/ system that takes care of day to day operations, which helps manage their project deliverables effectively and efficiently in accordance to stakeholder demands. iTWO cx, has a unique management system for contractors within the construction industry to manage their day to day operations so that they can accordingly focus on leading their employees who in turn lead the systematic changes within the construction industry.
Talk to us at iTWO cx today and find out how we can further streamline your next construction project.