When you become either a site manager or site supervisor, one of the key responsibilities that you attain is to lead and motivate staff. Besides ensuring the well-being of your staff, and also making sure the day-to-day operational activities are running smoothly, motivating staff is the key to staff retention and getting a construction project completed on time.
One thing you have to remember, construction workers do have some of the most labour intensive jobs out there. These workers play a fundamental role in building communities, houses, schools, hospitals, offices and shops. Even though the work they do is extremely rewarding, especially when they see the building they help to construct come to life. The work involved is not glamourous at all.
But there is reason why
The Fast Company has stated that the construction sector has the happiest workforce. The industry puts in a great deal of effort to ensuring there is a good working environment that is fostered through building strong colleague relations. And the best way to gain good relations amongst colleagues to create a highly motivating environment where staff are commitment to working towards a common goal.
In this post, we are going to share 7 ways to help you motivate your construction workers so you can achieve high staff retention and get the work completed on time.
1. Recognise Employee Contribution
No matter what industry you work in, failing to recognise an employee's contribution is quite a common management mistake. There is a lot of
research which suggests that monetary reward (offering a higher salary) is only a short term motivation strategy. And this is because once an employee gets used to their higher salary, their motivation decreases.
Make it habit to officially recognise the hard work your staff does. If your client gives you plaudits on the stonemasonry work your staff have done, make sure you pass this positive feedback to the appropriate team member(s). Appreciation does go a long way.
2. Lead by Example and Show a Good Attitude
Human behaviour is contagious. If you consistently emanate positive behaviours like smiling, asking employees how they are, being optimistic and genuinely showing a good attitude, these behaviours will rub off your employees in a good way. When employees see you in this positive way, then it will encourage them to replicate your behaviours on a subconscious level.
On the other hand, if you portray negative behaviours like frowning or acting cold with employees, then your staff will quickly lose their respect for you.
3. Remind Staff the Reason to complete the construction project
Simply telling your staff that a wall needs to be built is quite demotivating. Simply because there is no clear reason to why their completing the task.
The solution is to give your a staff a good reason. If your construction project is involved in building a school, then you can tell your staff how the school can help to educate children in the surrounding community, as oppose for them to travelling afar.
4. Communicate clearly by explaining what is expected
To be an effective motivator, you need to be clear in your communication. If you're simply telling your staff to work hard without any clear direction of the end-result, then your staff will not know what they are working towards.
So it is important to be clear and concise when telling your staff what needs to be done. You could say: "The South and East walls needs to be built first. Once they're done, we can focus on the North and West walls since they will be made out of glass."
5. Give Your Staff a Challenge
By giving your staff the same repetitive and menial task can quickly demotivate staff. The solution is to delegate tasks which requires more thought. A new challenge presented to your staff can bring a new wave of enthusiasm.
6. Get Your Staff Thoughts and Opinions
When a project is fully under way, it is best to hold regular team meetings for updates on the project. These meetings are also excellent opportunities to gain some thoughts and opinions from your staff.
Asking your staff for some feedback on the project makes your staff feel very valued. It makes them feel that their voices (whether it may be concerns or even suggestions) are being heard.
7. Announce Opportunities of Advancement
It is a choice for an individual to decide whether they want to stay in their current position or if they want to progress further in their career. For the latter, if you announce opportunities for career progression, it will work to your benefit. They will work harder so that they can be considered for the role.
How The Learning Station Can Help You?
If you're looking to pursue a career in either site management or site supervision, The Learning Station can help. We are a London-based training provider and we've helped many individuals achieve either their
SMSTS and
SSSTS qualification. Both qualifications are fully accredited and are valid for 5 years. To find out more, please contact us on 020 8342 7210.
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