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How Construction Communication Technology Can Reduce Turnover
In the construction industry, reputation is everything, so delivering great work safely, on time and within budget all top your list of priorities. To keep everyone on the same page, it’s critical to invest in your talent pool, recruiting and more importantly, retaining the best workers that deliver the best results. But, your competitors know this too, and your craft workers are about to be poached.
Competitors are offering attractive compensation and benefits, drawing the talent you’ve invested in away from your team. According to the Center for American Progress, the financial cost of employee turnover ranges from 16-20% of each employee’s salary – easily adding up to thousands of dollars. But with project starts going up, healthy backlogs and even smaller labor pools, you need to retain and engage your current employees. So, what can your management team do to prevent turnover? What frequently goes unrecognized is that your company’s communication practices could be a key shortcoming in attracting and retaining top talent, and construction communication technology can help.
With baby boomers retiring and Gen Z joining the workforce, it’s important to recognize the differences in this generation’s priorities. Gen Z wants to work for a company that has values that align with their own and where they feel appreciated for their work. If they don’t experience this quickly, they’re bound to leave for greener pastures. With a turnover rate of nearly 64% among workers 24 or younger, it’s evident that Gen Z workers are quick to jump ship when their career goals are not being met. Further, Gen Z also places more value than ever on communication and transparency, wanting to be involved in company conversations and feel “in-the-know” of what’s going on in their workplace. Meeting this expectation is nearly impossible with traditional communication practices.
If the only avenue of communication with your field workers is word of mouth or decentralized text chains, you’re not alone. For decades, construction companies have utilized morning huddles or informal, one-off text messages to communicate with workers, relying on field managers to share updates with their team and for those listening to relay those messages to their co-workers. It’s a classic game of telephone down to the front line. This indirect communication is unreliable and often results in news being distorted in translation or lost altogether, leaving workers to feel uninformed and alienated. If your workers feel neglected when it comes to company-wide communication and updates, they often become unassociated with your company, making them easily persuaded when a new job offer comes along – and in today’s workforce climate, it might come along sooner rather than later.
Good communication on the job site is an overlooked but crucial piece in showing your craft workers respect and helping them feel informed and proud of their work, and in turn, they’re likely to be more loyal to your company. Frequent communication can be as simple as sharing weekly, company-wide memos on leadership shifts, changes in procedures or updates on policy. Even more importantly, encouraging two-way streams of communication will build trust between corporate-level leaders and front-line employees, fostering an engaged and connected workforce. Consistent and authentic company-wide communication can ignite a positive community culture where workers feel energized and heard. Group conversations will make your workers feel like they’re more than just a number and like they’re a part of the team.
But, establishing direct and frequent lines of communication can be difficult among a fluid workforce, where workers rotate from job site to job site, staying on one project for a couple of months or only a few days. That’s where we step in.
MindForge helps you efficiently communicate with your front-line workers by connecting your entire team through a single mobile application. Managers have the ability to instantaneously share updates with the entire workforce, keeping them up to speed on company happenings. MindForge also helps break down the silos between leadership and craftworkers. With the chat feature, workers can easily approach leadership with questions and concerns, helping them feel like their voice is valued. With the bulletin board feature, upper management can encourage employees to engage with one another and create camaraderie amongst the team. This will create a positive company culture where workers are connected to one another.
With MindForge’s easy-to-use capabilities, companies can make their onsite workers feel recognized and valued by the leadership team, ultimately increasing their job satisfaction and pride in their work. When employees feel valued, they’ll be more inclined to stay loyal to your company, helping you continue producing repeatable results and elevating your reputation.
Reach out to us to learn more about how MindForge can improve your job site communication, increase worker satisfaction and protect your talent from being poached.