Who Says The Construction Industry Can’t Have Culture Management?
Construction has more than it’s fair share of harmful stereotypes. But the most harmful for businesses and their leaders – like you – is the belief that a construction business can’t be structured and behave like modern, evolving businesses when it comes to intangible assets, like a company’s culture. There’s an underlying stigma in construction; it’s a “blue-collar” world, and people often equate that with a “set-in-my-ways” mentality.
We know better, though. The construction industry is teeming with highly intellectual men and women who are constantly breaking the status quo in typical day-to-day operations – and they’re reaping the benefits.
Culture management has proven to be a necessity in all other business models. In fact, businesses with a strong culture saw a 4x increase in revenue growth.
While a 4x increase in revenue sounds tantalizing enough, there are innumerable benefits to having strong culture management in place within your organization – even if you have very few employees. Here are a few more benefits of strong culture management:
- 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success.
- Building an employer brand and company culture helps companies hire the right people (55%), get a greater number of qualified candidates (49%), increase employee referrals (41%), and have more diverse candidates (32%).
- Highly engaged workplaces see a 10% increase in customer ratings and a 20% increase in sales.
The Construction Industry Needs Culture Management
The above metrics are amazing figures, right? Unfortunately, only 8% of respondents to this 2016 culture survey said they even measure employee engagement on a monthly or more frequent basis. This is dangerous, especially during a time when the construction industry is an upward growth; skilled workers are in high demand, and that demand isn’t being met. Only 13% of employees even feel highly engaged at work, and that spells danger for the physical safety of your workers as well as the financial safety of your company.
Unengaged construction workers are prone to injury, and an unengaged organization cannot expect to grow, retain workers, and hire excited qualified labor.
One solution for all of this? Culture management.
The construction industry is more than capable of culture management, and we’ve consistently proven that through our Engagement and Beyond program; creating an inclusive culture at the top and letting that culture trickle down and adapt as workers respond and provide feedback can change your business from a marketplace competitor to a market leader within a few years.
As John Mackey puts it, “If you are lucky enough to be someone’s employer, then you have a moral obligation to make sure people do look forward to coming to work in the morning.”
Provide ownership for your workers, show them they are being listened to, and invest in a culture that actively invites input, encourages safety, and is always ready to adapt. The construction industry is more than capable of culture management. Your employees – and your bankroll – will thank you for it.
