Are you frustrated because the business is finally coming in, but you don’t have the resources to produce the work? Yes, a labor shortage is upon us, but there are successful strategies you can adopt to push through it.
Experts predict that high employment in the construction industry will be around for years, so it’s time to start creating a strategy that will help you keep production going and quality levels high. Below are tips to help you handle the growing demand.
- Retain current employees. The stories about employees leaving for significantly higher salaries offered by others are coming in fast and furious. And it’s hard for most of us to simply raise their compensation to compete. However, studies show that money is definitely not the most important tool in retaining talented team members. Employees often stay at companies that pay less if their employer asks them to be involved in driving the company forward, asks their opinions on important issues, and shows a sincere appreciation for their efforts.
- Hire the best people. Just like people stay at a company for reasons other than money, others join companies for the same reason. The more you can build an engaging, fun, and stimulating culture, the more appealing you will be to superstars who are not happy elsewhere. Don’t settle for a warm body.
- Outsource when appropriate. Do it for everything from marketing to using turnkey services provided by suppliers, like installation of windows, cabinets, and anything else you can find.
- Develop more efficient systems. Waste can be anything from extra runs to the lumberyard to keeping steps in the design process because that’s the way you used to do things. By eliminating wasted steps, everyone who’s on the staff can do more.
- Invest in tools that improve efficiency. Improvements could include the addition of a faster computer server or simply better standard tools. Look around for where the bottlenecks occur and see if there’s a tool that can help you do it better.
The labor shortage isn’t going away, but if you learn to become a lean, mean production machine you’ll be just fine.