Getting the contracts for the big jobs is the goal in construction, but it only yields profit if you have the manpower to handle those jobs. As our nation recovers from these pandemic years, there is no promise that labor shortage won’t get even worse before it gets better, and your company must be able to recruit and retain excellent employees. It’s critical that construction managers are proactive and strategic as they prepare for the employment years ahead.

Two essential components to this strategy are cross-training of employees and eliminating safety risks.  And the key to effectiveness in both is becoming abundantly apparent:  technology! Technology is fast becoming the answer to so many concerns; combatting labor shortages is just one:

Cross-training is essential to retain your workers. Infrastructure construction jobs are on the increase, and those employees will need to increase their skill sets so they can do the jobs well.  As technology in our industry improves, so must our training.

Invest now in cross-training of your valued workers to ensure that they remain “tech savvy” in an industry that is steadily becoming so; otherwise, you will find yourself constantly looking to hire as the industry progresses. Do your workers understand performance metrics via dashboards?  Training them in this technology will give your employees more ownership of jobs and help them to play a more integral role with the back office. The more adaptable your “team” is, the longer your team will work efficiently.

Perhaps surprisingly, job safety is another critical area that ultimately fights the labor shortage. When injuries occur, you find yourself scrambling to replace competent workers. Doing everything you can to mitigate safety risks now will prevent a potential hiring panic in the future, and technology is vastly aiding the construction industry in this arena. Do your workers have digitized protective gear? Items like hats and vests that measure air quality and GPS watches that limit falls and on-the-job accidents are proving remarkable as they ensure the safety of our workers.

Utilizing software in the safety and quality assurance process has transformed the construction industry, as it is applied to risk management, commissioning, and inspection. Through such technologies as drones and BIM (Building Information Modeling) the issue of safety on the construction site has transitioned from response to prevention. In this technological age, construction equipment is tracked electronically and potential concerns are eliminated before they become actual problems, but only if today’s construction worker knows how to use it.

The best tool we have in the construction industry is technology. As we train our employees in its use and use it to invest in our employees, we will be taking critical steps to keep our good workers and fight labor shortages. As our employees become more versatile in this tech-savvy industry, they will be more effective in your business and the construction industry as a whole.