Category Archives: Employee Development

Improve Construction Employee Retention With a 90-day Action Plan

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TCBF

This article originally appeared in The Contractor’s Best Friend at ForConstructionPros.com.

 

Any contractor knows that retaining workers takes a huge effort. No leader is “off the hook” from working to keep workers on-board and committed to staying with their employer. Interesting new research demonstrates that even an employee peer group can be quite influential to encourage a new employee to stay with her new employer longer.

In a previous article on how to retain our workers I introduced seven steps that many contractors have embraced with success. They are:

  • Step #1 – “On-boarding”
  • Step #2 – The 90-day Plan
  • Step #3 – Skill Training
  • Step #4 – Coaching & Mentoring
  • Step #5 – Engagement/Participation
  • Step #6 – Responsibility Enhancement
  • Step #7 – Performance Review

While not every contractor excels at each of the steps, all contractors at some point realize that all seven of the steps are critical to any serious attempt to retain workers. And with a great shortage of workers for our construction industry current in play, it is imperative that every contractor consider what he might do to find, hire and hold on to those “precious assets” we call employees.

We will pick up today then with our second step to employee retention, something I call the “90-day Plan.”

The 90-day Plan is a strategically developed action plan that lines out for a new worker what her first weeks with the new company will entail. Is there anything magical about “90-days?” Well, sort of! Let me explain.

For companies with more than 50 employees, the attention paid to complying with government employee regulations is important. Most companies recognize that it is important to provide a period of 90 days to allow a thorough opportunity for the new worker to prove her ability and demonstrate her potential to a company and to allow the employee to recognize if the company is the sort of company she would like to work for.

Certainly most contractors will tell you that they have their opinions formed about a new worker much sooner than 90 days. The fact is, allowing a “probation” period does allow for greater review and assessment and prevents a rush to judgment. However, most companies that formally commit to a 90-day trial period fail to have any real plan for a new employee. Here’s the typical first few days for a new employee:

  • Introductions to coworkers and leaders
  • General orientation to company policies
  • “Go to work…and figure things out!” (employee is “turned loose” to see what she can do)

While that might exaggerate things a little, those efforts are not far off for many contractors. Think about this reality for a newly hired employee: when she arrives for her first day of work she has invisible antennae on “high alert” listening, watching and sensing anything and everything that confirms for her the decision she made to join the new contractor. Personalities, smiles, tones of voices, jokes, manners and amount of attention are just a sample of the things that a new worker will be sensitive to experience.

And when that new worker arrives at home after her first day at work, and if she has a spouse, significant other or even just a roommate, you can be sure that at least one question will be asked of the new worker: “How was your first day?”

How that new employee answers this question is based totally on how she interpreted her first day of reading the workplace and the people she just spent time with. What sort of impression do you imagine she would realize on her first day at your work place?

This is why I developed something that I call simply the “The 90-day Plan.”  It’s not magic, but it does provide you with a bonafide strategy to share with your new workers on their first day. Just imagine the positive first impression a new employee might have for your company if on the first day she received, as part of her orientation, a well-thought-out plan for her first 90 days.

While such a plan might scare some new workers, it will more likely have a positive impact on the new employee’s mental attitude, as she clearly understands that your company is prepared for her participation. The plan also sends a strong signal that she is expected to contribute sooner rather than later.

While every 90-day plan can be different for every new employee, there probably are several items that might appear on most of your new worker’s first 90 days of work. Let me share with you a sample 90-day plan for a crew foreman. Look more at the range of things that are presented during the first 90 days rather than the specifics. Obviously, what you might create would be tailored to your organization and the job that you hired the new employee to do.

The 90-day Plan for crew foreman

  • Week #1 – General information about company, policies and walk-through of employee handbook
  • Week #2 – Focus time discussing leadership skills and techniques
  • Week #3 – Focus time on job scheduling and planning
  • Week #4 – Training on construction “math” to improve calculating productivity rates and projected manpower
  • Week #5 – Review of company equipment, vehicles, tool needs, and maintenance and operating requirements
  • Week #6 – Discuss industry, challenges and trends
  • Week #7 – Training on building teamwork for construction crews
  • Week #8 – Communication training to improve interactions with different personalities
  • Week #9 – Training on coaching and counseling employees
  • Week #10 – Review of material use, advantages and options
  • Week #11 – Introduction to improving customer retention through satisfaction techniques
  • Week #12 – Developing the crew foreman’s strategy for growing crew productivity, quality and safety

Now, there are a few other “secrets” to making this approach more beneficial to both the company and the individual.

First, there should be a “pop quiz” every Friday for the first 12 weeks. The pop quiz can be verbal or written and should not necessarily be conducted to “flunk” the new worker. In fact, just the opposite intent should be in play. For example, to have some fun with the new worker, the questions for the pop quiz at the end of Week #1 might include some of the following questions:

  1. Where are the rest rooms for the women and men?
  2. What are the hours of the company?
  3. What are the company colors?
  4. What type of construction did you experience this week?
  5. What are the names of two employees you met this week?

You can see from this list that the first week’s questions are softballs not intended to trip up anyone but simply to remind the worker that the company expects her to retain some of what she learned during her first week. Certainly the questions can become a bit more challenging as the weeks proceed.

Second, the worker should be engaged with work and her peers as soon as possible. Short of positioning a new worker in an unsafe work situation, the sooner the new worker can join her peers and begin to get a feel of the tasks involved the better motivated she will be. While there might be some weekly topics for training or discussion, the contractor needs to expose the new worker to her specialty of construction as quickly as possible, even if the new worker comes from a similar background. The contractor must demonstrate why the company is different from the company the new worker just left.

Third, for the first 12 weeks the new worker should have a “partner” while at the workplace. The partner might be a fellow crew or department worker, but the more important role is for the partner to check in with the new worker at least once a day to see how the “newbie” is getting along. Such extra attention can really go far in winning the new worker over to the culture of the contractor AND, such a relationship also provides the contractor with another employee’s opinion about the new worker.

Fourth, require a “lessons learned” report from the new worker. Like the pop quiz, contractors can gently push new workers to be more alert and interested in learning their new role. Here’s what I would recommend a contractor ask the new worker to verbally report to her senior leader each Friday, just before the pop quiz:

  1. What did you learn this week?
  2. What did you learn that will improve your performance or behavior?
  3. What did you learn that will help this company be better?

The questions are simple and really allow the new worker to demonstrate her awareness and her attention to what was presented during the week. A contractor might be surprised at how many new workers, even management level, “sleep walk” through their first few weeks. It’s almost as if the new workers are enjoying their lack of accountability!

The 90-day Plan will not cure all of your new employee learning needs, but it will set your construction company apart from many of your competitors. Remember, raising the excellence at your company can be done through a number of means. The 90-day Plan is just one method to building long-term employees.

Make the first 90 days work for you … and for your new workers!

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PDG Presents “The Two-Minute Drill”

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Today’s construction leaders are consistently on the go. From time in the office, to meeting with clients, and time spent in the field, the demands of the industry limit the available time employees have to gain the insights and development tools needed to grow.

That’s why we’ve created a new tool: The Two Minute Drill. The Two-Minute Drill is based off the premise that everyone has 2 minutes!

 

Let us work with you and your company to create custom video series to benefit your employees. The Two-Minute Drill provides a series of easy 2-minute training and development videos that your employees can watch at their leisure – either on the computer in the office or on their mobile devices on the road and in the field.

We want to empower you to provide an additional outlet to reach your employees. With more being expected of this industry in terms of time and delivery, construction employees need as many options as possible for their professional development.

The Two-Minute Drill can do just that – developing your employees and instilling the company’s values, all in in a simple format for anyone in your company. For contact and cost information, please download our sale sheet.

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The Star Concept – How to Increase Crew Power

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First of all, the Star Concept gets its name from a strategy I used several years ago, not only with my company but also with many other contractors over the years. It is a process of engaging more of your workers to participate on their crews. A number of reasons caused me to consider such a strategy.

  • Employees who are more engaged with their co-workers usually have better attitudes
  • Workers who are involved with their crews are normally more productive
  • One foreman can’t have his eyes on every area of his crew
  • Crew members who are more involved with making their crews better and safer typically stay with the contractor longer
  • The Star Concept actually provides a subtle but positive training opportunity for a future crew roreman

All five reasons above still hold true for many contractors today. So now, let’s look at what the Star Concept is and how it functions.

There are several areas within each construction crew that are either directly or indirectly impacted by the workers. The five most visible areas, each represented by a point of the “Star,” are:

  • Safety
  • Quality
  • Maintenance
  • Schedule
  • Production

Again, each crew member impacts these five areas in some form or fashion. The one constant within any crew is the crew foreman. He is responsible for the positive results of all five areas yet cannot really be 100 percent focused on any one area for very long during the workday.

Because the crew foreman is only one person, it is important to get support and assistance from the crew members. Let’s face it: construction is more challenging today. With all the required safety, DOT, state and federal laws or guidelines that exist, the responsibilities of a crew foreman are simply broader than ever.

The Star Concept works to assist the crew foreman by getting more support from those already engaged to work on the crew while still holding the crew foreman responsible for the final results.

How the process works

To begin the Star Concept, select one or two of the five points of the star shared previously in this article. I often coach contractors to start with safety and maintenance. Next, you need to select a crew member to take on the role of a “coordinator” for each area.

Let’s look at the role of “maintenance coordinator.” I would begin by selecting a crew member who has demonstrated a bit more attention to making sure that a tool is in working order or that one of the pieces of equipment has enough oil. Or it might be the employee who has a bit more mechanical skills or interests.

After you select your maintenance coordinator (MC), you’ll then need to educate him on what he will do in the role. Consider a general overview of this role that you might use:

The maintenance coordinator can assist his crew by assessing the condition of tools and equipment needed by the crew. If something is not in working order or needs maintenance, the MC informs the crew foreman of the need. The MC is not responsible to fix or maintain the crew’s tools or equipment but initially serves as an extension of the crew foreman to see that the tools and equipment are in working order for the crew.

A more detailed maintenance coordinator description is needed.  Such a description should answer the questions highlighted in the sample below.

MAINTENANCE COORDINATOR
WHY?Well-maintained equipment provides for better-conditioned equipment, greater equipment availability, better quality of product, longer equipment life, less overall maintenance costs, and happier team members!
WHO?
One or more team members coordinate a maintenance “check” on all equipment within the team. The coordinator serves as the crew’s formal point of contact to other crews and the maintenance department of the company.
WHAT?Coordinates with the mechanic when equipment is scheduled for major maintenance work. Works with their crewmembers on maintenance activities that others can handle. Develops a monitoring chart that is to be completed daily/weekly to ensure maintenance checks are regularly completed. Coordinates a weekly machine check to identify potential breakdown reasons. Key to the effort will be scheduling maintenance people to provide training on equipment and/or tool maintenance techniques that would be easier and better for crewmembers to perform.
WHEN?Daily checkup with individuals to monitor equipment. Assist crew foreman, as needed, whenever a maintenance issue arises that requires inspection or scheduling a repair.
MEASUREMENTS?Check-sheets that measures all equipment or tools that received daily inspections.Process Interruption Sheets for downtime and causes.Recording the cumulative hours of use for equipment per maintenance specs.

The Star Concept works! It brings more workers into participating with the well being and performance of the same crew of which they are a member. When more workers participate in something like the Star Concept, there is a healthier work culture. More workers feel more needed and thus more important.

Using the maintenance coordinator as an example, you can follow the same process to add to your crew’s “star points.” If your crew size is in the five to 12 member range, then fielding a coordinator in all five of the suggested areas might be possible. If your crew size is more like the three to seven-member size, then perhaps only two or three “star points” might be considered.

Keep a few final thoughts in mind about incorporating the Star Concept into your crew strategy for greater crew safety, performance and motivation:

  1. “More is not better!” You would be wise to begin with one or at the most two of the areas. You can always expand as needed.
  2. Don’t initially ask for volunteers to fill the coordinator roles. Personally invite selected employees to consider taking on the role. Start with your “winners” first to pave the way.
  3. Create the coordinator description that is best for your crews. Remember, the coordinator IS NOT another crew foreman. Not getting that point across will kill the one chance you might have to build greater participation.
  4. Do you need to offer an incentive? Maybe. Giving an employee another five to 25 cents an hour might be a great bargain for the extra attention he might bring to the crew.
  5. Can you have “co-coordinators”? Sure, BUT be careful that the “co” think doesn’t become a social experience, taking two workers away from performing their jobs within the crew.
  6. Provide training for each coordinator selected. Provide some basic overall understanding of the area and give each coordinator a list of items you need them to execute.
  7. Have a coordinator meeting once or twice a month. It’s important that the coordinators are supported by their crew foreman and you, the contractor. This meeting can be short but should entertain challenges, problems and opportunities.
  8. Allow your coordinators to grow into their role. Often, the coordinator matures into a very effective assistant to your crew foreman. Certainly be careful not to allow any coordinator to be “the boss” or to act “bossy.” Do, however, allow them to grow in their area of focus, coverage and insights.

Integrate the Star Concept into your crews this year. You may be surprised at the support and enthusiasm of your workers after they get a real feel for the benefits of having another point person for one or more areas of crew work.

If you have any questions about the Star Concept, either before considering its use in your company or even after you’ve installed it, please write me via our blog. As they say, “Shoot for the Stars” and you just might find your crew’s productivity, enthusiasm and attitude about work moving skyward!

Coordinating the Stars!

© Brad Humphrey, Pinnacle Development Group/The Contractor’s Best Friend™

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