How To Motivate Your Construction Team

Image result for constructionmotivation images
As a Construction Project Manager, you know that there is more to construction management than coordinating and delivering projects; meeting project timelines is one thing, but finding ways to motivate your construction team is another.
A successful project manager in any field must strongly grasp how to keep their employees motivated.  It is important to make sure your employees do not only simply go through the motions, but ensure that they want to get the job done well.
Here is a list of 8 tips by Project Managers in the Construction Industry, for Project Managers in the Construction Industry, to make sure that your team’s motivation is at its peak at all times.

How To Motivate Your Construction Team

1. Celebrate Big (And Small) Wins

It is critical that you honor your team when they accomplish a job well done, when your team is recognized by the company as standing out, or even when a project is finished ahead of schedule. Rusty Reynolds of Contractors Inc. celebrates his company’s victories by handing out MVP rewards to employees that have had a successful year.
It is also a good idea to add financial incentives that will help each one of your employees put their best foot forward, whether it is a gift card or a yearly bonus. This motivates your employees to want to do well, to get that extra pat on the back along with that company award.
Rusty also tells us that it is important to “[Recognize] when a team member goes above and beyond. We will send out emails nationwide when a team member receives a great review or feedback from a customer.”

2. Reward them after a day of hard work

Stephen Landin of NOW Specialties told us that “in construction, food goes a long way.” After a rough day of working in the bitter cold or the blazing heat, treat your employees to an enjoyable meal or buy them a drink to show them that you recognize their contributions.
You can even be like Javier of AH beck and take your team out periodically to celebrate their hard work and achievements. Javier mentioned, “Monthly dinners are a high moral booster for the labor force.  We typically take everyone out for a steak.”

3. Stay engaged with your team

One of the Construction Project Managers we interviewed told us that in this field, you must be aware of what your team is working on and why they are doing it. It is essential that you know exactly what is going on so that you can offer guidance and answer questions at each step of the process.
Thus, as Michael Williams of T Morales Company puts it, “Evaluating [your team’s] concerns and suggestions when planning work” is highly important.
Even when you cannot keep an eye on your team, you can always stay in contact somehow through a high level collaboration platform 

4. Don’t take advantage of your team

A Construction Project Manager told us “Don’t take advantage of subordinates. If you can do something simple yourself, just do it, even if it takes a little more time.” With this being said, don’t let the manager title get to your head. Just because one task might be menial, does not mean that you are not capable of doing it.
Motivate your construction team

5. Keep a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere

Nobody will work well in a constantly tense environment. Even in times of stress, or when your project timeline is cutting close, keep your stress away so that it does not impede on your team. A little stress can be a good motivator when you have a deadline to meet, but too much stress will do more harm than good, diminishing your team’s ability to achieve goals.
An article on the Arousal Theory of Motivation from Psychology Today states, “If you’re too sleepy or too nervous, you’ll invariably perform poorly, whether giving a speech or shooting a basketball. Each individual, and each task, has its own peak between arousal that is too low and arousal that is too intense.”
To maintain an optimum level of arousal amongst your team, a Construction Project Manager from South Bay Construction told us, “Try and keep it light and somewhat fun. There is a lot of pressure to make dates, so if you can joke around a little it helps.”

6. Remember, your employees are people, too

Each member of your team has different roles other than your employee; they can be a father, mother, daughter, uncle, son, grandparent, and the list can go on. Thus, while work is an extremely important aspect of their life, you have to acknowledge that they have a personal life as well.
Make sure your employees know that you care about their well-being and demonstrate empathy when they are going through any difficulties, in or out of work.
So, how can you be there for your employees, personally and occupationally?  According to Curtis Stavinoha of Metropolitan Contracting Company, LLC, “Giving people the time of day. Whether it be listening to their problems, offering to help them solve problems, or just showing them they are part of a team and not on their own seems to go a long way.”

7. Lead by Example

Your team should be able to look up to their leader at all times. There is no doubt that your employees are keeping an eye on you, so you want to always be setting an example for your employees to follow.
A Construction Project Manager from Ciarra Construction told us a manager needs, “A smile and good nature about the approach to work.  My enthusiasm and caring attitude about quality and timing will set my example.  I need to not let the demands of the job affect my attitude as those are the things that can stand in the way of effective management.”
YOUR behavior is paramount, so you want to execute admirable behaviors at all times to gain the respect you deserve and keep your team in line and motivated.

8. Allow your team to grow

Take advantage of the skills that your employees are already good at and allow each individual to grow these abilities. Also, give your team more challenging projects out of their comfort zone that will keep their interest up; you never want your employees to get bored at what they are doing.
A great way for your team to expand their current skills and learn even more skills would be through a Construction Conference. There are tons of conferences going on in 2017. Here is a list of ten of them!
Motivate your construction team

As you can see, it is more than necessary to create a motivating environment for your team to thrive in. Hopefully these highly successful Construction Project Managers were able to provide some insight into how to motivate your construction team and run it more effectively, increasing the ambition of your employees and yourself alike.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

40+ Construction Tools List with Images for Building Construction

Image
Construction tools list for building construction works such as concrete, brick masonry, leveling, wood works, floor works, slab works, brick laying, plastering etc. is provided. Every construction tool is necessary to achieve good results in the whole project. Along with these tools, the workers should also use some safety tools to prevent them from the unexpected accidents. Construction Tools List for Building Construction Some important construction tools and their uses are listed below: Bolster Boning rod Brick hammer Bump cutter/screed Chisel Circular saw Concrete mixer Cordless drill Crowbar Digging bar End frames Float Gloves Hand saw Helmet Hoe Iron pan Jack plane Ladder Line and pins Mason’s square Measuring box Measuring tape Measuring wheel Pick axe Plumb bob Plumb rule Polishers Putty knife Rammer Rubber Boots Safety glasses Safety helmet Sand screen machine Scratchers Sledge hammer Spade Spirit level Straight edge brushes Til...
Read more

Building Materials properties and their Importance in Construction

Image
Building materials or construction materials are the major requirement in this modern age of technology. There are many types of building materials used for different construction works. Properties of Building Materials For a material to be considered as building material, it should have required engineering properties suitable for construction works. These properties of building materials are responsible for its quality and capacity and helps to decide applications of these material. Such properties of building materials are categorized as follows. Physical properties Mechanical properties Chemical properties Electrical properties Magnetic properties Thermal properties Physical Properties of Building Materials These are the properties required to estimate the quality and condition of the material without any external force. The physical properties of engineering materials are as follows. Bulk density Porosity Durability Density Density index Specific gravity ...
Read more

How to Prevent Errors During Setting Out Building Plan on Ground?

Image
Setting out building plan on ground is one of the most significant steps in building constructions and any errors at this stage would cause considerable problems, if it is not tackled immediately. Errors During Setting Out Building Plan on Ground There are different types of errors that might be made when a structure is set out for example gross errors, systematic errors and random errors. These errors should be prevented and there are some measures to tackle these issues. These measures will be discussed in the following sections. Fig.1: Setting Out of Building Plan on Ground Fig.2: Setting Out Building Plan on Ground How to Prevent Errors During Setting Out of Building? Following are the different types of control that should be carried out to prevent any errors during setting out building plan on ground: Good practice in office On site control Equipment and staff Checks Marking the ground Use of grid offset Good Practice in Office To successfully set...
Read more

Factors Affecting Selection of Foundation for Buildings?

Image
Factors which affect selection of foundation for a building can be many from the soil conditions to the type of structure and loads from the building. All the factors are considered during selection of foundation for durable building construction. Factors Affecting Selection of Foundation Following are the factors which affect the selection of suitable foundations for building construction: Loads from building Type of soil Type of structures in neighborhood Type of foundations 1. Loads from Building The first factor considered is loads from building on the foundation. This load is a combination of dead load and imposed loads on the buildings. Other loads such as wind loads, earthquake loads, snow loads etc. are also considered based on location. The quantity of loads depends on the type of structure, number of floors and material of construction. As the number of floors increases, the dead load and imposed loads also increase. Choice of material for construction su...
Read more

Ceiling types used in Building Construction and their Applications

Image
Various types of ceiling are used in building construction. Applications, aesthetics, advantages and disadvantages of these types of ceilings are discussed in this article. The ceiling of a building form one of the most important structural elements it terms of functionality as well as creativity which in turn bring good aesthetics to the building interior. This document would help you understand ceilings that in turn would help you understand the most suitable options while undertaking either repair or renovation work of our building interior. The ceiling gains a definition, ” A part of a building which encloses and is exposed overhead in a room, protected shaft or circulation space.” It helps us to create an enclosure and separation between spaces. They provide perfect lighting in the room by controlling diffusion of light. It also controls the sound around a room by making the room sound proof. It, therefore, stops the passage of sound between the rooms. Now ceiling also po...
Read more

HOW TO DETERMINE DEPTH OF FOUNDATION

Image
Many factors affects the determination of depth of foundation. Calculation for foundation depth is done based on type of soil, ground water table, loads from structure, bearing capacity of soil and other factors. General factors to be considered for determining depth of foundation are: 1. Load applied from structure to the foundation 2. Bearing capacity of soil 3. Depth of water level below the ground surface 4. Types of soil and depth of layers in case of layered soil 5. Depth of adjacent foundation The minimum depth of foundation should be considered to ensure that the soil is having the required safe bearing capacity as assumed in the design. However, it is advised to carry out soil investigation before deciding on depth of foundation. Soil investigation report will suggest the foundation depth based on the type of structure, soil properties, depth of water table, and all other variable that should be considered. Soil investigation report provides bearing capacity of ...
Read more

WHAT IS VOLUME BATCHING OF CONCRETE AND HOW IT IS DONE IN FIELD?

Image
WHAT IS VOLUME BATCHING OF CONCRETE? Batching of concrete means measuring different ingredients of concrete (i.e. cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water) before mixing it. When this measurement is done on the basis of volume, we call it  Volume Batching . Below are mentioned some of important points to remember before adopting volume batching method in field. Volume batching is not a good method for measuring concrete materials. It is not applicable in case of reinforced concrete structure. This method of concrete batching may not be economical. It can be only used for unimportant concrete or for small concrete works. HOW VOLUME BATCHING IS DONE IN FIELD? Before batching concrete ingredients in terms of volume, we need to know two things. What is the relative proportion of concrete ingredients in terms of volume? What is the water-cement ratio? After knowing these two things you can proceed to batch concrete ingredients in field. The table shown below ca...
Read more

Construction Project Management Softwares

Image
Construction PM Software A new wave of web and cloud apps are streamlining communication, simplifying document management, and improving efficiency in construction management.  Here are some of top construction management tools: Smartsheet Smartsheet  is a spreadsheet-inspired work management tool with robust collaboration and communication features. With pre-built construction templates, it’s easy to create a timeline, track progress, manage documents, and organize the details. Gantt charts are automatically created and auto-adjust every time a change is made, so you can share the most up-to-date timeline with team members or stakeholders. You can upload files from your computer, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, or add a web URL, creating a central repository for all project documentation and contracts. Team members can have discussions directly in the sheet and set reminders and alerts, so everyone is on the same page. And lastly, Smartsheet inte...
Read more

Methods of underpinning, Procedure and Applications in Foundation Strengthening

Image
Underpinning is a method for repair and strengthening of building foundations. Underpinning methods, procedures and their applications in strengthening of different types of foundations is discussed in this article. There are situations where a failure in foundation or footing happens unexpectedly after the completion of whole structure (both sub and superstructure). Under such emergency situation, a remedial method has to be suggested to regain the structural stability. The  method of underpinning  help to strengthen the foundation of an existing building or any other infrastructure. These involve installation of permanent or temporary support to an already held foundation so that additional depth and bearing capacity is achieved. Selection of Underpinning Methods Underpinning methods are selected based on age of structure and types of works involved. Structure categories based on its age: Ancient Structures :Age greater than 150 years Recent Structures : Age ...
Read more

Methods for Calculating Cost of Engineering Consultant Services

Image
here are several methods by which calculation of engineering consultant services cost can be carried out in construction. It is possible to employ various charging approach at different phase of the consultant services. The application of each method or combination of methods is dependent on nature, scope and complexity of the required engineering services. In this article, these charging consulting services are discussed. Following are the topics discussed for calculating cost of engineering services or consulting services in construction: What are the factors that affect the engineering service cost? Methods for charging engineering services What are the Factors that affect the Engineering Service Cost in Construction? There are various factors that control the cost of engineering services required for a specific project. These factors are outlined below: The conditions at project site. Degree of danger that may be encountered and exposure possibility. System of pr...
Read more