The construction industry is a tough trade to be involved in. The extreme heat, working conditions, the constant wear and tear on your body and the long hours can be a lot for anyone. If you manage or own a construction business, there is a lot to keep up with. You not only have to manage the job site itself with all the logistics and paperwork, but you must make sure you keep your workers happy and the job site running smoothly. This is part one of a straight to the point guide that walks you through 12 tips and tricks on how to maintain and grow in construction.

#1: Building A Productive Team

Your team should be your number one priority on your site. If you don’t have a team that are all level headed and on the same page, it can make things very challenging. When building your team, you want to make sure you don’t only have trained and qualified candidates but a group of people who will all work well together. You want the members of your team to communicate with one another and get along. You want to keep the drama and issues between members to a minimum. This can cause unsteady work conditions which can result in injury to team members and mistakes on the job itself.

#2: Manage and Lead Your Team

As a manager, you want to have a relationship with your team where they feel comfortable working around you, but they also know that you’re the boss. If members of your team are uncomfortable or nervous when you are present- that is an accident on the job waiting to happen. You don’t want your team to be completely freaked out if you are around. Your employees must have a relationship with you on a personal level, as well as a professional level. A good manager has practices in which they follow to make sure the site and their team are at their highest production ability. You want to make sure they have some fun and it is a productive, laid-back job site.

#3: Invest Time and Money

Investing time and money is something that is sometimes overlooked in certain trades and on job sites. You want to invest in your team and business to have a functional and successful site and business. Investing in your team is step one. Give your team praise for jobs that were done well, treat them to lunch occasionally, or even come up with weekly incentives or awards such as “Employee of the Week”. Investing time in your team will strengthen the bond overall and provide a more functional and productive site.

Investing in your site itself is also important if your site is out of date with technology. For instance, your team members may lose confidence in your business ability to stay up with the times which could result in losing workers. Also, invest time into making sure your site is organized and clean. If your site has designated tool carts or boxes for all of your materials, workers will feel less cluttered and the workflow will improve. Making sure everything has a place to keep the trash and unnecessary materials to a minimum. This will also help with the overall clutter and organization of the site.

#4: Be Aware of Your Profit

As a construction business, you often get leads for a variety of different jobs. When it comes to deciding which jobs to take on and which ones to pass on, choose wisely. If you choose a job that requires an extreme amount of work, but the profit is low, there is no benefit. Jobs that require an extreme amount of work with minimal profit will just result in worn-out workers and wasting your time as well as your companies. Pay attention to the profit and account for the time you and your team will have to put in. This will not only help save the company money, but it will keep your workers from being unwell and exhausted with no benefit.

These couple tips are just the beginning, go continue with Part 2: Tips to Maintain and Grow in Construction.