Business Building: Is Training A Top Priority?

Words: George Hedley

Do you wish your field crews and managers were as good as you are? Or do they often struggle and fail to do things the way you want them done? How long does it take them to master a new task or idea? Would a regular training program make a difference? I recently surveyed more than 2,000 contractors and business owners. Over 98% said their people would do a better job if they offered more training. The top 500 major companies in America average more than 40 hours of training per year, per employee! But this awareness doesn’t lead to action in the construction industry!

For field personnel, 51% provide zero to eight hours of training per year; only 12% offer 40 hours or more per year per field employee.

For management personnel, 32% of companies offer less than eight hours of training per year, and 24% train 40 hours or more.

Why do companies offer more training to management than to field people? This doesn’t make sense. Construction companies make or lose most of their money out on the jobsite, not back in the office. Quality, service, productivity, all of it happens out in the field! Field labor and equipment cost overruns are the main problem contractors face. When firms spend more on training in the office, field employees, and their contributions to the bottom line are not properly valued!

No Training Is Draining!
Most small and mid-size contracting firms don’t have formal training programs. Stop and consider the old method of distributing information and blueprints versus today’s laptop computers, pads, cell phone devices, email, project websites, and online cloud-based software. In today’s high-tech, high-speed business environment, people need to learn and improve 50% every four years just to stay even. Maybe your firm is not keeping up with the industry and losing profit because you are “too busy to train!” I guess you expect your people to learn by doing or the old-school trial and error method!

People want to perform, do well, and make meaningful contributions on the job. They want to be recognized for their efforts. They need training just to keep up, and additional training to excel. If they don’t get the training and tools they need, they won’t accept responsibility for the quality and productivity of the work they do. I was meeting with a contractor as his business coach at his office, and learned his construction team wasn’t doing everything he wanted. Their new powerful integrated software had multiple spreadsheets, templates, reports, plan sites, photo logs, group text scheduling, and management tools for their field supervisors, project managers, and accounting to use. But they were still using paper timecards, printing blueprints for the field, typing and printing out subcontracts to get signed, using measuring devices to do takeoffs for estimates, and spreadsheets for their employee records and HR. WOW! They were still living in the 1990s! The problem was that they hadn’t invested in software training, which would streamline their operations, eliminate double entries, and get important information like crew job cost updates out immediately.

The Two Percent Investment!
Your company's goal should be to provide 40 hours of training per year for every employee. The total cost will be less than 2% of your payroll cost. And your return can be a 5% to 10% improvement in bottom-line productivity. Getting started is simple. Call a team meeting to select and prioritize 25 training topics. In our company, we cover the same 25 topics twice every year, plus new topics, updates, and innovative ideas. Allocate 30 to 45 minutes per week for training. Conduct training sessions in an interactive setting, on the job site, or in the office. For help deciding where to start, email GH@HardhatBizcoach.com to schedule a time to explore your needs.

Training Involves Doing!
Tell people how to do it, show them how to do it, and then let them do it. Watch the results, coach the participants until they get it right, and recognize those who do a good job. Bosses, step back! Share training duties among your crew, so everyone gets a chance to teach. Assign topics to individuals based on experience and skill. Use outside instructors when introducing new or technical tasks, such as implementing the new software you need.

Work Together To Learn Together!
Offsite seminars and workshops can be excellent training opportunities as well, but make sure the programs offer more than listening to an instructor. Good training involves interaction, doing, and coaching. A problem I’ve noticed as a speaker and presenter is that most companies hold one big annual meeting for their entire staff. Often, the agenda includes informational sessions, but no training really occurs at these meetings. The audience is not participating in the activity or implementing the skill as it is explained. They just listen and try to stay awake. And then, back at their job the next day, they continue to do their work exactly as they did before.

Working together to learn and improve each week fosters team spirit and enthusiasm. Give your people weekly opportunities to perform, opportunities to learn, and chances to train others. The return to your company in productivity, quality work, motivation, and staff loyalty will be exponential!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Hedley CPBC is a construction certified professional business coach, consultant, and speaker, He shows contractors how to increase profits, grow, be organized, systemize, get unstuck, and move to the next level! He is the author of “Turn Your Construction Business Into A Profit-Making Machine!” available on Amazon.com. To schedule an introductory coaching session or get his free e-newsletter, email GH@HardhatBizcoach.com. Watch his videos at youtube.com/@HardHatBizCoach or to download online courses or get his contractor templates at https://constructionbusinesscoaching.com.

Business Building: Is Training A Top Priority?

About: Business Building

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