Getting Back to Basics - TEAMWORK
"The lack of teamwork in the construction contracting
industry is so bad that lives are at stake."
So you've got a big construction job. You need to find the right people to do the job. A project manager, a crew supervisor, a quality control inspector, a coordinator, and of course, the construction crew.
You go about building your team but you forgot something, teamwork. Right now all you have is a bunch of individuals, with separate ideas about how to do this job. In the rush, you neglected to baseline your expectations for them, their hours, their processes, their communications tools, and their chain of command.
Now, you hire or sign on the ground crew. If you're adding them as W2 employees, you have a responsibility to onboard them, to guarantee that their values and ethics match yours; hard work, open communications, do it right the first time, etc.
If they are 1099s, it gets harder, by now they typically have a set way they THINK the job ought to be done by them. Nothing you say will make them change. Adults are hesitant to adapt. It causes them anxiety, they are afraid of looking stupid.
How do you mold this group of individuals into a team?
If you don't, it spells disaster for you, for them, and for your customer.
Some tips:
1. Start with you. It's your company. Are you setting the example? Do you even know who you are and what you stand for? Put it down on paper and let your people know what you expect of them and what success means to them, to you and to the clients.
2. Write it down, Put it Up! Get the word out. Do it in stories, describing a challenge that was met with your values and overcome to the benefit of all. be inspirational!
3. Find people better than you. Bring on people who will make you better, will challenge you, and cause you to rethink old ways of doing things.
4. Ask and listen, then act...quickly. Nothing does more to coalesce people into a team than their perception that together, they have the power to make change happen. Be the catalyst to empower your people.
5. Praise in public and discipline in private. Nothing does more to destroy a team than a toxic boss. Remove any employee who berates or harasses their employees in public. They are the rotten apples.
6. SCRUM, a rugby term for a quick meeting of the minds, deep in the game, to plan the next play; who goes left, right, falls back, and who carries, passes, or kicks. SCRUMs are essential before, during, and after a construction job. They clarify and motivate, praise, and solve problems. SCRUMs accelerate success.
7. Self and independent Quality Control. Establish or hire a team only answerable to the PMO (did I mention that you need a PMO, No? More on that in another post).The QC team is an audit tool that identifies if the work has been done according to the specifications of the job before work starts, during construction, and afterwards. Some companies add a bonus to the team who stays till the end if QC audits pass or were resolved to the satisfaction of the client (and are still within budget)
8. Lastly, invest in training. Build on your success. Find the best people to mentor others who need help. Avoid churn and work with the ones you'd otherwise let go to make them better. Believe in your people and they will believe in you.
Doug Marlowe has built successful teams over his career of 45 years. He has seen what works and what does not. Today's competitive environment, the accelerating loss of experienced baby-boomer professionals, the lack of job-ready employees to take over, inadequate compensation for contractors to build, repair, and maintain the critical infrastructure of today's communications systems is pointing to a crisis. Doug has some strategies to plug the dike and to refill the reservoir of competent talent.
Reach Doug at 561-303-3301 or Doug.Marlowe@teachITnow.net
