CULTURE IN CONSTRUCTION – IT’S TOP DOWN

This week I hosted one of three online events for business leaders in the construction industry, focussing on culture.

One of the really interesting questions from an attendee was about how to create cultural norms in an industry which has staff in multiple sites, with multiple contractors and high turnover based on highly variable project scope and timelines?

Culture starts at the top. To create a consistent culture, where teams work together and interact with clients, employees, suppliers, contractors and investors in ways that reflect the same values and norms – the focus needs to be on leadership.

How leaders behave, communicate, and make decisions ultimately determines the way others follow. We can’t say we’re one way and then be another.  If we say we’re about respect, then we need to call others out on dominating, controlling, or competitive behaviours. If we say we’re about safety, then we need to invest time and effort in educating people about how to be safe and take the extra time it takes to work in safe ways.

So, if construction and associated industries want to focus on culture – they need to start with their leaders, and they need to think about how they train their leaders to recruit, induct, develop, manage, promote and retain their people.  What process do they use in these critical stages of an employee’s experience? How and when do they give feedback? How and when do they coach and develop their staff? How and when do they share their vision for the project, the week, the day, and set clear expectations so their teams know what they’re being asked to perform?

In construction, where workforces are changing sometimes on a weekly basis, week to week, leaders need to be able to both describe the culture they want to have within their teams and reinforce them through processes that line up with the culture they’re working to create.

The biggest issues are facing the construction industry are:

1. Safety – it’s the industry with the most claims and also the least investment in workplace safety training, according to a Worksafe report.
2. Labour shortage – constructions jobs are the most in demand on seek, and through working visas.
3. Gender imbalance – we have a labour shortage, and yet women find it hard to be accepted or given the same opportunities as the men. And don’t say this is because the work requires more strength….! I know plenty of women who have great strength (if indeed it’s required for their role) and who are just as skilled in their chosen craft.
4. Toxic, macho culture. A BRANZ report into mental health in construction reported that ”macho” and bullying culture as well as intolerance of different people on the work site as main contributors to poor mental health.

These are some real culture challenges, that aren’t going to disappear any time soon. But they must be acknowledged as real barriers to a productive, engaged and high performing workforce, and they are all linked to problems with culture.

The way to address this is for leaders to step up, self-assess, think about the role they play in leading their culture – both through their own behaviour and the leadership of their business.

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION?
Are you a leader in the construction or utilities sector? Join Steph for her next two FREE online events below.

CREATE ALIGNMENT
Find out the simplest way to foster alignment and drive performance – for business leaders in the Construction Sector

Date: March 31, 2021
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm AEDT
Place: Zoom
Ready to join the conversation? Register now to secure your spot.

INSPIRE HIGH PERFORMANCE
Discover what leaders do to inspire people and connect to purpose – for business leaders in the Construction Sector

Date: April 21, 2021
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm AEST
Place: Zoom
Don’t miss out – register now to secure your spot!