According to U.S. statistics, 25% of the construction workforce will be at retirement age by 2020, and the shortage of skilled construction workers is expected to continue.
As employees are the backbone of any construction company, retaining high quality workers within this industry is vital. Great onboarding is one of the best ways to increase construction worker productivity and retention. Companies with a structured onboarding program have been shown to retain 91% of their employees in the first year. A standardized, automated process empowers your team to provide a consistent, excellent onboarding experience for every new hire.
At Click Boarding, we recommend focusing on these four areas to onboard construction workers:
1. Paperwork
One of the biggest challenges is getting HR paperwork completed by remote employees. Simplify this step by leveraging digital technology. Input the required forms into the platform and set it to automatically email your new hire the moment they accept your offer. This way, your new hires can complete the required HR paperwork from their phone or laptop before their first day and can start functional training or working their first day on the job.
2. Engagement and integration
With the shortage of skilled construction workers, it’s essential to engage your new employees and help integrate them into the organization. This includes sharing your company vision, mission, and ways of working. Company culture is especially important to emphasize with your remote and field workers since they won’t have the benefit of in-office immersion. Be sure to include the differences between the culture and expectations of field work versus office work so there’s no uncertainty.
A welcome-to-the-team gift, such as a company t-shirt or hat, is a wonderful way to make your new hires feel like they belong and are part of the team. You can send this ahead of time to get them excited before their first day or give it to them when they arrive.
3. Communication
How should a field worker ask a question? What should they do if they have an emergency question and no one is around to ask? Make sure your workers know who to contact and how with any questions.
4. IT and security
Remote and field workers face more IT and security challenges than office workers. They’re more likely to access public Wi-Fi networks and use company equipment in the field. Make sure they understand the risks and what their responsibilities are to mitigate them as part of their onboarding process. This could include password policies, antivirus requirements, VPN for Mac, and anything your security team deems necessary.
Pulling it all together:
Create modules for each of these steps and customize them as needed depending on the role and location. Fill your onboarding platform with your modules and set it up to intuitively guide your new hires through each step of the process.
If you would like to learn more about enhancing or automating your construction worker onboarding program, we’d love to help.
Our platform simplifies construction worker onboarding with a mobile-first hub that your team can access from anywhere. We work together to set up customized, repeatable workflows and automated triggers, so you can impress your team with a dynamic onboarding experience and ensure the new hire is quickly adding value on the job site.
