What is National Construction Week, we hear you ask?
Well, throughout the third week of September each year, National Construction Appreciation Week acknowledges and celebrates all of the people working in the U.S. construction industry.
Want to know a surefire method to show appreciation to your hard-working construction teams? We’ve outlined a few impactful ways that will truly make a difference in their work experience and demonstrate your gratitude.
1. Build Team Morale
Morale isn’t built on free donuts, pizza, or beer. It starts with genuinely recognizing, respecting, and rewarding the work your team does.
However, it’s not all about the job site! Work-life balance is extremely important for maintaining morale within teams.
It’s no secret that construction is a physically and mentally demanding job. Studies consistently show that men working in construction are at a much higher than average risk of suffering from a deterioration in their mental health.
Emphasizing taking proper breaks will help prevent burnout and show your team that their well-being matters to your company beyond special occasions like National Construction Day.
Encouraging your team to have open and honest conversations about mental health, and providing them with access to professional support will help create a supportive team culture and boost morale.
It’s also important to demonstrate social responsibility by supporting community initiatives or volunteering with local charities alongside your team. This can increase morale while also making your team feel proud to be part of your company.
2. Give Your Team the Right Tools to Do Their Best Work
Construction Worker Appreciation Day is an ideal time to assess whether your teams are set up for success. Start by looking at the amount of work they have to complete, and the processes around it.
Are tasks being assigned efficiently? Is progress tracked accurately? Are they getting feedback and approvals fast enough? Are they getting bogged down by unnecessary manual work that could be automated by digital solutions?
For example, using professional construction field management software like Fluix can save your site crews time on form filling. By digitizing all the necessary documents, allowing easy access to blueprints, permits, and reports directly from mobile devices, Fluix reduces workload. And features like forms prefill, dropdown selection, and barcode scanning speed up task completion and minimize errors and thus rework.
Planning and execution technologies also deserve consideration. Drones can quickly survey large areas, providing accurate and comprehensive site data, which helps teams identify potential issues early and reduces the need for rework.
Equally important, robotics can manage repetitive or dangerous tasks, enabling your team to tackle more complex projects and boosting labor productivity in construction.
3. Invest in Training and Upskilling Courses for Your Team
Once you’ve hired skilled workers, how do you encourage them to stay long-term? The answer is simple: make it easy for them to see the benefit in staying. Most skilled workers want to build their careers over time, so investing in their ongoing training shows that you support their career goals.
Introducing your team to new software that will make their work life easier is another way of investing in their future at your company.
If there is no dedicated, ongoing support from your chosen software provider, it can be a very stressful and drawn-out process for everyone involved. Consider finding a software partner who will take a consultative approach to support you and your team during onboarding and beyond (Training programs in Fluix might be a good option to check out!)
If you’re unsure about what type of training your team needs, there are several organizations, like OSHA, that can recommend great options and connect you with consultants and training specialists. Learning other businesses’ success stories could also give you ideas and suggestions of what tools to try.
4. Send Your Team to a Conference or Trade Show
Trade shows are great places for teams to explore the latest cutting-edge technologies and methodologies in the construction industry. They’ll get to meet with industry peers, learn from experts, and gather actionable insights on topics like construction efficiency to implement back on the job site.
If you’re hoping to expand your company’s presence within the market, reserving a trade booth at a show might give you the chance to promote your company to potential clients, or contractors who you might like to partner with.
Giving your team the opportunity to represent your company at a trade show is a great way to demonstrate your trust in their ability to tell others about their work and the work your company does.
With so many construction conferences to choose from, deciding which ones are worth attending can be tough. Our article on 2024’s top construction conferences can help you pinpoint the best events for your team.
5. Inspire the Next Generation of Construction Workers
Every team has knowledge to share. It’s important for your business not to have key knowledge siloed in a few people, because if/when they leave the company, their knowledge goes with them.
Running an internship or mentorship program is a great way to share key insights with the wider team, while also creating genuine opportunities for new people to join the construction industry.
Employees who mentor others generally show improved communication skills, increased confidence, and improved leadership ability – all of which contribute to making their work lives easier.
Interns or junior team members benefit from the knowledge shared by their mentors and carry that knowledge forward in their work at your company. It’s a win-win!
Last Word
National Construction Appreciation Week happens once a year, but we know that there are millions of people working across the U.S. construction industry every day. Appreciating them all year round is the key to ensuring their happiness and retaining them and their skills at your company long-term.
And if you’re looking for a good software gift to present to your field teams, Fluix with its intuitive app and simple navigation is a great choice. It not only simplifies their tasks but will also enhance their productivity and efficiency.
