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Building a Better Business09-17-18 | News

Building a Better Business
Ten Tips from Construction Industry Specialist

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers recently released the following list provided by Roger Belisle, vice president of operations at Whissell Contracting Ltd, on ways to help keep employees satisfied on the job (it has been edited for space):

1. Establish priorities
Our company has three "daily pillars": safety, followed by quality and efficiency. We hold safety meetings every morning, and make sure to cover anything and everything related to our pillars affecting our work.

2. Emphasize training
We recently developed and established an in-house institute for training.

3. Manage employee workloads effectively
Employee retention becomes even more difficult (with) seasonal work, since workers are often more likely to leave when opportunities dry up. To combat this, we really make a concerted effort to keep our employees busy and on the job.

4. Keep your equipment well maintained
We take great pride in keeping our fleet of machines clean, safe and running well. It doesn't break down, and... most importantly, our equipment does its job.

5. Be transparent
We make it a priority to share our corporate priorities, strategies and initiatives. We encourage employees to speak up and get the information they need.

6. Stay up-to-date on the latest tools and technologies
Companies like ours have begun to lean more on technology to improve efficiency and better meet the needs of customers. Drones are one good example. Autonomous equipment also (offers) a ton of potential.

7. Encourage networking and continuous learning
Trade shows are critical to our workforce development efforts... to see what's new and bring relevant information back to our company.

8. Engage, engage, engage
We spend quite a bit of time, money and resources in developing our workforce. When employees come to work for us, they can see a career path ahead.

9. Identify opportunities and threats, and then act accordingly
Our company recognized a growing skills gap in the industry some time ago. We set up in-house training programs (and) brought in staff to train new employees.

10. Show employees you care, consistently
Not only do we try to engage workers, we really make an effort to show our employees they are valued.