Whether it’s returning to full health from those ominous dual lines on a lateral flow, or the longer term return to normality post-Covid, recovery is on everyone’s mind.
Since 2020, we’ve all come to understand a lot more about what constitutes a pandemic, sharpening up our vocabulary (and Scrabble game) with terms like ‘viral load’, ‘Omicron’ and ‘mRNA’. 2022 is our third year of the pandemic and the past 24 months have been dominated by unexpected challenges and a very non-linear fight against the virus.
It’s something we’ve felt in the construction industry too. With Covid hitting employee absences hard and supply chains struggling to return to normal levels throughout last year.
Yet, construction is now beginning to see the green shoots of recovery come through. After industry growth slowed considerably in the final months of 2021, we’re now seeing output returning to even pre-pandemic levels - and we have to work collectively to ensure it stays that way and cannot afford to grow complacent.
The pandemic is now (unthinkably) not the first headline that dominates our day. But that doesn’t mean we’re home free. Such is the unpredictability of the world we live in that barely two months into 2022 we have a worrying list of world events that are set to impact our lives and our work.
We must prepare ourselves accordingly and ensure that the happiness of our people and the productivity of our work isn’t compromised. And this comes down to one crucial thing: a positive working culture.
The power of culture
Broadly speaking, culture is an invaluable commodity. Pre-pandemic, two-thirds of millennials in the UK ranked culture above salary, while half of workers aged over 45 put culture first. It can help your workers feel strongly connected to their employer. Whilst fostering a sense of belonging; something that makes a job a career, and brings meaningfulness to work.
Culture certainly took a beating through the pandemic. How people interact in the workplace has changed through the rise of remote work spaces. Whilst the great resignation has led to considerable staff turnover, meaning recruitment and training are even more important to company identity and kinship. Whilst the impact on mental health cannot be underestimated, with a steep rise in imposter syndrome, unparalleled burnout and a diminished work-life balance.
But it is resilient, and in my opinion it has been the single biggest factor in getting our people and our work through an unprecedented moment in history. This highlights just how critical it is that we focus our efforts on improving it, particularly in construction.
The question is, how can we do this in 2022?
What does construction culture look like in 2022?
To get construction culture in shape, first we have to hone in on its industry-specific challenges.
Like culture elsewhere, there’s no doubt it has wavered in the wake of remote working. Covid has caused our industry to contend with huge swathes of on-site absence, leading to delays in project delivery. Whilst those companies who are still new to the power of construction technology have been largely disconnected across teams, and at the mercy of documentation being split across multiple sites and devices. Mentorship is also a crucial part of construction, particularly in light of a lack of new talent coming into the industry. Yet Covid has led to people retiring early, or lacking that collaborative space needed to foster new talent and pass on crucial skills.
So much about making culture flourish is down to connection. And this is even greater in construction. Connection should run from head to toe in a construction business. It is just as important to your team’s health as it is to your project’s. Ours is not an industry capable of moving to a 100% remote model. We must accommodate those on site and in the office, and realise the need to connect both.
Our best weapon for this is technology. I believe it holds the key to us remaining agile and accommodating; and of embodying the flexibility culture in 2022 warrants.
Connection is key
Even pre-pandemic, construction was known for developing communication silos and information-sharing becoming compromised by a disconnected team. Without digitization, those working on-site, in the office or from remote locations wouldn’t have a reliable hub in place, and use manual systems like email, spreadsheets and cloud-file sharing which were clunky and not up to the job.
But the power of cloud-based software is in its ability to connect teams wherever and whenever they work. McKinsey reports
that 52% of workers favour the hybrid working model post-pandemic (a rise of 22% from before the pandemic). We must think about how we connect our teams even more. And not just stakeholders who are likely to be office-based or work from remote locations, but those on-site too.
The visibility and transparency platform technology brings are essential to injecting a project with confidence from all angles. Of establishing a robust safety net of information-sharing that will bring a heightened sense of collaboration and educated decision-making.
The proof is in the pudding, with McKinsey reporting that construction companies who leveraged cloud-based software saw productivity rise by 50%. This is one reason why 60% of construction leaders say innovative tech such as ours is critical.
Construction needs connection to thrive. Without it, you “increase the risk of alienation, burnout, and underperformance.”
It can tap into that sense of “belonging” that is central to culture by promoting autonomy and telling your workers they have a role to play. By prioritising connection, platform software ensures people aren’t left out of the loop or made to feel that information is privileged.
Empowering your people
However much your culture prioritises belonging and support, there will undoubtedly be attrition.
Covid has only exacerbated this, especially within the construction industry. We have weathered a great deal in the past 12 months, with multiple factors having placed considerable strain on the mental health of our workforce.
Mates in Mind recently published research that showed heightened levels of anxiety in construction, saying how “poor work-life balance” is a considerable factor.
Technology can be a force for better mental health as it means burdensome processes are suddenly streamlined and workflows simplified. Happy people work harder, as they are no longer demotivated from the churn of complicated, unintegrated technology that’s hard to use.
With time, confidence can grow from decision-making supported by quality data and transparency across the business.
I’ve already explained how connection is key to culture, but in terms of mental health it can help reduce the toll large-scale, frequently modified operations have.
With a single platform, people spend less time chasing information. Visibility can truly be transformative as clients have access to a project’s lifespan, and are able to place their faith in to-the-minute information on the work underway. Dashboards help them access this information readily and in an easy-to-understand fashion which means more confidence in data and your team.
This not only reassures your stakeholders, but allows your team to feel empowered as the pressure on them is eased and they can focus on the work at hand.
Being able to collaborate fully with project teams and work from one single source of truth will help save time, stress and additional pressure that’s frankly not needed in our line of work. This gives workers back their confidence, but also their time; something that can help address the work-life imbalance that Mates in Mind highlighted. Your team’s mental health will have a support system, and this is an invaluable sentiment to encourage.
If we look ahead to what construction might face, the skills shortage is no secret. But by building a culture that supports and empowers, it will attract and retain talent, and we will begin to see the problem remedy itself.
We have long argued that technology holds the answers to many of the construction industry’s issues. And its ability to help remedy construction’s cultural issues is not necessarily a new line of argument, but a consequence of its positive impact elsewhere.
Platform technology in construction isn’t designed specifically to focus on culture. But its ability to streamline workflows, promote visibility, avoid rework, and cultivate confidence spells good news for your projects and your people as well.
A lot has also been said about how the office has been reconfigured as a ‘social space’ owing to the pandemic. If this is the case, then I’d argue that tech platforms such as Procore have snuck in and taken up the mantle for being a hub for innovation and collaboration.
That’s because where once we thought these things were only possible because of four walls, now we’re realising it’s down to connection, visibility and collaboration - three things platform software, and technology in general, foster.
The past two years have brought into focus the unpredictability of what any and all industries can come up against. And 2022 already holds challenges of its own. But a resilient culture is how we can make sure we’re prepared for whatever the future holds. And for that, we need technology.
This article was written and paid for by Procore
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