Give reskill and upskill opportunities
There once was a time when cross-training was enough to keep things under control when an employee was away for a short period of time. Or cross-training was useful to have under your belt during the interim of losing one employee and finding someone to replace him or her.
Things have changed. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t only the reaction to COVID 19 that has made the change necessary. Even before the great time out commenced it was becoming more and more necessary to give your employees the chance to reskill or upskill.
What reskilling and upskilling means
Before going on, I’ll offer these definitions of the two words:
· Upskilling means employees learn advanced skills so they can thrive in their current position.
· Reskilling means employees learn new skills, allowing them to do a different job.
It’s about the tech
Within the construction industry, we see two areas where there is most need for both upskilling and reskilling. And it is no surprise that both have to do with technology.
· Collaboration technology
· Safety technology
The paradox is that the reaction to COVID 19 has in many cases shown it isn’t as hard as once thought.
It’s about resilience
The built-in wow factor found when using both upskilling and reskilling in your construction contracting business is the added benefit of resilience.
Where once cost and efficiency were the contractor’s bywords of choice, now resilience has become part of the everyday vocabulary. And resilience hinges on engaging employees in the acts necessary to gain advanced or new skills in keeping with the available (and upcoming) technology.
For example, some construction business owners have found simpler, faster, and less expensive ways to operate by sending their office staff home. And that often meant the staff had to upskill in one or more ways. Think collaboration technology.
As for safety technology, this article from Construction Executive discusses how safety technology positively impacts efficiency. Giving your employees the opportunity to upskill and reskill is worth the trouble. As you can see, helping them develop better habits and attitudes should be included in your upskilling and reskilling plans.
Equip the team to reskill and upskill
It is important to proactively equip your team. Equip them with physical resources sure. But also think in terms of equipping them with skills, mindsets, and values that are important to strategic upskilling and reskilling.
We desire to familiarize you with business concepts, which will make it easier for you to be a better commercial construction subcontractor through our blog posts. Some are new ways of looking at things, and others are refreshers.
The Profit Constructors Provide Contract Document Management and Advisory Board Level counsel for small to medium commercial construction subcontractors.
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