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According to eLearning, 77% of employees who went through a formal onboarding process were able to meet their goals. The hiring and onboarding process, no matter the industry, always has room for improvement.
In construction, the onboarding process continues to prove more difficult by the year. As we continue to search for new hires, having the right skills for the job is becoming more crucial for project success.
Aside from finding the right tradespersons for the job, it is increasingly becoming more important to retain those specialty employees due to the demanding nature of the construction industry.
Another factor that plays a role in hiring employees is safety and age. Currently, there is a mix of younger generations and older working together on a jobsite.
Due to the lack of skilled tradespersons, some companies are quick to onboard inexperienced workers, which may lead to poor outcomes, delays, and more safety issues arising.
Onboarding has to be a smooth experience for both the company and the employee. The smoother the onboarding experience, the more likely the employee will succeed in their role.
It is said that the first 45 days of employment account for roughly 20% of worker turnover. Let’s dive into the top 6 tips to strengthen your construction workforce onboarding experience for safety & productivity.
Basic Employment Onboarding Flow
- Application
- Pre-screening employment
- Post-offer, pre-employment screens
- Orientation
- Safety training
- Check-ins (30-60-90 day)
- Reviews
Tip 1: Digitally centralize worker documents & certifications
As we are aware, physical paperwork can stack up and take over valuable space. When paperwork is not filed correctly, you run the risk of accountability and the file being lost or damaged.
Fast forward to spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are a level up from pen and paper when it comes to workflow and document movement but organization is yet again a hurdle, and the digital document could get corrupted.
We should strive to optimize our workflow for quality results, and when it comes to organizing our digital documents, there are other solutions than spreadsheets in the market.
A platform to centralize your spreadsheets and documents aside from a hard drive is so valuable when you’re working with hundreds of onboarding documents.
With a workforce platform, you can hold and centralize valuable documents and certifications. As time goes on, you build historical data and can pull up any piece of information with ease.
Tip 2: Constantly engage & communicate with employees
Employee engagement and communication is a crucial aspect for safe and successful workplace outcomes. We can’t always be next to our phone or be present for a discussion, so having the right technology in place can help streamline communication.
With a workforce platform, you can send employees necessary forms on mobile or email to fill out things like safety or background check information.
Another reason why utilizing technology for employee communication is so beneficial to a project's success is that you can provide mass safety notifications across any jobsite. Contractors can mention mandatory safety notes/warnings, or other necessary requirements of employees.
Tip 3: Provide built-in safety training tips & videos
Employee engagement and communication are crucial for safety and successful workplace outcomes. We can’t always be next to our phone or present for a discussion, so having the right technology in place can help streamline communication.
With a workforce platform, you can send employees necessary forms on mobile or email to fill out for requirements. You can also host training videos if you utilize a workforce management platform.
Utilizing technology for employee communication is so beneficial to a project's success. You can communicate through text or email and provide mass notifications for your workforce. Contractors can mention mandatory safety notes/warnings or other necessary requirements of employees.
Tip 4: Flag high-risk employees ahead of time
When onboarding new employees, it can be challenging to run multiple background checks at the same time. Today, Contractors are utilizing background check softwares to expedite the hiring process and flag high-risk employees within up to 24 hours.
Background checks are a must when hiring the right people for the job. Construction is no different. Construction companies need a platform that can streamline background checks in record time while integrating with their current systems.
To give context to why background checks are so important, in recent years, Florida's new law requires contractors that work with schools must have a background check requirement. The companies that miss out on speedy background checks miss out on the jobs.
Tip 5: Collaborate with other departments
A large factor to having a successful onboarding experience for new employees is collaboration between departments. When HR, Safety, and Operations work hand-in-hand, you have a receipt for onboarding success.
More contractors today are aiming to align symmetry between internal departments. Having more alignments makes for a smoother workflow process. When utilizing a workforce management platform, departments have a central system to collaborate.
Tip 6: Ensure compliances are met with consistency
When enforcing rules and regulations, having a way to ensure compliances are met is very important for workforce onboarding & management. Staying compliant requires consistency between management & their employees. Staying consistent with employee information and compliances require technology for document hosting and notifications.
There is a digital transformation occurring within multiple industries, and construction is going through its phase.
With a workforce platform solution, management can stay on top of documents, certifications, State, and Federal regulations. When valuable information is hosted in one central location, managing your workforce just got a lot easier.
Keep up with OSHA regulations, SST card information, and more within a platform. When utilizing a workforce platform, you can even send your workforce notifications alerts and notify them when certifications or documents are expiring. To give context of the severity of not meeting compliance, OSHA’s maximum penalty fee is roughly $14, 502.
Tip 7: Optimize time-saving techniques & money
Technology is a tool that is meant to support and enhance the human touch. Manual processes are a big part of human touch that take up a lot of time and money from our day. When you have to onboard hundreds of employees, it can take a little time.
This is the reason why many Contractors are utilizing a workforce management platform to save time, money, and headaches when it comes to onboarding multiple employees within a specific frame-of-time.
Remote onboarding is a big time-saver when it comes to communicating with your employees from multiple locations. It can be hard to find the right person for the job, and we may have to look in other areas of the country, so to save time and money, we have to optimize the way we onboarding our workforce through technology.
Want to learn how to utilize a workforce management platform for onboarding? Schedule a chat with a team member today!
About Kwant
Kwant is a workforce management & safety platform built to accelerate construction through productivity and safety. Using smart wearables and plug-n-play sensors, Kwant connects jobsite data and provides real-time insights & reports. Visit us at www.kwant.ai for more information.
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