As labor shortages put a strain on the post-pandemic recovery, it may be the construction industry that feels the pain more than many others.
It’s estimated that construction companies will need to hire 430,000 workers this year, with a potential growth scenario that could push that number to nearly 1 million. The impact: 72% of general contractors believe the labor shortage will be their biggest hurdle this year.
Adding to the problem is the aging workforce. With a third of Built-World workers within a decade of retirement, there’s a real threat to firms losing vital institutional knowledge that’s often difficult to train down to newer workers, especially in traditionally paper-managed environments.
The most immediate solution for most firms will be investments in automation and efficiencies. This is where digitized tools, like StringBean, are becoming critical pieces to addressing these broader workforce challenges.
Key areas include:
Training down expertise and institutional knowledge
A robust workflow management platform gives you the ability to document all key processes and tasks, making it much easier for an inexperienced worker to follow step-by-step instructions with clear verification to both the worker and supervisor that work was properly and accurately completed.
Virtual supervision
Imagine, as a supervisor, getting an immediate alert as soon as a safety deficiency was reported or when a critical step was skipped by a new worker. When digital workflows are incorporated into the jobsite culture, managers benefit from real-time alerts, evidence of completion, and comprehensive reporting that simply isn’t possible when managing through Excel spreadsheets or by pen and paper.
Ready to speak with StringBean about your pain points? Let’s talk.
