Just like materials and equipment, your workforce is a valuable resource that needs to be managed.
What is construction workforce management?
In construction, workforce management (sometimes abbreviated as WFM) is a group of strategies businesses use to effectively plan and utilize labor.
Companies that prioritize workforce management better understand their team’s capabilities and make more informed hiring and scheduling decisions.
What are some construction workforce management strategies?
The construction industry primarily uses the following workforce management strategies:
Certification tracking
Time tracking
Workforce planning
Jobsite monitoring
Certification tracking
Construction is a skilled trade. Some project tasks are extremely complex, technical, or dangerous and require certification or advanced training to complete.
It’s important for project stakeholders to understand the individual skills each employee brings to the table. You need to accurately track who is certified for different types of skilled labor—and when those certifications expire—so you can assign work appropriately.
This keeps the jobsite safer and minimizes quality concerns.
Time tracking
Time cards are an essential construction workforce management tool. Employees need a way to log work hours accurately and consistently so you can pay them fairly on time.
In addition to payroll, time tracking provides valuable insight for the business. When you assign cost codes to tasks that describe the type of labor that’s being performed, you can use time card data to monitor employee performance and improve the accuracy of future bids and proposals.
You can determine your own cost code system and get as granular as you like. You’ll understand exactly what your team can accomplish by the hour.
Workforce planning
It’s important to monitor employee availability. When you can track at a glance who is currently working on which jobsite you can plan skilled labor more efficiently.
For example, you may have an immediate need for a certified forklift operator on a jobsite after an employee calls out sick from work. If you’re effectively managing your workforce, you can quickly locate one that’s available in the nearby area and schedule that individual right away with limited downtime, preventing project delays.
All the data that helps you manage your current workforce will also help you make better hiring decisions. Are there too few OSHA 10 certified workers on your team and you’re having difficulty finding one in an emergency? Or, when you reviewed daily reports from your last project, were there too many subcontractors onsite on the day roofing work was scheduled, leading to safety concerns?
With good workforce management practices, you can analyze these types of issues clearly. Apply that knowledge to help you determine the need for new hires, better schedule work for future projects, or identify growth opportunities for your current team.
Jobsite monitoring
A significant part of workforce management is also making sure your team has the tools they need to stay safe and productive. Closely monitoring progress onsite often prevents minor issues from developing into major headaches.
Empower your crew to keep safety and quality procedures top of mind with construction checklists and report templates. Reinforce the importance of frequent inspections.
Ensure that managers and stakeholders have clear visibility of progress through the daily reporting process. Encourage consistent communication between field and office teams.
Construction workforce management software
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with workforce management in construction, especially if you’re trying to track certifications and monitor work hours using pen and paper or complicated spreadsheets.
Many construction businesses turn to digital solutions to help manage labor. Construction workforce management software makes certification and availability tracking much easier. Information is digitally stored and organized and can be accessed and analyzed without much manual effort.
Similarly, construction time tracking software streamlines time tracking and payroll processing. Employees save time in the field, clocking in and logging work hours on mobile devices, while the office can process coast code data automatically.
Try our workforce management tools.
Our easy-to-use web and mobile app tracks worker certifications and shows you who’s available near every jobsite—so you can schedule skilled labor more effectively.
Along with our daily reporting and production tracking capabilities, our labor management features help you better utilize your resources and keep projects on track