Against a backdrop of falling oil prices and continued political unrest, the construction sector is one of the main pillars of the GCC industrial development and a key engine for growth, economy diversification and job creation.
A recently-conducted survey by Bayt.com, and consultancy YouGov, found that The UAE’s infrastructure industry is believed to hire the best local talent. Anyway, given the impressive number of projects underway and the increasing strain to meet demand of recent times, there’s no shortage of challenges in this sector – especially when it comes to retaining the quality workforce you desperately need to achieve your business goals.
But keeping your brightest talents doesn’t have to be a pain, and we are here to empower you with few tips so that they will never turn their back on your company.
Diversity at work is a way of thinking and operating that encourages an entirely new and positive outlook in a company. The infrastructure sector in the UAE attracts expatriate and local labour forces alike. Given such a mixture of different nationalities, striving to mitigate the oft-recurring ‘clash of civilization’ is no waste of time. Surveys, workshops, interdisciplinary project team-works etc., will help overcome linguistic barriers and cultural constraints which stem from working in a ‘melting pot,’ promoting multicultural awareness, acceptance and respect.
Fueling a collaborative spirit is imperative within a workplace. Although an effective use of team-building can bring to significant project execution and results in any type of industry, this aspect plays a particularly crucial role in the construction sector. Indeed, the role of team effectiveness in construction project teams has a profound impact on the overall construction project performance, and eventually on the morale of the individual employee. Feeling part of a ‘winning team’ and being aware of working with other capable individuals will keep motivation high and lead your project to great productivity.
The construction industry provides employment opportunities to job seekers with few academic qualifications. Yet, continual professional development is as important here as in anywhere else. A diverse array of training offerings, construction and real estate seminars – along with the introduction of cutting-edge methods to apply to everyday activities – will help your employees sharpen a diversified professional skillset to best master their craft.
While excavating or engineering a highway, construction employees are specially exposed to danger. Indeed, statistics suggest the construction site is the most accident-prone workplace, and the majority of injuries and fatalities occur right here. In such a work environment, assuring health and safety is absolute priority. One of the best way to accomplish this goal comes with the use of protective gear, the adoption of safe distance and other precautionary measures or safety guidelines set by the company. If you want to have the biggest impact possible on your employees’ lives, all the interested parties – from coworkers to construction site managers, architects and engineers – should be involved in this process. Remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
Last but not least, there is one important thing you can do to retain skilled employees in construction. Clearly defining and continuously reinforcing the purpose of the project is a good strategy to make your employees focused and willing to work hard to achieve a common goal. In this way employees will develop sense of ownership and take pride on every little step toward the realization of the whole construction project.
Did you like this blog post? What’s the retention strategy you are implementing for top talents in the construction sector? Get in touch with us, we would love to hear your thoughts!
