How to get your construction team engaged and on board with new processes

Did you know that only 15% of employees are engaged while the rest of the 85% isn’t? According to a recent Gallup State of the Global Workplace Study, low employee engagement costs companies $450 - $500 billion per year. Think about that. Now, are your people engaging in achieving your company’s vision? Or do you do all the planning and implementation by yourself? How do you get people to come out of their way to engage? That’s what we’ll talk about in today’s episode of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast.

Why are people disengaged at work?
Let’s start by answering this burning question - why don't people want to engage? It turns out that the answer to this question can be linked to how we, as humans, are wired. Our human psyche doesn’t want something to be dictated, micromanaged, or told what to do. It’s human nature not to want to engage in something like that. What you can do as a leader, though, is to educate your team on why you’re doing something and how they can be a part of it. Trust me, your team will run through walls to follow a process or plan that THEY’RE PART OF.

Can compensation motivate employees?

I did some research on this a few years ago, and I found something interesting. This would come as a surprise to some of you, but money is below several things on the list of what’s important when it comes to getting employees motivated and engaged. What actually motivates people, especially in the workplace, are the feelings of being trusted and autonomy. When people feel trusted and when they have autonomy, it feels incredibly motivating. They are more likely to perform better and make better decisions. And when your people do most of the decision-making, it makes it easier for you as a leader to delegate, and it’s a win-win for everyone.

Employee Engagement Boosters

Getting your team engaged and on board with new processes goes a long way in making your visions come to fruition. And now that we know that money alone can’t get employees to engage, here are some foolproof and practical ways to improve employee engagement.

1. Lead not only in words but also in how you perform. Even though words are powerful, they should be backed up by action.
2. If you have a problem that needs to be solved, gather the people closest to the problem - the very people who will implement whatever process you come up with.
3. Create a community. People want to feel connected, and when they are, it helps them feel valued and belong.

To learn more about improving your employee engagement, listen or watch the full episode here.

Additional Resources:

• FREE online training workshop: Get Out of Your Construction Business: How to Make it Run Without You here.
• Learn how to recession-proof your business here.
• Work with our team to systematize your business here.
• Visit our website here.

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time.