Like many other sectors, the construction industry had to quickly adapt to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. While bricklayers, electricians, carpenters, and engineers still remained on job sites, construction firms and contractors allowed the rest of their staff to work from home. However, this transition to remote work in construction has been far from easy.
For an industry that has traditionally depended on co-located offices to coordinate workers on the field, it comes as no surprise that many construction companies were ill-prepared for the sudden shift to remote work. According to a Leesman survey, of the approximately 20,000 employees in the UK construction industry, 49% had no home working experience.
However, even with pandemic restrictions scaled back, remote work in the construction industry may be here to stay — at least partially. Nearly half of all UK workers want to make remote work permanent, according to a survey of 3,000 professionals by RADA Business.
Set Up Your Remote Construction Team for Success
If your business is one of the many organizations in the construction industry planning to make remote or hybrid work permanent, you may have concerns about your employees’ productivity. Here are a few ways to help your remote teams do their best work.
1. Create a Remote Work Policy
The flexibility and autonomy to decide when and where to work are among the top benefits of remote work. However, without a clear remote work policy that sets expectations between you and your remote workforce, it can be easy for things to quickly go awry. Deadlines are missed, employees cannot be reached on the phone, and overall productivity takes a nosedive.
Your remote work policy can outline things such as:
- Expected days and times for work;
- Guidelines and tools for communication and collaboration (e.g., intranet channels such as Slack, Microsoft Teams and more); and
- Device management guidelines (i.e., rules for the use of personal devices for work).
The more detailed your remote work policy is, the easier it will be to maintain consistency in your remote work practices.
2. Consider Information Security and Compliance
Whether you are a construction firm or a small business providing contractor services, you will need to demonstrate your organization’s commitment to protecting personal data in line with GDPR requirements.
Regardless of your workforce’s physical location, the same security measures under GDPR will apply to your business. Your GDPR compliance may also affect your ability to prequalify for contracts as many larger construction firms only work with contractors with a proven record of information security.
Fortunately, accreditation schemes such as a Common Assessment Standard provide a consolidated process for showing your GDPR compliance alongside other areas of risk management, such as health and safety, modern slavery, anti-bribery, and corruption, among others.
3. Be Mindful of Equality and Diversity
Shifting to remote work may seem to be a boon for equality in the workplace, but it may just exacerbate the construction industry’s diversity problem.
A growing number of experts are concerned that the normalization of remote work could lead to employers favoring workers willing to be in a co-located workplace, who are often men and adults with no children. When writing your remote work policy, be careful to set hiring practices that ensure objectivity. Consider working with an HR specialist to ensure your hiring policies do not adversely affect groups of employees, such as women, members of the LGBT community, or people of color.
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