Poor performance management in the construction sector
Discuss about the Key challenges in attracting and retaining a workforce in the construction sector.
In the construction company, the HR department wants to hire and retain the best employees to mitigate the challenges. In the construction industry, the investment and efforts have been revamped to focus on the job training and career. The construction industry in Australia is accelerating as in the hospitality and real estate industries are going rapidly. Construction companies strive to be a learner and they want to keep the best employees to be retained. The more talent and knowledge the employees posses; the more likely the employees can leave for another employer (Kramar et al. 2013). However, the construction industry has been facing the issue of low employee retention as the employees are leaving the organisation due to high accidental risks. The labours are leaving the organisation as the employees feel the fear of falls from heights, slips and trips, moving objects and noise. However, the salaries are not high in this sector in Australia. The management does not provide enough extrinsic motivation and the employees do not observe the career growth as well.
The thesis statement of the essay is to explain the key challenges of attracting and retaining the employees in the construction industry which can lead the industry to bring a rapid turnaround, reward efficiency and nimbleness. In this essay, five key challenges of the reattaining and attracting the employees in construction employees are explained along with recommendations.
Effective performance management creates a productive and harmonious work environment which is beneficial for both the employees and employers. Organisational entities tend to manage the performance of the employees so as to heighten business profitability and maintain competitive advantage and brand image in the preferred market. However, at the present time, the construction industry in Australia is facing a number of challenges in attracting and retaining employees and one of the most challenging issues is the poor performance management of the aforementioned industry (Decramer, Smolders & Vanderstraeten, 2013). The slow transition to digital practice makes the construction industry underperforming in terms of productivity and quality. Because of this, employees are becoming associated with a range of unethical practices and thereby, the companies are facing high employee turnover, underperforming and unmotivated employees. Further, it can be stated that the opportunities in construction are enhancing but the projects are becoming complex. Hence the complex designs make the construction companies face the issue as the level of motivation is decreasing amid the workforce.
Poor recruitment and selection in the construction sector
Organisations need to practice performance management in the workplace environment in order to improve the employee engagement in the entire mode of business activities. In this scenario, it can be stated that the introduction of globalisation makes it possible for the business enterprises to face cultural amalgamation and hence, the construction industry Australia is not out of the situation. As opined by Carassus, Favoreu & Gardy (2014), the employers are tending to hire diverse workforce for improving productivity but this, in turn, reduces the performance of the employees. This is because; the organisations are unable to maintain a murky line between strategy and executive during the time of cultural amalgamation (as cultural misunderstandings reduce workforce performance). Apart from this, it can be stated that in the age of digitalisation, employees are tending to nurture ‘silos’ working nature and it is worth mentioning that, such practice is just unsuitable for the construction industry. This isolated working culture is making the performance management of the companies ineffective. The poor performance management makes the organisations unable to attract new employees and is unable to motivate the existing employees as well. As a result of this, the market value of the Australian construction industry is reducing the global ranking and this is entire because of the poor performance management of the companies.
Having more tenured employees in the workplace environment, it is essential for the organisational entities to focus on the proper recruitment and the selection procedure. It is worth mentioning that, an effective selection and recruitment process improves the chances of hiring right people for the business. According to Kramar et al., (2013), for improving the recruitment and the selection process, it is essential for the organisational entity to give flexibility to the human resource management and lessen the control over the organisational structures. Hence, it can be stated that the construction industry in Australia is implementing Bureaucratic organisational structure and thereby, it does not give the human resource management the flexibility to hire best suitable employees. Many organisations under construction industry in Australia ignore to follow standard selection programs. Hence, such kind of practices makes the selection of workforce inundated with the myriad of discrimination, unethical practices, bias and favouritism.
Apart from this, it can be stated that organisations have to select employees from the inside of the organisation in order to practice strategic hiring and recruitment procedure and making the employees motivated and productive by providing them promotional opportunities. However, it can be marked that organisations stop to recruit employees from inside of the workplace and tending to focus on outsourcing only. Such kind of practices reduces employee retention and motivation significantly. As a result of these practices, the organisations are facing disciplinary problems, absenteeism, disputes, fraud, high labour turnover and poor service delivery to the customers. Apart from this, it can be stated that the level of motivation is reducing amid the workforce, which in turn reduces the productivity (Sauveur, Girouard & Goyette, 2014). Thereby, it can be stated that with the help of effective recruitment and the selection process it becomes possible for the organisation to improve the employee engagement and retention.
Lack of motivation, rewards, and compensation in the workplace
Employee motivation is important in the workplace and it is the critical aspect which leads to the performance of the employees. Compensation, motivation and reward management is an important element of the HR function within the construction industry. In the construction industry, the employers want high-performance work practice (HPWP) and the companies can invest on the employee’s knowledge, skills and abilities in order to improve opportunities and motivation of the employees (Chiang & Birtch, 2010). The leaders in the workplace always focus to motivate the employees and it is done in the regular routine. The construction industry in Australia has disengaged employees mainly; the leaders fail to understand the significance of employee motivation. Motivated employees lead to increase the productivity at construction industry and it helps to achieve the higher levels of outputs. There are various departments in the construction companies; HR, financial department, purchasing, project department, engineering and marketing department. In each of the department; the employees face the pressure and they need motivation. The employees face the issue of lack of confidence when they work in the construction companies as lack of confidence in one’s own abilities can motivate the employees. The hiring process of the construction companies does not happen in a regular way; therefore, the employees do not see enough employees being recruited in the company as it lowers the employees’ morale. In the construction industry, most of the employees have poor salary structure and the employees do not have the direction to go. In the construction industry, in some of the companies; there is no fairness in observing the capabilities of the employees. The employees work fair within the organisation however, the employees do not get the career growth in construction companies. Civil engineers and marketing employees in construction industry get promotions; however, the lower level employees and labours do not get any hike in the career (Loosemore et al., 2017).
Most importantly, salary is low in the construction industry and the employees do not get any work based incentives and the extrinsic motivation is very low in this sector. The employees do not get any fringe benefits and the compensation is not up to the mark. The incentive structure is not equal to all companies in the industry. As stated by Kim, Sutton & Gong (2013), extrinsic motivation means the behaviour of the employees that are driven by the extrinsic rewards of fame, money, promotions, grades and praise. The employees do not get fringe benefits like medical insurance, car, housing allowances, company car, educational assistance and vacation leaves. Employees in the construction companies do not have the intrinsic motivation also and this type of motivation is derived from the intangible factors like.
The employees always strive to learn something useful from the organisation and the employees always focus on the career development. Therefore, it is very significant for the management to improve an integrated and structured human resource development system in order to give benefits to the employees (Kuvaas & Dysvik, 2010). In the construction industry, the newly hired staffs as well as the experienced staffs both want to have career development. In the construction industry, the employees work as departments and each of the employees with the department has their own set of the professional development plan. The employees always desire for the training to learn something helpful as it can assist the employees to improve the career. MacKenzie, Garavan & Carbery (2011), commented that career development can be defined as the effort by the organisation to assist the employees to perform the duties of the employees in recent and future job roles. Construction companies in Australia are growing and the average profit margin in Australia touched 10.6% and numbers of construction workers are almost 1.04 million (Loosemore et al., 2017). In the construction industry, motivation to work sometimes varies with the employees as it can vary from person to person as wages are not always the most important things for the employees. Basic employees need from the organisation is career growth as employees think choosing the particular career may fulfil their desires.
Career growth provides the employees’ status; satisfaction and security to the employees and career development provide responsibilities to the employees. Responsibilities in the workplace provide motivation to the employees. In the construction industry; the employees do not observe the career growth as their life is stuck in the same situation. Career development plan in construction companies is needed as this career development plan can reduce the employee turnover by giving increased avenues. The organisations can attract the employees through promotional avenues and the employees will have the motivation and increased morale. In construction companies; career growth and learning development will enable the organisation to retain more staffs and the organisations will be able to fill the vacancies from internal promotions. The employees desire that the management will provide off-the-job training and the on-the-job training that would enable the employees to learn new things and skills in construction works. Learning growth makes the employees adaptable to the changing requirement of the organisation. As stated by Kuchinke (2010), career development reduces the industrial disputes and it can provide an opportunity to companies to sustain harmony in the construction industry.
In the workplace, the management focuses on the improving human characteristics and values the differences. The diversity in the workplace is very important as it focuses on cultivating the inclusive workplace where employees will work from a various ethnic background that contributes the workplace diversity. As stated by Richard, Roh & Peiper (2013), workplace diversity is about the variety of numerous differences among the individuals in the organisations. Within the organisation, diversity is not about identifying the various cultures; but to identify how the people perceive different culture. In Australia, almost 34% of the people have their parents link up with overseas and Australia is a land of diversity. Aborigines live in Australia and companies need to provide employment to the people belong from the varied background. In the construction companies, various cultures people come as the labours in contract basis. The management needs to control the people from various backgrounds so that the employees do not attack any employees directly. As pointed out by Kramar (2014), diversity in the workplace encompasses gender, race, age, religion, ethnic group, citizen status, sexual orientation and military services as well as physical conditions. In construction companies, diversity provides the benefits of the recruiting the employees from the various sections, In the construction sector, the management can attract many new candidates if they ensure that the organisation does not discriminate the people. The management needs to ensure smooth flow of communication.
In construction companies, the management fails to provide flexible working hours as the companies follow strict working hours. The senior employees have to keep in touch with the clients through ICT equipment. The construction companies’ management expects that the employees must be available for them for 24*7. The employees miss their family life and the employees and they are just burn-out physically and mentally. The striking perfect balance between family and career has always been a challenging for the private employees (McCarthy, Darcy & Grady 2010). Work-life balance is very important for the employees as balanced employees always feel motivated and they feel less stressed at work. Management wants extra hours from the staffs in exchange for money. For the employees; zero family life and increased work pressure create dissatisfaction. In construction industry; the management can ensure retention of the employees; if they make sure about work-life balance. Facilities like work-from-home and leave plan can attract maximum employees into the organisation.
In the construction industry; attrition of the employees and high employee turnover is a prevalent issue which HR department has to handle. The HR department can provide a positive working environment that fosters the growth of the employees. Positive career growth attracts the employees to work with the organisation along with fixed salaries. The employees need skills, expertise and knowledge so that they can grow their career in the field. Therefore, the managers should start training programmes both on-the-job training programme and off-the-job training programme. In addition, motivation can be given to the employees through extrinsic way; the management can start rewards and recognition programmes on a performance basis. The management can start providing the fringe benefits as part of the extrinsic motivation to the senior employees and the experienced employees; such as leave benefits insurance benefits, health plan, car facility and housing allowance. In addition, in the construction sector; the employees are not satisfied to work and the HR department can provide employee satisfaction through starting performance management system in which the employees will be taken feedback and the employees need to provide the answer with the questions. This employee performance strategy will be helpful to know what the employees desire the most. Moreover, flexible working hours and pure work-life balance can give the employees bliss and make the employees capable to work for a long time. The newly hired will be attracted towards the construction sector when they will find maximum benefits from the companies and employees’ retention will be increased automatically.
Conclusion
It has been observed that despite the growth and high industry revenue in the construction industry; employees have been leaving the sector. The reasons behind these are lack of employee satisfaction, motivation, poor work-life balance and poor performance management. The selection of the employees is not right in the construction industry. The HR department in the construction industry must recruit the employees who are job-fit rather than organisation-fit. In the construction sector; the employees have low employee engagement as lower motivation is the basic reason. Diversity in the workplace has been making an issue in Australia and the management is taking the decision to provide diversity training. The organisation should start providing incentives and the management should start performance management in order to attract and retain the employees in the construction sector.
Reference List
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