In the 1960s, Douglas McGregor developed two theories for categorizing employees; Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X suggests that employees are lazy and work solely for the purpose of needed income,  and therefore the need for hands-on management is imperative. This mentality is very prevalent among construction site managers, but does not empower employees. However, times have changed, and younger generations do not so easily fall into the theory X category. A lot of employees today are happy to be given the opportunity to work and therefore fall into the Theory Y group. Although having employees who genuinely enjoy their work can seem perfect on the surface, it does come with drawbacks that can prove to be detrimental if not managed properly. In this blog, we will give you our tips on managing your employees and motivate them on job sites.

  • Provide Recognition for employees on a job well done

There is nothing more disheartening than feeling like your hard work has gone unnoticed, especially when the employees go over and beyond what was expected of them, like finishing the windows on a floor 2 days before the due date. This doesn’t have to mean a form of monetary compensation, simply acknowledging that the employee did an exceptional job and informing him/her that you are very pleased with their performance can go a very long way in motivating employees.

  • Avoid Collective Punishments

Okay, let’s reiterate here; although you should generally avoid giving your employees the feeling they every single move they make is monitored and recorded, you should still keep clear records of tasks performed and progress reports. This will allow you to see if any employees are coming in late or just not performing to the expected standard. A way for this to be resolved is instead of sending a mass email about the repercussions of tardiness when you know that only one employee is tardy, simply ask to meet with that employee privately and talk with them to inform them that you noticed their infringement and attempt to understand if there is a reason for this. The employee will appreciate that you didn’t publicly call them out to “make an example of him” and this could motivate them to work harder.

 

Check out our solution for monitoring employee attendance at construction sites here.

  • Provide Clearly Set Objectives

It isn’t easy to properly evaluate how site workers are performing when the goals and timeless for them aren’t very clear. It is very demotivating for a worker to have to guess what should be prioritized over what and when deadlines are. Seemingly an easily avoidable issue, however, it does happen more often than you would hope for. It does have a simple solution though, handing out a guideline at the beginning of the construction site that shows which tasks should be done at what time, and which ones hold priority is a very simple way to resolve this. Additionally, you can use mobile applications that highlight the tasks each employee should perform sorted by priority.

 

These are just a few things that you can do to enhance motivation on job sites and improve overall performance, because after all, if workers are happy and performing, a managers job gets a lot easier.