Intentional Onboarding, Recognition + Mentorship

Setting up craft professionals for success right out of the gate

By Jason Aspinwall

The construction industry is an incredibly competitive landscape when it comes to recruitment and retention, especially for the unique and innovative leaders who fill superintendent roles. As such, it’s crucial to not only focus on setting employees up for success, but to also support tenured superintendents so they can continue to engage and learn.

Best-in-class construction firms are intentional about onboarding superintendents, leveraging talents and coaching them throughout their careers.

Solidify the onboarding process
Most contractors are focused on covering all their bases when it comes to talent acquisition, relying on a combination of recent graduates, mid-career hires and growth from within. In each case, it’s important for superintendents to forge strong connections with their operations and craft colleagues, and to see clear opportunities for advancement.

Right out of the gate, a comprehensive onboarding process is key to ensuring superintendents have early access to the resources they need to excel. Introduce them to corporate lingo and key acronyms, where to store and access job files/project documents, which technology platforms are used for particular tasks, etc. Beyond that, encourage discussion about the company’s mission and values so there’s broad understanding of why certain things are prioritized.

The sooner they’re educated on company culture and processes, the faster they will understand the expectations for the role — from managing day-to-day subcontractor operations and serving as the face of safety and quality onsite, to buying out work and influencing the project’s schedule and constructability.

Recognize drive and innovation
Superintendents tend to be highly driven individuals, as well as trendsetters who are willing to try different construction techniques, test new technology and find ways to maximize labor and materials. Many are hungry to be challenged and thrive on setting the pace of work for those around them.

Employees who are newer in their careers are not afraid to find new ways to get the job done and diverge from the traditional methods of completing a task. It is proven that supporting this curiosity and passion for change is one of the best retention strategies that organizations in any industry can put into action.

Be sure to recognize those who have the right balance between technical and interpersonal skills. Give them space to ask “why not” and to recommend solutions. Opportunities to use their voice can range from collaborating with subcontractors on unique prefabrication applications, to piloting what it entails to use robotics on an active site or sharing expertise during an owner meeting/presentation.

This will build their capacity to take on new responsibilities, more complex tasks and bigger projects. In turn, tangibly recognizing and embracing what superintendents bring to the company reduces their risk of leaving.

Mentor with purpose
There’s tremendous value in developing a superintendent-specific mentoring program. Doing so signals to employees that they don’t have to figure everything out on their own; that a support system is already in place.

Goals of a mentoring program should include nurturing those who are still early on in their career, creating holistic leaders, enhancing technical and soft skills and bringing connectivity to the superintendent workforce.

Areas of focus could cover communication, delegation, emotional intelligence, cost and quality management and site logistics. Other topics recommended by mentors and mentees include accountability, conflict management, teamwork, bidding work and achieving personal goals.

Consider using the Predictive Index assessment to connect mentees with mentors who would work best together, as well as to help everyone understand what leadership traits they possess. This tool can be a real difference-maker in highlighting how to collaborate with people who are different from one another — something superintendents encounter every day onsite as they navigate countless professional relationships.

Embracing a culture of education, innovation and support is paramount when it comes to today’s competitive job market. Having structure, mentorship and clear-cut plans for career advancement present opportunities to stand out amid the superintendent talent pool.

Jason Aspinwall is craftforce development director at Messer Construction Co.

Photo credits: Messer Construction Co.