Learning on the job site is one of the most effective ways to learn all the ins and outs of construction. There are many things that it's incredibly difficult to learn in a classroom setting, especially when it's time to hang drywall or cabinets, install new electrical connections, or even put shingles on a roof. As part of your daily operations, you need to make that learning accessible to all of your employees--and integrate it into your daily, on-site operations as part of your usual business processes so that your employees can make the most of their on-the-job learning opportunities.
Record Lessons Learned from Project Teams and Staff Meetings
Much of a project manager's learning takes place through project teams and staff meetings. You may learn new information about best practices on the job site, need to adapt your safety procedures, or learn how to do something more efficiently. The information learned during those meetings, however, may be difficult to pass on to the rest of your company employees and other workers on the job sites, especially if you don't connect with them on a regular basis.
Get in the habit of recording the information gathered during those meetings. Write it down or, even better, keep it in a comprehensive digital library that all your employees can access at their convenience. LinkedField Collect offers a comprehensive knowledge storage platform that you can use to share and communicate information in a flash--and since it's at their fingertips, workers can easily check out that information when they need to reference it on the next project--or use it to train their project engineers. LinkedField also has the ability to automatically push these lessons learned and knowledge to any project team based on real-time onsite activities.
Share Information Across the Company
At each stage of the construction process, a vast amount of information is produced. Not only that, construction best practices change regularly, as safety standards grow with time. Methods change. New equipment comes on the market that can help improve efficiency or safety. In order to take full advantage of that information, however, your team has to know about it.
Sharing information across your company is critical. You need a knowledge management solution like LinkedField Connect, which can help keep your team connected so that every member of the team can share critical information with each other. For entry-level employees still learning their skills, that information can prove critical to developing the solid knowledge of the construction industry they need in order to fully grow into their potential. For experienced contractors, that information-sharing can help keep them up-to-date on the latest changes across the industry, hone their skills, or ensure that they know what is expected of them as they complete their responsibilities.
Provide Support to Your Team Members
In order to aid in on-the-job learning, it's critical that you provide support to your team members. At the corporate level, that means providing support to your junior staff. On the job site, it means ensuring that every member of the team has access to the building knowledge they need.
Put the answers to team members' questions at their fingertips.
Whether you have a construction worker in the field who needs to check a concrete mix design or a worker in the office who needs to know how to put together a pre-construction checklist for the next post-bid meeting, LinkedField Connect can help your team members easily access the information they need. It's a virtual source of support and information: an opportunity for them to connect to a library of content that will answer many of their questions based on the task they are currently working on. As a result, they'll be less likely to make mistakes and preempt any issues before they become fire drills.
Make it easier for team members to access one another.
Construction companies can have workers spread across various regions. You may have workers at multiple job sites while the corporate staff remains back at the office. All those team members need to share relevant information about similar project types or clients, from the latest company procedures to the challenges faced at the job site that can impact completion times, staffing needs, and more. Effective knowledge management solutions options like LinkedField can make it easier for those team members to stay connected and get the answers to their important questions. As a result, they'll be in a better position to advance in their own careers--and better positioned to provide the high standard of quality and better financial outcomes.
Automate Knowledge Deployment
Many of the workers on your job sites have likely already trained countless employees. They've seen junior employees grow into their potential. They know when it's best to share new information and when a new worker may become overwhelmed by the information already presented to him. When they train in person, they can share that knowledge at a steady rate, gradually increasing what each worker knows and what tasks those workers can complete.
Automating that deliberate and curated knowledge deployment, rather than relying on someone else to provide it, can help take junior employees through those early steps without the need for as much active involvement on the part of a mentor. Not only that, automation can allow you to ensure that every member of your team gets the right information at the right time. While it's not quite the same as sending a new employees off to look for a glass hammer or a flux capacitor--and that personal connection will need to come from the members of the team--automated knowledge deployment can provide needed training and fundamental information for new construction team members in a comprehensive, effective manner. It will avoid deficits in the employee's knowledge that the trainer forgot to deliver and put responsibility for absorbing that knowledge in the employee's hands. In addition, this frees up the mentor's mental and time capacity to really talk the time to train on more complex training issues. At the corporate level, you can also allow employees to access steadily increasing levels of knowledge that can help them attain promotions and realize the career advancement opportunities at your company--which leads to better employee retention.
At LinkedField, we make knowledge deployment and communication with your team easier than ever. Contact us today to learn more about how we can increase your team's knowledge, provide enhanced collection management solutions, and even enhance corporate training for your company.
