12 Costly Employment Mistakes You Need To Avoid

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In construction, we depend on good people. Regrettably, there are many poorly skilled and unmotivated people in construction. Part of the reason is that sometimes people employed for construction projects are paid poorly, are transient workers, are poorly educated and have little motivation to stay in the industry. Construction is often not seen as a career of choice, and some end up in construction because that’s the only work they can get.

Part of these problems is related to the cyclical nature of the construction business, with short cycles of plenty of work followed by sharp downturns when work is scarce. Society often places more emphasis on sports stars, lawyers and doctors, but, in general, tradespeople and contractors are looked down on. Being in construction isn’t easy with many construction projects working long hours, sometimes in adverse weather conditions. People are expected to work far from home and away from families.
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But, construction companies must also take some responsibility for poor quality employees. Contractors often employ the ‘wrong people’ focusing on cheap labor rather that the best person for the job. People aren’t trained, they aren’t trusted, they aren’t directed properly and some contractors take their employees for granted. Often Project Managers are focussed purely on the work at hand and don’t even notice others in the team.
These employment practices could wreck your business

1. Transferring someone who is ‘useless’. Deal with the problem, don’t transfer the problem. Frequently I’ve had ‘bad apples’, poor workers transferred from one supervisor to another, or from one project to another. Frequently managers avoid dealing with a problem and rather move the problem elsewhere. Eventually, these problem employees have been with the company for many years which makes it even more difficult to terminate them.
2. Not telling someone that they messed up, or not telling them why they messed up. Feedback is important. No one will improve if they think they are doing ok.
3. Not training – it’s important to constantly improve the skills of the team working for us.
4. Failing to delegate. Delegating to others makes them feel more trusted, they take on more responsibilities, and they learn new skills. Delegating work allows us to take on more responsibilities and hopefully allows us a better work-life-balance.
5. Employing someone because you can afford to pay their salary and not because they are the best person for the job. The right person will usually always earn their salary back many times over. The wrong person could cost you lots more than only their salary.
6. Not setting the right example. People notice when managers arrive late for work, take extended lunch breaks, arrive inebriated or don’t follow the safety rules. People are quick to follow examples. It’s difficult to discipline someone when a senior person gets away with the same poor behaviors.
7. Accepting it when people don’t follow the rules, produce poor quality, or work unsafely. Never walk past an unsafe act or poor quality work without taking corrective actions. People who break the rules once without being corrected will repeat the offense. The other will assume this behavior is acceptable and soon everyone is doing the same.
8. Not following the disciplinary procedures. Dismissing someone without following the correct procedures could result in them taking legal action, which is expensive and time consuming for the company to fight, and which often results in the company having to reinstate the employee, which erodes discipline further.
9. Keeping someone stuck in one job because they are good at it. Not allowing them to advance their career and take on other responsibilities. Sometimes good people end up stuck in a job when they could be of more benefit to the company elsewhere. Inevitably they leave.
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