The construction industry has been traditionally slow to pick up new technologies. Tradespeople who have been at their work for decades don’t see the benefits of changing. But ever-advancing technology brings new urgency to adopt more current work practices. Heavy Construction Systems Specialists, Inc. (HCSS) offers a five-part method for achieving employee buy-in:
Buy-in must come from the top-down, and it needs to be more than just the management telling the employees what to do. Management needs to demonstrate their use of new technology first. Then, they must work alongside their employees and implement new tech together. Finally, the bosses need to speak positively of new tech and put their words into practice.
Introducing new technology to the entire team all at once can stall workflows when problems occur; this causes doubt and dissatisfaction. Better to introduce new technology to small groups and work out the kinks before expanding workflow operations to the rest of the company. This way, managers can anticipate and solve issues with a small group of experts.
Pick a well-liked and respected individual to act as product champion. Train your product champion well; their understanding of technology can act as a valuable tool when problems arise. A product champion becomes the first point of contact for technological issues. HCSS claims that this method works better than designating the manager as a product advocate; employees may be less willing to admit their struggles to management than to a coworker.
Setting goals and rewarding positive outcomes encourage employees to adopt new technologies. Team members will adopt tech at different rates; as they do, management should recognize and reward them for meeting expectations and goals. Rewards and benefits go further toward encouraging beneficial actions than punishing bad behavior.
Offer support and training for employees as they integrate technology. Accessible product experts, either on staff or from the tech company, can teach and help solve problems: reward technique advancements and learning benchmarks.
Failure to adopt new technology in the construction industry can cause companies to lag and lose valuable competitive advantages. So along with adopting up-to-the-minute tech, adoption must also become a priority. Heavy Construction Systems Specialists, Inc. offers these five steps to help construction companies make the most of their new technology investment.
The original HCSS article can be found here.