HR Challenges in Construction and How Technology Can Help

HR professionals in the construction industry face unique challenges due to the complex nature of construction work and its diverse workforce. Unlike other businesses, construction personnel are typically spread across job sites (or even states) if you have multiple offices or remote workers.

HR staffers in construction are tasked with managing not only people but also key employee data and safety certifications in order to retain skilled workers and ensure compliance with industry regulations — a task made more difficult due to ongoing gaps in skilled labor and evolving labor laws.

Fortunately, HR software for construction companies can help your HR team manage employees more effectively and stay in compliance with industry regulations. Below, we’ll explore the top challenges in construction HR and how technology can help you overcome them.

Key Problems Faced by HR Teams

Two critical challenges HR teams in construction face are:

1. Tracking employee data across locations

Construction workers are dispersed across multiple worksites. Crews and trades may move from one project site to another within the same day, and you may have staff working in offices in different regions or remotely across the country. A decentralized workforce makes it harder for HR teams to manage employee data, and the complex nature of the construction industry just adds to this challenge.

Without proper solutions in place, your HR team may struggle with tracking time and attendance to ensure compliance with wage and other labor laws. Additionally, it’s more difficult to keep track of essential employee data needed for performance reviews or records of worker certifications and safety training. A lack of complete and accurate data can hinder your ability to make informed decisions, communicate with and manage workers effectively, and may even cause compliance issues.

2. Compliance with labor regulations

Construction companies must stay in compliance with a number of labor and safety regulations, which often require tracking data, ensuring its accuracy, and generating reports. They include:

• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): HR teams need to account for recent updates to the FLSA to stay compliant, which include changes in minimum annual salary, overtime eligibility, and recordkeeping. 

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): The construction industry continues to lead all sectors in workplace fatalities, most often occurring due to falls, slips, or trips. OSHA’s regulations are designed to help construction companies maintain safe environments at project sites and train employees on all safety protocols. They require strict adherence to avoid penalties. To stay in compliance, HR teams may have to administer safety training or ensure certifications are up-to-date.

• Certified payroll: Government-funded (also called public works) projects require your construction company to file weekly certified payroll reports to ensure workers are compensated fairly. Failing to accurately report employee wages, job classifications, hours worked each week, and employee benefits can result in fines.

• Prevailing wage laws: The Davis-Bacon Act sets the minimum hourly wage and benefits of construction workers that all construction contractors and subcontractors must pay on publicly funded projects. While the U.S. Department of Labor sets a federal prevailing wage based on geographic location, some states have their own prevailing wage laws you’ll have to stay in compliance with as well.

• Classification of workers: Stricter regulations are cracking down on the misclassification of workers. You’ll need to ensure that your construction company has clear policies on the classification of employees, independent contractors, and subcontractors to stay in compliance and avoid penalties. 

• Union regulations: If your construction company works with organized labor, you also need to stay in compliance with specific union regulations in regard to wages, overtime pay, and other benefits.

• State-specific regulations: Construction companies that operate in more than one state also have to deal with varying reporting requirements or regulations at different job sites.

Remaining in compliance with all regulations can be a difficult and time-consuming process if you’re still using manual processes due to human errors or delays while collecting, transcribing, or routing employee data.

Addressing Construction Concerns With HR Software

Construction HR software addresses the difficulties your HR team faces in managing employee data and ensuring compliance. Here are two main ways the technology can help.

1. Centralized data management

Instead of relying on incomplete or siloed data, HR software brings all your employee data together into one centralized location for greater visibility. The software also eliminates manual searches through multiple tools or combing through spreadsheets to find information, so your HR team can securely access and manage consolidated employee data and documents more efficiently from one database. And with features like seamless integration, employee data syncs in real-time, so you’re always viewing the latest information. 

2. Automated certification tracking

HR software reduces compliance risk by allowing you to easily track employee training and certifications. It also streamlines the process of managing certifications by automatically sending notifications when certifications are expiring to ensure continued compliance. Some HR software even allows you to assign safety training or certifications to individuals, specific groups, or all employees, depending on your company’s needs and compliance requirements. 

Construction HR Software: What Features To Look For

When it comes to addressing HR concerns, the features included in your construction software can help or hurt your ability to stay compliant and improve HR workflows. Here are three must-have elements to look for when selecting HR software for your construction company.

1. Mobile access

To ensure you can access critical employee data from anywhere and improve the visibility and management of on-site teams, look for construction HR software with cloud-based apps. Employees and HR teams can easily update information, check on certifications, and more using mobile access through a smartphone or tablet without having to be in the office.  

2. Time-tracking capabilities

With numerous wage and labor regulations to stay in compliance with, it’s critical your construction HR software offers time-tracking and cost-coding features. These capabilities ensure all wages, overtime pay, and hours worked are tracked accurately and routed to the right teams for compliance purposes.

3. Seamless integration with payroll systems

Many construction HR software solutions seamlessly integrate with your existing accounting and payroll tools, meaning any data syncs and updates automatically. This feature also eliminates manual data entry and improves payroll efficiency while ensuring compliance with industry regulations.

Ensure Compliance and Improve Employee Data Management With hh2’s HR Solutions

Managing a diverse construction workforce is less challenging when you’re using the right tools, like hh2’s construction HR software. Our HR solution was built to address common issues faced in the construction industry, including compliance risk, certifications, and visibility in the field. 

With our HR software, you’ll get access to real-time employee data in a central location so you can make informed decisions. You can also organize, share, and manage safety training or track certifications with a few clicks. Ensuring compliance with all union, state, and federal regulations is less of a hassle, too, thanks to time-tracking features and seamless integration with payroll tools. 

Watch our demo to learn how you can streamline your HR processes.