In addition to safety and quality workmanship, growth is a top priority for construction companies. While it takes time to expand, there are a few things businesses can do in the meantime to ensure healthy and stable growth. Check out our list of essential tips for growing your construction business to see what you can do to successfully grow your company.
Invest in Your Team
Your team is your most valuable asset. One of the best ways to set your business up for success is to hire the right people. Crew members must have certain skills and abilities to perform their jobs well and avoid injury. Look for individuals with excellent physical strength and stamina, accurate depth perception, strong communication skills, a strong work ethic, and a solid understanding of the construction industry.
By investing in your team, you will also retain your workforce. You can show your team you’re invested by:
- Recognizing and rewarding crew members for their hard work, safety efforts, and reliability
- Not micromanaging—show your employees that you trust them. If you do, their abilities will go a long way in building employee happiness, confidence, and individual growth.
Crew members will be much happier knowing they can rely on their coworkers, especially on particularly tedious or hazardous jobs. Additionally, hiring skilled individuals will prevent business setbacks such as missed deadlines, poor quality workmanship, and even lawsuits.
Ensure Safety
Safety is essential for growing a business for the following reasons:
- Employees who know their safety is a top priority tend to stick around longer, thereby preventing position vacancies.
- Injury, damage, or worse can be prevented (which prevents lawsuits.)
- High safety ratings are valuable to prospective clients. Clients are more likely to choose a business with high safety ratings than a business that doesn’t emphasize safety or isn’t recognized for its safety protocols.
Some effective ways to ensure safety are to enroll your team in safety training courses, including OSHA construction industry training and education courses, invest in new equipment, and keep up on your equipment’s preventive maintenance schedules.
Properly Maintaining Your Equipment
Properly maintaining your construction equipment is imperative—not only for safety purposes but for the growth of your company. Clients are not likely to hire (or rehire) a construction firm that missed a project deadline or went over budget due to equipment failure. In addition, upset clients are likely to leave poor reviews and speak unfavorably of such a business to their colleagues. These factors are major hindrances to business growth!
Ensure that your equipment is reliable and runs as it should by adhering to a preventive maintenance schedule. It’s far better to examine machinery and discover hoists in need of replacement, low coolant levels, worn brake components, torsion on tracks, and other hazards before an emergency occurs. You’ll also spend less money on replacement costs than repair costs, or worse.
Market Your Business Well
There are three ways to market your construction business: networking, word of mouth, and digital marketing.
Encourage happy clients to tell others about your business, whether it’s verbally or through a review. Take advantage of networking opportunities by joining a local trade association or establishing a positive presence in your community. And last but not least, establish a marketing strategy with an established digital marketing agency to grow your website and increase your clientele.
Quality Craftsmanship
When your construction company is good at what you do, your work will speak for itself. Clients will come to you and return to you because they know you’re safe, professional, and do a good job. Not cutting corners and avoiding the use of cheap materials will also go a long way in building trust with your clients. You’ll be able to complete projects you—and your client—can be proud of.