Top Five HR Trends in Construction

The construction industry is always changing, and staying ahead of changes is crucial for projects to run smoothly. Staying ahead and implementing these top five human resource strategies can help ensure that you are compliant with laws and remain competitive. Also, you can ensure that your workforce is skilled, diverse, and engaged with projects.

Partnering with an HR vendor that uses generative AI to help with skilled labor shortages

Generative AI is helping firms with many different sides of business and can be used to help address labor shortages through improving the recruiting and hiring process. This technology can help you identify the different skills your new hires will need for upcoming projects. GenAI can also create training programs for workers to increase their skills.

Continuous training

As quickly as the industry changes and introduces new technology, continuous learning opportunities for your employees is critical. Providing continuous training fosters a culture of learning and growth, this will allow employees to expand their knowledge on the latest construction methods, safety protocols and digital tools. Utilizing this strategy will ensure your employees can keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the construction industry and improve your operations.

Promoting diversity initiatives

Encouraging diversity will enrich your workforce with different perspectives that drive innovation. With the growing number of projects, over half a million new construction workers will be needed in the next year, and hiring a diverse workforce has become essential. Promoting gender equality and inclusivity will improve your ethical standing and allow you to access a broader talent pool.

Using personalized analytics to help build budgets and manage wages

Providing competitive wages and managing project budgets is a delicate balancing act. Analytics tools that leverage AI can help with compensation benchmarking can help with keeping wages within the project budget. Using the AI to decide wages, you can use organizational, regional, and nationally tracked information to help shape the wages and benefits your firm offers. Providing competitive wage and benefit packages will attract more skilled professionals and improve retention with existing employees.

Ensuring your systems support labor law compliance

Ensuring you have the right system to comply with labor laws is one of the most important systems to have. The laws can be complex but if you have the right system in place, you can ensure that your projects run smoothly, and your employees are treated fairly. In October 2023, changes were signed into law on how prevailing wages are to be paid on government-funded projects. Below are some of the requirements:

Contractor responsibilities

• Contractors must comply with prevailing wage laws when bidding on and executing government contracts.

• They are required to pay workers at least the established prevailing wage rates.

Payment process

• Payments are made directly to workers through payroll systems.

• Contractors must maintain accurate payroll records and submit certified payroll reports to the government.

Compliance and enforcement

• Government agencies monitor compliance through audits and inspections.

• Violations can result in penalties, including fines or disqualification from future contracts.

Also, as of January 2025, legislation has increased the minimum salary threshold to $58,000, this could affect how you classify administration and other salaried workers. Having the right system in place can ensure that you are within the law and have a plan to avoid penalties.

Overall, having the right HR team in place is essential to helping your business run smoothly. The construction industry’s success hinges on the workforce and with the ever-changing landscape of the industry, having the right HR team can help a business thrive. HR can help prepare your team for the future challenges and help you excel in a competitive industry.