Cultural alignment is all about how your company’s values, practices, and processes line up with its overall objectives. It’s about bringing small, everyday actions in sync with big-picture ideas. This way, you can remain confident every effort is contributing to your business’s success. As your construction business grows, it’s easy for that connection between the daily grind and long-term goals to get out of whack. Fortunately, there are some effective strategies you can use to improve this alignment for streamlined growth.
Set company values.
Company values can feel a bit tacky and forced which is why many project managers avoid them altogether. Instead of slapping these values on a website or brochure, the key is to be deliberate and honest. When carefully selected and continuously reinforced, a strong set of values can help keep a construction business on track. Build these values into the day-to-day operations of your organization. They’ll act as a guiding light reminding team members, managers, and top-level leaders how to act and what the company is all about.
Establish high-level goals.
In the construction industry, the destination is just as important as the journey. Without a roadmap of objectives, your team will struggle to meet expectations. Goal setting is all about identifying the biggest aim before breaking it down into smaller, more actionable steps. Every level of your organization will have its own mini-goals that clearly illustrate its role and responsibilities. Instead of trying to construct a successful journey by assigning objectives randomly, work backward from the big-picture destination to make sure all roles are in alignment.
Hire the right people.
Culture isn’t exclusively a top-down process. Your employees play a major role in defining company culture and maintaining alignment with business objectives. Picking candidates that match your business’s values will automatically reinforce them on a regular basis. Make sure new hires are genuinely interested in the direction of your business and drive home the culture you want to develop throughout the onboarding process. If you don’t have the time or expertise to overhaul your hiring processes, outsourcing to a staffing professional is a great way to save money while getting better results.
Further Reading: How to Attract Construction Workers to Your Business
Take disagreements seriously.
Having clear objectives and company values don’t eliminate friction. Disagreements are bound to occur between stakeholders at various points in your business’s growth. As a project manager, it’s your duty to promote communication and collaboration to ensure these issues are out in the open before being allowed to fester. Always encourage team members to voice their opinion if they feel something isn’t working well. This is a great way to identify weak points within your company culture while showing employees that you value their thoughts. Either way, your business will come out of these disagreements stronger when they’re addressed rather than shoved under the rug.
Get everyone on board.
Unless you’re building a business from the ground up, you’ll have to instill cultural alignment within your current organization. People are much more receptive and responsive to change when they feel part of the process, so you could encourage team members to offer suggestions or even vote on different company values, core processes, or cultural standards. At the end of the day, the construction leadership will have to make the final call, but including the whole team together in any capacity can go a long way in getting everyone on board toward greater cultural alignment.
Having a tough time finding craftsmen that fit your organization’s culture and demands? That’s where Madden Craftsmen can help! As experienced construction staffers, we know how to find the best-fit candidates for your business. All you have to do is let us know exactly what you’re looking for, and we’ll provide a list of qualified candidates. Fill out a job order to get the ball rolling or visit our employer’s resources for more information.
