Due to the nature of the industry, construction companies, more than ever, are working towards retaining the most valuable asset in the marketplace – their people. In that attempt, many firms opt to provide numerous benefits to their employees or soon-to-be ones. This is especially true for medium or large companies with more resources at their disposal than smaller businesses that are just starting.

The company culture and benefits ultimately make all the difference in creating an appealing workplace. A solid benefits package will help prevent unforeseen costs, save your company money, and help retain the best employees. And that is just one part of the puzzle.

The question remains: Are companies successful in providing for their employees?

Keep on reading to find out.

Benefits Inside of a Construction Company: Breakdown

When it comes to benefits, employers typically provide private health insurance, extra vacation days, team-building activities, different types of vouchers, meals, etc. That is what we like to call a basic benefits plan.

But, on the employee benefits spectrum, companies can provide so much more. 

“To help your firm stand out, try offering some perks that can differentiate your company in the vast construction market. “

You are adding value to your employment relationship and attracting qualified people. Sadly, the ones who stick to the above-mentioned basic benefits plan will experience a cold shoulder from employees who would not want to join their teams.

An example of good practice is UAE, where benefits include training and education, tuition reimbursement, onsite daycare, etc. With these benefits in place, they demonstrate a commitment to the well-being of each team member, on and off the job.

Now, putting together a cost-effective package of benefits is only the beginning.  Needless to say, it is just as important to define how each benefit represents some aspect of your company culture and how you choose to focus on communicating those values and maximizing employee awareness. To do that, you will need an agile HR team to implement that idea.

Health/Medical Coverage Is a Must

Unsurprisingly, construction leads the way regarding injuries and workers’ compensation claims since the industry is very hazardous. What can you do as a company?

“A quality international health insurance plan can help attract and retain talent, particularly among your senior management.”

Some of the protection benefits associated with the construction that you might want to incorporate into your health coverage plan include short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, accident insurance, and critical illness insurance.

Try Incorporating Benefits for Family Members

Construction companies should also expect increased employee demand for benefits extending to family members. For full-time workers, employers should consider expanding their benefits to assist with the elder and childcare.

UAE is specially focused on providing help in finding adequate schools for employees’ children, offering them scholarships, and developing integrated programs for the youngest. And for part-time employees, offering greater flexibility in work schedules could help with these needs.

Include Workplace Flexibility

Due to the location-based work, long-hours culture, and interdependent team roles, the ability to work remotely is taboo in many construction firms. This is where your company can step up and introduce a new output-based model with better planning, different approaches, and innovative thinking.

That will eventually have two outcomes. Firstly, it will give the employees greater control of their working patterns, meaning teams and individuals can schedule the work to suit their time. Secondly, it will spark positive changes and alleviate stress while improving mental health and well-being among the staff. This brings us to the importance of mental health programs in your benefits package.

Don’t Forget Mental Health Programs

Did you know that the construction industry ranks in the top nine occupations at risk for suicide? Therefore, strong mental health programs and resources must be critical to any construction company’s benefits program. This practice is already effective in UAE and some Scandinavian companies, which paved the way for all the other countries that need to start implementing these programs into their work culture.

To ensure that employees in distress always have a resource to turn to, employers should offer free counseling sessions that can help with diverse work/life challenges. Burnout is common and has a negative effect on mental health and family life. Let your company make work-life balance a priority!

Work on Career Development and Mentoring

If there is one thing the employees will greatly appreciate in a company is the ability to learn new things. A company that grows with its employees provides a mentorship and career development program. 

“Launching a mentorship program can benefit everybody –  from senior to junior management to the company. “

How so? Younger generations do not always have the skills or experience of their older counterparts, so by offering a mentorship program, you are helping them gain all the essential knowledge passed by the older generation that will soon retire. You should also know that mentoring and career development alone is not enough, especially in today’s modern world, where the appetite for modern technologies has grown substantially.

Introduce New Technologies

As Orook 2.0 report states, the construction industry is way behind in terms of technologies, primarily by the degree of digitization and automation. Whether it’s pushing for a tech-fluent application process or embracing new technology and methods in everyday operations, reshaping the construction industry as a leader in technology will help attract new talent.

Your company can lead the way by offering different types of technology, e.g., software that allows employees to automate their work. This makes your company more appealing and familiar, as opposed to outdated and unapproachable, so reframing it with some latest technology will give you extra points and attract young workers. This is a benefit your company should not overlook.

Provide Dental and Vision Coverage

Remember the health/medical coverage we talked about? Well, as it turns out, not many employees know this, and we are sure not many companies, but dental and vision plans should always be part of an employee benefits package. Adding them to your list of benefits package makes it more robust and attractive to employees since not a lot of them have time or money to take care of these two important life things.

Give Incentives

No benefits package talk would be complete without this. As you know, team members can easily appreciate the opportunity to earn more than their scheduled payments. Now, it is up to your company to build a plan.

Incentive plans can be long-term, like profit-sharing or annual bonus payments based on individual or company-wide performance targets. Or they can focus on project-specific targets. Either way, ensure your HR team keeps a record of each employee’s performance, and don’t fail to reward them for all their hard work. They will pay you back with gratitude, which will show in your company’s results.

Conclusion

As the labor pool tightens and the best employees look for better opportunities, you must devote yourself to hiring and training your employees. Let OROOK take care of the hiring by finding the perfect match for your company’s needs, and you focus on training and providing your employees with a competitive benefits package.

A competitive benefits plan can be crucial to a company’s winning strategy. However, the ultimate effectiveness of the benefits program depends on what the company does to make them a part of its work culture. 

As you see, employees aren’t demanding a long list of perks from their employers. The ones they want are understandable and logical – to take care of their families and themselves while having ease of mind for the future.