Organizing and Planning Succession
Organizing and Planning Succession Within Your Construction Business
Planning for future is often overlooked in the construction industry – many construction professionals have small teams that are swamped with local projects and bids, barely getting their proverbial heads above water. It’s never too early to get started on creating order, organization, and structure that provides both security and continuity for the next generation of professionals within your company. Here at CSLS, we’d like to share some tips with you that will help your company continue to grow into the future.
Create an organizational chart and a team depth chart
Sit down and map out your organization structure, grouping your employees into functional teams organized by their different capabilities and leaders. Notate key leaders at every level of your business, identifying the talent and skill levels of those who comprise your team. Where is your personnel strong? Conversely, where are you thin when it comes to manpower? How can you improve leadership structure to better motivate and engage your different teams?
Map out the seniority in different roles within your organization.
Knowing where you stand in terms of seniority and promotion among the different roles and positions within your company is key. You must cater to the needs of the senior leadership roles while preparing the next generation to step up and perform. It’s important to plan ahead in this step – waiting too long can force you to undergo costly job searches and productivity delays to find replacements. Segment your planning by one, three, five, and ten year plans to develop promotional hierarchy and structure.
Identify internal replacement structures as well as individuals that can cover multiple roles.
It’s important to identify internal team members that stand out as multi-faceted employees that check multiple boxes in terms of their ability and development. Finding a satisfactory replacement on the labor market can take a lot longer than you think; that time wasted is also money that doesn’t make it into your revenue stream as a business. Going hand in hand with the points above, having internal replacements ready also segments your employees based on who needs more training, professional experience, or on-the-job development.
Nurture raw talent when you see it.
Think back to your early days in the construction industry – you were green, inexperienced, but looking to produce good work. Nobody at the time saw you as a future business owner, manager, or construction big timer. Fortunately, there were certain people that helped you grow and develop not only your on-the-job skills, but also your planning and decision making capabilities. Keep this mindset as you plan for promotion and succession within your organization – you must nurture and mold the young, raw talent through coaching, continuing education, and guidance to produce polished, effective leaders. Encourage more established employees to take the younger counterparts under their wing to foster growth and development as construction professionals, but more importantly people as well.
Empower key leaders and performers at all levels.
Reward people within your organization that work hard – no matter where they fall in the structure. Employees want to know they’re valued; there’s nothing that empowers your team more than high morale. As the head of the business, you can also use these key employees to identify important skills and attitudes that build engaged employees for the future. Having a core group of leaders and performers to rally around helps you maintain better company culture and continuity within the ranks.
Prepare for departure and disappointment.
These two elements are a sad fact of doing business in the modern construction world. There will be employees that do not fit the mold and culture of what you’ve built. When it comes to leadership positions and power, the top of the job ladder doesn’t always support a large amount of leaders vying for an edge. Knowing this, you must prepare for exits and short-staffed scenarios when you have to lean on other employees to get the job done. While every business owner hates to get rid of workers and put a strain on the business, sometimes this step is necessary to not only improve your operation, but also push others to rise to higher levels of responsibility based on inherent need.
It’s never too early to plan for succession while reviewing your organizational structure. Part of being a business owner and leader means instituting a company culture that permeates both leadership and productivity. When you plan for the future properly, you plan for success!
About CSLS:
CSLS is the largest contractor licensing school in California with over 25 locations throughout the state. We have the highest success rate of any school – 99% of our students pass their exam on the first try, and that’s guaranteed or your money back.
Our teaching process prepares you in a step by step manner for everything you need to know to pass the law, business and trade portion of your exam. Our programs are designed for convenience. We have online programs, home study, crash-course and in-school options, making it easy and affordable for you to become a licensed contractor.
