In a merit-based industry such as construction, it is common for employers to promote their crew members to higher levels based on excellent performance. It is not uncommon to see a top performer rise from apprentice to officer and foreman to superintendent over the course of a successful career.
However, as the construction industry feels the impact of the growing labor shortage, this practice may become more common for contractors. When faced with a vacancy in a critical leadership position, companies may feel compelled to ask a current employee to fill the void, either on an interim or long-term basis, regardless of the employee’s desire or readiness to do so.
While promoting leaders from within has numerous benefits, it can also interfere with a company’s success without the right strategy and training. Here are some of the potential challenges that can arise when craft professionals are not formally prepared for promotion to a leadership role.
Untrained personnel may struggle in unfamiliar roles
When a high-performing employee is promoted to a new position, there may be high expectations for them based on their previous good work. However, past success in one position does not always guarantee future success in a different role, especially if they are not properly trained for their new responsibilities.
This concept is explored in a management theory known as the Peter Principle, which observes that employees can be promoted based on their current performance rather than a true fit for the new role. As each elevated role moves further away from the employee’s original success point, their relative competence and performance may have diminishing returns.
We can apply Peter’s principle when considering the transition from field work to construction leadership. Using tools and materials to build systems and structures as an officer is very different from programming, communicating and managing resources as a supervisor.
Each unique occupation in construction requires tailored training and a variety of hard and soft skills that may not have been exercised in an individual’s previous role.
Promoting a person solely because of good craft performance, and without additional training to bridge skill or experience gaps, can put a person at a disadvantage when they are unprepared for an unfamiliar role. Even the best employees can struggle if put in this position.
A new void to fill
By taking a highly skilled craft professional out of the field to fill a leadership vacancy, a new vacancy is created in their previous position.
Even if that person becomes a great leader, it means that one of your most productive trades employees is no longer working full-time in that trade. How will this lost production be accounted for?
If your company has a strong construction training program, you may have a surplus of talented performers who can step in for a seamless transition. But if not, the loss of both skills and labor in general can cause ongoing problems with the quality of work and project outcomes.
Discontent and turnover
If a person leaves a position they enjoy and excels at and is placed in a role where they end up struggling, it can lead to discontent.
A new job title and a higher salary that might come with a promotion could be a solid motivator, for a while. But ultimately, employee job satisfaction could decrease if they are not placed in a position to succeed. Once they are no longer satisfied with their position, the employee may be more likely to leave that job or leave your company altogether; dissatisfied employees are three times more likely to quit.
By promoting someone without the proper training, you could lose them both their top-performing craft position and the new leadership role you hoped they could fill.
Prepare your staff for promotion through training
Promoting untrained craft workers to field leadership positions can create potential problems for any construction company.
However, there are many incredible benefits to promoting employees internally when done right, perhaps none greater than keeping your company agile and well-equipped in the midst of today’s workforce challenges.
It is key to ensure that you have a culture of continuous training, upskilling and professional growth at the craft and leadership level. A leadership training program will help your top talent develop the skills they need to successfully ascend to senior-level roles, while a craft training program will keep your workers and apprentices ready to fill the shoes that newly appointed leaders leave in the field.
NCCER offers the solutions your company needs to create a comprehensive internal training program. With curricula, tests and credentials for more than 40 trades, plus multiple field leadership certification programs, NCCER is the leading provider of construction education. Click here to connect with our workforce development solutions team.
