Change management is a hot topic right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged companies and people to change what they do and how they do it, all in a short period of time.
And successfully implementing change was a challenge long before now.
The path of least resistance has always been to keep doing things the same way and not make a change, but that limits innovation, growth and improvement. And to keep doing things the same way isn’t necessarily an option anymore.
So why now? The construction industry is ripe for transformation. Now is the time to adapt and implement new processes that can make the business more efficient.
It’s tough to implement change in any organization and have it stick long term. For instance, implementing new software or new processes can be challenging. A strong change management plan helps to execute on the change and obtain acceptance of the change. The change is accepted upon the realization of the benefit. Those impacted must understand the “why” behind it.
Driving Change in Consumption Management
To dig deeper into change management, let’s look at equipment fleet management as an example. Getting the most out of new software or processes, when it comes to construction equipment consumption management, really requires changing how a company thinks about equipment—owned and rental.
Often, a change of behavior in the field is where a company needs to get buy-in. There is a tendency in construction operations to hoard equipment on site, which can result in safety and site access concerns, and just spending more than planned on equipment.
So, innovative contractors try to move away from the mentality that if the equipment is on-site, it must be needed. Instead, they make use of various tools to make that decision an informed one.
An effective equipment consumption management tool will help a company see its worksite in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will enable the contractor to manage all of its equipment and billing in one place. The tool will provide a way to measure worksite efficiency and help optimize workflow to save time and money.
How to Execute Change Management
Change is going to be different for every company. But a good starting point is to communicate the reasons for the change. This process includes explaining to managers and employees specific reasons—and the overall vision.
Business leaders should explain why the change is needed and also clearly communicate objectives and expectations. These points should be supported with data. For example, low utilization or equipment past due alerts, or a report on overdue rental equipment can help demonstrate the need to improve equipment consumption management.
Benchmarking company equipment utilization compared to the average of industry peers can be another useful data-driven tool. Benchmarking identifies potential savings to be gained if utilization gets closer to that average.
Listening plays a big part in the initial project stages and will continue to throughout the initiative. Companies want to allow people to voice concerns and contribute views and suggestions. This is an essential part of the journey because of that change in behavior required in the field. Contractors don’t want to give their team the impression that digital tools are more work for them to do when the functions are designed to make them more efficient.
Contractors need to set and articulate objectives to be achieved through change. Doing so provides something tangible to refer back to and see if the process is working and has an impact. It’s also important that everyone understands the initiative will be an ongoing process by outlining the project timeline that is in place.
Training on new software and processes is essential to make sure users are comfortable using the system. Typically, training can be done remotely. Depending on a contractor’s needs, it can often be delivered as a longer comprehensive training session or broken up into several shorter sessions. Training videos can be great resources to help employees learn as their schedules permit.
Monitoring for Success
Once an initiative is underway, contractors are going to ask: is it working?
Here’s where companies should go back to the objectives that were set earlier to determine the outcome. For example, looking at: is equipment utilization better, is that pile of unpaid invoices any smaller, is the company no longer missing equipment? Tapping key performance indicators (KPI) and analytics reports can help measure performance throughout the change management process.
As results are determined, it’s important to keep team members informed about how everything is going. Contractors need to communicate to keep everyone updated on results and whether the change process has met its objectives.
Change management can provide a structured way to adopt, implement and monitor new processes to help contractors take a more modern approach to their worksites. It can be the catalyst to drive improved business productivity and transform how work gets done.
