There are a lot of considerations for contractors looking to implement a new software or technology. Is it easy to use? Does it integrate with other construction software? Reporting? Dashboards? Another consideration that has been steadily moving up the list of must-haves is collaboration, and whether there is a level of controlled transparency with the information being stored and analyzed.

It’s no surprise. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a lot of people working remotely and the risk of corporate silos is even greater than before. Providing access to data and information can help reduce those silos, but collaboration is more about reshaping how information is distributed throughout the organization and understanding what information is important to who.

Silos create confusion, which tends to increase the larger a contractor gets. This can result in duplicate work, a lack of cohesion among team members and limited information sharing. On the flip side, improving collaboration and information sharing helps to enable cross functional collaboration and helps actualize the collective potential of each team and the organization as a whole. According to Autodesk and FMI, 43% of high-trust construction companies make collaboration central to getting work done.

The tricky part is knowing what information is valuable and to which departments. There are some ways a software provider can help shed some light on this:

• Ask for usage reports. Software providers tend to keep a close eye on who is using their software and how they’re using it. If a contractor is getting the sense that a new software or technology isn’t being used to its full potential, they can ask their software provider for insight regarding their team’s usage. This isn’t the perfect solution though. There are a lot of factors that can influence why a team member is or isn’t using new software. It can be because there hasn’t been adequate training, the software is too difficult to use or they’re not sure exactly how they can use the information, to name a few. Usage reports don’t tell the full story, but they can be a great opportunity to discover teams using information that wasn’t expected, and can help identify teams that may need further training.
• Ask how other companies are using the tool. Software providers should be able to coach and provide best practices to customers based on how their software is being used across the board. If unsure of who would benefit from the information and analytics in a specific tool, ask the people that built it to unlock the collaborative potential of a new software.

Here is one example of how implementing collaborative software has reshaped a core process in construction—workforce management.

From One Person to Every Team

Workforce management is typically housed in a series of spreadsheets that is overseen by one or two members of the operations team. These spreadsheets are error prone and usually built by the primary user with, in some cases, help from a developer. Over time these spreadsheets become highly personalized applications and because of how error prone they can be, often aren’t shared with the larger team.

Here’s a breakdown of the different teams now leveraging workforce data and analytics to inform their work:

• The Operations Team is using workforce data and analytics to build stronger project teams based on experience and skills, manage project delays and the impact they have on the project pipeline, and allocate resources more effectively with utilization oversight.
• The Executive Team has a holistic view of their workforce strategy and project pipeline. They can identify any gaps in the pipeline and by tracking project pursuits have a better understanding of where they win and lose bids, and which projects are most profitable.
• The Preconstruction Team is planning roles and allocations for future projects. This benefits the estimating team by better understanding the available team members and their experience. This helps to put forward more enticing bids and avoid late crew build up, which according to Whirlwind Steel, has a 10% impact on productivity on the project.
• The Human Resources team is looking at project demand and comparing it against their workforce capacity. By identifying pinch points where demand exceeds supply HR teams can create informed recruitment strategies and reduce last minute hiring.

That’s a high level look at how four teams are now using the information that used to be safeguarded by one team member. Improving the data transparency and flow of information has helped multiple teams be more effective in their roles and make data-driven decisions.

When evaluating software, go beyond simply asking if the tool is collaborative. Try to gain a little insight from the provider into which people within a company is using the tool and how they’re using it to help improve their bottom line.