Strategic Management of Human Resources in Construction

Human resource management in construction has typically been an emergent rather than a strategic or deliberate process. This has resulted in the infrequent use of comprehensive workforce management strategies in the industry. Researchers at the Center for Construction Industry Studies (CCIS) have proposed a Two-Tier Approach to workforce management. The Tier I strategy is designed to improve the effectiveness and productivity of the construction workforce through effective supervision and project management. This paper presents the concepts behind the Tier I strategy and discusses the metrics and the procedures needed to implement this strategy. An analysis of 19 on-site project visits of industrial construction projects, including surveys collected from over 900 journey-level craft workers and supervisors, is also presented in order to validate the feasibility and potential of the Tier I strategy. It is anticipated that increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and reduced turnover will be results of the strategy. It is not a revolutionary strategy in itself, but the concepts and elements of the strategy may serve as building blocks for more complex and extensive structured workforce development programs in the construction industry.