The post-pandemic era will bring with it many challenges to the skilled and unskilled labor market, with an unusual impact on the construction industry. According to a recent report by McKinsey titled, The Future of Work after COVID-19, the most immediate and lasting impact will be felt by organizations that will grapple with an ongoing remote or hybrid workforce.
This presents its own set of challenges for firms with their entire workforce under one roof with employees who perform most tasks via computer or at their desks. However, things aren’t quite as clear within the construction and manufacturing industries where the workforce is often split between inside and outside (field employees) and at times divided even further within the office. In the pavement coatings industry, we are seeing a few challenging trends emerge.
As our members continue to keep a close eye on trends within their centers, we’re seeing a few key trends emerge. When asked, if they were having difficulty in recruiting new employees, 100% of members polled replied yes (for both inside and field work). “We’re finding it difficult to fill labor positions and full-time office positions on campus,” replied one PCTC member. “This is forcing us to fight two distinct battles with two very different consequence, both of which have the potential to simultaneously disrupt production, our culture and internal engagement.”
Conversely, and perhaps the silver lining in the post-pandemic era, 100% of respondents stated that retaining current employees was not an immediate challenge. However, there’s no telling how long that will last. “There is an expectation of working from home instead of on site, at the office or center. This may force more automation moving forward for manufacturing and certain aspects of contracting/accounting and sales will undoubtedly begin to look very different.”
In the pre-pandemic era, leaders within the pavement coatings industry, like many other related industries, fought their own set of battles. These same leaders will undoubtedly and quickly develop a new set of skills to help them navigate their companies and their teams through a new environment.
