By Neal Oscar
Winter is the time of year when many construction jobs come to a halt. It’s cold outside, and it can be difficult for workers to stay motivated enough to get their work done. But did you know you can keep your construction workers motivated through winter?
One of the best ways to achieve productivity in a construction site is to motivate your workers. Besides, encouraging your workers gives your company a high retention rate, and they will be willing to be at work rather than staying off.
If you haven’t been motivating your construction team, now is the time to do it. Here are some tips on how to motivate your construction workers through winter.
Personalise Your Employees Rewards
You can appreciate and motivate your employees by coming up with personal rewards. You can integrate your employee benefits with your construction brand and personalize them to each team member. Try offering individual incentives for specific tasks or projects they complete, rather than giving them rewards that are general and not tailored to their work.
There are several technologies you can use for easy management of your employee benefits. For instance, Zest Benefits is an easy-to-use software that engages employees with their benefits from wherever they are. Customized employee benefits will keep your construction workers going through the winter season.
Train Your Team on Appropriate Clothing
Prolonged exposure to cold environments can lead to hypothermia. It is a condition where the body loses heat at a faster rate than it can replace it. You can save your workers from hypothermia and loss of body heat by training them on how to dress warmly.
Different clothing items help maintain body heat; they include:
- Multiple layer clothes: They help the body retain its core heat and protect it from cold and freezing. Three layers of clothes are ideal for workers working outside during the winter months.
- Warm hats: Human beings lose most of their body heat through the head.
- Insulated work gloves: They keep hands and fingers warm without compromising the workers’ agility.
- Waterproof boots with removable wool liners: They protect their toes and feet from wetness hence preventing frostbite.
Your construction workers must know when to wear the above, hence the need for the training.
Prioritise Their Wellbeing By Investing in a Warm Break Area
Construction employees have break hours, but of what essence are the breaks when it’s freezing? Having a warm break area will help them warm up and reenergize whenever they are out for a break.
Setting up a warming shelter or modular cabin is essential if your construction project has an extended timeframe. For short-term contracts, you can use temporary tents that have portable heaters as a warm break area.
Give Your Employees Time Off
Offering your employees time off during winter will help them feel valued and appreciated.
You can give your workers paid days off or allow flexible working hours. Besides feeling appreciated, giving them some time off helps them re-energize and spend more time with their families.
Every company, including construction firms, is to attract and retain their valuable employees even through winter. Such is only achievable when employees feel motivated. Start practicing the above tips, and you’ll motivate your construction workers through winter.
