Challenges In Human Resource Management In The Construction Industry

Discuss About The Competences Of Sustainable Project Managers.

The human resource management plays the most vital role within an organisation. Starting from recruiting the right candidate to motivate and retain them to improve their performance parameter, the human resource management takes the most effective responsibility. The workforce in the construction company is one of the most valuable tools (Rostami et al., 2015). The project success depends on the direct reflection of the skilled workers and the efficient managers who supervised their works. The human resource management in the construction industry faces the considerable challenges while building and maintaining a strong workforce. Especially, in terms of selecting and recruiting the qualified candidates to fill the vacant position, the human resource management needs to consider some of the specific job skills. Apart from this issue, the human resource managers face challenges due to the high employee turnover, exercise burden of complying with immigration laws and employment, and the perpetual safety concerns (Zhou, Goh, & Li, 2015). It is also important for the human resource management to satisfy the employees’ needs to retain them for the future. The study is thus concentrating on identifying the key challenges faced in the construction industry while dealing with the different projects. The study will highlight the specific issues with the Human Resource Department while managing the workforce. Furthermore, the essay will present the argumentative discussion based on the specific areas of human resource management.

Recruitment and selection is the primary responsibility of every human resource management within an organisation. In a construction project, this recruitment procedure is quite different to other industries. human resource management usually faces the considerable challenges in recruiting more skilled people who are able to deal with various project that the construction site. Tabassi et al., (2016) implied that the human resource management needs to look for the skilled and talented people who are knowledgeable enough to work with diverse projects undertaken in the construction industry. However, Jones, Hillier and Comfort (2016) argued that the low National unemployment rate has remained throughout the year of 2016, due to which the industries all across the world have been facing the stiff competition for selecting the top talent. There are certain factors in the construction industry create the significant challenges for the human resource management. For instance, many workers perceive that construction industry space much lower wages in compare to the strenuous and dangerous job role. In fact, the article, Methodology of Analyzing the Accident Rate in the Construction Industry, reveals that in the year of 2014, the accident rate in construction industry reached up to 7.68 injured people among every 1000 workers (Hola & Szostak, 2017). Majority of the accidents take place at the construction sites. Due to such high risks, there are some lazy people who would like to join the construction projects. Therefore it becomes quite difficult for the human resource managers to identify the right people for the right job. Rowlinson, YunyanJia and ChuanjingJu (2014) stated in the article, Management of Climatic Heat Stress Faced in Construction: A Review of Practices, Methodologies, and Future Research, that the climatic heat stress is leading towards many accidental hazards. It is notable that each of the projects carries different types of requirements and be organisations usually struggle to find the suitable workers who have that experience skills and certifications to deal with this project.  Hence it has been observed that the Human Resource Department faces the considerable challenges in recruiting and selecting the right candidate for the construction industry.

Another issue observed in the construction industry is the lack of appropriate strategic planning of the human resource management. An effective Human Resource Management goes beyond recruiting people and involved with structured planning process. According to Loosemore & Lim (2017), the planning for deployment is associated with the business unit strategy that often involves the appropriate training and development session, reassignment, temporary helps from the outside contractors, outsourcing, and flexible approach. On the other hand, Ogunde et al., (2017) argued that the strategic human resource planning needs to develop the systematic process for identifying required human capital that meets the determined business goals. The strategies and needed to be developed to meet these requirements. However, the human resource management faces the significant challenge in developing the strategic planning for the construction management.  As a result, the construction industry faces the challenges like poor productivity and profitability level. It is notable that the barriers to entry in the construction industry are quite slow in current time as the heavy competition has saturated the Marketplace. Moreover, the Rapid innovations and advancements of the technicalities demand for better strategic planning (Ruparathna & Hewage, 2015). The profit margin is thus shrinking due to the high level of competition. Hence, the human resource management needs to identify the better planning process to deal with such saturated market. It is essential to re invest in the better and advanced technology and highly improve business practices. The efficient HR planning also needs to keep the record of the entire project management performance. The sequential process undertaken to develop a project needs to be monitored in a specific way. Considering the shortage of skilled employees, the human resource management in the construction project needs to determine the supply and demand of the various job roles.  It is also necessary to adopt more advanced techniques to deal with the current world.  However, Carvalho and Rabechini Junior (2015) argued that embracing the digital future like cellular Technology is disrupting the industry in a significant way. The digitalization in the construction industry is assumed to be less profitable since it is changing every process of dealing with the projects. Hence, it is important for the human resource management to restructure the HR planning process that can bring more improvements in handling construction projects.

The conflict with work life balance has the negative impact on organisational commitment, job satisfaction, absenteeism, productivity, and turnover rate. According to Ajayi et al., (2016) what life conflicts is a process that associated with the mental health issues, employee burnout, and diminished family functioning. Therefore, work life balance is one of the most significant elements in every industry. In construction industry, the associated workers have been facing the improper work life balance due to the long and inflexible working hours, if they are working onsite all the project site (Buvik & Rolfsen, 2015). The workers in the construction industry everyday this week the health risks due to the rapid accidental hazards take place at the construction sites. They need to perform strenuous job functionalities that are affecting their mental health. For example, people working within the Australian construction industry have been facing much difficulty in managing their work and family commitments altogether. The people involved in Australian construction Industries have the habit of working for long hours and even in weekends. Especially, people who are on wages are generally compensated for each hour they would work extra regardless of their actual salary. It creates a gap between the employees work life balance expectations and the actual scenario. The human resource management needs to concentrate on these issues which are clearly impacting on the job satisfaction and employee retention process.

On the other hand, managing diversity at the construction site is also much essential. Rosa et al., (2017) implied that the construction industry requires diverse workforce from different corner of the world to bring more innovations and what techniques. The collaborative approach maintained in the construction industry is expected to minimize the risk of accidental hazards due to the innovative procedure is applied to the construction projects. However, Loosemore & Lim (2017) argued that the collaboration of the people from diverse cultural background make create no conflicts within the construction industry. The mismatch of the work procedure may generate the possibility of work dissatisfaction. Human Resource Management needs to pay attention on the positive side of a diverse workforce. Accordingly, they need to convey the messages to each of the employees regarding the fruitfulness of the diverse workplaces. It will help them to generate ideas and experience to work in a better way. Construction sector often face the challenges with the equality and Diversity dimensions, such as age, ethnicity, disability, and gender. Especially, it is observed that age and disability are closely associated as the significant issues in the construction industry (Mas-Machuca, Berbegal-Mirabent & Alegre, 2016). The construction related disability is often correlated with the time and age served by an individual. The health and safety policies developed in the construction industry need to focus more on the risk management and the management strategies then the individual behaviour safety (Ajayi et al., 2016). It is notable that the commission enquiry into race discrimination in this industry identified that visible ethnic minorities can participate in the project management with proper training in the procurement supply chain process. If these practices are maintained properly, the construction industry would be able to diminish the issues with the diversity aspects.

The construction projects are generally organized to perform the complex tasks that will be completed by multidisciplinary teams associated with this industry. Cappelli (2015) implied that the performance management is conceptualized as the systematic process of identifying, developing, measuring, and monitoring performance by observing the individual objectives. In the construction industry, the performance management is based on the three basic factors, such as the technical success, performance on budget, and performance on project schedule. The manager needs to take the responsibility to adopt the fruitful performance management practices that are facilitating the rapid monitoring, review, and ongoing development of the departmental objectives. The performance management in the construction industry is based on five criteria, such as organisational strategy, Individual behaviour, individual attribute, situational constraints, and objective results (Langford et al., 2014). Managing these aspects to measure the performance parameter determines the project success in a significant way. It is noticed that the construction industry is quite aware of the necessity of modernizing the technicalities in operating in a volatile business market. However, the human resource management faces the considerable challenges in some of the definite areas. First, the low and unreliable profitability rate in the performance management is creating the obstacle in performance management (Ajayi et al., 2016). The construction companies experience the lower margin for sustaining the healthy development. Second, if the capital investment in the research and development is too low, the construction industry may face trouble in developing innovations in the technological and functional areas. Third, the construction industry may face trouble in developing the appropriate training process. It is already stated that the construction industry has been facing the ongoing concerns regarding the shortage of skilled workers. Rowlinson, YunyanJia and ChuanjingJu (2014) identified that a lesser number of people are receiving the proper training to replace the aging skilled employees. In fact, the number of the employees with technical and managerial skills is also much less in order to get the full value from the developing technologies and technicalities. In addition to this, the industry has been facing challenges in developing the appropriate career structure for sustaining the managerial and supervisory skills. The article Characteristics of Jobs and Jobholders that Affect Job Satisfaction and Work Performance of Project Managers depicts that the lack of job satisfaction can also affect the performance management process within the construction industry (Ling & Loo, 2015). The human resource management thus needs to concentrate on these specific conditions that are needed to be improvised in a significant manner.

The construction industry has been facing other most considerable issues with the motivational aspects among the associated workers. The construction industry is generally associated with the high level of risks and the strenuous job profile. In addition to this, the complex operational process is also affecting the mental strength of the associated workers. The human resource management therefore faces the observable and high level of challenges to create the satisfactory environment that develops the productive project outcome. The compensation and salary structure may create the motivation among the employees. Hola &Szostak (2017) pointed out that the construction industry is concentrating on high level of innovative practices that can enhance the professional and personal skills of the employees. Motivation is considered as one of the most crucial parts in generating the sense of satisfaction among the employees in different facets of life. The construction industry is saturated with diverse challenging scenario that creates the negative impact on the entire performance level of the associated workers. The workers in the construction industry seek both the non-monetary and monetary motivations to enhance their performance level in a significant way. However, Ajayi et al., (2016) argued that motivations is not a synonym with salaries or wages, but it substantiate the idea of fulfilling the inner wholesome desire to work dedicatedly and with more integrity. The workers even seek the appropriate health and safety assurance to prevent the accidental hazards at the construction sites. Providing such secure and safe work environment is also generating the sense of motivation among the associated workers. Williams, Adul Hamid and Misnan (2018) implied that the workers in the construction industry even seek the evaluation of the fairness of their situation by developing a comparison with other people. If the human resource management can schedule the appropriate job structure, it would be helpful for them to understand the basic needs and preferences of the involved workers. Loosemore (2016) implied that work life balance is one of the most significant elements in every industry. In construction industry, the associated workers have been facing the improper work life balance due to the long and inflexible working hour. It is thus necessary for the human resource management to concentrate on developing the time management skills of the employees to maintain the appropriate balance between their family and professional lives. Moreover, restructuring the job responsibilities among the workers would also be beneficial enough in generating the sense of motivation among the workers.

The study explores the underlying issues in the construction industry related to the human resource management. It is notable that the construction industry is now saturated with the diverse challenges. The complexity level and the probability of the accidental hazards are affecting the performance of the employees in the construction industry. The strategies and needed to be developed to meet these requirements. However, the human resource management faces the significant challenge in developing the strategic planning for the construction management.  As a result, the construction industry faces the challenges like poor productivity and profitability level. It is also noticeable that the associated workers in construction industry have been facing the improper work life balance due to the long and inflexible working hours, if they are working onsite all the project site. Moreover, it is signified that the construction industry is quite aware of the necessity of modernizing the technicalities in operating in a volatile business market. if the capital investment in the research and development is too low, the construction industry may face trouble in developing innovations in the technological and functional areas.

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