3 ways technology helps construction teams adapt amid COVID-19

Work from home is now the expectation, not the exception. For teams across America, that shift can be demanding and difficult, especially for construction companies where remote arrangements seem a hindrance to project progress.

That uncertainty you feel is surely shared by members of your team. If you’re like many small business owners, your employees are more than just employees. They’re family. That’s why you want to do everything you can to help them be productive and positive throughout this pandemic.

In doing so, not only do you keep your business staffed and your team members earning a paycheck, but it can also qualify your company for relief through the Paycheck Protection Program and ensure you meet the program’s requirement for loan forgiveness.

To achieve all these goals, it’s time to practice your business yoga. Yep, we’re talking workplace flexibility. It’s doesn’t have to be a stretch either to adapt to COVID-19. Here are three ways technology makes this time easier for both construction employer and employee. Ommmm …

1) Communicate, communicate, communicate

We think we’ve made it clear: Communication is key.

And there’s a reason it makes the top of this list. It’s the very thing that’s going to give you a cutting edge with customers. Lucky for you, construction project management software like Buildertrend can help.

Our all-in-one system gives you a full suite of features to provide the service customers want. In fact, according to our 2020 Digitally Savvy Homeowners Report, this is just the way customers want to communicate.

We found 86% of homeowners aged 23+ would find an online dashboard helpful and 98% say ease of communication and collaboration are important during the construction process – and Buildertrend delivers!

Your entire team can log in and use our platform to exceed customers’ expectations. It’s not just the business owner that has to do everything. Your employees can use our system to share updates in messages, get agreements signed, facilitate selections or even manage leads.

Buildertrend is proof that just because you’re staying at home doesn’t mean you have to stay out of touch with customers.

2) Learn something (or many things) new

Learning something new every day is nice. But actually doing something with that new knowledge is even better.

Take advantage of this downtime to deliver on both. If your team already relies on Buildertrend to power your projects, now you can maximize your usage, learn new features and get the unlimited support you need.

In fact, we’ve compiled an entire list of ways we can train not just business owners but the whole team virtually and remotely. To further help employees go from beginner to boss, they can also take Buildertrend certification courses focused on their business roles, including classes specific for project managers, bookkeepers or marketing pros.

Of course, learning extends beyond Buildertrend. That’s why we also wanted to share that the Associated General Contractors of America offers a range of in-person and online trainings, too, covering everything from supervisory training to project management and more.

3) Diversify what you do

This can be thought of in two ways: diversifying your services at the company level and diversifying skills at the employee level.

First, let’s talk business. Your business, more specifically. The pandemic hitting just as warmer weather returns may actually be a blessing in disguise. If you typically focus on indoor renovations or new builds, now might be the time to shift to outdoor projects instead.

Whether landscaping or providing house facelifts (new siding is like a new nose for a home), curb appeal jobs are appealing because they’re small in scope. This means you can have a leaner team and you don’t have to go inside customers’ homes – two big social distancing wins.

Employees can diversify what they do, too. As the business owner, maybe you handle everything from accounting to sales to project management and more. Lessen the load with help from your team. Train employees to take some of this on. They’ll likely be grateful for the growth opportunity … as will your stress levels.

All this diversification comes together with construction tech. Buildertrend can help you take on an influx of outdoor jobs successfully while also providing a system your team can use to expand their skills. The great outdoors (and great software) are calling!

Keeping your team on track and on task

It’s true that many residential builders, remodelers and contractors are still on the job site while others have traded hard hats for slippers and are staying productive from the comfort of their home offices. Whatever the reality of your situation, you want to make sure your team is taken care of.

Buildertrend can help. For those working from home or seeing a slowdown of jobs, our software helps keep your team productive by conquering communication, providing avenues for further learning and allowing businesses to more easily diversify what they do day every day. Demo with us now to see how we can help your company.

Just like yoga, our software keeps your business and employee engagement levels fit as ever!