Real Life Workforce Management: Dispatch and Communication

Four construction workers in safety equipment consult a digital schedule on a tablet to manage their workforce on the job.

Scheduling construction. Sounds simple enough, but a plethora of questions surround this vital task. Who do you have available? How can you communicate last minute adjustments? How do you even send out the schedule? With workforce management software, an organization’s communication can go from fragmented to streamlined by providing a holistic view of the company.

Eric Grove, Division Controller at Performance Contracting says, “We have 7,000 workers all over the country. It’s hard to communicate and get the message out consistently with all of them. Workforce management has helped with this problem.

‍From Pen and Paper to Drag and Drop

Construction project scheduling — and control — can make or break a job. When a project manager is in sync with supervisors and field labor, it’s easier to stay on track. For most organizations, scheduling is done on a spreadsheet, whiteboard or even on paper. However, this means there is limited-to-no insight about who’s available or how to request a certain person on a jobsite. With cloud-based workforce management, dispatching individuals or groups of laborers can be done with the click of a button and even sent as a simple text message.

David Crystal, Field Operations Manager at Jostin Construction says, “Before, we had to call each individual and ask, ‘What’s your manpower look like? What do you need? Who do you need?’ We no longer have to ask those questions because of workforce management.”

‍Workforce Management Tools for Success‍

For many organizations, hours are wasted on unanswered phone calls and confusing email threads about labor planning. When teams are unaligned between the field and the office, digital workforce management creates a proactive approach to being productive when an entire team can find up-to-date schedules anytime, anywhere. With a simple tool, communication not only becomes a breeze, but also levels up current processes.

Kyle Sutter, Director of Construction at Westphal & Co. says, “Being able to message our whole company, certain groups of people — that communication tool was something we hadn’t seen before. With the younger generation, it’s about instantaneous processes, so being able to get information out very fast is so helpful.”

‍Using Digital Communication to Modernize

The next generation of skilled labor is used to alerts being at their fingertips — so why should workplace communication be any different? When information is readily available and communicated to the right individuals at a moment’s notice, everyone can more efficiently get the job done. For contractors around the world, attracting fresh talent is top of mind — and using software to standardize effective communication is a great way to do so. Scheduling in construction management is already hard enough, and fresh forms of communication can make a real difference in your organization.

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Gary Fuchs is a Senior Workforce Advisor at LaborChart. Prior to LaborChart, Gary was VP of Construction at Westphal Electric. He and his wife Cheryl are proud parents of three daughters and 10 grandchildren. Gary enjoys woodworking, golf, hunting, fishing, and working with LaborChart. In his past, Gary was a volunteer firefighter and basketball official.