In construction HR, the status quo is often slow and time-consuming…and it can introduce unnecessary risk
While construction, contracting and other field-based industries have begun adopting technology to help them work more accurately and efficiently, uptake is still slow.
According to PwC, less than a third of engineering and construction companies are “all in” on the modern cloud technology that many other businesses and industries leverage.
While about 60% have embraced technology for project management, less than half of construction firms use cloud-based time tracking, and 1 in 5 don’t use any cloud-based tech at all.
- 28% all in with cloud technology
- 42% use cloud-based time tracking
- 21% don’t use any cloud-based tech
All those hours doing manual HR processes add up—for both back-office staff and employees. And these days many construction companies don’t feel like their staff has time to waste. Plus, manual data entry, multiple spreadsheets or paper copies can result in mistakes and rework.
The name of the game is doing more with the same or even fewer people, and doing it more accurately…and that means technology.
HR technology can help tame construction’s workforce challenges
Every day we hear about pain points from construction companies and contractors not using HR tech.
- We can’t source enough good candidates to fill positions.
- New hires have fewer skills than we need.
- Complying with state and Federal workforce rules is complex.
- Our people are spending a lot of time with paper and manual HR processes
- including entering, checking and transmitting data.
- Not keeping employees informed and engaged leads to turnover, and we can’t afford to lose anyone.
We also hear from customers about how leveraging technology has impacted how they get their jobs done.
- “It has given us a lot of free time across the company, and that free time can be allocated to do other things. I estimate that we’re going to be saving hundreds of hours a year.”
- “I’m not exaggerating when I say it was a 5-second process that used to be an 8 to 16-hour process.”
- “I love speaking to employees as opposed to pushing papers, and this has given me the freedom to do that part of the job.”
“It’s so much easier to get the word out on open positions with the ATS (applicant tracking system) and job boards.”
Arcoro’s mission is to help transform HR for construction
From time tracking to performance management and everything in between, we’ve got you covered with solutions that are built to fit the needs of the industry.
Here are the top 3 ways Arcoro is helping construction HR change how work gets done for the better.
We want to minimize the pain points by offering real solutions that help the construction industry operate at peak performance.
- Replacing outdated manual or paper processes with automation
- Delivering construction-first features
- Connecting with other tech in the construction ecosystem
Let’s take a quick look at each of these transformational approaches.
1. Replacing outdated HR processes with automation
There are lots of examples of construction and contracting companies still doing things manually, but let’s just look at one.
Time tracking
Most construction and contracting companies have at least a few hourly employees that need to fill out a time sheet. Tracking employee time on paper or spreadsheets can be inaccurate, which could lead to under- or overpaying for labor. Underpaying can lead to running afoul of labor laws with associated audits and potential fines. Overpaying can blow out budgets, throwing your next project estimate off. Plus, you may need to spend time chasing people for their completed form.
Even when forms are complete someone is spending time manually inputting data. It’s a messy and antiquated process that is just better, faster and more accurate when you use a cloud-based system.
Added bonus: You get automated reports and actionable data related to your job and labor costs that no paper time sheet ever yielded.
Other examples of processes that can be automated include:
- Posting employment listings on construction job boards
- New employee paperwork
- Benefits enrollment
- Safety and job certifications
- Performance reviews
- Training plans
2. Delivering construction-first features
Construction is big business, employing almost 1.4 million people and contributing 4% to US GDP. It’s not only big, it’s got some unique characteristics that impact workforce requirements.
- There’s a combination of office and job-site work.
- People may clock in and out at multiple locations or even cross state lines during the day.
- There may be a mix of hourly, salaried and union employees.
- There are certifications, licenses and trainings to manage and track.
- Companies may be working as Federal, state or local contractors, which means meeting specific requirements.
And the list goes on.
For maximum impact, your HR technology needs to take all of this into consideration and have built-in features to easily address the needs for construction companies.
Arcoro develops HR solutions that are construction-first, meaning we design our software specifically for the industry. That’s why we offer features like:
- FaceFront photo technology for accurate clock-in and clock-out on dirty jobsite
- Ability to send just-in-time employee jobsite alerts
- Automatic translation to Spanish or French in our time tracking app
- Connection to industry-specific job boards for employment posting
- Kiosk mode for in-the-field paperless onboarding
- Project-based performance reviews
- Tracking of licenses and certifications, with automated expiration alerts
3. Connecting with other tech in the construction ecosystem
Another idiosyncrasy about construction is its project-based nature. That translates into the need for project-management, tracking and costing solutions that help companies manage their work.
Because the construction workforce is a large part of project oversight and management, it’s important that all the technology you use for everything from project costing to payroll works together and shares data. Systems that don’t “talk” to each other means you not only miss out on enhanced data analytics but you are stuck with the burden of curating data from system to system.
And that “toggling tax” can be significant, translating into time spent “fetching and transforming data from multiple applications and then submitting data into other systems.” In fact, technology that doesn’t share data can actually result in less efficiency because of wasted time and effort.
Arcoro has built and continues to expand automated integrations with the construction technology many companies already use including Procore, Sage, Acumatica, CMiC and Foundation. We work closely with these business partners to ensure that our solutions perform well in tandem to offer the most value and best efficiency to our customers.
“Vendors with pre-built capabilities that reflect your industry will provide faster time to value, will be quicker to deploy and usually will be less expensive to support on an ongoing basis.”
HR in construction is ready for the next big solution
HR professionals, owners, project managers and supervisors don’t have the time to waste on antiquated processes that squander effort, undermine accuracy and introduce or amplify risk. The industry is too big and too important not to have transformative software designed to drive business success.
That’s where Arcoro comes in.
We’re a software company on a mission to improve how the construction industry does HR, helping companies do things faster and easier.
We believe that the right HR and workforce management solutions can help construction address and overcome day-to-day challenges but drive efficiency, enhancing individual and company productivity and managing the risk associated with manual processes.
Arcoro has helped over 10k construction, contracting and field-based companies in North America do HR and workforce management better.
Take This Resource With You
Download a PDF of the e-book "3 Ways Arcoro is Transforming HR for Construction."
