Use Mentorships to Future-Proof Your Leadership Pipeline

The construction industry is dealing with labor shortages (and has been for a while), but those shortages are also leaving a leadership void. As experienced foremen, superintendents and project managers retire en masse, 76 million US workers will retire in the coming years, construction companies are scrambling to fill critical leadership roles with workers who simply haven’t had enough time to develop the necessary skills and jobsite intuition.

According to recent Arcoro research, 53% of construction HR teams are struggling with a lack or worker specialized skills and lack of available talent to fill open positions. A skills gap compounded with a lack of leadership experience can threaten project quality, safety outcomes and long-term business viability.

A structured mentorship program can serve double duty: developing the next generation of leaders while capturing institutional knowledge before it walks out the door.

January is National Mentorship Month, making it the ideal time to implement mentorship as a strategic succession planning tool.

What Does a Good Mentorship Program Look Like?

Many companies think mentorships involve an older, seasoned worker taking a younger worker under his or her wing. While this traditional model has value, it really only benefits the younger worker, making it difficult to get experienced workers on board, especially when they’re already stretched thin managing projects and crews.

Instead, consider a bi-directional mentorship program that creates a compelling value exchange for both parties.

Unlike traditional mentor programs where knowledge flows in one direction, from experienced professionals to younger or inexperienced workers, a bi-directional approach encourages learning and collaboration between all levels of employees. While the inexperienced or junior worker receives training, leadership guidance and decades of job site wisdom, the senior worker gains insights into new technologies, fresh problem-solving approaches and digital tools, like AI, that can make their job easier.

A bi-directional mentorship program helps create buy-in from your most experienced workers, who often resist mentorship programs because they see them as “one more thing” on their plate rather than something that benefits them directly.

Tips for Starting a Mentorship Program

Follow these tips for launching your own bi-directional mentorship program with succession planning as a core objective.

Define Your Goals

Identify the specific objectives of your mentor program. For succession planning purposes, focus on:

Transferring critical decision-making skills and job site judgment that can’t be taught in a classroom – like adjusting a foundation pour due to weather or rerouting utilities to avoid clashes.
Preserving institutional knowledge about your company’s processes, customer relationships and project history.
Identifying and developing high-potential employees for leadership positions.
Building confidence in newer employees so they’re ready to step into bigger roles when needed.

Consider how both senior employees and newer team members can benefit. For example, senior employees can learn about new construction management software, AI-powered scheduling tools or digital collaboration platforms that younger workers use instinctively.

And junior employees gain access to decades of practical experience, crisis management skills and the kind of seasoned judgment that only comes from making mistakes and learning from them.

Identify Participants and Pairings

Conduct a succession planning audit that identifies:

Which critical roles will likely be vacant in the next 2-5 years due to retirement?
Which experienced employees hold unique institutional knowledge?
Which junior and mid-level employees show leadership potential?
Who has expertise in emerging technologies or methodologies?

Pair individuals strategically based on succession needs and complementary skills. A retiring superintendent might mentor a promising foreman on project oversight and client management while learning modern project management software. An experienced estimator nearing retirement could guide a junior estimator on client relationships and bid strategy while gaining insights on AI-powered takeoff tools and data analytics.

Make sure to emphasize mutual respect and a willingness to learn on both sides. Frame this as a knowledge exchange, not just knowledge transfer.

Develop a Structured Program

Create a clear framework for the mentorship that includes succession planning elements.

Set Expectations: Outline goals, responsibilities, and a realistic timeline. For succession planning, consider 6-12 month minimum commitments.
Schedule Regular Check-ins: Establish bi-weekly or monthly meetings to discuss progress, address challenges and ensure knowledge transfer is happening.
Document Institutional Knowledge: Create templates or guides for mentors to capture processes, lessons learned and critical relationship information that might otherwise be lost.
Provide Resources: Offer training materials, discussion guides and succession planning frameworks to support effective mentorship.

Incorporate Hands-On Learning

Construction leadership is learned on the job site, so ensure the program includes practical, real-world mentoring.

Assign mentors and mentees to work together on specific projects where leadership decisions are critical.
Have mentees shadow mentors during challenging situations like client conflicts, safety incidents and schedule crises, to observe decision-making in action.
Give mentees progressively more responsibility on projects while the mentor is still available for guidance.
Use real-world challenges to facilitate problem-solving and leadership skill development.

Celebrate Achievements

Recognize and celebrate the growth and contributions of participants. This is especially important for senior workers who are investing time in developing the next generation.

Highlight successful mentor-mentee relationships in company meetings or newsletters.
Recognize mentors who are preserving institutional knowledge and building your leadership pipeline.
Share stories of mentees who’ve successfully stepped into bigger roles.
Consider creating a "Legacy Builder" award for retiring employees who’ve made exceptional mentorship contributions.

Measure Success

Track key metrics to evaluate the program’s impact on succession planning, like:

Internal promotion rates for mentee participants.
Leadership position fill times (are you promoting from within faster?).
Employee retention rates, particularly for high-potential workers.
Skill improvements and leadership competency development as reported by participants.
Knowledge transfer completion (has critical institutional knowledge been documented and passed on?).
Project outcomes involving mentor-mentee leadership teams.

By taking these steps, you can create a thriving bi-directional mentor program that doesn’t just build skills, it builds your leadership bench strength and ensures your company’s institutional knowledge survives the retirement wave.

Here’s How Arcoro Can Help

Good workforce management solutions, like Arcoro’s all-in-one platform, can give construction companies the data and insights needed to identify succession gaps and manage leadership development.

Tools like Arcoro Grow provide reports that track employee skills, training completion, performance goals and career progression – essential for identifying high-potential employees and pairing them with the right mentors based on complementary strengths and succession needs.

Arcoro Grow offers advanced analytics that give managers an at-a-glance view of where people are on their development path, which leadership competencies they’ve mastered and what skills gaps exist that could be addressed through mentorship. You can track certifications, document institutional knowledge, and ensure that critical skills are being transferred before experienced workers retire.

Ready to strengthen your workforce and protect your company’s future? Contact us today to see how our solutions can help you build the next generation of construction leaders.