b'Contractors Remained Confident in January Construction industry leaders remained confident in January, according to Associated Builders and Simple Ways to Improve Employee LoyaltyContractors. Employee turnover is costly and time-consuming,Two of the three components of ABCs Construction but building employee loyalty can help, according toConfidence Index increased for the month and all the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A loyal employeethree remained above the diffusion index threshold of is unlikely to look somewhere else for employment50. and is committed to the companys success. In January, ABCs Construction Confidence Index Increasing employee loyalty involves increasing theincreased from 61.6 to 63.5 for staffing levels and positive emotions your team members experiencefrom 58.9 to 59.3 for sales expectations. The index while at work; this can be challenging but worth thefell from 54.2 to 53.7 for profit margin expectations. effort.Additionally, ABCs Construction Backlog Indicator decreased from 8.5 months in December 2023 to 8.4 Following are three steps your company can take tomonths in January, which is down 0.6 months from improve employee loyalty.January 2023. 1. Invest in professional training and development. As predicted, performance in the nonresidential Research from McKinsey shows 35% of construction sector is becoming more disparate employees quit their jobs because of a lack of across segments, said ABC Chief Economist professional development opportunities. Of the Anirban Basu. For much of the pandemic recovery employees who left, 59% said it was because their period, contractors in virtually all segments were employers did not invest in their skills and abilities. indicating stable to rising backlog. That remains the Top performers want to continue growing and case for contractors most exposed to the nations learning, so look for opportunities such as confer- industrial production. Reshoring and near-shoring ences and continuing education. You also can give continue to drive construction spending. senior employees a chance to mentor new staffmembers. In other categories, however, including those most interest rate-sensitive, activity appears to be 2. Provide the tools and resources employees need. slowing, Basu continued. Developer financing has Employees often say they do not have the tools become both more expensive and more difficult to needed to do their jobs effectively, and it can be obtain over roughly the past year, in part because of frustrating trying to complete your work with rising office vacancy in many markets. That helps to inadequate resources. Ask employees what resources explain declining backlog in the commercial would help make their jobs easier and strive to meet category. The decline in infrastructure-related their needs. backlog may be due only to seasonality, however. There is every reason to believe that contractors 3. Improve workplace communication. McKinsey specializing in public works will have a very busy reports 35% of employees quit their jobs because of year. uncaring leaders, and another 35% left because ofunrealistic work expectations. This highlights howcrucial it is for management to better fostercommunication at work. Stay in touch withemployees, promote positive communication andencourage employees to communicate with eachother.4'