The Tier I workforce management strategy: Concept and application

The construction industry in the United States has been plagued with shortages ofskilled labor. While the problem may be alleviated at times by economic recessions, theframework behind the shortage has not changed and will continue to impact the industryif the status quo remains. The reasons behind the shortage are numerous, ranging from apoor image of the industry, to declining real wages, to a lack of adequate trainingopportunities, to poor work environments and the lack of a stable worker career path. Arevolutionary workforce management approach is needed within the constructionindustry to address the underlying issues of the skilled workforce shortage whileencompassing management strategies at all project levels. The Center for ConstructionIndustry Studies (CCIS) at the University of Texas at Austin has proposed a Two-TierWorkforce Management approach. It is comprised of two workforce managementstrategies: Tier II, which was developed by CCIS; and Tier I, which was developedthrough the Construction Industry Institute (CII). Tier II is revolutionary and futureoriented, designed to improve workers’ skills and productivity creating a situation wherethe value of the workers is increased. This increased value should lead to increased viiiincome for the workers, thus increasing the attractiveness of the industry to workers. Theother strategy, Tier I, is designed to efficiently manage the existing workforce, regardlessof its skill level. The focus is on organization, communication, and utilization of fieldmanagement. Both of these strategies focus on reducing the demand for the skilled laborby improving overall productivity on the site and retaining the current workforce.This dissertation presents the concepts behind the Tier I Strategy and discussesthe metrics and the procedures needed to implement this strategy. An analysis of 19 onsiteproject visits of industrial construction projects including surveys collected from over900 journey-level craft workers and supervisors is also presented in order to validate thefeasibility and potential of the Tier I Strategy. The Tier I Strategy can producemeasurable benefits to a project in terms of reduced absenteeism and reduced turnover. Itis anticipated that increased productivity will also be a result of the strategy. It is not arevolutionary strategy in itself, but the concepts and elements of the strategy will serve asbuilding blocks for more complex and extensive structured workforce developmentprograms in the construction industry.