BCCI's Don Tiefenbrunn shares why quality, collaboration are important in construction

General contractors on why company culture is important in construction

Tony Faccenda | SBE Today

For three consecutive years, the top concern among contractors has been recruiting and retaining employees, according to the 2018 Maryland Construction Industry Survey. In an industry facing challenges with technology adoption and labor shortages, it’s more important than ever to retain talent. Some contractors are using technology to attract new talent and decrease employee turnover, but the most important aspect of the workplace is creating a great company culture.

We asked some of the top general contractors in the U.S. and Canada on why company culture is so important in the construction industry and what their companies are doing to stand out...

Concentrate on quality and collaboration

"BCCI’s culture is known for having a very high level of collaboration and quality. A lot of people use the term ‘quality’ loosely, but we really back that up by delivering on our product. We have achieved zero punch lists far more than any other general contractor, and that’s according to most of our clients, not us boasting about our ability. It’s not something that’s achievable on every project, and we know that, but we want to target that as a true milestone. Another big thing is about being forward-thinking and focusing on collaboration from the front end. Everything about preconstruction involves preplanning a job from day one so that we’re spending less time in construction. These days, we spend twice as much on the front end and in preconstruction than we ever do in the field during construction.”

Don Tiefenbrunn, Vice President, Structures