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A Practical Guide to Hiring a Top-Performing Construction Manager

A Practical Guide to Hiring a Top-Performing Construction Manager
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A construction manager oversees the entire construction process, on behalf of the client. It is an alternative to the traditional construction process, where you had to hire general contractors and trades. Good Construction managers deliver high-quality projects faster and at a better cost.

However, hiring a construction manager can be a little tricky. In construction, education does not determine excellence. So, it is impossible to screen candidates based on just their education. And if you decide to rely on referrals, you could hire an under qualified person who may have only gotten the referral because of previous friendship etc.

At Humphries construction, we have built a reputation as a premier commercial construction firm in Vancouver. A feat you can’t accomplish without a solid team. To help you in your next project, we thought we’d share some of the steps we have incorporated into our hiring process, to help you in yours!

Outline the required technical skills

First of all, make a list of all the skills required to complete your project. Different building styles may require specific skills. So, it’s important to understand the ones you are looking for, highlighting them properly in the job ad. At the very least, candidates must be able to:

  • Read blueprints and other associated drawings and writings.
  • Communicate the coded instructions to subcontractors.
  • Take charge and lead the workers and subcontractors that will be working on the project.
  • Solve problems as they come, without sacrificing too much time, money, or quality.

    • When interviewing candidates for the position, watch out for these skills, and any other ones that may be relevant. Also, do not forget to check for their levels of experience. Construction is a highly specialized field, hiring an inexperienced person as a construction manager could be dangerous.

    Assess necessary soft skills

    While technical skills are very important, they may be under-utilized if the person does not have the soft skills necessary to properly execute. A suitable candidate must be;

  • Skilled at organization and time management. Proper organizing is how projects get completed in time.
  • Understand the basics of budgeting. Depending on the size of the project, you may hire someone to handle budgeting or you may leave it to the construction manager. Either way, a good construction manager must possess some basic skills in budgeting.
  • Be able to pay attention to details. A construction manager oversees all the workers and subcontractors working on the project. To do this perfectly, he has to be able to detect even the finest errors. Because a small improperly placed slab could have serious consequences on the overall quality of the project.

    • Avoid bias

    As humans, we all have implicit biases in one form or the other. However, if you want to hire a top-performing construction manager, you have to consciously avoid making decisions based on your biases. This opens you up to a wider range of opportunities, allowing you to access the best candidates for the job.

    Let’s help you

    At Humphries Construction, we offer you high-quality construction management. Not only are we highly trained, but our team has also gathered substantial experience from the several projects that we have completed. We know what to do to give your project that special look you need. Contact us to get started.