Growing a business is a multilateral endeavour, requiring different departments to work in concert and create a feasible path to sustainable expansion. This is just as true in construction as it is in any other industry, where simply increasing the number of workers on each project can cause confusion over efficiency. But how do you grow a construction business effectively?
A key word in the coming suggestions is “review”. This is because your business exists and has already enjoyed a degree of success in its ventures so far. Complete reinvention may be a necessity for some businesses, but in the vast majority – and particularly when it comes to construction –, it is the slighter moves that work the most in a business’ favour. With this in mind, your expansion should be an iterative process, which favours review and re-alignment over complete re-structuring.
Review Your Business Plan
Your first area of review should be your business plan. When your construction business began, there will have been a mission statement or executive summary of the business’ chief direction and ambitions. This will have justified the vast majority of decisions made up to present, and also will have defined the company’s core values and ethos.
There are two questions to ask here. Do new prospective changes echo the company’s values, and do the company’s values still serve the company well? The latter question is more important for issues like climate change, where a business may benefit from incorporating more progressive values. ESG strategy can be a helpful thing to research at this point in your expansion.
Review Your Workforce
Expansion does not happen as a result of pure administration. It is facilitated by the boots on the ground, so to speak: your workforce. In a time where staff and skill shortages are worryingly high, attracting and retaining high-quality workers that serve your company’s expansion aims well should be a priority.
Expansion does not have to mean taking on more staff immediately, particularly where costs might preclude a mass hiring drive. However, a review of your salary bands and perk packages may be useful in facilitating more positive recruitment experiences.
Review Legal Structures
There is always a legal side to consider, whether managing a new project or expanding your capabilities as an organisation. Expansion is a good excuse to review your legal frameworks, from the builders’ insurance packages you use to mitigate costs and manage liability to the firms you use to ensure legal compliance. Having the right counsel is vital to expanding in a sustainable and legal way.
Review Marketing Channels
Your expansion is fundamentally in service of increasing profits – whether allowing your business to take on larger projects, or expanding your bandwidth to take on multiple projects. In either case, a review of your sales and marketing strategy is necessary. You will want to put a competitive foot forward, in order to win projects from a new ‘class’ of client – and in order to demonstrate viability over competitors that have already expanded.
