Skilled Workers: Short Supply May Endanger Your Company Vision

One of the challenges I see facing so many CEO’s is finding people who can carry out their vision for their companies. Building or moving to a new facility, for example, is often so complex, so risky and expensive, that it requires people with very specialized skills.

Skills that most companies don’t have.

Here’s an article from CoreNet Global’s Industry Tracker that addresses this very important issue:

A survey of CoreNet Global members has revealed that the top challenge facing the corporate real estate (CRE) industry is finding skilled people to deliver advanced solutions in complex workplace environments. Other challenges highlighted by the research include implementing cost savings initiatives, growth in new markets and developing new products and services.

The joint survey from CoreNet Global and Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions examined the challenges facing the CRE profession and the resulting impact on business success.

Key findings include:
64 percent of respondents had introduced new technology in the past two years, driven primarily by the need to improve processes (91 percent)

More than half of respondents said that new technology increased productivity by more than 20 percent

Fewer than 30 percent of real estate Directors are the key decision makers in the implementation of new technology, although they are responsible for delivering the outcome

As organizations expand in emerging markets the lack of appropriate skills are the biggest challenge

68 percent of respondents measure successful performance in new markets through business uptime and reliability

Other constraints preventing CRE teams from effectively supporting core business activities, through the introduction of new services and technologies and moving into new markets, were poor organizational and technical infrastructures, lack of investment / budgetary constraints, management expertise and lack of leadership engagement and employee acceptance.

So what do you do when you can’t find the necessary experience or skill sets internally? Same as you do for other projects: hire an expert who can then hire your experts. That ensures you have the best team of architects, project managers and contractors working efficiently on your project.

Around here, we refer to that first expert as a project leader. Get a good one and  you’ll save millions on  your next construction project.