If you have built your construction business up from scratch, you likely know how important it is to convince customers that your business has a soul. While the transparency of the digital age has made it harder for rogue contractors to operate (or at least stay afloat), consumers need to know that they’re hiring a construction business that’s worthy of their trust as well as their patronage. In an age of social media, businesses of all kinds are more accountable than ever before to their consumers. Thus, construction companies now find themselves fighting a war on two fronts every day. Not only must they keep their costs low, they need to be able to demonstrate to their customers that they have a strong focus on ethics. You may feel that you don’t have the time or resources to consider adding a strong ethical focus to your business, but you must remember that…
An ethical focus gives you a competitive edge
The construction industry has always been competitive, but competition is becoming increasingly rife in the industry, which is why businesses feel that they have to reduce their profit margins which preclude them from investing more capital into new technologies and practices that could allow them to operate more ethically. Unfortunately, while margins may be low, investing in anything that will allow you to put ethics front and center in your branding can help you to gain a competitive edge against the competition. There’s evidence to suggest that consumers prefer brands with an ethical focus and 81% of consumers will make personal sacrifices in order to patronize a brand that has a strong emphasis on the ethics of its practices. Thus, it can not only help you to remain competitive but help to protect your profit margins.
Doing this needn’t require a complete overhaul of your business. It’s merely a case of…
Making prudent choices about your materials and suppliers
Construction companies use a lot of finite natural resources such as timber, metals, stone etc. One of the easiest ways to give your PR a boost while keeping your operations ethical is to ensure that you use suppliers with an environmental focus and who supply sustainable materials. Whether you’re looking for swamp matting for sale that’s made of sustainable timber or reinforcing your concrete with natural fibers, this is a fairly easy and cost-effective way to do your bit for the environment. You won’t even have to pay significantly more for sustainable materials.
Find ways to reduce carbon emissions and energy use
Aside from your raw materials, the carbon footprint of the equipment you use can play a huge part in the ethics of your business. When planning projects use the BREEAM sustainability assessment method to see how you can reduce energy usage and carbon emissions on any given project.
Keep your employees happy and well paid
The construction industry is mired by a reputation for being a low skill, low pay sector. In truth, it is a true meritocracy where anyone can come in at entry level and learn the skills they need to thrive. Thus, you should not only ensure that your employees are paid a fair wage but ensure that they have plentiful on the job training and access to external training and career development. Not only does this make for a happy and cohesive team, if your clients see a happy and engaged workforce they’ll be much more likely to use you for future projects.