ECL Software Blog

Construction Labor Costs Are Up—How Will Your Company Cope?

JDIO software for construction contractors can help you cut costs in other areas.

According to the 2016 Construction Outlook Report from the Associated General Contractors of America, the top worries for building contractors this year involve the cost, availability, and quality of labor.

About 70 percent of contractors surveyed for the report said that they have had a difficult time finding qualified workers, and most of these contractors expect the worker shortage to remain as bad—or even get a bit worse—over the next 12 months.

Compensating for the shortage of workers can cost companies money in a variety of ways. For example:

• 49 percent of contractors report increasing base pay rates
• 30 percent report offering improved incentives and bonuses
• 23 percent report increasing contributions to employee benefit programs
• 15 percent expect to have to increase pay and/or benefits in the future to remain competitive

Another concern is that when workers are inexperienced, poorly trained, or otherwise unqualified, company costs can increase due to accidents or due to work having to be redone. To help address this issue, 46 percent of contractors plan to invest in training and development programs for their workers.

Add to this the fact that labor costs in general have been increasing (81 percent of firms expect healthcare costs to increase in 2016 due to Obamacare) and it seems construction contractors will be facing a serious uphill battle in order to turn a profit this year.

Contractors will have two choices:

Simply accept that rising labor costs are going to reduce their revenue

OR

Look for opportunities to decrease other costs and preserve or enhance revenue

JDIO Software Can Help

Labor costs may be largely outside your control, but ECL Software’s JDIO (Just Do It Once) software can help you take control of other aspects of your business to streamline operations, position you to win more projects, and help you save money in other areas.

JDIO is a cloud-based software that allows for secure, real-time collaboration between all project partners and eliminates the need for costly and error-prone multiple entry systems. Instead, you can handle all vital functions including managing contacts, making and revising bids, drafting contracts, budgeting, managing punch lists, and even administering payroll in one user-friendly system. Our software allows your business to become more nimble, so you can respond to client needs during and after the bidding process and be better positioned to win more jobs. You can then administer these jobs more efficiently thanks to our detailed work in process reporting which allows you to monitor nearly 1,000 data points as the job progresses.

ECL Software can create a custom version of JDIO just for you with the features you need to do business your way. For a free personalized online demo, please contact us today.