Want to Make a Change? Here's the Right Way to Execute Quality Improvements

Anyone who has worked construction has experienced the rising stress level and faster heart rate caused by a change—whether in product, material, or system—coming to the jobsite.

That was certainly the case for me when I was a construction manager in the field. Any change, large or small, ignites anxiety and raises questions—often in colorful language I can’t use here—about why the change is being made (when things are working just fine!) and whether the decision-makers understand the amount of extra work the change will require.

But changes are inevitable in home construction and the best builders and their field teams understand the importance of having the right methods and mindset to successfully implement them.

Why Change Often Fails

As a leader, the last thing you want is for your team to dread change, especially when the change will improve the quality of your homes.

First, work to understand the “why” behind their resistance. In my experience working with builders on the journey to improve quality, I’ve narrowed it down to these roadblocks:

1. Most people are wired to resist change. It’s disruptive, unsettling, requires learning new things, and often does not present an obvious benefit.
2. There’s usually a bad taste lingering from previously unsuccessful changes that caused confusion and wasted time or led to installation issues, callbacks, rework, and warranty service, not to mention stressed teammates, angered trades, and upset homeowners.
3. A poorly managed change almost always lacks proper planning, communication, and training.

Too often I see purchasing, architecture, sales, trades, and site managers left out of the decision-making process, despite the fact that changes will affect all of them.

With that, the Nike-like mentality of “Just Do It” is much harder (and often foolhardy and resented) in our profession.

The sad truth is that while intentions may be good, the poor execution of a change derails any optimism the next time you try something new.

How to Successfully Implement Changes 

Employ the George Costanza principle from the sitcom Seinfeld: If you’re not getting what you want, do the opposite.

So, to successfully implement a change, you need to do two things:

1. Involve your trade partners
2. Sense-check all departments, from architecture to purchasing to operations 

Involve the trades

The pushback I often hear from leadership about involving trade partners in the decision to make a change is that trades will simply suggest no change is necessary. But in reality, trades offer valuable, often overlooked insights that almost surely improve not only the proposed change but also ensure its successful implementation. Not to mention, you’ll need agreement on pricing and scopes of work if the idea is going to survive and thrive.

If you refer to your trades as “partners,” are you truly respecting that role if you don’t ask for their input? In fact, you need their buy-in and should want to hear from them early to inform decision-making.

Also, don’t limit input to only the trade (or trades) that will be directly affected by the proposed change. Include others that may have a smaller stake in making it successful. Think through which trades affect or will be affected by the change.

To best facilitate these conversations and to build trust and mutual respect, consider forming a trades council. 

It’s important to note that the most successful trades councils are run by the trades—not by the builder—and include a cross-section of trade partners. The council gets together to discuss shared challenges and opportunities, with the goal of improving process and relationships—both among the trades and with your in-house team.