Harnessing the Power of Workforce Management with Tooey Courtemanche and Ben Schultz
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to sit down with Ben Schultz, former LaborChart CEO and current head of workforce management here at Procore, to speak about the importance of effectively managing labor in construction as well as the importance of company culture.
The skilled labor shortage is an ongoing, global challenge, and one of the most pressing in the construction industry. In the US alone, there are hundreds of thousands of open construction jobs.
Our customers continually tell me that their backlogs are healthy and growing—and with the passage of infrastructure bills all over the world, that demand is only going to increase. The biggest barrier to meeting this demand is labor. It’s critical we get more folks into the construction industry, but just as critical is ensuring we are effectively managing the labor we do have. With a workforce management solution in place, construction stakeholders can better manage their most important resource—their people.
Over the course of our conversation, Ben and I spoke about Procore’s acquisition and integration of LaborChart into the Procore platform, how workforce management technology can help contractors maximize productivity and take on more projects, and the future vision of Procore Workforce Management. Here are three key takeaways from our fireside chat:
LaborChart Was Born Out of Necessity
Prior to LaborChart, Schultz worked in the family business as a fourth generation specialty contractor specializing in construction operations for over 12 years. At the time, the business relied on outdated whiteboards and spreadsheets to track workers and assign them to projects. Schultz began searching for a workforce management solution that could give the business real-time, accurate data to power its workforce, but no solution came close to what they needed.
“My founder's story really starts there. We were looking for something to help our business. We couldn’t find it. So we had to build it.” - Ben Schultz
Procore Workforce Management
For many projects, labor costs can account for as much as fifty percent of the projected budget. When businesses lack the capability to track and manage their workforce, it can put the success of the project at risk.
Procore Workforce Management combines the power of Laborchart’s Workforce Planning tool with Procore’s Field Productivity product, providing the industry with an end-to-end workforce management solution. It gives contractors visibility into their workforce to accurately forecast and manage human resources, helping them meet or beat estimated schedules and budgets. Ultimately, contractors are now able to get more done with the same headcount by optimizing their existing workforce and efficiently moving them from job to job.
The Future of Workforce Management
As projects continue to become more complex, contractors need an integrated solution that connects all their project data related to their workforce. Once this solution is in place, contractors can then leverage their workforce planning data to make informed predictions about business-critical decisions.
“Now that we're integrated with the Procore platform, our workforce planning solution will enable construction operations teams to carry out functions that would have historically taken six or seven point solutions to achieve. That’s the grander vision.” - Ben Schultz
Learn More
Want to learn more about how Procore Workforce Management can help centralize your workforce? Watch the full-length fireside chat:
You can also register for Innovation Summit on September 29 to hear Ben Schultz share more about the real-world benefits contractors are experiencing by leveraging Procore Workforce Management.
Additionally, sign up for this year’s Groundbreak on November 7-9 in New Orleans where Ben Schultz will be hosting a session on how proper workforce management ensures the right person is at the right place at the right time.
