Construction can be a reliable and lucrative way to make an income, but not all people working in the industry are at the same pay grade. If you want to start making the kind of income you think you deserve, then you should work to make sure that you deserve it. Here are a few ways to increase your income as a construction worker. Choose a lucrative specialization As mentioned, not all construction workers are making the same money. Specializing in a specific kind of construction work takes a lot of time, effort, and specific education, but can often unlock the most lucrative career paths in the industry. Look here to find out more about some of the best-paying construction jobs that are currently available, such as working in inspection, elevator installation, getting an electrician license, and more. Consider your career path and how easy it might be or how long it might take to transition into one of these careers. Broaden your skill base You don’t necessarily need to become a specialist in order to engage in a more lucrative construction career, however. In fact, by becoming something of a jack of all trades, you can be a very valuable member on any construction site. If you click here, you can see a range of high-risk work licenses and qualifications that could be of major use on any site. By having a broad range of skills and qualifications, you’re more likely to be selected for more jobs, since you’re effectively turning yourself into a tool that can suit a wide range of purposes. Work with people who can give you a foot up Construction is very much an industry that works on who you know, just as much as what you know. By doing jobs and working well with contractors and managers who are consistently making good bids and getting the better jobs out there, you can secure your part as a reliable member of their team. If you’re new to the industry, you can look for those who work to nurture construction talent to help you get the experience and reputation you need to earn more as you work more. Transition into the management side of things Working in a construction site can be lucrative in and of itself, but if you start learning more about the project management and administrative side, you can transition to a career that sees you overseeing the jobs instead of working on them. This typically does require that you get some education alongside your career experience, but it is a transition that can see your salary growing considerably. Furthermore, as you get older, working on-site might lead to a greater risk of accident and injury, so making the transition eventually should be a goal for most in the industry. There is no guarantee that, even in following the tips, you will make the greater income that you desire. You have to also show the quality and consistency of work that leads to trust from clients and co-workers, which unlocks the path to further work.

The building trade is one of the key trades within our society. Without builders, there would be no homes, schools, offices, or other public buildings. To be able to make the most of your time working within the industry, you want to make sure that you are spending your time wisely and not wasting hours on menial tasks. As a manager, it is up to you to delegate tasks, both on-site and within the office.  You may have several processes in place already to ensure that work is completed promptly to set deadlines, however, there is normally room for improvement. When you consider the areas that can be sped up, without compromising on quality, you may be able to make the most of both your, and others’, working hours. Digital Asset Management Having a number of images and other valuable digital assets can become complicated for bigger businesses. Especially when you have multiple people working on one project. When it comes to communications and marketing DAM is an extremely effective way of organising and updating files. Using a Digital Asset Management system – see bynder.com – can help you to keep control over your images and other important files without needing to store them on one specific computer or digital device – the right people can access the right content when necessary.  This can allow you to search for your imagery, as well as share it with others who may be working on your marketing or communications projects. If you need this work completed, but are spending your day on-site, this system means that those who work in the office (or remotely) can access and edit these content without your presence needed.  Increasing Morale Keeping your team happy within their roles is an important factor in any business, and as building work is often down to teammates operating together collaboratively, this makes team morale even more vital. Individuals who feel content within their role, and appreciated for the work they do, are more likely to be more productive, whilst encouraging those around them. In addition to this, a happy workforce is less likely to experience high levels of staff turnover, meaning the business may also be able to save money on recruitment fees.  If people know that you are part of a company who values its staff, from the highest paid CEO to the lowest paid intern, this can help your business to flourish, simply because people may be more likely to choose a company that holds set values akin to their own. Charity Marketing Engaging with local charities can really help with your public image, and the relations you have with clients and promoters. Choosing charities associated with your work, such as those that build and provide homes for the poor either in your country, or even in the third world, alongside spending time actively engaging with this work can really help to show your company in a positive light, and as one that genuinely cares about others.  Boosting success rates for the business that you work for is not always about increasing profits. Sometimes, it can be just as important to support those that work with you and to also improve upon your current public relations. This can, of course, sometimes also have a positive effect on your clientele and, therefore, profits as well.

Big or small the key to a profitable business is efficiency and with so many great tools out there to help it can be difficult to know where to start. From Kanban boards to VoIP phones here are 7 of the best efficiency tools that you absolutely need to look at in 2021. Kaban Boards What is a Kanban board you ask? It’s a simple way of showing the status of task, projects or jobs in a simple, visual form. Think yellow sticky notes on a whiteboard but in electronic form.  Because they are hosted in the cloud it’s a bit like having that whiteboard in your pocket so you can check what’s going on at any time, anywhere. They are great for planning, collaboration and just getting your life in order.Two of the best are Trello and Asana. Both have free options that have a huge number of features and are really easy to use, learn and share. Codebook OK so we all know that we shouldn’t use the same passwords for all our apps but it’s so hard keeping up with all the codes, pins and passwords you have. Meet Codebook from Zetetic. Codebook saves all your passwords securely with one log on and then synchs across all your devices so that you always have the right password at the right time. Another free app, Codebook can even generate strong passwords so you can ditch the dreaded ‘password123’! VoIP phones If you have a mobile and a landline then you already know that whilst connectivity is great in theory, in practice it can have its downsides including dropped calls, difficulty conferencing and multiple numbers for your customers to call. Wouldn’t it be great to have a single number that a customer could call that would find you wherever you were? How much time would you save searching around for contact numbers or dealing with calls when you simply don’t have the time? VoIP phones have been around for a while now and although back in the day the call quality could be somewhat ‘inconsistent’ the availability of high-speed internet and 5G means that it’s often better than a copper landline. VoIP phones have tons of features like virtual receptionists, menu filtering and voicebox to email and for many of them, you don’t even need any special equipment. If you’re looking for the best VoIP phone services then check out this list by Neil Patel with some great suggestions. Zapier So you have all of these great apps and they are all working away in their own areas but what happens when you want to integrate and automate your tasks? Check out Zapier.  Now Zapier doesn’t do anything itself. Instead, it uses actions (called triggers) to start other actions in different apps. So for example when you receive an email, it can automatically save any attachment into your Google docs and then send you a slack message telling you there is new content. It’s a superb automation app that links all your software up and allows you to automate features and set up workflows. Zapier claims that they work seamlessly with over 2000 apps and rising, so your favourite software should have no problem integrating. Productivity checkers Do you know where you waste most of your time? Do you know which websites you really ought to be avoiding? Know when your most productive hours are? Let’s face it we’ve all disappeared down a Twitter rabbit hole or spent and hour (or two) checking out what old school friends are doing on Facebook. The first step to improving your productivity is to understand where you are losing your time and productivity checkers like Rescue Time or Toggl will show you exactly when you are most productive and thus maximise your efficient hours. Spelling and Grammar helpers If you are someone who has difficulty with spelling or grammar then you know that it can take forever to write a simple letter or email and get it just right. But help is at hand in the form of Grammarly or Hemmingway. Both of these apps will check what you re writing and highlight any problems with suggested spelling changes applied at the click of a button. Yes, they save you money but in addition, they also give you confidence that your business communications are where they need to be. Sanebox Most people have trouble managing their inboxes, so they rely on email organization apps. It’s not just spam. There are newsletters that you don’t really need just now, things you’ve been CC’d into for no reason and reports that you thought might be useful sometime. Sanebox is a method of making sure your inbox focuses on the things that are important and reduces the amount of time you spend dealing with nonsense. You can teach it what to do with specific emails based on rules you set and it will also learn what to do based on y our behaviour. The free version is great and for a small subscription, you can add on a few more productivity tools from the Sanebox stable. Let your apps take the strain With so many great productivity apps available on the market it seems crazy not to give them a go. Most of them are free in the basic versions and will save you huge amounts of time and give you control back over your working day. Why not check out our suggestions now and start saving yourself some time right away?

Like any business, roofing companies rely on marketing to bring in new customers and keep their business growing and flourishing. And these days the best way to market a business is to go online. Yes there is still a place for traditional marketing like advertising on TV, radio, billboards, and so on. But those methods are rather scattershot, whereas a digital marketing campaign is more focused and targeted to people who will actually need your services. There are many aspects to a digital marketing campaign, from designing an appealing website to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services that get people to visit that website, but to get all of that you will need the roofing website design services of an experienced digital marketing agency. The agency will take care of all of your marketing to make sure that your online presence will help you to attract new customers and keep your business growing. Why Digital Marketing is Important For Roofing Companies It should come as no surprise that people tend to first look online to get what they need. Whether they are shopping for an item, making a reservation, or buying a plane ticket, the internet is their first destination. The same goes for when they are looking for various services, whether it is a lawyer, an electrician, or, yes, a roofing company. And as with everything, first impressions are important, which means that people will decide whether they will stay on a website or not very quickly. The decision to stay or leave could be the difference between a new customer or one that got away. So it is vital that a roofing company has a great website and that people know about that website; digital marketing is the way to achieve both of those goals. How Digital Marketing Works For Roofing Companies Digital marketing is all about the marketing you do through online channels. The roofing company website is where it gets started, which is why it is so important, but there are many other online avenues that allow you to attract and interact with customers. These include social media platforms, email marketing, blog articles, profiles on directories like Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor, video marketing, and PPC (Pay Per Click) ads. You do not need to use all of these resources, but you should at least invest in a few of them. Social media is great for giving your roofing company a more human touch since it allows you to address current and potential customers directly. Blog articles can provide visitors with useful information and help to establish you as an authority on the subject of roofing. Online directories are vital tools because customers who are serious about hiring a roofing company often look to those sites to find out more about the companies available to them. And PPC ads help to give a company a higher profile, but they have to be used carefully and judiciously otherwise they could backfire. The Process of Digital Marketing For Roofing Companies As stated earlier, it all starts with the website. The roofing company’s website needs to be attractive, easy to navigate, and it should load quickly. The website is likely to be a visitor’s first introduction to the roofing company so it needs to make a strong first impression. Great content is also a necessity because it needs to show the visitor what the roofing company has to offer and how it can help them. Naturally, one of the most important elements of a good roofing website is the ability of users to communicate with the company. That means a chat function, a prominently displayed phone number, e-mail, and online forms. Not only should it be easy for the visitor to communicate with the company, but the company should respond promptly to any communication since swift response to customers helps to build trust and confidence. Another extremely important aspect of a good website is that it should be accessible on mobile devices. This is called responsive design and it means that a website can adjust to fit and work well on any screen, whether it is a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Many people use their phone to browse the web so a roofing website needs to work just as well on those devices as it does on a PC or laptop. Attracting Visitors To the Website It does not matter how great your website is if no one visits it, which is why a big part of digital marketing is getting your website noticed by the right people. That is where SEO comes in since it is all about getting websites to rank more highly on the results pages of search engines. That gives websites more visibility among the people searching for certain search terms. In the case of a roofing website, that means getting it to be among the first to show up when people search for certain keywords related to roofing. There are other more detailed methods that are used to help websites rank more highly, such as link building and website optimization. You should speak to a representative from the digital marketing company to learn more about those methods and how they can help your website. Use Digital Marketing to Help Your Roofing Company Thrive Digital marketing is an efficient, efficacious, and cost-effective method of marketing that has a high return on investment. It can attract visitors to the roofing company’s website, which generates more leads, and can turn many of those leads into customers. There are many benefits and no disadvantages to using digital marketing, so get in touch with a digital marketing agency to learn how they can help your roofing company to thrive.

A sustainable business model is geared towards achieving long-term profitability while highlighting social responsibility. The concern goes beyond financial stability. It provides economic, social, and environmental value. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the most important things that will help in building a sustainable business. Education Sustainability isn’t a new concept, but a lot are unaware of how to do it successfully. One thing that can help is to educate key players, including executives and managers. For instance, by enrolling in online short courses, it is possible to learn about the latest sustainability trends that a business can implement. It builds knowledge and skills to determine the best strategies to pursue. Executive Support Leadership buy-in is an important ingredient in introducing sustainability in business. It all starts at the top, executive involvement is necessary. Without the support of the leaders, there will be no resources to pursue the strategies, especially financial capital. Employee Participation It is not enough to have executive support when building a sustainable business. Employee involvement is equally crucial. Their actions will have a ripple effect. This will influence the success or failure of the sustainability initiatives in an organization. Supply Chain Management To become a sustainable business, it is also crucial to think of everyone else in the supply chain. This requires partnering with green vendors. See to it that you are working with businesses that are one with your sustainability goals. By involving the entire logistics network in your sustainability initiatives, you are amplifying the potential benefits of your actions. Giving Back Giving back is one of the must-haves in a sustainable business model. Businesses should give as much as they take. This is based on the borrow-use-return principle. It means that businesses borrow resources and intend to replenish them. This is a concept of responsible consumption. As a part of giving back, businesses should also demonstrate community involvement, which is possible by partnering with charitable organizations and supporting worthy causes.  Customer Satisfaction In anything that a business does, emphasis should be on customer satisfaction. With this, think of the customers when implementing sustainability initiatives. Especially when radical changes are involved, think about how customers will react. Find a way to balance sustainability and customer needs. If they are not happy, the business’ profitability can bet compromised Financial Resources Pursuing sustainability in business requires financial resources. This is one of the factors that hinder many people from introducing a sustainable approach in their business. Do not view it as an unnecessary expense. Instead, think of it as a long-term investment. In the future, your sustainability strategies can yield maximum returns. Building a sustainable business does not happen overnight. It is a long-term goal that requires a proactive strategy. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a manager, consider taking online short coursesto learn how to embed sustainability in your business.

PAGABO has announced the awards for its £47 billion, five and a half-year developer-led framework, which goes live today (Tuesday 15 December). Acting on behalf of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, national framework provider Pagabo has established a framework of 29 development companies capable of providing developer-led schemes within the UK for the UK public sector. The framework features nine lots covering three contract structures: Property Development via Joint Venture and Special Purpose Vehicle, Long Income Lease and Lease Back, and Property Development Single Site by Development Agreement. These lots cover a huge variety of development sectors, covering single and multi-occupancy residential and student accommodation, commercial buildings, transport infrastructure and car parks, prisons and high security buildings, education, healthcare, care homes and extra care buildings, and mixed-use schemes. Each contract structure is separated into three value bands as well as on a sector and regional basis to make sure the relevant developers are available to clients for the right size of project. The value bands are split into three increments and cover developments of up to and above £100 million. In order to provide greater choice for clients, Pagabo allowed up to six core companies for each development sector under each lot in every geographical region. In addition to these core companies, three reserve companies have been named to supplement the procurement process in each segment.   The 29 development companies that have been awarded a place on the new framework (in alphabetical order) are: Argon Property Development Solutions Ltd Bruntwood Capital and Centric Community Development Partnerships EDAROTH ENGIE Regeneration Equitix Geoffrey Osborne Godwin Developments Goldbeck HBD Heron Bros Ion Developments GRAHAM Cityheart Kajima Genr8 Kier Property Developments Lindum Group LinkCity McGoff Construction Morgan Sindall Consortium Prime Queensberry Real Estate Seddon Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures Summerhill VINCI UK Developments Vistry Partnerships Willmott Dixon Yondr Group Jason Stapley, managing director at Pagabo, said: “We have been blown away by the phenomenal interest to this new framework from the industry, which speaks to its uniqueness and potential. It will not only save time and effort when procuring a developer but will also save developers a lot of money on opportunity bidding as well – which for some larger development schemes can be more than £1 million. “It’s been clear from recent months that government sees the construction industry as really important to our ‘return to normal’ recovery – particularly when it comes to complex development projects. This new framework will allow developers the ability to procure works through a compliant and simple to use framework, and to support the public sector with vital expansion plans, and to create a more robust sector all round.” The framework, which launches today, will run for four years with the option to extend for a further 16 months, and is Pagabo’s first framework dedicated to developers. It is available to all public sector bodies including schools, universities, local authorities, police and emergency services, NHS organisations, health and social care providers, and housing associations, as well as central government departments and the Ministry of Defence. Jonathan Parker, framework manager at Pagabo, said: “We are incredibly pleased to be bringing this new developer-led framework to market, which will give Pagabo a unique procurement route for clients to the development market. As with all of our frameworks, the developer-led procurement option is rooted in compliance, giving our clients complete peace of mind and security, as well as the simplicity of process, speed and support we are known for. “A unique element of this framework is the implementation of legal documents. All too often in the development market, ensuring the compliance and accuracy of documentation can significantly complicate process and make things take longer, so we have worked closely with a leading legal practice to create standard documents for clients to use as a basis to help further speed up the process. “A great deal of our procurement success is down to our client-focussed approach. With all our frameworks we aim to simplify the whole process, ensure flexibility and provide greater choice for clients, all packaged up with OJEU compliance – and this new framework is no different in that respect. It will form another crucial part of our Pagabo’s overall portfolio, and it’s clear from the highly competitive process that our collaborative approach and market engagement has resonated with developers. This is an excellent way to round out the year, and we very much look forward to progressing the first projects via the framework over the coming months.” In order to be considered for the framework, providers were required to go through a rigorous OJEU compliant tender process, prove financial suitability and relevant experience. As well as this, providers on Pagabo frameworks are required to share the company’s passion for social value and technology. This framework launch rounds off a successful 2020 for Pagabo, with the framework provider recently surpassing £3 billion in social value enabled via its suite of frameworks, and the launch of the second iterations of its highly successful Major Works and Professional Services frameworks earlier in the year. For more information, please visit https://www.pagabo.co.uk/

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, the global professional body for supply chain management has launched the new Construction Procurement Competence Tool after the development of a national suite of procurement competence standards following the Grenfell enquiry. In response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s Building a Safer Future report, it was recognised that poor procurement practices can lead to decisions that compromise all aspects of building and life safety, and across the sector there was a desire to improve the competence of people involved in procurement activities so that better decisions are taken at all levels of the construction supply chain. The free tool allows users to benchmark themselves and other individuals against the recommended competency framework to understand the level of competency or additional training and skills required to meet these more rigorous standards. Users select their job role, such as building safety manager, principle contractor, or procurement leader followed by job competencies set against RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) stages 0-7 with the required level indicated against each stage. The stages cover definition, capabilities and knowledge which are matched to levels in the CIPS global framework highlighting skills and capabilities required in various job roles. The user then receives a summary of skills and competencies and where there are gaps for improvement. The tool is designed for use by individual contractors and construction professionals, companies and project managers. CIPS chaired Working Group 11, one of the 13 groups appointed as part of the Competency Steering Group (CSG) following the Hackitt report. The CSG was tasked with the development of a national suite of procurement competence standards required not just amongst builders but associated professions such as architects and surveyors when working on higher risk buildings. Organisations can map what procurement competency levels are required at each stage of a build, identifying key roles and levels of understanding to support enhanced safety aims. Whole teams can go through the process of assessment. Duncan Brock CIPS Group Director and chair of the procurement working group, said, “The free tool is a result of a collaborative project to help support the construction sector to combat its common challenges and reach a balanced approach as the pressures of price, margin and safety remain. We hope it will give the sector more confidence and knowledge about procurement and build a better future for residents of higher risk buildings. “The Grenfell tragedy will stick in our minds for many years to come and CIPS is proud to have been part of the work to improve standards to increase competence and ultimately ensure the safety of citizens in their homes.” More information about the tool.