Between age and experience
While many longstanding construction professionals have driven the industry forward and embraced change, it’s possible that some may may be resistant to change and could potentially hold progress back.
“Younger people can look at things with a fresh pair of eyes, combined with a better understanding of how newer technologies can allow work to be completed in a more efficient way,” commented Joe. “Older colleagues may have a tried and trusted way of doing things that’s always worked for them and can be reluctant to change. I think it’s about coming up with a way to bridge that gap – which could just be as simple as getting people round a table to discuss possible solutions.”
“I have experience of working with older members of the team where I have to assist them and push them in certain directions that they not have otherwise considered,” said Jordan. “It’s understandable though – recently I found myself reluctant to use some new business software just because it wasn’t what I was used to. It’s a mindset we need to get out if collectively we’re going to improve our work. Like Joe says, it’s about getting people around a table or pairing them up to share insights and ideas – that way, regardless of age, we can all move forward together to benefit our own development and the projects we deliver.”
“Sharing ideas between generations is really important – it’s never just one way,” added Tom.
“Completely,” agreed Nick. “As an example, some of our older colleagues are used to carrying a notepad around for drawings whereas I take my iPad. I can show them that you can do a drawing and a quality check really quickly on my iPad, but they can use their years of experience to say ‘well, that doesn’t look quite right’. It’s really important to have that transfer of knowledge – you’re helping them as they’re helping you. You couldn’t run a site with just younger people or just older people – you need a mixture.”
“For me personally, I’ve been learning from my colleague Tom, a senior estimator, he’s been mentoring me and it’s really important to have that knowledge passed down, but it’s also crucial that I can question some of the things he’s doing if I think there are quicker, better ways,” said James Speck.
"It’s not only within individual teams that attitudes need to change", pointed out Danielle – "but also how construction professionals interact with clients".
“I feel as though there’s definite resistance to the use of sustainable technologies at times, and because of internal resistance from older colleagues we’re less inclined to push initiatives that could change the industry for the better on to our clients. As an example, when a client says they want a BREEAM outstanding or a WELL building, they can sometimes be advised against it because of the increased capital cost and the impact on development appraisals. But given the global climate crisis, I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t make every project you work on as sustainable as possible – but I guess that’s a good illustration of different generational priorities.”
“That’s a really good point, Danielle,” agreed James Layton. “It’s amazing when you consider how long methods such as offsite construction have been around, yet across the industry they are not implemented anywhere near as much as they should be. I hope that as our generation progresses and we get into positions of power and influence we’re able to guide clients in a way to helping them deliver increasingly sustainable buildings.”
University of Nottingham, GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Chemistry laboratory