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Workplace culture, language and behaviour can present challenges in any workplace, and construction is no exception – particularly in an industry that brings together people from different backgrounds, generations, roles, trades and organisations.
From the office to the construction site, people can have very different views about what is and isn’t acceptable at work.
Everyday conversations, humour and workplace banter can all be part of a positive working environment. But what one person sees as harmless can sometimes be experienced very differently by somebody else.
So, when does everyday workplace behaviour become inappropriate – and would everyone in your workforce recognise when that line has been crossed?
There isn’t always a single obvious moment when workplace banter or everyday behaviour becomes inappropriate.
Something intended as a joke may make somebody uncomfortable. A comment that one employee brushes off may affect somebody else very differently. Behaviour that has become normal within a team doesn’t necessarily mean everybody within that team is comfortable with it.
That is why awareness matters.
It’s not simply about knowing which words or actions are unacceptable. Employees also need to understand how their behaviour can affect other people, when something should be challenged and what to do when a situation doesn’t feel right.
Ask yourself:
This isn’t about taking the personality out of the workplace. It’s about understanding what appropriate workplace behaviour looks like – and recognising when everyday language or behaviour becomes something that needs addressing.
That’s where Fairness, Inclusion & Respect (FIR) Awareness Training can help.
Whether you’re introducing workplace behaviour training for the first time or building on existing online learning, live, interactive training gives employees the opportunity to discuss realistic scenarios, ask questions and consider how language and behaviour can be perceived differently by the people around them.
Training can help employees explore areas such as workplace banter, inappropriate language and behaviour, respect, challenging behaviour and knowing what to do when something doesn’t feel right.
Rather than simply telling employees what they should and shouldn’t do, interactive training gives people an opportunity to talk about the grey areas that can arise in real workplaces.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be one or the other.
E-learning can provide the awareness and underpinning knowledge. Interactive training creates the opportunity to discuss it, apply it to real workplace situations and engage your workforce in the conversation.
For employers already using online resources such as the CITB Fairness, Inclusion and Respect learning modules, face-to-face training can provide a practical next step – turning individual learning into wider workforce discussion.
This can be particularly valuable for supervisors and managers, who have an important role in recognising inappropriate behaviour, responding appropriately and helping to set positive standards within their teams.
Competence in construction is often associated with qualifications, cards, technical knowledge and the ability to carry out a particular role safely.
But workforce competence is wider than technical ability alone.
How people communicate, behave, challenge inappropriate behaviour and work alongside others can all contribute to the culture and standards within an organisation.
FIR Awareness can support that wider approach by helping employees understand the positive workplace behaviours expected of individuals, teams, supervisors and managers.
For employers looking more broadly at workforce development, it can therefore be useful to consider not only:
“Can our people carry out their roles competently?”
but also:
“Do they understand the behaviours and standards we expect while doing them?”
Our half-day tutor-led Fairness, Inclusion & Respect Awareness course can be delivered to groups of up to 15 delegates.
For larger workforces, we can deliver an AM and PM session on the same day, training up to 30 people, or combine FIR Awareness with another suitable half-day topic to make full use of the trainer day.
This can make interactive training extremely cost-effective on a per-person basis, while giving your workforce something that’s difficult to replicate through e-learning alone: the opportunity to talk, question and engage with the subject together.
Eligible training may qualify for 50% CITB Employer Network funding, subject to CITB eligibility and available funding.
Whether you’re levy registered or not, if workplace culture and behaviour are areas you’re looking to strengthen, we can help put together a practical delivery option around your team numbers, working patterns and wider training requirements.
If this is something you’d like to strengthen across your workforce, get in touch and we can talk through the most practical and cost-effective way to deliver it for your team.