Why Commercial Projects Are Harder to Staff — and Why Document Automation Matters More Than Ever

A Commercial Job Needs More Than Just More Workers

If you were doing something like a remodel on a residential home, that’s easy.

You hire a generalist, and they figure things out as they go. But if you’re building a warehouse or a medical facility, “figuring things out” is literally impossible. They have to have specialized layouts when it comes to lighting, fire suppression systems, backup power, infection control, and so on. And for someone to be able to build something like that, they need to have a certificate and plenty of experience.

And that certificate has to be issued specifically for the job at hand, in the state where the job is being done.

So, if you think hiring from out of state will save you, think again. If you’re in Kentucky and think you’ll hire from Tennessee and Virginia, that’ll be hard. A contractor from Tennessee will have a Tennessee commercial contractor license, and they aren’t allowed to work in Kentucky.

Every company is after the same group of qualified people you are, and every worker worth their salt has several offers to choose from. But even if you manage to recruit enough people, they still can’t start working right away.

What they need are training and orientation; and that can take a while.

For a construction worker to become fully productive in the U.S., a company may have to wait weeks and in some cases even months. This mostly has to do with safety training and certifications. – U.S. Department of Labor

So, the answer isn’t necessarily more people, but having the people already working for you become more productive.

Recommended reading: Optimize Supply Chain with Document Processing Solutions

How Automation Can Help Keep the Projects Moving

Let’s recap the issues: there aren’t enough qualified workers on the market, many of the ones who know what they’re doing are retiring, and even if you manage to hire enough people, that still doesn’t mean paperwork won’t make things harder.

The answer is obvious.

Aside from focusing on productivity, automation can be another ace up your sleeve.

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Creating Documents Without Starting From Scratch

Look at how your project team works.

Every time they need a new document, they start from zero. Agreements, safety logs, contracts, it all has a pattern. And yet, someone will still open a blank Word document every time. What a waste of time and resources.

➔ Manual document processing costs U.S. business $15-$20 (USD) on average. Automated document processing costs $2-$5, a 70-90% cost reduction. – U.S. Department of the Treasury

➔ Document processing and approval times can be reduced by 40-60% using automation, especially if the industry has high/strict compliance requirements. – U.S. General Services Administration

Automation can change that. It can give you templates you can work from.

The system pulls information on the project, and the template already has formatting and standard clauses in it. You just fill out a few specifics, and you’re done in a couple of minutes with the entire thing.

AI-powered OCR and data capture systems have a 90-95% accuracy rate on average. They also eliminate human error. – National Institute of Standards and Technology

Keeping Approvals Going

Approvals are a real pain, and they can stall a project so much. It could be days waiting on a sign-off, and in the meantime, the clock is ticking.

Manual document processing costs U.S. business $15-$20 (USD) on average. Automated document processing costs $2-$5, a 70-90% cost reduction. – U.S. Department of the Treasury

You can fix this with automated routing.

It can send the document straight to the person who needs to have it, and politely nudge them to respond in a reasonable amount of time. Plus, the system keeps a log of who’s seen what and who still hasn’t responded.

Making Information Easier to Find

Sooner or later, someone will need a copy of the original permit or the latest inspection report, and nobody will be able to find it. This is yet another area where automation can save you from delays.

A document automation system keeps everything in one place, and it has version control. Everyone can access it from any device, so everyone has what they need without asking someone for it or having to dig through emails and drives.

Imagine how much time this one thing could save you.

Recommended reading: Why Businesses Are Replacing Manual Data Entry With Automated Document Processing Software

Conclusion

It doesn’t seem like the job market is about to get flooded with qualified, experienced workers, so there’s really nothing to be done as far as labor shortages go. Make sure your offer stands out, and that’s about it.

But hiring is only half the battle anyway.

The other half is what happens after, and this is where automation can make a world of difference. Asking people to be more productive probably won’t go over that well, and there’s really only so far you can push your employees before it becomes too much.

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