Skillsets of Top-Performing Specialty Field Leaders: A Study of Site Superintendents, General Foremen, and Crew Leaders in the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Trades

Time, cost, quality, safety, and client satisfaction are among the metrics that have been used over time to measure project performance in the construction industry. Most of these performance indicators are task/result-oriented which depend on the contribution and competence of construction workers and professionals. Nevertheless, the construction industry faces a labor gap due to the scarcity of skilled workforce and aging workers. Adequate measures must be put in place to meet the demands of the construction industry. Talent development and retention can be leveraged to ensure access to the skills needed for better project performance and improved productivity of the sector at large. Hence, the aim of this paper is to recognize distinctive skill sets associated with top-performing workers. This study utilized performance data based on the supervisor's rating of 88 field leaders working for Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors to identify performance characteristics peculiar to top performers. In this study, a field leader functions as a liaison between a construction project manager and a construction crew to ensure the assigned tasks are executed, and such a person may be a foreman, superintendent, or field executive. Using Principal Component Analysis, a single performance construct was developed from 22 performance criteria to assess the performance and grouping of the field leaders into two categories. From the analysis, 18.75% of the respondents were identified to be top-performing field leaders (FLs). An Independent sample t-test was carried out to determine the mean difference and statistical differences between the two groups based on the performance criteria. The top-performing field leaders outclassed the other field leaders in Performance criteria related to technical, leadership and communication, and overall job performance skills. The findings of this study can be used to devise strategic talent development initiatives and training targeted towards the development of traits associated with top performers in potential high-performing workers for better results.