I’ve been talking about worker huddles over and over, and I’m just not getting the message out. Not from an insult standpoint, but from a what’s-going-on standpoint. Every project in construction must be doing worker huddles. Every day, all workers on site, connecting with them 100%. It’s just the way construction is done. There’s one concept I don’t think I’ve shared well, and it’s why it’s a must.
Short answer: When you do a worker huddle, you immediately neutralize dissent, miscommunication, and no communication. The foreman huddle is for planning. The worker huddle is for communicating, five to ten minutes a day, so every person on site hears the same plan, the same shout-outs, and the same principles, instead of trusting the message to pass correctly through every crew leader.
Why Doesn’t Information Make It to the Workers?
I grew up with Hensel Phelps, and I think they’re a great company. The district manager would hold managers meetings and expect the managers to scale the information out to the project teams. I’m not exaggerating, at least 10 times I sat in a meeting where the district manager complained: we ask you to share this information with your teams, and we’re getting feedback that your teams know nothing about it. That’s when I started to see a disconnect in how information transfers through leadership positions. Then I started to see it with foremen and huddles.
If you tell a foreman something in your Last Planner® meetings, or collaborate with the foreman on something you want them to tell their workers, it’s going to transfer correctly maybe 20 to 50 percent of the time. That’s a guess, not a study, but it’s the same old telephone game. So you can’t just have a foreman huddle or crew leader huddle and trust that you’ll have a cohesive team with your workers. You must have both.
What Is the Foreman Huddle For, and What Is the Worker Huddle For?
I’ve never thought about it this way before, so let me make it really clear. The foreman huddle is to plan the next day, not to communicate it to the jobsite. The worker huddle is to communicate it to the jobsite. We think, oh, we made a plan with the foremen, so we’re all communicating. No, we’re not. Not until every single person on the project site knows what the plan is. See The Afternoon Foreman Huddle.
Add a worker huddle, five to ten minutes every day, and now everyone on site knows the plan, everyone is connected as one team, everyone gets shout-outs, and everyone is taught the same principles. You don’t have to trust that it’s being communicated through dissent, miscommunication, or silence. More in The Morning Worker Huddle: Creating One Team.
| What the huddle neutralizes | What it looks like without a huddle | What the worker huddle does |
|---|---|---|
| Dissent | A foreman says, I’m just going to do it my way, and skips what the team agreed to. | Workers and foremen hear the same expectations in the open. If dissent isn’t neutralized, it’s spotted and brought to the surface so it can be corrected. |
| Miscommunication | The message changes as it passes on, and loses its emphasis. | Everyone hears the exact message, word for word, with the same highlights. |
| No communication | The silent, stoic crew leader says one or two words, then nothing. | The message is delivered positively to everyone, every day. |
How Does a Worker Huddle Neutralize Dissent?
Say there’s a foreman who thinks, I’m just going to do what I want to do, my way. When I look at a group of workers and foremen together, I can say, hey everybody, if your foremen aren’t giving you 30 minutes every morning to prepare your work, set up your day, and shake out your cords and do your 3S or 5S, that’s not right. Let somebody know, because we paid for that. Now I’ve got both of them right there. The foreman can’t go off and say, oh yeah, we’re not doing that, because the superintendent has said it over and over, and the information is out in the open.
How Does a Worker Huddle Prevent Miscommunication?
I was doing huddles with a Spanish translator named Francisco. I loved that guy. I’d say, we keep these bathrooms clean for you guys, so please respect the person behind you by keeping it clean. His translation was cursing at the crew: he’s not happy with you, you trashed these bathrooms like a bunch of pigs. Someone who spoke English and Spanish walked up and said, just so you know, he’s not translating the same thing you’re saying. So we got a better translator, Valdemar, one of the best I’ve ever worked with, and he translated word for word.
If you tell a foreman something, that language won’t pass through the same way you gave it. It might not transfer in the same amount or with the same highlights and enunciation. With a worker huddle, people understand exactly what the message is.
Why Is Silence Just as Bad as Dissent?
A lot of foremen or crew leaders hear a great message and say one or two words, then go silent. The silent, stoic type. The mysterious type. In the leadership and communication simulations we run, we compare outright heckling, silence, and positive communication, and only positive communication works. Silence is just as bad as heckling or dissent.
So a worker huddle neutralizes the crew leader’s intentional or unintentional ability to dissent, miscommunicate, or not communicate through silence. That doesn’t mean foremen are the enemy. Waste, variation and miscommunication are the enemy.
A Note on Transparency
Recently, I shared our social media numbers on LinkedIn, because I want you to know how hard it is. The podcast costs us about 40 hours and $2,500 a month to maintain, and I record every episode myself. LinkedIn costs about 60 hours and $2,500 a month, and it took two years and eight months to reach 21,000 followers. YouTube editing and thumbnails cost $2,000 a month. Most of our friends and clients have come from those channels, but it’s a long, grueling game. Please don’t compare yourself to others. You’re doing better than you think. And if this helps you, please share it with your team.
So here is the challenge. If your project doesn’t have a daily worker huddle, start one this week. Keep the foreman huddle for planning, and use the worker huddle to tell every person on site the plan in your own words.
Bottom line: Every project must do worker huddles, because it’s the only way every worker hears the plan the way you meant it.
If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.
On we go.
FAQ
What is the difference between the foreman huddle and the worker huddle?
The foreman huddle is to plan the next day, not to communicate it to the jobsite. The worker huddle is to communicate it to the jobsite, so every single person on the project knows the plan.
Why can’t foremen just pass the plan on to their crews?
Because it’s the same old telephone game. My guess, not a study, is that information passed through a foreman transfers correctly only 20 to 50 percent of the time.
Does this mean foremen are the problem?
No. We are fighting against waste and variation, not people. It shows up at the foreman level, but it’s a system problem, and the worker huddle fixes the system.
People Also Read:
Worker Huddles
How Morning Worker Huddles Create Fast Change
Correcting Bad Information, Part 3: Are Worker Huddles Pointless?
Lean Onboarding Series – Worker Huddles
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-Takt Virtual Training: (Takt Virtual Training)
-Check out our YouTube channel for more info: (Elevate Construction on YouTube)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Elevate Construction Podcast)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Training Programs and Certifications)
-The Takt Book: (The Takt Book on Amazon)
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Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction. As the company’s Founder and COO, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.