Ingram’s January 2023
Among the topics covered: The con tinuing challenges of attracting and reta- ining labor. Safety issues. Training. The evolution of programming to bolster firms owned by women and minorities. Amid all of that, there remained a nearly unanimous sentiment that Kansas City is poised for great things: The NFL draft and the airport opening this spring, mega projects with Panasonic and Meta, the Downtown Streetcar expansion, a possible Downtown baseball stadium, the World Cup hosting in 2026. The discussion provided an upbeat assessment and a shared belief that, des- pite some current challenges, this region is poised for significant—even transfor mative—growth. Ingram’s publisher Joe Sweeney open ed the assembly on a whimsical note, pas-
sing around an image of influential con struction-sector participants from the first Construction Industry Outlook As- sembly 22 years ago and asking who could name the greatest number of people pictured. The short answer: Not many. Also telling was that the long-ago assembly included only one woman; this iteration featured a nearly 50-50 mix. Such has been the breadth of change within the sector. Sleep Disrupters Turning to business at hand, Sweeney teed up everyone around the table by asking what was keeping them up at night. Steve Swanson, co-founder of Cen tric, was able to distill that to a single word: “People.” Finding, recruiting and
retaining talent is a primary concern today, he said, and a number of those in the room agreed. For JE Dunn’s Margaret Bowker, who’s charged with helping the region’s biggest contractor keep its work-flow pipeline filled, it’s a simple matter of “feeding the beast.” Rosie Privitera Biondo offered the same response. “As our company gets bigger and we want to keep x-number of people, one of our biggest challenges is keeping the pipe line full,” she said. “That, and retaining the best people.” Erica Jones, marketing director for MMC Corp, said the challenges of a planned rebrand for a 90-year old com pany were foremost among her concerns, while Jeff Blaseing of JE Dunn, chairing the assembly, pointed to the need to keep existing staff fully engaged as big projects wrap up and they move on to the next thing. Brandy McCombs seconded Blaesing on employee engagement, but also asked “What does 2025 look like? We’ve got a good backlog for work in 2024, but what about after that?” Courtney Kounkel of Monarch Build livened things up: “Nothing keeps me awake—I sleep lovely,” though she did confess that, as a small business owner wearing multiple hats, she has plenty to focus on during the day. “I’m juggling a lot,” she said. Burns & McDonnell’s Greg Carlson worries about the numbers of qualified builders out there. “Literally, the trades folks,” he said. “We get people who aren’t quite up to speed when they get to the site,” which requires an extra measure of training and development. “Project wise, I worry about what’s going on with inflation now,” he said. Kissick Construction’s Pete Browne also points to engagement levels. With so much going on, he said, “we have to work extra hard to make sure the team spirits stays there. Heading up the recently merged Builders’ Association and Association of General Contractors, Don Greenwell has a more esoteric sleep disrupter. “On a macro level, globally, my concern is
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1. Jeff Blaesing addressed the challenges of keeping employee engagement levels high. 2. “ Feeding the Beast”—keeping the work pipeline full beyond 2024—is a primary concern for several builders, including Rosie Privitera Biondo of Mark One Electric. | 3. Greg Carlson said his biggest concerns today center on qualifications of builders in the region. | 4. Chris Vaeth addressed the human-capital challenge of balancing remote work dynamics with demands for field workers to be present at work sites every day.
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