Ingram’s January 2023

about people taking sides, with less inte est in people finding common ground and advancing together,” he said. “On a micro level, it’s succession planning and leadership of our own organization.” Labor in a Post-KCI World Four years ago, amid a labor sque- eze already years in the making, con- struction-sector executives fretted about the potential impact of a Kansas City International Airport rebuild—it has been the largest public works project in the city’s history. Thousands of craftsmen were needed at various stages over the four-year construction timetable, and the fear going in was that demand there would wreck the ability of other contractors to find skilled labor. As it turns out, not so much, some assembly participants said. The fact that the airport is on schedule to meet its completion target date is evidence that the labor pool was deep enough. Still, there was a ripple effect across the regional labor pool. While KCI itself was able to find plenty of workers, “it affects all of us, when those mega jobs start pulling resources,” said Courtney Kounkel. “With craftspeople, that’s where our issue is.” It scares her, she said, because “smaller projects become totally inflated from a cost perspective—there just aren’t enough people to go around. I think that will continue to be a problem for Kansas City.” McCownGordon’s Emily Tilgner con curred: “It’s not just the craftspeople; it’s the highly skilled,” she said. “It took a lot of work to get new people up to the skill levels our clients expect.” Darcy Stewart of JE Dunn cautioned that another big project in the works, the Panasonic Energy plant being built in Johnson County, would present another labor challenge, as well as the ancillary projects that one is likely to spawn with suppliers, vendors and logistics facilities.

When it was suggested that overtime pay had helped some builders get through the staffing challenges, Rosie Privitera Biondo was quick to counter: “Overtime,” she said, “doesn’t solve a thing.” The COVID Impact Complicating operations for builders and design firms alike has been the difficulty many employers have had balancing on-site work requirements with the evolving remote-workplace dynamic. When the pandemic hit three years ago, millions of office jobs across the nation transitioned to remote work, and even as the threat has eased, many of those workers have been reluctant to go back to their previous settings. That’s a thorny issue for builders, because as several at the table pointed out, there’s no remote working on a job site. That can create some internal friction among those who must show up for work. “This is an industry where half the talent has different work rules,” said Jeff Blaesing. “We continue to struggle with flex scheduling.” “It just doesn’t feel right,” said MW Bui lders’ Todd Winnerman, “when people aren’t coming into the office, but the folks in the field are busting their butts.” On top of that, he said, are training and development efforts, “and I just don’t know how you can do those from home.” McCownGordon, said Chris Vaeth, has come up with a hybrid solution with a certain number of days whereby office staff are required to show up. Still, some said, younger workers who initially resisted being in the office are catching on. “If you’re not present in the office, you’re not top of mind” with executives up the line,” said Steve Swanson of Centric Projects. That will quickly show up with the way raises and bonuses are

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1. Margaret Bowker , assessing generational differences in the workplace, said today’s younger workers haven’t experienced hands-on project work the way older peers did. | 2. As a small business owner, Courtney Kounkel says she’s concerned about the long-term effects of stress on staff and leadership. | 3. Emily Tilgner cited the need to bring newer workers up to speed with skill sets expected by clients. | 4. Darcy Stewart said the massive Panasonic Energy plant will spawn significant work for related industries.

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Kansas City’s Business Media