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Construction organizations' investment in effective talent-development programs is a key strategy in attracting, developing and retaining staff. Such programs are especially important given the current challenges in the construction workforce, including labor shortages, an aging workforce, generational differences in the workforce, supply chain disruptions and the need to effectively train staff in the skills that are essential in a constrained labor environment. To address these challenges, this study proposes a performance measurement strategy that construction companies can use as input to design their talent development programs.

The strategy intends to assess the performance of project managers and develop criteria that define categories of their performance, including the top performers' category. This enables construction organizations to provide each project manager with individualized training that addresses areas of weakness and in turn, develops the skills that correspond with being top performers. The proposed strategy was developed and tested by surveying the immediate supervisors of 187 project managers working for general and specialty contractors in the United States. Principal component analysis was used to develop a single performance construct from seven performance criteria.

This construct was used to organize the project managers into the categories of top, above-average and below-average performers. According to the findings, top-performing project managers have well-rounded skills in the areas of leadership, communication, technical proficiency and overall job knowledge.

The outcomes of this study can help construction organizations focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with PMs being top performers.

This study provides construction organizations with a comprehensive performance-measuring construct to focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with top-performing project managers. Researchers can use this study as a foundation for further understanding how performance is related to various construction professions.

The construction industry is facing worker shortages, and the resulting competition for skilled workers has increased employee turnover in the sector. Consequently, construction and engineering firms are struggling to attract and retain employees to meet current demands for construction projects. The regular inflow of new employees, who likely need training, may affect organizational and project performance. Construction firms can boost performance by assessing and then honing workers’ skills, including soft skills.

One way to assess individuals’ soft skills is to use personality assessments. This study used three personality assessments— – the HEXACO Personality Inventory, Emotional Intelligence Diagnostic and Q-DiSC 101 Behavioral Assessment – to identify the traits of general contractor project managers; sheet metal and air conditioning field leaders (specialty field leaders) and sheet metal, air conditioning and electrical project managers (specialty project managers) in the United States for job role transition purposes. The groups’ mean scores for each assessment component were analyzed using ANOVA and independent t-test to identify statistically significant differences in the personality traits of the three groups – specifically between specialty field leaders and general contractor project managers as well as between specialty field leaders and specialty project managers.

This study found that the personality characteristics of workers in these job roles varied. One-way ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences in mean personality factor scores among specialty field leaders, specialty project managers and general contractor project managers. Independent t-tests showed significant differences in patience, forgiveness, fearfulness, etc. identifying the differences between specialty field leaders and general contractor project managers. Similarly, results highlighted significant differences in modesty, inquisitiveness and sociability, among others, for specialty field leaders and specialty project managers.

Understanding the personality traits associated with skills needed for leadership across construction roles empowers companies to refine human resource strategies. Personality assessments can complement recruitment, identifying strong candidates for leadership positions. Additionally, these insights can optimize leadership development programs and facilitate career transitions for specialty field leaders by pinpointing suitable candidates and tailoring training programs for successful role changes.

This study contributes to the field in two ways. First, it focuses on personality traits within the specific context of construction leadership, providing valuable insights for companies seeking to optimize their leadership teams. Second, by exploring the personality differences between these roles, the study goes beyond individual job requirements and examines the potential challenges and opportunities for career transitions within construction. This information can be used to inform training programs and career development pathways for construction professionals.