Challenge

During one of the busiest construction booms in recent memory, a high-profile residential project was unraveling. Labor shortages, strained supply chains, and budget manipulation had created a perfect storm:

• Absenteeism soared to 11% compared to the 3% industry average.
• Safety, quality, and jobsite order had deteriorated to dangerous levels.
• Morale among trades collapsed, and subcontractors began sending their weakest crews, or stopped showing up altogether.
• Cultural tensions on site fueled resentment and division, eroding teamwork.
• The client was furious, convinced the project was destined to fail.

At the heart of the problem was something deceptively simple: jobsite conditions. With unsanitary, neglected porta-johns, trades were resorting to unplumbed apartments, leading to illness, absenteeism, and a cycle of frustration that spread through every corner of the site. Meanwhile, the project manager, incentivized to “look good on paper,” had slowed vendor payments to collect interest unaware of the disastrous impact this had on field conditions.

This wasn’t just a messy project. It was a collapse of trust, culture, and leadership.

Solution

Community Builders approached the turnaround with discipline, accountability, and respect for the people doing the work addressing root causes, not symptoms:

• Restored basic dignity and health by revising payment terms for sanitation vendors, adding enough units for headcount, and ensuring same-day payment to guarantee regular service.
• Re-established order with a mandatory, all-hands cleanup day. Subcontractors could provide labor or be partially backcharged for replacements, reinforcing shared accountability.
• Aligned incentives by revising subcontract agreements. Payments were tied to performance metrics such as schedule recovery, completed safety documentation, and rolling quality punch lists.
• Led from the front by living on-site for three months, six nights a week. The project lead slept on a concrete floor, ate with crews, spoke their language, and treated them with respect. By showing commitment, he rebuilt trust, dignity, and a true team culture.

Results

• The impact was swift and measurable:
• Absenteeism dropped by 8% within weeks, returning to industry norms.
• Safety and quality rebounded as order and accountability were restored.
• Crews re-engaged and began sending their best teams again.
• The client’s confidence shifted from despair to trust, ultimately praising the turnaround as proof of Community Builders’ leadership.
• The project, once spiraling out of control, was delivered back on track and was now safe, disciplined, and productive.

Takeaway

This project proved that lasting results come from leadership that invests in people first. By addressing fundamentals such as dignity, trust, and accountability, Community Builders didn’t just save a failing project, we restored morale, discipline, and client confidence.

For Community Builders, this wasn’t about cutting corners or chasing profit. It was about living up to the promise to be Built to Stand the Test of Time, not just in the structures we deliver, but in the relationships and trust we build along the way.