Construction Teams Manage Change Every Day – So How Do We Change Ourselves?

It’s one of the construction industry’s great paradoxes. Ours is an industry built on change. Scope shifts. Weather delays. Last-minute design variations. We adapt in real time – managing complexity through structure, sequencing and skill.  We understand the impacts on people and resources and we adjust instinctively.

But strategic or structural change? There we struggle. 

McKinsey’s now-famous 2016 report placed construction second-last – behind only forestry and fishing – for digital adoption. This wasn’t just a tech gap. It was a mindset gap. Our tools had changed, but our culture hadn’t caught up.

Today, the signs are more promising. According to Deloitte’s 2025 State of Digital Adoption in Construction report, nearly half of construction businesses now use cloud software (49%), mobile apps (49%), data analytics (48%).  From Procore’s recent Future State of Construction research we learn that the majority (60%) of companies will be using robotics in the next 12 months.  Over half (59%) are, or will be, using artificial intelligence before the year is out.

After years as the global digital laggard, construction is finally catching up. The tech is landing. But is it delivering?

Here’s the problem: we’re measuring success by adoption. Adoption means someone logged in. Maybe once. Maybe regularly. But that’s not the same as productivity. That’s not the same as impact.

Measure Twice, Embed Once

The real measure isn’t adoption. It’s embedment.

We know a tool is embedded when no one’s talking about it. It’s just how things get done. 

We don’t ask if someone’s adopted a crane. We ask if they’re using it safely and productively. The same principle should apply to scheduling tools, site diaries, quality checklists and monthly reports.

Embedment doesn’t happen by accident. It takes what most construction companies still don’t invest in: real change management. 

We don’t routinely teach change management. Historically, we haven’t budgeted for it or made time for it. Not because we don’t like change, but because in a low-margin, high-pressure industry, people are focused on delivery. We're fighting today’s fires.

So, we buy the software, skip the behaviour change, tick “yes” on the tech adoption survey. And when things don’t improve, we blame the tool. 

Here’s the thing: we know change management works. Deloitte’s research found companies rolling out technology alongside at least one “very effective” change management activity saw a:

• 3% increase in expected revenue growth
• 1.22% increase in the share of projects delivered ahead of time
• 0.71% rise in the number delivered under budget.

These numbers might look small. But they are a big deal in an industry where margins are razor thin.

Scaffolding the Change

I’ve spent the last two decades of my career in construction – and I think it’s the world’s most amazing industry. Every day, we bring communities to life and contribute to solving society’s problems - all under immense pressure. The ingenuity, the teamwork, the pace. What it takes to deliver the built environment is astonishing – and we do it every day.

But, as the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce notes, productivity has stagnated for 30 years despite two-thirds of workers of clocking more than 50 hours a week. We have amongst the highest suicide rates of any industry. The lowest gender diversity. One in five projects runs over budget or behind schedule.

We must change. 

The good news? We can. We know how to do change. We know how to phase a programme, train a team, support and scale. 

So, here’s the challenge: Let’s stop tracking tech adoption. Start tracking embedment and impact. Let’s run tech programs the way construction companies run every complex job – with structure, skill and with the impacts on people foremost in our minds. 

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