The influence of personal characteristics on effectiveness of construction site managers

It has been suggested that construction site managers' career progression may be affected because of the existence of certain personal characteristics that conform to industry stereotypes. These stereotypes need to be identified and examined in a systematic manner to ensure that the rationality of human resource management policy is indeed justifiable. A set of 26 personal characteristics believed to influence the effectiveness of construction site managers is identified by senior construction managers using the nominal group technique. These characteristics are tested for correlation with effectiveness using a non-results-based effectiveness index. A questionnaire survey was completed by 61 site managers for this purpose. The results suggest that of 26 identified personal factors believed to be important the only ones which may actually be related to effectiveness are: involvement in continuing professional development, number of firms worked for, use of addictive substances, education level, membership of professional bodies, job satisfaction, motivation level, career aspiration, stress level, leadership style and the need to work. The findings will assist those recruiting, retaining or promoting site managers to make a more informed judgement of key factors influencing effectiveness.