Soft Skills for Success in Medical Research Facility Construction

The ultimate goal of a general contractor is to accomplish all construction activity with minimal disturbances to all of the parties listed above—a “get in and get out” mentality. Success begins with hiring a good contractor. While there is a nice selection of skilled contractors in the St. Louis area, capabilities shouldn’t be the only expectation out of a general contractor. It should be a given that state-of-the-art research requires an expert construction firm with a proven track record in state-of-the-art facility construction.

When great medical researchers are working towards scientific advancements right alongside your construction, interpersonal skills become just as important as technical skills. These soft skills are hard to come by in project managers, as they are skills often naturally possessed versus learned traits. The most successful general contractors typically strive to hire project managers with these soft skills, because they are more effective at managing people. With the amount of people directly and indirectly involved in the construction process of medical research facilities, a project manager with interpersonal shrewdness can be the key to success.

Interface prides itself on getting the job done right the first time around, and it starts with our people. We’ve identified a pattern in our highly successful project managers working on research facility construction, and they all naturally possess these interpersonal skills:

Empathetic project managers are the most effective listeners, and they use their art of listening to collect insights from the many constituents involved in the construction project to optimize productivity, reduce the risk of error, and prioritize actions.

The dictionary definition of assiduousness is “constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task, persevering; industrious, attentive”. In research facility construction, assiduousness is about diligently driving tasks forward to accomplish all parties’ goals and taking pleasure from everyone’s successes.

The environment and goals of construction projects in research facilities are always different, meaning the sequence to success isn’t the same each time. Project Managers need flexibility to deal with ever-changing circumstances.

Good interpersonal skills are paramount to guiding groups towards a common goal. They are also instrumental in relationship-building which is essential to creating group synergy.

General Contractors with Project Managers who possess strong interpersonal skills will typically have the best outcomes in complex construction projects in medical research facilities.