Benchmarking effective service delivery drivers in the South African civil construction industry

Abstract

Identifying and prioritising effective service delivery drivers' in selected civil construction companies are more than merely satisfying customers' need. By successfully identifying and prioritising effective service delivery drivers within the selected civil construction companies, the companies will be able to achieve competitive advantage above their competitors. This study, by using a questionnaire as a measurement instrument, established that a gap currently exist between what civil construction companies, their employees and their customers regards as effective service delivery drivers within the civil construction industry. By closing this gap, the civil construction companies will be able to generate or maximise profits for their shareholders as there will be common understanding of the level of performance to meet the customer's expectations. The company will also have engaged employees as they would know what is expected from them on a daily basis. The study further highlights the benefits of managing these identified service delivery drivers and elaborate on the factors needed to successfully manage a service level agreement between a civil construction company and their customers. Civil construction companies however will have to revisit these drivers on a continuous basis as client satisfaction is associated with continuous improvement, permanent assessment of service delivery drivers and the service delivery standards. In essence, there are still a lot of challenges and opportunities when it comes to quality service delivery drivers in the civil construction industry. Each company needs to conduct a SWOT analysis to evaluate their competitiveness within the industry.