Abstract
The South African construction industry assumes a meaningful role in the country’s economy and is a major influencer to the economy compared to other sectors. It plays a critical role in job creation, capital accumulation, and income to households, with the ability to bridge economic inequality. Construction projects have been widely criticized for their inadequate performance with projects subjected to increasing risks because of complexity, globalization, and technology and not being able to attain their goals and targets. Issues such as higher cost overruns, delays and rigid organizational structure are some of the problems encountered by the construction industry. Project participants are always under pressure to delivery successful construction projects. This makes project management and appropriate skills important in the project delivery process. Project team soft skills are sometimes overlooked in guaranteeing an organization's success and achievement of excellence. Studies have been undertaken that highlight the significance of soft skills on the performance and delivery of construction projects. However, there is a shortage in this phenomenon from the perspective of the South African construction industry (SACI). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of project team soft skills on the performance of construction projects in South Africa. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire, which was created using a Google form, and the link was then distributed to the respondents via email and different platforms. The targeted respondents were the professionals in the SACI located in Gauteng who are actively involved in construction projects. The professionals included clients, construction project managers, construction managers, architects, engineers (civil, structural, mechanical, electrical), quantity surveyors, health and safety consultants, town planners, surveyors (land, environmental), contractors and facilities managers. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software was adopted for the purpose of data analysis. The gathered data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as mean item score, Kruskal Wallis H test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, while Cronbach alpha was used to test the reliability of the questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed that Communication, Teamwork and Collaboration, Problem-solving, Leadership and Time management and the ability to work under pressure were the key skills required by the project team for effective project delivery in the SACI. Completion of project within time, Completion of project to quality, Client Satisfaction, Project team satisfaction, Completion of project within cost were the 5 main impact of project team soft skills on the performance of construction projects. The study also showed that insufficient investment in soft skills, project
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team members lacking sufficient experience, outdated educational programmes and inappropriate training programmes, employer perception of soft skills, and ineffective human resources management are the five main challenges of developing soft skills among construction professionals. Providing soft skills education and training to construction industry professionals, creating a healthy work environment, providing sufficient collaboration time for collaboration between project team members, creating a flexible organizational culture and investing in research focusing on the development of soft were the key measures to improving the development of soft skills among construction professionals as perceived by respondents. The construction industry assumes a crucial part in the growth of the South African economy, and as such, this study recommends that the development and use of soft skills by all professionals should be encouraged and invested in. With effective use of soft skills by construction professionals, project success can be achieved, thus improving industry performance. This can be done through affording construction professionals with appropriate work experience and enough collaboration that enables their interpersonal skills to be challenged and provide young professionals with the right mentors with suitable skills and experience to develop them.