Crew Leaders

How do I become a Crew Leader at Habitat?

Who are the people who become volunteer crew leaders at HFHMC?
Generally, people who become volunteer construction leaders at HFHMC have worked as volunteers on our building sites and have become familiar with the processes we use to build homes. Volunteers come to us through various paths. Some people attend a tour; others have volunteered individually or through a group or financial sponsor. Through any path, once a volunteer arrives at the building site, they can very quickly recognize the value in the role of the Crew Leaders. The people who work in this role are there to assure that the volunteers understand what to do, how to do it safely and efficiently and to what standards it needs to be done. The Crew Leaders are essentially teachers and coaches. Their engagement in the actual work is usually through demonstrating how the tools are to be used and how the materials are to be installed. If everyone on his/her crew is fully engaged in the work, some Crew Leaders also participate in work, but this is generally the exception as there is always more teaching, demonstrating, organizing, auditing, coaching, and monitoring of safety processes for the Crew Leaders to do. While most Crew Leaders do not perform much of the work, they still generally have a very satisfying experience as they can see how much was accomplished through teaching others how to do the work efficiently, safely, and properly.

Most of the Crew Leaders do not start out having much residential construction experience. There are occasionally some construction professionals who participate in our process but most of the Crew Leaders entered this process with no prior construction background.

How do people without any actual construction experience learn how to lead?
 Most people who offer to work toward becoming Crew Leaders have some prior experience working as a volunteer with HFH, either on our building sites or with some other Affiliate in some other city. We would recommend that anyone who is interested in becoming a Crew Leader spend some time working as a volunteer on the building sites to gain some awareness of what the Crew Leader role includes by watching a variety of people in this role interacting with their crews. Those who plan to become Crew Leaders participate in on the job training and attend task specific workshops when they are offered.

The on the job training and the workshops would enable someone, with or without prior experience as a volunteer, to serve as a crew or task leader with a group of volunteers. It is likely that a crew leader trainee would work with an experienced Crew Leader on a task three times prior to leading the task, or work on a house with several crew leader trainees. It is possible for a Crew Leader Trainee (CLT) to train throughout the year, perhaps even across several years while gaining general experience as a Crew Leader in our building processes.

How does a Crew Leader trainee begin working on the site?
After a CLT has participated in on the job training and feels comfortable leading a specific task, he/she completes a field day on the build site in which he/she will lead volunteers completing that task, under the supervision of our Habitat staff. The CLT will be scheduled either in groups on one house or in pairs with an experienced Crew Leader for a while to enable a trainee to become more familiar with the HFHMC construction processes and to become more comfortable interacting with the volunteers in a leadership position. Once the trainee becomes comfortable, he/she will be scheduled as Task Leaders on those tasks with which he/she feels comfortable and is confident that he/she can lead. Some people continue to be specialists in one or more tasks and only work as Task Leaders when these tasks are being performed. Others tend to become familiar with all of the aspects of residential construction and serve as general Crew Leaders. Trained Crew Leaders provide services throughout the entire building process, leading whatever tasks are underway when they are available to serve as Crew Leaders.

What if you are a professional builder?
If you are an industry professional and/or have several years experience in a particular area, talk with our Construction Manager. Once you have shared your previous experiences with him, he will determine what training you may require. Sometimes volunteers with previous construction experience catch on to “the Habitat way” rather quickly and other times they may need to see how we do it.

Contact Adrian Starnes at  Construction Assistant
or 812-331-4069 to join our Crew Leader Training Program.