(Especially If You’re Counting on Forepersons and Supervisors to Keep Things Running)
Let’s be clear:
Culture isn’t a poster on the wall or a word in your mission statement.
It’s how your team shows up when no one’s watching—and whether they feel safe, supported, and seen by the people leading them.
And in most trade-based or hands-on environments, your culture doesn’t start with a strategy session. It starts **on the floor, in the shop, or out on the site—**with your forepersons and supervisors. If they don’t have the tools or backing to lead well, nothing else sticks.
Here are five warning signs your culture might need more than a pep talk:
1. Your Forepersons Are Expected to Lead… But Not Empowered to Do It
If your supervisors are just seen as task managers and not culture carriers, that’s a red flag.
They need support, decision-making power, time to lead, and space to build trust with their teams, not just pressure to hit numbers.
💬 If you want better engagement, start with how you engage your leaders.
2. People Are Quiet, and You’re Mistaking That for Calm
A crew that doesn’t speak up isn’t problem-free – SURPRISE! They’ve just decided it’s not worth the hassle.
If your foreperson isn’t trained or trusted enough to handle issues well, people won’t bring them up. That silence? It’s hiding a lot.
No feedback = hidden fires.
3. Turnover Is Creeping Up, and Management’s Guessing Why
People don’t leave the company, they leave their management.
But too often, leaders on the ground aren’t given the tools to retain staff or even check in meaningfully.
Retention starts way before the exit interview.
And if forepersons don’t feel backed by management, neither will their crew.
4. Accountability Is All Over the Place
If nobody’s sure who owns what – or your leads avoid tough conversations – your culture is drifting.
🧱 Culture is built in the moments where someone says, “That’s not good enough, let’s fix it.”
That only happens when your leaders feel confident and supported to speak up.
5. Your “Values” Sound Good, But No One Feels Them
You can write Respect, Trust, or Teamwork in big bold letters, but if people don’t feel safe asking questions or admitting mistakes, your culture isn’t aligned.
👉 And again: that starts with who’s leading them day to day.
Are your forepersons trained? Trusted? Held accountable, but also listened to?
TL;DR?
If your frontline leaders don’t feel empowered, respected, and set up to succeed,
you don’t have a culture problem, you have a leadership gap.
🛠️ Fixing culture isn’t about catered lunches or slogans.
It’s about making sure the people holding it together have what they need to lead.
Think of your forepersons like the support beams under a bridge.
If you don’t check their stress points and reinforce them, eventually the whole thing gives out, quietly, then all at once.
Need a Jumpstart?
I’ve put together a checklist:
📜 7 Quick Questions to Check the Health of Your Culture
No fluff – just clear questions you can ask your leaders right now to see where things stand.
➡️ Drop a comment or send me a DM and I’ll send it your way.
About Me
I’m Jessie Gaisson, founder of Rebelution HR—offering fractional HR and leadership coaching to trades and small business teams across BC and Alberta. I work with business owners and operations leads to empower their supervisors and keep their teams strong.
No fluff. No corporate speak. Just tools that work in the real world.
Rebelution HR Consulting LTD. 