Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 2000 7 | 4, 389-398

Impor t ance of desi gn consul t ant s' sof t ski l l s i n

desi gn-bui l d pr oj ect s
FLORENCE YEAN-YNG LI NG, GEORGE OFORI &S UI PHENG LOW
Department of Building, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Abstract Architects and engineers (AE) need to pos-
sess both 'hard' and 'soft' skills. Soft skills are impor-
tant because AE interact in organizational settings
instead of working by themselves. Soft skills may be
grouped under 'conscientiousness', 'initiative', 'social
skills', 'controllability' and 'commitment'. As part of a
larger study on the selection of consultants by design-
build (DB) contractors in Singapore, a survey was con-
ducted to gauge whether contractors felt that soft skills
are important for consultants to carry out their design
tasks in DB projects. From the literature, attributes re-
lating to these skills were identified. Data were col-
lected via mailed questionnaire. The questionnaire re-
quested respondents to indicate on a five-point scale
the importance of various soft skills. It was found that
all the soft skills, which were operationalized into 14
attributes, are important factors that contractors look
for when selecting consultants. It is, therefore, con-
cluded that contextual performance is important and
relevant.
Keywords Architects, contextual performance, design-
build, engineers, selection, soft skills
I NTRODUCTI ON
In design-build (DB) projects, design and construction
become the responsibility of one organization, usually
a contractor (J anssens 1991). This procurement route
enables owners to employ one firm that takes sole
responsibility for delivering the required building and
associated services in accordance with defined stan-
dards and conditions (Bennett et al. 1996). Akintoye's
(1994) study showed that the majority of DB contrac-
tors do not have in-house architects and engineers
(AE). These contractors, therefore, need to select con-
sultant AE to help them to discharge their duty of
providing the design for the DB project.
Personnel psychology, organizational psychology
and economics literature suggests that there are four
main factors for DB contractors to consider when
selecting consultant AE: task performance, contextual
performance, fees and relationship factor (Ling et al.
1997). Task performance and contextual performance
are governed by the Theory of J ob Performance (Mur-
phy & Shiarella 1997). Task performance is the profi-
ciency and skill in job-specific tasks and differentiates
one job from another (Van Scotter & Motowidlo
1996). The hard skills needed for task performance are
'general mental ability', 'job knowledge', 'task profi-
ciency' and 'job experience' (Schmidt et al. 1986). I n
addition to task performance, successful accomplish-
ment of a job should also include contextual perfor-
mance.
Contextual activities arise because the consultants
interact in an organizational setting instead of working
by themselves, and, therefore, need to communicate
with one another, co-ordinate actions, follow instruc-
tions, and occasionally go beyond their job descrip-
tions (Borman & Motowidlo 1993). Excellent
contextual performance comes about when consultants
have the appropriate soft skills, as explained by the
Theory of Contextual Performance (Borman & Mo-
towidlo 1993), see next section.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the soft skills
that consultants for DB projects should possess. Cur-
rently, there is no identified list of soft skills that could
be used to select consultants. The importance of this
study is that soft skills are identified and the important
and relevant ones are highlighted.
This study is relevant to two groups of construction
industry participants; AE and contractors. For the AE,
as their requisite soft skills are identified, they can now
go about acquiring or inculcating them. If they already
possess these skills, this study highlights the more
relevant and important skills that DB contractors ex-
pect in their consultants. By practising these skills,
they will be able to better satisfy DB contractors, and
repeat orders may then be expected. Contractors who
intend to venture into DB projects could use the
findings of this study to assist them in selecting consul-
tant AE. Selecting the right consultants will ensure
good performance. Consultants who perform well will
help to ensure that a satisfactory facility is designed,
2000 Blackwell Science Ltd
389
390 Ling, F.Y.-Y., Ofori, G. & Low, S.P.
drawings are completed in a timely manner, and mini-
mal time is needed to monitor and manage them. All
these lead to a greater chance of project success.
In this paper, the Theory of Contextual Perfor-
mance is first discussed. The soft skills relating to
consultant AE that emanate from the theory are iden-
tified. The relevance of these identified skills was
tested in the fieldwork, and then the results are pre-
sented and discussed. The final section discusses the
limitations and concludes the study.
A detailed discussion on the relevance of contextual
performance, the skills emerging from it, and the link
to consultant AE selection is found in Ling et al.
(1999). Ling et al. (1999) investigated how consultants
perceived the soft skills. I n mis study, the views of
contractors with respect to these soft skills were
investigated.
CONTEXTUAL PERFORMANCE
Soft skills can be explained by the Theory of Contex-
tual Performance (Borman & Motowidlo 1993). Ac-
cording to this theory, besides work activities that
relate to the technical core and contribute to task
performance, mere are many other activities that do
not fall under task performance but are still important
for organizational effectiveness. Borman & Motowidlo
(1993) called these contextual activities, which include:
Persisting in own tasks with enthusiasm and extra
effort including perseverance, conscientiousness,
and extra effort. This soft skill is labelled as
'conscientiousness'.
Volunteering to carry out tasks not formally part of
the job including suggesting improvements and tak-
ing on extra responsibility. This is labelled as
'initiative'.
Helping and co-operating with others. This is la-
belled as 'social skills'.
Following rules and procedures including respecting
authority, and meeting deadlines. This is labelled as
'controllability'.
Endorsing, supporting and defending organizational
objectives, and having loyalty to the organization.
This is labelled as 'commitment'.
While the concept of soft skills is designed for em-
ployees, it may also be relevant to external indepen-
dent consultants engaged by DB contractors. This is
because during the period in which the consultant is
engaged for a particular project, he or she is answer-
able to the contractor. I t is, therefore, possible to
consider the consultant as the 'employee' of the con-
tractor, and investigate the relevance of contextual
performance.
The details relating to the soft skills, as shown in
Fig. 1, are now discussed.
Conscientiousness
Individuals perform better if they persist with enthusi-
asm to complete their own task activity (Borman &
Motowidlo 1993). This includes perseverance, ex-
pending extra effort on the job and conscientiousness
which comprises spending extra time to finish the job
if necessary, completing assignments on or ahead of
schedule, carrying out assignments thoroughly and
paying close attention to details. Conscientiousness
and task performance are positively correlated (Barrick
& Mount 1991). Individuals who are conscientious
believe they can perform at a higher level (Gellatly
1996). They will, therefore, perform better because
they set higher performance expectancy and goals for
themselves.
In the construction industry, consultants who are
conscientious are likely to work speedily. This means
producing design drawings and obtaining statutory
approvals quickly so those projects are not delayed.
Consultants who are conscientious are serious, disci-
plined, and methodical. They are, therefore, likely to
pay close attention to important design and construc-
tion details. Next, conscientious consultants have
achievement orientation and are expected to persist in
overcoming obstacles to complete a task and tackle a
difficult assignment enthusiastically.
2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 7 | 4, 389-398
Consultants' soft skills
391
Based on the above, the following attributes are
operationalized under the soft skill labelled as
'conscientiousness':
Consultant produces design drawings speedily
(H1.1);
Consultant obtains statutory approvals speedily
(H1.2);
Consultant pays close attention to important de-
sign and construction details (H1.3);
Consultant persists in overcoming obstacles to
complete a task (H1.4);
Consultant tackles a difficult assignment enthusias-
tically (H1.5).
Initiative
The second soft skill is 'volunteering to carry out task
activities that are not formally part of own job' (Bor-
man & Motowidlo 1993), labelled as 'initiative'. I ndi-
viduals who have initiative make suggestions
regarding organizational improvements, take on extra
responsibilities, volunteer for assignments, anticipate
problems and take actions to prevent them, and per-
form extra necessary tasks without explicit orders.
Initiative may be evaluated as the extent to which the
individual seeks out, and accepts, responsibilities and
takes appropriate action without waiting for directions
from supervisors (Putti 1985).
In the construction projects, consultants who have
initiative would offer suggestions to improve the de-
sign. This is advantageous because an improved de-
sign may be easier to build or cost-effective. The
former allows the project to be completed faster while
the latter helps in lowering costs. The attribute on
'initiative' is operationalized as 'Consultant takes the
initiative to offer suggestions to improve the design'
(H2.1).
Social skills
The next soft skill is 'helping and co-operating with
others (Borman & Motowidlo 1993), labelled as 'so-
cial skills'. Individuals with this skill exhibit courtesy
and altruism. They possess communication skills,
interpersonal sensitivity skills, and the ability to co-
operate with others.
Communication skill is one of the most important
social skills. A survey of 43 engineering consultancy
firms in the USA showed that communication skills
are very important in construction (Gushgari et al.
1997). These skills include listening, speaking and
writing skills, and body language. Local agencies in
the USA select consultants who have effective writing
and speaking skills, which are especially critical dur-
ing the proposal and interview stages of the procure-
ment (Avila 1997). Consultants need to be able to
communicate their enthusiasm and knowledge of the
project. Other social skills include being sensitive to
others, co-operating with others, having respect for
others, being calm, accurate and flexible when work-
ing, and being open to criticism (DeWolff & Kessel
1992). Based on the above discussion on social skills,
an attribute is operationalized as 'Consultant has the
necessary social skills to get along with others'
(H3.1).
Controllability
The next soft skill is 'following organizational rules
and procedures' (Borman & Motowidlo 1993), la-
belled as 'controllability'. Characteristics of individu-
als with this skill include following orders and
regulations, respecting authority, responding willingly
and without hesitation to orders, carrying out orders
promptly and thoroughly, complying with rules and
regulations, conforming to standard procedures, com-
plying with organizational values and policies, meet-
ing deadlines, and having civic virtue. When
individuals have these characteristics, their employers
have control over them.
In DB projects, it is important for contractors to be
able to control their consultants. This is because any
loss of control of design and co-ordination may lead
to delays and cost escalation. Where there is no such
control, consultants' design solutions may not con-
sider contractors' chances of obtaining the tender and
time taken to undertake construction (Turner 1995).
Contrary to traditional practice, control over con-
sultants can be put into motion only if the consul-
tants acknowledge the DB contractor as the team
leader. In addition, consultants should be able to
follow the DB contractor's instructions and orders.
They must also respond quickly to the requests and
instructions of the DB contractors.
Three attributes are operationalized under 'control-
lability' as follows:
Consultant respects and accepts the DB contractor
as the team leader (H4.1);
Consultant follows the DB contractor's instruc-
tions and orders (H4.2);
Consultant responds quickly to the requests and
instructions of the DB contractor (H4.3).
2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 7 | 4, 389-398
392 Ling, F.Y.-Y., Ofori, G. & Low, S.P.
Commitment
The fifth soft skill refers to an individual's ability to
'endorse, support, and defend organizational objec-
tives' (Borman & Motowidlo 1993), labelled as 'com-
mitment'. The characteristics of these individuals
include organizational loyalty, concern for unit objec-
tives, staying with the organization during hard times,
and representing the organization favourably to
outsiders.
I n the construction industry, studies have suggested
that consultants need to have the necessary commit-
ment (Latham 1994) because it enhances performance
(Thamhain & Wilemon 1987), causes individuals to
increase their task effort (Whitney 1994), improves
group cohesion (Lawler & Hall 1970), and improves
co-operation (Robertson & Tang 1995).
When consultants are committed, they are likely to
be loyal to the DB contractors who engaged them.
They would also be working exclusively for these con-
tractors instead of working concurrently with their
rivals. As a result of their commitment, they would put
the project goals (such as ease of construction, lower
costs, and shorter construction time) before their own
goals, and would, thus, be willing to revise their de-
signs to achieve project goals. Committed consultants
are also likely to be interested in the job assignment.
Based on the above discussion on 'commitment',
four attributes are operationalized as follows:
Consultant is loyal to the DB contractor (H5.1);
Consultant is not working for another contractor
who is participating in the same DB tender (H5.2);
Consultant would revise the design in order to
achieve project goals (H5.3);
Consultant is interested in the job assignment
(H5.4).
The literature review suggested 14 attributes of soft
skills that consultants for DB projects may need to
possess. A fieldwork was mounted to determine which
of these skills are important, including their relative
importance.
RESEARCH METHOD
A study on the selection of consultants by DB contrac-
tors in Singapore was conducted with the aim of
constructing a multi-attribute value model for DB
contractors to use when selecting consultants. Some
40 attributes, which could be classified under task
performance factor, contextual performance factor,
price factor and relationship factor, were tested to
determine if they were relevant and should be included
in the model (see Ling 1998). Admittedly, at least
some of the attributes identified may also be relevant
for selection of material suppliers (such as 'follow the
contractor's instructions and orders' H4.2) and sub-
contractors (such as 'pay close attention to important
design and construction details' H1.3). However, this
was not investigated, as the scope of the study was
limited to consultant selection.
I n this study, the target population was foreign and
local contractors in Singapore who had DB experience.
This is defined as having undertaken at least one DB
project (Songer & Molenaar 1996). In Singapore,
there is no published list of this target population.
However, the Singapore Building and Construction
Authority (BCA) has a system of registering contrac-
tors who wish to undertake public-sector construction
projects. The construction workheads for registration
are 'General Building', 'Civil Engineering', and 'Pil-
ing'. Besides being categorized under the relevant
workheads, contractors are further graded under the
appropriate financial classification, based on their track
record of completed projects, and paid-up capital. A
contractor's financial classification determines its ten-
dering capacity. Financial classifications of G1 to G8
refer to tendering capacities of Singapore $0.5, 1, 3, 5,
10, 30, 50, and above 50 million, respectively.
To overcome the absence of a published list of DB
contractors, purposive sampling was used to draw a
representative sample of DB contractors who are regis-
tered with the BCA using a judgmental selection pro-
cedure. A research decision was made to send the
survey package to the 208 General Building and Civil
Engineering contractors who were registered in the
G6, G7 and G8 financial categories. This group was
chosen because only relatively large General Building
and Civil Engineering contractors are expected to han-
dle DB projects that usually need substantial amounts
of resources.
The survey package comprised a covering letter, the
questionnaire, and a pre-stamped and self-addressed
envelope. The questionnaire was divided into three
parts. The first part of the questionnaire comprised
introductory questions for data classification. The sec-
ond part of the questionnaire comprised statements
regarding soft skills that consultants may need to pos-
sess in order to make them suitable for selection for
DB projects. These are the attributes identified in the
preceding section. Respondents were asked to indicate
the importance of the attributes on a five-point Likert
scale, where 1 represented 'very unimportant', 2 for
'unimportant', 3 for 'good to have', 4 indicated 'im-
2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 7 | 4, 389-398
Consultants' soft skills
393
Tabl e 1 Characteristics of respondents
Nature of company (workhead)
Civil Engineering
Building
Civil Engineering and General Building*
Total
Number of respondents
(overall)
6
30
23
59
Respondents
classified by DB
experience
Yes
4
26
21
51
No
2
4
2
8
Respondents classified by
size (Financial category)
G6
1
2
1
4
G7
3
11
5
19
G8
2
17
17
36
*Contractors who are registered in both Civil Engineering and Building workheads.
portant', and 5 stood for 'very important'. The third
part of the questionnaire invited respondents to add
further skills, which influenced their selection of con-
sultants and to also rate their level of importance.
In this study, before a full-scale industry-wide survey
was implemented, a pilot study to obtain feedback on
the questionnaire was carried out in December 1996
(see Ling et al. 1997). Based on the feedback received,
minor amendments were made to the questionnaire to
remove ambiguities and discrepancies.
RESULTS
Response rate
The survey packages were sent out on 1 April 1997
and contractors were invited to respond by 30 April
1997. Responses were received between 3 April 1997
and 7 May 1997. The 1-week extension was to allow
for delays in the mail. Sixty survey forms were re-
turned, indicating a response rate of 29%. The re-
sponses were checked and edited, and one
questionnaire that was not substantially completed was
discarded. Data from the remaining 59 returned ques-
tionnaires were coded and analysed.
Characteristics of the respondents
Table 1 shows the characteristics of the respondents.
Thiry respondents (51%) were General Building con-
tractors while 23 respondents (39%) were registered in
both General Building and Civil Engineering work-
heads. In terms of size, 36 respondents (61%) had G8
financial classification. These represented 33% of G8
contractors in Singapore. This indicated that a high
percentage of the largest contractors had responded to
the survey.
Among the 59 respondents, 49 provided information
regarding their turnover. The turnover ranged between
US$12 and 500 million and the total turnover was
US$4.5 billion. This is approximately 47% of the
output of the construction industry in 1996 (Construc-
tion Industry Development Board 1998). It can be
concluded that these respondents represented a signifi-
cant proportion of the contractors in the Singapore
construction industry.
Of the 59 respondents, 20, 43 and 37% were direc-
tors, senior managers and project managers, respec-
tively. This means that the respondents were quite
senior, and this gave further validity to the survey
results. Fifty-two of the 59 respondents indicated that
they had worked in the construction industry for be-
tween 2 and 36 years, with an average of 17 years. The
remaining seven contractors did not provide this infor-
mation. These figures show that the respondents had
accumulated much working experience in the con-
struction industry.
Of the 59 respondents, 51 of them had experience
with DB projects, and the most frequently cited num-
ber was two projects. The percentages of respondents
who had experience in the design and tendering stage,
construction stage, and in consultant selection were
86, 75 and 76% respectively.
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that
the survey captured the interest of people who had
been working on DB projects. The respondents were
responsible for a large percentage of construction out-
put. They were also holding senior positions in their
firms, and had practised in the construction industry
for a long period of time. These factors made the
ratings dependable, and the views expressed by the
respondents noteworthy.
Mean importance rating
Mean importance ratings for all the attributes were
calculated (Table 2). Besides the overall mean, the
mean importance ratings were also calculated for dif-
ferent categories of respondents. The first category was
2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 7 | 4, 389-398
3
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Tabl e 2 Mean importance ratings, Zand F values
Rank Criteria and attributes
Conscientiousness (H1)
7 Consultant produces design drawings speedily (H1.1)
4 Consultant obtains statutory approvals speedily (H1.2)
9 Consultant pays close attention to important design and construction details IH1.3)
6 Consultant persists in overcoming obstacles to complete a task IH1.4I
10 Consultant tackles a difficult assignment enthusiastically (H1.5)
Initiative (H2I
7 Consultant takes the initiative to offer suggestions to improve the design (H2.1)
Social skills IH3)
13 Consultant has the necessary skills to get along with others IH3.1)
Controllability <H4)
4 Consultant respects and accepts the DB contractor as the teamleader (H4.1)
12 Consultant follows the DB contractor's instructions and orders (H4.2)
3 Consultant responds quickly to the requests and instructions of the DB contractor (H4.3)
Commitment (H5>
14 Consultant is loyal to the DB contractor (H5.1)
11 Consultant is not working for another contractor who is participating inthe same DB tender (H5.2)
1 Consultant would revise the design in order to achieve higher buildability, and cost and/or time
savings for the DB project (H5.3)
2 Consultant is interested inthe DB job assignment (H5.4)
Overall mean
4.20
4.29
4.19
4.22
4.17
4.20
3.88
4.29
3.92
4.32
3.86
4.09
4.59
4.39
Respondent's DB
experience
Zvalue
11.81
11.61
10.85
13.06
12.86
13.41
10.08
16.03
10.39
14.39
6.38
7.78
18.20
15.93
Yes*
4.20
4.29
4.14
4.20
4.20
4.20
3.92
4.35
3.92
4.35
3.86
4.06
4.53
4.41
No*
4.25
4.25
4.50
4.38
4.00
4.25
3.63
3.88
3.88
4.13
3.88
4.25
5.00
4.25
F value
0.86
0.89
0.26
0.49
0.47
0.84
1.36
4.39
0.03
0.72
0.001
0.22
3.53
0.40
Size of respondent's firm
G6

4.50
4.75
4.75
4.25
4.25
4.00
4.00
4.25
4.25
4.00
3.50
3.25
4.60
4.25
G7'
4.32
4.42
4.37
4.37
4.37
4.26
3.79
4.32
3.79
4.32
3.84
4.37
4.79
4.68
G8'
4.11
4.17
4.03
4.14
4.06
4.19
3.92
4.28
3.94
4.36
3.92
4.03
4.60
4.25
F value
0.73
1.19
2.06
0.72
1.29
0.24
0.28
0.03
0.85
0.46
0.29
2.00
1.20
2.88
Workhead of respondent's firm
CE

4.00
3.50
3.50
4.00
4.33
4.17
4.00
4.17
3.50
3.83
4.33
4.83
4.83
4.17
BU

4.33
4.37
4.23
4.17
4.07
4.00
3.90
4.23
3.97
4.30
3.80
4.13
4.53
4.43
CE and BU

4.09
4.39
4.30
4.35
4.26
4.48
3.83
4.39
3.96
4.48
3.83
3.83
4.61
4.39
F value
0.87
3.07
2.38
0.83
0.68
3.40
0.18
0.55
1.27
2.09
0.67
2.26
0.50
0.39
*Mean ratings of respondents with DB (Yes) and without DB experience (No).
Mean ratings of respondents from different size of firms, i.e. G6, G7 and G8.
Mean ratings of respondents from different nature of firms, i.e. General Building, Civil Engineering and both categories.

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Consultants' soft skills
395
based on whether respondents had DB experience or
not. The purpose was to find out whether the results
obtained from the DB contractors were only relevant
to DB rather than construction business in general.
The purpose of categorizing contractors into different
sizes and nature of companies was to ascertain whether
these characteristics had influence on the results.
Categorizing of contractors into different sizes was
based on their financial classification (G6, G7 or G8)
instead of by turnover. This is because not all respon-
dents provided turnover information and turnover also
tend to fluctuate from year to year. If a respondent was
registered in both the General Building and Civil
Engineering workheads, and has two different financial
classifications, the higher classification was used for
the purpose of categorization. Categorization of nature
of company was based on workhead (General Build-
ing, Civil Engineering, or both).
Analysis of variance
Three analyses of variance were undertaken to test
equality of different population means. First, the mean
ratings of DB contractors and contractors with no DB
experience were compared. The null hypothesis H
0
states that the two population means are equal, and
the alternative hypothesis, H
1
is that the two means are
not equal. Using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS), the F ratios in the analyses of vari-
ance were calculated (see Table 2). The cutoff point
for theF distribution is F
1, 57
7.08 at =0.01. Table
2 shows that under respondents' experience in DB, the
F values for all the attributes are smaller than 7.08.
This means that the null hypothesis of equality of the
two population means is not rejected, and that it can
be concluded that contractors with and without DB
experience had rated in a similar manner.
The second analysis of variance was to test whether
the population mean ratings of contractors of different
sizes were equal. Null and alternative hypotheses were
also set out. The cutoff point for the F distribution is
F
2, 56
4.98 at =0.01. Table 2 shows that under size
of firm, the F values for all the attributes are smaller
than 4.98. It can thus be concluded that the three
populations (G6, G7 and G8 contractors) had rated in
a similar manner as their means were equal at 99%
confidence level.
The third analysis of variance was to test whether
the population mean ratings of contractors with differ-
ent workheads were equal. The cutoff point for the F
distribution is F
2, 56
4.98 at =0.01. Table 2 shows
that under workhead of firm, the F values for all the
attributes are smaller than 4.98. It can thus be con-
cluded that the three populations (General Building,
Civil Engineering, and both General Building and
Civil Engineering) had equal mean ratings.
Based on the analyses of variance, it can be con-
cluded that the results from different populations are
similar, and are not significantly affected by respon-
dents' DB experience, size of company and nature of
company. Therefore, to ascertain whether the 14 at-
tributes identified are important or otherwise, ratings
from all the 59 respondents were used for analysis.
Statistical test of the mean
Statistical tests of the mean were carried out to check
whether the population would consider the attributes
to be important or otherwise. For each attribute, the
null hypothesis that the attribute was unimportant and
the alternative hypothesis that the attribute was impor-
tant are set out below.
To test the null hypothesis H
0
: =
0
against the
alternative hypothesis H
1
: >
0
, where is the popu-
lation mean.
0
is the critical rating above which the
attribute was considered important. In this study,
0
was fixed at 3 because by definition given in the rating
scale, ratings above 3 (i.e. 4 and 5) represented 'im-
portant' and 'very important' attributes. As the sample
is large, standard normal distribution was used to test
the hypothesis at a =0.01. Based on the standard
normal distribution table, the probability is 0.99 that a
standard normal random variable is less than 2.33.
This meant that if the calculated value was larger than
2.33, the null hypothesis that the attribute was unim-
portant was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was
accepted. It was then concluded that the attribute was
important.
The results of the statistical tests are shown in Table
2. The calculated Z values were all larger than 2.33 at
99% confidence interval. The null hypothesis that each
of the attributes was 'unimportant' or 'good to have'
only was rejected and the alternative hypothesis ac-
cepted. It was, therefore, concluded that when select-
ing consultants for DB projects, it is important for DB
contractors to choose those who have all the 14 at-
tributes identified.
The experts in Ling's (1998) study evaluated 43
consultants and found that many of these consultants
possess all the soft skills identified in this study, albeit,
at different degrees. Contractors can easily observe
these attributes in consultants if they have worked with
them in past projects. If they have no previous working
relationships, contractors may instead ask for
references.
2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 7 | 4, 389-398
396 Ling, F.Y.-Y., Ofori, G. & Low, S.P.
DISCUSSION
The Theory of Contextual Performance specifies five
soft skills that affect performance: 'conscientiousness',
'initiative', 'social skills', 'control', and 'commitment'
(Borman & Motowidlo 1993). The results of the statis-
tical tests of the mean, which are summarized in Table
2, showed that contractors' way of selecting consul-
tants was in agreement with the Theory of Contextual
Performance. The Z-values which are all above the
threshold value of 2.33 show that the attributes have
been identified correctly.
The statistical tests showed that contractors re-
garded all the five attributes under the 'conscientious-
ness' criterion as important for consultant selection
(see Table 2). This study showed that when selecting
consultants for DB projects, it is important to choose
those who can produce design drawings speedily,
in order not to delay construction work on site, and
cause conflict among team members (Chen & Mead
1997).
When selecting consultants for a DB project, it is
also important to choose those who are able to obtain
statutory approvals speedily so as to ensure that the
project is not delayed. If consultants take a long time
to obtain approvals, the contract period continues to
run while construction work cannot proceed. The DB
contractor may have less time to undertake the con-
struction work, which may lead to higher costs being
incurred as a result of an accelerated programme or
payment of liquidated and ascertained damages.
The results show that it is important to choose
consultants who are likely to pay close attention to
important design and construction details. I n addition,
consultants should persist in overcoming obstacles to
complete a task. This result mirrors Borman & Brush's
(1993) finding that individuals who display persistence
and effort to reach goals perform better than those
who do not. Consultants should also be those who are
likely to tackle a difficult assignment enthusiastically.
This is in accordance with Borman & Motowidlo's
(1993) suggestion that effective workers need to strug-
gle 'tenaciously to reach objectives' and should 'refuse
to become demoralized by troubles'.
The statistical tests also showed that contractors
regarded the attribute under the 'initiative' criterion as
important for consultant selection. The conclusion is
similar to Putti's (1985) finding that when selecting
consultants for DB projects, it is important to choose
those who are likely to take the initiative to offer
suggestions to improve the design. This finding ac-
cords with the Theory of Contextual Performance
which states that 'initiative' is one of the variables
which contribute to good performance (Borman &
Motowidlo 1993, Motowidlo & Van Scotter 1994).
The results further showed that contractors regarded
the 'social skills' criterion as important for consultant
selection. The result provides support for Higgin &
J essop's (1965) finding that the process of communi-
cation within the construction industry is very impor-
tant and that problems arise not as a result of
techniques employed but due to the underlying rela-
tionships among the participants.
Contractors regarded all the four attributes under
the 'commitment' criterion as important for consultant
selection (see Table 2). I t was, therefore, concluded
that when selecting consultants for DB projects, it is
important to choose those who are likely to be loyal to
the DB contractor so that they will promote and
defend the interests of the contractor, especially to the
owners. This is in agreement with Bresnen et al.'s
(1986) finding that employers recruit people who have
loyalty to the company and the project.
I t is also important to choose those who will work
exclusively for the DB contractor and not be concur-
rently working for another contractor who is partici-
pating in the same DB tender. This may be because
trade secrets and strategies to win the tender are
discussed with the consultants during the tender stage.
These competitive strategies may inadvertently be dis-
closed to rival contractors if the consultants are also
preparing tender proposals with, and for, other con-
tractors participating in the same DB tender. This is
compatible with the World Bank's (1997) requirement
that consultants should not be hired for any assign-
ment that would conflict with their prior or current
obligations to other clients.
Consultants should also be those who are likely to
revise the design in order to achieve easier construc-
tion, and cost and/or time savings for the DB project.
This finding is consistent with the philosophy that DB
projects can be completed within a shorter time be-
cause the projects incorporate design features that are
less complicated (Arnison 1995).
It is important to choose consultants who are inter-
ested in the DB job assignment because they have
psychological identification with the job (Lawler &
Hall 1970). If consultants do not show interest in the
job assignment, there is no reason to evaluate or select
them to provide design services for the DB project.
The findings discussed above accord with the The-
ory of Contextual Performance which states that peo-
ple with soft skills such as 'conscientiousness',
'initiative', 'social skills', 'controllability' and 'commit-
ment' are able to perform well (Borman & Motowidlo
1993; Motowidlo & Van Scotter 1994).
2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 7 | 4, 389-398
Consultants' soft skills
397
This study concentrated on the soft skills that con-
tractors look out for when they select consultants for
DB projects. It is relevant to highlight that there are
other issues that they look out for, such as, hard skills,
fees and relationship factor (see Ling 1998).
One limitation of this study is the response rate of
29%, which is on the low side. Therefore, the data
gathered may not be truly representative of contractors
operating in Singapore. A survey of this nature suffers
from the possibility that the respondents did not really
think through the questions before answering, and
there is the possibility of bias (Nkado 1995). There
was also a lack of control over who actually completed
the questionnaires. There may also be different inter-
pretations of the Likert scale.
The limitations identified above are not expected to
nullify the findings of this study. This is because,
together, the respondents contributed more than 47%
of the construction industry output. I n order to lessen
the problem of bias, not thinking through before reply-
ing and having incompetent personnel reply to the
questionnaires, these were sent to the managing direc-
tors of the firms. The problem of different interpreta-
tions of the Likert scale was lessened by assigning a
description to each point on the scale.
CONCLUSION
This study identified the 'soft' attributes that need to
be considered in selecting consultants for DB projects.
The findings of this study were in agreement with
Borman & Motowidlo's (1993) Theory of Contextual
Performance. All the five soft skills identified were
supported, as seen from the survey results and statisti-
cal tests. The significance of this study is that em-
ployee selection, derived from the literature pertaining
to personnel psychology, was found to be applicable to
the selection and evaluation of consultants, although
they are not employees of the selectors.
This research has shown conclusively that contrac-
tors also look at consultant AE's soft skills when they
select them for DB projects. Therefore, AE should not
assume that they can satisfy the DB contractor just by
having the necessary 'hard' skills to undertake the
design.
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