Six Ways to Attract Workers to your Construction Company
The construction industry faces a critical shortage of skilled labor. Finding, recruiting and retaining your future workforce may seem daunting, but there are ways to attract good hands to your business. While advancements in robotics promise to revolutionize the industry, it will be years before these technologies are accessible and affordable for most construction companies. So, in the mean time, plenty of new workers are needed and the industry must attract and interest them.
The Workforce Challenge
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction sector needs to hire an additional 430,000 workers in 2024 to keep up with demand. This has led to a highly competitive market where companies often poach skilled workers from each other. When we ask our build industry clients how they’re finding prospective hires, the majority tell us most prospective hires come from current employee referrals. This tells us how skilled labor is searching for opportunities to advance their careers, and word-of-mouth is still alive and well!
A Glimmer of Hope
Despite the challenges, many high school graduates are considering the trades instead of the popular college route with its high cost and uncertain return on investment. The internet makes exploring alternative career paths, including those in the trades, and researching prospective employers easier than ever. This suggests construction company websites and social media efforts are useful for more than new business development. They have become tools of the human resources trade!
Strategies to Attract New Talent
- Leverage Social Media and Digital Advertising: Create engaging content that highlights the benefits of a career in construction with your company, such as competitive salaries, job security, and opportunities for growth. Post on a variety of platforms to build a deeper bench to replace senior level hands nearing retirement.
- Highlight Career Development Opportunities: Showcase stories about current employees who have advanced in their careers. Highlight training and development programs your company offers.
- Partner with Educational Institutions: Collaborate with high schools, trade schools, industry associations, and community colleges to create apprenticeship programs and internships.
- Offer and Promote Competitive Benefits: In addition to competitive wages, offer enticing benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and flexible working hours. Put all this info on your website to get visitors interested in applying.
- Create a Strong Employer Brand: Building a reputation as a great place to work is no easy task. An attractive company culture requires ownership-driven core values, on-boarding initiatives, by-in at all levels of the organization, positive reinforcement and incentive-based rewards. Spotlight events. Share testimonials from current employees and highlight your commitment to core values, corporate citizenship, safety, diversity, and inclusion.
- Point your website at the audience: Utilize your website to communicate with prospective hires and your current staff. Post job openings and make it easy for visitors to apply! Your website can be a powerful tool for building your work force.