Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent in Construction

I have been asked to speak on a topic that represents one of the most pressing issues in the construction industry right now: attracting and retaining talented people. While it may seem odd at face value to consider what a construction lawyer has to say on the subject, I suggest that my objective third-party observations over the significant time I have spent serving those in the industry are worth considering.

At the outset, one must acknowledge that recruiting top talent is different from retaining it. Nevertheless, the two must be integrated for a business to succeed since it does no good to recruit and train people you cannot retain. Here are some of those common denominators used by successful construction companies and their leadership teams to create top-drawer workforces.

Who and Where

First, one must know who and where to recruit. Knowing what qualities to look for in a new hire and where to find people with the right personalities matters. My own experience is that companies who look for broader character traits like a strong work ethic, leadership qualities and a willingness to learn should be weighted more heavily than a certain amount of time and experience in the trades. These highly valued, intangible traits are very hard to teach; but the construction skills needed to weld or operate a crane can be picked up with solid training.

Companies that foster independence and creativity as part of their culture are also big winners in the modern economy.

Importantly, there is a shortage of technical and trade schools these days; and high schools are still encouraging kids to go to college in far greater numbers than seems appropriate. This reduction in conventional ways to find workers requires companies to look elsewhere. Look in non-traditional places that have groups like veterans and former competitive athletes who exhibit the kinds of characteristics with which other companies have had success.

Culture versus Compensation

One of the most important things to understand about the modern workforce—and construction is certainly not exempt from this dynamic—is that pay is not the only thing on people’s list of priorities now. In fact, it’s not even at the top of the list in many instances. Other elements of people’s relationships with their employers are more important to the modern workforce; and this is especially true for younger workers.

Culture is one of the most important components of a company that people evaluate when deciding whether to join or stay with an employer these days. Employees want to know that the company respects them as individuals and values their work. Transparency is almost always part of any strong culture. Companies that foster independence and creativity as part of their culture are also big winners in the modern economy. In the end, companies that get and keep good people promote a culture where workers feel that the company values its people as much or more than their product and profits.

Willingness to Learn

The ability to be mentored and advance inside the company is also a very important element of both recruiting and retaining employees effectively. People are attracted to the concept of mentorship because it creates the kind of trusting relationship that promotes personal and professional growth. For many workers, the ability to advance into leadership and management roles is part of this process. A performance review process can be a useful tool to advance these important objectives. In the end, companies who create environments where mentoring can occur, facilitate training and provide a clear pathway for advancement find it easier to bring in people and keep them for the long run.

More than Money

A final impactful issue is company provided benefits. While take-home pay matters, the benefits provided are significantly more important now. Too many companies include benefits as part of the pay package when selling them to workers. This is done to make it look like they are paying more in compensation. Selling benefits as pay, however, represents a misunderstanding of modern employees who see benefits as a reflection of company culture.

Does the company operate on schedules that allow employees to have family and personal time to keep balance in their lives? Does the company provide health care benefits and, if it does, is this provided in a meaningful way or on the cheap? Are there programs which provide opportunities to go back to school? Is there a pension, 401(k) plan or other plan to help prepare for retirement? All of these questions get at the larger issue of whether the company values the employee enough to take care of them beyond their paycheck or if the transaction is a simple commodity-based trade of money for labor. Provide good benefits and decouple them from the pay package so you can accentuate that the company cares about workers as people.

The construction industry has a significant labor shortage. It’s an employee’s market, so getting the right worker is as hard at it has ever been. The above list represents just some of the core concepts to gain and keep good employees. There are other important aspects to the solutions that work; and these will be discussed as part of my presentation at the MBCEA conference. I hope you will be able to join us.

Josh Quinter is a commercial litigation attorney, with a focus on construction law. He is also a member of the Board of Directors and a department chair at his law firm, Offit Kurman. Active in a number of construction trade and business organizations, he presently serves as the president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association (MBCEA), serves on the MBCEA national board and is the organization’s general counsel. Contact him at jquinter@offitkurman.com or for more information go to www.offitkurman.com/attorney/joshua-quinter.