Who’s Your Competition?
by Jonathan McGaha | 27 July 2016 12:00 am
As business owners, we are all comfortable identifying who our competitors are. In the construction industry, it is especially easy. We see their trucks in front of the projects we didn’t land. Their names come up when we talk to our trade contractors. We may even run into them when we gather at association meetings.
We’re comfortable dealing with those competitors and know the rules of engagement. I seldom hear contractors get fussed about a competitor unless they think the person is cutting corners or playing a dirty game. If he’s above board and playing by the same rules we are, then we tend to have a feeling of camaraderie.
But there is an area of competition where I would argue you don’t even know who you’re competing against, and it’s putting you at a huge disadvantage. The labor market.
Too many contractors feel that the competition for workers is the same competition they see in the bid process. It’s the metal building contractor you face on every job. Or the fabricator. Or the metal roofing contractor.
The reality is the competition for workers is not even in your industry. That competitor is the trucking industry. Or computer repairs. Or retail management. The potential workers who don’t join our industry or get hired by you are finding employment in industries that offer advantages ours doesn’t.
The chief advantage of most of those industries is that it’s unlikely the person will get hurt doing the job. One of the biggest downsides to attracting workers to the construction industry is the difficulty and danger of the job. It’s not even that you could be seriously injured. It’s the constant bangs and bruises and scrapes that construction workers have all learned to live with on a daily basis.
That’s not the only reason we lose workers to other industries, of course. We also are hurt by the cyclicality of construction. I’ve written about this several times, but why would someone take a job in construction when the threat of losing his job due to a slowdown looms somewhere in the not-to-distant future? It could be a seasonal slowdown, when hours are cut or a worker isn’t needed for a couple of weeks. Or it could be a larger, full-scale layoff because the industry has been hit by one of its regular declines, and workers have to find new jobs, learn new skills and build new careers.
I also think that as individuals in the industry, we rely too much on organizations such as associations to move the needle on attracting workers. We wait for the big change and don’t recognize the small things we can do. Yes, supporting trade schools and other such efforts are important and can best be done as a group. But we are all salespeople as far as recruiting workers. If you attract someone to your company, you have brought them into our industry.
That’s your goal. Tell the story of why your company is a great company to work for. Tell the story of strong compensation and excellent opportunities for advancement. Show how you have been around for decades, and that you are loyal to your employees. Show those advantages, and we will individually move the needle on attracting qualified workers to our industry.
Just remember, though, you’re going to have to train them. If you expect to bring highly skilled workers into your organization, you’re not recognizing who your competition is.
Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/whos-your-competition/