With construction needs increasing in 2022 and a large decrease in skilled construction workers, companies should expect a competitive hiring market this year. It can be challenging to discover qualified candidates and hire them before your competitors do, especially as new construction jobs are being created and an aging workforce must be replaced with new employees.
Fortunately, there are many strategies you can implement into your recruitment process to attract skilled workers to your business. It’s vital that your company hires new employees to meet construction deadlines so projects can be completed in 2022 and beyond. Here are some top construction recruiting tips we recommend at Austin Nichols Technical Search.
Why Do You Need a Recruitment Strategy?
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, it has been a challenge for many construction companies to recruit top talent and meet growing demands for goods and services. Many companies have very specific skill sets in mind when attempting to hire for a position, creating a narrower candidate-job pool.
Changing job expectations has also been a challenge when recruiting new employees. Nowadays, many companies have taken on hybrid or remote work setups, and for businesses that have maintained older working models, candidates may be less willing to take on these positions.
Overall, you need an effective recruitment strategy that includes newer and more creative ways to target future talent, therefore maintaining a competitive advantage in the job search market as you fill construction jobs.
How to Create a Recruitment Strategy
Many factors go into creating an effective recruitment strategy for your construction business. Hiring planning in the construction business should include evaluating needs, foreseeing any gaps in skills or your current headcount, and making adjustments to meet the goals of your business.
Many companies rely on recruiters or personnel in their human resources department to find top talent that will help their business to grow. However, there are additional steps construction companies can take to ensure they are hiring the best and brightest candidates even amid a competitive job market or when unemployment rates are low.
Establish a Candidate Persona
When you’re looking to hire more employees, you must define what your ideal candidate looks like. This will ensure that the best and most qualified candidates are the ones responding to your job postings.
A candidate persona is a fictitious profile created using data, research, and other facts pertaining to a specific role in recruitment. This persona can be used to hone your job description by including skills, qualifications, characteristics, educational background, interests, and other facts that you’re looking for in a candidate.
When you can narrow down exactly what you want in a future employee, you can tailor your recruiting strategy to attract the right people.
Outline All Job Descriptions
Once you’ve established what positions you need to hire for in your construction company, it’s time to write job descriptions for each. These descriptions should set minimum requirements that you’re looking for internally in your company. This process may seem simple, but writing poor job descriptions will only lead to poor candidates.
Each construction job description should be presented clearly so that your recruitment strategy stays on track during the search and interview process. The job descriptions should include elements such as:
- The exact skills you are looking for in each position
- Whether the position is permanent or temporary
- Knowledge, experience, and likely backgrounds you’re looking for in candidates
- Educational and professional qualifications
Your job descriptions will also help applicants to know whether the construction job is right for them or not, so it’s important to be thorough and clear when outlining them.
Create a Recruiting Dashboard
In a tech-driven world, most workers will be searching for job listings online. A recruiting dashboard is a simple tool that can be implemented to provide your construction company with an immediate pool of potential candidates. This can be especially beneficial for companies with a sudden demand for labor and need to hire for a position quickly.
Even if your company is not actively hiring, the dashboard helps to build a roster of potential workers that you can reference if you need them.
Develop an Employee Referral Program
Many employee referral programs are a leading source for finding quality candidates to hire. Because referrals are such an effective recruitment strategy, it’s a good idea to give your current construction employees incentives for recruiting other professionals they may know in the industry.
The best way to do this is to create a structured program at your construction company that provides bonuses to existing employees who recommend someone. If the company hires that person, the existing employee is then paid the bonus.
There are many benefits to having your existing employees refer candidates to your company. Your current employees not only know what types of candidates you’re looking to hire, but they also know the type of employee they want to work with. In addition, an employee referral program is known to reduce recruiting costs, produce a lower turnover rate, create better workforce planning, and provide a faster hiring time.
Launch an Internship Program
Construction companies can partner with local colleges to find candidates for internships or apprenticeships within the company. This is a very straightforward method of construction recruiting, because companies can teach and train qualified workers who may end up in a full-time position later on.
Successful internships benefit both construction companies and students. Businesses can choose the best candidates to join their team after the internship program is over, and students gain experience they can use on their resume and put toward finding a career.
Offer Lucrative Salaries and Benefits
When hiring, your construction company should offer competitive salary rates and benefits packages to beat others in the industry. Candidates want to work for companies that offer appealing perks and provide a space where they can develop and grow in their careers.
When putting together a benefits package, keep in mind how your company will handle vacation days, overtime hours, signing bonuses, medical and retirement benefits, volunteer hours, and more. Your company should also consider work styles and how to balance time working in the office versus at home.
Now that remote work is a very popular working style, it’s highly beneficial for construction companies to be flexible in this capacity as much as they can.
Build a Positive Work Environment and Training Programs
When hiring in the construction industry, you should also consider any retention initiatives necessary for keeping new and current employees around. Construction companies need to offer exciting perks and company culture so employees feel safe and comfortable in their work environment.
A positive work environment includes enhanced on-site working conditions where safety and well-being are a top priority. A strong safety culture and record can show that your company is committed to protecting its employees, making your business more attractive to potential candidates. It’s also important to offer your employees training programs that allow them to continue their education, learn, and progress in their careers.
A flexible and enjoyable work environment shows that you value your employees’ well-being and hope to retain them long term.
Work with a Specialized Recruiting Firm
One of the most important recruitment strategies for construction companies is working with a specialized recruiting firm. Recruitment firms can match candidates to certain job positions and provide referrals to companies out of a larger pool of candidates. Working with a construction recruiting firm also saves your business time and money during the recruitment process.
Austin Nichols Technical Search specializes in recruiting candidates for jobs in construction, engineering, and manufacturing. We expose job-searchers to top positions in each industry and give employers a wider candidate pool to choose from. For more information, contact us today or browse our current construction job listings.
