Construction is a hazardous industry, and risks such as heavy robotic machinery, automated controls, and next-generation dangerous materials are becoming more prevalent. Many injuries stem from inexperience, so companies must effectively train employees before they begin on-site work.
Onboarding resources involves much more than completing a background check, drug screening, and verifying capabilities. Without an effective onboarding process, most candidates will either wash out within the first 90 days or become unproductive resources executing construction below the organization’s expectations.
Organizations creating an onboarding process program need to evaluate the recruiting, hiring, and training costs to determine which candidates will contribute to increasing the company’s profitability and not become a dead expense.
Understanding Recruitment Challenges in Construction
Like any industry requiring specialized talent and skills, the construction industry faces considerable shortages. Similar to cybersecurity, more unfilled jobs continue because of the lack of qualified and experienced talent.
The construction industry’s adoption of more advanced tools, including robotics, requires a unique skill set than in previous years.
Recruiting construction talent starts with changing how the firm markets the various ways to lure talent from other technology fields, including cybersecurity, information technology, and education. Well-educated talent struggling to find consistent work in their field would find a new construction career rewarding if they can use their knowledge and experience in their current field.
Ultimately, construction firms developing a new strategy to lure talent from other industries must present a clear and direct expectation of the work. People who work indoors, 9 to 5 hours, and have weekends off will face a harsh reality in construction. However, people like systems engineers who are used to building data centers, building global networks, and working within security operations centers already have experience in 24×7 shifts, working weekends, and becoming more flexible and available to meet company deadlines.
Enhancing Onboarding to Keep Top Talent
Similar to the medical industry, acting, and technology, it’s essential to establish upfront expectations of roles within the construction industry. If candidates don’t have an accurate understanding of the role, they’re likely not going to work out long-term.
Establishing upfront expectations, goals, and insight into the first year on the job creates a culture of two-way trust. Another critical component is ensuring the construction firm consistently communicates its message regarding mentorships, specialized training, and onboarding equipment certification programs.
Another valuable element for construction executives and managers must also add to the day-one culture by appointing designated mentors and work partners or buddies. Regardless of job title or position within the construction company, every employee must feel secure, especially during new-hire onboarding.
Along with creating a mentorship program, managers and construction executives must create a positive culture promoting teamwork and collaboration across departments. Promoting a “one-team” approach makes new hires feel honored to be part of something. Having an executive take a few moments during a new hire to lay out his vision for teaming goes a long way.
Developing a Positive Day One Culture
Every layer within the construction firm needs to deliver the same interlocking message to all new employees. Recently hired employees who hear different versions of the same story will question their decision to join the construction firm.
This is where an elevated onboarding experience comes into play. Construction firms that leverage hiring gifts — such as backpacks, shirts, pens, and hats — help create a welcoming culture for all new employees. Employees who feel welcome are likelier to want to be part of the team and stay. If an employee feels unwanted or the firm forgot they hired them, this will lead to an early exit.
Like many starting a new job, employees have questions regarding health benefits, vacation days, and job opportunities. HR departments, training teams, and benefits coordinators may often be unavailable. Having a designated mentor or work buddy gives the new hire access to someone who has been through transition and gets help with all questions to help place the new employee at ease.
Strategies for Long-Term Workforce Stability
People who join a new construction company, even during orientation, want to understand their future, even during the first week. Presenting training opportunities, a formal career development process and opportunities to grow within the company helps establish trust between the new hire and the firm.
Developing a career path for new employees in the construction field needs to start day one. Establishing and sustaining an onboard heavy equipment training and certification program gives the new employee time to learn how the equipment is used within the firm. Like other enterprise businesses, construction firms have a way of conducting business. Developing this boarding training cycle helps the firm teach new hires “their way” of doing things. This course of action also creates a wonderful bonding moment for all parties.
This career path opportunity strategy must be part of a broader communications plan. A corporate communications plan needs to include channels for performance acknowledgment that are not limited to individual accomplishments. Team acknowledgment helps create a strong bond within the employee ranks. This culture of communication builds teams, not just individual contributors.
Scheduling Time for Safety Briefing and Orientation
Ultimately, construction can be hazardous work. Construction firms that successfully hire engineering or technology talent must spend an extra front-end cycle on safety. All employees joining a construction company know accidents will happen on the job. Preventing these accidents starts with the firm’s commitment to establishing new hire safety programs and ongoing events promoting a safe work environment.
Executives and construction managers must meet deadlines; every lost work day costs the construction firm money. The support system will assist employees who suffer workplace injuries, particularly union workers.
Even with those work-related dynamics, no one wakes up and plans to have an accident.
New hires, especially those new to construction, need the reassurance of executives, work buddies, mentors, and construction managers that safety will always be a top priority.
Establishing a safety-first culture also becomes an excellent recruiting tool for hiring managers. People looking to join another construction firm will research if there is a good or bad safety history, pending lawsuits, or high turnover.
Having a strong safety culture also becomes a competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Construction recruitment, hiring, and training must be part of the firm’s strategy for sustaining and growing profitability. The approach involves avoiding candidates who continue to fail and setting solid expectations upfront.
Recruiting talent from industries continues to become a successful strategy as construction tools become more technical and complex.
