If you’re struggling to fill open roles, you’re not alone. Construction is in a full-blown workforce crisis, and there’s no sign of it stopping anytime soon. To put it into perspective, construction vacancies between 2017 and 2023 almost doubled from 200,000 to 380,000. And to make matters worse, around 41% of the workforce is expected to retire in the next six years.
Unless you’re new to the industry though, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. High schools started dropping their vocational programs years ago, and four-year degrees became the expectation. But the worker shortage we’re seeing now isn’t just a societal problem. Historically, the trades haven’t always been a great place to work, and while that’s changing fast, the average person doesn’t necessarily know that.
So how do we make sure there are enough skilled people around to keep this vital industry moving forward? It starts by transforming hiring systems at the company level.
Key Takeaways
- The construction worker shortage isn’t just an external problem, but an internal one. Construction business owners need to tell a better story to prospective talent. For example, why should they want to work for you?
- An applicant tracking system (ATS) will not only help you find the right person for each role, but will also distribute your jobs, make hiring more efficient, and provide a quality candidate experience. Plus, it creates a pool of qualified candidates you can draw from when new roles open.
- Job descriptions shouldn’t read like a legal contract. Write them in plain language that gives context and answers common questions applicants might have.
The Three Pillars of a Construction Hiring System
When you post an open role, you’re not just competing against a sea of other construction companies for talent. You’re also competing to bring people from other industries to you. The problem is, most construction businesses’ hiring systems are too tedious and uninspiring to attract many qualified applicants. Plus, recruitment marketing is boring and demanding.
Your company may be the best place to work, but if your hiring system doesn’t showcase that, you’ll have a hard time getting people to click “apply”. To change that, we have to rethink your system from the inside out, starting with how you market your company.
Pillar One - Story
There’s so much more to hiring than copy and pasting a job description onto Indeed. People want to work for companies that are competent, positive, and trustworthy–and building that image starts by telling the right story.
If you could speak to the world, what would be your elevator pitch? What would you tell people about your trade and what it does for the community? What does a career look like with your team? If someone wanted to know the honest good, bad, and ugly of your trade, what would you tell them?
These are the kind of questions that help you craft your employer brand, your “story”. A good story should raise awareness, clear up misconceptions/stigmas, and clearly explain why your company is the right choice. Think of it as peeling back the curtain just a bit. People don’t necessarily work because they want to, but because they have to, so what’s in it for them if they work for you?
And remember, you’re also competing for talent outside of the construction industry. There are plenty of people in retail, food service, or gig work who would consider moving to a career in construction if the right opportunity with the right company presents itself. If you can market yourself in a way that’s welcoming and exciting, you’ll have a better chance of attracting those individuals.
A great place to start upgrading your story is by posting about your open roles on social media. A simple graphic with a photo of your team and a short message about why you’re a great place to work can go a long way in generating interest. At the end, add a link to your job description (and make sure it’s simple enough for anyone to understand), then repeat when a new role opens up. Just like people want to see testimonials before they buy a product, prospective employees want to know if employees are happy working at your company. The top things people want in a career are meaningful work, a good relationship with their leader, and recognition. So, create your post around what those things look like at your company.
Pillar Two - Software
You’ve crafted a great story, now you’ve got an influx of people applying to join your company. How are you going to organize and manage everything? Thankfully, we’ve got software for that. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is going to be your go-to for moving people along a standardized, streamlined process (ideally with certain automations in place to reduce your admin burden).
Standardizing your hiring process with an ATS software does three things:
- It removes the burden of manually screening every resumé from your team,
- It builds a talent database
- It creates a better candidate experience.
So many people are (rightly) frustrated by most hiring processes today because they don’t respect people’s time and effort. If you’ve ever uploaded your resumé only to be asked on the next screen to manually type everything out again, you know the kind of frustration I’m talking about. And to add to the problem, a lot of companies ‘ghost’ candidates who don’t win the role, without so much as a polite rejection email.
When implemented well, software makes the application process clear and simple, so people enter and exit the process with a positive impression. What’s more, every application sent in is a new prospect captured. Instead of starting from scratch every time a new position opens, you can refer to the talent base already within your ATS and reach out to anyone who seems like a good fit.
Pillar Three - Screening
Once the application window has closed, the screening process begins. The first step is reviewing your applications. One of the great things about an ATS is that you can bake your criteria right into the software. If someone doesn’t meet your must-have criteria, their application will be immediately disqualified, and a rejection letter will automatically be sent. On the flip side, you can also direct the software to flag resumés that include your nice-to-haves, so you don’t have to manually go searching for those yourself.
After your top candidates have been chosen, the second step is conducting interviews. The challenge here is learning how to go beyond a simple skills and vibe check to find people who are a true culture fit. There are plenty of charming people who interview well but don’t have the skills to back up their charisma–and there are plenty of people who may not interview well but have a lot of humility and grit to bring to the table.
Part of what I do as a consultant is build interview guides that help companies nail down exactly what kind of values, behaviors, and personality traits they’re looking for. This way, they can pull that information out of candidates with real evidence, not just vibes. It’s all about going beyond gut instinct and asking questions that reveal exactly what you need to know.
The Number 1 Mistake Companies Make in Their Job Postings
Imagine you’re walking down the aisle at the grocery store, but every box of food is turned sideways. All you can see are the nutrition labels, so you have to spend the afternoon turning everything around just so you can get a feel of its look and taste. This is what it feels like to scroll through most construction job postings online.
A job description is often the first touchpoint prospective talent has with your company. But all too often, these descriptions look more like a demanding legal contract than a compelling advertisement. I think this is because job descriptions were originally designed to minimize legal risk and protect companies. But just because they technically are a legal document doesn’t mean they can’t do double-duty as marketing material. Leave them with HR and take the time to write them like a real marketing advertisement.
A good job posting should:
- Answer common questions applicants may have
- Put the role in context with your company and trade
- Explain what makes your company different
- Let people know what’s in it for them
This is how you turn a boring nutrition label into a tempting box of snacks.
Wrapping Up
From housing and infrastructure to energy and agriculture, there’s no part of society that could function without construction. And while you as a business owner can’t fix the entire industry, you can fix your hiring systems. By transforming how you attract and screen prospects, you’ll be able to fill positions faster and retain your best talent for longer.