Partnering with AGC
That’s why we were happy to partner with the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) with their annual workforce survey to gauge how contractors see and address their most pressing people concerns.
An industry looking for a lot of good recruits
The survey results clearly show that almost all contractors continue to find it difficult to fill open positions. Just under 95% report it’s challenging to find employees.
We often hear from customers and prospects about the industry’s recruiting challenges, so it’s not surprising that over 54% of firms say that lack of talent is contributing to project delays. That’s a big impact to a company’s bottom line and to the industry’s ability to bid on and complete work, especially as more federal infrastructure projects come online.
While firms report almost universal hiring headwinds, over 65% say they expect to increase headcount in the coming year. Given the challenge around filling open roles, that certainly seems like a tall order.
But it’s something construction and contracting companies are clearly working on as they turn to new tactics and techniques—like adding online social media strategies to target younger workers and engaging with career building programs—to try and find that elusive talent.
HR tech is being underutilized
HR tech adoption continues to represent an opportunity for companies to boost their efforts, streamlining the work around recruiting and hiring. Only about 20% of contractors say they have implemented software like our Applicant Tracking System that helps automate the job distribution and hiring process, bridging the gap between hiring tactics and results.
One notable statistic included in the report is around attrition. Notably, over 50% of respondents indicate their new hires either quit very quickly or don’t show up for work at all.
So even though they might be having some success getting people in the door, at least some of those new employees aren’t staying. Hiring is costly when you factor in the time and resources required to find and onboard a new employee. When people don’t show up or don’t stay around long enough to be productive team members, those costs get sunk and the process has to be repeated…over and over again.
There are many possible reasons for no shows and high turnover including poor hiring decisions, poor onboarding, competition for workers and so on.
Some of this can be addressed with HR technology like Arcoro offers, which helps companies be more efficient and impactful with their workforce activities. This includes streamlining your hiring and onboarding process which provides a great candidate experience, showcasing your company’s culture.
Companies are focusing on training employees
One area where companies seem to be taking positive steps is in the training and upskilling of workers. Training is both a productivity and a retention tool, so it’s exciting to see 42% of firms either increasing or initiating spending on training and development–and this number increases to over 50% for larger firms with more than $500 million in annual revenue.
Just over a quarter of all firms have also increased their focus on online training, and that can help proliferate learning. As more young people enter the industry, knowing career planning is available, and a clear path to advancement, can help increase your retention rates as well as give you an edge when recruiting new workers.
At the same time, just under 38% indicate they haven’t made any changes to their training program, which could indicate training is overall an area of lower priority.
The reason may be a function of companies not having the right resources in place–both human and technological–to focus on training and other recruiting and retention strategies.
Some companies aren’t leveraging HR expertise
Overall, 22% of respondents indicate they don’t employ HR staff, meaning there aren’t people in those organizations working specifically or solely on workforce challenges. For almost a quarter of the industry, someone is trying to recruit and retain a workforce while also focusing on other critical work, like running payroll or managing a team or jobsite.
An absence of HR staff could be the reason that half of the companies surveyed say new hires aren’t showing up or quitting quickly.
For larger companies–those with over $500 million in annual revenue–that number is still significant, but it drops to 38.27%.
For firms with revenue less than $50 million it’s 52.27%.
About 85% of firms over $500 million employ HR staff but just around 70% of firms less than $50 million do.
Even when a firm employs HR expertise, we often hear from HR staff that they are spending significant time delivering administrative tasks manually, such as keying in time sheets or entering new hire information. That really limits the capacity for people to focus on recruiting, company culture and retention, and it can lead directly to that costly turnover so prevalent in the industry.
The winning combination
When we look at this year’s data, Arcoro sees an industry trying very hard to bring in new talent, trying new techniques, tactics and technology but without necessarily combining those efforts with the professional focus necessary to maximize their investment. Firms having a combination of HR staff and HR technology may be the most likely to win the war to hire, manage and grow valuable, elusive talent.
