By Charles Mullis, LifeThrive Performance Systems
“No, I am not. I’m in the construction business,” a contractor may say, when told what the headline for this story says.
Contractors who fail to consider the human factor in the construction business rarely reach a high level of success — nor do they remain in business for decades with stable bottom lines.
In our industry, the workforce is a special blend and it continues to change.
When I started my first construction company in 1972, high schools taught basic trade skills such as woodworking, electrical and plumbing.
Therefore, the work pool was rich and deep. Now you must search to find a secondary education institution that offers any training in the basic trades.
Our culture experienced radical changes in the late 1960s and the shift in workforce training was toward the new technological industry.
Would-be job candidates for construction jobs may not represent the best choices when it comes to training, stability and clean records.
Often those with less adaptability show up full of optimism and proclaiming experience and skill.
Traditional hiring practices are often expensive and out of reach for many small or family-owned businesses.
Hiring an executive or trained professional to conduct assessments, perform background checks, interview candidates and provide an evaluation can be expensive. It is simply not an option for most in our industry.
Much construction work is seasonal and tied to the economy, resulting in fluctuation in the workforce. Likewise, the labor pool fluctuates and is often transitional.
Last year, NEFBA began offering seminars to help members identify approaches that will help companies simplify and improve this process — regardless of revenues or company size.
The forums provide access to free assessments and simple programs that will cut down on turnover and improve profitability. This year, a series of seminars is scheduled to help employers evaluate personnel as well as clients.
They will take the guesswork out of 75 percent of most contractors’ turnover and profitability problems.
Today, it is harder to communicate a concept than it is reality. However, if tradesmen and workers do not understand this, a company most likely will not be in business in the 2020s.
As blunt as it may seem, it is the truth: “You have a job because I have a business. I do not have a business so you can have a job. Be an asset, not a liability and you can keep it.”
Call me “old school,” but this is often what needs to be heard. This is what I have been communicating to every new employee for more than 30 years — but in a way they understand it, relate to it and buy into it.
I made this concept a part of my hiring routine after years of frustration with the surprises that came as a new hire begins to feel comfortable on my crew and the real employee is revealed.
It may take about a month for the real worker to show up. The seminars will help find and recognize the best personnel choices by discovering the real employee before the hire.
Even with years of experience, it wasn’t until I began to use tools of discovering the human matrix that I got better at seeing the real employee during the interview process.
Learn how to do this with the upcoming seminars at NEFBA.