Posted by on Jul 11, 2017 in Business | 0 questions

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Those who own a construction firm know that you need to do a lot of work in order to stand out in the industry. A lot of people, including prospective clients, tend to see construction businesses as a homogeneous mass, as though one business is really not all that different from another.

A lot of people in this business will try out several things in order to stand out from the competition. They may boost their marketing strategies, or give their website a complete overhaul. They may rethink their branding. Start to offer more services. Slash their prices. Get feedback from past clients that they can use to impress prospective clients.

All of these approaches are good, of course. But there’s one area of this business that you need to focus on more than anything else – your workers. The workers are the people out there actually, y’know, doing the construction. And if your workers aren’t the best in town, then you’re going to have a hard time gaining a good reputation and making your business noticed above all the others in any positive way.

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So you need to make sure you’re able to hire the best workers around, and that you’re able to actually keep those workers for as long as possible. Here are a few essential tips!

Get networking

Those who own construction businesses often know other people who own construction businesses. And if they don’t know other owners, then they certainly know other people high up in the industry! If you don’t, then you probably need to work on your networking skills. Don’t underestimate the importance of networking when it comes to finding the right people to fill vacancies in your construction business. Other people in the construction field will know great workers who are looking for a new job. The more people you know, the more likely you are to know someone who has worked with a prospective employee – which can be useful when it comes to getting the info you need on them. More on that later!

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Improve your vacancy advertising

Never underestimate the power of a well-written (and well-marketed) job posting. This is a key part of making sure you get the best people attracted to your business. If your job posting sounds too simplistic or is riddled with errors, then your askance view towards quality may turn off some great workers. Make sure your job postings are as detailed as possible while making sure that candidates know that your company inspires and looks after their employees.

Be thorough with references and background checks

A lot of employers ask for references from those applying for a vacancy, but most of them don’t seem to spend much time checking those references, if they check them at all. But checking those references is an essential element to ensuring that you get a hard worker with a truthful written job history. Get into contact with their previous employers and make sure you’re asking them the right questions about their former employee.

Another thing you might want to consider is getting a background check on the candidate. While it’s not always advisable to dismiss a prospect simply because they have an unsavory history, checking may just highlight something that you should definitely know about. It can protect you in many ways. Let’s say you hire someone with a recorded history of alcohol abuse via a DUI conviction. If that person then drinks on site and injures someone as a result, then you could be sued for either hiring someone with such a history or having not checked that history.

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Consider contracted labour hire

If you need a few workers who are top-tier, then things might get tricky. Hiring one or two new workers is a long, complex, and expensive process. But hiring a new team? That’s something else. A way of ensuring that you save money and get the quality you need is by looking into workforce labour hire. Labour hire agencies specialize in recruitment; they have more time and resources to ensure they work with the best people possible that businesses that simply deal in the construction end of things! Outsourcing construction labour is a good way of ensuring you get workers when you need them, and is something to consider if your current team ever needs extra temporary help.

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Keep a close eye on the competition

Yes, we did imply earlier that working with the competition can help in some ways. But one thing you need to remember about the competition is that they’re also looking to hire the best workers possible! You need to keep an eye on what they’re offering, because a candidate for the job you’re offering is probably also going to look at what the competition is offering. They may offer more pay, or better working conditions, or more interesting projects, or better prospects of working up the career ladder. All of these things will affect your chances of hiring workers!

Make sure your safety standards are second to none

If candidates get even the slightest hint that your safety standards aren’t up to scratch, then your chances of hiring them will drop dramatically. Of course, there are construction firms out there who don’t put that much of a premium on safety, yet are able to hire people because they hire in areas where people are desperate for the work. We shouldn’t have to say this, but we will: don’t be that firm! The safer your construction sites, the more likely it will be that great workers will be eager to work for you. More safety also means more worker satisfaction. Speaking of which…

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Monitoring worker satisfaction

The more satisfied your workers are, the more productive they will be. Some employers will take this to mean that they should increase their workers’ pay. This will always be appreciated, of course, but satisfaction doesn’t have the clear-cut cause-and-effect relationship with salary that many people assume. Worker satisfaction on a construction site is essential, so make sure you take the time to get feedback from your workers to ensure they’re as safe and unstressed as possible. You already have a headstart of sorts: construction workers are among the most satisfied with their work among all career types!