Approximately 7.8 million people are employed by the construction industry, as of January 2023 — that’s about 2.9% of the U.S. workforce. Despite being a significant contributor to employment, the construction industry faces a unique challenge with an average annual turnover rate of 65%, as of 2021. Retaining talent in this sector goes beyond competitive paychecks. It involves prioritizing safety, effective communication, and providing ample opportunities for professional growth. Here are nine essential strategies to ensure your construction business retains its valuable workforce:
1.) Prioritize Safety and Well-being
In the physically demanding and often hazardous conditions of construction work, employee safety should be a top priority. Implement comprehensive safety training programs, establish clear safety protocols, and promote a safety-conscious culture. Regular safety meetings and toolbox talks can empower employees to actively participate in ensuring a secure work environment. By demonstrating a commitment to the well-being of your workforce, you contribute to their job satisfaction and overall retention.
2.) Foster Effective Communication
Open communication channels are crucial for building a collaborative and inclusive work environment. Create platforms where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas, concerns, and feedback. Regular team meetings, toolbox talks, and project debriefs can enhance transparency and ensure everyone is on the same page. Utilizing messaging apps can facilitate real-time communication, increasing transparency and building a sense of community among your construction workers.
3.) Provide Growth and Development Opportunities
Investing in the professional growth of your construction workers is a key retention strategy. Engage in conversations with employees to understand their career aspirations, whether in project management, site supervision, estimating, or specialized trades. Align training programs with real business priorities and offer mentorship programs to support their career development. By demonstrating a commitment to advancing their skills, you create a workplace where employees see a clear path for their progression, reducing the likelihood of seeking opportunities elsewhere.
4.) Create a Positive Work Environment
Cultivate a collaborative and inclusive work environment that values diversity. Encourage cross-functional collaboration, embrace diversity and inclusion, and organize team-building activities to strengthen relationships. Recognize and celebrate achievements in the workplace, whether through formal recognition programs or simple gestures like company-wide newsletters. A positive work environment fosters job satisfaction and a sense of belonging, contributing to overall employee retention.
5.) Implement a Performance-Driven Culture
Establish a performance management system that recognizes and rewards top performers. Actively manage low performers to maintain a high-performance team culture. Engage employees through surveys or focus groups to understand their preferences regarding recognition and rewards. By creating a culture of peer recognition and consistently acknowledging employee contributions, you motivate and retain skilled construction workers.
6.) On-Board Employees into a Positive Workplace
When you consider the fact that approximately 30 percent of the total construction workforce will be 55 years or older within the next year, it becomes clear that any future retention efforts will have to include new hires, too. You can only retain your older workers for so long before they’re forced to hang up their hard hats for good. This makes attracting and retaining new hires a mandatory practice.
The key is to commit yourself to employing a positive on-boarding experience that prepares workers for a long, successful career in construction. This process should also help your company prepare to take on new employees. When both sides of the on-boarding process are working together, it can lead to happier workers who don’t throw in the towel after their first challenge on the project site. Some effective on-boarding practices include:
- Prepping your workplace culture for new employees
- Investing in interpersonal skills training for existing workers
- Providing “reading literature” between the time you offer a candidate a job and they accept it
- Making a phenomenal first impression
- Debriefing workers after their first day to learn about their experience
By following these tips, you can help your new workers feel important from the beginning. Nobody wants to feel like they’ve been “left out to dry” on their first day, and reinforcing the idea that you, as an employer, care for your workers helps you secure your position in the “cool boss” category.
7.) Utilize a 90-Day Review Period to Gauge Workers
When it comes to the implementation of a 90-day review period, the benefits are twofold. First and foremost, this system allows you to gauge a worker’s strengths and weaknesses. This allows you to assess the best role for them on your team and ensure that they are an effective worker while simultaneously giving you time to determine whether or not they will be detrimental to the success of your projects. Second, a 90-day review period gives you time to build out your workforce in compliance with federal laws. For example, contractors with more than fifty full-time employees must follow certain regulations related to time tracking, recordkeeping, and more.
If you’re going to utilize a 90-day review period, be sure to commit yourself to building out a real program that can help new workers succeed. All too often, we hear stories about 90-day review periods that didn’t benefit the employee at all. They may have been introduced to coworkers and leaders on their first day and tasked with completing a general orientation that covers company policies only to be ushered out to the project site shortly after with little guidance. Failure to provide the necessary training not only leads to ineffective workers, it can lead to incapacitated workers, too. As you know, when your workers get hurt, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will come knocking.
8.) Invest in Training to Boost the Value of Your Workforce
Skilled workers aren’t going to suddenly materialize out of thin air to save your projects from contractual disputes. Skilled workers must be developed, which takes time, money, and dedication. If you are willing to sacrifice a small portion of your bottom line to offer more training, it could pay significant dividends in the future.
Training helps mitigate risks for contractors by increasing worker safety, reducing risk, and protecting assets. At a bare minimum, your workforce should be trained to:
- Recognize risk factors
- Avoid hazards
- Operate machinery
- Utilize the proper personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Call for help
- Spot potential defects
- Report malfeasance
- Prevent cyber threats
Not only will you be protecting yourself against potential disputes, OSHA violations, litigation, and more, but you’ll also be bolstering the value of your workforce. You can feel good about giving raises and promotions when you know that your team is second to none. We recommend providing various types of training, including on-the-job training, personal coaching, class training, video training, webinar training, and self-paced workbook training.
9.) Utilize Coaching and Mentoring to Retain Workers
Many contractors assume that if they’ve employed effective onboarding procedures, implemented a 90-day review period, and invested in training, they’ve done enough to ensure that new workers are successful for years to come. However, developing and retaining skilled workers isn’t that simple, and these are only the first steps in a process that could last years or longer. Even when your workers have earned your respect and confidence, offering coaching and mentoring opportunities is crucial to sustain their productivity for the long run.
Coaching occurs when you or another worker in a supervisory role observes an individual’s performance and offers suggestions, corrections, and words of encouragement to help them overcome challenges. Coaching is most effective when the coach can offer step-by-step instructions that help a worker nail down a specific process. On the other hand, mentoring involves one individual who possesses extensive experience and wisdom assisting another to realize their potential.
Typically, a mentor is paired with a mentee whom they continue to work with on an ongoing basis to fully develop their skills. In addition to teaching skills, the mentor will also help the mentee understand their place within the workforce and their future possibilities.
By incorporating these strategies, you can create a thriving work environment that attracts, retains, and develops top talent in the construction industry.
Angelo Cipriano
Senior Accountant
Angelo joined Cerini & Associates in August of 2023. Prior to working at Cerini and associates, Angelo has worked at two prior CPA firm’s and now has three years of experience in tax preparation, tax planning, bookkeeping and write-up services in a variety of industries including hospitality, construction, technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and the service industry.
