If I had a nickel every time I’ve heard it’s difficult to find employees, I’d buy an island in the South Pacific. I don’t expect the construction labor pool to increase significantly soon, so we need to figure out how to adapt to the shortage.
When you’re looking for employees, make it clear that all applicants will be considered for the job. There is still a prejudice against women in construction although it’s much better now than it was 40-50 years ago. I can’t remember a single woman who was doing framing in those days. Now it’s common to see women working on job sites, both residential and commercial. Coaching clients tell me that when they hire women to help build the job, productivity improves. They’re also very successful in sales.
You should also consider hiring veterans. Almost all are old enough to have all the youthful nonsense out of their systems and are ready to step in and help you build your business.
It’s important to make sure your new hire is compatible with your business, in both personality and skills. Hiring the wrong person costs money. It costs more than just the time and expense you went through before hiring, because you’ll spend time and money to fire them legally and properly. There’s lost productivity when you hire someone who can’t do the job. The wrong person on a job can cost you goodwill with a client and, if the problem is bad enough, they’ll cost you your reputation.
If they’re in a management position, you might lose employees you’d like to keep, especially if you don’t catch and fix the problem quickly enough. If they’re in sales, you don’t want to think about the leads that were wasted, or worse, misdirected if they were dishonest.
How do you figure out what job applicants will be right for your company?
Background checks
There are limits to what can be checked and it varies by state, but you should at least consider drug testing as well as talking to past employers and investigating their driving records (if they will be driving to and from jobsites, especially if using company vehicles).
I still get upset at myself when I think of some of the people I hired in our construction company. My biggest disappointments were when I found out someone was being dishonest. If your state permits a criminal background check, that would be a good idea. I don’t believe that a criminal conviction should automatically prevent someone from being hired, but it depends on the situation and the history. It’s better to know than not to know. If they will be working in homes, it’s important that you check the sex offender registry which is public record.
Under federal law, you can conduct a credit check if you have their written consent, but if you decide not to hire because of the info on the credit report you’re required to let them know the source of that information. I have mixed feelings about making hiring decisions based on a credit check; many honest people have fallen on hard times and that shouldn’t be a mark against them.
Outside testing
I believe it’s a good idea to have applicants tested by an outside third party. These tests cover many areas of their personality: work ethic, honesty, character, etc. Are they a leader or a follower? Can they get along with others? Are they organized? Do they want to work alone or do they prefer the team concept? Do they follow directions? A better question: can they follow directions?
This won’t tell you if they can do the work, but it will give you insight on them as a person. The most important might be the ability to work with others, both on the jobsite and in your office. You want to know if they’ll be able to get along with fellow employees and your clients.
Contractor Staffing Source can handle many of these tasks. They are a recruiting company who will help you find employees, as well as provide testing and background checks. You can find out more about them here: Contractor Staffing Source.
Test their skills
When you’re hiring office staff you need to know if they have the skills necessary to perform the tasks you want them to do. You can find an outside firm that does this or develop a few exercises that you can ask them to run through during the interview. You want to know they can actually perform, not just talk about it.
On the jobsite, I’m not aware of any company that tests construction-related skills, and that’s important. Can they read blueprints? Do they know the tools and equipment of your trade? What kind of tools and equipment will they bring to the job?
Our Human Resource Manual (developed by Tim Faller) helps you answer those questions by providing placement tests for five production employee classifications (Entry Level Laborer, Carpenter I, Carpenter II, Lead Carpenter and Production Manager). It provides much more, like job descriptions, interview questions, training modules to help employees advance, and detailed job performance evaluation. Before you look, I’ll warn you that it’s not cheap, but it’s valuable; you can download and read the introduction before purchase. If you know of an outside firm that performs these tests, let me know. For existing employees, consider the Employee Evaluation System.
The more you know, the fewer mistakes you’ll make. When it comes to employees, mistakes are expensive, so do your research before you hire.
The knowledge and experience Michael Stone gained in his 60+ years in construction has helped thousands of contractors improve their businesses and their lives. He is the author of the books Markup & Profit Revisited, Profitable Sales, and Estimating Construction Profitably, and is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.
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