▶️I have had experiences where I think "if only I had not hired that worker". Like in any industry, one lousy worker affects the job. And a construction project isn't open to mistakes or a team without cooperation.
Good construction workers may be hard to find and often construction companies need them in a hurry. I know as a construction team manager with solid project management, you must have uttered these words. Watching unskilled, awkward, and unteachable employees work under you can be a frustrating experience.
✳️ Let's not get started on the disadvantages of having bad workers. Construction is expensive and every mistake tends to cost thousands of dollars and has a huge negative impact on the construction project.
With real talent scarce, you may feel as if you don’t have any other choice. But I'm here to show you it's not impossible to find great employees, all you need is a good understanding of how the construction sector works and effective communication with insiders like us.
⚠️Here, we will show you the red flags in real time you should look out for when looking for hired help. By showing you certain tips, you can be guaranteed a good result.
By carefully selecting who you hire, you can build a strong and safe team. And a strong team means a great final result within efficient work hours. And then, you get to enjoy more amazing gigs.
✅Here are some of the most common mistakes you should avoid when hiring construction workers.
NOT KNOWING WHAT SKILLS YOU NEED
This one is pretty straightforward.
✳️When hiring for a construction project, it is important to know what skills are needed in order to avoid making a mistake. There are many factors to consider when determining the necessary skills for a project, including supply chains, external factors, project teams, and internal factors. By taking the time to understand these factors, you can set realistic goals for the skills needed and avoid hiring workers who are not qualified. Additionally, this knowledge can help you to create a more efficient and effective construction team. By understanding the skills needed for your project, you can ensure that your construction team is able to meet your expectations and complete the project on time. Before going ahead and start looking, always think through EXACTLY what you need.
Think through the tasks your new employee will perform and consider what would be the perfect set of skills (and attitude) for it.
Having an "ideal" person in mind will allow you to create a better job post with personalized content in real time, and formulate the questions that will better filter your candidates.
WAITING UNTIL YOU REALLY NEED THEM
Waiting till you're in desperate need before hiring help can be dangerous. If you're backed in a corner, you lose some control. By control, I'm referring to the choice of workers or bargaining power. This can be bad.
⚠️ Because you wait until the last minute, you will be happy to have almost anyone on their team regardless of their qualification or work ethics.
Try, as much as you can, to foresee the future demands, hire calmly, and have enough time to teach/educate your new workers.
USE THE RIGHT HIRING TOOLS
Many contractors don't use all the available tools when seeking help. After exploiting one or two options, they begin to make up their minds on who to hire.
👉🏻This isn't advisable to have a single source of recruitment. To hire the best for your specific niche, try different channels until you find the perfect method. Consider: Seek, Indeed, Facebook, Instagram, use social media ads, ask for referrals, form in your own website, etc...
You can also consider training workers from scratch (to make sure they are fully immersed in your company culture). In this case, try job fairs, visit local tech schools, colleges, referrals, and a bunch of other tools.
⚠️ By using a broad range of outreach tactics, you can cover a wider range of possible workers.
Imagine it this way, each type of search covers a section of the population, the more sections you cover, the larger the number of workers you get. By using all these sections, you can reach more people at once.
This gives you a much better selection pool, and your chances of finding the right person are better.
VAGUE JOB DESCRIPTIONS
When advertising for construction workers, you should give as many details as possible. You won't find the perfect candidate for the perfect job if you do not describe the job well and what is expected on the job site.
⚡You should make a clear description of the skills you need and the role you expect them to perform and what are your performance expectations.
NOT HAVING INTERVIEWING SKILLS
Many construction employers hardly have interviewing skills and judge based on gut feelings. Although these feelings may sometimes be right, you should always leave it to chance.
You should put in the effort when interviewing.
⚡Ask relevant questions relating to the job. You can find standard questions online if you do not know what to ask, then you develop a scoring system.
You can also use already existing team members to help you determine who to hire and who you wouldn't need.
As a good boss, you should ask the right questions and remain unbiased in selecting. You shouldn’t let an excellent talent go for no right reason.
Some of the obvious key performance indicators that show expected high labor productivity in construction can be discovered in the interview.
NOT USING REFERENCES (AT ALL OR PROPERLY)
⚠️ Not using references is dangerous - but using references can be dangerous too.
One significant benefit of using recommendations is that the person referring to a construction worker already has an understanding of their skills. This makes it easier for you. All you have to do is make up your mind if you want them or not.
However, you must make sure the reference is trustworthy.
Often workers offer their mates as a work reference (I guess you know what happens).
Once you’ve checked the information source, or you found your own references by calling previous employers, you know what to expect. With references, you may find out that a worker is highly skilled but lacks good work ethics, for example. You can now make an educated choice of what you are going to do.
⚠️ Pro tip: Do a trial, regardless.
You don't want to end up stuck with employees with low productivity rates. If you see productivity growth you can end the trial.
HIRING ON SKILLS, NOT CHARACTER
You should understand that construction isn't a one-person job. No matter how skilled a worker is, they still need to have good character and work ethic.
Employees often forget that skills are teachable but the changing character is often a huge effort.
⚠️There are many different factors to consider when hiring a construction worker. Of course, it is important to look for someone with the necessary skills and experience. However, the character is also an important consideration. Construction work can be challenging and demanding, and it takes a certain type of person to thrive in that environment. Look for someone resilient and adaptable, someone who is willing to put in the hard work to improve productivity. These are the traits that will help increase productivity on the job site, and that is one of the most important things to consider when hiring a construction worker.
Always ask the worker about how was his relationship with his old employers and coworkers - it's usually a good indicator.
Employees should correspond with the company values and other team members so that the workflow continues without any hiccups.
Using new technology similar to construction management software or project management software can accelerate the process for future projects.
KEEP IN MIND
Hiring the right construction worker can be the difference between a successful construction team and a failing one. We don’t want workers who in the end will make us regret ever meeting them. With the steps mentioned above, I’m sure you won’t make the mistake of going for the wrong workers.
