I have had experiences where I think "if only I had not hired that worker". 

Like in any industry, one lousy worker can affect the whole crew. 
And construction projects aren't open to mistakes or a team without cooperation.

Good construction workers may be hard to find and ofter companies need them in a hurry.
Plus, watching unskilled, awkward, and unteachable employees working under you can be a frustrating experience. 

Let's NOT get started on the disadvantages of having bad construction workers.
Construction is expensive and every mistake tends to cost thousands of dollars - we all know that.

With real talent scarce, you may feel as if you don’t have any other choice.

Luckily I'm here to show you it's not impossible to find great employees, all you need is a good understanding of how the industry works. 

Here, we will show you the red flags you should look out for when hiring construction workers by showing you certain tips, you can be guaranteed a good result. 

You must be asking: Who is this guy to give advice anyway?

  

   I'm John Macedo, director of Spades Labour Hire.

Finding great people is a must for any Labour Hire Company, that is why we take it so seriously. 

Plus, Spades was built on the reputation of providing labourers and tradesman with a helpful mindset. 
Now you know where yo go if you need Labour Hire in Sydney ;)

Check out Spades Services 

Before we go ahead: Remember how the process goes:

Carefully select who you hire ➡️ Have a strong and robust team ➡️ Generate great final result. ➡️ Create a great reputation for yourself and your company. 

In other words: It all starts with hiring the best people. IT IS IMPORTANT!

Here are some of the most common mistakes you should avoid when hiring construction workers:

1 - NOT KNOWING WHAT SKILLS YOU NEED

This one is pretty straight forward.
Before going ahead and start looking, always think through EXACTLY what you need.

Think through the tasks you need to be done and 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 and formulate the questions that will better filter your candidates. I suggest you using a real great worker you have onboard (or had in the past) and describe their skills on the job post. 

2 - 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.

Note: For construction in Sydney, posting your job 3-2 weeks before job start seems to be Ideal.
If you post too far in advance you tent to have the first applicants losing interest before job start. 

3 - 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 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 on your own website, etc...

You can also consider training workers from scratch to make sure they are fully immersed in your company culture and know-how. (or to get it cheaper). 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, and this gives you a much better selection pool, improving your chances of finding your guy/gal.

4 - 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.

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.  

5 - 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 for your niche 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 want. 

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. 

6 - NOT USING REFERRALS (AT ALL OR PROPERLY)

Using references can be dangerous - but NOT using references is 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.

7 - 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 changing a worker's character is often a huge effort.
 
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.

CONCLUSION

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. 

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Thank you for reading.

For more tips and tricks on how to hire and manage your team, keep reading Spades' blog

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