FIFO - Is it all it’s cranked up to be??

Australia is a massive country, and due to our size and mostly baron landscape, employees in Australia are sometimes required to travel far and wide to seek suitable employment.

Everyone would have now heard of the phrase, Fly In, Fly Out (FIFO), a process where workers commute from homes and cities to remote locations for employment. FIFO is more commonly found in the employment sectors of construction, engineering, mining, natural resources and energy fields and locations can reach as far away as remote West Australia & Queensland to locations around the world.

FIFO rosters vary, although a common rotation for these workers is to work for 2-3 weeks continuously, and then have 1-2 weeks off back at home. People would often only undertake FIFO for one of two reasons. The first being if they need a change and want to get away from their own home for a long period of time, or secondly, and the more common choice is to chase the big dollars. FIFO employees are often rewarded with above normal salary packages to compensate for the inconvenience of travel and living away from home.

However, is FIFO all it is cranked up to be?

I have met quite a few FIFO employees during my recruitment career, both candidates and clients who undertake the rigorous journey for a short or sustained period of time.

I have listed some of the current pros and cons I often hear from these people:

Pros of FIFO employment:

• Excellent salary package
• Roster breaks of 1-2 weeks off can be worth it
• Amazing ability to save a lot of money due to minimal opportunity to spend
• Mateship with fellow workers
• Accommodation provided or accommodation allowance (not always applicable)

Cons of FIFO employment:

• Long stretches away from home, family & friends
• Lack of freedom on site and strict work policies e.g. non alcohol policy
• Unfavourable working conditions
• Long hours worked
• Associated stress of travel, remoteness and working conditions
• Hard to exercise or maintain a normal healthy routine
• Basic accommodation e.g. dongas, or expensive rental properties near sites

So whilst particular parts of construction, engineering and mining industries are booming in regional locations, potential FIFO employees must weigh up the possibility of large pay packets with long periods of travel and compare this to the stress of working in remote areas, sometimes in unfavourable conditions whilst working away from their friends and family.

Local roles might not pay as much as a FIFO role; however local employees will have the security of working and living in a familiar and safe environment. One thing to consider is that if you are a very family orientated person, then is the pay rise going to be worth the time away from family?

It is worth noting however, that the Mining Boom is expected to last for the best part of another decade, but it will not last forever. Candidates considering FIFO must assess the risks of jeopardizing long term career aspiration locally against short term financial gains that FIFO opportunities can provide.

Retaining good staff during a downturn?

Australia is facing the biggest slump in construction in over two years across various residential, commercial building and engineering sectors.

Construction workers are used to varying shifts in demand and supply of labour, it is a part of the industry they grow accustomed too very quickly and something that almost ‘comes with the territory’. However, really good staff are always hard to find and it is vital to keep your best workers satisfied and loyal to your company for upcoming projects.

Here are a few tips to consider when you want to retain staff during a downturn in work.

•Recognition
Good workers want to be recognised for their hard work and loyalty. A construction company may not always be able to afford financial rewards for its best staff, however, it may be a good idea to keep good workers happy with a simple recognition of a job well done. It lets your best workers know that their hard work has not gone unnoticed and they feel like a valued team member.

•Appropriate Rewards for Work
Construction Managers would be very surprised to learn that most of their good staff will not leave just for a better wage, instead a fair wage which is equal to their work load. If your Senior Estimator and Project Manager are putting in 70 hour weeks, then you might want to look at other ways to compensate them and keep them happy. You could offer stock options, incentive bonuses, flexible working times, increased holidays or tickets to sporting / entertainment events to name a few. Understanding what is a fair financial reward for work completed will allow your managers to better connect with staff, and can save you losing your next top employee.

•Promote from within
Promotions do not always mean offering a higher salary and changing a job title. Generation X workers in particular are now constantly seeking to move into management type positions; therefore if they have proved their expertise and it is justified, do not hesitate to act and offer a promotion. A timely promotion may stop you losing your next up and coming Project Manager to your rivals.

•Training and development
This is an area almost all companies overlook during a downturn. Training and development is a high level request from staff looking for a new job. More importantly, if you say you can offer it, then follow through with your promises. Too often employees are promised training and development at the interview stage and then it is never mentioned again. Whilst it may have slipped your mind, you can bet that your employees will not have forgotten.

•Send out employee satisfaction reviews
This is a primary H.R function which is often overlooked, and the information you gather may be the important information needed to stop your good employees leaving, and more importantly, taking other good workers with them.

•Act on employee suggestions
There is no point setting up a satisfaction review if you are not going to act on it. Often employees just want to be heard and it may be a simple request such as a flexible start time. If good employees continually ask for simple things and they receive no response, they will feel as if they work for a company who just won’t listen, and frustration builds.

The key to keeping good workers is to find a balance from all the points above and keep up honest and open communication. Listen to your employees, act accordingly to questions and suggestions, and try to learn why good people are leaving? Exit interviews are a great way to start!

Written by Patrick Page, Marketing Coordinator and Engineering Consultant for Conduit Recruitment.