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.
