Nearly 80% of construction firms will expand headcount in 2019, according to a newly released survey from the Associated General Contractors of America and Sage Construction and Real Estate.  That represents the third consecutive year of planned increases.

Employee shortages were listed as the top concern — by far – among construction firms. 78% say they are having a hard time filling salaried positions.

Competing for skilled talent is critical for successful project outcomes and maintaining competitiveness.  Two general approaches dominate the hunt for skilled staff…

Internal Recruiters

Most constructors have internal recruiting staff, or perhaps contractor recruiters.  They focus on inbound resumes from social media, career sites, and job boards.  Cost per hire is reflected in the fixed expense.

In essence, it’s a reconfiguration of classified advertising with social media pinging and an email overlay, favoring active job seekers.  The downside of this approach is that efficacy diminishes as technical skillsets or management scope of the desired hire increase.

External Recruiters

Most constructors will also ‘go external’ when the going gets tough and the skillsets or volume are beyond the scope of internal resources.  Cost per hire is reflected as a percent of salary.

There are downsides to this approach as well.  Assuming you deploy a qualified firm with experience in your market, the firm will immediately assign a probability to a successful outcome.  Favorable probabilities result in serious attempts to produce ‘enough’ candidates to accomplish a hire.  Unfavorable probabilities result in the firm abandoning the search after finding someone ‘to send in’.  If multiple firms are assigned, candidates will be approached multiple times, diminishing your brand reputation and possibly spoiling the search.  In any event, when it’s over, hopefully with a successful outcome, there won’t be any visibility as to what transpired in the marketplace, and how thorough the coverage was.

There is a third way

If you could optimize the desired outcomes of recruiting in a tight market, what would it look like?

Written search plan based on industry expertise

Thorough coverage of the intended market

Lower cost than internal or external recruiting

Persistent and thorough outreach to contact the right people in a professional manner, enhancing your brand reputation on every call

Skilled presentation of your opportunity to passive candidates who are ‘not looking’

Rapid presentation of qualified and interested recruited candidates that meet your project specifications

Comprehensive reports that provide insight regarding recruited and non recruited skilled incumbents in the desired market

Ownership of the candidates and market intelligence. Never a fee per hire, now or later

Our firm pioneered this ‘third way’, and companies like yours have been using our recruiting support services since our founding in 1994.  We’d be pleased to discuss current or future recruiting projects and recommend an appropriate solution.