The axiom of “good people are hard to find” has never rung truer than today, especially in construction, where there are more existing management positions available than there are people to fill them. Anyone who has had to hire key pieces to their team knows it can be a challenging process and the savvy managers have a retention strategy to attract people to their organizations and to keep them there.
What does a retention strategy look like? It can be formalized into a document and lived by like a mission statement of sorts, but it’s really more of a mindset. You have to learn what makes people happy — and unhappy — in their work life and specifically in your company. Then, to the greatest extent possible, maximize the things that make your employees happy and minimize what makes them unhappy. Sounds pretty simplistic, but it’s surprizing how many people are on the move because of a failure to follow this model.
Critical relationships
There is a time-tested truth that says employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers. A person’s day-to-day interactions with their manager is critical to their sense of value within the organization and their overall happiness. Treated with dignity, respect and appreciation by their manager, an employee generally enjoys their job and is happy to stay. Treat them otherwise and you remove any reason for loyalty. Think about the project manager who is known as someone who gets things done but is always abrasive with his or her team and subcontractors. You find yourself having to hire new estimators, co-ordinators and site supervisors because people get fed up working with someone who is always difficult. That project manager may indeed get things done but at what cost?
The compensation package
The other key motivator to stay in a job or to look elsewhere is, you guessed it, compensation.
Getting salaries right is critical to retention. Does that mean an employer who pays premium salaries can expect to see little turnover? Not necessarily.
Premium salaries are often given because there are higher expectations for a job. More money for increased expectation is fair play as long as you are transparent. For example, when you’re interviewing a potential site super, inform them they’re getting a premium because the main job they’ll be working on is behind schedule and you’re expecting them to bring it back on track.
Naturally, companies that undercompensate can experience higher turnover too because of perceived unfairness. Experienced construction professionals have an idea what they are worth and what their peers are getting paid elsewhere and don’t want to feel under valued. To retain staff, employers should understand fair market value for a position and aim for the fair pay sweet spot where staff feel respected without any extra expectations.
However, compensation does not refer to salary alone. It also refers to benefits and amenities that allow people to focus on their job and feel like they are valued as an employee.
After all, most people have to work to support themselves and their families but their lives outside of work are also important. Feeling like their employer cares not only about job performance but also their challenges outside of the office or jobsite can go a long way towards feeling appreciated.
Perks can include things like flex hours so your project manager can drop off his or her child at daycare, or comprehensive benefits so a site supervisor doesn’t have to look for higher wages to pay for what’s not covered in your company benefits. Daycare, workout facilities, onsite food and other enhancements to compensation contribute to an employee’s sense of value and make them happier to stay with their employer and less likely to seek that kind of compensation elsewhere.
Having a retention strategy doesn’t assure you that people won’t leave your organization but not having one certainly increases the odds they’ll leave. Getting to the heart of what makes your people happy and promoting that will lead to greater retention of key staff. Give people more reasons to stay and they generally will.
Albert Aragona is partner and executive vice-president at Harbinger Network Inc. and has been an active recruiter for over a decade. Send comments and Industry Perspectives column ideas to editor@dailycommercialnews.com.
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