Employers

Attracting Top Construction Talent in the 21st Century

Two Construction Industry Veterans Discuss Tactics and Solutions to a Personnel Crisis - By Gary B. Warner and Frank Bruckner

Gary, everywhere I turn, I hear Presidents and CEOs of construction companies wondering, to me and among themselves, "How are we going to attract talent to our company?" "How can we keep our best people onboard?" "What can we do to find ways to bring more young people into our industry?"

Gary Warner is a nationally regarded Construction Industry expert on issues of employee recruiting, training, retention, and management development. His 35+ year career in construction includes long service as Vice President at Pizzagalli Construction Company. During his career at Pizzagalli, Gary developed one of the Industry’s premier management development programs, and produced the managers necessary to help the company grow from $20 million to $500+ million during his tenure.

He is a Life Director of the Associated General Contractors of America and most notably, co-founded the Construction Personnel Executives Group, the premier organization for senior level human resource executives in the construction industry today. Gary is a nationally regarded Construction Industry expert on issues of employee recruiting, training, retention, and management development. He brings his no-nonsense approach to problem-solving and a wealth of human resources and administrative management experience to various conferences and seminars nationwide as well as to private companies. Gary offers unique and deep insight into the challenges faced by businesses today.

Since his retirement from Pizzagalli, Gary splits his time between homes in Vermont and Florida and manages GBWResults, a national consulting practice serving construction organizations in matters of Management Recruiting, Organizational Design, Employee Retention and Employee Training.

Frank Bruckner is Executive Vice-President at Kimmel & Associates and has worked in construction executive search for more than 35 years and currently operates a nationwide search practice for Kimmel & Associates, the largest executive search firm working in the construction industry. During 2004, Frank served as a panelist at the ENR Top 1000 Contractors Leadership Forum in Chicago. He is a member of The American Council for Construction Education, and Construction Industry Advisor to the Construction Management Program at Western Carolina University.

He is acutely aware of the Industry’s deep concern for the current and future shortage of craft and managerial personnel, and devotes much of his energy working to fulfill Kimmel & Associates’ commitment to expanding opportunities for the next generation of leaders of the U.S. Construction Industry.

The following is an exchange between Gary and Frank which addresses some of the most pressing and long-term issues that the construction industry faces today.

Frank: Gary, everywhere I turn, I hear Presidents and CEOs of construction companies wondering, to me and among themselves, “How are we going to attract talent to our company?” “How can we keep our best people onboard?” “What can we do to find ways to bring more young people into our industry?”

Gary: I hear that, too, Frank, at seminars and in contractors’ offices.

Frank: It’s the 500-pound gorilla in the room these days.

Gary: I agree. In both cases, there is a great deal of work to do. But, fortunately, a significant part of the solution is already built into the best companies. Simply stated, contractors need to be a lot smarter about how they attract and keep the right personnel. They need to look at attracting and winning over new employees the same way they view potential construction projects.

Frank: I’ve told my client companies the same thing. But, go on.

Gary: Like any potential new client, a contractor has to “market” itself to potential candidates, and show how it is different in a positive way. There are many imaginative ways for companies to define and distinguish themselves from the competitors. Doing good, solid work and building a great reputation is the best starting point, but that doesn’t guarantee that candidates will flock to them.

Company promotional material, imaginative advertising, participation in job fairs, the utilization of an effective employee referral system and website are just a few ways contractors can help solve their recruitment problems. A lot of different things have to happen at the same time if a contractor is to be successful.

Frank: I’ve been a career consultant for candidates for 35 years and have always advocated to candidates that they chart their careers carefully and try to work for companies that foster an atmosphere of growth and energy. For their part, companies have to move forward and continue to demonstrate a sincere interest in the employees if they are to continue to challenge and keep their best workers.

Gary: You’re right, but even the company that creates that positive environment won’t always find the people it needs. You know better than most that another important way to meet personnel demands is to establish a partnership with a professional search firm.

Frank: As a headhunter, I couldn’t agree more.

Gary: I’d expect nothing less. A working relationship with a search firm is no different than the relationship a contractor has with its bank or bonding company. To work correctly, the contractor comes to trust the recruiter to introduce him to PMs, Supers, Estimators, etc. with the right experience who are at a precise point in their careers when an employment change makes perfect sense. Therefore, my responsibility, and that of any search executive worth his or her salt, is to be completely familiar with the position and skills required, to develop a strong understanding of the client and their unique culture, and the firm’s business plan.

Then, and only then, can the search for the right person begin. An uninformed search firm is not helpful; far too many search firms profess to understand the industry but fall far short when it comes to providing their clients with meaningful results in the form of qualified candidates. They end up simply wasting the contractor’s time, and as you know the cost of a “miss-hire” is astronomical in both dollars and corporate energy.

Frank: Gary, I have dozens of recruiting partner-client relationships around the country. Most of those relationships have lasted for years, in the case of your firm, Pizzagalli Construction, for more than 25 years.

I can tell you categorically that the advantage of that “Partner” relationship is the intimate understanding I develop of my customer’s intangibles – their company-wide shared value system, culture, and personality. I’m able to identify compatibility in those areas, bring candidates to my clients who have not only the technical skills to succeed, but the intangible assets to grow with the company over a career.

Gary: And that can solve one giant problem facing construction companies. Unfortunately, finding the right people is only half the problem. Retention of good employees is another element that is just as important if a company wants to move forward. From an employee’s first hour, a contractor must do everything possible to retain that top employee.

Frank: In your experience, what do the best companies do?

Gary: They have meaningful orientation programs, recognize their employees, offer competitive benefits, have a strong communication process and provide career training opportunities … among other steps. What sounds like a lot of work is actually a money and time saver. Most companies are slow to install these retention programs, but the ones that do all you just mentioned will keep their best people, by challenging and promoting them, and save money on bad hires and on those dreaded times when they don’t have the people in place to build their projects on schedule.

Frank: But what about the question you and I both keep hearing about the need to draw young people to the industry? How can we encourage kids to enroll in CM and Civil Engineering programs in colleges?

Gary: That’s the defining question for this generation of builders. It must be answered soon and with new and innovative answers. Not to throw too many numbers around, but here are some hard facts. The construction industry will need an average of 185,000 new workers for each of the next 10 years according to the Construction Labor Research Council. An additional 95,000 workers annually will be needed to replace current industry workers who are expected to retire during the next 10 years. Factors accelerating this trend are the higher average of workers in the industry [47] and the decline in the portion of the labor force in their prime working years of age 25 to 44.

Frank: And that’s not a problem for the future. Construction leaders I know agree that it has become very difficult to locate sharp young future management talent already. This isn’t a cycle that’s going to correct itself in three or four years. In addition to the numbers you cite, there’s the perception that construction isn’t a “sexy” industry. It’s a bedrock of society, to be sure, but the students aren’t drawn to it as they formerly were.

Gary: In sum, then, facts, trends, and speculation all support that a bad problem now will get far worse in the next generation or two. In other words, in five years’ time, you will have to fight harder, and pay more, to attract some of the declining numbers of students who emerge from college ready to commit their career to construction. In twenty years’ time, that will be far worse, unless we act now. It seems bleak, but there are ways out of the problem.

Frank: Right again. Fortunately, I believe that no industry has a bigger heart than the construction industry. Look at the manner in which the industry has responded in the past to crises: 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, floods, earthquakes: these bring out the best in construction people.

Gary: They really give of their time and talent. So, you’re saying that the construction industry needs to turn some of its urgency and ability to respond to a problem on itself.

Frank: Exactly.

Gary: Kimmel & Associates is making an effort of its own to help, isn’t it?

Frank: I’m very proud to talk about that. Last year we initiated the Kimmel Scholarship for students in construction. We provide grants of $1,000 to students each semester to pursue college education in a construction related field of study. To date, we have given 70 students at 43 colleges a $1000 scholarship to assist them toward their construction related degrees. The Scholarship is ongoing and we’re always taking applications at kimmel.com.

Second, in early December 2005, Kimmel & Associates concluded an 18 month effort and entered into a sponsorship agreement with the School of Construction Management, Engineering, and Technology at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. We are providing a $6.9 million donation to expand the school, endow professorships, and raise the number of quality graduates it can produce (** please see accompanying announcement of this in the Construction Industry Newsletter).

Also, in 2006, we will begin a National Internship Program. On a cost-free basis, we will establish a Website Portal which will allow construction organizations to connect with students in Engineering and Construction programs around the country. We hope that this will allow smaller companies to tap into the pool of new graduates each year.

Finally, we have been working with our local Buncombe Country School District to help them establish the first Construction Career Academy at the high school level here in Western North Carolina. Hopefully, we’ll expand the opportunities for young people here in Western North Carolina to enter our industry.

Gary: That’s a strong commitment from Kimmel.

Frank: Our president, Joe Kimmel, points out that everyone at Kimmel & Associates is fortunate to have the opportunity to give back to the industry that has treated us so well for decades.

Gary: It’s a vital industry. It’s a great place for people to invest their careers.

Frank: I know they’ll get it right.

Gary Warner is President of GBW Results, Inc., a national consulting firm specializing in providing assistance to Construction Organizations in areas of Organizational Structure, Organizational Development, Recruiting, Retention, and Training of both craft and management personnel. He can be contacted at gwarner@gbwresults.com.

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