How to Find Construction Workers for Your Business

When you run a construction company, your workforce is the backbone of your business. After all, you provide a service, and without qualified individuals to carry it out, you’ll experience nothing but complaints and canceled work orders.

Therefore, you need to put time and thought into the hiring process, especially in today’s competitive market. There’s no shortage of job-seekers, but you don’t want to waste time and money on the unreliable and undedicated. Here’s how to find construction workers for your business without going gray in the process.

1. Online Job Searches and Outreach

Most job-seekers turn to the internet as their first step in finding new work these days. However, it’s not enough to hop on Indeed.com and post a thinly worded listing. Highly qualified candidates tend to discriminate, and many have been burned by work that sounds enticing on paper but becomes a nightmare after hiring.

Where should you start with your listings? Begin with your company website and LinkedIn page or other social media pages. This approach has the unique advantage of attracting candidates who have at least some familiarity with your business’s mission and vision. This space also allows you to highlight the attractive features of working with your organization.

If you go with a commercial job board, you’ll probably need to pay for your listing. Seek out those focused on recruiting construction professionals, as the industry’s unique demands will net you more qualified individuals on such sites.

2. Community Job Listings and Word of Mouth

Given the nature of the construction industry, you won’t be hiring many remote workers who can live anywhere in the country. You need workers who can get hands-on in the field.

Therefore, look to your local community when seeking workers. You can find multiple small local papers with attractive advertising rates. Many such publications are cost-effective because they specialize only in publicizing various wants and needs.

Depending on the scope of your work, you might not need to pay to advertise at all. Many local grocery stores and city office complexes feature community memo boards to post print advertisements for general labor.

While you probably won’t have the most luck finding a licensed plumber or electrician via this route, you can find folks to haul bricks and assist with general laborer tasks. Please ensure you check with the venue to ensure there’s no charge to hang your bulletin.

Check out day labor sites if all you need is general extra hands. While you’ll have to pay a fee to use a temp agency, most organizations do an excellent job of pre-screening candidates regarding their experience and knowledge. There’s a lower chance of them than the average civilian reaching the job site without knowing how to swing a hammer.

3. Creating an Apprenticeship Program

If you want the best workers, why not build them from the ground up, like new construction? The right apprenticeship program might take some work to establish, but it can guarantee you a labor force trained in how you want the job done.

First of all, determine if you want to find an educational partner such as a local trade school. Many such institutions have internship programs, and they need companies where they can place students.

Then, establish a mentorship program. This step requires you to get your senior staff on board with training these recruits. Most apprenticeship programs are paid, so choose a fair rate with the promise of an increase when trainees complete the program.

4. Recruiting Away From the Competition

One way to find highly qualified team members is to recruit away from the competition. But you must tread lightly. After all, businesses depend on their reputation, and you don’t want to earn one as an organization that bad-mouths other people.

However, there’s nothing to stop you from offering a competitive salary and benefits package and advertising it on your company’s career information page. Nor is there any rule preventing your current workforce from talking up the perks of working with you.

It’s a wise idea to offer your current team members incentives for providing qualified referrals. You get a leg-up on preventing personality conflicts in the field this way — staff won’t recommend recruits who they can’t stand outside of work.

5. Affiliate With a Union

Finally, if you need the highest-quality workers you can find, consider affiliating with your local union. Such organizations require membership fees, meaning the folks you hire are dedicated to professional excellence enough to put their own money into it.

Plus, workers you hire from a union already possess the licenses and certifications you seek. You also know more about their respective years of experience, making your vetting process less burdensome.

Find Construction Workers for Your Business With These 5 Tips

If you want to find construction workers for your business, you have several options. Follow the five tips above to locate qualified staff.