Colm Allen
by Colm Allen
I want to be the first to come out and say this: Isn’t it time for employers and employees to admit that loyalty and stability, as we knew them, are long gone. Most hiring authorities know that in reality, they are in no position to offer a long term career to their new or existing employees any more. And knowing this, most employees, have no intention of staying one day longer than the day they are approached with a better opportunity. But yet both sides play the game – pretending it will last forever. And any doubt of this went out the window during the recession when everyone, owner and employee, did what was required to survive.
Not too long ago, a good Super was golden, carried over as a valuable asset in the time gap between projects. It seems to us, these days, a Super is often a line item commodity, bought and sold as merely an expense under the General Conditions. If we have nothing for you, then “bye-bye”. We see clients trying to postpone a newly hired Super for 4 weeks to save a few dollars on the bottom line. Because of Preconstruction complexities, Project Managers are less transactional, but even they are being viewed more and more as a commodity. You’d be amazed, when we ask candidates about the number of jobs they had in the last decade, how frequently the relationship was terminated by the employer to save overhead and not by the employee.
The truth is, our industry is a project driven environment, so why not have a real dialog about opportunities and retention. Doesn’t it make sense for all parties to be up front about expectations and to enter into employment agreements acknowledging that these position are not meant to be permanent? Perhaps employers should offer candidates a commitment of time, a tour of duty, if you will. He or she commits to staying to get that school built or the hospital retrofitted. The construction industry is a perfect place to implement the Tour of Duty concept. We already do it to a degree, with projects having very specific start and end date.
Old school employers will still scan resumes to screen-out “job hoppers” but they can end up excluding potential candidates. Locating talent with the right amount of experience and a winning attitude is hard to find, so employers need to be creative to bring staff on board. If a candidate’s resume shows they’ve had 4 jobs (average 3 years) in the last 12 years, then considering hiring that candidate for a 3 year “tour of duty” or your closest project timeline. You can always extend the tour of duty if the employee hits it out of the park.
Let’s be clear – a tour of duty is also a good thing for candidates. It allows them the opportunity to expand their portfolio of work/projects without being penalized for change. They can take on a project with an explicit goal of moving toward growth in another area of professional development. Say they’re an Assistant Super now. They can let you know they’ll take a job with the explicit goal of working their way up to Lead Super on their next “Tour” – your job is to ensure they get the training to do so. It is a win/win for employer & employee as both parties are clear on end dates and can plan next steps accordingly.
Candidates don’t necessarily WANT to move on, they may just want the OPTION to move on or be more proactive about how they grow their career. Now I hear you say “this is giving candidates all the power”. Here’s my point, great candidates already have the power. Employers only have power to create and promote an environment that will retain good staff. The employees get to choose if they will stay.
However, the real change in this scenario happens in the timeliness and openness of your conversations with potential candidates before they become an employee. You should be clear about your business needs, what the job is, what they can expect to receive from this alliance and what the end game will be upon completion of their “Tour”. If there is enough synergy, and realistic expectations are set, – why wouldn’t candidates want to work for a company that will proactively help them grow their career and put them in a place to do better work and increase their earning potential? They’d probably do another Tour in a greater capacity, which is a win for the Company.
Call me if you’d like to chat about this, and I’ll share all that I know with you, 617.422.0888.
If you are interested in looking into this concept of a “Tour of Duty” check out “The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age” by Reid Hoffman. It’s a great book about forming trust and understanding your employee’s career OBJECTIVES and how to identify and connect mutual goals.
Colm Allen is President and Owner at Construction Recruiters, Inc. in Milton, Mass.
