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The construction industry’s well-documented skilled labor shortage isn’t just a headache for contractors. It has very real implications for clients as well.
When contractors cannot adequately staff their jobs, then schedule, safety, and quality suffer. This is particularly challenging for industrial clients in the Gulf Coast region. In this sector, craftworkers need have both the experience and the qualifications for working inside the fence.
To overcome staffing shortages in this industry, contractors need to offer more than just good pay. And to ensure their projects stay on track, owners need to know that their project partners have robust plans for recruiting and retaining skilled labor.
Getting to the root of staffing shortages
A variety of factors are contributing to the skilled labor shortage. Chief among them is a wave of retirements as Baby Boomers exit the field. Schools, industry associations, and contractors have been working overtime to promote careers in construction to young people. But for now, labor shortages are complicating project schedules across the country.
The internet has also made recruitment and retention a challenge. It is easier than ever for craftworkers to compare pay rates between companies. But they aren’t just chasing higher pay. Craftworkers are also looking at factors like stability and advancement opportunities.
And finally, the industrial sector has its own unique staffing requirements. Security measures have increased over time, and with good reason. However, that means craftworkers must satisfy conditions that far exceed site needs, including stringent background checks, physicals, TWIC cards, and safety council requirements. This takes time and poses hurdles that craftworkers may not be willing or able to clear on their own.
Giving craftworkers a reason to stay
At Baker Gulf Coast Industrial, we strategically invest in staff recruitment and retention not just to deliver on what we promise, but to also reduce risk for our clients. By maintaining a solid bench of skilled and qualified craftworkers, we are better able to meet our obligations to our clients.
Our retention efforts start by screening applicants to ensure they will be a good fit for our team. We look for experience and know-how, but also attitude and drive. We also offer an exceptionally competitive compensation package to attract skilled talent. And we conduct frequent check-ins throughout the onboarding process to ensure new hires stay on top of the paperwork and qualifications process.
We know that loyalty isn’t built on compensation alone, which is why we strive to give our co-workers a reason to stay after they are hired. For example, we invite our co-workers to share their concerns as well as their successes. In providing safe jobsites, we empower our co-workers to take an active role in documenting and removing potential site hazards. And our structured training and mentoring programs provide a defined path for advancement while ensuring we maintain a highly skilled team.
Perhaps most important, we actively strive to provide steady and reliable work. By always having the next project lined up, our co-workers don’t have to worry about where they’ll go after their current job wraps up. That stability enables our team to focus on the task at hand, leading to better outcomes on our projects.
The end goal is to ensure we have experienced, determined, and credentialed co-workers to mobilize at a moment’s notice and tackle clients’ most pressing challenges. It’s key to getting jobs done safer, smarter, faster, and better to create more value and provide a more enjoyable experience for our clients.
For more information about how BGCI can help with your next project, visit www.bakergci.com, call (225) 465-5500 or email Lance Arvel, Business Development Manager, at arvell@bakergci.com.
