One of the best things about going into construction is that you can hire employees with a wide range of knowledge and experiences for the job. But when you increase the field of potential candidates, you have to know what to look for. Here are a few ways you can find employees with the right attitude, to help your contracting business grow and thrive.
Identify the Attitudes You Need
The first thing that you will need to do is make a list of the kinds of attitudes that you would like your employees to have. Sometimes it seems like every employee should have a certain set of skills and beliefs that make them ideally suited to the job. But given that jobs are so different within the same company, it’s important to distinguish the perspectives that work best with each job. For example, in a job where employees are expected to work together to achieve a task, you might look for people who do well in a collaborative setting. By comparison, employees who do most of their work alone might need to be ambitious or comfortable self-starting projects.
Learn How to Appeal to the Right Employees
Once you have a list of the skills and attitudes that you are looking for, you need to find out how to appeal to the employees who have them. Most of the time, employees are looking for similar things, regardless of the attitudes that they need to have for the job. These might include:
- Competitive pay
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Training opportunities
- Future growth
Take a look at what other companies are offering employees in similar jobs, and make sure that your business can meet those terms. Otherwise, you might consider talking about the benefits that the people with the right attitudes will get at your business. For example, someone who wants more decision-making power might be more likely to apply for jobs that specifically mention it.
Find Employees in the Right Places
If you’re not sure where to look for employees, start out by casting a wide net. Talk to people in your network and let them know that you are looking for employees to fill particular positions. If you attend construction conferences, look for people just getting into the industry and hand out your business card. Post job listings on the popular job search aggregate sites. Use your social media as a tool to make it easy for people to share job listings with others. Over time, you will develop a better understanding of which sources are most likely to provide you with the best candidates.
Make Your Job Descriptions Clear
These days, people might expect to complete dozens of job applications before they settle on one in particular. If you want to set yourself apart from other businesses, you can do so by making your job descriptions clear and informative. Take a look at job descriptions in your field and see if you can figure out what the job includes and what it pays, simply from the description. Sometimes employers put too much generic detail into the description, which makes it more difficult for employees to figure out which jobs are best for them. Keep your description relatively short, but full of valuable information.
Praise Employees for Maintaining Good Attitudes Over Time
Hiring employees with the right attitudes is one thing. Keeping them is another matter. It’s not enough to look for people to hire who have certain qualities. If you’re not willing to reward them for using those attitudes to better your business, you’re going to end up back at square one. When you see examples of your employees demonstrating a self-starting, collaborative or customer-oriented attitude, let them know that you appreciate it. That validation will give them the incentive they need to keep doing it.
Finding great employees is tricky, and all contracting business owners have to learn it. To get started on your contracting career, visit CSLS today!