Top Tips for SME Construction Company Growth & Recruitment

Recently I attended an event “Growth Through Local Enablers and Drivers” which was designed to provide construction industry advice and information to SME’s that are trying to grow.

This packed out event with local construction professionals in attendance from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire regions, had some excellent talks and relevant information for businesses wanting growth. It also highlighted the ongoing further requirement for skilled professionals in construction.

“Go Construct” Tool for Tackling Skills Shortages

One speaker from the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) highlighted Go Construct, an industry owned recruitment portal, campaign for attracting people into the construction industry.

The intentions of Go Construct are to inspire, discover, experience, and engage; and highlights the selling points of a construction career.

Selling points of a career in construction:

• The industry is on the up
• There are lifelong opportunities
• There is more to construction than just building something
• You can make your mark around the world
• It is rewarding – not just financially.

Go Construct - Construction Growth Stats Jan 2017

Construction Growth Through People

Another speaker talked of growth of construction through people highlighting these areas:

• New entrants moving into the market
• Experienced looking to rejoin the industry
• Young people aged 16-24, described as NEETS (Not in Employment, Education, or Training).
• Work experience placements

These strategies of adding talent to construction could be what is needed for the skills shortage in the UK to reach more of an equilibrium.

Procurement Advice to Subcontractors

A specialist in procurement spoke on procurement principles, which was aimed at subcontractor advice to win more tenders. Some examples of what the buyer is looking for in a tender are:

• A relationship / willingness from the tendering business to create one
• Trust
• Assurance
• Awareness (i.e. awareness of risk)
• Local authority expectations

The main focus seemed to be on the relationship aspect. A strong relationship gains repeat business as it creates things like trust and assurance.

One of the final speakers from a Main Contractor in the East Midlands spoke about their relationship with subcontractors, from the buyer’s point of view. Many of the views matched with the earlier procurement specialist, with emphasis on building a relationship.

Relationship Emphasis

Relationships are key for recruitment as well as other areas in construction (highlighted above), which is why Maxim Recruitment are at the forefront of meeting companies to understand the business, in order to sell the businesses that we recruit for in a better way when speaking to “hard to find” candidates for construction jobs.

How Can Maxim Recruitment Help Your Business?

We don’t just use “online” methods

With the ever increasing use of the internet and online tools such as LinkedIn, job boards and websites, it’s easier and easier to just send an electronic message to everyone and read about things online. However, nothing is more memorable than meeting someone face to face. A telephone call is also good, sure; but in person, you get to understand people better, and build a better relationship with people in your industry – for readers in this case, construction. We like to suit our clients’ needs by arranging a meeting, where possible, once we have clarified that we can help your recruitment situation.

Candidate attraction methods

I speak to many Quantity Surveyors and Construction Disputes sector professionals on the phone, and have many successful chats. We may even keep in touch a bit! But from my perspective in a business sense, if I can meet a great candidate face to face then they are likely to give me a call first when they consider looking for a different job – rather than the numerous other recruiters trying to “tap them up” on LinkedIn or elsewhere. I’m not saying I don’t use those online tools – it’s often the first essential step to create contact, but taking it one step further afterwards and arranging a meeting can often build trusting relationships that go further than some notes on a system. On top of this, I have recently created a system in which I keep in touch with good candidates at least once every three months with a conversation – whether they are looking for work or not. This also builds trust and creates a similar outcome.

Conclusion

Whether you are a business that is looking to bring new entrants into construction, or bring experienced professionals in, hopefully this article is helpful. If you are a candidate that would appreciate a recruitment company experience like the one outlined above, please get in touch or send us your CV – it’s confidential and we never send a CV without speaking to you first!

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Adam Cadwaladr
Recruitment Consultant – UK