How to Employ the Right Crew
What is Onboarding?
Onboarding is the process of taking in and settling a new employee into an organisation. The onboarding process varies from industry to industry, with the main goal being to help the new employee settle into the job, understand their role and know how perform their new role effectively. It is a process that is not just about the employee’s first day, but a long-term process that will hopefully see the employee hired for the long run.
Working in the construction industry can be dangerous, with some employees needed to work at a height, in a hazardous area or with high-powered equipment. Even experienced employees are exposed to risk daily, so it is especially important to understand the increased risks to new employees who are still settling in.
New-hire construction workers experience work-related injuries more frequently than any other type of employee. This not only put your newest and most vulnerable employees at risk, but they can impact the financial stability of your business, but the good news is, with the right set of employees, your construction company should run like a well-oiled machine.
How Do I Hire the Right People?
In the construction industry, the people you employ to physically build for you are also building your business and reputation. It is therefore necessary to make sure those people have both their own and your business’ best interests at heart.
This also means that hiring the wrong person can have damaging effects on the company, your finances and crew morale. With the right hiring policy, and successful onboarding processes, your new employee can look forward to a long career in the construction industry.
How Do I Know Who the Best Candidates Are?
Don’t get overwhelmed when going through applications for a position in your construction company. There are a few easy things to note in order to make sure you call back the best people for the job, such as:
Skill Set
To be considered the correct person, he or she must possess the basic skills required to perform in the role to match the job description. Qualifications, skills and work experience are easy to check on the applicants resume. This way you won’t have to train from the start, and the employee can hit the ground running, and you don’t waste your time and your company’s money.
Attitude
Skills are important, but so is the person’s personality. Were they late for the interview? Did they turn up in an un-ironed shirt and ripped jeans? Or did they present well, shake your hand and introduce themselves politely?
The right attitude will be important, to make sure the applicant fits into your company’s culture. If they are disorganised for the interview, they could be late every morning to the work site, delaying progress and decreasing your profits.
An ideal applicant would have a positive attitude, be able to describe how they handle pressure effectively, and seem confident that they are the correct applicant. They should also be able to express a willingness to learn improve their current skill set.
Passion
Does the person care about what they do? Asking about the applicant’s plans for the future can provide an insight to the longevity of the possible hire. Checking their previous work history is important too: A long list of companies the person has worked for may at first seem to show great experience but may not reveal why the applicant is changing jobs frequently.
Ask why they are looking to switch jobs. You can’t afford to invest in someone who is not going to be with you in 2 months’ time.
Reference Check
Don’t just trust the applicant at their word. It is important to do a background check based on the references provided to check the validity of the information. Call their previous employers and ask about the applicant’s time with them.
How Do I Make My Business Attractive to Job Seekers?
It’s not just the applicants who are being interviewed, so is your company. For most people actively seeking work, the company also must fit in with their own idea about what the company should include. To make your company attractive, your company should:
- Be a competitive company
- Offer competitive salaries
- Include Health benefits
- Advertise safe work processes
- Display positive company culture
- Have the option for career advancement opportunities
- Offer skills development
- Have attractive job security
How Do I Keep Employees Long Term?
Once you’ve picked the right person for the job, this is where having a developed onboarding plan is essential. Your onboarding process should include more than just safety orientation and initial job training. You may like to assign your new hire a mentor or partner to guide them over the coming months, for example, which will help them feel supported in the new environment.
Make sure you keep open communication channels with your employees. This will keep them feeling part of the team, as well as keep you in the loop of any issues that may arise.
Tracking their progress regularly will also keep the employee accountable to fulfilling the job requirements. Consider meeting with the employee and their supervisor once a week to answer questions or provide feedback. This will help them learn faster and achieve success quicker.
How Do I Get Help to Employ the Right Crew?
The onboarding process can be time consuming and your time is valuable. After all, you didn’t start a construction company only to be working in HR roles interviewing applicants. LeVeon’s mission is to ensure you maximise the return on your life’s work.
We specialise in coaching and mentoring business owners in the trades and construction industry to maximise profitability over the long term, whilst reducing the time you need to spend in the business. Let our business advisory service find you the right crew for your construction company.
Get Help Managing Your Company Now
Managing a construction company is not easy. LeVeon can help make sure your onboarding process will guarantee the right crew are building your company up. Visit us at leveon.com.au, send an email to rod@leveon.com.au or call us on 0488 008 259 today to discuss managing your company’s operations, staff and staff performance. Let’s find the applicants you need.