Rick Blystone, Cotney Construction Law, LLP
One of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry today is the lack of skilled labor. While finding employees may be a challenge, finding the right employees for your organization can be even more difficult. In this article we will discuss a few items that will ease the challenge of hiring new employees and help ensure that the employees you hire are around long-term.
First, before you hire a new employee, make sure you clearly define the position you are hiring for and create a well-structured job description. Defining the position from the get-go can assist you in effectively advertising the vacant position and in bringing in a higher quality pool of candidates. A well-defined job description can also assist you during the interview process. You will be able to refer to it in order to better identify which individual's skills and talents best align with the vacant position. After you have hired the right person for the job, a detailed job description can also assist your new hire with getting acclimated to the job. This preliminary step of writing out clear parameters of the position will be beneficial throughout the hiring process.
When hiring a new employee, you need to ensure they are a good fit for the culture of your organization. Corporate culture is a popular buzz phrase these days, but it essentially boils down to what your organization holds in high regard. Is your organization formal with a concrete chain of command? Is it more casual and supportive of creative thinking by its employees? As an organization, you must first determine what your corporate culture is or, at the very least, what the organization is striving to become. Once you identify this, it becomes crucial to hire individuals who not only fit in with the culture you have created, but, who will push you closer to the company's cultural goals. An
employee that fits into the culture of the organization is more likely to become a happy, long-term employee than one who does not.
Having a high turnover rate can cause your organization to be less efficient. It will probably also make it more difficult to build the desired corporate culture. Hiring people who are a fit for the long-haul is, of course, important to most companies. While it's not an exact science, there are some indicators to look out for during the hiring process that can give you insight into the longevity of a potential hire. For instance, you should look at the potential new hire's employment history. If he or she has large gaps in their employment history, or if the prospective employee jumps from job to job, this could suggest he or she does not plan to be at your company long term. If you have concerns, ask them about this during their interview and listen carefully to their response. You should also consider talking with the prospective employee's references and prior employers. While some employers have strict guidelines about the information they give out, others will provide indicators about the prior employee's work performance. Do they sigh heavily when you mention the employee's name? Do they make a comment along the lines of "when he or she made it to work, they did a decent job"? This is valuable information that you can only get if you make the calls. Hiring and turnover are expensive propositions and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you take a little extra time during the hiring phase, there is an increased probability it will pay off in the long term.
While this article is not an exhaustive list of tips for hiring, hopefully it offers some useful tips the next time you set out to hire someone. Hiring high-quality individuals is not an easy task; however, the steps we have reviewed will help make it a slightly easier process in the future.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.
Rick Blystone, Partner at Cotney Construction Law, is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Labor & Employment Law. Cotney Construction Law is an advocate for the roofing industry, General Counsel of FRSA, NWIR, NSA, TARC, TRI, RT3, WSRCA and several other local roofing associations. For more information, contact the author at 863-303-5868 or go to www.cotneycl.com.
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