John Kenney, CEO, Contney Consulting Group
With more than 40 percent of the current roofing workforce set to retire by 2031, recruiting millennials to fill those spots is critical. But there are some difficulties in that realm. While three of every four U.S. workers will be millennials by 2024, the construction and roofing industries has issues attracting them to work in the trades.
Priorities for this rising workforce have shifted. Millennials are more interested in perks and benefits than getting a raise. Studies show that more than 80 percent of them would switch jobs for better benefits and 90 percent would pass up a raise for more perks and benefits. It is not impossible to recruit millennials; it requires a different approach.
Millennials tend to have a strong concern about social issues. They want to know where companies stand on numerous social issues.
Consider this: how do your hiring practices reflect your company values? Does your mission statement exist for looks or does it have a real purpose? How do your working practices and expectations reflect your company’s values?
Diversity and inclusion are critical to millennials. Unfortunately, these are terms not used much in the construction industry until more recently. Right now, just a little more than nine percent of the workforce in construction is female. You can improve diversity and inclusion, it just takes some work.
Consider the language you use in job advertisements to ensure it is inclusive. Exude excitement for inclusion and diversity through the Equal Employment Opportunity/Fair Hiring Statement. Be specific and mention workplace diversity and which EEO employment practices you use in that statement. Then, link your EEO policy to the job advertisement and state that you make your hiring decisions based on merit.
Before advertising, measure inclusion at your company using employee surveys to see how you are doing.
There are benefits to committing to inclusion and diversity. Adding females to your workforce brings different and fresh ideas to the table and adding females to your executive management team can increase your profitability.
Focus more on benefits and perks. Millennials often tell others the perks they get on the job. If you can be the contractor who
gives millennials better perks and benefits, they will likely brag about it to their friends.
Work-life balance is crucial to millennial construction workers, primarily due to the long hours and the risks involved.
Millennials seek flexibility. They look for it in a company. Many millennials are now becoming parents and it is more difficult for
them to figure out a schedule that works for their families. Determine where you can add flexibility to work schedules.
Consider offering a paid leave program giving workers paid time off when they have a child or adopt one or need to care for a sick family member. In addition, consider offering more career development opportunities, better health insurance and a technology-driven workspace.
The roofing industry is perceived as one that does not pay well and is deeply affected by economic downturns. That is not entirely true. What is true is that contractors often leaned on lower salaries, especially for the entry-level jobs, then made up for them in
bonuses.
The lay-offs that came amid the Great Recession in the mid-2000s added to the negative narrative. That type of operation does not align with millennials seeking economic stability. However, low pay is not in the picture for Construction Management graduates, which offers competitive pay.
Construction requires skill, which means trained workers who need to be paid accordingly. The days of paying construction workers $13 an hour to start are gone.
Pay is only one aspect of the changes needed in roofing to draw in millennials. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies switched operations, adding more flexibility, including fully remote or hybrid work. Yes, roofing is typically an in-person job, which will continue to hinder contractors seeking millennial employees. But there are ways of curbing in-person jobs. Think drones, 3-D imaging, Zoom meetings, smartphones and flexible schedules.
Flexibility is something the roofing and construction industry is still figuring out. One way to implement it may be to put less emphasis on things like retirement benefits and profit sharing and more on benefits, perks and flexibility.
Consider the need to appeal to potential workers earlier in their lives. That means starting well before they graduate high school. Build the talent early on. Show kids what it is like to be a roofer, a sheet metal installer, a service technician or an estimator. Encourage them to look beyond their smartphones and do something “real.”
Millennials have grown up during periods of debt crises and many realize college does not guarantee prosperity. That could also grow interest in roofing trades. There needs to be a sustained effort by the roofing industry to reach out to prospects early on.
Visit schools, host training, show up where kids assemble and set up interactive displays.
Use technology in recruiting. There has been a massive influx of investment in construction technologies and artificial intelligence systems that allow training and problem troubleshooting to work virtually. Use virtual reality to show prospective candidates what their jobs would entail. Play up tangibility. Roofing workers can see the fruits of their labor: what they helped create. To some, that is important in a job. Recruiting millennials into the roofing workforce is no walk in the park, but due diligence can go a long way to hiring new talent.
FRM
John Kenney has over 45 years of experience in the roofing industry. He started his career by working as a roofing apprentice at a family business in the Northeast and worked his way up to operating multiple Top 100 Roofing Contractors. As CEO, John is intimately familiar with all aspects of roofing production, estimating and operations. During his tenure in the industry, John ran business units associated with delivering excellent workmanship and unparalleled customer service while ensuring his company’s
strong net profits before joining Cotney Consulting Group. If you would like any further information on this or another subject, you can contact John at jkenney@cotneyconsulting.com.
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