Recruiting candidates in 2023 is going to look a lot like it did in 2022 – a constant struggle to find and hire workers. It may be a hard pill to swallow but the truth of the matter is the construction industry has a major labor shortage. According to Construction Executive’s 2023 Construction Economic Forecast, as of July 2022, the number of available construction jobs stood at 375,000. That number isn’t going to dramatically decrease in the coming years, especially with the federal government pouring billions into infrastructure jobs. To counteract the number of workers needed, construction companies are paying higher wages and eliminating layoffs during the off season, just to keep their workers. But construction companies also need to optimize their recruiting strategies so they’ll have enough workers when projects are won.
The following recruiting strategies can help you keep your competitive recruitment edge sharp, with the help of an applicant tracking system (ATS) like Arcoro’s.
First Look at Your Company Culture
Before you need to hire new construction workers, first make sure your company culture will help draw them in. A workplace that is positive, driven and enthusiastic can make a difference in swaying a candidate into accepting an offer. Do the legwork to make sure your company culture is cultivating happy employees, starting with:
- Talk performance and development more than annually
- Recognize and reward valued work
- Get frequent feedback from employees (anonymous surveys with Core HR software is a game-changer)
- Walk the walk when it comes to work-life balance and Employee Value Propositions
Second, Streamline Your Recruiting Process
The next step is to prepare your job listing and push it out to the world.
Make Sure it’s Mobile-Friendly
Most Americans own a smartphone, about 85% to be exact, according to Pew Research. For younger generations, like Millennials and Gen Z, their phones are their main source of entertainment, news and communication. That means your job postings and applications need to be:
- Where people go on their phones (social media and job hunting apps)
- Quick to fill out on a phone (SHRM posted an article that showed the candidate drop-off rate for online applications can be as high as 92%)
- Easy to get through the process
- Do not require accounts or passwords
Quickly Post Everywhere
An exceptional ATS isn’t just about the data coming in; it’s also about simplifying the posting process. To make your life easier, recruit candidates the easy way:
- One-click job distribution that hits your choice of popular job sites, from Indeed and ZipRecruiter to more focused job boards, such as industry-specific or niche demographics like veterans.
- Social recruiting, though an extension of posting in the right places, has the added benefit of pulling in passive candidates. These highly valued potential applicants are well worth the targeting as they may already be killing it at their current job but be open to a new opportunity seen on social media.
Put Your Employer Brand on Display
One ATS pitfall we hear a lot is that the software confuses candidates because it looks different or has the ATS company’s name on it. Not ours. Arcoro’s ATS is fully customizable to your brand – colors, copy, logos and video. There’s no confusion about where candidates are applying because the interface is all you, all the time.
Include All Compliance Language
The Arcoro software team is dedicated to keeping compliance language updated, so you never have to think about it. Here’s a glance at what a smart HR ATS will do:
- Collect appropriate applicant data and compile it in easy-to-digest reports
- Report on all applicants considered
- Keep records on all employee-related decisions
- Affirmative Action programs, ready to be turned on when needed
- 100 percent up to date, 100 percent of the time, with no effort on your end
Third, Focus on Candidate Experience
Once a candidate enters your pipeline, it’s essential to keep them engaged in the position. Candidate experience helps guide potential employees on this journey.
Automate Communication
Your organization shouldn’t be a black hole. When someone applies, make sure your ATS sends an email to let them know their application was received. And as the person’s candidacy progresses, keep them in the loop with automatic updates, which you can customize with our software.
Score & Screen
A robust ATS gives you scoring and screening questions, so you can quickly batch candidates to save time and evaluate based on qualifications. This is especially helpful when your construction company is required to report all considered applications to comply with federal contractor guidelines.
Build for the Future
Having a deep bench of potential employees will ease your future recruitment efforts. For next-level efficiency, your ATS should seamlessly store every applicant, so you can go back to past candidates when new positions open up. Added bonus: the Arcoro ATS allows you to set up labels inside the application, so past candidates are notified when relevant jobs open up.
Luckily, this competitive job market hits as smart HR rises in popularity across all industries. Mobile-friendly, tech-friendly, cloud-based, artificially intelligent – all this can be found in our robust ATS.
See for yourself by scheduling a demo with one of our team of experts.
