It’s all over the headlines: The construction industry is booming, but qualified labor is in short supply. For those in the surety industry, the ripple effects from construction growth come with the same rewards and challenges. While these industries are growing, unemployment is at all-time lows and talent is at a premium.
Specifically, construction employment has reached the highest levels since the beginning of the recession in 2008, and the surety industry is battling with every other financial services opportunity for the best candidates. Filling the skills gaps as baby boomers head into retirement and adopting new, updated recruiting practices to attract talent are among the top challenges for leaders in both industries.
The Talent War Up Close
In August, construction added 23,000 jobs and, according to an industry survey, would have added more if enough people were available to fill the positions. Through the first quarter of 2018, employers have been looking to fill an average of nearly 225,000 construction jobs each month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 2018 Insurance Industry Employment and Hiring Outlook Survey expects more than 13,000 jobs will open before the year is out. The Surety & Fidelity Association of America reports that property and casualty insurance, which includes surety, will see more than 400,000 retirements during the next five years.
In general, short-term solutions to the talent war have included companies recruiting professionals to move from job to job, trading one company for another for gains in salary or position. The growth has amplified the need with teams that are already lean and doing more with less. Forbes calls it “an insatiable appetite for fully baked candidates” (i.e., employees who have immediately transferrable skills and can hit the ground running). The talent pool for candidates like these is small and usually expensive.
One of the big problems for construction and surety is that the extraordinary opportunities and benefits of these careers aren’t common knowledge. Jobs within the construction industry simply aren’t attractive to millennials, who have been groomed to work elsewhere.
And, a career in surety has often been one that college graduates luck into by happenstance rather than by intention. They have not heard of surety, this niche subset of property and casualty insurance, and it takes special effort to learn about it before a young person can truly understand the opportunity.
The message that needs to be conveyed is that construction and surety careers offer steady employment, high wages and plenty of room for career advancement.
Innovation and Communication
To do battle in this war for talent, industry associations are already working with federal and state governments to find ways to increase the available labor force, take advantage of the skills and experience of retirees who still want to contribute, attract young people by selling the lifetime rewards and benefits of careers in surety and construction, and provide the education and training they will need to be successful.
Locally, chambers of commerce, businesses and associations are collaborating to find funding and work with community colleges, universities and vocational programs.
For companies, successful talent management strategies include the following:
- Enhancing campus recruiting and expanded internship programs.
- Improving diversity, which is important for more successful recruiting and retention. Companies with diverse workforces have a proven competitive advantage with greater measures in productivity, engagement and service.
- Creating more mentorships and avenues for young people to job shadow and experience a day in the life. Specifically in construction, there are also initiatives that target parents and teachers to make them aware of employment opportunities.
- Rethinking traditional work environments. Focus on a great culture with open collaborative space, technology for remote offices to work together, flexibility to balance work hours and home life, and opportunities for employees to stay healthy and give back to the community.
- Updating job descriptions and employment advertising with a marketing spin to tell a better story about the roles, long-term benefits and transferrable skills the position will entail and the lifestyle possibilities that come with these career choices.
