Following the release of her firm’s Laws of Attraction survey , SEEK Research Manager Caroline North spoke with Sourceable about what drives candidate decisions in design and construction along with strategies that employers can adopt to secure preferred candidates.

North says the importance of this should not be underestimated.

Especially during boom periods where competition for talent is tight, the ability to attract preferred workers will help firms to secure more projects and deliver best outcomes on existing work.

“It hits the bottom line,” North said.

“It gets the right people into your organisation. It is at the heart of the success of what your organisation can and can’t achieve.”

North’s comments come amid massive demand for design and construction staff throughout Australia amid an unprecedented volume of work in detached housing and civil infrastructure.

Last month, job vacancies for construction managers, civil engineers, electrical engineers, industrial engineers and mining engineers registered their highest March reading since the mining boom, according to vacancy data from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

In trades and labour, vacancies for carpenters, plumbers, electricians, other machine operators, crane, hoist and lift operators, forklift drivers, and other plant operators are at their highest level since the data began in 2006.

Going forward, the situation may become more acute.

In its Public Infrastructure Workforce Supply Dashboard, Infrastructure Australia says it expects the shortfall in engineering, construction and other professionals for work on public infrastructure projects (currently estimated at 63,400 in April) to peak at 92,600 in February next year.

According to that dashboard, shortages exist across project management, procurement, commercial management, environmental and occupational health, mechanical engineering, quantity surveying, geologist/geophysicists/hydrologists, maintenance planning, IT engineering, geotechnical engineering, civil engineering, telecommunications engineering, structural engineering, materials engineering, riggers/dogmen, plant operations, crane operations, drilling (piling/foundations), concreting, road based plant operations, safety, telecommunications field staff and general construction labouring.

Brown’s comments also follow SEEK’s release of the aforementioned survey.

Based on 11,585 responses (all job categories), the survey identified drivers of candidate decisions in terms of the roles that they apply for and accept.

Among those surveyed who work in construction:

• Salary and compensation ranked as the number one driver of attraction with an overall importance score of 28.8 percent. Within this category, 61 percent of respondents in construction stated that meeting base salary expectations was a ‘must have’. Fifty percent and 49 percent said likewise in respect of paid overtime and salary review periods.
• Next is work-life balance (21.6 percent) under which additional leave, time in lieu, ability to ‘buy’ annual leave or take unpaid leave and the ability to work from home or remotely are must haves for 24 percent, 21 percent, 16 percent and 13 percent of respondents.
• The third most important driver of attraction is career development (13.1 percent). Here, promotion opportunities, on-the-job training/coaching and in-house training programs are considered must-haves by 40 percent, 37 percent and 27 percent.

Whilst the above data refers specifically to construction professionals, similar priorities were reflected among architects, engineers and tradespeople.

Granted, there is some divergence among specialisations. For both architects and tradespeople, work-life balance ranked above salary and compensation as their number one priority. Career development was a strong driver for engineers but was les of a priority for tradespeople.

Across all of the above categories, however, each of the top three drivers referred to above ranked above other desired role features.

(data source: Laws of Attraction survey, SEEK, March 2022)

An interesting observation is the relatively low priority placed upon company reputation (1.2 percent) and corporate social responsibility (0.3 percent).

This is curious as attraction/retention of employees and worker morale is often sighted alongside customer loyalty and investor attraction as a driver behind efforts to maintain positive corporate reputations.

However, caution should be observed on this point as respondents expressed strong must-haves for responsible practices regarding workplace safety, contribution to people and communities, environmental practices and support for workplace diversity.

This indicates that whilst other factors may be a stronger determinant in choosing one company or role over another, responsible corporate behaviour is likely to be a prerequisite for many candidates to consider working at a particular firm.

Asked what drives candidate choices, North stresses that answers may differ according to individuals. She adds that priorities can be influenced by age, gender, industry, levels of seniority, nature of role (operations, admin etc.) and geographic region.

Nevertheless, North says results of this survey along with others which SEEK has performed in the past indicate that drivers of many candidate decisions are broadly consistent with general human necessitates according to a hierarchy of needs which was developed by American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow.

Under this hierarchy, human needs range from basic physical requirements (food/shelter/safety etc.) through to psychological needs (belonging, connectedness etc.) through to self-fulfilment objectives such as fulfilling one’s potential (see diagram).

(Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. Image source: Simple Psychology)

Following from this, North says many candidates seek opportunities which enable them to:

• financially support themselves and their family
• enjoy connection with family, friends, and community; and
• innovate, develop their competencies and achieve worthwhile goals.

During recruitment, therefore, candidates seek to understand what prospective employers offer in terms of compensation, work-life balance and career development and opportunities.

Asked how employers can secure preferred candidates, North says action is needed in four areas.

First, they should be prepared and ready to secure the opportunity with their preferred person. This involves identifying important job features and benefits which they can offer and communicating these throughout the recruitment process.

Next, it is important to be timely in the recruitment process and to act before preferred candidates accept alternative offers.

Third, candidate care is critical. This involves keeping them in the loop about the process, being prepared for negotiation and understanding potential areas of negotiation. These negotiation areas could extend beyond base salary and could include professional development or flexible working arrangements.

Finally, it is important to build a relationship. From the moment a prospective workers see a position advertisement ad to when they sign an agreement, firms are beginning the process of candidates joining their company and being a strong member of their team.

Beyond specific recruitment techniques, North talks of strategies through which firms can position themselves as employers of choice.

First, external communication during the interview process must be effective.

Next, word of mouth is critical. On this score, North encourages organisations to obtain feedback from existing staff about how they view your firm. In larger firms, this could involve a formal employee engagement survey. This is important as existing staff are often the most trusted source of information among prospective candidates about what your company is like to work for.

Third, external recognition is highly valuable. Industry awards and achievements can serve as a symbol for prospective employees about the reputation of firms as a prospective employer.

Finally, organisations must ‘walk the walk’ and be true to what they say. You can’t be known for something which you are not, North said. Even where a company succeeds in developing a positive reputation, all this would do if not supported by action is create a revolving door of workers who come on board and then quickly leave after discovering that practices and actions are not consistent with what their employers claimed to represent.

The SEEK survey was conducted in March.

Of the 11,585 respondents, 364 were in construction, 434 were in engineering, 244 were in design and architecture and 141 were in trades and services.