For months statistics have shown that there are more jobs than workers. Recently, reports showed there are 5.5 million more job openings than workers. Such a robust labor market made it hard for employers to win top talent. Now, at least for the construction industry, it looks like the job-to-employee ratio might be leveling out.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction industry job openings fell from 405,000 to 334,000 from May to June. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the demand for workers is down likely due to “rising borrowing costs, increasingly pervasive pessimism and growing risk of recession.” And while there is still debate about an impending recession, ABC analysts note it is clear that the economy is poised to slow.
But, it bears noting that demand for workers in the construction industry still remains high. ABC states that in June, construction workers quit their jobs at a faster rate then they were laid off or discharged, making it the 16th consecutive month where quits outpaced or equaled layoffs and discharges.
So what does this mean for jobs in the construction industry? It means that companies must still make hiring a priority. A gradual slowdown doesn’t mean there isn’t a hole of positions to fill. A strong recruitment and retention strategy can help you stay ahead of the curve.
Use an ATS to Streamline Recruiting
An applicant tracking system or ATS can save you time by streamlining the recruitment process. And when you’re not bogged down by mundane tasks, you’ll have more time to find the right candidates. An ATS manages the recruiting and hiring by automating tasks such as posting jobs, organizing applications and maintaining compliance through an organized, cloud-based software system.
For example, Arcoro’s ATS lets you automatically post open positions to leading national, local and/or niche job boards so you can easily target the candidates you’re looking for. Branded career pages ensure your company brand remains consistent, so applicants get a seamless candidate experience.
An ATS helps manage candidates by allowing recruiters to auto disposition, score, screen and stack rank applicants so best choices are put right in front of managers for easy approval. Once you choose your top candidates, built-in templates let you send configurable offer letters, helping to reduce your time to hire so your favorite candidates aren’t left hanging.
And, because you can’t count on applicants knocking down your door, an ATS can help you build a talent pool you can dip into when needed. Talent pools contain potential candidates who have shown interest in your company or previously applied for positions but weren’t selected at the time. And using talent pools can reduce both your time to hire and cost to hire.
Maintain a Positive Candidate Experience with Digital Time Tracking
Using paper time cards might say to candidates that your company isn’t technically advanced and doesn’t have the inclination to embrace new work tools—which is something really important to younger applicants who are digital natives. Tools that digitize manual processes, like time tracking and payroll, help solidify your employer brand. Your employer brand is your reputation as an employer and affects which candidates look at your company for employment. And a positive employer brand can help both recruit and retain employees.
Using a time tracking app, like ExakTime’s, makes your employees’ lives easier and maintains a positive employer brand. Your employees don’t have to worry about remembering exactly how many hours they’ve worked, and you don’t have to worry about payroll errors.
ExakTime’s mobile app helps:
- Eliminate Time Theft. Workers clock in as soon as they get to the site and clock out when they’re ready to go home, eliminating the need to remember all of their start and stop times at the end of the week. Built-in security features like face front photo ID verification, GPS and geofencing, managers are assured workers are only clocking in themselves from the actual job site.
- Reduce Payroll Mistakes. Hours worked are automatically tracked and stored in the cloud then uploaded to your payroll system. Your payroll staff never has to worry about deciphering illegible handwriting or wait to manually college all the time cards. All of the information can be accessed from the office, reducing downtime.
- Decrease Your Paper Reliance. With digital time cards you never have to worry about running low on paper or waiting on shipments. The cost of buying paper and other supplies attributed to producing and storing paper are reduced or even eliminated.
Make the switch to automated processes to help cushion the effect of labor shortages and invest in Arcoro’s ATS and ExakTime’s mobile app.
