Though we are transitioning into a post-pandemic world, the effects of the pandemic on recruitment across all industries have lingered. This is particularly true for the construction industry, with a shortage of talent and strict project deadlines compounding to create extra pressure on construction teams.
We spoke with Abdullah Haddara, Director of Haddarco, a Melbourne-based construction company, to understand more about the challenges of recruitment in the construction industry over the past few years and what has worked well for them when it comes to combatting these challenges.
Q: Could you please tell us more about Haddarco?
Haddarco is a Melbourne-based construction company that focuses on providing high-end support and service through our work, which mostly consists of government and private sector projects.
The company was established around sixty years ago by my father, Radwan Haddara. It started out as a very small, family-owned business that was a 1-3 man band – this approach built a great foundation for the business.
In the last ten years or so, we’ve really shifted direction and grown to more than 20 employees, with many projects on the go. Since we don’t really do advertising and rely mostly on word-of-mouth, maintaining our strong reputation within our industry and ensuring our projects are of high quality is paramount.
At the heart of our work is our people. Throughout the organisation’s growth, we’ve maintained our values and culture of loyalty, trust, respect and understanding each other on a deeper level. Focussing on these values and our culture has enabled our team to collaborate and adapt effectively, which in turn means we are able to deliver high-quality projects consistently.
We gathered our people in a team building exercise in which we asked them to describe best what they felt working for Haddarco. Words like, honesty, integrity, professionalism, innovation, foresight and purpose were prevalent. From this, our team chose our company motto, Building with purpose. Soon after, our mission statement was formed:
“Haddarco’s mission is to deliver better builds by providing the highest level of professionalism and workmanship, to deliver the client’s dreams through integrity, innovation, and foresight, and to serve with a sense of purpose.”
Q: How has recruitment been for Haddarco over the past few years?
As with any industry, you need the right people in the right place – and in the construction industry recently, the right people have been very hard to find.
COVID caused a huge workforce shortage – people have left the industry across the board, from direct construction roles (blue and white collar) to related consultant roles, such as architects and engineers. They either moved away from Melbourne to escape lockdowns or, in that time, reassessed whether they really wanted to be in the industry – there was already a lot of pressure in the construction industry and the pandemic gave a lot of people the push to make a shift in their career.
Another challenge is that during the last couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of companies in our industry willing to pay above and beyond to fill their vacancies and snap up talent, causing further scarcity in an already thinning construction recruitment market.
This workforce shortage has caused increased pressure to complete projects – our deadlines are still there, and now the workforce available to meet them is smaller.
I think it would be safe to say that recruitment is definitely one of our top challenges.
Q: What strategies has Haddarco used to combat recruitment challenges?
We’ve focussed on retention and being adaptable. When the pandemic first hit and no one knew what was going on, we brought all our team members into our office before the lockdowns and reassured them that we would do everything possible to ensure that everyone would be retained – and we followed through on that. We retained all those team members and an important part of that was that they felt they were in safe hands.
Retention is an ongoing focus for us – as mentioned, we have a strong culture of loyalty, trust, respect, and understanding each other. What this looks like for us is making sure we are constantly communicating and collaborating with each other. We have regular team exercises and activities, where we ask our team members what they think of how things are going, what we can do better, and how they are feeling. The effect of COVID on organisations has only made it more clear to us that we will always hold fast to that culture no matter what.
We’ve also become more adaptable with our recruitment. Since our focus is on finding the right person and we recognise that skills can be learned, we’ve widened our scope to include people who may not necessarily be from our industry or have specific experience, but whose skills and background are transferrable to the roles they are applying for.
For example, we were looking for a contract administrator and found there was a shortage of talent with experience in that specific role; so we looked at someone who was an office administrator. They had experience in data entry, so we brought them across and got them to focus on certain aspects of contract administration that they would be proficient in.
We’ve found a number of ways to adapt to recruitment challenges – it really depends on the role, but we’ve found success in thinking outside the box.
Q: What do you look for when recruiting?
In our industry, there are a few key things we look for to meet our business needs. Firstly, efficiency is key – with pressure to meet deadlines, we look for people who have the right skills and, most importantly, attitude.
Obviously, having the technical know-how is important, but being able to work alongside our team members and adapt to client needs is key. We really look for proactive problem solvers – people who can identify problems before they become big issues, and not only identify them, but offer a solution. These people are valuable additions to our collaborative and adaptive team culture.
Finding talent who want a career in construction fits in well with Haddarco, too, because we are big on upskilling. Investing in our team’s training and upskilling means we can support their growth and more easily pivot in times of recruitment strain.
We work with an external talent acquisition partner, Scout Talent, who helps us find and hire for roles through their recruitment campaigns. What set them apart was that they facilitate psychometric testing, which helps us go that one step beyond just finding someone with the right skills – with these psychometric tests, Scout helps us find candidates who are the best matches for our culture and organisation. Since our culture is so important to us, this service is so valuable in helping us really get that personality match right.
When we were looking for a recruitment partner, it was important to us that we find a partner that wanted to get to know us and understand our bigger picture. We’d encountered many other recruiters whose approach was a cookie-cutter business model; for them, it was a matter of making sure they get their commission on whoever they find for us – then six months down the track, they may even try to recruit that person for another client.
The common theme was that they weren’t really focused on building that customer relationship with us – and we found that understanding and partnership with Scout Talent.
Q: What is your advice to other construction HR teams struggling with recruitment?
While a lot of businesses went under during COVID, Haddarco stayed its course as a rapidly growing business. And to keep facilitating that growth, I don’t want to speak to 5-6 recruiters, I want to talk to a dedicated point of contact. My advice to external recruiters working for a particular client industry such as construction is to definitely focus on your customer service and building that personal relationship.
Our priority at Haddarco is to have a cohesive workforce and environment, so finding a recruitment partner in Scout Talent, who really understands our bigger picture and helps us find people who align with our work culture, has been invaluable.
My advice to construction companies is that when you’re hiring, look for longevity. A quick fix isn’t going to solve your problem, so don’t settle for just anyone you can find. It’s really about looking for the right fit and working with your external partners to ensure that you’re looking at the big picture.
Abdullah Haddara is the Director and Head of Operations of Haddarco, a Melbourne-based construction company. He has almost 20 years of experience the industry, and holds a Bachelor of Construction Management & Economics, a Diploma of Building Construction, and an Advanced Diploma in Business Accounting.