Homebuilding Workforce Engagement Study Shows That Up-Skilling Workers And Career Pathways Are The Key To Better Retention

Building Talent Foundation (BTF) has announced the main findings of a residential construction workforce engagement study designed to probe into tradespeople opinions about their career plans. To improve industry strategies for building talent retention, BTF launched the survey with the support of Leading Builders of America (LBA).

Amid increasing competition for frontline workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BTF and LBA sought to better understand the current levels of engagement and priorities among tradespeople working on residential construction job sites.

Homebuilding Workforce Engagement study

Building Talent Foundation and Leading Builders of America will use this data to address the concerns

The levels of engagement of this group as measured in this study are comparable with the average engagement levels for all US companies in all industries and were higher than those in the Healthcare and Manufacturing industries, according to 2021 data from Perceptyx.

Building Talent Foundation and Leading Builders of America will use this data to address the concerns illuminated by the study, create resources to disseminate throughout the industry, and work with trade partners who employ these tradespeople, so that levels of engagement and retention can be improved at this critical time and into the future.

The results of the inaugural Homebuilding Workforce Engagement Survey are:

• Out of all tradespeople working on residential construction job sites, 51% are engaged and planning to stay in their jobs, 35% are thinking about another job, and 14% are disengaged yet not considering leaving their job.
• Of those thinking of another job, more than half (51%) are considering leaving residential construction for other sectors, and more than 1 out of 3 (34%) are thinking of leaving construction for opportunities in other industries.
• The group most likely to be thinking of another job is those tradespeople with 1 to 5 years of experience. By the time they have been trained, invested in, and add real value to employers, over 2 out of 5 (43%) of this group are thinking of another job.

Career advancement opportunities and learning new skills

The top reason survey respondents gave for staying in their jobs was that they had opportunities for career advancement, training, and learning new skills. The next most cited reason was their boss treating them well and feeling valued and respected at work.

On the other hand, a lack of career advancement, training and development was the top reason behind people wanting to leave their jobs. Therefore, while compensation does matter, this study reveals that it is not the most important factor in employee engagement.

BTF engages with the Oxford Centre for Employee Engagement

BTF is developing best practice guidelines to share widely within the industry

Building Talent Foundation (BTF) engaged the Oxford Centre for Employee Engagement (OCEE) to conduct the survey to listen, learn, and respond to those with the most significant insight into the reasons for the turnover rate - the residential construction workers.

To help residential construction industry employers to improve talent engagement and increase employee retention, and drawing from the research and experience of OCEE, BTF is developing best practice guidelines to share widely within the industry.

Applying rigorous scientific methods

Applying rigorous scientific methods, the Oxford Centre for Employee Engagement research team, led by world-renowned Human Resources (HR) expert, Professor William Scott-Jackson, received and analyzed the results from the talent pool about why they stay in or leave their jobs.

A total of 1,462 respondents completed the survey, out of which 61% of respondents work on job sites, and 39% are in office/administrative roles.

Developing strategies to engage skilled workers

Developing strategies to engage skilled workers is crucial, as demonstrated by a Construction Labor Market Report recently published by the Home Builders Institute (HBI). The residential construction industry will need to train and place an overwhelming 2.2 million new workers within the next three years to meet the United States’ housing demands.

The Home Builders Institute (HBI) supported the Building Talent Foundation engagement study, by distributing the survey questionnaires to its alumni network.

Need for investment in up-skilling and retaining employees

BTF is committed to working with all industry stakeholders to develop and implement programs"

“The investment that we are collectively making to attract, train, hire and develop talent in the homebuilding sector must be matched with adequate investment in engaging, up-skilling, and retaining employees in our industry,” said Branka Minic, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Building Talent Foundation (BTF).

Branka Minic adds, “Building Talent Foundation (BTF) is committed to working with all industry stakeholders to develop and implement programs for improving workforce engagement.”

Well-founded, simple solutions to retaining employees

Professor William Scott-Jackson said “This survey is a strong warning signal and an opportunity for employers to make sure their people see a clear future for themselves and are well-led. There are well-founded, relatively simple solutions to both these issues (to be outlined in the Final Report), so that even the smallest trades firms can better retain, develop and maximize the value of their people.”

To measure changes in workforce engagement in the residential construction industry over time, Building Talent Foundation plans to conduct the survey biannually.