Contractors hardly need to be reminded that skilled labor is increasingly difficult to find. Experienced tradespeople are retiring in record numbers without enough new personnel entering the field to replace them.

While a renewed focus on recruitment is critical, contracting companies also have an acute need to shore up retention. That’s where HR and people-focused departments can make a tremendous impact. Simply put, robust HR systems can help skilled tradespeople feel seen and valued, to align their roles with the company’s broader mission, and ultimately, to encourage longevity.

Identifying the Signs of Drift

First and foremost, it’s important to be alert for signs of trouble within the existing workforce. HR professionals can safeguard retention by being watchful for signs of discontentment or employee drift.

These signs can come in many forms, but some common examples include:

• Communication breakdowns. When field technicians regularly report that they did not receive an update or were unclear about expectations, that highlights a real issue with internal communication systems;
• Shifts in field leadership. If there is a perceptible change in how field management interprets or enforces policies, that could be another warning sign of misalignment; and
• Declining engagement. Concerns such as reduced participation in meetings, slower response times, or fewer feedback submissions can all suggest that employees are becoming disengaged. That’s usually a leading indicator of turnover.

Building Trust Through Communication

One of the most proactive ways to improve retention and longevity is to ensure tradespeople feel like their roles are important to the team overall—that the work they do each day isn’t isolated or trivial, but rather that it contributes to the flourishing of the entire organization.

To create that sense of purposefulness, the role of communication cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, clear and consistent communication can be challenging for contracting companies, particularly when employees are working at different jobsites each day. Strategy and intention are required to create a centralized communication structure, helping employees feel tethered to home base.

Protocols for real-time updates can be hugely impactful here, whether that’s mobile apps, text alerts, or centralized dashboards. Though less timely, regular employee-facing employee newsletters, providing key company updates and celebrating recent wins, can help tradespeople feel both informed and valued.

Of course, communication is a two-way street. One of the quickest ways to frustrate and demoralize tradespeople is to give them the impression that their voice isn’t heard or their opinion doesn’t matter. HR teams can play a critical role in ensuring information flows both ways, and in facilitating channels for employees to ask questions, clarify expectations, or even provide feedback. Proactivity in responding to employee inquiries can be a major boost for morale and retention.

Creating Credibility Through Reliable Payroll

Payroll is equally critical for ensuring skilled tradespeople remain committed. These employees work long and difficult shifts, and they deserve to get paid in a manner that is timely and accurate. This is particularly true when dealing with overtime, travel time, or other irregularities.

Today’s HR teams benefit from advanced payroll systems, which automate time tracking and provide employees with transparency about their pay breakdowns. It’s important to leverage systems that not only prevent delays or inconsistencies from paycheck to paycheck but also make it easy for personnel to see exactly how their paychecks are being determined.

Remember: even unintentional errors or disruptions to payroll can cause employees to feel like the company doesn’t respect them, or worse, that it’s simply not a stable work environment long-term. In a competitive labor market, even a few negative signals or paycheck concerns can be enough to send top talent scurrying.

Cultivating Consistency Across the Organization

Something else that can cause top tradespeople to flee is when they perceive inconsistency across the company. This is especially true when there’s misalignment or contradictory instructions given from field management versus office management.

When tradespeople feel like they are being given two different sets of expectations from the powers that be, it naturally leads to some frustration, to say nothing of lost confidence in how the business is run. This can be a major source of friction for personnel, but it’s an area where HR teams can have a positive effect.

For example, well-designed HR systems help standardize processes while still allowing flexibility where needed, setting employee expectations, and minimizing those moments of misalignment. HR can also be relied on to provide a single source of truth for policies, performance metrics, and employee records. Even a well-designed and regularly updated employee handbook can be invaluable for helping employees to feel like everyone’s working from the same reference points.

Stewarding Skilled Labor With Smart HR

For today’s contractors, skilled labor is a precious commodity. HR teams can play a critical role in stewarding that commodity, starting with the implementation of sound systems and robust policies. Doing so can be a huge difference-maker between a business where talents plan for longevity versus one where talents are regularly eyeing the door.