Helbling & Associates search consultants discuss their insight of 2016 construction hiring and talent management.

1. What do you expect the hiring activity to be within the A/E/C sector in 2016, and what are the
major challenges and opportunities that organizations are facing with regards to talent?
Helbling: Organizations in the A/E/C industry have opportunities to significantly enhance their business platforms that will make them very
attractive to the customers they represent. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, alternative project delivery methods are evolving, and
owners are requesting specific and advanced capabilities on large and increasingly complex projects. While these may seem like challenges,
in actuality, they are opportunities, and they all center around one element of an organization – talent.
Simply put, the industry is progressing and organizations are adapting to a new business environment. Companies have tremendous
opportunities to be proactive with their talent acquisition strategies and to create professional development programs that will
undoubtedly give them a competitive edge going forward. In doing so, they will make their organizations attractive to upper tier
professionals who have strong technical capabilities, as well as inherent business instincts, and management and leadership skills. In
securing this level of executives, companies can strengthen their abilities to provide a service to customers that is widely desired.
Across the industry, firms are going through transformational processes with their workforces. Baby Boomers are close to retirement, there
are not enough Generation Xers to fill the gaps, and Millennials need an entirely different approach regarding recruitment and talent
management. Smart firms are providing their Baby Boomers with opportunities to mentor younger employees, ensuring that their internal,
historical knowledge is being transferred. They are also executing initiatives to effectively manage their diverse workforces, which makes
them highly attractive to forward-thinking executives.
Lastly, upper tier talent is difficult to find and attract in the current market. Senior level executives are extremely cautious, and they’re not
interested in new employers with similar environments as their current ones. They are looking for opportunities that support their
professional and personal objectives, and provide an opportunity to have an impact. The problem is, few companies are ready and willing
to do things differently.
Dunn: My expectation is that hiring overall will remain the same with growth in two opposite areas – executives and craft labor. There is a
clear void of succession planning within the industry, and with a good majority of executives being 60+ years of age, the demand is strong
for highly qualified and specific talent. Many construction businesses are also family owned. Unless there is a next generation prepared
and qualified to run the business, a firm needs to find a non-family member who can rise to the challenge and protect their legacy and
interest. At the craft labor level, there simply is not enough qualified talent to go around. So while activity remains strong, there will be a
constant shortage of staff. While this need does not impact our business as search consultants, it does impact our clients, which makes it a
concern for us as well.
I believe the major challenge that our clients will face is a clear limitation on talent at all levels, and the need to find new ways to attract,
compensate, and retain talent. The talent pool is finite, and the passive candidates we approach within our client’s competing organizations
often do not have the skill sets or abilities required by our clients. We are then faced with the challenge of finding talent that doesn’t exist
in competing organizations. This creates a dynamic where we often have to identify and attract unconventional candidates from a
Construction Talent Management ~ 2016 Outlook
Interview conducted by Sami L. Barry of President Thomas J. Helbling and Senior Managing Consultant Thomas M. Dunn

2. tangential or parallel industry/business, which requires more time, support, and effort once that person is hired. While this can be a
successful strategy, it demands a progressive and engaged approach on behalf of our client because it can be challenging to transition an
unconventional candidate into a construction organization.
To Tom’s (Helbling’s) point, with these challenges come opportunities too. The firms I work with are trying to advance themselves through
new technologies, building information modeling, and project delivery methods (modular construction, design/build, etc.). The new
generation of construction talent picks up these concepts quickly. Having these younger professionals work closely with Baby Boomers and
even some Generation Xers requires a cultural and paradigm shift, and it can take years for a company to make new methodologies stick.
What insight do clients expect from us, as search consultants, to address these issues?
Helbling: Our clients are never interested in just filling a role. They require a partnering approach to support them in their business models
and objectives. They want to be engaged in search strategies to understand the marketplace and the talent that is attainable, from
determining sources for candidates to evaluating how well they may adapt within their organizations. It’s not just the ability to uncover
candidates who are highly qualified regarding their experiences and technical skills. It’s determining if a candidate will culturally fit within
our client’s structure and be on board with its initiatives and goals. We ensure that candidates are confident of their abilities to support our
client in accomplishing its objectives and to become a key part of the organization.
At the same time, and equally as important, we ensure that opportunities provide candidates the professional and personal fulfillment they
seek in a new role.
Dunn: Our clients expect us to use our expertise to guide them through the confusion of the talent market. Most clients want to see a
variety of candidates at different levels of experience from a handful of interconnected industries as a way to better understand the overall
talent market. That said, many of the clients that are interested in unconventional candidates often gravitate back to the traditional
candidates that they view as less risky (regardless of the veracity). Many of our clients know some of the desirable talent within peer
organizations, but they often have a blind-spot to candidates who may come from different layers of the industry. Our value is that we can
remove that blind-spot and help them gain access to candidates they otherwise would not even consider. Sometimes placing a traditional
candidate is the best approach, but other times you are not afforded that option.
Something I try to emphasize with clients is to differentiate themselves in a positive way as it relates to interview processes and even
compensation. There is no uniformity between competing organizations regarding compensation programs, benefits,
recruiting/interviewing practices, onboarding, etc. All vary drastically from organization to organization, even when organizations are nearly
identical in revenue, market focus, employee count, etc. As a search consultant, I view this as an opportunity for an organization to
differentiate themselves in a positive way – update and refine recruitment and interviewing practices, bring transparency to compensation
programs, and provide employees with a culture that is supportive and empowering.
What does the limited talent pool mean for experienced and highly qualified executives?
Dunn: The limited talent pool within the A/E/C realm means that competition between individuals and organizations is as heated as it has
been since before the recession in 2008/2009. The “war for talent” is only going to become more critical in the coming years as
organizations face continued Baby Boomer retirements, make attempts to become more efficient, and align themselves to be better
prepared for another inevitable slow-down in construction activity in the coming years.
After a five year boom, some organizations have taken the opportunity to plan for the long-term by promoting a new generation of leaders,
going through strategic reorganizations, making acquisitions, and diversifying their market sector experiences. Other organizations are less
progressive and will ride the ebb and flow of industry activity, only to be forced to make reactive decisions when challenges arise or market
conditions shift.

3. These are generalizations, but both of these types of organizations will require highly qualified executive talent that can make a positive
impact. For the more progressive groups, they will require a “been there, done that” type of talent who can seamlessly transition into a
well-run and profitable organization with the tall task of making it even better. For the more reactive organizations, they often need an
executive coming from a larger organization that can scale their skill set to fit the company’s needs and lead turnaround efforts, help them
enter new markets, spark a cultural shift, or do all of those things while also fitting into a broader succession plan. Both of these scenarios
present major career challenges.
The simple answer to the question is the limited talent pool means “opportunity.” If you truly are a rare industry talent with a highly
coveted skill set, you will be in high demand to most organizations that fall along the spectrum outlined above. You will have access to
compete for opportunities that the majority of individuals will not, and you will have more autonomy to dictate the impact of a position
once you enter a new role. That being said, as in any highly competitive scenario, you also may discover that you do not stack-up against
the field as well as you had expected. While not the desired outcome, this realization can be beneficial as it gives you the opportunity to set
new goals, make personal changes, and better position yourself for the future.
Sami L. Barry is Director of Marketing for Helbling & Associates. She has been with the firm for 21 years, and creates articles and blogs that focus on the
A|E|C, Facilities Management, and Real Estate Development industries, as well as Talent Management and Career Development.
Helbling & Associates is a retained executive search firm specializing exclusively in Construction, Engineering,
Facilities Management, and Real Estate Development.
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, we represent domestic and Canadian organizations.
Website: www.helblingsearch.com
Blog: blog.helblingsearch.com
Contact: (724) 935-7500 | helbling@helblingsearch.com