Employer branding in construction: finding skilled workers with smart strategies

Employer branding in construction: hugely effective, yet still relatively rarely used in this sector. Many construction employers would rather make quick work of it: as many new colleagues as possible in as little time as possible. But when recruiting in construction, focusing on the long term can actually work better. Employer branding is an investment, but definitely worth it in an industry where many people choose to carry on as freelancers. So how do you use employer branding in construction?

When just running ads doesn't work (any more)

Got a vacancy open for bricklayers, painters, site managers or work planners? Then you're not alone. Lots of construction companies want to recruit new construction staff and advertise online to do so. So if you're serious about finding new people, it can be smart to use employer branding to do more than just spread vacancies around. Instead, you can share with the world what makes your construction company special and fun to work for. That's also called an EVP: the Employer Value Proposition.

What is an Employer Value Proposition?

You can think of an Employer Value Proposition as the total promise you make as an organisation to your (potential) employees, in exchange for their skills, experience and commitment. It's not just about benefits such as salary, bonuses and a good work-life balance, but also about the qualities that make your organisation unique and attractive as an employer. For example, some companies think it's important that employees can grow quickly, make a real contribution to sustainability, be themselves or get enough personal attention.

The essential funnel for a strong construction workforce

You can approach employer branding in different ways, construction included. Pro Contact uses a funnel made up of 4 phases: 'see', 'think', 'do' and 'care'. Why a funnel? Because we start broad and end with a small group of people. Since you learn from the results of your campaigns, you can search and target more and more precisely. In the end, you're left with the tradespeople who are most relevant to your organisation.

The 'see' phase: show your construction company to the world

In general and as an employer, that is. Before you start, think about what makes your organisation unique. There are countless construction companies in the Netherlands, so catch-all terms like 'career prospects' or 'good salary' won't get you there. Think about your core values and ask your current colleagues what sets your company apart from the ones they worked for before. That way you know exactly what appeals to your target group, and so what you can put out there (online) in this phase. Not much conversion in this phase of the funnel? Don't worry, that isn't the goal yet. In the next phase, we focus on driving more traffic to your website.

Drive traffic to your website in the 'think' phase

The think phase is all about engaging and holding on to your target group. Do you spark their interest? Then you'll draw more visitors to your website. You can do that with a testimonial, for example, in which one of your current employees talks about what it's like to work at your organisation. It's a great way to show what colleagues, real people within your target group, think of working for you. Are there opportunities to grow? Did someone get lots of personal attention? Did he or she get the chance to work on impressive construction projects? It's convincing when an employee tells it in their own words. Another option is to use various construction projects as the starting point for the think phase. By advertising with projects, you attract the people who are interested in them: exactly the ones you'd want on your team.

Prompting action in the 'do' phase

Looking for crane operators, carpenters or roofers? Then you've finally reached the phase where you can really bring them in. If all went well, your target group now knows who you are and may already have visited your website. The most popular way to actually get these people to apply is through job marketing: advertising your vacancies online. You can choose to send the applicants your campaign attracts to your careers website, or to a landing page made especially for that one vacancy. On top of that, channels such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn offer the option of a lead form: a form in which these candidates can fill in their details and send them to you with a single click. Which option you choose is up to you. Want to say a bit more about the job or your construction company? Then a separate landing page may be the better option.

Keeping construction staff through the 'care' phase

The last phase of the employer branding model is all about keeping your people. Sadly, this phase is sometimes treated as the poor relation. A shame, because it's actually one of the most important parts of this (ongoing) process. It would be a waste if the new employees you worked so hard for in the first 3 phases walked out again. So think about how you can really put into practice the core values you shared in the see phase. Make sure there's enough personal attention and room for development too. That way your employees feel seen and have a future at your company. That's exactly what you want, especially since many construction professionals are making the move to freelancing these days. In construction in particular, then, the care phase is crucial.

Short-term or long-term solutions: the choice is yours

Job marketing and employer branding both have their advantages. If you want quick results, you can simply choose to advertise your vacancies online. That's a cheaper option that can deliver plenty of results. Still, employer branding in construction can be a smart solution if you want to invest in staff for the long term. This way you can really engage people and bind them to your construction company, so they get more invested in the business and often stay longer. Less turnover, then, and your workforce grows steadily. Which option will you choose?