February 18, 2025 • 56 mins
Episode Description
The construction industry is facing a major workforce crisis. Since 2011, the workforce has only grown 33%, while spending on construction has skyrocketed by 173%. With record-high job openings, high turnover, and an aging workforce, companies are struggling to keep projects moving.
In this episode, we break down:✔ Why we’re struggling to attract younger workers.✔ Why workers are quitting faster than we can replace them.✔ Why we can’t meet growing industry demand.
We’ll explore real-world challenges, industry data, and solutions that can help companies retain workers, build a pipeline of new talent, and stabilize the industry.
Key Points
The Workforce Crisis – Setting the Stage
Workforce growth hasn’t kept up with industry demand.
Companies struggle to fill open positions, leading to delays.
An aging workforce isn’t being replaced fast enough.
Why We’re Not Attracting the Next Generation
Construction isn’t seen as a desirable career.
Most enter through connections—are the connections advocates or deterrents?
Gen Z values work-life balance and social responsibility.
Early outreach, industry rebranding, and culture shifts are key.
Why We’re Losing Workers Faster Than We Can Replace Them
High turnover and disengagement hurt retention.
Stress, lack of flexibility, and poor work-life balance push workers out.
Retention improves with better leadership, mentorship, and flexibility.
Why We Can’t Meet the Demand
Experienced workers are retiring faster than replacements enter.
Productivity suffers when knowledge isn’t passed down.
Mentorship, and tech adoption can help.
Takeaways
Construction’s challenge is retention, not just hiring.
Delays, rising costs, and safety risks will worsen without change.
Investing in mentorship, valuing workers, and improving culture is critical.
One Action You Can Take
Have one conversation on your jobsite about what’s keeping workers in construction—or making them leave.
Episode Breakdown: The Construction Workforce Crisis
Coming Soon…
Sources: The Construction Workforce Crisis
Construction Labor Statistics: Since 2011, the workforce has grown only 33%, while the amount of money spent on construction has increased by 173%. Additionally since 2011, the number of workers aged 55-65 has increased by 5%, while workers aged 16-24 have only increased by 2%.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Construction Job Openings: 94% of construction firms report having openings for craft workers. Over 90% of firms report these positions as hard to fill. And 54% of firms have experienced project delays due to worker shortages. 80% of firms report experiencing at least one project that has been canceled, scaled back, or postponed.
Source: AGC 2024 Workforce Survey
Gen Z: Workforce Institute, Gen Z workers wouldn’t tolerate these three things: 35% say they wouldn’t tolerate being forced to work when they don’t want to. 34% say they wouldn’t tolerate not being able to use vacation days when they want to. 33% say they wouldn’t tolerate an employer who gave them no flexibility over their work schedule.
Source: Bridgit
Construction Turnover: 54% turnover rate in construction.
Source: Awardco
General Cost of Employee Turnover: Employee voluntary turnover alone costs U.S. businesses $1 trillion per year. Attrition and employee disengagement costs a median-sized S&P 500 company $228 million per year.
Source: Work Institute 2024 Retention Report
Disengagement: In 2023, 50% of employees were not engaged (quiet quitting).
Source: Gallup
Money as a Motivator: Less than 10% of employees identify pay as the core reason for quitting their job.
Source: Work Institute 2024 Retention Report
Engagement and Money: Gallup study states that if an employee is engaged, it will take more than a 20% raise to lure them to another company.
Source: Awardco
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
Welcome to the Blueprint for Change podcast where
we tackle construction culture one conversation,
one person, one job site at a time.
My name is Taylor Boyle. And I am
Hector Lebron. And we are on episode five
of the Blueprint for Change podcast.
We made it again.
Hey. Most podcasts don't go past nine episodes.
(00:30):
We are going for 50. Really? Yeah.
Really. But to start out, let's welcome our
listeners. Yes. We appreciate those of you who
are super loyal and listen to us the
first day, and we are so excited to
welcome you if this is your first episode
of this podcast. We will be thanking you
every single
(00:51):
day
from now to episode
5,000.
Because you know what? Without you,
there is no change. There is no 5,000.
There is no 5,000 episode. Mhmm. If you're
looking to find us, you can find us
at w w w dot the blueprint for
change dot com. Wanna send us an email?
Theblueprintforchange@gmail.com.
(01:13):
You wanna listen to us? Find us on
Spotify,
Amazon Music, as well as iHeartRadio.
Today, we are going to be talking about
the workforce crisis and why people are leaving.
So,
Hector,
do you know what the workforce
workforce crisis is?
Actually,
(01:33):
yes and no.
Yeah? Yes. Okay. What do you think it
is? Let's start there. I wanna say that
right now
I don't know. Construction doesn't seem
like
All there? Yeah. Like, it's like people don't
come out of college and be like, man,
(01:55):
that's it. I wanna be a construction worker.
I mean, it hasn't been like that
since maybe the boomers are gen xers, really.
Mhmm.
Have you noticed so you're a superintendent on
a job site. Have you noticed that there
aren't enough people? Like, your subcontractor is saying
we don't have the people to do that?
(02:15):
Yes.
We've experienced
I've heard from
multiple
foremans,
although they might be complaining
as people might put it. But, no, it's
the truth.
Some of them say, hey.
If
I run out of things to do
(02:36):
and my guys I and I have to
send my guys home, I might not get
them back.
Because it's such a fierce competition out there.
Yeah. I mean, really, that is the workforce
crisis. We do not have enough people out
there. Mhmm. That is what it is. I
mean,
I did some analysis
of,
the bureau labor statistics
(02:57):
since 02/2011
on
the number of workers in our workforce, as
well as looking at our,
annual spend on construction
throughout The United States.
So did you know
that
our the amount of money spent on construction
has increased by a 73%
while
(03:18):
our workforce has only grown 33%.
Wow.
I mean, that ex that explains so much
of what we're experiencing right now. Because I
remember,
like, since I've been in this construction industry
fully since 02/2019,
we never have enough people, and that, like,
(03:39):
just goes to show. Right?
And this is not I feel like
some people in the trades are like, well,
that's a sandbag technique
that they say, oh, I can't find them
back. So you kinda slow down.
So, you know, it
some people might say that that's a scare
tactic. No. It's the truth.
Sometimes people
(04:00):
go,
and it's very hard to get them back
because
there's no one. You're absolutely right. I mean,
like, looking at the AGC twenty twenty four
work study,
90% of construction firms surveyed,
over 90%,
have openings for craft workers.
And of that 90%,
ninety % of them say,
(04:22):
it's hard to fill this position.
There are literally too many job openings and
not enough people.
And why do you think these positions are,
quote, unquote, hard to fill? I think it's
hard to fill for
a variety of reasons. I think part of
it is
the fact that it's hard to get young
(04:44):
people into the trades. Mhmm.
I think part of it is we have
an aging workforce, so
replacing the boomers is difficult.
Mhmm. And then
the
a 73%
growth in our annual spend versus 33%
growth in our workforce,
(05:05):
there literally are not enough bodies. We need
to
that's insane to think about growing our workforce
that much. Right.
So
it's just the demand. It's the people available,
and it's the people retiring. It's a combination
of all three.
I mean, to
speak to
our,
(05:27):
the age of the workers, I mean,
if you look at since 02/2011,
the number of people in that age bracket
of 55 to 65
has increased by 5%,
while
the age of the
the percentage
of people in the age bracket between 16
to 24 has only increased 2%.
(05:48):
What does that mean?
We're not keeping pace.
Mm-mm. If we have 5%
growth in our 55
age bracket,
ideally, we wanna see that being replaced in
our younger people, but it's just it's not
happening. No. They don't they don't see it.
It's not one of those like, oh, man.
(06:09):
They want to be a trade worker.
Well, I mean, to to be fair Mhmm.
Most people are pushed on go to college,
get a degree, get the certificate. Right. It's
gonna take you further in life. Why do
you wanna be a construction worker?
Most like, for the kids that do wanna
be it. Right? Those five to maybe eight
year olds who are like, I wanna be
(06:30):
a dump truck driver. Right? Mhmm.
They get talked out
of it once they hit school
is how I feel.
I feel like and this is shout out
to all the kids out there
that wanna be a construction worker. There's nothing
wrong.
Absolutely nothing wrong. The trades. Yes. It's dangerous.
(06:50):
But, I mean, every other day, every other
job is dangerous as well. But
there's nothing wrong with it. If you have
kids and you say, hey. I never want
them to work. They don't have to work
in the field. They can learn
Project management. Scheduler.
Estimating. They don't have to go into the
field. They there's a plethora of things out
(07:11):
there for them. But so many people don't
realize that's an option. Right.
They only see the grunts
smoking cigarettes with tatted necks and
shaved heads and
a lip
piercing right here. I've never seen a trade
worker with a lip piercing.
Oh, I have. Iron worker?
(07:32):
No. All of the above. Oh, god. Okay.
Lip piercing. We're gonna table that topic.
Yeah.
No. But, I mean, you're right. Trying to
get people actually interested in the trades is
extremely difficult. Mhmm.
And then
on top of that, like, it's not just
we're experiencing
(07:52):
this shortage of workforce. Right?
It's affecting us financially,
for those of us who are subcontractors, who
are general contractors, who carry about the money
aspect.
Fifty four percent of firms have experienced project
delays due to worker shortage according to AGC.
(08:13):
For every prod every two projects you do,
one of them,
statistically
speaking, will be delayed
because of a workforce shortage.
It's not that we don't have the quality.
It's that we don't have the workers.
Or
the Suez Canal got blocked up again.
(08:38):
I'm very serious. So it's either something catastrophic.
COVID.
Yeah. Exactly.
Or just
they can't find anyone because
construction is not attracting anyone anymore.
It's just That's how serious it is. No.
(08:58):
Like,
do you have to put that? Like, people
saying, nah. I don't wanna do that versus,
okay.
Somebody got stuck in a stupid canal.
I feel like everyone, when it comes to
workforce shortage and
I I'm sorry. I feel like a majority
of people feel like the workforce shortage is
the boogeyman
(09:20):
under the bed.
Everyone talks about it. Everyone's scared about it,
but
no one really understands it. Everyone's like, oh,
we have an aging workforce, but we don't
understand
why it's a problem.
And the reality of the actual issue, which
is we can't keep up with our spending.
Mhmm. And we keep on overpromising and overpromising
(09:43):
and overpromising.
So
that's why today we're covering the workforce shortage
and we're gonna go through a couple of
different things. We're gonna go through a, Hector
already touched talked touched on it a little
bit, why we're not attracting the next generation.
Next, we're gonna go through why we're losing
workers
(10:03):
faster than we could replace them. Them. Mhmm.
And lastly, we're gonna go through
what we kinda started this whole conversation about,
why we can't meet the demand.
So let's jump right in. Let's start with
why we're not attracting
the next generation.
Why do you think we're not attracting them,
(10:23):
Hector?
It's not,
construction's not really a
desirable
career.
What do you mean by that? Per se.
It's not like,
like like I just said, you know, there's
not like,
hey,
I will
(10:44):
support you a % if you wanna be
a drywaller.
I don't think I've ever heard a parent
say that. But you know what I mean?
Like Yeah. I will support you a %
if that's what you wanna do. Or if
you wanna be a PM, I support you
a % if you wanna be a PM.
Right? Versus a doctor.
Versus
(11:04):
a doctor or A teacher.
A firefighter.
Anything else.
Which is so interesting because I
like, personally, growing up, I had such respect
for people
who were in the trades because
they're physically building the world that we see
around us.
(11:25):
There's so much energy and heart and pride
that goes into it.
When you look at the Minneapolis skyline, who
built that?
Tradespeople, construction.
When you look at some of the tallest
buildings in the world, who built that? Construction
workers.
Not even just that. Just
(11:46):
simple houses.
I mean Homes. Look at where we're at.
I see it more
as
I feel like kind of fate got me
into construction. Mhmm.
I grew up watching my grandpa do his
carpentry.
Right.
I mean,
that right there.
(12:09):
But What do you think really
stood out to you watching your grandpa work
on carpentry?
The way that that man can create
with his hands and shape
anything,
concrete, wood, steel,
to whatever he wanted.
Turning nothing into something. Yeah. And creating houses.
(12:35):
I agree with you. I mean, like,
there's so much
to
be earned from a career in construction,
not just the pride, but also the skills
that come with it.
But I feel like when we go into
school, it starts from such a young age.
Like, even kindergarten, I remember being like, oh,
what are you gonna be when you grow
(12:55):
up? Oh, I wanna do this.
Well, what are you thinking for college?
Like, I remember being asked in elementary school
what I was thinking of doing for college.
Mhmm. There's such a push for it. I
know that we're doing better as a society
now because there's been such a massive push.
Right.
But we can still do better.
(13:18):
But, I mean,
if you really think about it nowadays,
the new
generation Gen z Yeah.
Do you think they see construction
and they say,
(13:40):
that's what I want?
I would say
so for those of you who don't know,
I am Gen z.
I feel like Gen
z wants to make an impact.
They wanna make a difference.
They
(14:01):
care about society in a way that we
haven't seen before. Because if you think about
Gen z
is on like, we think of, oh, they're
on a TikTok. They're influencers. Right? Like, that's
all they wanna be. Mhmm.
But the crazy thing about TikTok and social
media is that it's connected a world unlike
we've ever seen before.
(14:22):
You can go on TikTok and you see
what's happening
in Russia,
New Zealand,
Africa.
You can see everything at once
and it's interconnected our societies in a way
we haven't seen before, and people care
in a way they haven't before. Mhmm.
(14:43):
It's driven this need to make a greater
impact.
And when you think of the long term
effects of COVID, I'm not talking about the
actual disease itself. I'm talking about what people
actually went through when they were in high
school versus up to me, which I was
at the very edge of Gen z entering
the workforce.
(15:04):
Yeah. That was a very
not a good time to be working.
But the thing is that's that's all I
knew. Like, I was in the workforce for
three months before I had to work remotely.
Mhmm.
And we saw an entire world stop in
its tracks by a virus.
I was still in the field.
(15:26):
This is true. Construction had a different view
on everything. Yep. But that's for,
politics and another time. You gotta keep on
working.
The world stops, but these buildings go up.
That's what I was told. But anyways, moving
forward.
And this is why Gen z doesn't see
it as attractive.
No. But it's like
(15:48):
okay. So you want to be more socially
conscious. You wanna
have a higher responsibility from employers. Right?
When you think of construction, do you think
of it as a very socially responsible
career?
Yeah. No.
It could be. Yeah. We could leverage our
(16:08):
strengths and be like, this is what we
build. We build the world. You could attract
so many young people with that.
Excuse me.
But
instead,
what we do
is we promote this
culture
of,
(16:29):
oh, you just joined us. I'm gonna break
you.
And then once I break you, if you're
still here, then I'll accept you. Right? Mhmm.
Genesee is not gonna put up with that.
That's not the job market we live in.
No.
They demand
a better culture. In fact, according to the
workforce institute, Gen z workers,
(16:50):
thirty five percent said they wouldn't be tolerated
they wouldn't tolerate being forced to work when
they said they don't want to.
34%
said they wouldn't tolerate not being able to
use vacation days when they said they want
to. And 33%
said
they wouldn't tolerate an employer who gave them
no flexibility over their work schedule.
(17:11):
Now I have a question for you, Hector.
Yes.
Do you think a Gen z would wanna
come work in construction after hearing the survey
results?
I think construction is one of the most
flexible,
take vacation when you want to. Oh, yeah.
No. It is great. If you take a
vacation,
there's no comments. If you go to, you
(17:31):
know, see your doctor, there's nothing. You know,
everybody applauds.
Good job for taking care of you. Good.
You're doing great.
Nope. What are the comments, Hector?
Oh, here he comes.
He's a sick boy
or
part timer.
Are you gonna actually do some work today?
(17:52):
You gonna pull in a full day of
work today? I love it when they go,
how do you come back to work after
what? You got sick yesterday? You were shitting
your brains, and now you're back?
Yeah, motherfucker.
It's called stomach problems.
Oh.
Yeah. Oh, now you feel bad. Yeah.
(18:13):
But it's shit like that
that deters
the new generation.
Yeah.
Because they're not gonna sit there and be
like, alright. I don't have to sit here
and take it. I can find another career.
I could just find another job. Fuck it.
I can be your boss.
Mhmm.
I can go back to school.
(18:36):
No. Like, Gen z,
if we wanna attract the next generation, we
really have to dig deep
into figuring out how we can attract them.
I think one of the things is absolutely
leveraging that
we build the world
mentality
and showing them the impact we can make.
I think another thing is looking at our
(18:57):
current employees and determining whether we're making advocates
or deterrents
from our,
our,
what do you call? What do you call
it? Oh my goodness.
From our industry. That's the word. Mhmm. Because
we've had this conversation. Like, we we eventually
wanna have a family, and we've talked about,
(19:17):
do we want our kids to be in
construction?
I don't want them to do iron working.
You said you didn't want them in construction
at all. But if if I ever had
to pick a Trade to say no to.
A trade
to say no to? Yeah.
No. No. Not not entirely working. Rather you
(19:38):
be a carpenter and learn how to, you
know,
build a house.
I mean,
yes. I agree with the no iron working.
The death rate is insane.
But Why?
He lived to tell the tale. Whoo.
But outside of that, when we look at
(19:58):
whether or not I want our kids to
be in construction, the answer is no
based on our experiences at least.
And I feel like a lot of parents
that go into construction, whether it be the
trades or
field management or even project management are like,
I had to do it because I had
to.
(20:19):
Right.
I did it for a paycheck. Please do
not put yourself through this.
What do you think are some of the
solutions? Like, not like, just in general, what
do you think are some ideas that we
could do to try and overcome this obstacle
staying in the way of getting more workers
into the workforce?
Get into schools.
(20:40):
I think that's a great idea.
I know that for me,
I've participated in, like, ace mentoring Mhmm. Which
goes into the high schools.
I know of nonprofits that go into the
elementary schools.
Did you ever have industrial workshop, Hector?
What do you mean? Like Did you ever
(21:01):
have, like, woodworking
or In high school? Yeah. Yeah. We had
a car shop.
It was either
wood
doing shit,
right, like carpentry
stuff or
car stuff.
And you chose car? Yeah.
Nine out times out of 10, Hector will
(21:23):
choose a car. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, now looking back, I kinda wish
I could've done more carpentry and learn
more stuff. Right. Because everything I've learned up
till now is just self taught. But, yeah,
cars.
Do you think that got you interested
more in working with your hands? Yes.
(21:43):
I think that one of the biggest things
we need to overcome in order to get
more
younger generation in
is
get them working with their hands. I loved
industrial shop.
Like, we had that in middle school. I
freaking loved it. I built a wind chime
for my parents and a birdhouse,
and I loved working with it. And I
(22:04):
remember, like, I'll walk on a job site
sometimes, and if carpentry is going on and
they got wood studs or they're doing backing
or something,
I'll smell it. And I'm like, it smells
like woodchalk. And it just makes me so
happy.
Creeper.
I just picture someone just picking up a
little wedge from the floor and going,
pine.
(22:25):
Oak.
Poplar.
No. But I think that industrial shop and
getting kids exposed early and young to it.
Yeah. Is important.
I know,
my last job, I met a individual who
is an operator, and she's actually started a
website designed to help expose kids to
(22:49):
experiments, like, that have to do with
construction
at a young age.
It's really interesting. I'll I'll put a link
in the show notes.
Okay.
No. But so I I mean, like, getting
kids exposed from an early age with experiments
is really important. I think, like, the work
that she's doing is incredible.
(23:09):
I think another thing we have to focus
on is that culture ship. Right?
Are we creating advocates or deterrents
from our industry?
What do you think
if we wanna attract the next generation
that that culture shift has to encompass?
Well, one,
the value of work life balance.
(23:32):
Yeah. I mean, we heard from the Gen
Z ers that
a lot about vacation days and flexible schedules,
like, that
that's just not gonna
it's not gonna be an option anymore. It's
like you either have it or you don't.
If you don't, you're gonna be behind.
Yeah.
What else?
Social impacts.
Like what?
(23:55):
Like,
how we're impacting the world around us, like,
building the world. Right? Mhmm.
I think another thing is
having
a work environment where people aren't hazed or
harassed
every day.
Right.
Where you know the difference between
(24:16):
hazing someone constantly and a joke.
Yeah.
Where there's a line. Mhmm.
And I'm kinda going through that right now
at work. Yeah. Well, we're joking around with,
you know, the younger guy.
He's cool and he's whatnot, and he's taking
it.
But sometimes
I do sit there and I wonder. I'm
(24:36):
like,
we're going too far.
Yeah. You know?
I think a lot of it has to
do with intent.
Right.
Are you intending to do it just because
it was done to you, or are you
intending to do it just to kinda
poke buttons and
just joke around? Like, have a good day,
(24:58):
and he does it back. Right? If it's
reciprocal,
that's one thing. Right.
But
me
being in his position, at one point, I
used to just say, yeah. Yeah. You know,
and just joke about it and not care.
Yeah. But it does bug you in the
end. Gets to you. It does get to
you in the end even though you might
(25:19):
say you're a good sport and whatnot.
Have you thought about sitting down and, like,
just having a conversation with him and being
there? I did talk to him one day.
I was like, hey. I
want you to know. I hope
I haven't said anything to offend you. And
he was just like,
motherfucker,
no. I was like, you're fine.
There's other motherfuckers I don't know about. But
(25:40):
like, shut the fuck up.
And I was like, okay.
I'm just No. But even having that conversation
is so much further than
where we are today. Right.
It's a start.
Mhmm.
No. I think
I think that covers a lot of what
we can do,
with regards to trying to get people
(26:03):
into construction. Because when we start that cultural
shift,
the people in the industry are like, I
want my kids to work in this industry.
This is a great industry to be in.
I'm gonna tell my kids I want them
to be
pipe fitters and iron workers and whatnot, but
(26:23):
so often that cultural aspect will get in
the way of it. I mean, that's a
great way to start getting people into it
is by shifting the culture, which is not
easy. We're not saying it's easy. We're just
saying that that's probably one of the best
ways to attract more. It's not easy,
but it's possible. Yes. It's like a construction
site. They're not easy,
but they're fucking possible.
(26:44):
We can It's always possible. We can all
make
any change possible as long as we all
come together and work. The same way
we come together and build impossible shit.
Same way we can do this.
Perfect. I mean,
I think we've basically covered that. Let's move
on to why we're losing workers faster than
(27:07):
we can replace them.
So
do you know what retention is, Hector?
Yes. What is retention?
Retention is
the ability
the company's ability to keep employees
happy for a very long time. So that
they don't quit. Yes.
(27:28):
What do you think happens
when we when a company loses employees?
What do you mean when a company loses?
Do you think that
they become more productive, that they get a
lot more money?
What?
(27:49):
Don't you?
Tame. So
in fact so first of all, let's start
with construction has a 54%
turnover rate.
That's the number of employees
like, that voluntarily left and were like,
(28:10):
screw this. I'm out. I'm dragging up.
Divided by the total number of employees.
That's according to AwardCo
twenty twenty three.
And when you look at the cost of
that,
employee voluntary turnover, this is like general industry.
This isn't just construction specific. That costs US
(28:31):
businesses $1,000,000,000,000
a year.
And that's where
our debt
were
causing our own debt.
Do you know why it costs that much
money for for, like, employee turnover?
No.
(28:51):
So the reason is because there are direct
costs. So let's say an employee leaves. Right?
Mhmm. You need to recruit someone new.
You need to do their background check. You
have to advertise
on LinkedIn and be like, hey. We have
an opening.
Come join us.
And you may even need, like, temporary like,
(29:12):
hire someone temporarily to fill the spot. Right?
And then there are also the indirect costs,
which are a lot harder to, like,
figure out how much it costs. So there's
a loss of productivity.
Like, everyone else has to pick up the
slack. Right?
There is,
managers that need to do, like, the interviews.
So
I don't know.
(29:32):
Like, those expensive people
charge out, like, a hundred bucks an hour.
So one interview
let's say you have three managers in the
room.
$300.
And then there's also the fact that you're
losing that knowledge. Right? When someone leaves,
there are gonna be gaps that and there
are gonna be things that slip through the
cracks. Right. You're gonna bring in
(29:55):
inexperienced people that you're gonna have to bring
them up to speed in a week,
and you have to take over.
Versus someone who's been on the project already
for two years Right. Or a year. Right.
Or even months. Yeah. Even months.
I mean and that's not even including the
fact that you'd like, when you bring someone
(30:17):
on, right, there's onboarding. There's all this training
that you put them through. There's all this
time you invest into them. Mhmm. And when
they leave, they take that time with them.
And then you have to do it all
over again with their replacement.
Right. So that's how, like, we get up
to that cost of 1,000,000,000,000 a year.
And then
(30:37):
why do you think it's such a problem
in construction, like, keeping employees just in general?
What do you think?
What's your opinion?
Because companies
don't
respect
(30:59):
work life balance
is
one of the main
things.
When companies don't respect work life balance, do
you think that means, like, people are just
like, well, I'm kinda done with this industry?
I mean, that's one of them. You got
work life balance. You got the hazing, all
the issues, the harassment,
(31:21):
talking down to
racism.
Yeah. All of that together just
yeah. Burnout. Long hours.
Many long hours because that's what's expected of
the job site.
Going back. So it's crazy how, like
we're gonna talk about this in so many
episodes, but it's, like, everything links together Yeah.
(31:41):
Because it's the culture. The culture
is an issue. There are things that are
good about it, and there are things that
are bad about it.
It really just boils down to that.
Like, work life balance,
you're not getting either not getting compensated
enough
for the work that you're doing.
(32:01):
You're working these long fucking hours,
or what I've been noticing, they'll give you
a position.
They'll give you the power, but they won't
give you the check that comes with that
position.
Yeah. They want you to work at a
working above your that is above my pay
grade
(32:22):
is what we like to say. They want
you to go through the fire and flames
just to test you, but
at what cost?
Yeah.
No. I mean, like and that's why we
have things like quiet quitting. Have you heard
about quiet quitting before? Mhmm.
In your opinion, what do you think quiet
quitting is?
I'm a quit quietly.
(32:46):
Essentially.
Yes. But I'm not gonna tell anyone.
Not quite. So what quiet quitting is is
you keep your job. You keep collecting a
paycheck.
You just don't do your job that well.
You just do the bare minimum and you
escape by. It's a bare necessity.
(33:06):
It's simple. No. That's Yeah. That's what you
do.
I've heard that I've never heard it as
quiet. Quitting, I've heard it as just like,
you know what, dude?
Fuck it. I'm just here for a paycheck.
I'm just gonna disappear throughout the day,
do the bare necessities,
do my job,
(33:27):
and that's it.
No. But another word for it is to
be disengaged.
So
in 2023,
according to a Gallup survey, again, general industry,
not construction specific,
68%
of employees were disengaged.
And the reason that matters is that according
to a McKinsey study,
(33:48):
attrition, employees leaving,
and
employer
employee disengagement
costs a median size S and P company
228,000,000
a year.
Meep.
(34:09):
I mean,
think about it, though. Right? You got a
person over here who's doing the bare minimum
and got a person over here who's overachieving
because they love their job and they love
the company that they work for. I don't
know if they wanna say love the company
they work for. They
they enjoy.
They enjoy the trade and they they enjoy
(34:31):
seeing the build. And they enjoy maybe the
team they work for. Exactly.
That that
is just there's a human factor, and then
there's the financial factor that we are consistently
talking about. And
this costs us on both sides.
(34:52):
I mean,
what do you think are some of the
solutions
then to
us trying to retain employees?
I wanna say money.
Money? Really?
But I don't wanna say money.
Why?
(35:15):
Because
it's not just about the money.
It's also about,
again, going right back to the same thing.
It's a work life balance.
It's about the company you work for. It's
about the culture.
It's about
how this company takes care of you as
(35:36):
a person,
not just
you're just here to do your job.
Yeah. I mean,
less than 10% of employees actually identify pay
as the core reason that they quit their
job.
Money is great
when you're trying to attract new talent.
But you can't always throw money at the
(35:56):
problem.
I haven't quit a single job because of
the money.
And the reality is, let's say, you're at
a place and you love like, I remember
I worked on a team that I loved
working with them.
I showed up to every day.
Not every day was great. It was construction.
(36:18):
Let's be right. Right. But I showed up
to work every day,
and I go make my rounds. I say
hi to the two supes in the PM,
and I'd be like, what's going on, man?
Like and
they would tell me, this is not normal,
Taylor. This is, like, my second team I
worked with. The first one was a team
from hell. The second one was amazing. They're
like, Taylor, this isn't normal. Like, this team
(36:40):
is incredible. I'm like, what are you talking
about?
You couldn't
have paid me to leave that team.
Mhmm. I mean, I'm sure there was a
dollar price, but not one that would be
feasible or within the realm of possibility.
$1,000,000,
gone.
Yes.
But the reality is, like, if an employee
(37:01):
is engaged according to Gallup, it would require
more than a 20%
raise to lure them to another company. So
let's say you're making a hundred grand.
In order for you to jump to the
next company, if you're, like, engaged, it's not
even, like, you love your job. You're just,
you know, like, I like my job. Right.
I like showing up. Right. It would take
a 20%
raise, hundred and 20,000 for you to leave.
(37:25):
Money is not the solution. I think you're
absolutely hitting the nail on the head with
flexibility,
though. Right.
I think flexibility,
mentorship,
and the culture. You're right.
I mean, like,
keep on saying, it's just
(37:45):
it goes right back
to the same thing.
It's always the culture. Mhmm.
Always comes back to the culture.
And it's not just
like, we talked about the retention cost. Right?
Like, if someone leaves, there's a cost associated
with that.
But
let's say you have a good culture. Right?
(38:07):
Mhmm.
According to McKinsey,
there's a study done that
companies with
the best cultures, the top cultures,
had a better return to shareholders
by 60%
than those in the middle.
And those at the top, those ones that
we're talking about the best,
(38:28):
had a 200%
higher return
than those
at the bottom.
Culture
What does that mean, Taylor? Means that culture
matters, not just, like, for people
and for retaining people, but also financially. It
makes sense. There is a financial case for
(38:48):
improving your culture. Please do it. Please. Please.
Please. It's not about just please. It's like,
dude,
think of
how much
more,
like, people are gonna
wanna come to work
How much more productive they're gonna be. How
(39:10):
much like, how happier they can be at
work. Yeah. Some days, I go to work,
man,
and I'm working in a hotel renovation right
now. And
as soon as you get off the elevator
and you look down the hallway, you can
tell when air like, the camaraderie is there.
(39:31):
Yeah.
And that's
that's
what I like to see.
When you enjoy the people you work with,
you do such a better job at work,
and you want to show up to work.
Mhmm.
And that's, like, 90% of the battle. Yeah.
(39:56):
I don't know. It's just
trying to retain people,
it all comes down to your culture.
It really does.
Whether or not you have flexibility in your
workplace,
that's, that's ultimately your culture. Mhmm. Whether or
not there's mentorship there, formal or informal,
(40:19):
do you have a culture where you're trying
to teach people?
Like, I remember I had one superintendent.
They're doing concrete pours, and I've seen concrete
bowers before, but I never had, like, someone's,
like, sit with me and go, here's what
this is. Here's why this is important. I
designed it. That's it. Mhmm. Had a superintendent
take a buggy out with me, and we're
(40:39):
sitting there in this Texas sun in the
summer,
and we're watching them pour concrete. And I
was like I just had, like I was
like, okay. So what's this? That's a laser
screen.
What's a laser screen? Well, it does this,
this, and this. Why do we use that?
Because
it's better for this this and this reason.
Well, what are what are those fan things
(41:00):
going over?
Well, those help to cure the concrete.
What are they doing? Like, just having someone
that sits down with you, that's not
that wasn't in his job description.
I mean, it probably was, but, like, a
lot of people just ignore that part. Mhmm.
Like, he it was
he cared.
(41:21):
Right.
And that's
that's something that you can cultivate in your
culture.
And then what happens when we have employees
that like to stay with us? They attract
the next generation.
Mhmm.
So with that being said, let's I think
(41:41):
I think we got that covered. Why
why we aren't retaining people. I think
people should understand that a lot of it
has to do with the culture we've built,
and
people should understand that what we can do
to move forward is if if you're an
individual,
you can mentor someone else. You can care
about another human being. If you're a company,
(42:03):
you can create more flexibility,
and you can create,
better culture
overall
by what you tolerate, what you accept,
what you teach.
Mhmm.
So that leads us into
why can't we meet the demand?
I think that first statistic
(42:24):
kinda sums it up. We're spending more than
we have the manpower for. Right.
Workforce
has grown 33%,
but the money
spent on Yeah. Has increased by a 73%.
(42:46):
Like, that is insane.
Yeah. And we're still stuck in the first.
Like my grandma used to say, you're still
stuck on the first shoe.
Oh, dang.
Grandma Sainz
making a debut in episode
They're gonna they're gonna start coming out.
(43:07):
We're gonna have a little section.
Grandma saints.
Yeah. I mean, you you just can't recruit
that fast.
Nope.
That's
so let's just let's do round numbers. Right?
30%
(43:28):
versus, let's say, a 80%.
Right? Mhmm.
That's
six times
we're growing
we're spending
six times faster than we can recruit.
And it's not just that. I mean, yes,
that is a massive part of it. Like
(43:50):
but I think another part of it is
the aging generation. Right? So
the average age of retirement is 61.
As of 2025,
the youngest baby boomer will be 61.
So this year,
we'd anticipate
(44:11):
all of the baby boomer like, obviously, we
all know the superintendent is like, I'm retired.
I'm retired.
Actually, speaking about that, someone at work
just shared today that May 31
is his last day.
Here's the problem. They're all like boomerangs.
They come back. Well, he can only work
(44:33):
six hundred hours a year
for his retirement plan.
Unions?
Yep. That's it. So he can come
and sit in the chair, like he said,
and fart and leave.
Construction. I love it.
(44:54):
Shout out.
You know who you are. You know who
said this. He's never gonna listen to this,
by the way, but
hope the hope is out there. Maybe someday
he will.
No. But I mean, like,
if
all the baby boomers are,
quote, unquote, retired, which we all know is
never gonna happen because they're all boomerangs.
(45:15):
But
if they're retired this year,
yes,
we've lost a massive
amount of workforce. Right? Mhmm. Even though we've
steadily grown except for, I think, one or
two years over the past
fourteen,
We've steadily grown as a workforce.
(45:35):
But with that age group that's retiring, we're
also losing a lot of knowledge.
Yes. I mean, you worked with I I
don't know if he's a boomer, but the
first guy you worked with in Florida.
Honey, they were all boomers.
But they have such a wealth of knowledge.
Oh, yeah. They taught you how to be
(45:56):
a super.
They taught me how to be everything since
day one. I've only wanted to work
with older guys,
and that stems it for me, that stems
because
I grew up with my grandparents, and I
grew up with my grandfather, and my grandfather
had his friends
(46:17):
who were a lot of them were carpenters.
So it's like, I grew up with that
generation.
Yep.
So that's why.
Why do you think you enjoy working with
them, though? Is because of that wealth of
knowledge? It's just exactly
the amount of
just
(46:38):
knowledge
that they have,
the things that they're willing to teach because
they like to teach. They're not,
you know some of them are cranky.
Yeah. They are. But,
you know
No. I hear you on that. So
let's start with just that
(46:58):
knowledge gap, right, that our older generation is
retiring. What do you think are some solutions
to help us
recover some of that? Well,
I've always believed in mentorship.
Who do you think
has been
the biggest mentor for you
in your career?
(47:22):
I've known so I mean, Sammy,
obviously,
my old
foreman. Why do you think like, when I
said mentorship, he's always the first person that
comes to mind. Mhmm. Why do you think
he's always that first person? Because he wasn't
just
again, culture.
But he wasn't just
(47:43):
a mentor,
a
coworker,
my
superior.
He was a friend. He cared. Yeah.
He was a friend. And he as a
friend, he cared and he
called you out on bullshit.
He cared about your feelings and how you
felt.
(48:05):
I I think that's invaluable.
Mhmm. It's having
a mentor who cares. And, like, even for
those of us
let's say
let's say it's not the best situation. Maybe
you're working with someone you're you're like, oh
my gosh. You're an idiot.
Mhmm. Which I have been the idiot,
(48:26):
and I've also been the person saying that.
Mhmm. I've been both
you know, but it's so important
for that mentorship to happen.
Whether you like the person or not, you
can pass along your knowledge. Mhmm. And there
are things that you can learn from that
person.
(48:49):
Deep breath.
But, like, there's always something like, even the
person
that I hated
working for the most,
he taught me something.
Mhmm. There was a there was a nugget
in there of knowledge
that I still I still
keep with me today.
I mean,
(49:09):
we're getting all talk about that great guy
from Albert Lee that I met.
You know? And we weren't we didn't get
along. Yep. Butted heads, but I learned something.
And that's the key to mentorship. It doesn't
matter.
Yes. Ideally, there's a culture of care and
(49:29):
you care about each other.
But
you can mentor someone even if you don't
like them. Mhmm.
I think another thing, like, when we're talking
about this greater
gap between money spent and the workforce,
I think we need to start looking into
technology more.
Like what?
(49:49):
So
we were at the stake fair. I don't
know if you remember this, but it got
me really excited.
Oh, the the guy with the carrying the
block? Yes. Yes. There was a, like, a
masonry
lane technology
that had a robot. It wasn't it couldn't
do it by itself, but, like, it alleviated
all
the So, basically,
(50:11):
it's like an exoskeleton,
which they have.
Nowadays, Milwaukee
has that. Yeah. It's like a exo
it's like a backpack. You put it on.
It has two batteries, and it has this
overhead crane, basically.
Yep. And it hangs over you, and it
allows you to pick up
up to 200, three hundred pounds.
(50:32):
Mhmm. And all you have to do is
just kinda guide it. Right?
And it tips forward. It changes your center
of gravity so you're not using your pack.
There's so like,
technology is getting insane
right now. Right. Like, between exoskeletons,
AI is in its infancy,
(50:54):
really. Mhmm. Like, what it's capable we're just
starting to, like, see what it is. Skynet.
Like, there's so many, like, technological
advancements
out there.
Drones,
PPE, your new chin strap part hat.
But, I mean,
(51:15):
all joking aside, technology is constantly evolving, and
I think we need to start leveraging it
because there's such a fear of change. There's
such a fear of, well, it's gonna take
my job.
We don't have enough people to do your
job. We need more people, and we don't
have enough. This is gonna supplement it.
(51:36):
We need to start looking to technology, I
think, a little bit more
as well as that formal mentorship to help
us bridge that gap. Mhmm.
So
I think that just about covers the workforce
retention workforce
retention
and,
(51:56):
gap and just about everything.
The issues.
The issues with our workforce right now and
being able to meet the demands.
The reality is construction has a problem. It
has a problem recruiting. It has a problem
with retention.
Retention is like,
nah.
It has a problem with being outpaced by
spending
with a lack of candidates to fill positions.
(52:20):
And if we don't change, what's the consequences?
Delays.
Yeah. I mean Lots and lots of delays.
Right now,
80% of firms report experiencing at least one
project that has been canceled, scaled back, or
postponed.
I mean, that that also includes of course,
permits and owners and all that. But part
(52:42):
of that
is in fact workforce shortage.
We're gonna have more delays if we don't
change.
And on a bigger scale
for, like, the the future of construction, let's
talk real out there,
project safety and quality will suffer,
(53:03):
And more importantly,
our people will. Yeah.
You know,
not to bring
companies' information and all that shit out there,
but
a lot of companies I've been hearing have
been
they focus on safety, but nowadays,
they wanna focus more about quality.
(53:24):
Which is great.
But start moving towards culture. Yep.
Because culture feeds your safety. It feeds your
quality. Yes. It does.
Yes. It does. And I've seen it.
We need to stop looking at the symptoms
of our problems and start really turning our
focus towards
(53:44):
the root of it. Mhmm.
And if we can do that,
we can focus on making small changes. The
mentorship,
actually valuing our employees, trying to implement the
flexibility
because small in changes can really have such
a massive impact.
(54:08):
What do you think our challenge should be
this week?
What did we challenge last week?
Last week was on
having a conversation
with
someone
that you have a relationship with, whether that's
coworker or family member,
(54:29):
and
trying to have a conversation about how your
work impacts
your relationship.
So this
week,
the same
almost the same thing Okay. Of a conversation.
Right? It's almost like it's in our slogan.
I know.
But have a conversation with someone in your
job site, but
(54:51):
learn about what's keeping them there.
Learn about their attention. Yeah. Like, what's you
know, pick up their mind and be like,
hey.
So what do you like about this company
you're in? Like, what do you like about
Corvall? Or what do you like about Eagan?
What do you like about this? What do
you like about that? We're in Minnesota, by
the way. Yeah. But
(55:13):
it just not I'm just throwing names out
there. Right? Yeah. Or why don't you leave?
Why why haven't you left yet? Right. Like,
how's your union treating you? Like, how's this?
How's that?
It doesn't have to be
massive,
but, you know,
down to earth on this.
Because if we can figure out what's keeping
(55:33):
people Mhmm. We can start figuring out
how we can keep people in construction. Right.
And whatever you hear,
send us an email. Be like, hey.
I had a conversation with this guy and
he said,
this this this
I love the people I work with. Mhmm.
I love the job I
(55:53):
do, and I feel valued. I spoke to
this other guy, and he is fucking done.
He's ready to leave because of this, this,
this. I also wanna hear the nitty gritty.
I
I'm curious. I'm curious to hear from our
listeners.
Right.
So with that,
you've heard about the workforce crisis. You have
your challenge for the week.
(56:16):
Please
tune in next week for episode six.
We will tell you more about it soon.
So with that,
have a great week, and don't forget to
be the change you wanna see in the
industry
because this change is only gonna happen
one conversation,
one person, one jobs at a time.
(56:38):
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to the Blueprint for Change podcast where
we tackle construction culture one conversation,
one person, one job site at a time.
My name is Taylor Boyle. And I am
Hector Lebron. And we are on episode five
of the Blueprint for Change podcast.
We made it again.
Hey. Most podcasts don't go past nine episodes.
(00:30):
We are going for 50. Really? Yeah.
Really. But to start out, let's welcome our
listeners. Yes. We appreciate those of you who
are super loyal and listen to us the
first day, and we are so excited to
welcome you if this is your first episode
of this podcast. We will be thanking you
every single
(00:51):
day
from now to episode
5,000.
Because you know what? Without you,
there is no change. There is no 5,000.
There is no 5,000 episode. Mhmm. If you're
looking to find us, you can find us
at w w w dot the blueprint for
change dot com. Wanna send us an email?
Theblueprintforchange@gmail.com.
(01:13):
You wanna listen to us? Find us on
Spotify,
Amazon Music, as well as iHeartRadio.
Today, we are going to be talking about
the workforce crisis and why people are leaving.
So,
Hector,
do you know what the workforce
workforce crisis is?
Actually,
(01:33):
yes and no.
Yeah? Yes. Okay. What do you think it
is? Let's start there. I wanna say that
right now
I don't know. Construction doesn't seem
like
All there? Yeah. Like, it's like people don't
come out of college and be like, man,
(01:55):
that's it. I wanna be a construction worker.
I mean, it hasn't been like that
since maybe the boomers are gen xers, really.
Mhmm.
Have you noticed so you're a superintendent on
a job site. Have you noticed that there
aren't enough people? Like, your subcontractor is saying
we don't have the people to do that?
(02:15):
Yes.
We've experienced
I've heard from
multiple
foremans,
although they might be complaining
as people might put it. But, no, it's
the truth.
Some of them say, hey.
If
I run out of things to do
(02:36):
and my guys I and I have to
send my guys home, I might not get
them back.
Because it's such a fierce competition out there.
Yeah. I mean, really, that is the workforce
crisis. We do not have enough people out
there. Mhmm. That is what it is. I
mean,
I did some analysis
of,
the bureau labor statistics
(02:57):
since 02/2011
on
the number of workers in our workforce, as
well as looking at our,
annual spend on construction
throughout The United States.
So did you know
that
our the amount of money spent on construction
has increased by a 73%
while
(03:18):
our workforce has only grown 33%.
Wow.
I mean, that ex that explains so much
of what we're experiencing right now. Because I
remember,
like, since I've been in this construction industry
fully since 02/2019,
we never have enough people, and that, like,
(03:39):
just goes to show. Right?
And this is not I feel like
some people in the trades are like, well,
that's a sandbag technique
that they say, oh, I can't find them
back. So you kinda slow down.
So, you know, it
some people might say that that's a scare
tactic. No. It's the truth.
Sometimes people
(04:00):
go,
and it's very hard to get them back
because
there's no one. You're absolutely right. I mean,
like, looking at the AGC twenty twenty four
work study,
90% of construction firms surveyed,
over 90%,
have openings for craft workers.
And of that 90%,
ninety % of them say,
(04:22):
it's hard to fill this position.
There are literally too many job openings and
not enough people.
And why do you think these positions are,
quote, unquote, hard to fill? I think it's
hard to fill for
a variety of reasons. I think part of
it is
the fact that it's hard to get young
(04:44):
people into the trades. Mhmm.
I think part of it is we have
an aging workforce, so
replacing the boomers is difficult.
Mhmm. And then
the
a 73%
growth in our annual spend versus 33%
growth in our workforce,
(05:05):
there literally are not enough bodies. We need
to
that's insane to think about growing our workforce
that much. Right.
So
it's just the demand. It's the people available,
and it's the people retiring. It's a combination
of all three.
I mean, to
speak to
our,
(05:27):
the age of the workers, I mean,
if you look at since 02/2011,
the number of people in that age bracket
of 55 to 65
has increased by 5%,
while
the age of the
the percentage
of people in the age bracket between 16
to 24 has only increased 2%.
(05:48):
What does that mean?
We're not keeping pace.
Mm-mm. If we have 5%
growth in our 55
age bracket,
ideally, we wanna see that being replaced in
our younger people, but it's just it's not
happening. No. They don't they don't see it.
It's not one of those like, oh, man.
(06:09):
They want to be a trade worker.
Well, I mean, to to be fair Mhmm.
Most people are pushed on go to college,
get a degree, get the certificate. Right. It's
gonna take you further in life. Why do
you wanna be a construction worker?
Most like, for the kids that do wanna
be it. Right? Those five to maybe eight
year olds who are like, I wanna be
(06:30):
a dump truck driver. Right? Mhmm.
They get talked out
of it once they hit school
is how I feel.
I feel like and this is shout out
to all the kids out there
that wanna be a construction worker. There's nothing
wrong.
Absolutely nothing wrong. The trades. Yes. It's dangerous.
(06:50):
But, I mean, every other day, every other
job is dangerous as well. But
there's nothing wrong with it. If you have
kids and you say, hey. I never want
them to work. They don't have to work
in the field. They can learn
Project management. Scheduler.
Estimating. They don't have to go into the
field. They there's a plethora of things out
(07:11):
there for them. But so many people don't
realize that's an option. Right.
They only see the grunts
smoking cigarettes with tatted necks and
shaved heads and
a lip
piercing right here. I've never seen a trade
worker with a lip piercing.
Oh, I have. Iron worker?
(07:32):
No. All of the above. Oh, god. Okay.
Lip piercing. We're gonna table that topic.
Yeah.
No. But, I mean, you're right. Trying to
get people actually interested in the trades is
extremely difficult. Mhmm.
And then
on top of that, like, it's not just
we're experiencing
(07:52):
this shortage of workforce. Right?
It's affecting us financially,
for those of us who are subcontractors, who
are general contractors, who carry about the money
aspect.
Fifty four percent of firms have experienced project
delays due to worker shortage according to AGC.
(08:13):
For every prod every two projects you do,
one of them,
statistically
speaking, will be delayed
because of a workforce shortage.
It's not that we don't have the quality.
It's that we don't have the workers.
Or
the Suez Canal got blocked up again.
(08:38):
I'm very serious. So it's either something catastrophic.
COVID.
Yeah. Exactly.
Or just
they can't find anyone because
construction is not attracting anyone anymore.
It's just That's how serious it is. No.
(08:58):
Like,
do you have to put that? Like, people
saying, nah. I don't wanna do that versus,
okay.
Somebody got stuck in a stupid canal.
I feel like everyone, when it comes to
workforce shortage and
I I'm sorry. I feel like a majority
of people feel like the workforce shortage is
the boogeyman
(09:20):
under the bed.
Everyone talks about it. Everyone's scared about it,
but
no one really understands it. Everyone's like, oh,
we have an aging workforce, but we don't
understand
why it's a problem.
And the reality of the actual issue, which
is we can't keep up with our spending.
Mhmm. And we keep on overpromising and overpromising
(09:43):
and overpromising.
So
that's why today we're covering the workforce shortage
and we're gonna go through a couple of
different things. We're gonna go through a, Hector
already touched talked touched on it a little
bit, why we're not attracting the next generation.
Next, we're gonna go through why we're losing
workers
(10:03):
faster than we could replace them. Them. Mhmm.
And lastly, we're gonna go through
what we kinda started this whole conversation about,
why we can't meet the demand.
So let's jump right in. Let's start with
why we're not attracting
the next generation.
Why do you think we're not attracting them,
(10:23):
Hector?
It's not,
construction's not really a
desirable
career.
What do you mean by that? Per se.
It's not like,
like like I just said, you know, there's
not like,
hey,
I will
(10:44):
support you a % if you wanna be
a drywaller.
I don't think I've ever heard a parent
say that. But you know what I mean?
Like Yeah. I will support you a %
if that's what you wanna do. Or if
you wanna be a PM, I support you
a % if you wanna be a PM.
Right? Versus a doctor.
Versus
(11:04):
a doctor or A teacher.
A firefighter.
Anything else.
Which is so interesting because I
like, personally, growing up, I had such respect
for people
who were in the trades because
they're physically building the world that we see
around us.
(11:25):
There's so much energy and heart and pride
that goes into it.
When you look at the Minneapolis skyline, who
built that?
Tradespeople, construction.
When you look at some of the tallest
buildings in the world, who built that? Construction
workers.
Not even just that. Just
(11:46):
simple houses.
I mean Homes. Look at where we're at.
I see it more
as
I feel like kind of fate got me
into construction. Mhmm.
I grew up watching my grandpa do his
carpentry.
Right.
I mean,
that right there.
(12:09):
But What do you think really
stood out to you watching your grandpa work
on carpentry?
The way that that man can create
with his hands and shape
anything,
concrete, wood, steel,
to whatever he wanted.
Turning nothing into something. Yeah. And creating houses.
(12:35):
I agree with you. I mean, like,
there's so much
to
be earned from a career in construction,
not just the pride, but also the skills
that come with it.
But I feel like when we go into
school, it starts from such a young age.
Like, even kindergarten, I remember being like, oh,
what are you gonna be when you grow
(12:55):
up? Oh, I wanna do this.
Well, what are you thinking for college?
Like, I remember being asked in elementary school
what I was thinking of doing for college.
Mhmm. There's such a push for it. I
know that we're doing better as a society
now because there's been such a massive push.
Right.
But we can still do better.
(13:18):
But, I mean,
if you really think about it nowadays,
the new
generation Gen z Yeah.
Do you think they see construction
and they say,
(13:40):
that's what I want?
I would say
so for those of you who don't know,
I am Gen z.
I feel like Gen
z wants to make an impact.
They wanna make a difference.
They
(14:01):
care about society in a way that we
haven't seen before. Because if you think about
Gen z
is on like, we think of, oh, they're
on a TikTok. They're influencers. Right? Like, that's
all they wanna be. Mhmm.
But the crazy thing about TikTok and social
media is that it's connected a world unlike
we've ever seen before.
(14:22):
You can go on TikTok and you see
what's happening
in Russia,
New Zealand,
Africa.
You can see everything at once
and it's interconnected our societies in a way
we haven't seen before, and people care
in a way they haven't before. Mhmm.
(14:43):
It's driven this need to make a greater
impact.
And when you think of the long term
effects of COVID, I'm not talking about the
actual disease itself. I'm talking about what people
actually went through when they were in high
school versus up to me, which I was
at the very edge of Gen z entering
the workforce.
(15:04):
Yeah. That was a very
not a good time to be working.
But the thing is that's that's all I
knew. Like, I was in the workforce for
three months before I had to work remotely.
Mhmm.
And we saw an entire world stop in
its tracks by a virus.
I was still in the field.
(15:26):
This is true. Construction had a different view
on everything. Yep. But that's for,
politics and another time. You gotta keep on
working.
The world stops, but these buildings go up.
That's what I was told. But anyways, moving
forward.
And this is why Gen z doesn't see
it as attractive.
No. But it's like
(15:48):
okay. So you want to be more socially
conscious. You wanna
have a higher responsibility from employers. Right?
When you think of construction, do you think
of it as a very socially responsible
career?
Yeah. No.
It could be. Yeah. We could leverage our
(16:08):
strengths and be like, this is what we
build. We build the world. You could attract
so many young people with that.
Excuse me.
But
instead,
what we do
is we promote this
culture
of,
(16:29):
oh, you just joined us. I'm gonna break
you.
And then once I break you, if you're
still here, then I'll accept you. Right? Mhmm.
Genesee is not gonna put up with that.
That's not the job market we live in.
No.
They demand
a better culture. In fact, according to the
workforce institute, Gen z workers,
(16:50):
thirty five percent said they wouldn't be tolerated
they wouldn't tolerate being forced to work when
they said they don't want to.
34%
said they wouldn't tolerate not being able to
use vacation days when they said they want
to. And 33%
said
they wouldn't tolerate an employer who gave them
no flexibility over their work schedule.
(17:11):
Now I have a question for you, Hector.
Yes.
Do you think a Gen z would wanna
come work in construction after hearing the survey
results?
I think construction is one of the most
flexible,
take vacation when you want to. Oh, yeah.
No. It is great. If you take a
vacation,
there's no comments. If you go to, you
(17:31):
know, see your doctor, there's nothing. You know,
everybody applauds.
Good job for taking care of you. Good.
You're doing great.
Nope. What are the comments, Hector?
Oh, here he comes.
He's a sick boy
or
part timer.
Are you gonna actually do some work today?
(17:52):
You gonna pull in a full day of
work today? I love it when they go,
how do you come back to work after
what? You got sick yesterday? You were shitting
your brains, and now you're back?
Yeah, motherfucker.
It's called stomach problems.
Oh.
Yeah. Oh, now you feel bad. Yeah.
(18:13):
But it's shit like that
that deters
the new generation.
Yeah.
Because they're not gonna sit there and be
like, alright. I don't have to sit here
and take it. I can find another career.
I could just find another job. Fuck it.
I can be your boss.
Mhmm.
I can go back to school.
(18:36):
No. Like, Gen z,
if we wanna attract the next generation, we
really have to dig deep
into figuring out how we can attract them.
I think one of the things is absolutely
leveraging that
we build the world
mentality
and showing them the impact we can make.
I think another thing is looking at our
(18:57):
current employees and determining whether we're making advocates
or deterrents
from our,
our,
what do you call? What do you call
it? Oh my goodness.
From our industry. That's the word. Mhmm. Because
we've had this conversation. Like, we we eventually
wanna have a family, and we've talked about,
(19:17):
do we want our kids to be in
construction?
I don't want them to do iron working.
You said you didn't want them in construction
at all. But if if I ever had
to pick a Trade to say no to.
A trade
to say no to? Yeah.
No. No. Not not entirely working. Rather you
(19:38):
be a carpenter and learn how to, you
know,
build a house.
I mean,
yes. I agree with the no iron working.
The death rate is insane.
But Why?
He lived to tell the tale. Whoo.
But outside of that, when we look at
(19:58):
whether or not I want our kids to
be in construction, the answer is no
based on our experiences at least.
And I feel like a lot of parents
that go into construction, whether it be the
trades or
field management or even project management are like,
I had to do it because I had
to.
(20:19):
Right.
I did it for a paycheck. Please do
not put yourself through this.
What do you think are some of the
solutions? Like, not like, just in general, what
do you think are some ideas that we
could do to try and overcome this obstacle
staying in the way of getting more workers
into the workforce?
Get into schools.
(20:40):
I think that's a great idea.
I know that for me,
I've participated in, like, ace mentoring Mhmm. Which
goes into the high schools.
I know of nonprofits that go into the
elementary schools.
Did you ever have industrial workshop, Hector?
What do you mean? Like Did you ever
(21:01):
have, like, woodworking
or In high school? Yeah. Yeah. We had
a car shop.
It was either
wood
doing shit,
right, like carpentry
stuff or
car stuff.
And you chose car? Yeah.
Nine out times out of 10, Hector will
(21:23):
choose a car. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, now looking back, I kinda wish
I could've done more carpentry and learn
more stuff. Right. Because everything I've learned up
till now is just self taught. But, yeah,
cars.
Do you think that got you interested
more in working with your hands? Yes.
(21:43):
I think that one of the biggest things
we need to overcome in order to get
more
younger generation in
is
get them working with their hands. I loved
industrial shop.
Like, we had that in middle school. I
freaking loved it. I built a wind chime
for my parents and a birdhouse,
and I loved working with it. And I
(22:04):
remember, like, I'll walk on a job site
sometimes, and if carpentry is going on and
they got wood studs or they're doing backing
or something,
I'll smell it. And I'm like, it smells
like woodchalk. And it just makes me so
happy.
Creeper.
I just picture someone just picking up a
little wedge from the floor and going,
pine.
(22:25):
Oak.
Poplar.
No. But I think that industrial shop and
getting kids exposed early and young to it.
Yeah. Is important.
I know,
my last job, I met a individual who
is an operator, and she's actually started a
website designed to help expose kids to
(22:49):
experiments, like, that have to do with
construction
at a young age.
It's really interesting. I'll I'll put a link
in the show notes.
Okay.
No. But so I I mean, like, getting
kids exposed from an early age with experiments
is really important. I think, like, the work
that she's doing is incredible.
(23:09):
I think another thing we have to focus
on is that culture ship. Right?
Are we creating advocates or deterrents
from our industry?
What do you think
if we wanna attract the next generation
that that culture shift has to encompass?
Well, one,
the value of work life balance.
(23:32):
Yeah. I mean, we heard from the Gen
Z ers that
a lot about vacation days and flexible schedules,
like, that
that's just not gonna
it's not gonna be an option anymore. It's
like you either have it or you don't.
If you don't, you're gonna be behind.
Yeah.
What else?
Social impacts.
Like what?
(23:55):
Like,
how we're impacting the world around us, like,
building the world. Right? Mhmm.
I think another thing is
having
a work environment where people aren't hazed or
harassed
every day.
Right.
Where you know the difference between
(24:16):
hazing someone constantly and a joke.
Yeah.
Where there's a line. Mhmm.
And I'm kinda going through that right now
at work. Yeah. Well, we're joking around with,
you know, the younger guy.
He's cool and he's whatnot, and he's taking
it.
But sometimes
I do sit there and I wonder. I'm
(24:36):
like,
we're going too far.
Yeah. You know?
I think a lot of it has to
do with intent.
Right.
Are you intending to do it just because
it was done to you, or are you
intending to do it just to kinda
poke buttons and
just joke around? Like, have a good day,
(24:58):
and he does it back. Right? If it's
reciprocal,
that's one thing. Right.
But
me
being in his position, at one point, I
used to just say, yeah. Yeah. You know,
and just joke about it and not care.
Yeah. But it does bug you in the
end. Gets to you. It does get to
you in the end even though you might
(25:19):
say you're a good sport and whatnot.
Have you thought about sitting down and, like,
just having a conversation with him and being
there? I did talk to him one day.
I was like, hey. I
want you to know. I hope
I haven't said anything to offend you. And
he was just like,
motherfucker,
no. I was like, you're fine.
There's other motherfuckers I don't know about. But
(25:40):
like, shut the fuck up.
And I was like, okay.
I'm just No. But even having that conversation
is so much further than
where we are today. Right.
It's a start.
Mhmm.
No. I think
I think that covers a lot of what
we can do,
with regards to trying to get people
(26:03):
into construction. Because when we start that cultural
shift,
the people in the industry are like, I
want my kids to work in this industry.
This is a great industry to be in.
I'm gonna tell my kids I want them
to be
pipe fitters and iron workers and whatnot, but
(26:23):
so often that cultural aspect will get in
the way of it. I mean, that's a
great way to start getting people into it
is by shifting the culture, which is not
easy. We're not saying it's easy. We're just
saying that that's probably one of the best
ways to attract more. It's not easy,
but it's possible. Yes. It's like a construction
site. They're not easy,
but they're fucking possible.
(26:44):
We can It's always possible. We can all
make
any change possible as long as we all
come together and work. The same way
we come together and build impossible shit.
Same way we can do this.
Perfect. I mean,
I think we've basically covered that. Let's move
on to why we're losing workers faster than
(27:07):
we can replace them.
So
do you know what retention is, Hector?
Yes. What is retention?
Retention is
the ability
the company's ability to keep employees
happy for a very long time. So that
they don't quit. Yes.
(27:28):
What do you think happens
when we when a company loses employees?
What do you mean when a company loses?
Do you think that
they become more productive, that they get a
lot more money?
What?
(27:49):
Don't you?
Tame. So
in fact so first of all, let's start
with construction has a 54%
turnover rate.
That's the number of employees
like, that voluntarily left and were like,
(28:10):
screw this. I'm out. I'm dragging up.
Divided by the total number of employees.
That's according to AwardCo
twenty twenty three.
And when you look at the cost of
that,
employee voluntary turnover, this is like general industry.
This isn't just construction specific. That costs US
(28:31):
businesses $1,000,000,000,000
a year.
And that's where
our debt
were
causing our own debt.
Do you know why it costs that much
money for for, like, employee turnover?
No.
(28:51):
So the reason is because there are direct
costs. So let's say an employee leaves. Right?
Mhmm. You need to recruit someone new.
You need to do their background check. You
have to advertise
on LinkedIn and be like, hey. We have
an opening.
Come join us.
And you may even need, like, temporary like,
(29:12):
hire someone temporarily to fill the spot. Right?
And then there are also the indirect costs,
which are a lot harder to, like,
figure out how much it costs. So there's
a loss of productivity.
Like, everyone else has to pick up the
slack. Right?
There is,
managers that need to do, like, the interviews.
So
I don't know.
(29:32):
Like, those expensive people
charge out, like, a hundred bucks an hour.
So one interview
let's say you have three managers in the
room.
$300.
And then there's also the fact that you're
losing that knowledge. Right? When someone leaves,
there are gonna be gaps that and there
are gonna be things that slip through the
cracks. Right. You're gonna bring in
(29:55):
inexperienced people that you're gonna have to bring
them up to speed in a week,
and you have to take over.
Versus someone who's been on the project already
for two years Right. Or a year. Right.
Or even months. Yeah. Even months.
I mean and that's not even including the
fact that you'd like, when you bring someone
(30:17):
on, right, there's onboarding. There's all this training
that you put them through. There's all this
time you invest into them. Mhmm. And when
they leave, they take that time with them.
And then you have to do it all
over again with their replacement.
Right. So that's how, like, we get up
to that cost of 1,000,000,000,000 a year.
And then
(30:37):
why do you think it's such a problem
in construction, like, keeping employees just in general?
What do you think?
What's your opinion?
Because companies
don't
respect
(30:59):
work life balance
is
one of the main
things.
When companies don't respect work life balance, do
you think that means, like, people are just
like, well, I'm kinda done with this industry?
I mean, that's one of them. You got
work life balance. You got the hazing, all
the issues, the harassment,
(31:21):
talking down to
racism.
Yeah. All of that together just
yeah. Burnout. Long hours.
Many long hours because that's what's expected of
the job site.
Going back. So it's crazy how, like
we're gonna talk about this in so many
episodes, but it's, like, everything links together Yeah.
(31:41):
Because it's the culture. The culture
is an issue. There are things that are
good about it, and there are things that
are bad about it.
It really just boils down to that.
Like, work life balance,
you're not getting either not getting compensated
enough
for the work that you're doing.
(32:01):
You're working these long fucking hours,
or what I've been noticing, they'll give you
a position.
They'll give you the power, but they won't
give you the check that comes with that
position.
Yeah. They want you to work at a
working above your that is above my pay
grade
(32:22):
is what we like to say. They want
you to go through the fire and flames
just to test you, but
at what cost?
Yeah.
No. I mean, like and that's why we
have things like quiet quitting. Have you heard
about quiet quitting before? Mhmm.
In your opinion, what do you think quiet
quitting is?
I'm a quit quietly.
(32:46):
Essentially.
Yes. But I'm not gonna tell anyone.
Not quite. So what quiet quitting is is
you keep your job. You keep collecting a
paycheck.
You just don't do your job that well.
You just do the bare minimum and you
escape by. It's a bare necessity.
(33:06):
It's simple. No. That's Yeah. That's what you
do.
I've heard that I've never heard it as
quiet. Quitting, I've heard it as just like,
you know what, dude?
Fuck it. I'm just here for a paycheck.
I'm just gonna disappear throughout the day,
do the bare necessities,
do my job,
(33:27):
and that's it.
No. But another word for it is to
be disengaged.
So
in 2023,
according to a Gallup survey, again, general industry,
not construction specific,
68%
of employees were disengaged.
And the reason that matters is that according
to a McKinsey study,
(33:48):
attrition, employees leaving,
and
employer
employee disengagement
costs a median size S and P company
228,000,000
a year.
Meep.
(34:09):
I mean,
think about it, though. Right? You got a
person over here who's doing the bare minimum
and got a person over here who's overachieving
because they love their job and they love
the company that they work for. I don't
know if they wanna say love the company
they work for. They
they enjoy.
They enjoy the trade and they they enjoy
(34:31):
seeing the build. And they enjoy maybe the
team they work for. Exactly.
That that
is just there's a human factor, and then
there's the financial factor that we are consistently
talking about. And
this costs us on both sides.
(34:52):
I mean,
what do you think are some of the
solutions
then to
us trying to retain employees?
I wanna say money.
Money? Really?
But I don't wanna say money.
Why?
(35:15):
Because
it's not just about the money.
It's also about,
again, going right back to the same thing.
It's a work life balance.
It's about the company you work for. It's
about the culture.
It's about
how this company takes care of you as
(35:36):
a person,
not just
you're just here to do your job.
Yeah. I mean,
less than 10% of employees actually identify pay
as the core reason that they quit their
job.
Money is great
when you're trying to attract new talent.
But you can't always throw money at the
(35:56):
problem.
I haven't quit a single job because of
the money.
And the reality is, let's say, you're at
a place and you love like, I remember
I worked on a team that I loved
working with them.
I showed up to every day.
Not every day was great. It was construction.
(36:18):
Let's be right. Right. But I showed up
to work every day,
and I go make my rounds. I say
hi to the two supes in the PM,
and I'd be like, what's going on, man?
Like and
they would tell me, this is not normal,
Taylor. This is, like, my second team I
worked with. The first one was a team
from hell. The second one was amazing. They're
like, Taylor, this isn't normal. Like, this team
(36:40):
is incredible. I'm like, what are you talking
about?
You couldn't
have paid me to leave that team.
Mhmm. I mean, I'm sure there was a
dollar price, but not one that would be
feasible or within the realm of possibility.
$1,000,000,
gone.
Yes.
But the reality is, like, if an employee
(37:01):
is engaged according to Gallup, it would require
more than a 20%
raise to lure them to another company. So
let's say you're making a hundred grand.
In order for you to jump to the
next company, if you're, like, engaged, it's not
even, like, you love your job. You're just,
you know, like, I like my job. Right.
I like showing up. Right. It would take
a 20%
raise, hundred and 20,000 for you to leave.
(37:25):
Money is not the solution. I think you're
absolutely hitting the nail on the head with
flexibility,
though. Right.
I think flexibility,
mentorship,
and the culture. You're right.
I mean, like,
keep on saying, it's just
(37:45):
it goes right back
to the same thing.
It's always the culture. Mhmm.
Always comes back to the culture.
And it's not just
like, we talked about the retention cost. Right?
Like, if someone leaves, there's a cost associated
with that.
But
let's say you have a good culture. Right?
(38:07):
Mhmm.
According to McKinsey,
there's a study done that
companies with
the best cultures, the top cultures,
had a better return to shareholders
by 60%
than those in the middle.
And those at the top, those ones that
we're talking about the best,
(38:28):
had a 200%
higher return
than those
at the bottom.
Culture
What does that mean, Taylor? Means that culture
matters, not just, like, for people
and for retaining people, but also financially. It
makes sense. There is a financial case for
(38:48):
improving your culture. Please do it. Please. Please.
Please. It's not about just please. It's like,
dude,
think of
how much
more,
like, people are gonna
wanna come to work
How much more productive they're gonna be. How
(39:10):
much like, how happier they can be at
work. Yeah. Some days, I go to work,
man,
and I'm working in a hotel renovation right
now. And
as soon as you get off the elevator
and you look down the hallway, you can
tell when air like, the camaraderie is there.
(39:31):
Yeah.
And that's
that's
what I like to see.
When you enjoy the people you work with,
you do such a better job at work,
and you want to show up to work.
Mhmm.
And that's, like, 90% of the battle. Yeah.
(39:56):
I don't know. It's just
trying to retain people,
it all comes down to your culture.
It really does.
Whether or not you have flexibility in your
workplace,
that's, that's ultimately your culture. Mhmm. Whether or
not there's mentorship there, formal or informal,
(40:19):
do you have a culture where you're trying
to teach people?
Like, I remember I had one superintendent.
They're doing concrete pours, and I've seen concrete
bowers before, but I never had, like, someone's,
like, sit with me and go, here's what
this is. Here's why this is important. I
designed it. That's it. Mhmm. Had a superintendent
take a buggy out with me, and we're
(40:39):
sitting there in this Texas sun in the
summer,
and we're watching them pour concrete. And I
was like I just had, like I was
like, okay. So what's this? That's a laser
screen.
What's a laser screen? Well, it does this,
this, and this. Why do we use that?
Because
it's better for this this and this reason.
Well, what are what are those fan things
(41:00):
going over?
Well, those help to cure the concrete.
What are they doing? Like, just having someone
that sits down with you, that's not
that wasn't in his job description.
I mean, it probably was, but, like, a
lot of people just ignore that part. Mhmm.
Like, he it was
he cared.
(41:21):
Right.
And that's
that's something that you can cultivate in your
culture.
And then what happens when we have employees
that like to stay with us? They attract
the next generation.
Mhmm.
So with that being said, let's I think
(41:41):
I think we got that covered. Why
why we aren't retaining people. I think
people should understand that a lot of it
has to do with the culture we've built,
and
people should understand that what we can do
to move forward is if if you're an
individual,
you can mentor someone else. You can care
about another human being. If you're a company,
(42:03):
you can create more flexibility,
and you can create,
better culture
overall
by what you tolerate, what you accept,
what you teach.
Mhmm.
So that leads us into
why can't we meet the demand?
I think that first statistic
(42:24):
kinda sums it up. We're spending more than
we have the manpower for. Right.
Workforce
has grown 33%,
but the money
spent on Yeah. Has increased by a 73%.
(42:46):
Like, that is insane.
Yeah. And we're still stuck in the first.
Like my grandma used to say, you're still
stuck on the first shoe.
Oh, dang.
Grandma Sainz
making a debut in episode
They're gonna they're gonna start coming out.
(43:07):
We're gonna have a little section.
Grandma saints.
Yeah. I mean, you you just can't recruit
that fast.
Nope.
That's
so let's just let's do round numbers. Right?
30%
(43:28):
versus, let's say, a 80%.
Right? Mhmm.
That's
six times
we're growing
we're spending
six times faster than we can recruit.
And it's not just that. I mean, yes,
that is a massive part of it. Like
(43:50):
but I think another part of it is
the aging generation. Right? So
the average age of retirement is 61.
As of 2025,
the youngest baby boomer will be 61.
So this year,
we'd anticipate
(44:11):
all of the baby boomer like, obviously, we
all know the superintendent is like, I'm retired.
I'm retired.
Actually, speaking about that, someone at work
just shared today that May 31
is his last day.
Here's the problem. They're all like boomerangs.
They come back. Well, he can only work
(44:33):
six hundred hours a year
for his retirement plan.
Unions?
Yep. That's it. So he can come
and sit in the chair, like he said,
and fart and leave.
Construction. I love it.
(44:54):
Shout out.
You know who you are. You know who
said this. He's never gonna listen to this,
by the way, but
hope the hope is out there. Maybe someday
he will.
No. But I mean, like,
if
all the baby boomers are,
quote, unquote, retired, which we all know is
never gonna happen because they're all boomerangs.
(45:15):
But
if they're retired this year,
yes,
we've lost a massive
amount of workforce. Right? Mhmm. Even though we've
steadily grown except for, I think, one or
two years over the past
fourteen,
We've steadily grown as a workforce.
(45:35):
But with that age group that's retiring, we're
also losing a lot of knowledge.
Yes. I mean, you worked with I I
don't know if he's a boomer, but the
first guy you worked with in Florida.
Honey, they were all boomers.
But they have such a wealth of knowledge.
Oh, yeah. They taught you how to be
(45:56):
a super.
They taught me how to be everything since
day one. I've only wanted to work
with older guys,
and that stems it for me, that stems
because
I grew up with my grandparents, and I
grew up with my grandfather, and my grandfather
had his friends
(46:17):
who were a lot of them were carpenters.
So it's like, I grew up with that
generation.
Yep.
So that's why.
Why do you think you enjoy working with
them, though? Is because of that wealth of
knowledge? It's just exactly
the amount of
just
(46:38):
knowledge
that they have,
the things that they're willing to teach because
they like to teach. They're not,
you know some of them are cranky.
Yeah. They are. But,
you know
No. I hear you on that. So
let's start with just that
(46:58):
knowledge gap, right, that our older generation is
retiring. What do you think are some solutions
to help us
recover some of that? Well,
I've always believed in mentorship.
Who do you think
has been
the biggest mentor for you
in your career?
(47:22):
I've known so I mean, Sammy,
obviously,
my old
foreman. Why do you think like, when I
said mentorship, he's always the first person that
comes to mind. Mhmm. Why do you think
he's always that first person? Because he wasn't
just
again, culture.
But he wasn't just
(47:43):
a mentor,
a
coworker,
my
superior.
He was a friend. He cared. Yeah.
He was a friend. And he as a
friend, he cared and he
called you out on bullshit.
He cared about your feelings and how you
felt.
(48:05):
I I think that's invaluable.
Mhmm. It's having
a mentor who cares. And, like, even for
those of us
let's say
let's say it's not the best situation. Maybe
you're working with someone you're you're like, oh
my gosh. You're an idiot.
Mhmm. Which I have been the idiot,
(48:26):
and I've also been the person saying that.
Mhmm. I've been both
you know, but it's so important
for that mentorship to happen.
Whether you like the person or not, you
can pass along your knowledge. Mhmm. And there
are things that you can learn from that
person.
(48:49):
Deep breath.
But, like, there's always something like, even the
person
that I hated
working for the most,
he taught me something.
Mhmm. There was a there was a nugget
in there of knowledge
that I still I still
keep with me today.
I mean,
(49:09):
we're getting all talk about that great guy
from Albert Lee that I met.
You know? And we weren't we didn't get
along. Yep. Butted heads, but I learned something.
And that's the key to mentorship. It doesn't
matter.
Yes. Ideally, there's a culture of care and
(49:29):
you care about each other.
But
you can mentor someone even if you don't
like them. Mhmm.
I think another thing, like, when we're talking
about this greater
gap between money spent and the workforce,
I think we need to start looking into
technology more.
Like what?
(49:49):
So
we were at the stake fair. I don't
know if you remember this, but it got
me really excited.
Oh, the the guy with the carrying the
block? Yes. Yes. There was a, like, a
masonry
lane technology
that had a robot. It wasn't it couldn't
do it by itself, but, like, it alleviated
all
the So, basically,
(50:11):
it's like an exoskeleton,
which they have.
Nowadays, Milwaukee
has that. Yeah. It's like a exo
it's like a backpack. You put it on.
It has two batteries, and it has this
overhead crane, basically.
Yep. And it hangs over you, and it
allows you to pick up
up to 200, three hundred pounds.
(50:32):
Mhmm. And all you have to do is
just kinda guide it. Right?
And it tips forward. It changes your center
of gravity so you're not using your pack.
There's so like,
technology is getting insane
right now. Right. Like, between exoskeletons,
AI is in its infancy,
(50:54):
really. Mhmm. Like, what it's capable we're just
starting to, like, see what it is. Skynet.
Like, there's so many, like, technological
advancements
out there.
Drones,
PPE, your new chin strap part hat.
But, I mean,
(51:15):
all joking aside, technology is constantly evolving, and
I think we need to start leveraging it
because there's such a fear of change. There's
such a fear of, well, it's gonna take
my job.
We don't have enough people to do your
job. We need more people, and we don't
have enough. This is gonna supplement it.
(51:36):
We need to start looking to technology, I
think, a little bit more
as well as that formal mentorship to help
us bridge that gap. Mhmm.
So
I think that just about covers the workforce
retention workforce
retention
and,
(51:56):
gap and just about everything.
The issues.
The issues with our workforce right now and
being able to meet the demands.
The reality is construction has a problem. It
has a problem recruiting. It has a problem
with retention.
Retention is like,
nah.
It has a problem with being outpaced by
spending
with a lack of candidates to fill positions.
(52:20):
And if we don't change, what's the consequences?
Delays.
Yeah. I mean Lots and lots of delays.
Right now,
80% of firms report experiencing at least one
project that has been canceled, scaled back, or
postponed.
I mean, that that also includes of course,
permits and owners and all that. But part
(52:42):
of that
is in fact workforce shortage.
We're gonna have more delays if we don't
change.
And on a bigger scale
for, like, the the future of construction, let's
talk real out there,
project safety and quality will suffer,
(53:03):
And more importantly,
our people will. Yeah.
You know,
not to bring
companies' information and all that shit out there,
but
a lot of companies I've been hearing have
been
they focus on safety, but nowadays,
they wanna focus more about quality.
(53:24):
Which is great.
But start moving towards culture. Yep.
Because culture feeds your safety. It feeds your
quality. Yes. It does.
Yes. It does. And I've seen it.
We need to stop looking at the symptoms
of our problems and start really turning our
focus towards
(53:44):
the root of it. Mhmm.
And if we can do that,
we can focus on making small changes. The
mentorship,
actually valuing our employees, trying to implement the
flexibility
because small in changes can really have such
a massive impact.
(54:08):
What do you think our challenge should be
this week?
What did we challenge last week?
Last week was on
having a conversation
with
someone
that you have a relationship with, whether that's
coworker or family member,
(54:29):
and
trying to have a conversation about how your
work impacts
your relationship.
So this
week,
the same
almost the same thing Okay. Of a conversation.
Right? It's almost like it's in our slogan.
I know.
But have a conversation with someone in your
job site, but
(54:51):
learn about what's keeping them there.
Learn about their attention. Yeah. Like, what's you
know, pick up their mind and be like,
hey.
So what do you like about this company
you're in? Like, what do you like about
Corvall? Or what do you like about Eagan?
What do you like about this? What do
you like about that? We're in Minnesota, by
the way. Yeah. But
(55:13):
it just not I'm just throwing names out
there. Right? Yeah. Or why don't you leave?
Why why haven't you left yet? Right. Like,
how's your union treating you? Like, how's this?
How's that?
It doesn't have to be
massive,
but, you know,
down to earth on this.
Because if we can figure out what's keeping
(55:33):
people Mhmm. We can start figuring out
how we can keep people in construction. Right.
And whatever you hear,
send us an email. Be like, hey.
I had a conversation with this guy and
he said,
this this this
I love the people I work with. Mhmm.
I love the job I
(55:53):
do, and I feel valued. I spoke to
this other guy, and he is fucking done.
He's ready to leave because of this, this,
this. I also wanna hear the nitty gritty.
I
I'm curious. I'm curious to hear from our
listeners.
Right.
So with that,
you've heard about the workforce crisis. You have
your challenge for the week.
(56:16):
Please
tune in next week for episode six.
We will tell you more about it soon.
So with that,
have a great week, and don't forget to
be the change you wanna see in the
industry
because this change is only gonna happen
one conversation,
one person, one jobs at a time.
(56:38):
Thanks for listening.
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