b'Business ManagementThis will ensure employees arent working tooStay flexiblemany hours, providing permanent crew members2020 was a year unlike any other. In times of the support they need to be successful whileuncertainty, it might not be the time for your preventing worker exhaustion. company to staff up with full-time employees.Retain workers with specialized skills Future project pipelines are thinning60% report While some construction jobs are similar in nature,that projects have been postponed or cancelled other projects might require entirely different skillsdue to the pandemic. We do not yet know what or specialties. Because the nature of each taskall of 2021 will hold for the construction industry can greatly differ, firms struggle to fill key rolesand are still unsure of the long-term impacts of on jobsites. The most severe shortages reportedthe pandemic.were for general laborers, carpenters, heavyInstead of staffing up your crew, formulate project-equipment operators, and truck drivers. by-project teams utilizing temporary labor to fill Dont risk turning jobs away. Temporary laborin the gaps. By doing so, you can quickly scale gives you a way to access specialized workersteams based on your project needs.on-demand. Break your bid up into its individualDiversifying your construction staffing strategy componentsandidentifytheportionswhereby hiring a mix of W2 employees, third-party temporarylaborcanbeutilized. Afluidmixoutsourced solutions, and independent contractors offull-timecrewmemberswithindependentso that youre set up for long-term success.contractors will reduce overhead while givingUtilize staffing platformsyou a highly skilled team, specialized in delivering the particular services aligned to your project. Despite uncertainty, 40% of construction firms Hire the best fit expect to recall and/or add employees in the next year. With an increasingly competitive hiring Have you ever hired someone who was not a goodenvironment and shortage of qualified workers, fit? Temporary labor reduces risk by allowing youstaffing platforms can make the hiring process to have a trial run with potential hires beforeeasier for you.offering them full-time positions. This allows youTraditional staffing agencies come at high costs to evaluate worker performance, skill, and fitand can lack skilled trade focus. Working with an before hiring them as a permanent member ofagency is expensive and slow-moving. It can take your team. 3-5 days to get a worker on-site, and once you Temporary labor gives you a means to hire full-timehave that worker, youll end up paying a 45-60% workers with 100% confidence. GigSmart reportedmarkup on their hourly wage. This is a luxury that that in Q4 2020, the number of hourly shift workersmany companies cannot afford.converted to full-time employees increased 167%,On the alternative, job sites like Craigslist do not confirming the desire for companies to retain topprovide worker vetting or accountability. While talent once identified. significantly cheaper than using staffing agencies, Continued on page 36www .mrca .orgMidwest Roofer 35'