In this interview Steve Bratt, ECA CEO, shares his thoughts on the electrical sector’s greatest employment challenge: the search for – and retention of – skilled workers.
Q. What is the most significant employment challenge currently in the sector?
The employment challenge most raised by the ECA Members I speak to is the difficulty finding and retaining good quality people to work in their business.
While we haven’t brought new people into the industry in the numbers we’ve needed to, there are other contributory factors. For example, we’ve had good people leaving the industry as they’ve aged, while some have not just left the sector, they’ve left the country. Others have a ‘post-COVID mindset’ which can mean they’re not always available for work in the way that’s required by engineering contractors. For these and other reasons, we’ve seen an overall reduction in the available workforce.
All this creates a challenge for businesses who must ask themselves: how do we find good people and then hold onto them?
Q. What do you think businesses can do to retain skilled people that doesn’t involve just paying them extra per hour?
One of the problems that employers face is that they’re losing people to agencies. Usually, these workers are relatively young, and their primary focus is the hourly rate. So, when an agency says we have work on this project, the headline is usually “Come over and get more money”.
But that isn’t the main attraction for everybody, and many employees are shrewd enough to think about benefits like pensions and healthcare.
As a business, once you’ve got a really effective member of the workforce, you naturally look for staff retention. Key to retention is showing employees that you both value and care about them by treating them as an asset, not a commodity.
It’s about a business demonstrating that it wants to safeguard its employees’ wellbeing and help them to be productive and happy. With skills shortages in mind, I think that’s where contractors should be focusing their attention. Businesses should provide infrastructure where employees can get the support to help themselves if they have any challenges.
Through offering Private Medical Insurance (PMI), for example, businesses can provide infrastructure that allows their employees to get that help quickly. Effectively, the employer is saying “We’re here, and we want you to do a good job, so we’re going to provide the support you need to do a good job, and here it is.”
Q. And how about attracting new skilled employees?
Pay can’t be ignored and employers must be conscious of that, however if you’re demonstrating that you’re a good employer and looking after your current people, you’re more naturally going to be an attractive employer as the message goes around the industry.
So, whether it’s about retaining employees or attracting new people, employers can gain an advantage by being a caring, supportive and professional employer with the underpinning benefits to further demonstrate that.
Q. What other challenges does the sector face where employers could benefit from keeping employees engaged?
Productivity is a major challenge. Contracts are often very demanding and with the penalties they contain, there’s little room for error. Suppose then that you’ve got people off work or people on those sites not operating at full capacity. In that case, productivity is going to suffer.
Q. How can ECIS help?
ECIS, a chartered insurance intermediary owned by the ECA, can provide comprehensive employee benefits packages, including Private Medical Insurance, that safeguard employee wellbeing and demonstrate practical commitment to employees.
If you don’t have a PMI scheme or you have a PMI renewal approaching, ECIS can help you find the right option for you.
Get more details about the packages and benefits on offer from ECIS here
