3 Keys to Making Sure Top Construction Talent Sticks Around3 Keys to Making Sure Top Construction Talent Sticks Around

The term “employalty” comes from a book written by Joe Mull called “Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work.” In this professional climate, every contractor has to compete feverishly for talent to make sure they have the right people in the right roles. Construction is and forever will be a people business, and you must have great people on your team if you wish to have both a great construction company and a great life.  

Mull boils down the commitment good employees feel into three components: having the ideal job, meaningful work and a great boss. Here’s how those translate to your construction team: 

1 | Having the ideal job.  

A job is like a puzzle piece. The fit must be precise because employees and executives alike have spouses, children, hobbies, spiritual lives, social commitments and plenty of other things to balance in addition to work. For almost every employee, an ideal job allows space for most, if not all, of the other facets of their lives to receive fair time and attention, Mull said.  

He also wrote that employees “want to feel valued and appreciated, and they want to work in a way that unleashes their unique abilities." When an employee can do work in their sweet spot—the zone where they're productive, happy and challenged—the better they perform, the more energy they have and the more fulfilled they feel. 

2 | Doing meaningful work.  

Mull also discussed various experiences that an employee encounters on the job. As company owners, we regularly think about how to make our customers’ experiences meaningful, but what about translating that to employees as well? How can you make the experience of being at work more impactful for your team?  

One suggestion Mull gives is to focus on your mission. If you don't have a strong and clear mission statement, how can an employee hold their personal beliefs and goals up to your company’s and determine if they’re a good fit? Schedule time to regularly review your company’s mission statement and make sure that it reflects the goals of the company and the team.  

3 | Working for a great boss.  

Mull quoted a Gallup survey, noting, “The team leader alone accounts for 70% of the variance in a team's engagement.”  

If the team leader makes such an impactful difference, then it’s critical to figure out what makes a better boss. Mull suggested, "Better bosses demonstrate that they're caring, competent, visible, supportive, humble, approachable and … vulnerable." Those are key components of a good boss in today's workplace. The top component of a bad boss, according to Mull, is—you guessed it—micromanaging. 

He wrapped up the , writing, "If you have the ideal job, meaningful work and great bosses, you'll have employalty. The results will be retention, reputation and revenue."