Finding and retaining staff is one of the main challenges of our time for companies in the construction and installation sector. But how do you do that? Inge Sijpkens and Sascha Murk took a look in the kitchens of dozens of companies and wrote several books about it. "To win outside is to start inside."
Front page news. Installation company Breman tempts new staff with a signing bonus of no less than 10,000 euros. It shows that companies in the engineering sector are willing to go all out to attract new generations of installers. According to WijTechniek, the engineering sector will need as many as 121,000 new professionals over the next five years (2025-2029) to meet growing demand and absorb the outflow.
Sascha Murk and Inge Sijpkens have been active in the installation sector for more than 25 years and wrote books with titles such as "Building culture in the face of change" and "Building a strong employer brand. They see how installation companies struggle with finding and keeping personnel and try to help them with this. To get straight to the point. How do you relieve installation companies of their never-ending search for personnel?
"Well, 'redeeming' is a big word, though. The shortage is huge. Industry associations such as Techniek Nederland are also making efforts with national campaigns to get more people excited about engineering. Young people, lateral entrants, women. What we mainly do is hold up a mirror to companies and offer improvements.
How do you become a more attractive employer?"
"That starts with solid research among their employees and customers. We then put their experiences on paper and confront the management with our findings: this is what you are good at, this has to be better. Quite often this yields information that a company is not aware of. And that can be about seemingly small things, which can nevertheless have a huge impact on how employees experience their work. Like always having access to really good tools and being more involved in decisions. And how to warmly welcome, accommodate and guide new employees, for example."
Are you the medicine in against a lot of vacancies?
"The medicine is in the companies themselves and we try to help them find and make the right recipe. Because it's never in one thing, it's never one ingredient. We call it ourselves: building a strong employer brand. And that is in a company's vision, its culture, its leadership, how day-to-day things are arranged, how well you know your (future) employees and respond to their needs... Even the smallest things matter in this regard. We often say: to win outside is to start inside."
You make CT scans of companies, so to speak. Quite confronting it seems to me, even for management sometimes. Who is waiting for your approach?
"SMEs in particular come to us. Executives come to us when they feel that their story to the labor market is not sharp enough. Sometimes we turn down an assignment. After all, it is very important that the management of a company is open to change. If we feel that this is not the case, we cannot help them."
You get unique glimpses into the kitchens of the installation world. How do you guys view the industry?
"There is a lot of work to be done. Not for nothing did we recently write the book on Building culture for change. The sector is facing major changes. From sustainability to digitalization. Moreover, there are now five generations in the labor market, with different values and ideals. As a 60-year-old, you come to work with colleagues who could have been your child or even grandchild, and vice versa."
In other words, these changes in the workplace require different manners?
"Indeed. Precisely that aspect requires attention now. How do you deal with each other? There are so many changes going on right now. So as a company you have to be agile and build your organizational culture. More than ever, as a company you have to make sure that people feel good about your company and come into their own."
What do you guys think of that action of Breman offering 10,000 euros signing money. As if the 'war on talent' has begun....
"We see several initiatives in the sector to attract staff with financial incentives such as a bonus. It mainly shows how high the need is. We know many of these companies and know that they understand that a bonus alone is not a long-term solution. It's about the complete picture of what you have to offer as a company."
"And when it comes to retaining staff, everything actually comes together in one thing: make sure you pay genuine attention to your people. That sounds simple, but in practice it's not. You have to make choices and set and sometimes shift priorities. For example, you want to prevent a new employee from falling into a black hole on day one. You want to give them a soft landing, which is extremely important. That requires leadership and you'll have to free up people who may be super busy to help newcomers get started."
What's a great example of a company that has got this right?
"... A young mechanic became a father. He wanted to share childcare with his wife, was looking for balance. 'But I always have to get out the door early, so taking my kids to school won't work then,' he told his employer. 'Can't I start a little later and work more evenings?' After an experiment, it turned out to be a golden find. After all, customers sometimes find it annoying to have to stay home during the day for the mechanic. Being a good employer is also giving the individual space to indicate what is important to them and why. And taking action on that. And if something is not possible, also explaining why not."
What is the essence of your story?
"A director said this week: work should just be fun. We think this applies to everyone. You want to be energized by the things you do, be seen, be able to develop and understand why you do what you do. Super important."
Do you enjoy your work?
"We love this sector."
Inge: "I can also really enjoy listening to a heat pump specialist talk passionately about exactly how a heat pump works. Anyway, the social relevance of the sector is a driving force for us. There are really great things happening in the industry."
Sascha: "During our research for our book, we called each other after every interview: Oh Inge I have another great story... That's why we wrote this book (Building culture for change, ed). There are already so many companies that are working in a positive way and genuinely paying attention to their people. We want to share those stories."
What was it actually like to be interviewed yourself?
"Took some getting used to, but fun. A lot of fun."
About Sascha Murk and Inge Sijpkens
Sascha Murk and Inge Sijpkens are authors of the book Building culture for change. They previously published the book Building a Strong Employer Brand. The books are based on more than 60 interviews with companies and organizations that tell how they find and retain employees, why they worked on their culture and how they approached this.
At VSK+E
Inge Sijpkens and Sascha Murk can also be admired with their story during the trade fair VSK+E. They will give the presentation 'Shortage on the labor market, how to find and retain staff?' That session can be attended on Wednesday, February 4 between 10:00 and 10:30 in the W-Theater (hall 9). Not yet registered? You can do so here!
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