Purpose:


The purpose of this survey is to define current recruitment and retention practices for skilled labor currently employed throughout the industry and to access your views of the skilled labor shortage. The responses you provide will aid the researches in determining effective industry practices. The National Construction Image Committee, whose mission is to create an inspired national effort that will significantly accelerate the improvement of both the perception and the reality of our construction industry is sponsoring this research project.

Confidentiality Disclosure:


The Federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Arizona law, and university policy protect survey participant information. The Del E. Webb School or Construction will not sell or distribute information collected by this survey. Information collected will be used solely for research purposes. Additionally, contact information is separated from an results generated for analysis and will only be used to forward the research findings should you so desire.

Skilled Labor Shortage:


This section is designed to determine your views on the state of today's skilled labor shortage.

1.

Do you think there is a shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry?
Yes  No

2.

Do you think there is a shortage of people willing to work in construction, regardless of their skill level?
Yes  No

3.

Do you think there is a lack of skills, but not people willing to work in the construction industry?
Yes  No

4.

On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most skilled, rank the average skill level of new hires in your company.
Least Skilled Most Skilled
1 2 3 4 5

Recruitment of Skilled Labor:


These questions will help identify methods used to attract people either into the industry or to a specific company and to determine which trades are difficult to attract.

5.

Where is the best place to find/recruit skilled craft persons? (Please numerically rank your answers from 1-7, 1 being the best location and 7 being the least desirable.)
1
Most
Desirable
2 3 4 5 6 7
Least
Desirable

High Schools

Trade/Vocational Schools

Union Apprentice Programs

Newspaper Ads

Employment Agencies

Union Hiring Halls

Word of Mouth

6.

Would you be more likely to hire a craft worker referred to you rather than a random person seeking employment within in your company? Yes  No

7.

Would you be more likely to hire somebody you knew, or knew of, thgat possessed a lower skill level, than someone you did not know, that possessed a higher skill level? Yes  No

8.

On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the most willing, how would you rate your willingness to train a new hire?
Least Willing Most Willing
1 2 3 4 5

9.

Which program do you think proveds the best trades-related training?
(Please numerically rank from 1-6, with 1 being the best for you.)
1
Most
Desirable
2 3 4 5 6
Least
Desirable

High Schools

Trade/Vocational Schools

Union Apprenticeship Programs

Trade-Organization Training Programs

In-House Training

Military Service Related Training

10.

How long (in years) is the average length of employment for new hires?
1 year or less
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years or more

11.

Please numerically rank from 1-5 the folowwing lis of craft worker categories based upon the difficulty of recruitment. (Pick the five that you feel are the most difficult to recruit, with 1 being the most difficult) Please choose N/A for the 8 you did not rank.
1
Most
Difficult
2 3 4 5
Least
Difficult
N/A

Carpenters

Operators

Iron Workers

Laborers

Roofers

Masons (block or cement)

Sheet Metal Workers

Pipe Fitters

Plumbers

Electricians

Millwrights

Boiler Makers

Maintenance Workers

Employer Demographics:


The following questions are designed to obtain a brief company background, which will reamin totally anonymous.

12.

What is the major type of work your company completes?
Residential Construction
Commercial Building Construction
Heavy/Civil/Highway including Utility Work
Mechanical
Electrical
Plumbing
Specialty Subcontractor
Other, Please Specify

13.

What was your dollar volume of work completed last year?
Less than $50 million
$51-100 million
$101-250 million
$251-500 million
$501-1000 million
$1001-5000 million
Over $5000 million

14.

In which state do you perform most of your work?

15.

Work Radius: How far from your office will your company, or division, work (in miles)?
1-15
16-30
31-45
46-60
61-75
75 or more

Retention of Skilled Labor


These questions probe the importance of different areas, such as safety, compensation, travel and benefits, in the retention of skilled craft workers.

16.

Which area is most important when it comes to retaining craft workers? (Pick the five you feel are important with 1 being the most important and rank them numerically as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. There will be two marked N/A)
1
Most
Important
2 3 4 5 N/A

Wages

Health Care Benefits

Retirement Benefits

Potential for Career Advancement

Safety

Company Reputation

Year Round Employment

17.

What would cause craft workers to willingly quit your company? (Please numerically rant from 1-7, 1 being the greatest possible reason and 7 being the most unlikely reason)
1
Greatest
Reason
2 3 4 5 6 7
Most Unlikely
Reason

Wages

Benefits (health care & retirement)

Potential for Career Advancement

Safety

Travel

Inability to Work as a Team in Your Company

Company does not provide Year Round Employment

18.

What is the average duration of employment for craft workers ar your company?
1 year or less
2-5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
More than 15 years

19.

What is the average age of craft employees at your company?
18 or under
19-25
26-34
35-44
45-54
55 or over

20.

How many months, each year, on average, are craft workers employed within your company?
1-3 Months
4-6 Months
7-9 Months
10-12 Months

21.

What percentage of your craft person workforce is comprised of minorities?
1-20%
21-40%
41-60%
61-80%
81-100%

22.

What percentage of your craft workers are women?
1-5%
6-10%
11-15%
16-20%
21-25%
More than 25%

23.

Do you think that craft workers are fairly paid? Yes  No

24.

Does the company you work for offer any of the following to craft employees?
Flexible Work Hours? Yes  No
Compensation Time? Yes  No
Profit Sharing? Yes  No
Stock Options? Yes  No
Performance Based Incentives? Yes  No

25.

Which of the following are the most important areas related to the retention of craft workers? (Please rank them numerically as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, 1 being the most important, and 5 being the least)
1
Most
Important
2 3 4 5
Least Important

Flexible Work Hours

Compensation Time

Profit Sharing

Stock Options

Performance Based Incentives

26.

Please numerically rank from 1-5 the following list of craft worker categories based upon the most difficulty of retention. ()Pick the five that you feel are the most difficult to retain, with 1 being the most difficult) Please choose N/A for the 8 you chose not to rank in the top five.
1
Most
Difficult
2 3 4 5
Least
Difficult
N/A

Carpenters

Operators

Iron Workers

Laborers

Roofers

Masons (block or cement)

Sheet Metal Workers

Pipe Fitters

Plumbers

Electricians

Millwrights

Boiler Makers

Maintenance Workers

Thank you for your participation in this survey. Your time is greatly appreciated. If you would like us to provide you with a copy of the survey results, please fill in the optional fields below. If you do not wish to receive the information, please select the submit button to end the survey.

27.

These fields are completly optional.
Name:
Company:
Address:
City:State:Zip:

28.

Please include your e-mail address. Once again, this is completely optional.