A company owner employed 52 new people ... but lost 54 to poaching.
That was just one issue discussed at the Constructive NZ Construction Forum in Rotorua yesterday, led by the Master Builders Association.
Skilled labour shortages, staff retention and health and wellbeing were discussed by expert panelists in front of industry members.
These were some of the key findings in the State of the Sector commissioned by Registered Master Builders which found cost escalation, supply chain disruption, and skill shortages were the top three critical challenges facing the sector.
Registered Master Builders Association chief executive David Kelly said there was a war for talent and the skilled labour shortage was a concern.
''Somebody told me yesterday they employed 52 new people and they lost 54. It's poaching and it's not just the money - it is how you look after them. So it is quite a big conversation this future-proofing.''
However, Kelly said it was reassuring that apprentice numbers ''are increasing, and more of those surveyed are taking on new apprentices than ever before''.
Russell Group of Companies managing director Brett Russell said the big thing in the market at the moment was uncertainty and that caused anxiety.
He said it was trying to give people assurance and confidence ''that we will get through it''.
''I think we are through most of it. At the moment there are still challenges there but we are pretty resilient but most of us will come through okay.''
Russell said career pathways were important ''and not just the dollar'' and ''we also offer stuff outside of work''.
However, he did notice its apprentices were being approached by others in about year three of their apprenticeship.
Naylor Love people and culture general manager Pam McGarry said over the next 12 months it needed 100 more staff.
In the past six months it had hired 157. Its board and executive team had discussed retention strategies and what Naylor Love could do.
''The whole thing about retention is a person needs to feel that they have that sense of belonging. We have had actually a couple of staff that have been approached and been offered quite a significant increase.
''They've stayed. Where we've asked them the reasons why they said it was the culture. The culture of belonging and being nurtured and developed is more important than the money.''
It was family focused, had an open door policy and it had provided wellbeing umbrellas within teams.
Hawkins northern regional manager John Abercrombie said it was important to talk about how to maintain a sustainable workforce.
''We look at career development, communicating the plan for career growth and we run a few programmes including our cadet programme.''
Hawkins had eight positions available but, to put it into context, Abercrombie said it had 90 new start-ups but to counter that the company had lost 45 employees.
In March he was part of a small cohort that went to the United Kingdom and interviewed more than 50 candidates. Offers were made to 25 through a 12-month working visa, however ''it's been difficult''.
In his opinion Immigration was ''spinning the wheels and we are still in dialogue with them at the moment but it's a slow process''.
Sentinel Homes Waikato managing director Nate Alley said it was time to take ownership as an industry and look in the mirror when it came to building strong, healthy teams and staff retention.
''We need to ask ourselves some tough questions around the things we are talking about doing for our teams. Are we actually doing them and what does it look like in a practical sense?
''They will see right through you if you don't and they will leave if you don't do something about it.''
He said it had a big focus on helping people to be a better person.
''It's things like emotional intelligence, leadership, communications - things that aren't necessarily directly in the role but will continue to make them better at it by default.''
It had three positions open now.
National opposition leader Christopher Luxon jokingly told the crowd: ''Well, aloha everyone. Welcome to Honolulu.
''It's great to be here with you all, I am in fact in Rotorua slightly closer to Te Puke and I will be with kiwifruit people later on today.''
On a serious note he wanted to set out National's plan to unleash the New Zealand economy and the crucial role construction would play.
He wanted to acknowledge the remarkable contribution made by the construction sector to the country's economy.
''You employ nearly 300,000 people, and you contributed nearly 9 per cent of New Zealand's GDP last year, at around $30 billion. One in eight New Zealand businesses are in construction in one form or another.''
Luxon said the sector had had a post-Covid boom with a record 50,000 consents for new talent dwellings for the year to February but ''I know that it hasn't been smooth sailing''.
''As a sector, you've been hit by labour shortages and material shortages. And now the economy is coming off the highs of monetary and fiscal stimulus with the potential for significant consequences for the construction sector.''
Luxon said if it was elected next year it would inherit ''a big mess and have a big turnaround job to do'' . But he came bearing some gifts.
He told Master of Ceremonies Jehan Casinader and audience members when questioned on some topics he was keen to extend the apprenticeship scheme, wanted to clean up delays in the consenting process and relax immigration to allow more skilled workers in.
Builders' views
NZME spoke to building company owners who attended the national forum and asked if there was poaching in the industry and how they retained good staff.
John Street, New Plymouth
''It would be a fair enough comment to say there is some poaching. Staff retention is a major problem and people will leave for 50 cents or $1, it's crazy. Retaining apprentices is also a challenge. They get into their time for two or three years and decide to move on probably chasing the money so that is very disappointing. Over the years I have trained 60 to 80. We try our best to set up the best working environment for them. We're pretty passionate about treating people well. We're very passionate about treating people well and family stuff.''
Paul O'Brien, Dominion Constructors, Auckland
''It definitely is. We have more work in the industry than we have the capacity to cover. There is a war for talent and we are finding, particularly for our young cadets. When they come out of the programme and have a couple of years' experience they have suddenly become very attractive to some of the competition. We've had some people have left and come back as it's not always greener elsewhere. I also think some people are getting put into roles but aren't competent enough for them. We try to look at other things for our staff and the culture of the business is really important.''
Nigel Benton, Benton Ltd, Auckland
''We haven't really lost anyone as we are looking after the ones we have. It's about encouraging them and teaching them what we know through the years we've had in the industry. It's about passing it on to the new generations coming through. I think you will always get people leaving. I mean, I did my apprenticeship with a company and you move to gain experience.''
Richard Johnston, Amalgamated Builders, Dunedin
''It's very easy to lose talent, because people are getting approached all the time, through all sorts of different ways. Linked In is one of the classics, you know, our staff getting approached all the time. We just lost one young man to Australia. It can be quite disastrous for your business if you lose them because they can be very difficult to replace. You have got to try to make them come to work and work with them. You've got to be a good employer.''
Stat of the Nation Survey highlights
* Key issues deepen with an increased portion of sector participants reporting cost escalation, supply chain disruption, and skill shortages as the top three critical challenges facing the sector.
· Skilled labour shortages remain in the top five critical challenges, yet a record number of sector participants surveyed reported to be taking on new apprentices.
· While 79 per cent of sector participants state that the economy will deteriorate over the next 12 months, signs of underlying resilience exist with only 31 per cent of builders thinking their own businesses will be worse off.
· Homeowners share this optimism, with 45 per cent stating they would recommend building in the current environment.
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