The skilled trade shortage continues to pose major challenges for the construction industry. Traditional methods of staffing and recruiting need to be transformed if contractors are going to keep pace with the dynamic pace of change.

Skillit is designed to be more broadly transformative for construction recruiters and the construction enterprise. We are using data to make things easier for construction staffing professionals, and in this article we’ll dissect the distinctive features that set us apart from conventional construction staffing agencies.

 

1. Data-Driven Precision: A Paradigm Shift in Hiring

Skillit Approach

We collect over 200 data points on every worker and use powerful algorithms to match employers and workers precisely. Our workers also take online assessments which serve as a powerful leading indicator of actual skill. This approach significantly reduces hiring time and costs, resulting in greater talent acquisition efficiency.

A Traditional Construction Staffing Agency

A conventional construction staffing agency often relies on traditional, manual screening methods that lack the precision and speed afforded by our approach.

2. Categorization Beyond Convention: Breaking the Mold

Skillit Approach

Traditional trade labels (i.e., Carpenter, Welder) pigeonhole workers and limit their potential usefulness to recruiters across adjacent trades. Instead, we categorize skilled workers based on their actual individual skills, which enables recruiters to identify candidates who may not have held a specific trade title but might have enough skills to perform the role. This approach has expanded the pool of available candidates dramatically.

A Traditional Construction Staffing Agency

A traditional construction staffing agency tends to adhere to established trade categories, limiting the pool of possible candidates for any specific hiring need.

3. Holistic Retention-Focused Approach: Nurturing Long-Term Success

Skillit Approach

We first emphasize long-term job satisfaction because our customers are recruiting primarily for full-time, W-2 positions. They are all self-perform contractors doing actual work on-site themselves. Our customers are at the leading edge of the industry, offering personalized pathways for career development fostering cultures of support and open communication between workers and employers.

A Traditional Construction Staffing Agency

Conventional agencies may prioritize immediate placements, potentially neglecting the long-term career development of the workforce and leading to higher turnover rates. They may also be filling temporary positions with little to no long-term stability.

4. Inclusivity and Diversity: Leading the Transformation to solve the skilled trade shortage

Skillit Approach

We stand at the forefront of industry transformation by promoting inclusiveness and diversity. Our data-driven approach embraces diverse experiences and backgrounds by definition since it relies on actual skill and willingness to work rather than on categories historically used to discriminate, like gender, race, and/or sexual orientation. Our Worker Success team is bilingual, ensuring we can onboard and support workers whose native language may be Spanish.

A Traditional Construction Staffing Agency

While recognizing the importance of diversity, traditional staffing agencies may need more comprehensive strategies to actively promote and incorporate diverse perspectives since they may be filling temporary roles.

5. Transparent and Efficient Matching: Empowering Decision-Making

Skillit Approach

We provide employers with transparency into the workers’ desired pay, benefits, and other preferences, improving the efficiency of construction staffing teams by empowering them to contact only compatible workers.

A Traditional Construction Staffing Agency

Conventional agencies often rely on one-off interactions with workers to discover what they are actually working for, and traditional job boards need to offer the depth of information included in a Skillit worker profile.

6. Competitive Intelligence for Contractors: Illuminating Success

Skillit Approach

We provide valuable competitive intelligence for contractors, illuminating their hiring performance relative to other firms and offering suggestions to enhance success rates. We continuously collect wage and other data on tens of thousands of workers nationwide so we can help contractors understand how they stack up at a highly granular level.

A Traditional Construction Staffing Agency

Conventional staffing agencies may not provide any competitive intelligence, and if they do, they will have less data to draw from than Skillit.

7. Mission-Driven Approach: Elevating Construction Staffing

Skillit Approach

We believe that construction recruiters and those engaged in construction staffing are heroes. They are the linchpin that enables our society to meet its most important goals. Our mission is to fix the world’s skilled trade shortage.

A Traditional Construction Staffing Agency

Traditional staffing agencies focusing on job placement may have a different mission and may be less focused on industry transformation.

FAQ

How does Skillit’s data-driven approach improve the hiring process in construction staffing?

Skillit collects over 200 data points on each worker, using powerful algorithms to precisely match employers and workers, reducing hiring time and costs significantly.

How does Skillit categorize skilled workers differently than a traditional construction staffing agency?

Skillit categorizes workers based on their individual skills rather than traditional trade labels, expanding the pool of candidates available for recruitment.

What makes Skillit’s approach to retention different from traditional staffing agencies?

Skillit prioritizes long-term job satisfaction, focusing on full-time, W-2 positions and fostering cultures of support and open communication between workers and employers.

How does Skillit promote inclusivity and diversity in construction staffing?

Skillit’s data-driven approach relies on actual skills and willingness to work, promoting inclusiveness and diversity, with a bilingual Worker Success team to support workers of various backgrounds.

What transparency does Skillit offer employers in the construction staffing process?

Skillit provides transparency into workers’ desired pay, benefits, and preferences, empowering construction staffing teams to contact only compatible workers efficiently.