Merit shop recruitment and selection practices in Alabama

Despite the fact that the majority of construction workers today are hired by merit shop (nonunion) contractors, little prior research is available on the recruitment and selection practices of such employers. This paper examines the recruitment and selection of skilled and common labor based on mail survey responses from 44 Alabama merit shop (nonunion) contractors. Both the frequency of use and perceived effectiveness of different recruitment sources and selection methods were examined. Sixty-five percent of contractors surveyed did not have a formal written policy covering recruitment and selection procedures. Few firms (<7%) included a specific estimate of recruitment and selection costs as part of project bid proposals. Internal sources (e.g., current employee referral or previous hires) were primarily used to recruit both skilled and common labor. Contractors used an average of seven different sources to recruit skilled labor and six different sources to recruit common labor (e.g., referral from a current employee, previous hires, walk-in applicants). On average, contractors used five different methods to select skilled labor and four different methods to select common labor applicants (e.g., job interview, reference check, written application, drug test). None of the recruitment sources or selection methods used were rated by contractors, on average, as either excellent or very good. Contractors frequently encountered problems recruiting common labor including an insufficient labor supply; inadequate math, technical, and oral or written communication skills; and a poor work ethic or motivation level. Fifty percent of contractors also experienced an inadequate supply of skilled labor. General contractors required significantly fewer days than specialty contractors to hire skilled labor (20 versus 52 days, respectively). General and specialty contractors required, on average, six days to fill a common labor position. These results and recommendations for construction human-resource management practice are discussed in this paper.