In an article for Construction Executive published on May 19, 2019, Scott Hazy shared an analysis of the 2019 Georgia Construction Outlook Survey and the business considerations of busy Georgia contractors when facing the top challenge of attracting and retaining talent in the hot market given the number of revenue increases and project backlog in recent years.
Construction Outlook Survey Takeaways
Three-quarters of respondents to the survey reported revenues of less than $25 million, a subject pool consisting of:
- General contractors (44%)
- Specialty contractors (53%)
- Heavy contractors (3%)
The majority of these respondents reported increased revenue margins in 2018, averaging an 11.3% increase from the previous year’s 9.33%, while the largest decrease in margins was seen in the heavy contractor sector. In terms of backlog, more than half of respondents are reporting higher backlogs than last year, which helps to explain the 84% that are expecting an increase in revenue over the course of 2019.
Construction Strategies For 2019
Thanks to the booming market, many contractors’ business strategies will remain unchanged for the coming year, with the most common focus being geographical expansion, followed by expanding services and offerings. The survey also shared that the best place to attract talent is from campus recruiting and job fairs. According to Professor Siddiqi, chair of the Construction Management Department at Kennesaw State University who helped with the survey, enrollment in the school of construction management is up significantly and each graduate has a minimum of three offers. When it comes to retention of existing employees, providing adequate compensation and benefits is the number one strategy for employers for the third consecutive year.
“The overall health of the construction industry in Georgia appears to be strong. Record levels of backlog will help see the strong performance carry on through 2019. With all the time devoted to delivering existing projects, there is little time for developing additional service offerings or implementing additional business strategies,” Hazy said.
To view the full article or learn more about the 2019 Georgia Construction Outlook Survey, click here.
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