Black individuals have made countless and incredible contributions to the construction industry. Still, they are drastically underrepresented in the industry. Today, Black people only comprise 6% of the U.S. construction workforce.
We all have the responsibility to create a stronger, more inclusive construction industry. But it takes more than just good intention. Companies can talk the talk, but it’s due time they walk the walk when it comes to Black and person of color (POC) representation in the construction industry.
The time has come to make diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives impactful and measurable. So, where can your firm start? We asked professionals to provide real and actionable tips for hiring, retaining, and promoting Black and POC individuals at construction firms. We’ve organized their insight by these three categories:
Hire
HIRE: Expand your hiring and recruitment pool for qualified candidates. Partner with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to attend careers fairs and information sessions, provide internship opportunities and create educational empowerment opportunities such as scholarships or donations. Research the numerous associations that advocate for racial equality, such as the National Society of Black Engineers, National Association of Minority Contractors, and National Society of Minority Architects. These organizations typically have career centers or job boards, corporate scholarship opportunities, and national or local conferences with career fairs. Develop a diversity recruiting program.” – Cliff Cole, Director of Virtual Design and Construction, The PENTA Building Group
– Encourage and support company representation to sit on the Board of those industry organizations that promote diversity within the construction industry.
– Reach out to HBCUs (historically Black colleges or universities) to obtain career fair, co-op fair events to set up a booth for recruiting purposes. Set up meet and greet and information sessions at the HBCUs.
– When recruiting at a university, reach out to different organizations, such as Black Student Union, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council), SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers), NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers), to encourage participation at meet and greet and info sessions.”
– Donald Hill, Project Manager, Hensel Phelps
Two is to get involved with schools (K-12) in areas with high demographics of POC.
Those initiatives do not imply that POC can not be found at other institutions but rather endorses the fact that HBCUs are a direct source of tremendous talent. It sends an intentional message that they are seeking out minority representation.
These will assist in expanding educated, low to middle-class POC across the country, while inspiring the generations to come.” – Vincent J. Spencer, Architect – Associate Principal, AIA, LEED AP, CPTED-CPD, LS3P Associates Ltd.
- Stop hiring interns/co-ops without construction related degrees over Black and POC students. Minority students are going into debt studying engineering and building construction to be a part of the construction industry. These same students are met with “lack of experience” responses at their Senior year career fairs, following countless rejections during their Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years for the same reason they could not get an internship.
- Place people of color in your recruitment team. It’s one thing to have marketing material that shows your firm’s diversity, but nothing is better than face-to-face personal representation. Team members should include someone from operations, and if you can’t find one, then the writing is on the wall why you need to diversify. Include team members who have a passion for construction and are in a position in your firm to become future mentors.
- Stop assuming HBCUs don’t have construction related degree programs. The ignorance of assuming accredited state funded universities would not garner the same level of education and offerings is ridiculous, but I’ve heard it more than I can count. Construction firms should look closer at these universities, and I’m sure they will find more than enough qualified talent.
- 50% of future employee candidates need to be from a diverse pool.
- Stop hiring Blacks for temporary labor. I’m not saying there is no need for temp labor on a construction project or that Black temporary labor is useless. Just look at where Blacks are in the field; most are in a labor pool with no upward movement. Instead of temporary, hire them as permanent assistant superintendents or field engineers. A good majority of Project Superintendents running the field operations of multi-million dollar projects started out pushing a broom, running materials, and light carpentry but were employees and not temporary labor. They were guided on a path toward future field management.
- Create outreach to Black organizations that are conduits to young Black talent. INROADS, NSBE, NOMA.”
– Dwayne Sellars, Senior VDC Manager, W. M. Jordan Company
Retain
Also, training leaders how to be great leaders by embracing one’s strength could be a perfect tool to use without directly pointing it to diversity initiatives- but instead directly empowering diversity.” – Regine Cooper, Project Engineer, Suffolk Construction
– The Black Individuals and POC that are part of their team. It’s essential to ask for their input and listen to what they have to say.
– Conduct diversity and inclusion training at your firm. Reach out to companies who specialize in this training and implement continuous company-wide mandatory training that enforces individuals to attend.”
– Donald Hill, Project Manager, Hensel Phelps
- Provide each Black leader in your firm with a Black mentee.
- Blacks leave for money and opportunity just like everyone else. I know more Blacks who own their own construction firm or trade partner business than I do Blacks in leadership of white-owned construction firms. At some point, the opportunity to be great at what you love and chose as a career is limited by the opportunities you see in your career path at a firm. It’s why ownership is more appealing for the most talented and hardworking; however, everyone is not destined to be a business owner.
- Hire Blacks knowing they will leave. Construction firms everyday hire non-Black candidates in the hope they will work out. These candidates may be recommended by current employees, friends/relatives, or just “fit the culture,” so a risk is taken to hire them. When they leave the company, there’s no surprise; everyone says they were not a good fit for a host of reasons, and the cycle repeats.
- Provide a seat at the table. Career development plans are needed for all employees and should include growth opportunities. To prevent someone from leaving your firm for the most common reason, better opportunity, you should make a better effort to set a plan in place that shows the potential for growth in your firm. If this is not being done, then shame on you for losing great talent.”
– Dwayne Sellars, Senior VDC Manager, W. M. Jordan Company
To increase retention, companies can implement internal mentoring programs. Have your leaders mentor the entry-level guys and teach them how to align themselves for success.” – Eli Youmans, Project Engineer, JE Dunn Construction
Promote
- “You can’t promote diverse employees that you don’t have. For the most part, promotions are earned by an employee showing that they deserve recognition for their efforts or have mastered their craft and can take on more responsibility. Firms should look deep at their roster and see if there are people of color in lower ranks that can work toward promotions. Often there is no one in the lower ranks to promote because they were never hired to fill the roster. So, as a result, the leadership stays demographically one-sided.
- Place Blacks in the path toward leadership. The path must include management training, exposure to meetings where decisions are being made, “The room where it happened,” invites to extra-curricular outings to network, and assignments that challenge and have room for mistakes to be made. Generationally, to grow diversity, you have to grow leadership within a demographic and give those leaders a platform to be seen by those that come behind them. The effort to increase diversity in 2021 doesn’t mean anything unless those who are promoted see a path for a successor that looks like them. James Brown’s song “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing” sums it up for me, open up the door I’ll get it myself.
- Take a risk on a Black Manager. The Black employee you have in your firm that comes to work and performs their tasks, makes money, and doesn’t ask for a promotion, is the one you should be promoting. After promoting them, make sure to provide support in their new role and don’t leave them out on a limb.”
Key actions:
- Evaluate every Region, Office, and Department within the company and establish the metric on diversity as a baseline. What percentages of each demographic make up your firm.
- Review future hiring needs for each Region, Office, and Department and commit to fill 50% of those with POC over the next 10 years.
- 50% or more of intern/Co-op for 2021 and 2022 should be Black.
- Place Blacks in a Leadership path purposefully.
- Openly support Black industry organizations such as NOMA, NSBE, INROADS, NACME etc., financially and in programming to continue to program and mentor the next generation of Black construction leaders.
– Dwayne Sellars, Senior VDC Manager, W. M. Jordan Company
Another critical area would be that of outreach. AEC firms need to be more active in POC and Black communities through mentoring programs and community outreach. This will also create more opportunity for POC and Black people in the AEC industry.” – Rotimi Seriki, Visualization Manager, HOK
- Ensure Black Individuals and POC sit on the Board of your firm and hold key leadership positions.
- Focus on company-wide and visible recognition for Black Individuals and POC through mediums like company-wide newsletters, batter boards, etc.
- Encourage and support Black Individuals and POC to take leadership roles in industry organizations.”
– Donald Hill, Project Manager, Hensel Phelps