By / Jessica Kirby
Employee “poaching” (also known as job poaching, talent poaching, or employee raiding) is what happens when a company recruits and hires an employee currently employed by a competitor. It is most common in growing industries, like IT, and in specialty industries, like skilled trades, where a highly trained and skilled workforce is essential. Obviously, the more technical and specific the skill set required, the more likely certain companies are to “poach” or lure workers away from their competitors with the promise of greater pay, bonuses, or perks like access to a company vehicle, but although it is legal, the practice is generally agreed upon as unethical among signatory contractors.
So why do it? The benefits for the poaching company are access to temporary skilled labour and, theoretically, the upper hand if they are recruiting the best talent in the industry. The downside, of course, is that in circles where poaching is deemed unacceptable, companies who do it render themselves a bit of an island—a particularly tenuous position for a signatory contractor.
Poachees experience short-term benefits of a pay increase, bonuses, and, potentially, work in a more favourable location or sector of the industry. At the same time, leaving one company for another on a regular basis gains the employee a reputation and could affect the employees chances of being hired in the future. Staying with a company offers more opportunities for advancement and promotion, and serial employment means employees could miss out on the incentives and intrinsic benefits of being part of a team.
Bruce Sychuk, executive director of SMACNA-BC, says labour poaching is unethical and has to stop in the sheet metal industry. “What we need is top down ethics,” he says. “Employers and leaders need to instill ethical practices and behaviours so these resonate throughout the company.”
It is generally known throughout the industry which companies engage in this practice, though most doing it will deny it. “Everyone is responsible for maintaining certain ethical standards,” Sychuk says, adding it applies to all facets of business from labour stealing to underbidding jobs. “People can’t go to jail for being unethical so we must expose them,” he says.
Phil McDonald, partner at Summit Sheet Metal, says labour poaching is common in the BC sheet metal industry. Contractors who do it are offering more money or perks like access to a truck, and some will take it to stay employed in slow periods or because they are after the monetary bonus.
“But when they do they are losing out on more important things,” McDonald says. “Unfortunately, they don’t see it until it’s too late.” He means that however the deals are sweetened, the bonuses are usually temporary, since construction in general remains subject to market fluctuations.
“You can’t offer long-term in construction,” McDonald says. “We had a guy a few years ago who said he was approached by a company guaranteeing three years’ employment and three dollars more an hour. How can he do that? The most anyone can guarantee is the job you are working on. Is this guarantee something you can take to a lawyer?”
Contractors who poach labour and employees who follow these offers aren’t being smart or looking at the bigger picture, McDonald says, or perhaps they are just looking out for number one.
“You can’t just be in for yourself and be successful,” McDonald says. “It takes a village. And the guys who leave are chasing a buck or two an hour feeling like it’s a big deal, but they are giving up the benefit of being with a company long-term and being valued and rewarded for their loyalty. If you don’t have a conscience or respect for the rules or guidelines, then why be part of this organization?”
Adam Sims, operations manager with Viaduct Sheet Metal, agrees poaching is a common problem the company sees all the time. “A code has been put in place to not poach and we all hope it will be upheld, but some people continue to do it,” he says. “I feel with the labour shortage here in the Lower Mainland and a small pool to choose from it leads some companies to continue to abuse the fact.”
Kevin Taylor, owner of City Sheet Metal, says poaching is most common in extremely busy times, and is successful when workers have a “grass is greener” attitude or when the job they would be leaving for is closer to home. Though he disagrees with poaching, he believes contractors are simply trying to manage a difficult part of the job.
“Man power is the single hardest thing to manage in a sheet metal company,” he says. “With expedited timelines or delays on a job it is often hard to juggle when you need to gear up or gear down to ensure you are using your work force most efficiently.”
All three companies – Summit Sheet Metal, Viaduct, and City Sheet Metal – have something in common. They have each established labour sharing agreements with trusted competitors that allow loaning and borrowing of skilled tradesperson based on fluctuations in each company’s work cycle. When one company foresees a downshift in activity, the contractor will start calling around to see if anyone has work for tradespersons who would otherwise be laid off. If work is about to pick up, he will call employers – not the worker directly – to see if he can borrow as many workers as needed for a given timeframe.
“Building relationships with other contractors helps mitigate some of the highs and lows and ease some of the burdens that come with fluctuations,” Taylor says. “It also ensures you are keeping guys employed and takes some of the stress off your workers who may otherwise have to go through a lay-off and go out to find their own work.”
Creating a network of contractors that share labour starts with developing trust and communicating the terms of such an agreement so everyone is clear on what is expected. “We feel this is much better practice and gives the individual an opportunity to come back to us after a slow period,” Sims says. “This can be a great short-term solution and can work well for everybody involved.”
Once Summit loans a worker, McDonald checks in with that person to make sure the loan is a good fit. If it isn’t he will offer the employer a replacement. The company has had workers who didn’t want to go back out because they preferred working for Summit and others who didn’t want to come back because the borrowing company offered work in a different sector or locale that better suited the worker. Flexibility is key in mitigating any issues that arise.
“There is always that risk you can’t take them back,” McDonald says. “If the time comes and we want him and he can’t come back (say he is running a job), we can borrow a guy. At the end of the day it comes down to the guys. They all have the families and lives, and last thing they want is to be laid off or in a job they don’t enjoy.”
Either way, the system is self-propelling in that the extra effort on McDonald’s part helps the worker understand he or she is valued and more likely to remain loyal.
“It’s a lot of work, and it’s not,” McDonald says. “It’s an investment because putting them first is putting the team first, referring not just to our company but to all the companies that participate in this system. We want these guys to stay in the group and part of the team, and not become part of the team that doesn’t want to participate or be ethical about it.”
Most of the connections with other contractors are made through networking at golf, dinner meetings, conventions, and other events. It requires a bit of vulnerability in setting up the relationships, and there are rules: employers wanting to borrow a worker or need their worker back need to call the contractor, not the worker directly. The timeframe must be set out with reasonable accuracy in advance, and in the event something changes both parties must be fluid and flexible and be willing to adjust to make things work for everyone involved.
It sounds like a fool-proof system, yet few contractors participate. McDonald thinks it could be lack of interest in co-operation or simply outdated thinking.
“It could be an old school mentality that everyone is competition,” says, McDonald, “but there is enough work out there for all of us so we should co-operate. We don’t need to have one company be the biggest. Or, maybe companies who don’t want to participate were poached in the past and have their guard up.”
Sharing labour is just one way creative hiring can help companies combat the labour shortage, Sims says. “We also need to recruit from further afield—other areas, provinces, or countries even,” he says, noting he is originally from the UK. “We have to try to encourage youngsters to join the trades, provide seminars in schools, and do talks and tours of the facility.”
He adds that social media advertising and promotion is key in achieving these goals. “If you are not on social media these days then you should be. It has changed the way people live their lives.”
Taylor urges contractors to participate in association activities and take seriously opportunities to build a trusting networks of companies with whom to share labour.
“In times when it is extremely busy and you can’t seem to find anyone on the Local 280 board, reach out to other sheet metal contractor to see if they can help you out,” Taylor says. “Become active and attend SMACNA events and dinner meetings, and build relationships and trust with other owners who are in the same situation.”
McDonald agrees, noting that co-operative relationships are what being a signatory contractor is all about. “There is a good group of us that are on the same page, and it’s not like we are divulging secrets,” McDonald says. “We are just recognizing we have to get the job done. There is a reason we are in this organization together. It is a resource, so let’s start using it.” ■