Are you a small to medium-sized contractor having trouble securing public sector construction contracts?

In a recent article Tom Parlon, CIF Director General was quoted saying “SME businesses account for 99% of businesses, yet smaller companies deliver less than one-third of public sector projects. The current value of the public sector contract market is somewhere in the region of €12 billion – and it is vital for the growth of many SMEs that they have an understanding of how best to tender for these vital contracts.”

The majority of small to medium construction companies don’t compete for government tenders because they mostly feel excluded from the process due to the stringent financial requirements that are demanded of them. This only increases further in rural areas where businesses think that the playing field is weighted against local building contractors competing for the larger tenders.

One of the critical challenges Parlon mentions for smaller companies is the continuous battle to attract and retain skilled workers. Delayed, inefficient or problematic recruitment, causes slowing of productivity ultimately impacting profitability. The construction sector is labour-intensive and highly competitive. With declining numbers of new graduates in construction-related courses competition for a quality, workforce is increasing; this is where a lot of contractors use Sherlock Recruitment. The reality for smaller businesses having the internal manpower to manage the full recruitment process from advertising, interviewing, reference checking, vetting and the management of large new teams is simply unrealistic. Sherlock Recruitment can step in and take all that pressure off a company. Sherlock provides the full 360 delivery of quality construction staff.

What this means is that Sherlock handles the entire recruitment process and payroll management of your teams for the duration of your project. This is also a service that can be offered for seasonal work surges in your organisation. When your staffing is outsourced, you can plan and budget accordingly for the project and are not delayed or thrown off track with unexpected staffing problems at crucial junctions in a project. Sherlock reduces the time and risk involved in staffing construction projects to a single weekly invoice. Allowing the contractor to manage and deliver the work required.

Being a national company with a focused database of over 40000 highly skilled tradesmen and operatives, Sherlock is uniquely positioned to deliver your staffing requirements. The company has individual departments that specialise in electrical, mechanical and construction staff sourcing, recruitment and management, which means that Sherlock understands your business needs and can streamline the process as much as possible, making those larger projects attainable and opening the door to your company’s expansion.

Sherlock is often asked to provide staff or tradesmen in critical work periods on a site, typically where a company doesn’t have the time and infrastructure hire and permanently retain a full team of qualified tradesmen. Recently we were asked to provide over 40 qualified electricians and mates for a rural site near Waterford. This was for a set five-month period to install all the electrical works on a very large factory extension. The administration involved in recruiting this volume of staff handling the advertising, sourcing, interviewing, vetting and ultimately, payroll management, was just not viable for the contractor. Sherlock was able to provide a steady supply of highly skilled tradespeople on a phased and manageable timeline through the project’s life cycle. This allowed the foremen to successfully manage the teams on the ground with a phased increase in team numbers and the project manager was able to deliver the project within budget and on time. Everyone working onsite gained invaluable experience and after five months were successfully moved to other sites after.

This kind of forward-thinking agile approach to construction management means that securing and delivering on those public sector contracts is much more attainable for Sherlock’s clients as Sherlock works across three primary sectors with the industry, construction, electrical and mechanical. We are uniquely positioned to plan and facilitate your full staffing requirements.

If the sector is going to deliver the infrastructure and housing requirements outside the greater Dublin area, we need to look at leaning on those who have the right expertise and can keep your business on track.

By using the services of specialised companies such as Sherlock, as an SME you are offered a fair chance to attain the larger public sector tenders and have a greater chance to really grow your business in line with your ambitions. If you want to find out how Sherlock can assist you in streamlining your staffing and managing your manpower, don’t hesitate to contact us.

General Inquiries:                  01 456 8438

Construction Danny:               087 342 5402

Mechanical: Elaine:                087 383 8473

Electrical: David:                     087 273 7312