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ENR Top 425 Owners

The tool has proved to be valuable, says Groves. He says one owner confessed that if he had data on upcoming labor availability, he would have known of several other projects drawing from the same labor pool. Knowing this, the owner says, he could have delayed his project to avoid craft shortages and salary premiums.

Groves also says the projected needs for craftspeople can help state agencies that run or fund training programs to target those needs more effectively.

Staffing concerns are not limited to the trades. Many owners worry the industry needs to attract and retain young people. CURT has responded by reaching out to young professionals. For example, in 2008, it created the Young Professionals Advisory Board, lead entirely by career professionals in their twenties and early thirties from CURT owner and contractor members, says Bryan Beischel, a project engineer for Turner Construction, New York City, and Young Professionals Advisory Board chairman.

Beischel also notes that, in August, CURT created a Young Professionals Facebook page. “Since then, our group has grown to more than 300 followers,” he says. The group is planning regional groups and will host a Young Professionals Leadership summit in 2012, he says. CURT believes the group could grow to 1,000 by the end of the year. “Our Facebook page has members throughout the U.S, but we have a lot from overseas, as well,” says Sizemore.

One of the critical concerns among owners is retaining young professionals. “Our members want to make sure that young people are trained correctly so they can begin providing a return on investment sooner,” according to Sizemore. This increase in responsibility will encourage them to stay with their companies, he says.

However, Beischel, who is 27, suggests a more subjective means of retaining young people. So-called Millennials have grown up in a culture of instant recognition and reward, he says. Simple acts of acknowledgement will reinforce a young professional's efforts and feeling of inclusion. Beischel says owners and construction firms should “consciously show they care by simple acts of appreciation—a high five a day keeps turnover at bay.”

Gary J. Tulacz had been, since 1993, senior editor in charge of ENR's Top Lists, which bring structure to the huge global construction industry through annual surveys and market analysis of its key segments and major players. The array of surveys rank companies, based both in the U.S. and outside, which perform general contracting, specialty contracting, engineering, architecture and environmental services, among other specialties.

The rankings, based on annual revenue from work at home and abroad, are further divided into specific market categories. Click here for descriptions and schedules of ENR Top List surveys and access to information on current and past listed firms.

Gary also created the ENR Top 100 Green Contractors and Design Firms rankings and the ENR quarterly Construction Industry Confidence Index that measures firm executives' market outlook.

This survey data is used by industry firms and other businesses, government agencies and academics also to gauge the health of the global construction market.

A graduate of Fordham College in New York City and the Fordham University School of Law, Gary previously wrote extensively on employee relations in such areas as labor and immigration law and employee drug testing.