I'm a civil/water/sewer engineer and senior PM. I've been doing this 25 years. Everything from little small grading jobs right up to massive 200 MGD+ pump stations and treatment plants for big cities. I've done a whole bunch of pipeline/linear utility design, I've done some roadway engineering....and I also have led large multi disciplinary teams through big projects. I like to tell people when they ask me what I do that make smart people with poor social skills talk to each other, AKA engineering management.
These days, I've currently got 15 active projects. It's literally 100k LF of pipe, some big other heavy civil projects, etc. Combined probably well over $200M of construction value. I have exactly ONE other engineer in the office and ONE drafter. The company has 5 others in other offices that are assigned to help out some. Only one of them has more than 3 years of experience. The rest are greener than green. And the one that has a little more experience is very passive. Doesn't do any little detail unless you micromanage him to do it. We have 4 projects in construction and NO construction manager type support.
Our industry is so hit by "brain drain" that there literally just aren't people to do the work and have the experience to know how. There's only one of me and I'm drowning trying to keep what doesn't even qualify as a skeleton crew keeping things moving. I don't think we have the experience and capability for the our staff to keep the company meeting expectations. Not even close. I can't do it all myself, I can't tell everyone every keystroke to push, button to hit, and action to take.
Our HR recruiting specialist is best described as "head full of cotton candy". She's the worst "recruiter" I've ever seen. She's nevr identified one single candidate. And she can't even get us signed up for a job fare at a university to get in front of new grads. She can't take a position posted on the company website and advertise it on any other site like Indeed, LinkedIn, etc. We have spots open, nobody applies because she can't get them advertised wider in front of people.
We're failing here because we just don't have the horses to run the race we're in and it's killing me. I've never experienced anything like this at all. The company leadership says a lot but isn't acting. I've been with the company almost 3 years. We're working for clients I've known for almost 20. I've got a good enough rep and relationship with the clients personally that when I honestly tell them the problems are attrition and lack of people/skill sets, they get it, they see it in our competition too, but it's still not good.
I've always done good work. I've always been able to get teams to perform when I had enough butts in seats. I'm at my wits end right now because I can't manage a team when there isn't a team to manage. I'm not gonna quit, I can't leave clients I've got long term personal relationships with hanging. I'm gonna get through this and get this work load done one way or another. However, when we're over the hump, if we haven't found a way to recruit some people, even green new grads I can train, I think I need to find a way out.
These days, I've currently got 15 active projects. It's literally 100k LF of pipe, some big other heavy civil projects, etc. Combined probably well over $200M of construction value. I have exactly ONE other engineer in the office and ONE drafter. The company has 5 others in other offices that are assigned to help out some. Only one of them has more than 3 years of experience. The rest are greener than green. And the one that has a little more experience is very passive. Doesn't do any little detail unless you micromanage him to do it. We have 4 projects in construction and NO construction manager type support.
Our industry is so hit by "brain drain" that there literally just aren't people to do the work and have the experience to know how. There's only one of me and I'm drowning trying to keep what doesn't even qualify as a skeleton crew keeping things moving. I don't think we have the experience and capability for the our staff to keep the company meeting expectations. Not even close. I can't do it all myself, I can't tell everyone every keystroke to push, button to hit, and action to take.
Our HR recruiting specialist is best described as "head full of cotton candy". She's the worst "recruiter" I've ever seen. She's nevr identified one single candidate. And she can't even get us signed up for a job fare at a university to get in front of new grads. She can't take a position posted on the company website and advertise it on any other site like Indeed, LinkedIn, etc. We have spots open, nobody applies because she can't get them advertised wider in front of people.
We're failing here because we just don't have the horses to run the race we're in and it's killing me. I've never experienced anything like this at all. The company leadership says a lot but isn't acting. I've been with the company almost 3 years. We're working for clients I've known for almost 20. I've got a good enough rep and relationship with the clients personally that when I honestly tell them the problems are attrition and lack of people/skill sets, they get it, they see it in our competition too, but it's still not good.
I've always done good work. I've always been able to get teams to perform when I had enough butts in seats. I'm at my wits end right now because I can't manage a team when there isn't a team to manage. I'm not gonna quit, I can't leave clients I've got long term personal relationships with hanging. I'm gonna get through this and get this work load done one way or another. However, when we're over the hump, if we haven't found a way to recruit some people, even green new grads I can train, I think I need to find a way out.