When the people that did, are the people that died: A lesson learned for Land & Utility Surveying

When I wrote Do or Die; Red Alert for Land Surveying, I did not thoroughly consider all of the outcomes and reactions properly to emphasise the associated risks effectively. I failed to discuss the real effects of attacking salary-expectations in a skill-short market and I did not discuss the detrimental side of rushing to a struggling market before you've tested your expensive new weaponry.

In a market that was recently struggling to sign off salaries above ￡32,000 per year, a recent uplift in work and the forecasts of much more to come, has enticed some companies into salary increases of up to ￡19,000 (extra) for new surveyors that are not yet experienced in leading projects, or even the full scope of surveying practices.

Utility Surveyors in particular, are recently seeing heavy investment in salary remunerations, for obvious reasons, but we are also observing some more strategic and sustainable investments being made by certain key players too. It reminds me of a large recruitment firm that I used to work with; when they were faced with an economic downturn, they spent the time & resource in developing a bespoke data management system that would see them emerge more advanced & efficient than ever imagined... and it worked beyond comprehension. Now we are seeing a handful of companies preparing a similar windup, as the utility surveying market is in a time of turmoil for skill sets & competencies. Investments are being made in company structures, employee engagement & development in order to attract new entry level surveyors and experienced surveyors, and offer them both indefinite personal and professional development, as well as proactive contributions to their out-of-work lives.

What we are finding out is that paying someone a ￡58,000 salary does not make them a ￡58,000 surveyor and whilst I advocate everyone having the opportunity to earn ￡58,000 per year, I am also a great advocate of return on investment and I believe that there should be definitive progressions based on outputs for a surveyor to be fairly paid for the great value that they can potentially bring to a business.

Unfortunately, rushing to new contracts with high-paid, untested surveyors can lead to costly mistakes and under the influence of money, it is difficult not to empathise with everyone involved. However, it doesn't take away from the fact that we could be compromising safety, a business and a career so it is our responsibility to the market to make sustainable progress, proving delivery concepts and building trust in the value of the sub-sector; by investing in training and development and offering plausible increments and benefits based on competency development and subsequently overall value.

Fortunately, the market is in for a lucrative foreseeable future, with policy implementation in the favour of safety & risk mitigation. This is likely to mean that no one will feel the harsh wrath of their mistakes because demand will allow everyone to rectify them and still have orders, but without investment in your company and its' personnel, upcoming regulations will eventually expose incompetencies and other companies will not be making the same mistakes.

Employee engagement and the correct areas for investment are no longer spreadsheet assets. The companies that are going to win and double or triple their turnover in the next five years are the ones who are investing in their employees' emotional and cognitive development, and offering more than anything that a competitor can copy. There is a plethora of short-term & long-term strategies that can work to increase productivity effectively and sustainably in your business, and fortunately, paying inflated salaries and subsequent national insurance contributions does not have to be one of them... and certainly isn't the most effective way.

Ben Ward; Managing Director at The Built World; [email protected]