Embracing a new era in professional construction recruitment

Entrepreneur extraordinaire Dee Airey tells Eileen Leahy about the launch of her specialist business, Construction Professionals HR & Recruitment. In our exclusive interview, she reveals how her four decades-plus experience in this industry has helped her new business to connect top-tier talent with leading businesses in the sector – and the key ways in which it has helped shaped her career…

Just when I thought I knew pretty much everything about Dee Airey, the prolific local business entrepreneur reveals yet another string to her bow: she has now launched a specialist recruitment company for professionals in the construction industry.

Already an established and highly successful portrait photographer, global business coach, published author and podcaster, Dee tells me that all of the above has only been possible to achieve thanks to her four decades plus in the construction industry.

“I know this sector inside out and since the late 1980s it has given me the opportunity to hone both my human resources and management skills too,” she explains when we meet.

“While many know me primarily as a photographer, a profession I am passionate about, my roots are firmly in HR, recruitment and people development. Acquiring these key skills over the years has also given me the foundation for going into the coaching work I do.”

We’re meeting to talk about Construction Professionals HR & Recruitment (CPR), Dee’s latest business venture which she launched in September last year. Its head office is based here in Tunbridge Wells and in just ten months she and her team have achieved a hugely impressive turnover so far.

“We understand that the foundation of every successful construction project lies in the skills and dedication of its workforce. Our team’s background in business management and human resources equips us with unique insights into both the technical and interpersonal nuances of recruitment in this specialised field.

“CPR’s mission is simple: to bridge the gap between exceptional construction professionals and the businesses that require their skills.”

Dee tells me that she started out as a secretary back in the late 80s and since then she has worked extremely hard in order to get to where she is now.

“All that dedication and effort has given me the opportunity – and confidence – to launch so many other businesses because I am all about people and ensuring they achieve their potential – and more,” she continues.

Dee is excited to tell me that she has also recently been shortlisted in the Construction & Engineering Awards, which take place in August, for her Contribution to Gender Diversity. Reflecting on this incredible achievement she says: “Of all the awards I’ve been nominated for, this one means the most. Whether I win or not, it’s an honour to be recognised for work that truly matters.”

So far, so impressive…but before we get on to what makes CPR different to other firms in this particular sector, let’s rewind to how Dee got into the construction industry in the first place.

“I started out in 1985 as a secretary in London earning six and half thousand pounds. The next job interview I went for, with another construction company in 1989, the salary was paying eight and a half thousand pounds but I knew I was worth more than that. So I went along and said I wanted them to pay me eleven thousand pounds – but I caveated that with what I would bring to the table.

“From a very young age I knew I didn’t want to have to wait for someone to say to me ‘ooh you’re quite good’. I believe you have to be good from the get-go So I went into that new job and thought ‘right, now it’s time to practice what you preach’ and I was promoted very quickly to Senior Secretary – over all the women who had been at the firm for years.”

Soon Dee was making big changes. “One of the first things I did was get the secretarial team to take on all of the administrative jobs that were taking up fee earners’ time. That really revolutionised things because they didn’t have to think about any of that peripheral stuff. They could simply go out and earn their fees.”

Dee tells me that when she started out in the construction industry there were no women in professional or managerial roles.

“We were all in admin, I knew only one woman who was a building surveyor. Now women are everywhere, visible and rising. Over the decades, I’ve witnessed huge changes in the industry: especially in diversity and the presence of women.”

It was when her then boss, and now husband, Peter decided during the middle of a recession in1994 to set up a small consultancy that Dee took the risk of leaving with him.

Together, along with another colleague, they co-founded Airey Miller and the beginnings were, it’s fair to say, very humble with Peter setting up the business from the dining room in his house. 

“He couldn’t really afford to take me on as a full-time secretary so I suggested that I go self-employed in order to freelance in other small construction offices. It was a way of earning more money but also a great way of having an opportunity to see what was going on with competitors. And to be honest with you that was the start of my entrepreneurialism.” 

Dee freely admits that it has taken a very long time to build up Airey Miller into a multi-million pound multidisciplinary consultancy business, that now boasts 120 staff and numerous offices dotted around the country. But those good old fashioned values of working hard, dedication, sacrifice and seizing opportunities over the past four decades have certainly paid off. 

“The jobs started to trickle in and by 1995 we were able to move into a small office I’d found on Beckenham High Street. As we grew we then opened little satellite offices but the biggest move was in 2017 when we took on a big space in Sevenoaks which is where the Airey Miller Head Office is. There is now also an office in central London, one in High Wycombe, and another in Bristol.”

Over that time Dee has worked her way up from Secretary, to Associate right up to Co-Owner/Director at Airey Miller, eventually heading up all HR and overseeing general business management. But, ever the serial entrepreneur, she eventually spotted the opportunity for another business.

“I guess it was about three years ago when I started making noises about some of the questionable tactics used by some recruitment agencies – and the huge amount of money we were spending on recruitment at Airey Miller. 

“And so we all agreed around the boardroom table that we would do the recruitment ourselves but nothing actually happened. So last year I asked our finance manager about the figures we’d been spending on recruitment companies. I was shocked when I discovered it had gone up to £300 thousand pounds in the last year.

“That was the catalyst for me deciding that I would create Construction Professionals HR & Recruitment. The firm specialises in the recruitment of a wide range of construction professionals including building surveyors, quantity surveyors, cost consultants, design managers, employer’s agents, and project managers, from graduate to director levels. And all of this comes with the added bonus of HR and management training. CPR is an agency built on integrity, honesty, and real industry knowledge. My experience hasn’t come by accident: I’ve lived it, led it, and grown with the industry,” states Dee.

CPR’s HQ is located in Dee’s premises on The Pantiles and there are currently four people in the team.

“I knew if I was going to do this that I wanted to hit the ground running. So I invested heavily by hiring the right expertise into the business – not just people with recruiter experience but who also had business management and tech skills.

“I wanted to get results straight away. Whether you are seeking to advance your career in construction or you are a business aiming to enhance your team’s capabilities, CPR is your trusted partner in building a future defined by excellence.”

Despite the initial success of the business, Dee says there have still been learning curves along the way but overall she is very pleased with the direction CPR is heading.

“I had a coffee with a colleague, who is also in this particular area of recruitment, and he said to me ‘what you have achieved in the first few months of your business is unheard of.’ But like anything I do, I do it with passion and always put people first. Over the years I’ve worn many hats, but they’ve all had one common thread: serving people.”

As previously mentioned, a key USP of CPR is that Dee also provides an HR division and management training. 

“I have a staff retention programme. It is a unique scheme and is all about an individual leading their career. I give candidates feedback and most of them tell me they haven’t ever received any mentoring like that before. For most recruitment agencies it’s all about making placements and moving onto the next one but I want our candidates to be promoted. So I encourage them to speak to their line manager if they have any issues at work, or help motivate them to feel confident going forward for new roles. It’s about owning the trajectory of your job and turning it into a career.”

Dee adds that she also offers management training too. “Sometimes companies can fall down because they don’t know how to interview so I give training on that, as well as how to do an induction process properly, so that it’s successful for everyone. Management training is also about understanding the dynamics of your team and all of that results in better staff retention. My particular approach helps both individuals and businesses grow. And having been so integral at Airey Miller, and now CPR, I have the benefit of seeing scenarios from both sides.

“Very few firms specialise in just professional construction recruitment but to my knowledge no one does the HR angle, or offers staff retention and training – that is unique about our offering.”

Another impressive point of difference is CPR’s GradPoint™-  its soon-to-be annual event for consultancies hiring graduate surveyors.

This, says Dee, is an idea that was first conceived during her time at Airey Miller.

“We would hire a conference facility in London and invite around 20 graduates along for day of networking and real life job scenarios courtesy of two Airey Miller associate building surveyors. The graduates then had the opportunity to network with the employed graduates and they got careers advice from me and from the two associate building surveyors who were present. 

“That was so good at Airey Miller that I thought I am going to do this at CPR – and our first one takes place this September.”

Although Dee admits she is not working on CPR full-time she still ensures that the firm possesses all her core professional and personal values. That she adds means ensuring people make the best of themselves.

And like Dee’s other business ventures, such as professional coaching, CPR isn’t just rooted locally. It recruits nationally too.

“At the moment there is a lot of work germinating in the north due to various projects and we cover a lot of London, as well as the Midlands and the South West.”

At the top of our conversation Dee mentioned that when she started out there were pretty much no women in the professional realm of construction but thankfully this has changed immeasurably over the years.

“The construction industry needs women. They are by no means excluded from this sector – far from it as having females in the mix helps as a whole. From being present as architects and quantity surveyors at site visits, to taking their place around the boardroom table. Women’s contribution to construction is invaluable.

“During my time at Airey Miller, and now CPR, many women have told me they were inspired to see me at the top table. But that’s not through tokenism, I got to where I am because of my hard work, skills, ability to seize opportunities and make a difference where possible. 

“Just by showing there are women who run businesses in this industry, hopefully proves that it’s not just a man’s world. Future female employees can be inspired by those of us who are already here and visible.

“My time at Airey Miller taught me how to help people rise to their potential and I now lead CPR with that same intention.”

In addition to seeing more women access the construction industry, Dee adds that she would like to see a higher proportion of applicants from other countries landing good jobs.

“We have many people from other countries who are so highly skilled and have worked so hard to get where they are, so I want to encourage employers not to be blinkered. It’s a case of just wanting businesses to widen the net and see what you get as the talent and knowledge possessed by people from elsewhere is sometimes more than that of those who are born and bred in this country.

“The world is so evolutionary and you have access to these high end courses from all over the world and I think someone who might not have been in the country but has the qualifications and therefore ace the job should be considered.”

She tells me that creating CPR has been her way of continuing to serve the industry that shaped her. 

“I’m proud to have been one of very few black female co-owners of a successful construction consultancy in the UK, and even prouder that we organically built one of the most diverse firms in the sector for its size. There was no box ticking or tokenism – just good old fashioned hiring the right person for the job.”

Some of the valuable feedback Dee has so far received from CPR candidates truly matters to her and validates what she is aiming to achieve she says. 

“I’ve had emails and messages saying things like ‘When I researched the company before my interview and saw you were a director, I knew anything was possible for a black woman in construction.’ Or statements such as ‘You inspired me to get my skates on and go as far as I can in this industry.’ And finally this: ‘Your words have really hit a spot with me to make a career and not just have a job. Thank you so much.’

“And that’s why I do it. If I’ve inspired even a few women, then I know I’m on the right path.”

GET IN TOUCH:

www.constructionprofessionals.co.uk

hello@constructionprofessionals.co.uk

0330 133 0 331