Across North America, the demand for skilled workers is ever increasing. It isn’t a new problem, employers have been reporting shortages of skilled workers for years and recent statistics back up their complaint. It is hard to point a finger at that exact cause of this shortage, but a few different factors are at play, according to The Atlantic. It seems a complex relationship exists between outdated policies, a push for college education in younger generations and businesses struggling to employ the right methods for recruiting and retaining talented individuals.
Since the demand is high, it more difficult than ever to find the right people to add to your team. Employers and small business owners working in the water damage restoration company must be willing to use strategic methods and even change their company’s structure if that is what it takes to hire the top talent in today’s restoration industry.
Recruiting as a Marketing Strategy
Let’s face it, with the shortage of skilled workers in the restoration industry, potential employees are no longer knocking down the door of your human resources department. Now is the time for professionals working in water damage restoration to employ marketing strategies as an essential component to their hiring process.
- Create a Social Media Campaign. Of course, social media is being used by your company to market the services you offer, but do you use it to recruit the top talent in your area? Work together with your marketing team to create a social media campaign focused entirely on hiring new staff members.
- Offer Training to the Right Hires. Are you willing to hire loyal and motivated employees who are lacking the skills or experience you need? Consider hiring these individuals at a lower pay and providing them with the formal training they need to become a valuable member of your team.
- Offer Referral Incentives. If you have employees who have been working in the restoration industry for some time, they have likely built many relationships with professionals outside of your company. Offer your employees incentives, such as bonus or extra paid time off, for referring a new employee who remains with the company for 6 months or more.
- Recruit from Within. You have seen firsthand just how expensive recruiting and hiring new employees can be for your company. Whenever possible, seek out talent within your own company. Offer internal training programs that will allow your most motivated employees to grow into the talent you need the most.
Your Hiring Process Matters
Tracking down talented individuals isn’t enough. The nuts and bolts of your hiring process plays an important role in ensuring you are bringing dedicated employees on board who respect your time and the position they are applying for.
Perfect your hiring process and watch the most talented candidate rise above the rest.
- Begin each hiring process by requiring a cover letter, resume and fulling completed application. Serious candidates won’t bat an eye at the effort required in order to apply for the position.
- Expect multiple interviews before making a job offer. A short phone call and an initial interview isn’t enough to determine if a candidate is a good fit for the demands of an emergency industry like water damage restoration.
- Use evaluation tools such as DiSC or Divine to get a full picture of the candidate’s personality. These tests are written in a way that determines your employee’s strengths and weaknesses, even when they are trying to put their best foot forward.
Once you have made an offer to a candidate, commit to a 90 days probation with a clear outline of expectations. Give new employees the chance to prove their worth and offer a small pay increase at the end of the probation for talented employees or cut ties to individuals who don’t live up to your expectations.
How to Retain Talented Employees
According to Compensation Force, the average turnover rate for service-related industries is 15.2 percent. This means that each year, you can expect to lose roughly 15 percent of your employees. Replacing employees certainly isn’t cheap. According to the Center for American Progress, you can expect to spend 20% percent of your lost employee’s salary trying to replace them.
It makes sense than, that so many companies are focusing on retaining talented employees. Employee turnover is inevitable, but can be decreased with some strategies for increasing employee satisfaction in the workplace. Of course, most employees want to be compensated in a way the reflects the value they bring to the company, included higher salary and benefit packages. Increased pay isn’t the only strategy for keeping employees happy. Today’s employees are looking for better parental leave options and individuals with aging parents are seeking out jobs that will allow them the flexibility they need to take care of loved ones. Beyond that, employees want to have a voice within their workplace, room for growth through employer-set goals and transparency within the company, according to Inc..
While these desires may seem vague, there are practical steps your company can take to express your gratitude to the hard workers in your company. Perhaps the most important practice is create a space for honest feedback from your employees. This could be accomplished by creating an employer evaluation for your staff to complete when they are given their personal evaluation. Additionally, use evaluations as a time for growth, working together with your employees to help them set their own performance goals that will benefit both your company the future of their career. Lastly, talk openly with your employees during regular meetings about the state of your business. Employee’s want transparency, they don’t want to have to guess if business is good and honesty during slow and busy seasons is an opportunity for the top talent in your business to step up and offer creative solutions.
Of course, you won’t change the culture of your workplace overnight, but you can implement the ideas listed above incrementally, which is a more manageable way to make changes that last. For more ideas recruiting, hiring & retaining the top talent in the water damage restoration industry, click here or call 1-866-667-3356 to learn more about the operational resources offered by More Floods, including our complete HR Operations Manual.