Let’s face it: In today’s tight job market, it’s hard to find the technicians, drivers, and general laborers who are the backbone of the digging industry.
Business owners like Steve Grueber of Odyssey Environmental Services use a variety of employee recruitment tools to find the right people for the job. Grueber and his staff know they will invest a good deal of time and money into the training of a new worker, so they want to hire candidates who will stay on the job long-term.
John Kelly, owner of Kelly Business Advisors, recommends using a multifaceted recruitment approach that includes social media postings, online job boards, career fairs, and employee incentives.
EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES
Odyssey Environmental Services, an environmental remediation company, typically relies on employment agencies to find candidates and run background checks and drug screenings. Odyssey Environmental Services also works with nonprofit veteran organizations to find workers, a partnership that has been especially beneficial.
“They’re dedicated people, and the government has already put in a million dollars of training for our veterans,” Grueber says. “I’ve been real lucky with them.”
The Youngstown, Ohio-based company covers a three-state area and hires 10 to 15 employees a quarter. Odyssey Environmental Services finds some candidates through Craigslist, but in Grueber’s experience, temp agencies haven’t worked because the candidates haven’t been screened properly.
“Newspapers are pretty much useless,” he adds.
OFFERING INCENTIVES
Word-of-mouth can be a powerful way to attract employees, and Odyssey Environmental Services takes advantage of this approach by offering incentives to current employees. Employees can earn a $25 bonus if they bring in a good candidate who stays on the job at least 3 months.
Odyssey Environmental Services wants its recruits to stick around, and one way to ensure this is to pay them well. “The pay scale goes up quite a bit once they receive all their training, stay with us, and are dependable,” Grueber says.
A steady paycheck is not the only incentive for today’s job seekers, Kelly says, a serial entrepreneur and Wisconsin-based business consultant since 2004.
WHAT TODAY’S EMPLOYEES WANT
“Employers need to understand that the younger generations don’t think the same way they do,” Kelly says, referring to the young adults in their 20s and 30s who make up the millennial generation.
“What millennials specifically want is to work for a company they believe in, and they want to do work that’s meaningful to them,” Kelly says. Plus, they’re looking for a work-life balance that gives them time for family, friends and hobbies.
“To target millennials, you need to communicate why you do what you do and educate the workforce to have them align with you. Social media helps you relate to them,” Kelly says.
ONLINE JOB TOOLS
He recommends using an online employment tool like www.indeed.com, which allows you to easily manage job applications. Craigslist is another good resource for employers. When posting a job to Craigslist, employers should spend time developing an effective headline, he says. Face-to-face interaction can also boost your recruitment results, Kelly says.
“Look around your region for a technical school that offers training in the trades you need, and attend their job fairs to recruit students. Be involved in trade associations in order to grow your business and potentially find new key employees,” he says.
Employers should look for incentives that will give them an edge. “Employers for seasonal work may want to consider giving bonuses at the end of the season to reward the employees for remaining with the company,” Kelly says.
LABOR SHORTAGE
Today’s low unemployment rates create a tight job market, which makes it more difficult for employers to fill vacancies. Unemployment in the U.S. has been at 5 percent or below in 2016 and 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Certain sectors of the digging industry are especially susceptible to turnover because of the labor shortage.
“CDL drivers are in high demand, so they can leave me tomorrow and find a job that same day,” Grueber says. One way to keep them committed is a quarterly bonus if they have no recorded absences.
A HARD DAY’S WORK
But today’s excavating company managers are dealing with more than just a labor shortage. They say they’re finding more and more often that individuals aren’t willing to put in a hard day’s work. This phenomenon has prompted Grueber to become remarkably direct with the job candidates he interviews.
“I explain to my people, ‘This is the dirtiest, nastiest work that you’re ever going to apply for, so if you’re afraid of work, we don’t need to go any further,’” he says.
Odyssey Environmental Services looks for candidates who have a valid driver’s license and successfully pass a drug test — two conditions that Grueber says eliminate plenty of today’s applicants. He has no generalized description for what makes a candidate right for the job, except for a willingness to show up every day and work hard.
