Finding and Keeping Skilled Workers in the Trades
Finding good help is tough, especially in the trades. What’s your approach to hiring people who not only have the skills, but also fit well with your team? And once you’ve got the right people, how do you keep them motivated and loyal to your business?
Let’s talk about hiring techniques and retention.
It will vary depending on the industry, but most recently we have hired people with no previous lawn care experience. The bulk of the work is pretty basic, and we have specific work methods and have found its easier to train someone who's green, than to retrain/correct someone who has bad experience. That's the only trap when looking for someone experienced, it's not always good...
Now we are on the search for someone who does have experience, it takes a lot longer and I feel like it's going to take more initiative on our part, more than just putting a job ad out there and waiting.
But the right attitude and a good fit within the existing team is the most important thing.
If you want to grow a great team you really need to have a clear vision, mission and values. As this is what differentiates you from other businesses. If you don't have that, you'll be in a position where pay rate is the only differentiating factor and that's when you'll struggle to attract and retain great staff as they will only be loyal to the pay cheque. If you do it right, you can attract and retain great employees for less than another business would be willing to pay them. This is why culture is so important.
These are great points, Conrad. I completely agree that hiring for attitude and fit is keyyy, especially when it comes to building a strong culture. Do you have any hiring questions/process in mind to identify candidates who are a good cultural fit within your business?
I've found that people who have a hobby or other interest outside of work tend to be a good fit for us because it shows they can stick at something.
Some of the questions we ask:
It's also important to speak with references that candidates list. You know that these people are prone to saying good things, so it's more effective to avoid straight "yes/no" type questions. Instead ask things like "on a scale of 1-10 how likely would you be to hire this person again?" Anything below an 8 is generally a no go. It gives them an easy way to be more honest without saying bad things or being negative.
I would love to learn more about this! We really need to hire but haven’t yet, I don’t think we are clear enough.
