Hiring in 2023 is tough. Unemployment rates remain low both in Canada and the U.S. However, the home services industry continues to struggle to find installers to complete the projects sold by the sales team. So where are the people? Has there been a fundamental shift during the pandemic of what kind of work people want to do? I know that those 2 years really helped people see they could find opportunities that didn’t require them to physically be on a job site every day. Remote work. My belief is our technician workforce hasn’t shifted to remote work but I’m going to assume a small % may have done this. I believe distributors like Amazon have been able to offer wages equivalent to or higher with benefits and perks that may have lured away installers that reflected on what kind of work they could shift to as a result of the pandemic. At this point, we can probably agree that for whatever reason, the quantity and quality of installers has shifted.
Tactics
With a smaller pool of bodies to hire from, what are some strategies to keep the talent pool fresh?
- Local classifieds – Kijiji and Craigslist
- Employment Website – Indeed, ZipRecruiter
- Installation and service vehicles – having vinyl decal with “Now Hiring”
- Website w/careers section
- Internal referral program w/incentive
- Team up with other locations to create a wider net when purchasing job ads
- Job boards in specialty stores (paint store, electrical, etc.)
- Social media – boost a post
Whichever method you choose (run multiple tactics at once) be creative and fun with your posting. We are living in a world where our workforce wants more from companies – social and environmental responsibility resonates with gen z. I remember seeing a franchisee create an ad that took a garage installer job and made it fun:
Like nice cars and real estate? Like driving around in a decked out truck? Well we are your place to work. We not only have a great team of experienced installers who want to help/share and build a rock star team. We have fun with bbq’s, bowling nights, and and annual company events. You can expect a great pay, monthly incentives for great work and as we grow so will our company benefits program. We’re ready for you! Let’s talk.
I have stayed away from discussing poaching employees from similar companies or competitors. I’m a strong believer in operating with integrity and trying to take staff in my opinion is not the right way to build a team. Good luck with your hiring and just remember even when you have a full team always keep the talent search going and have a few people in your back pocket just in case you need to hire quickly. When you’re building your franchise business, you’re not only taking care of yourself but all the people that will call you business home.
