In a market where labor is in short supply for all departments, it’s the production side of the house that needs some focused attention. The attention I’m referring to doesn’t mean tossing a few dollars at any of the online job boards, as helpful as they may be. I’m thinking in completely different terms so stay with me for a couple minutes to read this one all the way through.

Before we get into the details, let’s ferret out some excuses why you can’t find great candidates for all departments.

“We don’t have the budget to place job ads online.”

“The only people responding to the online job boards are the people we don’t want.”

“We’ve tried the employee referral program but for some reason it hasn’t panned out.”

“We’ve attended career events at the local college and didn’t source one potential candidate.”

“The young folks expect too much too soon without having proven themselves.”

“We’re looking for a certain type of candidate only, people who can legally drive.”

Each of the above may be valid but please remain flexible in your thinking, otherwise stop reading now because what I’m about to write is close to a mic drop short of over-promising.

Skeptical? Don’t believe me? You’ve already heard it all? Then there-in lies the problem. It’s never been a candidate problem. It’s been an internal mindset problem. So, Mr. or Mrs. Owner, GM or HR Recruiter, breathe out the old and breathe in the new.

Our industry offers so many opportunities it’s crazy. But here we are referring to production staff which is the harder department to fill.

I would bet job seekers are not searching, “Disaster Cleanup and Restoration Technician.” We need to simplify and take the opportunity to market to grow the candidate pool.

Four Steps to do NOW

1. Create an evening training class which takes students through the entire learning process start to finish. This is all workbook stuff. Follow up the workbook stuff and a field day ride-along schedule. This will help students correlate the book to the actual work.
2. Partner with your local vocational high school which has a construction class as regular curriculum. Students are already learning the trades and adding DCRT isn’t a huge leap.
3. Most communities have programs for at risk youth, 18-24, who are learning life skills. Create a career exploration day and invite as many of these groups to your business as possible. Oh, provide pizza and sodas too.
4. Stop being stingy with your own people. Invite them into other parts of the business so they can grow too.

Best of luck to you finding the right candidates.