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Sound familiar? It certainly does, especially if you’re a contractor in the skilled trades, an industry that’s struggled with a labor shortage for decades, and one in which the challenges of hiring have seemed only to get worse.
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“We're in one of the biggest crunches for employees that we've ever seen,” says Jody Underhill, owner of RapidHirePro, a marketing agency that works with home service providers to recruit and retain quality workers. “It's harder to get people today than it ever has been.”
But, never fear. It is possible for companies to find, hire, and retain good talent, the pro recruiter explains in a recent ServiceTitan webinar. It just means spending some time in the places where your potential new hires spend their time.
“And it's not just about getting warm bodies that can fog a mirror. It's about really attracting A-players and top talent,” Underhill says. “They are out there, you just have to go and find them.”
As the director of numerous companies in the digital marketing space, Underhill has helped over 150 businesses develop successful marketing and hiring strategies, ranging from solopreneurs to Fortune 100 companies.
“I'm going to show you 10 tips for hiring techs in 2022 faster than you ever thought possible,” he adds. “Not just hiring them, but doing it quickly.”
How referrals can help you recruit an A-List team
To demonstrate RapidHirePro’s track record, Underhill first shared a story about how he helped Tommy Mello, The Home Service Expert and founder of A1 Garage Door Service, the largest single-owned garage door repair company in the country, with locations in 30 markets and 20 different states.
“In the last six or seven months, we brought in over 150 employees into his company,” Underhill says. “So, whenever I say I know it works, it works. And we also work with over 30 other companies doing the same thing.”
RapidHirePro examines a company’s hiring strategy by determining which positions need to be filled, the experience and qualifications needed for each role, and the revenue loss per empty position. Then RHP asks about the company’s previous best sources for finding new hires.
“Employee referrals will always be your best resource for recruiting, hands down,” Underhill says.
And referrals from your current A-players often leads to the development of other A-players, which can help you save time and lead to a more scalable recruiting system.
“A-players get you 5-star reviews, because they're always thinking about the customer and the company at the same time,” Underhill explains. “They become your best recruiter. They get you more jobs because they're always talking about the company. You get higher conversions because they close more deals. They also have a higher than average ticket.
“It’s not that they're selling people things they don't need, but they're selling the right solution in a way that's providing the best value for the customer and your company,” he adds. “You’ll have less headaches at night whenever you're recruiting A-players.”
Recruit your own A-list team with the following tips:
Tip #1: Get clear on your offer
Do you plan to pay employees an hourly wage, a monthly salary based on performance pay, or a yearly average plus commissions? Spell out your pay package structure to increase new-hire leads, and position the information in your job ads to attract the most interest, Underhill says.
For example, if it’s a higher-paid supervisory position, list the salary range of $60,000 to $80,000 a year. If you plan to pay an apprentice $12.50 an hour, list the salary as a more attractive $500 per week.
Specify what benefits you offer, like health insurance and retirement savings, but also opportunities for flex-time off, take-home company vehicles, and paid training.
Do you share photos and videos of your company culture in job ads or on social media that show why your employees are happy to come to work each day? Go bowling or paintballing, host a company barbecue, or cook breakfast for the team once a month, then share the fun with potential new hires.
Finally, list the job requirements. “You’ll notice I talked about all the benefits first, and the job requirements second,” Underhill says. “You want to make sure you're getting their attention first.”
Tip #2: Don’t go where everyone else is fishing
Contractors commonly post jobs on popular job boards like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, or Glassdoor—but so do many other businesses.
“You can get quality people, but you're only getting the people who are going to those sites,” Underhill says. “In this climate, usually whenever somebody doesn't have a job and they're not working, there's a reason.”
Rather than go where everyone else is fishing, try a new spot with more fish and less competition. It can be as simple as posting a job ad on social media, but one that stands out and targets a specific audience.
“You have to do it in such a way that's going to be attractive, that's going to stop the scroll and get them interested,” Underhill says.
Consider the following:
1 in 4 working Americans weren’t searching for a job when they found their current job.
79% of job seekers say they use social media when job searching.
“You have to get the information in front of them when they're not necessarily looking for it,” Underhill explains, adding that it’s the same kind of marketing concept that companies in the trades use to build their brands and attract new customers.
When it comes to recruiting, it means posting those jobs in places where people spend the most time.
“Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, are all places where people are spending their time. How much time? On average, two and a half hours per day, or basically a full day each week spent on social media,” Underhill says. “It's like an untapped territory.”
He says RapidHirePro uses Facebook and Instagram to attract a steady stream of applicants for companies, once they understand the target audience. So, who’s on social media?
Social media users by generation:
90.4% of Millennials
77.5% of Generation X
48.2% of Baby Boomers
“Everybody is there,” he says. “They’re all spending time on it.”
If you tried posting a job ad on social media and think it didn’t work, try again, Underhill advises.
“What didn't work was what you put in the ad, how you wrote the copy, and what you put in place in order to try to attract that person. You didn't use the right bait,” he says.
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Tip #3: Post salary ranges on your job ads
When job listings include a salary range, they get 75% more clicks than job listings that don’t, Underhill says. Here’s an example job posting for A1 Garage Door Service:
ATTN: IMMEDIATE OPENINGS WITH A1 GARAGE DOOR SERVICE
A1 GARAGE DOOR is Hiring 5 Apprentice Tech positions immediately!
Average Pay $750+ Week
Company Vehicle and All Tools Provided
Year Round Work
Family Owned and Operated!
Health Benefits
Paid Vacation & Holidays
Requirements:
Clean Driving Record
Clean Drug Test
No More than 2 MVR Violations in Past 3 Years
Click to learn more!
“Click to learn more gets more clicks and more leads than any other call to action,” Underhill says. “If you put ‘apply now,’ it drops off by about 30%.”
Tip #4: Map out your hiring process
How long does it take applicants to get through your hiring process? How many interviews need to happen? What pre-qualification hoops must they jump through? Do you require ride-alongs as part of the process?
“When we start looking at hiring processes, there are things that can slow you down,” Underhill says. “And in today's marketplace, you’ve got to move quickly.”
Get clear on your process, and then communicate what that process entails with your job candidates. Go ahead and make an offer to a highly qualified candidate, but make the offer contingent on passing a background check and drug screen.
“Keep them informed every step of the way, because if you don't, they're going to assume nothing's happening and they're going to move on to the next one,” Underhill says. “Remember everybody's hiring, not just you.”
Tip #5: Let candidates know what is going to happen next
Keeping job candidates informed throughout the entire application process can mean the difference between them accepting your job offer, or one from another employer.
76% of job seekers say not hearing back after submitting a job application trumps the frustration of not hearing back after a first date.
78% of employers feel they do a good job with communicating the application and hiring process, whereas only 47% of job seekers agree.
“Let them know what’s going to happen next, because you don’t want to leave them guessing,” Underhill says.
Tip #6: Don’t require a resume to apply
The typical job application asks for a person’s full name, city of residence, email address, and employment desired. The final request on the application — “upload your resume here” — is the one thing that keeps many people from applying for your job.
“How many people do you think in the home service industry, in the trades, have a resume lying around, ready to upload?” Underhill asks. “Resumes cause stress for people. They get frustrated with that, and leave.”
RapidHirePro helps companies create job applications that ask the most important questions, essentially capturing what’s included on a resume, but makes it easier on the applicant. And changing the final application request to “Upload a resume, if available,” actually doubled the number of applications received, Underhill says.
Tip #7: Use multichannel engagement
Multichannel engagement means communicating with job candidates through text messages, emails, and phone calls.
“You have to use all three today,” Underhill says. “This is where a lot of companies fall very short. They only do things one way. In today's environment, because we have so many options of how we communicate, you have to use every channel possible in order to get in front of people.”
64% of prospective workers would rather hear about the success of their job application via text than through an email or a phone call.
“Text messaging is how we communicate today, but are you communicating with your candidates that way?” Underhill asks.
Tip #8: Make your messages engaging
Once a job candidate expresses interest, nurture them along with texts, emails, and voicemails to keep them engaged and encourage them to take the next step to officially apply.
For A1 Garage Door Service, sending cute pictures of Tommy Mello’s dog, Finnigan, tends to capture more people’s attention.
The message might read: "Hey Jody, this is our mascot Finn. Every time someone completes an application, Finn gets a treat. So go ahead, complete the application because Finn is counting on you."
The cute dog engages and captures their attention, but the message also asks for a response.
“You have to meet them where they're at, and make it easy for them,” Underhill advises.
In 2000, marketers had 12 seconds to capture someone’s attention. In 2021, marketers only had 8 seconds.
“Eight seconds is one second less than a gold fish's attention span,” he says. “So, after seven seconds, they don't remember what they just saw. That's kind of how people are whenever they see your job information online … you have to grab their attention very quickly or they're gone.”
Tip #9: Ask employees for reviews
Contractors in the trades work very hard to earn customers’ 5-star reviews for the services they provide, but potential job applicants want to know what current employees say about your company.
“Because on average, candidates will read six company reviews before forming an opinion about the business,” Underhill says. In addition to Google reviews, they also search for information on sites like Indeed, Glassdoor, Better Business Bureau, and Facebook.
Simply ask happy employees to leave honest reviews about working for your company, and watch your job ratings start notching up.
Tip #10: What are you offering that others aren’t?
What makes your company different? Typically, companies think job candidates want higher-than-average salaries, health insurance, profit-sharing, and other financial benefits related to pay. But Underhill says it goes a bit deeper for today’s job applicant in the trades.
“The things that seem to be moving the needle now are more about flexibility and lifestyle, rather than pay,” Underhill says. “Don't get me wrong. Pay is always the big thing there. But what are the intangibles that you can offer?”
Potential new hires want to work for companies that offer:
New trucks, fully stocked with tools and inventory
Dispatch from home
No on-call
Gas card
Fully stocked break room
Uncapped commissions for performance pay
Bonus Tip: How to use ServiceTitan as a selling feature for your business
Companies that use ServiceTitan field management software to run their businesses operate more effectively and efficiently, which Underhill thinks is a great selling point for any job candidate.
ServiceTitan’s mobile app and mobile forms reduce the need to fill out paperwork, enabling techs to be more productive and garner more rave customer reviews. Payroll tracking ensures correct compensation, and a streamlined inventory system keeps better track of the entire process and techs better prepared.
“Employees are able to move efficiently from call to call, because everything is right there in front of them,” Underhill says.
ServiceTitan Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and substantially elevate the trajectory of their business. Our comprehensive, cloud-based platform is used by thousands of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, garage door, and chimney sweep shops across the country—and has increased their revenue by an average of 25% in just their first year with us.
