Cleanfax, MayJune 2018

F inding new talent is hard In fact 65 percent of recruiters believe the biggest challenge they face in their career is a lack of talented individuals looking for work according to Employment Background Investigations1 In the water damage restoration industry we see this as especially true We struggle to find restoration employees who have the skills and passion required for success in a challenging industry We struggle to find team members who are flexible and willing to respond to the roundthe clock needs that come with an emergency services business Each time a business says goodbye to an employee or creates a new position to accommodate growth they find themselves sorting through lackluster résumés or struggling to get a single response to their job postings Generally good restoration employees or in any industry for that matter are employed and their current employers try their hardest not to lose them 1 Employee scouting in the social media age In the past employers have relied heavily on job postings on sites like CareerBuilder Indeed or Craigslist with a fair amount of success Although these sites still hold a lot of potential for finding new team members employee scouting has changed significantly over the last several years Social media rules in the world of scouting and hiring We know that prospective employees are finding out about job openings through social media more than ever before An estimated 41 percent of social media referrals are coming from job referral sites like LinkedIn and social media sites like Facebook are grabbing 43 percent of those referrals according to JobVite2 a recruiting research and statistics agency This should influence the scouting and hiring practices of all companies Its time to adapt and adopt these new methods for finding talented and loyal employees Social media use should already be Make sure your employees know when you are looking for new team members a part of your company culture Facebook and Twitter should be used as one way you generate leads for your business through regular postings and engagement with your followers Now its time to get comfortable with social media as part of your employee scouting process Social media especially LinkedIn drives heavy traffic to job listings When a new position opens up within your company share that information online Your next talented employee might already be connected with your business on social media 2 Using incentives to attract new talent We know that employee referrals are one of the leading sources of new talent in all industries Because of this we suggest that water damage restoration businesses use incentives to attract new talent to their teams Make sure your employees know when you are looking for new team members Communicate exactly what you expect from someone new to your team and then let them know what kind of reward they can expect for finding the right person To encourage new hires that are committed for the long term consider offering a small incentive upon hire and then another larger incentive after the new hire sticks with the job for over six months 3 Remain in the scouting mindset In a world driven by life lived online weve lost track of just how valuable person to person interactions are for networking We may do a lot of networking online and social media is certainly valuable to finding new restoration employees but that should never negate the power of in person networking In fact we recommend that all restoration employers stay in the scouting mindset Keep an eye out for exceptional talent as you are out and about in your community Get to know the people who work at or visit the same stores and gas stations you do Get friendly with employees where you have your car serviced Keep your eyes peeled for potential team members in the parents of your kids friends or the members of your place of worship Even when youre not hiring these relationships should be cultivated as they could become your first resource when a position opens up in the future We love the opportunities casual networking provides but we also value formal networking opportunities Dont make the mistake of only attending networking events within your community when youre desperate for staff Stay in the scouting mindset all year attending MAY JUN 2018 cleanfax com 33 Many employers make the same mistakes time and time again when hiring new talent