In episode #367 of Potty Talk, we interview Kelly Presgrave and Dana Hubchen, the owners and founders of the residential and commercial services industry recruiting company, Work With Your Handz. Kelly and Dana discuss the current hiring environment and answer the question, “How can plumbing companies make themselves more attractive to new recruits?”
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Resources
3 Golden Nuggets
- Prioritize a good work-life balance.
- Learn while you earn.
- Build culture within your team.
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Show Notes
Prioritize a good work-life balance
If there’s anything this new generation cares about, it’s a good work-life balance. Offering guarantees like no on-call work or no night/evening work are huge selling points for your company. We get that not every company will be able to offer that, especially if you’ve been established for a while and your customers have certain expectations. But if you’re on the newer side of plumbing and are looking to hire new plumbers, this is one way you can compete with the bigger companies.
Learn while you earn
About ten years ago there was a big push for high school graduates to go to college and not into the trades. It’s shifting a little bit, especially as people are graduating without a job to go into, but the plumbing trade is still feeling the effects. That’s why “learn while you earn” is an attractive prospect.
If your new recruits are in an apprentice academy, see who is competent/mechanically inclined and then get them in the truck as quickly as possible. That way they’re earning while they’re still learning—and nothing beats on-the-job training, where they can see plumbing in action.
Build culture within your team.
Anything you can do to build culture within your team and show your employees how much you value them is a big win. Many Potty Talk listeners are Work With Your Handz clients, and we’ve seen them put in place all kinds of culture-building ideas: softball tournaments, Food Truck Friday, Top Golf outings, or axe throwing nights.
Offering employee perks will also communicate how much you value your team. Put a good bonus structure in place, or offer unlimited PTO if you can. Motivate your employees to do the best job possible. One of our clients created this contest: the employee who got the most Google reviews got an extra vacation with a paid AirBnb. Taking remuneration beyond the paycheck shows your employees are valued, and it will go a long way in making your company an attractive place to work.
Check out Work With Your Handz on our Power Tools page; they offer great incentives for PottyTalk listeners. Schedule a time to talk to them and see what they can do for you.
Richard’s Call to Action
If you want to learn more about numbers that matter and how to best run your plumbing business, why not schedule a free 30-min strategy call with us? Let’s talk about your goals and where you want to be this time next year, and we’ll help you create a path to make that happen. Schedule your free strategy call here today!
