About a year ago I wrote the article, “The 5 R’s Of Growing Your Sales and Business” but I left one very important “R” word out of that article.
The sixth “R” you need to master to Grow your Service Contracting Business is Recruiting.
Now, it’s no secret that Recruiting for Plumbers, HVAC Technicians, HVAC Installers, and Electricians is arguably the most important and the most difficult skill to master, so here are some tips, hints, and secrets we’ve learned from operating our Recruiting program for Contractors that you can implement to improve your Recruiting for Skilled Trades talent, dominate your competition, and grow your Contracting business!
4 Ways To Quickly Improve Your Recruiting and Grow Your Service Contracting Business!
1. Make Your Recruitment / Hiring Processes Simple and EASY For Applicants
How easy and convenient is it for prospects to Find your job openings?
Make sure you use an appropriate Job title in your employment listings!
Subway is somewhat famous for using “Sandwich Artist” as a job title in their employment ads.
However, using a job title like “Piping Repair Specialist” is NOT an effective strategy when you’re Recruiting for Plumbers.
Instead, use keywords someone looking for a “Plumbing Job” or “Plumber Career” would use when searching!
How simple and easy is the Application process?
How many hoops are you making people jump through before they get scheduled in for an interview?
There are some recruiting philosophies out there suggesting you implement a long, complex process that includes long voicemail chains, hidden calls to action, etc.
This type of strategy is primarily used for “weeding out non-detail oriented people” and reducing the overall number of applicants. For this reason, we do NOT recommend this when you’re recruiting for “hard to find” Skilled talent such as Plumbers, HVAC Technicians, Electricians, etc.
Instead, focus on using several very clear and direct calls to action (I.e. Apply Now) throughout your job listing and link to a short and simple Application process.
Focus on minimizing your screener questions to the most essential qualifications. The fewer questions your application process has, the higher your applicant conversion rate and the higher your applicant volume will be. Conversely, the more questions you put in your application process, the lower the volume of applicants you receive will be.
Want to maximize the effectiveness of screener questions? Use open ended questions!
Example: Instead of asking, “Do you have a valid and active Driver’s License?” or “Do you have at least 1 year of field experience as an Electrician?” which essentially give the prospect the answer within the question, ask “What is the status of your Driver’s License?” or “How many years of field experience do you have as an Electrician?” Not only does this mitigate “lying applicants” it’s also a great way of drawing out more relevant information from the applicant!
Is your application form and overall process mobile-friendly?
Did you know that more than HALF of all internet traffic is mobile based? This means that MOST people are on their mobile phone or tablet and if your Application Forms and Overall Recruiting process aren’t catering to that traffic, you’re missing out!
Here’s an idea that might shock you … do NOT require a Resume in your application process!
There are several reasons for why you should STOP requiring Resume’s (and I will likely expound upon that in a separate article) but for now just know that MOST people are on their phones when searching for jobs and MOST people don’t have a Resume on their PHONE! Make sense?
So if your “application process” includes a call to action like: “Send your resume to … ” you may want to replace that with something like: “Click here to complete our brief application form” then send that traffic to a mobile-friendly webpage and application form that asks for basic contact information and responses to your most essential screening questions.
How long does it take to Apply and hear back from a manager?
You might be surprised by this, but Applicants are just as frustrated in the Recruiting and Hiring process as you are!
According to external surveys, Applicants often complain that the application process takes too long (hours), the hiring process takes too long (months), and that they never (or rarely) hear back from a manager.
If you want to maximize your success in Recruiting Skilled Trades talent (who are in short supply and high demand) you’ll have to take an honest, objective look at your current recruiting and hiring processes and actively work to simplify them with special consideration to the Applicant’s experience and ease of use.
2. Applicant Marketing Is Similar To, But Not The Same As Customer Marketing
While there are several aspects of Applicant Marketing (Recruiting) that are similar to Customer Marketing, it is important to be aware of one key difference.
What motivates Customers is different than what motivates Applicants.
While prospective customers might be motivated by “Satisfaction Guarantees” and “Good Faith Service” prospective applicants likely won’t be.
It’s important to carefully reflect on what would be particularly motivating and valuable to prospective applicants.
Example: The fact you’ve ‘been in business for 50 years’ is a great accomplishment but still misses the mark in establishing why this fact is particularly valuable to a prospective applicant. Perhaps instead you could say, “Offering 50+ Years Of Stable and Reliable Career Opportunities!”
Conversely, younger companies could promote “FAST Career Growth and Advancement Opportunities!”
In the past, what has motivated you to change employers?
We’ve been Recruiting for Service Contractors for years, and here are some of the most common motivators we’ve gathered from applicants:
– A more flexible schedule that offers better work / life balance
– Higher overall quality of life for family (better pay, better benefits, etc.)
– Company Culture: A positive, friendly, family-like work environment
– Consistency and Reliability: Full Time, Year Round Work, Direct Deposit Pay
– Career Growth and Advancement Opportunities
3. Gather Feedback From Current Staff To Maximize Recruiting Success
Want to know what motivates applicants to apply to your jobs?
Simple! Ask your current staff!
Ask them, “What do you love the most about working with this company?”
Their feedback will tell you things you’re doing well as an employer as well as opportunities for improvement.
You can use their feedback in your employment listings to effectively “sell” your company as an employer!
Example: If your current staff’s feedback indicates one of your strengths is a “Family-Like company atmosphere” you could emphasize that message in your employment ads to attract applicants who are frustrated with working for an employer that is more distant or disconnected.
Follow that up by asking your staff, “What do you love the most about being a [Insert Job Title]?”
Their feedback can also be used in your employment listings to effectively “sell” the position or job itself!
Example: If your current staff’s feedback indicates one of the things they “love the most” about being a Plumber is “The pride in performing quality work and making a long-lasting positive impact on the community” you can use that within a section of your job listings titled “What you might love the most about this opportunity” and you can use the feedback to “call out” prospective applicants within your employment ads.
I.e. Are you an experienced Electrician looking for growth opportunities? Do you take pride in performing quality work and making a positive impact on your community?
4. Use Reviews, Testimonial Videos and Referrals To Grow Your Team
Reviews:
Now, you probably have some sort of process within your business to survey your customers, obtain positive feedback, then turn that positive feedback into Reviews, Testimonial Videos, Referrals, etc. for the purpose of marketing, right?
Well, if you don’t … you should!
But, have you ever considered creating a process to gather feedback from your staff then turn that positive feedback into Reviews, Testimonial Videos, Referrals, etc. for the purpose of Recruiting?
Yep, your Google, Facebook, and Yelp reviews are NOT exclusively for Customer Reviews anymore!
Employees can also review your company on employment-specific websites such as Indeed and Glassdoor.
Testimonial Video:
Once you have gathered positive feedback and reviews from your staff, you should consider getting recorded testimonial from your staff sharing their thoughts and feelings about what they love the most about working with your company.
Those videos can be posted to social media and even some job boards to promote your company and position!
Referrals:
Do you have valuable team members who are passionate about your company?
Ask them to refer their friends, family, and former coworkers to come work with your company!
Often times, people leave one company for another due to some sort of pain or frustration such as a bad manager, poor company practices, inconsistent pay, etc.
It’s likely that if one person has left a company for any such reason, that they would know other people within their former company who are dealing with the same situation.
Encourage them to make a referral and offer a bonus to both parties if it makes sense!
Interested in freeing yourself from the burden of Recruiting?
Put your Recruiting on autopilot and grow your team and your business!
Click HERE to learn more about our Advanced Recruiting program!
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About The Author:
Patrick is a Husband, a Father, a Modern Entrepreneur, the Founder of BizPAL.org, and the Creator of BizPAL’s Automated Recruiting Program.
He holds certifications in Social Media Marketing, Facebook Advertising, Inbound Marketing, Business Automation, and more!
Fun Fact:
Patrick was born and raised in a predominantly Amish community in Northern Indiana.
Got questions about the Amish? Ask Patrick!
Patrick is the son of a Career Tradesman and is extremely passionate about helping the Contracting industry grow and advance.
He has over 10+ years of experience in Customer Service, B2C Sales, Social Media Marketing, Sales Training and Coaching, Business Consulting, etc.
He has spent the past 7+ years working with Service Contractors from coast to coast to increase their Sales, boost their Profits, increase Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty, and improve their Operational efficiency by Building Creative Solutions and Implementing Innovative Ideas!
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