Want to know how to Retain Skilled Trades Talent?
After all, if you’re going to invest in Recruiting for your Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical trade business, you should likewise invest in ways to Retain Skilled Trades Talent.
Skilled Trades Talent (Plumbers, Electrician, HVAC Technicians, HVAC Installers, Carpenters, Handymen, CDL Drivers, etc.) is getting harder and harder to find. Nowadays, employers are often looking to Recruit and Hire experienced talent from other companies (yes, even from you) in order to source the talent they need to grow their business.
This means Retention (the ability to keep or retain Skilled Trades Talent) is perhaps more important now than it has ever been!
7 Ways To Retain Skilled Trades Talent
1. Give Them What THEY Want
Are you giving your team members what they want … what you want … or what you think they want?
So often when I speak with Business owners and ask if they are sure they’re giving their team members what they want, I hear something along the lines of ‘Well when I was as Plumber, all I really wanted was …’
Here’s the problem with that approach: Every individual wants something slightly different and each generation of individuals have different values, wants and needs.
Therefore, what you want, is NOT always the same as what they want!
How would you know what they want?
Simple … ASK them!
“What do you want most from us as your employer? As your employer, how can we best serve you?”
Also, never, ever “assume” or “think” you already know what they want. Remember, every individual’s wants, needs and expectations are slightly different from one another. What you might assume, may be wrong! Don’t be afraid to ask, take note of the responses you get from each individual, and circle the common denominators.
Now, you may be thinking, “Seriously?” To which I say, “Yes, seriously.” If you are REALLY serious about winning the war on retaining the Skilled Trades Talent on your team, (you know, so you can grow your business more efficiently) you’ll find and do whatever you can to keep your current team members happy.
Here’s a solid tip: “If you want to keep your team members, you have to find what makes them happy, deliver on that and keep happy over time.”
More on ‘how to keep them happy long term’ below!
2. Provide Proper Equipment To Do The Job
We survey nearly 100,000 skilled trades professionals on an annual basis.
That list includes Plumbers, HVAC Techs, HVAC Installers, Electricians, Lawn and Landscape Techs, Drain Techs, etc. etc. and across the board, one of the top frustrations these individuals have with their current employer is ‘not being provided with proper equipment’ to do their job.
This is also one of the TOP reasons they cited for wanting to leave their current employer, so take heed!
What do they mean ‘proper equipment?’
Well, we wondered that too, so we asked! Here’s what we found out most were looking for, specifically:
– Equipment that keeps them safe.
– Equipment they can rely on to work when they need it to.
– Industry-leading equipment that helps them be more efficient and proficient.
Are you providing your team members with proper equipment?
Are you intentional about cycling out older, worn out pieces of equipment?
Are you intentional about researching industry-leading equipment and remaining on the cutting edge of technological advances?
There’s a common perception that ‘if the company isn’t investing in new equipment for itself and the staff, that it’s a sign the company is in a decline.’
P/S: Companies that offer MORE than just standard work equipment such as vehicles, major tools, etc. and assist their team members with purchasing and replacing common tools and equipment such as hand tools, power tools, etc. really stand out in their employment offers!
3. Ask For Feedback, Often
Want to know how to keep your current team members happy, long term?
Simple! Ask for their feedback as suggested in tip #2, but don’t stop there!
Ask them for their feedback consistently! Perhaps once a month, once per quarter, but certainly at least once per year!
Routinely asking for feedback from your team members is important for a couple reasons:
– What they want, need or expect may change over time and knowing about those changes will better position you to meet those desires and keep your team members happy. Remember: ‘If you want to keep them, you have to keep them happy.’
– Asking for and Listening to their feedback shows you truly value your team members in a way Paychecks and other Benefits simply cannot match.
The ‘desire to be heard’ is just basic human nature. If you have kids, you likely know this already. Personally, I know my 6 year old son really wants to be heard when he says, “Hey Dad … Hey Dad …” ten times in a row.
P/S: Asking for and Listening to feedback is also great advice for any other relationships you have in life!
4. Recognize and Reward Them
This should go without saying, right?
Your team members want to be recognized and rewarded for their contributions. Rather, they EXPECT and NEED to be recognized and rewarded!
Are you taking time to recognize and reward your team members for their valuable contributions?
Now, this doesn’t mean you have to break the bank to accomplish! Sometimes, even ‘just being recognized’ is enough of a ‘reward!’
This goes beyond closed-door performance review meetings even. Don’t be afraid to publicly celebrate and reward valuable contributions at team meetings or through team outings and other group celebrations.
Also, take time to recognize valuable contributions whenever they happen. This could be as simple as an ‘Atta Boy’ or even a pat on the back with a quick ‘Good Job.’ The key is to be sure the team member feels recognized and appreciated at least!
5. Train, Coach and Mentor, But NEVER Micromanage
Let’s face it, we all want to learn, grow, and advance, but none of us enjoy that feeling of someone ‘breathing down your neck.’
According to Brigette Hyacinth, Author of The Future of Leadership, “Micromanagement breeds resentment and disloyalty.”
Hyacinth also says, ‘Micromanagement puts undue stress on employees.’ Instead she suggests focusing on ‘training, coaching and mentoring’ along with ensuring ’employees feel they belong, are heard and appreciated.’
So what is micromanagement?
Basically, it’s like hovering around and monitoring every little thing your team members are doing or saying.
Now, this doesn’t mean you should be ‘completely hands off’ or to remove yourself from being involved with the business operations or your team members.
Instead, it means you should focus on training people to do their job, then coaching and mentoring them to improve and do their job better. After all, you hired them to do a job, so why stand in the way and attempt to do it for them?
Don’t be afraid of your team members making a mistake. Mistakes are a part of growth.
Train them to do the job, Equip them to do the job, Trust them to do the job, Help them to do the job better.
6. Offer Them A Way Out
“Wait … what!?”
Yes. Offer them an easy way out of the company and even help them leave if that’s what they want.
Now, you might be thinking, “Wasn’t this article supposed to be about helping me RETAIN and KEEP team members?”
Let me explain.
If someone wants to leave your company, they WILL regardless of whatever you say or do anyways, so why not just let them go?
In fact, Amazon (you know that world-leading, corporate mega giant of an online retailer?) actually PAYS employees up to $5,000 to QUIT!
Keeping an unhappy employee on your team certainly won’t do you any favors. They can bring down morale across the company, cause issues with other team members, cause issues with customers and more. So, keeping someone on staff who doesn’t want to be there, may cost you more money and more turnover than it would by just letting them go.
Now, we’re not ALL Amazon and we can’t all afford to pay up to $5,000 to weed out employees who don’t want to be on our team. However, perhaps you could simply say, “If you’re not 100% satisfied here with our company, we’d like to help you move on to wherever or whatever will make you happy. So if you need a reference, a work referral, or some temporary financial assistance to get where you ultimately want to be, we’ll help you any way we can.”
That’s not so bad, right?
Now, consider the level of commitment to you and your company being demonstrated by for those who decline your exit offer. This helps to unify your team and strengthens interpersonal bonds among team members, thus improving morale and more!
7. Perform Exit Interviews
Have you ever had a valued team member quit without warning or notice?
Chances are, if you have, you’ve wondered, “Why?” Right?
Well, you’d never know “Why” if you never asked so don’t be afraid to perform exit interviews. This ties in perfectly with item number 3 above.
In short, an ‘exit interview’ is essentially the exact opposite of a hiring interview. In a hiring interview, you might ask questions about the candidates work history, skills and qualifications, and what motivated them to apply to the opening.
In an exit interview, you’re going to want to revisit what initially attracted the employee to the company, but also what their expectations were coming into the company, and ultimately what caused them to want to leave. An exit interview is a great time to gather feedback and information on potential gaps in what you’re projecting in your recruitment efforts and what you’re delivering in your employment as well as potential operational or managerial deficiencies.
In short, an exit interview will help to highlight areas in which you can improve and tighten up both your employment offer AND your employment experience!
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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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