ARTICLES

Recently, most newspapers including USA Today and the Wall Street Journal have been writing about the dearth of qualified people to fill jobs in this booming economy. This probably comes as no secret to you. The building material industry has felt the labor shortage for the last several years. We have talked with many dealers that want to offer installation services but can't find good people to manage the program or install the products. So they end up postponing the service or scraping the idea altogether. We agree with them on one issue; Installed Sales needs good people to make it a value-added service. But we don’t agree that the idea should be ignored. There are good people available. Lets explore some ways we might be able to attract them.

First, determine what prospective recruits want. Make a list. Do a little research. Ask your competitor’s employees what was it that attracted them to that organization. Also find out what they don’t like about working there. Ask you own employees why they like working there. What do they like about your organization? Also ask them where improvements could be made to enhance their work environment. When you have completed you mini-research project you will have a pretty good idea what people in your area are looking for. They may not tell you everything but you have a start.

All businesses need customers to operate and make a profit. But without people, the operation would come to a standstill. Just look at what happens when a couple of key employees call in sick or take vacations. Their absence is usually severally felt. Good employees are a valuable asset that we can’t live without. However, many small businesses invest far more in trying to win new customers than they do in insuring that they have the proper human resource to service those customers. They don’t recruit new employees as much as they "recruit" new customers.

During the 70’s when Century 21 Real Estate decided to expand their franchise outside the state of California, they did it by focusing much of their resources on recruiting new agents. They identified the benefits of working for their organization and heavily promoted them. They ran TV, newspaper and radio ads. They continuously conducted seminars and workshops for anyone interested in a career change. They armed their franchise owners and managers with recruiting "merchandising pieces" outlining the benefits of working for them. Every local, independently owned franchisee was focused on growing their business by obtaining new agents. And did they grow! They grew from obscurity to the largest real estate firm in the country in just a few short years.

What was Century 21’s secret? First, they realized that advertising for buyers and sellers was a waste of money if they didn’t have the people to service them. They convinced their franchisees that recruiting for new agents needed to be at the top of each manager’s daily to-do list. Secondly, they recognized the need for training. Having agents wasn’t enough. They needed to be well trained to properly serve the customer. Every owner and manager was shown the importance of having well trained agents. The managers soon realized that offering training programs was a great recruiting tool because prospective recruits understood and valued education.

There are many important lessons that we can learn from the activities of this other industry. First, you must grow your employees to match the services required by your customers. Customer service, sales ability and product knowledge need to be emphasized. Secondly, you must be on a constant search for new, talented employees. Look at the people who serve you daily, in a restaurant, at the bank, from your vendors, everywhere you go, someone is serving you. Are they happy, are they willing to consider changing jobs and explore the opportunities presented by your company. And lastly, when you hire new employees, provide them with a clear career-track for advancement and growth. Nobody likes to work in a position where they feel stagnated, give them a path to follow and encourage their professional development. If you properly present the need for installed sales in your market, it will be clear to any prospective recruit that an exciting opportunity exists for growth and advancement. Not only will they grow, but your company will grow as a result.