12Jun

How to Hire the Right People

With the continued labor shortage and limited pool of job seekers in the construction industry, it’s more important than ever to take measures to hire the right kind of people for your dealership. Not only does taking steps to hire the right people lower your turnover rate, but it also contributes to the overall revenue and success of your business.

Construction Executive recently published a piece that highlighted some smart steps to take in order to hire the right people, along with some common occurrences that could be preventing your dealership from doing so.

Create a clear and specific job description

Really sit down and think about what kind of person you’re looking for in the role and what his/her responsibilities will be. Setting specific qualifications needed and a detailed job description as a whole will also help deter applicants that don’t fit the bill, instead of providing a vague description that many think they might be a fit for.

Acknowledge hiring someone is an investment

Many don’t realize that looking for a new employee is both a financial investment as well as an investment of time. Financially speaking, the following items typically contribute to the investment:

  • Advertising the position
  • Third-party recruiter fees
  • Onboarding, relocation or travel fees
  • Salary
  • Bonuses, benefits or office perks

As for timing, the following typically take chunks out of your day:

  • Creating the position advertisement
  • Reviewing resumes
  • Conducting interviews
  • Background and reference checks
  • Negotiating the hiring contract
  • Providing training opportunities

Better optimize your website

Make sure to evaluate whether your website makes the hiring process an easier one for applicants. Having a specific section on your website dedicated to job postings and information about your dealership and its culture is a no-brainer. With the limited construction pool, making it easier for potential employees to apply is key here.

Assess culture fit

This is just as important as ensuring the applicant is qualified from a skills perspective. You could hire someone with ten times the experience needed, however if he/she doesn’t fit the culture and atmosphere you’ve worked hard to create, it will likely cause problems later on whether that means with relationships between employees or with customers.

Check references

Someone may have blown you away on paper or in an interview, but it’s still important to check his/her references. The information you can gather from these discussions with his/her references can give you a lot of insight into how the individual works with others along with his/her general work style.

Choose recruiters in your field

If you’re going the recruiter route, make sure that they have a history of working within your industry. This cuts down on time spent helping them understand the role and responsibilities attached to it, as well as the type of individual that fits it. These recruiters will also already have experience in what some of the challenges may be with hiring within the industry.

Offer training programs

Since there’s a limited pool of potential employees, focusing on the next generation could be a huge asset. Consider creating training or apprenticeship programs that are geared towards younger millennials that are working to decide what they want to do in the future. The earlier you capture their interest, the better.

Don’t hesitate!

If you’ve gone through all the above and found the right prospect, don’t sit on your offer. Have an idea going into the process what you can offer and what wiggle room you have for salary and benefits. Now more than ever is the time to jump on a good hire!

There are a few elements that can easily prevent you from hiring the right person too. Here are some common obstacles to finding the right fit.

  • Person hiring did not do a proper background AND reference check
  • The hiring process was too rushed because of an immediate need for the role to be filled
  • The hiring manager could not dedicate enough time to the hiring process
  • There’s a shortage of qualified labor
  • Person hiring did not have experience in recruiting, interviewing, or your industry

We want to know, where have you found your best employees and what’s helped you in the hiring process? Leave your experiences in the comments below!  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelsey Fritz
Kelsey is the Marketing Coordinator at Commercial Web Services where she monitors the latest marketing advancements to better educate dealers on marketing trends that can further their business goals.

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