I hear it all the time from business owners – I can’t find good workers! The workers they’re talking about most are of the “blue collar” variety. There is a legitimate shortage of these workers and it’s a problem that is not predicted to decline until approximately 2030. What do we do in the meantime?

There are several things that can be done. For starters, we need to take a look at wages and benefits. This is where the pain falls especially hard on smaller employers, but in order to attract workers you must have a reputation for fair wages. It depends on where you want to spend your money - what pay strategy you decide to use. You can pay more and have higher expectations or pay closer to average and maybe offer other incentives like health care or 401k match. When deciding on your strategy, don’t forget to factor in the true cost of turnover. It costs you money every time you have to replace a worker – advertising, time to interview once maybe twice, production loss due to employee void or overtime costs if another employee pitches in to cover for the vacancy – the list of costs goes on. The average time to fill a position is around 40 days give or take. The average cost for turnover of an hourly employee is $1500. If you’re filling an opening every month, you’re spending $18,000 a year. Ouch! 

Another way to find good employees is to ask the good employees you already have for referrals. If you offer nice referral bonuses for them, enough that it is worth their time, they just might be your best recruiters. You could make the bonus contingent upon the referral still being employed and in good standing after 90 days if this feels more comfortable to you. I’d recommend the bonuses be actual money, not gift cards and also that the amount be enough that they still feel like they’ve gotten something worthwhile after taxes. It can really be a win-win as typically people don’t want to refer someone that would embarrass them and they are helping to create the team of people that they’re going to share their days with. 

Another resource is to keep an open mind about who you’re hiring as in, broaden the scope of your typical hire. With so many young people opting for college rather than trade schools, it is naturally creating a shortage. Look to groups that might not normally fit your employee avatar description. For example, if your workforce seems to wind up being predominantly male, seek out  women and older workers. These are 2 groups that might not be your typical applicant, so try and target them when you’re advertising. Veterans represent a talent pool that is under-utilized. They have great skills, but sometimes it’s hard to translate what they’ve done in the military to the job you have open. If you talk to them about it and ask questions, those skills will be revealed. Another resource might be through vocational programs in your local community.  These resources and more could be an untapped treasure for your workplace, but it does require more creative sourcing and recruiting efforts. Building relationships and a good reputation with organizations that support these groups can not only help you find great employees, but can also result in business referrals as well.

Speaking of hiring, another thing you can do to be competitive is to hire quickly. Not recklessly, but quickly. If you have several candidates to interview and you love the first one you talked to, don’t waste time -make an offer. It may feel strange to act that quickly, but if you don’t I guarantee you someone else will and you’ll lose them. After all, you loved them on sight – why wouldn’t someone else. Yes, you may have candidates scheduled to come in already, so go ahead and keep interviewing. The truth is you don’t know if the first candidate will say yes right away so you want to be prepared for that. You can also get to know some people that you may not use right now, but you’ll hopefully have a list of people to call if another position comes open. That can happen from one day to the next. 

Another thing you can do is promote your company as a great place to work. This is called employer branding and it is just as important as your normal branding. If someone sees an ad for a job opening from you, the first thing they’ll do is jump to your website or business pages to see what you offer your employees and what it’s like to work there. If you’ve got happy campers, ask them if they’ll give a testimonial on video that you can put on your website. List some of the employee benefits on your careers page. Even if you don’t hire that often, have a careers page that talks about benefits, your mission and vision and anything related to employee experience. You want to convey that your people are what make your business.

While I’m on the topic, I just have to say that I really respect blue collar workers. They are the best people! My dad was a roofer for most of his life. He had his regular job and sometimes took side-jobs for a little extra money so we could go on vacations in the summertime. We weren’t poor, we weren’t rich either, but I had everything I needed and most of the things I wanted. He was so smart and had such a tremendous work ethic. He was smart enough to have gone to college and been anything, but he wanted to get out of Kansas, see the world and serve his country so he joined the Navy. Once he left the Navy, he got a job and raised a family.

It was a great choice to join the service back then as an alternative option to college. Lots of young people did that. Now most young people go to college and don’t think they want a blue-collar job. There are so many jobs out there that don’t require a degree, but do require a great amount of skill, artistry, patience, attention to detail, safety skills, tolerance to weather conditions, vocational education, bravery, determination, physical and mental toughness. College isn’t for everyone and that needs to be ok. There is so much to honor and appreciate here. Anyone who can and is willing to do things that you need and that you can’t do or won’t do, deserves respect and a decent paycheck. If you’re an employer who appreciates their workers – let them know it and let the world know it too. The more people can see that there is real opportunity here to have a great work-life and make a wage you can actually live on, the deeper your pool of candidates will become!

J