J&J Truck Bodies & Trailers promotes its products at the 2017 International Construction & Utility Equipment Exposition in Louisville, Ky
A few decades ago, filling a manufacturing job may have been as easy as running an ad in the local newspaper and waiting for the calls to come in.
These days, a perfect storm of low unemployment, an aging workforce and a generation of young people aimed at college, rather than the workforce, have added up to a situation that demands a more hands-on search.
“From a labor market standpoint, this is the most difficult market I’ve seen in my career,” said
Dave Breen
“From a labor market standpoint, this is the most difficult market I’ve seen in my career.”— Shawn Kaufman, director of human resources, Riggs Industries
Shawn Kaufman, director of human resources at Riggs Industries, the Pennsylvania-based parent company of several manufacturers, construction and retail firms, including J&J Truck Bodies & Trailers, Somerset Welding & Steel, and Lincoln Contracting & Equipment.
Finding good workers — and keeping them — has become an all-out battle, requiring persistence, creativity and the confidence to try new strategies.
For some employers, the first step is rethinking how to sell both the company and the work to a new audience of would-be employees. Highlighting the growing role of technology in manufacturing jobs, the competitive wages and room for quick career growth — even right out of high school — can be key to attracting newcomers to the industry.
School partnerships
Kaufman said his company partners with local schools to start that work early, setting up visits to classrooms or opportunities for students to come observe the workplace for themselves. Joe Calderone, director of operations for Somerset Welding and Steel, said his company makes it a
“It’s nice to be able to get in touch with some of these educators, show them the type of work that’s being done, and let them see the finished product as well as teaching them on how well the field pays and trying to make it a viable option for their students.”— Joe Calderone, director of operations, Somerset Welding & Steel
priority to host tours for educators, who can go back to the classroom and share about what’s often an “eye-opening” experience.
“It’s nice to be able to get in touch with some of these educators, show them the type of work that’s being done, and let them see the finished product as well as teaching them on how well the field pays and trying to make it a viable option for their students,” Calderone said.
And at the Riggs family of companies, students who decide to sign on for a job are rewarded with a special celebration.
Last year, Riggs followed the lead of a Virginia school system that started hosting a “signing day” — just like the ones for star athletes who commit to a college athletic program — for young people who land a job offer for after graduation. The event serves a dual purpose: building excitement for a new entrant into the workforce and drawing broader interest into the company and the jobs it offers.
“It’s important for our industry to make sure that the public sees that there are opportunities in the skilled trades,” Kaufman said. “It’s something that requires an education, but it doesn’t mean you need to commit to several years and tens of thousands of dollars (in tuition.)”
Community connections
Elsewhere, Kaufman and other representatives from Riggs are often busy blanketing the community with messages about both the company and the jobs it has to offer. He speaks at meetings of the local Rotary Club, and makes sure the company is advertising on a variety of platforms: in print media, online and on the radio.
“We’ve done crazy things like putting up billboards in front of competitors’ locations,” he said.
Calderone said radio has proven to be a particularly useful place to search for new workers, because it reaches them both on the job and while on the go.
“In our industry, a lot of people who do this type of work are probably working beside a radio, plus the commute to and from work,” he said. “If they’re working somewhere and they’re not happy, to hear an advertisement on the radio for a company that’s looking for their exact skill set my pique their interest.”
Calderone said his company has also rethought its training processes, thanks to a bit of trial and error. In the past, Somerset had operated its own training program, bringing in people and paying for their training before they’d committed to a job.
That strategy came with complications: the expensive and time-consuming process of bringing trainees on board, complete with drug testing and the potential for earning benefits, coupled with a number of students who left after a week or two at work.
A better solution came in a partnership with a local career and technology center. The school runs the training, based on a curriculum the company develops — all at no cost to the students. But now, the trainees aren’t officially employees until they’re offered a job, after they’ve completed their classes.
Retention challenges
Getting workers in the door, however, is only half the battle. The next great challenge — and the one Kaufman said is actually the most challenging — is ensuring that those workers stay and grow with the company.
At Riggs, leaders have narrowed down their strategy to three points: compensation, recognition and workplace culture.
Over the last couple years, the company has done a serious analysis of its wages and annual increases, plotting out whether the standard cost-of-living raises will be enough to keep the best workers satisfied. (The short answer: probably not.)
Riggs now does monthly reviews of employees work, rather than waiting for an annual opportunity to assess whose work stands out.
“If they have a new hire who is progressing beyond expectations, their wages are going to reflect that,” Kaufman said. “And we try to do the same for our veteran employees who are here doing a great job, and we’re trying to hold on to them.”
He admits that in this competitive labor market, it’s still sometimes not enough.
“Does it work? Sometimes,” he said. “Do we get into bidding wars with other companies? Yes.”
Kaufman said it’s clear companies should also do more to recognize good work outside of employees’ paychecks. Riggs displays the names of workers hitting milestone anniversaries with the company on screens in the workplace, and sends those workers an email thanking them for their efforts.
In addition, the company runs radio commercials where it calls out employees by name, to recognize and thank them for their work. That strategy has been a huge hit, Kaufman said.
“It’s shocking to me how well that’s worked,” he said. “We were told this was an idea, and we thought we’d give it a shot. But we’ve had people who say: ‘My wife heard the ad! My neighbor heard the ad!’”
Culture changes
Changing the culture of the workplace has also been a heavy lift. Kaufman said Riggs’ home base, in western Pennsylvania, is an area that’s been “in a tough place economically” for decades. And for decades, that meant companies could see workers as replaceable, knowing that if they became unhappy and left there would be plenty of eager jobseekers ready and willing to take over.
“The mindset exists in our region that jobs are hard to come by — but the opposite is true,” Kaufman said.
Now, companies must see their workers as valuable, hard-to-replace resources, and treat them accordingly. Kaufman said that means changing everything from how managers talk to employees to the company’s openness to accommodating workers who need more flexibility.
Thanks to all that hard work, Calderone said he’s optimistic about the future. Still, he can’t help be concerned by the tidal wave of baby boomers heading out of the workplace and the seemingly never-ending struggle to fill those jobs.
“We’ve gotten very good about having retirement parties around here,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of ground to make up, that’s for sure.”
— Erin Golden
Erin Golden is a writer based in Minnesota.
