JUST ONE THING
Attracting Somone to Your Business
Episode 48
With Rick White, 180BIZ
What I’ll talk about today is this great resignation that's going on. It's kind of laughable in our industry, isn't it? We've had such a shortage of help for a while now, and it's getting worse. We've gone from a talent pool to a very small puddle. What I will talk to you about today is attracting. So basically, to attract someone you need to stand out. You must have an outstanding business. And in order to do that, you have to stand out. What do I mean by that?
There are four basic levers you can pull to attract someone to your business. To get them to let slow down and take a look at you. It's funny. Last night I was walking Lucky, our dog, and he was trotting along pretty quickly. Suddenly, he smelled something that interested him to the point where his front stopped but his back did not. His back legs actually came up about four or five inches off the ground because they were still moving when his front had stopped. That's what you need to do with your business. What people to stop in their tracks to take a look. So, I will give you these four levers.
1. COMPENSATION. You need to be at the top of the compensation tier. It doesn’t need to be a lot more than everybody else, but you've definitely need to be at the top of your game in your area when it comes to compensation. So how do you figure that out? Start looking around and seeing what other shops are paying, go to the help wanted ads in your area, go to Indeed. Do some Ninja snooping. Apply to some of them. Reach out and just see what they have. Set up an email account or block your cell number and get some information. Find out what they're offering.
2. BENEFITS. What kind of benefits are you offering today? I can remember way back in the day and there's probably one or two of you out there that can go back. I got health insurance that was part of my benefits package. And then it went away and for a long time. It wasn't a big deal. But today it's becoming more and more of one. So, what I want you to understand is you must be able to provide benefits. You might think, “But Rick, I don't have health insurance.” That's okay. If they have health insurance from their previous employer, have them get the Cobra and help them out with it. That'll give you 18 months to get the health insurance figured out.
The reality is you must step up your game on the benefit side. What kind of retirement package do you have? What kind of training package do you have? There are so many shops that are so busy doing that they're not even thinking about growing their team. So, what do you have for health insurance? What do have for educational situations? If you have younger techs or a younger team, do you have an educational program set up for their kids? It’s like a 401k that you can match. Do you have health clubs and different vision insurance, disability, short-term, long-term life insurance? There are different benefits that you can pull the trigger on that are not real expensive. They can differentiate you and you will stand out in your market area.
Now here's the issue. You may have one person that feels like health insurance is the way to go. You may have another that cares more about a retirement package. So, what I'm trying to tell you is one size does not fit all. You must be able to build a program that’s individualized. You must be able to tailor the program to the person today
3. CONDITIONS. What kind of conditions are they working in? And I joke about this, but I can remember working in a shop with snow dripping down my back in a cold wet dam shop. I can remember being in a shop where it was 120 degrees inside the shop. Those days are gone here in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Target is paying $17 an hour to stock shelves in air-conditioned and heated spaces that are pleasant. Come on. We must step up our game as far as our conditions.
4. REPUTATION. What's your reputation? Not only to your team, but to your clients, to your community, and to the industry. I know of shops that are real bears to work for. And that's the reputation. They can be great client-facing, but how are you with team-facing? When was the last time you thought about that? When was the last time you looked at your team? We’re all looking for that unicorn right now. I know you want that great A tech who can diagnose anything and produces really good hours. But what are you doing to grow the team you have? What are you doing to pour into the people you have? Are you showing them you care? Are you showing them that you're there to help them? Are you showing them that you are there to help them grow and to become bigger and better than they are now? Are you showing them that you appreciate them? Are you showing them that they matter?
Because right now there is no one more important than the people you have in your business right now. What are you doing to appreciate them? What are you doing to show you love them, that you care about them? And I don't mean to become a doormat. I don't mean bend over backward and just give up all control. That's not what I'm talking about. People thrive when there's discipline. People thrive when there's structure. Why? Because it makes it easier. Discipline and structure are part of your business. That's not what you go away from. What you do is you stay up in the caring area. What do you know about them? How many kids do they have? One of their birthdays.
God bless, stay safe and go make some money.
