It seems as if the trucking industry has been talking about a people shortage for a very long time. I think part of the issue is that a lot of people are not aware of the opportunities available to them in our industry.
How many of you have taken the time to speak at career days at your local schools or to host open houses so students can see all the available jobs available at a fleet? If we want more people to choose our industry, it is up to us to make sure they know about all the opportunities and benefits that come with being part of such a vital industry.
I came across an interesting article on the Indeed website that offered 10 strategies for hiring great employees. The first strategy in the article was to treat candidates like customers. I spent some time thinking about that and considering how hiring practices would change if we treated potential employees that same way we treat our customers.
Ask yourself how the hiring process would be different if you thought of a prospective employee like a potential new customer. How much easier would the job application be to fill out and how much less time would it take? How much clearer would the job description be? We would make sure the job descriptions included all the core responsibilities of the job as well as both the hard and soft skills needed to be successful in the position.
I think if we were treating potential new hires as customers, we would try to set up interviews as quickly as possible. In fact, I suspect we would shorten the hiring process so that the time from first contact to job offer was compressed. And I also suspect we would do a great job of communicating with the potential new employee making sure they were well informed about what to expect at every stage of the application process.
It almost goes without saying that when you schedule an interview with a prospective job seeker, you need to be on time and fully present during the interview process. Make sure you’ve reviewed their application and that there are no distractions during the time you are together. Put more bluntly, computer off and cellphone face down. Your job is to make the applicant feel welcome and comfortable.
Remember, in this competitive job market, you need to impress the job seeker as much as they need to impress you.
Once a job offer has been made and accepted, continue to communicate with the candidate and consider sending some of the tedious paperwork to them in advance so their first day on the job isn’t spent buried in paperwork.
By making a few changes to your recruiting and hiring process, you may find you are able to fill jobs more quickly with the best candidates possible.
