Best practices for recruiting technicians: Part 1

As we all know, the technician shortage is nearly as bad as the dearth of drivers. In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says there will be a need for 12% more diesel techs by 2024.

Speaking at a recent NationaLease meeting, Eivina Muniute-Cobb, principal consultant at organizational consulting firm, The Pontis Group, offered advice on things you can do to ensure you have the technicians you need. That, of course, involves things like “growing” your own, getting involved in the community, using social media and hiring veterans.

If you are going to attract and retain technicians, you may need to step up your recruiting game. The first place to begin is by reviewing your existing hiring process: from your recruiting efforts, to the selection process, to your retention efforts.

Make sure you are well prepared for the selection process. Look at both your short- and long-term business needs. Have a detailed job description or list of job duties and establish selection criteria. Remember, it is unlikely that you will find someone who hits all the qualifications you have identified so define the “must haves” and the “would be nice to haves” when it comes to qualifications, experience and education.

Review the management style of the people who will be supervising the new hires. Determine what type of employees they manage most effectively and also have a clear understanding of your corporate culture so you will select candidates who mesh best with that culture.

Muniute-Cobb offered these hiring tips:

• Give a candidate an adequate amount of time during the selection process to demonstrate what they know and what they can do.
• Conduct interviews as a mutual communication process.
• Treat each candidate with respect.
• Consider using “hands-on” interviews.
• Check references.
• Use clear rating criteria while making decisions.
• Always follow up with the candidates, including the ones you did not select.

In Part 2 of this series, I will cover onboarding, retention and employee reviews. Look for that next week.