Acquiring and Motivating New Employees

One comment I hear a lot is “I can’t find anyone who wants to work!” or “I can’t get my employees motivated!” I’ve always said, “Manage processes, not people”. If you have the right processes in place, with the right people, include the right motivating factors, they won’t need someone to tell them what they need to do, they will already know and they will want to do it, the right way. One of the best articles I ever read about getting better employees was “Business Buzz” by Tom Grandy in last month’s issue, titled, “The Tech Shortage is Really a Pricing Problem!”. I encourage you to find it and read it. Mr. Grandy points out that increasing employee pay and benefits, plus, transitioning over to a flat rate pricing system, is a very simple way to encourage potential employees to come work for you. Want the best employees showing up at your door? Be the best place to work by offering the best pay and benefits anywhere! Since Mr. Grandy did such an awesome job pointing out how to get people showing up wanting to work for you, I will focus on motivational factors of new employees. Over 44% of the workforce in HVAC will retire in the next ten years*. That will leave a huge hole in an industry whose employment needs are projected to grow 21% through 2022*, faster than any other occupation! So now we have an aging workforce leaving with a new generation of workers coming in with a set of different motivating factors and different goals. We need to be ready to handle this. Below is a report put out by “The Intelligence Group” a business investigations and intelligence firm. Here are the results of a study about millennials in 2015; • Will make up more than 40% of the workforce by 2020 • 64% of them say it’s a priority for them to make the world a better place. • 72% would like to be their own boss. But if they do have to work for a boss, 79% of them would want that boss to serve more as a coach or mentor. • 88% prefer a collaborative work-culture rather than a competitive one. • 74% want flexible work schedules. • 88% want “work-life integration,” which isn’t the same as work-life balance, since work and life now blend together inextricably. • 80% said they use social media and the internet as a primary source of news and information. • 64% would rather make $40,000 per year at a job they love than $100,000 a year at a job they think is boring. How do these statistics apply to an HVAC business? Since I am limited in space for this article, I cannot get into great detail or specifics, but I will say that all of these factors have to be taken into consideration when hiring and managing employees. For example, since 88% prefer a collaborative work culture rather than a competitive one, set up goals and contests that reward the team along with individual compensation. As far as offering flexible work schedules, I already know of several contractors who have set up four-day work weeks, allowing a longer period of time off. Some employees may not mind working four, ten or twelve hour days if they could get a long weekend. Since they consider work and personal life blended, a company should consider having the employees spouse or family involved in company activities if possible. Insight into a person’s workday may help the spouse have a better understanding into what is really going on every day. I would also highly recommend that your set of work rules and employee handbook be rewritten by the employees every 2-3 years simply to get input from the team. If they made the rules, they are more likely to agree and go along with them. Being that social media and the internet is such a big part of their life, make the use of technology as part of their jobs. Everything an employee should need to perform their job should be made available when they need it. Those who have the most information always do best. I encourage you to look at some of the technologies available that make it easier for employees to do their jobs by having the information they need to do it available through a link online. If you don’t know where to find these systems, go to my website at frankpresents.com. I have a list of various resources that will help. We have to begin looking at people differently. Getting people to do something just for the pay isn’t enough. The employees of today and the future want more, they want to have some control over their routines, they want some say into the future of the company they work for, they want to have more time with their family and they want to feel like it isn’t just work. They want to have access to information when they need it. They want to believe what they do makes a difference. They want to be proud of what they do and enjoy doing it. Changing everything to meet the needs of the future workforce doesn’t happen in a day. A few steps at a time will eventually get you there. Focusing on the needs of your team has to be a priority, because if it isn’t, you wind up with people who just show up to get paid, instead of driven, hard-working team members who want to win. Start making the change by asking and talking about what they want to see or do differently. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll learn.

Free College?!? What the f--k?

I hear these politicians coming up with ideas and plans that everyone should get free college, tuition paid by taxpayers. We already have enough people going to college and graduating to come out with a degree in Music History, Art History, Anthropology, Philosophy or Creative Writing. None leading to a career in anything. Yes, let's have more of that!

Five words you should stop using in your advertising

Five words you should stop using in your advertising * Quality * Value * Service * Caring * Integrity I personally believe people have become numb to the claims of great service and high quality. Whenever I'm coaching a business I will regularly ask various employees in that business why a customer should select them over anyone else. I always hear the same things; we do quality work, great service, we care about the customer, honesty and integrity or great value. I'm sure you've seen these types of slogans in ads. "Quality Service", "Great Value", "Caring People", "Integrity Matters to us", Best Service Around" or this awesome statement; Value, Integrity, Quality and our Caring Staff is What Makes Our Service Great". So read these again and tell me if these words will make you want to do business with that company, versus the other fifty companies in your town who say the same thing. These five words, and other ones like "Honest" or "Best" really are useless too. If you live in most any large city, you've probably seen signs that say "Best Corned Beef Sandwich" or "World's Best Coffee" . . . Is it? . . . Really? How could it be possible to have so many places rated the best? I put on business workshops across the country and sometimes I'll ask the group; "Who provides honest, high quality service, has caring employees and provide a great value?" Everyone in the room raises their hand. Is there anyone out there who will admit their service and quality sucks? Imagine seeing an ad that says "We might suck at what we do, but, at least we are cheap!" In fact when someone asks me why they should invest in one of my workshops, I tell them "Because I'm going to change your life, you will change the way you do business forever, and if you don't believe you have gained valuable information and received a payback on your investment during the first hour of being there, I will refund your money, and you will be free to leave". I have yet to have anyone leave. Want to get a customer's attention? Tell the why you are different than everyone else. Let them know why you stand out from the rest. Tell them things like "Best warranty in the state", "Guaranteed on time arrival or it's free" or list a bunch of comments from real customers. Tell them your job is to make them happy! So happy that they will never go anywhere else and they will also tell all of their friends how awesome you are! Talk about why you are different and stop wasting time and money telling folks you are going to do what you are supposed to be doing anyway. What's special about doing the job you were paid to do? I know, I can hear you now. . . "But Frank, there are a lot of my competitors who do a bad job, are not honest, have bad quality and don't care" Of course, but I would bet money they say the same things in their ads that you do. So who will the customer believe is telling the truth? I recently had dinner at the Chop House in Lexington, KY. When I sat down I asked the waitress what she recommends. She said everything is really good and if I wasn't happy, they would do whatever it takes to make sure that had a great experience and would come back. I ordered a 9 ounce filet mignon and requested it be medium rare. Also had a salad, baked potato and a few cocktails. When the filet arrived, I immediately sliced it in two to check doneness and it was cooked completely through, well done. Just as I looked up, the waitress was there and asked how it was, I showed her and said "this is not medium rare". She asked if she could try it again, took the plate and later returned with a perfectly prepared filet mignon. When I went to pay the bill, she said, "don't worry, everything is on us". I was surprised, I said "really? Everything? She said "Yes, you're all set. I told you that we would make sure you were happy no matter what, didn't I? So are you happy?" Of course, I was thrilled and will definitely be back, I left her an incredible tip and left very happy and satisfied! Imagine telling your customer that if everything doesn't go well, it's free, and that all you care about is that they have a great experience and no matter what, you'll make it right. No matter what it takes. That is what you need to be telling your customers! One more thing, stop selling on price. Statements like: "We'll Beat any Competitors Quote. Low Price Guarantee. Quality Service at the Best Price" do nothing but attract price shoppers who are looking for someone to work cheap. Focus on customers who don't mind spending money for a great experience with a great business. Stop trolling the bottom of the barrel. You're much better than that.