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Hiring for Field Service Jobs | Guide To Hiring Tradesmen

Hiring for Field Service Jobs | Guide To Hiring Tradesmen

May 17, 2022

When it comes to making sure you stay on top of your incoming field service jobs, there will come a time when you have to recruit tradesmen and skilled workers. Having more work is a great challenge, but you’ll want to be ready to manage it.

While recruiting may seem simple, it can take more time and be more complicated than you might imagine. You’ll want to be prepared. After all, it always helps to do a little bit of homework before going all in.

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Get Your House In Order

First things first – it may be time to do some housekeeping if you’ve let the dust settle over your company’s policies and regulations.

If you’re a smaller company, you probably don’t have a whole department dedicated to managing existing employees. However, setting up sound employment policies can go a long way in making your company a better place to work.

Comprehensive Benefits Encourage Applications

Are you offering competitive wages, safer working conditions, and a benefits package for your new hires? Comprehensive benefits encourage more applicants to consider a career with your business and are important to 52% of prospective hires.

By setting quality standards, your employees will spread the good news that they have a fantastic employer, and potential employees will be lining up outside the door for a chance to join your ranks.

tradesmen toolbelt

Prepare to Interview Skilled Tradesmen

Below you’ll find a list of some things to gather before interviewing.

  • Are your applicants the type to provide steady work and support your needs?
  • Can you depend on the applicant to quickly catch onto your processes/technologies?
  • What is their industry experience and expertise?
  • What businesses or employers have they previously worked for?
  • What are their compensation expectations?

 

 

Looking for some sample interview questions? Look no further than our Business Playbook.

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Involve Your Team

Involving your current team in the interview process can positively impact both the process and bringing a new team member onboard.

By allowing team members to conduct interviews with prospective hires, you’re letting them feel more involved in their success. Remember, it only takes one tradesman or employee to hurt the team.

If you do hand the interview process over to your team, make sure you appoint one employee to lead the process. That way, you’ll have one point of contact to discuss the hiring process.

Find Applicants That Stand Out

Consider what kinds of accomplishments you could achieve with the best hire possible. What would be the absolute best hire you could ever dream of? What skills, certifications, and achievements would they possess?

When you spot an ideal candidate, you’ll be able to come to a decision quickly if they match this list. However, be sure not to let your list become too idealistic. Otherwise, you’ll overlook employees that have great potential, even if they don’t currently check every box.

What To Look For In A New Employee?

Do you focus primarily on professionalism and need someone that is outgoing with customers or simply a skilled tradesman to complete the work.

There might be certain qualities you need in a potential employee, and these should be foremost in your candidate search. Here are some characteristics to keep in mind when recruiting new employees.

Are you dreading the process of culling through tedious applications and conducting hours of interviews? Don’t fret. Here are a few traits that your craftsmen and employees should possess.

welder welding

The Top Five Traits

If you haven’t already, take the time to write out a thoughtful description for your job ads. That way, you’ll be able to identify everything you want for someone in this role.

Once you have that description established, there are five main characteristics to look for:

  1. Experience
  2. Willingness to learn
  3. Commitment
  4. Motivation
  5. Personality

Make a Final Decision

During the interview process, you should’ve been able to take notes on several things that stand out for each candidate that you’re considering.

Think of it as a story you’re creating based on their responses and other information that you’ve obtained about them. You want to create a profile that will help you understand what kind of person each candidate is. While this does require a little bit of work, it will pay off in the long run when you’ve built your “dream team.”

 

Now We Know The What, What About The Where?

Finding great applicants doesn’t have to be like searching for a needle in the haystack — as long as you’re looking in the right places in your city. We recommend three options:

Trade Schools

Though they’re fresh to the scene, graduates from trade schools are knowledgeable and hungry for work. They make up for what they lack in experience by being trained on the latest technology. You may even take on students through an internship program to test them out before hiring them full-time.

Unions

The cool thing about unions is that all members receive training and mentorship, so you know an applicant will have the skills they need to succeed. Unions have standardized pay rates and vacation time regulations, but having access to the best in the field is worth it.

The Team Approach

Do you need to hire a whole new team to fulfill a new role in your company? If so, try the team approach. Rather than hiring candidates one by one as the need arises, hire an entire group. Try for a mix of experienced workers and fresh faces. That way, they can all work and learn together.

Job Ads

One of the easiest ways to attract new team members is by posting a job listing online. Those seeking a service job find listings easily on sites like Indeed, Monster, and ZipRecruiter. Be sure to have a quality job description to find the most qualified candidates.

tradespeople at work

Continuous Growth For All Our Employees

As your contracting business grows, you need to hire good employees to help you with future work. Finding the right employees can be difficult if you don’t look for someone that reflects the values of your business and the services you provide.

The best employers offer ways for their team to grow. You can do this by providing professional development opportunities like training and education. It’s also essential that your employees know that there is an opportunity for promotion. If your team members think that they’re stuck in a dead-end job, they won’t stay on your team for long.

Knowing what to look for in the right candidate can help your business as it expands and give you peace of mind that your business is continuing on the right path.

Take Hiring Into Your Own Hands

Hiring new employees for your company shouldn’t be a hassle. By staying organized throughout the process and truly thinking about what you need, you should be able to build a dependable team that will help your business thrive.

We always want all our employees to feel like a family and people that you can build a life-long relationship with, so it makes sense that you should spend time and effort when you recruit tradesmen.

Our partners at BlueRecruit have created a better way to find and recruit top-notch tradesmen. They quickly match tradesmen to employers based on their experience level, location, salary specifications, and certifications, helping both business owners and technicians find their best match. Click the link below to watch our recent webinar, where we take a deep dive into hiring tips and tricks for the trades.

Ready to Upgrade Your Trade? Get a personalized product tour by booking a demo today. Prefer to learn at your own pace? Click here to start a free 7 day trial.

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