Staffing Nightmare...

I work for a Housekeeping company and I am being pressed to recruit. We have, on average, 3 applicants a day through walk-ins, newspaper, and internet advertising. We need about 40 employees by the end of the month. I was asked to weed out the negative people we acquired through buying the company and bring in qualified people with good attitudes. I come across maybe 1 person a week that meets the criteria. I am having signs made up to post on medians on major streets and around the property.What else should I do? [8-)]

Comments

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  • You didn't mention employee referrals.  Call everyone together--maybe bring in some muffins--and ask your reliable employees for referrals.  You may even want to offer a bonus if the referral stays for 3 months.  Employees don't want to jeopardize their jobs by referring "negative" people, so this is a way to get good people.
  • You might want to consider a temp agency for temp-to-perm hiring.  We use one here.  The temp agency does the advertising and screening and then sends you qualified candidates.  Yes, you will pay the temp agency a rate of about 150% of the employee's wages for the first 90 days, but you are not paying for the employee's FICA or Unemployment during that time, nor the cost to recruit that individual.

    Knowing your location, it is going to be REAL tough to hire qualified candidates by the end of the month and putting up signs on the medians are not going to do it.  Where are you located in Kissimmee? Are you between Kissimmee & St. Cloud, down John Young Parkway, or are you closer to Disney (up 192)?  I don't know if it would help, but if you could somehow offer carpooling from BVL maybe you could come up with some good candidates?

    Also, get in touch with the unemployment office.  They might be able to help.

    Lastly, you need to look at what you offer in terms of benefits and pay. Unfortunately, you are competing with a LOT of hotels that are looking for the same thing you are.  Why should a qualified person chose your company over the others?

  • We have just gone through a weeding out process as well.  Hiring tough is fun after you start doing it!  It's frustrating at 1st but once you start getting good employees it feels great!  We have added a drug test and a skills evaluation....much like the tests a temp service gives.  I tell every applicant that this test doesn't exclude them from a job but it helps me place them properly.   I have found this test is a great help!  Especially on people that I just am unsure about...if they score very low I don't bring them back for a 2nd interview...if they score suprisingly high I move them on to the 2nd interview. 

      As far as advertisement a good place to put an ad is your local job net or job service.  I can place an add for free on ours.  Also the local newspaper and if you have any colleges near you you can generally place a free add on their web sites!   Laundry mats and gas station bulletins or bathroom stalls are also great places for paper signs!  Good Luck!

  • <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />A few sources:

     

    internet

    newspapaer ads

    job fairs

    word or mouth

    bulletin board posting at work

    employment agencies

    radio and tv ads

    referral offices of local colleges

    community groups

    alumni associations

    trade publications

    professional associations

  • We rented white box truck and had a now hiring sign with the typical language, pay rate, and contact info put on it in vinyl letters.  We send employees out in the "company car" to have lunch at popular places.  However, we're in a large exerban environment next to a large metropolitan area.  Newspaper ads provide the bulk of our applicants.  However, we don't use line ads so we don't have a problem getting peoples' attention.  We get as many as 20% of our applicants from employee and former employee referrals.  We do have a referral bonus program in place.

    RuthG's list is a good one.  Do you have a budget to play with or do you need to do this at no additional cost?

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