There was a time when it was fairly easy to find teen workers to fill summer jobs. You simply placed an ad in the local paper or asked your current employees if any of their friends’ kids were looking for work. It’s probably always been a little more challenging to recruit portable sanitation helpers or a youth to work odd jobs at a pumper’s shop during the busy season, but a hardworking teen could always be found.
Even in a tough economy, teen workers remain an important piece of the customer service puzzle for many pumpers who offer portable sanitation. Especially now, if you’ve found it necessary to trim your full-time staff, summer help can be critical in smoothing over those busy days when it seems like your crew will never get all their work done before the sun goes down.
For example, you might have had an extra full-time worker or two last year when it was time to place the restrooms for the county fair or a local auto race. And those same workers picked up the slack when daily service for special events was heaped on top of the usual septic-pumping work.
Now you may need to rely on temporary workers for a few months to get the job done. And that being the case, you want to make sure you reach a large pool of candidates to find the most motivated and conscientious available teens. Getting trustworthy help is all the more important when you’re running a leaner and meaner operation.
It’s true that in a time of high unemployment and lagging business, teen workers don’t have the many choices they once had for summer employment. But even a poor economy won’t be enough to overcome the negative perceptions teens might have about working in the liquid waste industry. To attract the best summer help, you need to employ 21st century recruiting tactics. Use these ideas to cast a wider net to find the best temporary help for your busy season:
The need for speed. Today’s teens are impatient. Keep your applications short, with just the information necessary to determine if they are interview-worthy. You can capture additional employment data if and when you meet with them. Respond to all completed applications within 24 hours to discuss the next step. If you wait … they’ll be applying somewhere else.
Go digital. Teens have never known a life without computers. You should have a Web site, with an easy-to-remember name. Prospective employees must be able to complete and submit their application online.
Advertise online. The Web is a way of life for teens today. Stay away from the local newspaper classified ads. That is the last place a teen will look. Instead, use employment Web sites like Snagajob.com, Teens4hire.org or Craigslist.org. Most communities have localized Internet employment sites. Don’t forget social networking sites MySpace and FaceBook.
By the way, it’s all right if you don’t know much about the Web … your younger full-time employees do. Ask them for their input and include them in the process.
Go back to school. You have to earn a teen’s loyalty and confidence. In addition to job postings that are engaging, utilizing age-appropriate design and humor to communicate your employment message is important. Also, get involved. Volunteer your expertise in high school classrooms to build trust. Consider reaching out to the local home-school community.
Send out the troops. Create an internal recruitment program that provides incentives and motivates your current staff to recruit as many people as possible. It doesn’t have to cost much, perhaps a token gift certificate for a local restaurant or $20 added to their paycheck for suggesting a worker who gets hired. Give them a challenge and let them go for it. You can also utilize a signing bonus paid directly to your new hire. It’s a win-win situation when you pay your current employees to be recruiters, instead of other employment advertisers.
ONE MORE THOUGHT
Recruiting the best teens is just the beginning of building a strong foundation for your business. When more teens apply, only hire the “best of the best” who are a match for your business requirements. You’ll improve your retention, have a more motivated employee base, and keep a young workforce inspired and engaged.
