 It
is a known fact that by 2020, millennials will make up half
of the global workforce, so what does this mean? It means
just like your customer base will shift, so will your pool
of employees. Attracting quality help from any age
demographic is difficult, so sometimes attracting
millennials can feel more like herding unicorns than sorting
through applications (probably because there aren’t any).
Why is this? The pay is
good and there are always positions open, so why aren’t
smart young people lining the sidewalk of your business for
an interview? I believe there are 4 reasons we as industry
are not doing a good job of attracting younger talent to the
trade.
1. They just don’t know
2. The Appeal
3. Attraction
4. Cooperation with in our Field
Believe it or not your
recruitment efforts better go hand and hand with your
marketing. Keep in mind large outfits and corporations are
paying big bucks to capture the most qualified millennials.
1. They don't know
When my friends ask me what I do for work I usually say
something like “I create marketing plans for HVAC
companies.” A common response I get is “What’s HVAC?” They
just don’t know. If I were to say “I’m a solutions
architect” or “I’m a software engineer,” I wouldn't get
asked what’s that. I'd get asked for whom. It’s hard to
attract someone, much less top talent, when they have
absolutely no clue you exist or what your industry is all
about. Which is sad because many of us are drowning in
student debt and are underemployed. That’s all good stuff
but how do we change it?
Story
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2. Appeal
This may come as a surprise to some, but what millennials
want from work is not that different from what every other
generation has wanted.
• We want to
work for a company we can be proud of, “an industry leader.”
• We want to be the best at what we do.
• We want be treated well economically and interpersonally.
• We want work/life balance.
Mind blowing,
right? Think about each of these points, and then think
about how your organization fosters these within your
company. If the answers come quickly and easily, then your
company will win the war for qualified talent in your
market.
3.
Attraction
This is where your marketing and human resources efforts
merge. We simply need to show millennials that these
rewarding opportunities are available through the proper
channels. Where does one go to catch the unicorns? The
Internet. A simple way could be to make a video
demonstrating how your organization fosters the points
mentioned above (the more visually appealing the better).
Then distribute that through Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram with a link back to your website’s career page
further explaining the benefits of working for your company.
This kills two birds with one stone. It creates awareness
for potential customers, as well as potential employees. It
creates a clear call to action. Many times we view human
resources and marketing separately; however, to gain the
competitive edge they must be a joint effort.
Talented young
people are still out there … and you can catch those elusive
unicorns … you just need to know where the unicorns live and
play today.
4.
Cooperation
Lastly we as industry need to do more. The highly
competitive nature of this business makes cooperation
between different contractors difficult to say the least.
However, we need to come together to fix this problem. If
you are not a member of your local heating an air
association you should be. If you are great, through these
associations we need to push for more trade programs to open
in our high schools and community colleges.
Dillon is a
HVAC advertising and Marketing professional for Effective
Media Solutions,
www.myeffectivemedia.com He can be reached at
Dillon@myeffectivemedia.com
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