4 Keys to Home Improvement Hiring

Despite promising unemployment rates, the home improvement industry continues to struggle with labor issues.

At The Home Doctor, we’ve taken an approach that some might consider risky regarding hiring, training, and retaining. We’re taking chances on people and it’s paying off.

Here are a few of the key elements of our hiring strategy:
 

1. Recruit Around The Clock

We used to hire as we needed people and I think that's the norm in the industry. But, we’ve become a recruiting company in addition to being an exterior remodeling company.

Now, we are always hiring and we have a recruiter that works for us to find candidates. Plus, we post our employment opportunities on Craigslist, Indeed, and Zip Recruiter. We're constantly setting up interviews for sales, marketing, and admin positions.

The only downside to this is that sometimes an employee thinks that we’re hiring for their position. We let them know that we're not looking to replace them—we’re trying to get them more help for their department and to grow the company. We reassure them that we’ve got their back and not doing anything shady or nefarious.
 

2. Take Risks on People with Little Experience

When I first got hired into the industry, my employer had a rule that you had to be at least 25 years old with a bachelor’s degree. But, they ignored their own rule and hired me at 21 years of age and without a degree. I became one of the top producers in the company's history.

That experience made me realize that there isn't any one-size-fits-all when it comes to hiring. We don't always know who's going to be successful. If someone is interested in an opportunity, we’ll interview them to find out if they’re a fit or not.

There are certain things that we're looking for in a salesperson, for example, but they don’t need to have experience in sales. Marketers who have canvassed make excellent salespersons. People who have worked in the hospitality industry also do well in sales. If you can wait tables, you can sell windows.

3. Challenge Existing Employees

You can't be afraid to bring in new people out of fear of how your current team members will react. Not only do we get fresh ideas from someone who may become a top performer for us, but this also challenges our existing employees.

When a new sales rep walks in the door, our veteran salespeople become more motivated to read books, listen to podcasts, and do the extra things it takes to become a better salesperson.
 

4. Develop New Hires with Training and Support

We give opportunities to people who might not get similar chances elsewhere. And we support them with training on the backend to help them develop their skills.

In addition to going through our in-house training, new hires will watch webinars, attend seminars, read books that we provide, and attend regular department meetings. We constantly train and develop our employees with an understanding that this isn’t like being a member of a professional sports team. We don’t have to win today and new hires don’t have to succeed immediately.

We do, however, want our employees to be able to contribute at a high level at some point and become top earners within our company.