Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/145703
26 • AUGUST 2013 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Finding and retaining qualified, motivated and productive employees BY TOM LUBY, PROFIT BUILDERS INTERNATIONAL High Performance Can lever Gate Hardware! For Commercial, Residen al and Ins tu onal applica ons Distributor Opportuni es Available Benefits • Higher Weight Capacity • Smaller Overall Gate Length • Easy Installa on • Durability • Higher Efficiency • Low Maintenance • Minimal Visible Hardware • Accommodates up to 4,000lbs or up to 59 opening. The system works on a simple principle of two heavy duty carriages installed on the ground and a high quality track that rolls on the carriages and supports the gate. This eliminates the need for a complicated system of rollers and wheels and is fully enclosed from external elements. Manufactured in Italy by Professional Gate Hardware from Architectural Iron Designs, Inc. 950 South 2nd Street, Plainfield, NJ 07063 | Ph: (800) 784-7444 or (908) 757-2323 Fax: (908) 757-3439 | www.duragates.com | info@duragates.com THE SKY'S THE LIMIT ECGO-G Cell Phone Entry System New Model FEATURES: • Fits standard gooseneck stands • Larger enclosure • Same great programming • High-gain cell integrated antenna • No cell contract needed • Weatherproof stainless steel • Rings up to 3 administrators in sequence • Program up to 100 users to access the gate • Works with mobile and land lines • Answer visitors call no matter where you are • Gate is able to be latched/unlatched via cell phone OUR VISIT EBSITE W NEW com O. yECG m Get This and Many Other Innovative Products from East Coast Gate Operators, Inc. • For use with all gate automation systems • No trenching for phone lines • 12/24 Volts AC/DC - 1.5 amp power supply • Easy remote programming via cell phone or computer 704.768.2230 Interested in becoming an ECGO distributor... Please call us! From the mid 70s through the early 90s, I ran a small construction company in the Northeast with a few dozen employees. Like my competition back in those days and like most of you even today, one of the biggest challenges for me was finding and retaining good, qualified employees both for the field, the yard and the office. It was, and still is, a major concern! I can remember some of my employee search efforts and some of the "tricks of the trade" that I learned in those days, many times the hard way. In my research for this article I found that a lot of the same do's and don'ts from 20 plus years ago still exist today. Plus, I found out many new avenues of employer opportunities. Back then I developed some very interesting ways to look for new employees and even found some "rewards" for myself and my company for finding and training these new employees. In the "old days" there were government sponsored programs that helped pay for the training of new employees – up to half their wages, and for up to half your entire workforce. Great deal? You bet! I used a government-sponsored program called JTPA (Job Training and Placement Act) to subsidize my payroll expenses to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. True fact, this is no exaggeration. I actually did this year after year and it was perfectly legal. As my current research turned up, the bad news is that this program no longer exists. The good news is that it has been replaced with other programs that can give back even more money to employers for not only training new employees, but also for training existing employees and tax credits for existing employees for thousands of dollars of potential savings for you and your company. With the current political turmoil in Washington and the constant bickering between both parties over taxes and spending, jobs training programs seem to come and go as quickly as Republicans blame Democrats and vice versa. But before you can get money from the government for training, you must have someone to train, right? OK, here are some hints. The best place to begin? Word of mouth referrals. Like advertising and fence industry job referrals, word of mouth is usually the best and most reliable place to start. Sometimes networking with some of your current employees to get feedback on friends or relatives as prospective employees can prove fruitful. Naturally, begin asking your best workers to help; you want to hire good people and birds of a feather; you know what I mean. The American Fence Association produces a number of qualified graduates from its Field Training School. However, in the overall scope of the industy, the number hardly makes a dent. It is, however, a step in the right direction and the graduates are usually very good and well trained workers. Job search advertisements (help wanted ads) are a widely used option for finding employees. Help wanted advertisements account for as much as one-half or more of the current fence industry work force, and knowing how to write the most effective help wanted ad is very important. Also note that quickly these advertisements are moving from print media to electronic media via the internet. I have written in past World Fence News articles about how to write the best help wanted ad. If you need more help with this, just contact me by e-mail or call my office. I will also touch on this important topic again in a future WFN article. Local federal/state employment offices. If used correctly this can still be one of the "best kept secrets" in the labor market search. With the advent of the internet and its use in filing and monitoring unemployment compensation claims, no longer are local, state and federal employment agencies primarily an unemployment compensation dispensation bureau. Now they are primarily an employer advocate entity responsible for finding qualified employees for you. Here are some of the services now available through your local government job placement agency: • Job placement offices can take job orders for placement within their office and job applicant database that covers local, state and even national territories. • They can list those job orders on local and regional job search sites, as well as the national job search database. • They can set up a job interview site at the job placement office or at your office and schedule job applicants for you to interview; whatever you require. • If your company meets certain minimum wage requirements above