It's starting to feel like spring in Dayton, Ohio and at Grunder Landscaping Co. our season is off to a strong start. We've known since December that one of our biggest priorities would be finding the team members we need to have a successful 2021, and have been working hard to recruit since the year began.
As we interview candidates for our production crews, we’re looking for people who fit the profile of our ideal team member. It’s a tight labor market, and to win the war for talent we have to be smart. That’s why we extend job offers to good candidates at the end of their in-person interview, right there on the spot. This year, we started doing this in January, even though we didn't need the labor yet, so that we would have a trained team in place by March.
We do this using our Job-Offer Letter Template designed by our HR director, Amber Fox. The hiring manager fills in all the information a candidate needs to make a decision: the wage they can expect, their title, the benefits we offer, their start date, and more.
“We implemented this form to streamline communication between the hiring manager, new hire, and our HR team and to give us an edge over our competition,” Amber explains. “If we find a good candidate, we want to sign them on before they have the chance to interview somewhere else.”
We use the form only for production positions, not design, management, or administration. It’s also important to note that there are many other steps we take at GLC to make this process work: We prescreen candidates before we interview them, we ensure they understand our vision, mission, and core values from the get-go, and we’ve standardized our interview questions and scoresheets to ensure uniformity and transparency internally across the board.
Finding and keeping good workers is an ongoing challenge but small steps can go a long way if you’re smart and intentional about it.
Have a great week!
Marty Grunder
President & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.