It’s 4:15 on Wednesday afternoon. Your production manager, who’s been with you for more than 18 years, walks into your office and gives you notice that he’s retiring at the end of the month. While it’s not a complete surprise, the timing was much sooner than you expected. However, he says concerns about his health made his decision more immediate.

So you’ve just added “hiring a production manager” to your list of tasks and responsibilities.

While you have to fit it in among your many other duties and project, it’s a critical task. Everyone agrees that hiring just the right person is critical for the company. So you plunge into the hiring process by putting together an updated job description, placing ads, spreading the word, and hoping the right person is available at the exact time you need them. It could be weeks or months before you fill that position. 

Get Better Odds

By contrast, you’d never wait until you were just about out of projects to begin marketing your company and looking for new customers. Even when your company has plenty of work, you continue your marketing efforts and strategy, getting your message out and keeping lists of potential customers for the future. 

Remodeling companies should approach recruiting the same way.

Marketing as an Employer

Business owners should brand and market their company as an “employer of choice,” always looking for talented people that could really add to the team. The company should be able to articulate why it’s an attractive place to work as a complement to its marketing outreach for new clients. 

The good news is that if you’re already marketing your company to clients through your website, social media channels, and other functions, you’re already in a strong recruiting position. People want to work for successful companies. If you’re featuring endorsements of your work for happy clients, use that model to feature happy employees through testimonials about working at your company. Shine a light on fun team outings or celebrations. Work on your company culture and your employees will be your best recruiting tool, in person and through your marketing.

Fill the Funnel

It’s a much better scenario to have a file of people that would love to come to work for the company, with the ability to reach out to one of them as soon as you know the production manager position is opening up. 

Companies should continually work to market themselves as an employer of choice. You should have your own unique selling proposition for recruiting, detailing why a person would want to work with you, and about your company’s culture. The importance of making key hires when needed can make all the difference in the life of an organization. This is a key strategy for growing a successful company.