Article created for the digital issue of the 黑料社区Foundation鈥檚 magazine.
Truck stop and travel center operators who cast a wide net when recruiting will increase the likelihood of finding quality candidates with the right skills and attract a diverse group of employees.
Quick ideas of how to cast that wide net:
- Sponsor activities with local school systems.
- Attend job fairs.
- Participate in college career days.
- Contact local government employment resource centers.
- Have a float in local parades.
- Volunteer in the community.
- Attend freshmen move-ins, creating a welcome package for incoming college students.
- Look at all ages.
- Be extra flexible with shifts.
- Offer weekly pay.
Thanks for the quick ideas. Now, can you tell me more?: 鈥淲hen you are involved in your community, you become part of the very fabric that makes up the community,鈥� said . 鈥淎ttracting and hiring applicants becomes infinitely easier when you have the support of your community.鈥�
Hurt recommends employers involved with community outreach programs, sponsor activities with local school systems, attend job fairs, participate in college career days and contact local government employment resource centers.
Why does it matter?: For locations, attracting a diverse range of candidates is important because they, like many travel centers, are in unpopulated areas.
How can your travel center become embedded in the community?: Coffee Cup Travel Plazas聽has worked to become embedded in the communities where they operate their four locations.
Stores also provide donations and scholarships as part of the Coffee Cup Gives program and makes sure to promote their contributions.
鈥淎ll of the team members get to come to the check signing and they know what we do besides selling fuel. They see how we benefit the community,鈥� Schapekahm said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been a part of so many interviews of where people say they like that we are involved in the community.鈥�
Coffee Cup gets in touch with potential employees at drive through job fairs, freshmen move-ins and more.
Could this approach work with high schoolers?: Coffee Cup鈥檚 focus on students isn鈥檛 limited to universities. In South Dakota, some high schools operate four days a week鈥擬onday through Thursday, which means students can work all day on Friday. 鈥淭hose high schoolers now can get three full days and that has helped with weekend coverage,鈥� Schapekahm said. 鈥淲hen the schools started to do that, we swooped in.鈥�
Word-of-mouth marketing is especially important among the high school crowd.
As part of the manager鈥檚 outreach, she became involved in a committee at the high school to meet students and talk about the work. 鈥淣ow a quarter of their team is high schoolers,鈥� Schapekahm said.
What about older employees?: Coffee Cup has also been intentional about reaching out to older employees.
鈥淚n Kider County, North Dakota, we emphasized early-morning hours and short shifts for Cinnabon bakers. The imagery was of older men and women,鈥� Schapekahm said, adding that the company paired the mailers with an in-store job fair and hired 11 people in less than two full days.
What about your customer base?:聽Schapekahm and her managers also keep an eye out for regular customers who they think have the personality and attitude to thrive in the locations and will offer on-the-spot interview opportunities.
Hurt knows of one successful manager who took time to speak with guests every day and hired the majority of her staff from that existing customer base. 鈥淒espite all the technological advancements over the decades, sometimes the best method to reach the most diverse talent pool is to make yourself available by being present and having a conversation,鈥� he said.
What about your approach to shifts?: Employees today look for competitive wages, flexibility and opportunities close to their home, but said many employers haven鈥檛 changed with the dynamics of the market. 鈥淵ou have to run your business, especially in the hourly space around your community,鈥� said Emery. 鈥淩ight now, there are nine million job openings more than there are people. We hear people all of the time saying nobody wants to work, but that isn鈥檛 true. They just don鈥檛 want to work for you.鈥�
In the past, many employers have been hesitant to create alternative shifts for employees, but Schapekahm has found that being flexible can help attract and retain talent.
Creating alternative schedules can be risky, but Coffee Cup starts by training employees on shifts where it won鈥檛 have a negative impact if it doesn鈥檛 work out.
鈥淲e do that to see if there is value in carving a schedule out for them,鈥� Schapekahm said. 鈥淚t can be difficult when we鈥檙e short staffed but if we do it right, it is worth it.鈥�
How should you reach applicants?: In a competitive labor market, time is of the essence. 鈥淭he first one to reach back out wins, and you have to do it in a method they鈥檙e used to,鈥� Emery said. 鈥淯se a tool that meets them where they are.鈥�
Juvo Jobs offers in-app communication. Employers who use the app have to respond within 24 hours, and the app itself will respond after 36 hours if the employer hasn鈥檛. 鈥淚t says sorry they鈥檙e busy, here are four other openings you might like,鈥� Emery said.
Coffee Cup has always reached out to applicants within 24 hours and has hired an HR contact who can make instant contact. 鈥淪he reaches out to candidates and does the pre-screen to recommend or not recommend an interview,鈥� Schapekahm said.
Before adding to the staff, managers and Schapekahm partnered on contacting applicants within 24 hours via Talent Reef.聽 鈥淚t can be hard for busy travel center managers to go through that,鈥� Schapekahm said, adding that managers now have six hours a week back.
(Read 7 Tools to Help Find, Hire and Keep Travel Center Employees for more ideas like Talent Reef.)
What about training new employees?: Quality training is one of the largest factors in employee retention, especially when paired with career path progression planning.
鈥淭raining needs to be meaningful, consistent and collaborative,鈥� Hurt said. 鈥淚f an organization does not have robust training, they are signaling to the employee that they do not care about them.鈥�
One of the most effective training methods is to teach the skill, show the skill and then have the employee repeat what they saw. 鈥淒on鈥檛 move forward until you have mastered the skill in front of you,鈥� Hurt said. 鈥淪imilarly, with career path progression, the employee needs to master their current position before they move to the next position.鈥�
What about employee advancement?: One of the top ways for travel plazas to ensure that they are appealing to the most diverse group of candidates is to be transparent with career path progression and opportunities.
Hurt also recommends operators share success stories.聽鈥淲e have all heard of the person that started as a midnight clerk and became the vice president,鈥� Hurt said. 鈥淭hat is good to hear and is temporarily motivating. What would be better is providing a road map to how they accomplished their progression so others could work towards fulfilling their career goals.鈥�
//听This article was created for聽Stop Watch magazine, the magazine of the 黑料社区Foundation. Foundation is the research, education and public outreach subsidiary of NATSO, Inc. The 黑料社区Foundation provides programs and products to strengthen travel plazas鈥� ability to meet the traveling public鈥檚 needs through improved operational performance and business planning. Visit www.natsofoundation.org for more information.
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