A labor shortage is difficult enough; but if your yard is in a rural area, you’re likely feeling the pinch even more than dealers in urban and suburban settings. With a smaller pool to pull from, it’s a constant challenge to fill the talent pipeline with qualified workers.
But there are a lot of reasons for workers to consider your lumberyard—and likely a lot more people for you to consider than you might realize.
Leverage your community: As a business owner in a small town, you’re probably heavily involved with the community, whether serving on the Chamber of Commerce, providing meeting space for the Boy Scouts, or sponsoring the local softball team and homecoming float. Your commitment to supporting your community not only makes people want to shop with you, it can help define your company’s culture and makes it attractive to prospective employees.
Make sure your community involvement is part of your sales pitch. And when you’re out and about participating, don’t pass up opportunities to network and size up potential team members.
Let go of small-town worries: It’s a genuine concern that in small towns everyone knows everyone. That may make you hesitant to hire for fear of not wanting to let someone go if they don’t work out. So it is a good idea to take care in who you hire—make sure they’re the right fit, do a thorough background check, the works. But at some point you also have to let go of the fear and keep it from holding you back from expanding your staff.
And even if everyone knows everyone—you don’t really know everybody. Don’t give up before you start just because you think the pool is dry. And don’t worry that hiring someone might mean they’re leaving another local business. You’re just showing them the path; it’s up to them to take it.
Show and tell: In my recent podcast with Grant Leavitt, part owner of Marcus Lumber in Marcus, Iowa (population 1,100), he explained how you have to counter folks’ built-in impression that a lumberyard equals boring, that a small town equals no opportunity, and that a small company equals nowhere to go. “So if we can get them into our store, which we’re very proud of, and get them to visit our website, which we’re also very proud of, we can start to formulate the idea that this isn’t just a mom-and-pop shop,” Leavitt said.
The goal is to gain a first meeting at the store, an opportunity for a low-key conversation to learn more about the person as well as to sell them on the company, showing how it’s progressive and a fun place to work.
And Marcus Lumber ensures the conversation continues. Before they leave, candidates receive a recruitment packet. The logo-ed folder includes employee testimonials, discussing why they like working there, customer testimonials, more information about the company, and an exploration of the company’s culture.
Always be recruiting: Marcus Lumber uses traditional outlets such as LinkedIn and Facebook to advertise open positions, but also remains vigilant about making great connections and knowing who’s out there. “It’s never been more apparent to me that you must always be recruiting,” Leavitt explained during the podcast.
For example, the dealer has relationships with nearby community colleges and trade schools. They also check in regularly with contractors and architecture customers, and they keep an eye on other retail outlets.
It’s not necessarily about stealing others’ employees, but making sure they’re aware of your company for when they’re ready for a change. The sweet spot, I like to say, is the semi-passive job seeker—someone who likes and is good at their current position, but is starting to get restless, perhaps because they feel they’ve out-grown their company, they want to stop traveling, or other factors.
A rural location doesn’t have to be a detriment for a great company. Lean on your strengths, leverage your place in the community, and showcase your opportunities to build awareness and start building your talent funnel.
Rikka Brandon is a leading recruiter for the LBM industry. She’s the CEO of BuildingGurus.com and founder of RecruitRetainRock.com where she helps business leaders solve their recruiting and retention challenges.
