The demand for skilled workers in the areas of trade, industry, and craftsmanship is significantly felt in the building materials sector. It is therefore no surprise that this has led to an increasing competition for labor among employers. Companies now have to focus more on how to meet their future demand for skilled professionals.
Website and Career Portal
Your website is the virtual storefront of your company and should therefore be appealing, up-to-date, and informative. The impression you make on potential candidates plays a crucial role in their interest in working with your company. To convince new employees as well as new customers, your website should be clearly structured, contain appealing visual elements such as images or videos, and provide target-group-specific information. When publishing content, it is important to focus on transparency, informativeness, and authenticity to ensure that you create the desired impression with your visitors.
Specifically with regard to recruitment, a professional career portal should be at the center of attention. This enables potential candidates to learn about open positions and apply directly. To lower the threshold for applications, "One-Click" applications provide an easy option. Since job searches increasingly take place via smartphone, this allows candidates to apply conveniently from their mobile device by automatically transferring information from their LinkedIn or Xing profiles.
Social Media Channels, Career Networks, and Job Portals on the Internet
Often, candidates are made aware of your open positions elsewhere than on your website. To increase the reach and visibility of your company and individual messages, it is important to generate attention where your target groups are active.
This works very well through continuous activity on social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as relevant career networks. Here, you typically reach those who are not actively looking for a job but may be open to switching for an attractive offer. By sharing, liking, tagging, and posting in targeted groups, you can achieve a wide reach and give potential candidates the nudge they need to apply, all without paying for it.
Additionally, various job portals offer the opportunity to post job ads so that you can be found by job seekers or directly contact candidates with the appropriate qualifications. Free listings at the most important job boards for industry and crafts are available on platforms such as Indeed, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and the job exchange of the Federal Employment Agency.
Creating Incentives
In addition to the fact that a large reach increases the likelihood of receiving applications, the overall package your company offers for a position also plays a decisive role. In addition to the salary, positioning your company as an employer of choice is crucial. Employees are increasingly focusing on sincere and respectful treatment, as well as tangible additional benefits, when making their decisions.
Therefore, if you do not have a targeted career plan for a specific position, it’s best to avoid career promises. Especially for skilled professionals with vocational training, job security is more highly valued than career prospects and a high salary. It may be worthwhile as an employer to already mention aspects of security in the job description, such as permanent contracts, economic stability, and punctual salary payments.
Through additional benefits, companies can create further incentives. Be sure to design these benefits clearly and consider the individual needs of your target group, as the best benefits are of little use if they are not utilized. For some, a fuel discount is a welcome extra, while others prefer a subsidy for public transport. Benefits do not only benefit employees in general; if you, for example, allow employees to retire three years earlier without penalty, this also creates a sustainable bond with the company.
Work Environment and Tools
Whether for production workers in window and door construction, fitters and assembly helpers of building elements, or sales staff and estimators in building materials trade, the work environment and tools are decisive factors for employee satisfaction. High satisfaction benefits companies in the search for new employees, as this information spreads organically. Employees who are highly satisfied proactively share job offers with their personal network and recommend the company.
Investing in an appealing work environment and innovative work tools benefits companies twice when it comes to the future need for skilled workers. On the one hand, the use of modern and user-friendly software solutions in the office or aids like window lifting devices on construction sites increases employee satisfaction, and on the other hand, it boosts productivity, thus helping to mitigate the growing demand for skilled labor through technical support to a certain degree.
HDC Digital supports building materials retailers in expanding their online presence and digitizing sales processes through e-commerce platforms.
Read moreLearn How Christoph Hölbling, Managing Director of HC Fenster, Successfully Built and Scaled His Building Materials Online Shop.
Read moreMorten Strahl at the Forum "Practical Digitalization" at Fensterbau Frontale on the Topic: Digital Sales Processes for Building Materials
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