I was talking to a friend the other day who went to the CIC, Collision Industry Conference in Indianapolis.
She was talking about how all the collision repair shops were having a hard time hiring and retaining estimators, and repair technicians.
It’s the same with the towing industry, I know.
And, as a solutions-oriented person, she was trying to figure a way to help these guys out.
One idea was allowing people to do a trial run with a collision repair facility.
Maybe even a holiday thing. Where they would spend a winter or two in Arizona or Miami, maybe.
And, I guess the goal is to see if they were a good fit – long term.
Some’ll stick, some won’t.
Well, I listened to her ideas on how to implement this, and thought about it for a few minutes.
And suggested that with those types of temp jobs, you’re going to mainly attract young, unattached men. Guys with no spouse or kids.
Which might work.
But, my take on young men…
Is that even though they may be sufficiently trained, many aren’t emotionally mature enough to be too excited about leaving their friends and family behind.
Heck, many still live with their parents well into their late twenties and thirties.
Which, to me, is a strange thing to wrap my head around.
As an employer, I’m not looking for someone who’s still dependent on his mommy and daddy.
I want a self-starter.
So, no, I wasn’t too keen on the holiday-job-thing.
But the one aspect I liked was the idea of putting prospective employees in touch with business owners.
Only…business owners need to impress one key benefit of joining their organization if they want to attract and retain quality people.
And that benefit is growth.
Many young men don’t have any direction in their life.
They’re looking for someone to guide them.
They may not admit it or even know that that’s what they’re doing, but it’s a fact.
Why do you think there are so many influencers on social media, music entertainers, movie stars, and podcasters?
Because there’s a demand for it. People are seeking answers.
Unfortunately, most of what they’re being force-fed as good and true is actually an inversion of the truth.
Of course, young women do this as well.
But, men are looking for guidance from strong men.
They want to be on a winning team.
So, take a look in the mirror.
Are you someone you would seek guidance from if you were in your 20’s or 30’s?
If not, what do you need to do to become someone like that?
Leading is encouraging the right kind of behavior in your organization, not tolerating whatever…just to get by.
Don Archer
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