Blogs by tag - FM · Thorn Baker Group New

During peak season, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the (potential) chaos. Do we have enough Engineers to complete the maintenance requests? Have we planned enough holiday cover? In this blog, we’ll share our top 3 tips to ensure you’re ahead of the curve and hiring the best staff for your site during peak.COVID-19 certainly brought new challenges to the jobs market, it’s changed what workers are looking for in a job and that change seems to be here to stay. The days of posting a job and having applicants galore are long gone. The pandemic gave people time to look at what they really want from their employer, in our previous blog, Skills Shortage: What Are Candidates Really Looking For? we shared the results from our candidate survey that went to over 40,000 people and the results are interesting, if you haven’t already read the blog take a look today.And the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates that over the previous quarter, there was an increase in the employment rate, while unemployment and economic inactivity rates decreased.The UK employment rate increased to 75.9%The number of full-time employees increased during the latest three-month period to a record high.The most timely estimate of payrolled employees for June 2022 shows a monthly increase, up 31,000 on the revised May 2022 figures, to a record 29.6 million.The unemployment rate for March to May 2022 decreased by 0.1 percentage points in the quarter to 3.8%.The number of job vacancies from April to June 2022 rose to 1,294,000The data is showing what businesses are feeling right now – everyone is busier without enough staff to get everything done. We all know that getting a head start in terms of hiring for peak season is a good business move, but with labour shortage still being a real issue what can you do to stay ahead of the curve?Have a Plan in PlaceDo you have a hiring strategy in place? Being prepared for the peak hiring spike can ensure that your candidates get the right first impression of your business. Establishing best hiring practices for your business is a great place to start and will make the process far less stressful.Remember, it’s a candidate market. If you want to hire the best, you’re going to have to treat them with respect, flexibility and sensible job offers.Focus on why working for your company is great. The support, flexibility, improved technology, training budget etc. Whatever it is you are doing well, shout about it! Can you offer different shift times? A selection of our clients has already done this, and they’ve seen great results. By changing their previous hours to suit school hours as well as part-time they’ve attracted more staff and retained them. Building an online community is a great way to attract staff. Pay rates will always be an attraction, but it doesn’t always compensate for being happy in your job.Spend some money on your recruitment. Whether that is with agencies like us, advertising, specialist job boards, sponsored Facebook adverts or an internal refer a friend scheme etc. A free advert on Indeed is not going to get you the staff you need.Do You Have a Solid On-Boarding Process?Take a look at your current process. This is more than just when someone walks through the door, what experience do they have leading up to that? From application to signing a contract each step of your process is an opportunity to show what kind of business you are. Delays in response, information, interview dates etc. don’t give a good impression of what it’s like to work for your business.A big part of well-being from a jobseeker’s perspective is a feeling of being wanted, unfortunately, some companies are failing to address it.During the pandemic, some employers needed support and hired quickly, as a result, poor habits started to creep in. For example, delays getting back to candidates with interview feedback and with offer letters or contracts. These might seem like small things, but they feed into the sentiment of feeling wanted.If you’re not making a good impression in the recruitment and onboarding process, the reality is that people will leave and go to your competitors who are doing it better.Many candidates are getting two or three offers at the same time, so emotion comes into not only the recruitment process but the pre-start phase and first days in the job.Make the Most of a Recruitment SpecialistWork with an agency. Make sure they are promoting your business (not just the job). At Thorn Baker Construction we focus more on what staff are looking for now. Working with your recruiter will ensure you get the best outcome, it’s what we do all day, make the most of our knowledge and connections.Enlisting the help of a staffing firm can aid in sourcing top candidates and developing a strong talent pipeline. Staffing firms can source candidates from a vast talent pool. Leave the candidate sourcing to the experts so you can focus on onboarding.Competing with other businesses. This is something that’s not always thought about, but if you’re already working with an agency communicate with them what your own plans are. You will undoubtedly end up in competition with each other on jobs – and in the end, you’ll end up spending more money than you need to.Update: Survey ResultsFirstly, we'd like to say thank you to everyone that took part in our survey, it was sent to over 45,000 people we're delighted to share the results with you.We've added some key findings to our video below, overview includes:70% of businesses surveyed said that they do plan ahead for their hiring peaksAnd they rated the effectiveness of their plan to deal with potential issues as 7.5/10100% have an onboarding process in place. And give it a rating of 4.5/5Over 70% said that they're finding it more difficult to hire this yearAnd that's why over 90% said that their plan includes working with a recruitment agency.When asked If you could add one thing to your current onboarding process what would it be? The top 3 answers were:More time to plan the trainingBigger team to deliver the trainingMinimise the paperwork involved.From a worker's perspective, we got some really interesting feedback, including:They're Looking for FeedbackA large portion of responses stated that they don't always get a response at all when they apply for a new job.They'd like feedback as to why they weren't suitable for a role.For responses to be personal, where possible to be a call not just an automated responseSolution: Take the time to call applicants and discuss the role as much as possible, if you're dealing with a high volume (lucky you) then ensure that the people who won't be successful receive an email. They may not be right for you today, but that doesn't mean they won't in future, a strong and professional process can ensure that applicants would come back to you.A Speedier ProcessA shorter time between application and feedback (when they receive it)Maybe it's time to review your application paperwork. It's easy to have duplicated questions if you have extensive paperwork. Take some time to look through and see where you could trim down the process.Solution: Research from Indeed states that 66% of candidates could be applying from their mobile phones - does your application work on mobile? Make it clear on your job advert what your current recruitment process is, how long does it usually take for someone to hear back from you? How long does it normally take for them to start their new job?At Thorn Baker EFM we’re absolutely committed to improving the recruitment process and helping businesses during this peak season and labour shortage.We work with businesses that struggle to hire Air-Conditioning Engineers, Cleaners and Gas Engineers every day. Contact the team today to find out how they’re already helping your competitors and how they could support your hiring needs. Or complete our enquiry form here and we'll contact you.

A lot has been written recently on how to prepare for video and telephone interviews in the time of Covid-19, but not much has been written about the actual questions you should be asking. In this blog, we'll look at the top questions our clients ask in their interviews and how you can make the most of them in yours.Technical based questions like these (betterteam.com/maintenance-engineer-interview-questions) are great for delving into the skills and experience of your Engineers, but what do you ask to find out what makes them tick? Or what their personality is really like? After all, your interviewee is on their best interview behaviour – how do you figure out if they will act the same when they are on the job?If you are interviewing Engineers over the phone or on a video call, it’s even more important to get these questions right. Remember, you may not have the opportunity to take into account the nuances of body language and facial expressions as you would in a traditional face to face interview. Considering that your engineers are often the public face of your company, it’s so important to find out if they will fit with your culture and values.Here at Thorn Baker EFM, we all have our own opinions about the best questions to ask engineers during an interview, but we thought who better to compile this list than the hiring managers themselves? So we spoke to our clients and asked them to nominate their favourite interview questions.'What can you bring to our company?' Nigel Tomlinson, Horbury Property ServicesWhat to look out for: A great way to find out if your interviewee has researched the company and their practices, their ambitions for the future, and their ability to self-analyse. A good answer would show that the engineer knows how their skills could match and benefit different sectors your company works in; a great answer will highlight that they’ve read your company values and can provide examples of their own experience that matches those values.What to be wary of: Vague, non-committal answers to this question show that they may not have done their homework on your company, showing a lack of enthusiasm for the role or may not be great at self-analysis which can provide barriers when managing performance issues down the line.Follow up questions include: What attracts you about working for our company? What’s your impression of our company culture? 'What part of your job do you most enjoy?' Graham Wheatley, Wheatley FMWhat to look out for: This question will give you an insight into their real enthusiasm and motivation for the job – if their answer focuses on making the client happy, then you can reasonably assume that they will be a good ambassador for your company. If it’s about problem-solving and fault finding, they could be your next technical superstar.What to be wary of: If your interviewee struggles to answer this question, or they give a flippant answer like ‘Getting Paid!’ they might not be the most committed employee, and will struggle to maintain a can-do attitude.Follow up questions include: What training have you most enjoyed? What part of the job do you wish didn’t exist? 'What is the best piece of feedback you have received that has gone on to help you in your career?'Sarah Shardlow, The Coal AuthorityWhat to look out for: People who remember (and take on board) good advice tend to be forward thinkers, good planners, and cope well with change, so good well-rounded answers to this question with real-life examples is what you are looking for if you want someone who can take on responsibility and adapt easily to changing environments (great if you have a big portfolio of different clients)What to be wary of: We’ve asked this question many times, and occasionally we’ll get answers along the lines of ‘Nothing really, I’ve always made my own way’. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with being self-sufficient keep an eye out for red flags that could indicate a lack of critical thinking, or an inability to take on criticism and adviceFollow up questions include: Who has been your most influential manager? What do you wish someone had told you at the beginning of your career? ‘How important do you believe it is to achieve a good team spirit, and what type of things might you be able to do within your role to ensure a good team ethos exists?’Paul Cronin, Cambridge Maintenance Services LimitedWhat to look out for: This is particularly important to ask engineers who could be working on static sites in a team of mixed experiences and backgrounds – a good team player will give an enthusiastic answer with real-life experiences of where working in a great team has benefited the whole operation, and will talk about friends and connections they have made on the job in the past. Great answers will include examples of where they have helped younger or more inexperienced team members to grow in skills and confidence.What to be wary of: Candidates who struggle to answer this question might still turn out to be great team players, but may not have had much experience working in a team, especially if they have worked primarily a mobile role or on single person sites - they may take longer to settle into a team environment. Explore further by asking about how they communicate with their managers and other engineers.Follow up questions include: What’s the best team experience you’ve had in your career and why? What role do you think you take when working in a team? 'Have you ever had to handle a difficult customer? How did you deal with it?'Matt Price, FES FMWhat to look out for: An Engineer who gives real examples and explains what the initial problem was and how it was solved demonstrates that they can learn from their experience as well as having the confidence and interpersonal skills to deal with your tricky clients in difficult circumstances – especially important skills for mobile engineers who might have to fault find and fix at short notice.What to be wary of: Vague and uncertain answers to this question (look out for ‘we would usually do….’ instead of ‘I did…’) demonstrate that they may have little practical experience of these situations or maybe unsure or unaware of how to handle angry and upset clients. These Engineers would likely need more hands-on and in-person support when dealing with challenging clients and difficult situations. So be careful about what contracts you may choose to employ them on in the first instance.Follow up questions can include: What preventative measures help diffuse difficult client situations? What support would you need when dealing with difficult clients? Of course, these are just the top five questions that we picked for this blog – there are many more and we’d love to hear your/ suggestions and comments on the above. Want to know more about how we help our clients? You can read about how our Proven Process will overcome your recruitment challenges right here. If you'd like to have a chat with the team about your upcoming interviews you can contact us here or you can complete our enquiry form and we'll contact you.

Blogs by tag - FM

The Cleaning Survey 2023: The Results are In

Labour Shortage What Is the Going Pay Rate?

Labour Shortage: Our Top 3 Tips for Hiring During the Peak Season

Our Top 5 Tips for Job Seekers in the Current Engineer Shortage

Top 5 Questions You Should Be Asking Maintenance Engineers in a Job Interview

The Hard Services Skills Shortage. Why Are so Many Companies Struggling to Hire Engineers?