Recruiting drivers, move day crew members, and staff has always been a challenge for moving companies. However, the past two years have exacerbated those difficulties. The competition for talent has gotten even fiercer in 2022 thanks to new hurdles in the wake of the pandemic. Labor shortages, the Great Resignation, managing Covid safety, and the rise of remote work have all made recruiting and retaining employees even harder.
However, some companies are overcoming these obstacles thanks to digital transformation. Moving companies are thinking outside the box to strategize how to recruit movers, manage moving company sales training, and scale their team as they grow. In this blog post, we will teach you methods to hire, retain, and recruit movers and employees with digital transformation.
When it’s difficult to source hires, it’s more important than ever to decrease the number of staff members required to accomplish your business’s work. One of the biggest benefits of digital transformation is that it allows you to scale your talent. With the help of technology, you can accomplish more with less staff. Here are some examples of ways you can use technology as an alternative to making more hires:
Moving companies are turning processes on their heads to accelerate productivity. Learn how Patrick Gomez, Head of Virtual Operations at Imlach Group, rebuilt his sales team to multiply his team’s survey output 3x and take advantage of different talent pools in this webinar recording.
Reducing the number of necessary staff members creates room in the budget for other tactics to recruit movers. For example, it creates more money to increase wages and salaries to hire and retain the most talented movers and staff. Higher pay will attract more applicants, and allow you to target the industry stars that will really add value to your business.
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92% of employees say having the technology necessary to do their jobs efficiently affects their satisfaction at work (Ultimate Software). When you invest in digital transformation, you provide your employees with the tools they need to be successful. Top of the line technology creates a sense of pride in work and makes your company more attractive to potential and new employees. Experienced moving crew leads, drivers, salespeople, and customer service managers seek companies that offer technology to support them and make their jobs easier.
“Yembo has revolutionized the in-home estimate game for the moving industry! By using this software, we have doubled our efficiency and increased our accuracy with our estimates, thus raising our customer service scores across the board.”
- Kristen Wilson, Regional Sales Director
There is no question that the rise of remote work has exploded in recent years. Managers estimate that in five years, 22.9% of workers will be remote. This is nearly double the number of people that were working remotely full-time prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, previously only 12.3% of workers (Upwork).
The rise in remote work enables moving companies to recruit talent regardless of geography, expanding the hiring pool. Movers are hiring customer service, accounting, marketing, and even sales teams remotely.
Allowing an option for remote work for even local employees can help prevent your moving company from becoming a victim of the Great Resignation. One in three employees say they would quit their job if they could no longer work remotely after the pandemic, and 71% want a hybrid or remote work lifestyle (Owl Labs).
Despite this overwhelming desire for remote or hybrid work, 39% of companies are still requiring employees to be in the office full-time post-pandemic (Owl Labs). That means allowing remote work is also a huge advantage in hiring. Tools like move CRMs can help movers keep track of remote employees’ activity and ensure that productivity remains high while remote employees can enjoy more flexibility in their work lifestyle.
64% of recruiters say that being able to pitch a work-from-home policy helps them find high-quality talent (IWG). If you are looking to expand your talent pool, consider allowing remote work. You will be able to find more talented workers and keep them in your employ longer. Some moving companies in expensive talent markets may even be able to take advantage of recruiting arbitrage by hiring employees in less expensive markets.
Technology is a useful tool for movers to expand the reach of their recruiting efforts. For example, job search websites such as Indeed, Craigslist, and Facebook increase visibility of your open positions to a wider audience. Social media ads on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, allow movers to specifically target potential candidates.
Once potential recruits find you, showcasing your moving company and culture on a careers webpage will market the position. Utilizing email automations, texting tools, and web chats can scale your recruiting team’s efforts and give your candidates an attractive and informative impression of your business.
Once your moving company has made a great hire, technology can also be used to facilitate training. A good onboarding process is critical to employee retention. A 2019 Future of Work and Employee Learning study says 37% of employees would leave their current jobs if they were not offered training to learn new skills in their roles.
Scale your training efforts by offering virtual training for crews, sales, and employees. This allows you to educate across teams and locations simultaneously. Build out a library of moving company sales training and crew training videos for a self-guided employee education.
Ryan Hegarty of Olympia Moving and Storage is a great example of a mover who uses Yembo for moving company sales training. He used AI-powered, virtual surveys to get sales hires up to speed in just two months. Learn how he did it in this best in class sales practices blog.
Another way to retain employees is using technology to manage your team. HR software efficiently improves the employee experience by streamlining employee benefits, training schedules, and satisfaction surveys to reduce turnover.
Digital transformation gives companies the tools to get ahead of challenges, including today’s labor shortages. Moving companies winning in this environment are approaching the labor challenge with investment and long term strategy. Use digital transformation to give your moving company employees a better work experience. The reduction in turnover and the increase in offer acceptances will give your moving company access to better talent and more efficient and profitable staffing.