SAFETY
are continuallyproven tobe
effective, but arenot often
seen enough in the industry.
Typically, the typeof person
who iswilling to engage in
the inherently riskybusiness
of driving truckswithhuge
loads or lifting enormous
items for a living is the type
of individualwho likes tobe
challenged andmove ahead.
Arewe attempting toprovide
opportunities for this, or are
weoften stuck in a “that’s the
way it’s always beendone”
mentality? Many I have
spokenwithwho arenow
migrating toother industries
would sayyes.
With theseobstacles and
others inplace,wehave a
choice.Dowe talk about
theproverbial goodoledays
or dowe adapt? I knowof
companies that are going
to local trade and/or high
schools that are conducting
programs for thekids on
the importanceof staying
clean and letting themknow
that onewildnight now can
affect their future for thenext
sevenyears ormore. These
companies are increasingly
being approachedby the
students post-graduation
19
OCTOBER 2014
ACT
however, nowonce red-
flagged, this personal demerit
is inplacenationwide and
present formultiple years.
There are literally thousands
of cases of individualswho
desire to enter the industrynot
beinghiredbecause the results
of ahair follicle test states that
at somepoint during the last
90days an illicit substance
was consumed. This is further
being compoundedby
changing laws on items like
recreationalmarijuanause.
Less than
stellar
application of soft
skills
Another common theme from
myquestions that canguide
people towardother industries
is a lackof organizational
structure. The abilityof not
having towear an itchy suit
andbe confined to a cubicle
all day is abig attraction to
our industry.Unfortunately,
several responses stated that
this same level of casualness
is toooften applied to the
treatment of employees,
compensation and career
progression.
There appears to still be
amentality that involves
many inproduction resisting
new safety initiatives,HR
initiatives, and the like.
Instead, it canbe replaced
with aprevalenceof schedule-
driven safety, schedule-driven
trainingor schedule-driven
progression in a trade.
Initiatives like regular reviews
of employees, deserved
compensation adjustments,
progressionplans based
on training andknowledge
and incentiveprograms that
reward insteadof punish
THEAUTHOR
Daniel Erwin
is a crane,
rigging and
transportation
safety consultant
and author.
It’s a challenge to
recruit and retain
young talent.
Recruiting
for safety
A
s a safety
consultant, I
am able tovisit
different types of industries
and companies on a regular
basis. Indoing so, I notice a
few far-reaching trends.One
extremely common theme is
theobstacleof finding and/
or keepingqualifiedpeople
inour industry. This seems
tobe especiallyprevalent
with recruiting andkeeping
younger,motivatedworkers.
After repeatedlyhearing
this frustration expressed,
I decided todo a little
research. I talkedwith
hiringmanagers and field
employees to seewhy this
was the case. The responses
I gotwere very interesting.
Below is a summaryof the
twomost prevalent responses.
As you read them, doyou
recognize these issues inyour
workplace?
Increased
oversight of
illicit substance use
Our industry isnowoneof
themost regulated as far as
drug and alcohol compliance.
With an increasing amount of
clients requiringparticipation
innationwidedrug testing
consortiums,more young
people arebeing red-flagged
than ever before.
This is, of course, a result
of badpersonal judgment,
thanking them for the advice
and applying to jobswith
cleandrug screens, all because
they took the time to explain
otherwiseunknown facts
and foster an interest in the
industry at the same time.
Howmanyof us are
establishing apprenticeship
programs tohelp secureour
future?There aremore tools
out there than ever before
with certifications galore.Are
we taking advantageof these
options and recruitingnew
inexperienced employees and
giving themquantifiable goals
towork toward and training?
Arewe involved in industry
initiatives tohelp increase
knowledge and training, or are
we simply statingweonlyhire
thosewho are ready togo to
work?
In summary, there isnoone
rightway to recruit and retain
qualifiedpersonnel. However,
Iwould imagine that each
reader of this article canname
some examples of thewrong
way todo it. Let’s all take a
look at our current procedures
and see ifwe aredoing allwe
can tohelpprepare abright
future for our companies and
industry.
■
Typically, the type of person who is
willing to engage in the inherently risky
business of driving trucks with huge
loads or lifting enormous items for a
living is the type of individual who likes
to be challenged andmove ahead.
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