- Laurie Wherley
- August 3, 2022
The last few years have seen a dramatic change in the way the world lives, works, and moves. After the largest remote work experiment in history, many companies have decided to close their office locations, enabling people to work remotely and relocate.
Pre-pandemic, Americans were already highly mobile people, with tens of millions relocating each year. The newest trend is young, affluent, and highly educated transplants leaving dense, big-city neighborhoods in favor of suburbs or smaller communities. For the moving companies trying to meet this demand, finding moving labor has proven to be difficult.
With supply chain issues, a lack of temporary workers, and the physical nature of the industry, moving companies have faced challenges securing reliable labor. Below are three helpful tips for hiring successful moving workers in the current labor market.
1. Offer Competitive Wages
Competitive pay can significantly help attract and retain top talent. Job seekers are attracted to employers that understand the market, keep a keen eye on the industry-standard salary, and then meet or exceed that number. It’s important to conduct salary surveys and research the market to understand what the current rate for moving labor is. Keeping your operating budget low is likely a priority, but you also don’t want to lowball your movers. Not paying enough attracts low-quality candidates, but it also makes for disgruntled employees, which may result in poor reviews and fewer repeat customers. Pay fairly and well, and your movers will be more likely to provide great service and stick around.
2. Be Transparent & Flexible
It can be hard to source workers that can lift heavy objects. When hiring, being transparent and flexible is key. Most companies want workers that can do more than lift; soft skills are necessary for building relationships with coworkers and customers. If these are important to your business, be transparent up-front, so no one’s time is wasted pursuing the wrong fit.
A lot of moving companies focus on recruiting people with “previous moving experience,” but this excludes a huge pool of prospective candidates. Experience is great (and we recommend it), but people can also learn on the job. You should have an on-going training program in place for your moving crew that not only keeps them on top of their craft, but also molds them into the ideal people you want at your moving company.
It is also important that moving companies remain flexible with temporary labor given the current market. Is there an opportunity for a temp labor worker to grow with your moving company and become a full-time employee? Workers want to know about the opportunities available to them when they’re joining your company and if there is a path forward for growth. Up-front communication is key.
3. Use a Staffing Platform like Jobble
Need to hire workers now? Traditional staffing agencies no longer represent the best way to hire temporary workers. An all-in-one staffing platform is perfect for immediate staffing, and Jobble can help you land the temporary workers you need. Even better, using a digitalized staffing platform like Jobble to find your temporary staff will be less expensive than the resources and time required to make a permanent hire! Schedule a demo to get started with Jobble today.
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