Having troubles hiring and retaining qualified employees? ATSSA explores the issue

Within its outreach efforts, ATSSA strives to connect with its members and to support them, which is why in 2016, members were asked what the most challenging aspect of running a business was in a survey. The results produced an interesting trend – many ATSSA members found the greatest challenge to be finding qualified employees, and keeping those employees on staff.

Armed with this information, ATSSA set out to address this newly identified problem and recently held an Open Forum on Hiring and Retaining Qualified Workers during its Midyear Meeting, late last August.

“The open forum was a tremendous opportunity for many ATSSA members to discuss current trends and challenges in hiring and retaining qualified workers,” said ATSSA’s Vice President of Member Services, Donna Clark. “The discussion resulted in several follow up items that will help in the development of a set of tools to help our members recruit qualified, capable employees.”

Clark provided background information and introduced the discussion to forum attendees before the President of Time Striping, Inc. Cindy Williams shared challenges she has faced with hiring and retaining qualified workers and – on the opposite end of the spectrum – the President of Guidemark, Inc. Doug Dolinar spoke about his company’s successes.

Forum attendees also discussed recruitment challenges and methods, retention issues, and vocalized ways ATSSA might help in these areas.

The group provided specific problems they have encountered in their hiring processes, including:

Employees are unwilling to fulfill the position requirements.

Employees are unwilling to fully participate in training because they have their own practices.

Employees or prospective employees are unable to pass drug tests.

There are issues with labor union requirements.

Employers cannot meet the goals of federal contracts because they cannot find enough qualified employees to meet requirements.

How is ATSSA working for you today?

ATSSA has formed an internal team to further examine the comments gathered from the forum and explore possible supportive measures.

A focus group, open to subcontractors only, will be held during the Convention & Traffic Expo to address various topics and questions stemming from the open forum held at Midyear Year.

If you are a subcontractor interested in providing feedback on hiring and retaining qualified employees by participating in the focus group, please contact ATSSA’s Vice President of Member Services, Donna Clark, at donna.clark@atssa.com. The focus group will convene for discussion on Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 11 a.m. to noon in the ATSSA Pavilion, booth #534, on the exhibit floor.

Numerous business sessions will be held at ATSSA’s 48th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo from January 26 to 30 in San Antonio, Texas. Among these sessions is “How Employees are Looking at You While You’re Looking at Them,” which is designed to educate employers about today’s job seekers and the tools they use to decide if companies are worth their time. It also will cover how today’s workers look for jobs and what kind of corporate culture they may be seeking. Finally, tools to help the employer decide if an applicant is the “right fit” for their company will be discussed.

For more information about these sessions designed to help employers develop their businesses, visit expo.atssa.com/education.html.