Finding qualified help

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hardworkingstiff

Senior Member
Location
Wilmington, NC
I'm bidding a job that I don't have the manpower to complete. I'd need to hire a 2-man crew to do the work (if I get the job) because I'm too busy to do it myself.

What have been the best ways you have had luck finding good help?

Thanks,
 
I start with two assumptions. 1) There are no qualified unemployed electricians and, 2) The best guys work for your competitor. As a result, recruiting efforts are focused on electricians that are already employed by another contractor. Mostly one on one we cross paths. Always be on the prowl for good guys. Even when you don't need them, try to recruit them anyhow. Another motto to follow... slow to hire, quick to fire. Always be on the lookout for good guys, but if they come on board and they're not so good after they settle in a bit, get rid of them and do it quick.
 
If you will temporarily contribute to the required retirement, health, & Union funds, along with prevailing-public works wages, you can call for any foreman, short or long duration, next day notice, from your local IBEW. If you request a Union JW or apprentice you can't select them by name. In the LA area Union foreman currently cost around $50.00 per hour.

Several temp agencies that specialize in the trades also compete in my area, and I heard they charge similar labor rates as the Unions. Not sure how universal that rule of thumb applies. You could use your local phone book to compare labor-agency rates with experience levels.

Moderators note: Last paragraph deleted, it was not relevant to NC licensing laws
 
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ramsy said:
If you will temporarily contribute to the required retirement, health, & Union funds, along with prevailing-public works wages, you can call for any foreman, short or long duration, next day notice, from your local IBEW.
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Interesting idea. Thanks.
 
Finding qualified help

Good Luck! I agree with Marc. I have not found many good qualified electricians. I had a couple during my back operation and they turned out not to be so good, so I let them go as soon as I could. I now have a GREAT man that is learning the trade from me. Not finding good help is one of the reasons I work by myself with one other man. Sometimes I hire one or two people to switch and plug new houses with my supervision. Always look at a man's hand tools,(that tells allot). Once I hired a guy that had no tools and he said someone stole them. Later I found that he had pawned them. Some guys work just with a screwdriver, nine's, and a knife. I have found that in most cases a man is not worth much if were not for his tools. Good Luck and when you find the right man hang on to him. Last but not least I'd ask around at the supply houses. Be patient and ask around, sometimes you find a person in the most unlikely places. After all I started as an apprentice when I got out of the Marines at age 24and now I'm 58. I was taught by a one man electrical contractor also. Semper Fi
 
Good Help Hard to Find

Good Help Hard to Find

It seems that you would have built alliances with other electrical contractors that prefer to keep their shop small. I like to work one on one with a helper when I can and usually can get one of my pals that have a small shop to help out when I need them. I make myself available to my like minded contractor friends when they get overbooked or take a vacation.
Just make sure to pay each other well. They are showing up with their truck, tools and usually equal or better ability.
If I need two or three guys for a longer duration I call the local union hall and ask for help. I have a gang box setup with small tools, benders, etc ready to go at all times. I have found that if you give them everything they need to get the job done they will do it. Cost is about $250 per day per man for journeymen including benefits plus whatever your WC and unemployment rate is.
 
I am sure money plays a big issue. I know I don't want to donate my time. I was just in the Raleigh area doing a few interviews. I got invited to take an exam for BP for an E&I position. I am not even sure how they got my name. Just an email saying be in Wando, SC next Friday. To bad that is 12 hours from me. I expect the pay to be low as well. I am sure they will trump up benefits telling me you get x amount of days off and this and that. Give me a break. How can I afford to live of your wages, the funny thing is that my mortgage company doesn't accept benefits as a form of payment, either does the utility. I just seen a CNC programmer position in the paper starting out at $15/hr what a joke.
 
khixxx said:
I just seen a CNC programmer position in the paper starting out at $15/hr what a joke.
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I am curious, what is a "fair" wage in NC?

The market usually dictates the wage, just like the low bidder gets the contract, the person willing to work for less gets the employment (skill levels being similar). It may or may not be "fair", but it is the way our free market works.
 
Not sure but Kens (Yes I'm talking in the 3rd person) fair market wage is $25-$50/hr Depends on lots of other things such as transportation, distance, working conditions, demand (hours), per diem, and the guy/girl I'm talking to on the phone and how they act.

Even in NC the cost of a home is pretty high. I would rather take a day off or days off than donate my time. How far is $15/hr going to take you today? I honestly can't see or understand a skilled tech working for less than $20/hr.
 
khixxx said:
Even in NC the cost of a home is pretty high. I would rather take a day off or days off than donate my time. How far is $15/hr going to take you today? I honestly can't see or understand a skilled tech working for less than $20/hr.
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I agree. Even $20/hr is a bit low (IMO), assuming little to no benifits.
 
I guess you never know what type of guy you will get. My buddy works for $14/hr drives 45 mins to the shop to pick the van up every day. He runs work overseeing about 6 guys more at times and is very good. He is happy. He then tells me about his bosses big house and how his boss just bought a hunting camp in CO. I guess what ever makes you happy would be a market wage.
 
khixxx said:
. I guess what ever makes you happy would be a market wage.
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Yes, I agree! I know that if I had to accept a wage tomorrow, it could be well below market average if the typical workload and the working environment were sufficiently interesting.
 
wireman71 said:
"I can't find good people" = I pay poor wages and have poor benifets.
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Ever offer a sign on bonus? Money talks BS walks.

I agree. For an interesting position with less stress I would work for less than market value but I still need to eat. I don't want to eat Alpo during my retirement years.
 
wireman71 said:
"I can't find good people" = I pay poor wages and have poor benifets.
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it's an industry wide dilemma..as an industry this is true, which shrinks the pool of qualified candidates for companies that do offer good pay and benefits...
 
emahler said:
it's an industry wide dilemma..as an industry this is true, which shrinks the pool of qualified candidates for companies that do offer good pay and benefits...
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This seems backwards to me. If there are only a few companies that pay well and offer good benifits, I would think they would get to pick the best of the best.

The only reason (well, the main reason) I became self-employed (in 1996) is that I could not find a job with a living wage. If I'm now competition for the companies that don't want to pay a living wage, then it's their fault. I was willing to work for someone (probably not now though) if I was reasonably compensated.
 
hardworkingstiff said:
The only reason (well, the main reason) I became self-employed (in 1996) is that I could not find a job with a living wage. If I'm now competition for the companies that don't want to pay a living wage, then it's their fault. I was willing to work for someone (probably not now though) if I was reasonably compensated.
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This is what Mike H. talked about in one of his training courses. If your wage can not make someone live comfortable then he will be your competition.
 
wireman71 said:
"I can't find good people" = I pay poor wages and have poor benifets.
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Not necessarily. Even companies that pay well and have decent benefits have a tough time getting quality people. Mathematically, 1/2 of all electricians are below average. Just a plain fact.

A lot of the better ones are interested in things other than just the wages and benefits. Many of them want to look forward to getting up in the morning and going to work. If you want to attract and keep the best people, that is where I would focus my efforts. And keep in mind, it is a pretty small world. If you get a bad rap in the labor market, fairly or not, you will have a much harder time getting the better employees. People talk, and there are always a few companies that when they talk they say how nice it is to work there, or how nice it would be to work elsewhere.

There are a lot of non-economic factors that employees look at. In the EC industry one of the big ones is whether you are union or not. Some employees just do not like unions, others feel a lot more comfortable paying dues. You will find others who like close supervision, and some who prefer to be left on their own.
 
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