Episode Description

In this week’s episode of Beyond the Wrench, we are joined by Morgan Dolan, Sr. Maintenance Recruiting Manager, U.S. Xpress. Morgan shares with us how she looks for quality candidates, some of the challenges in recruiting, and the overall candidate experience in recruiting. 

Watch the Full Episode

Finding Quality Candidates

  • Recruiting is about figuring out how a candidate is different from the rest, what makes them stand out, and then putting them in a shop that correlates.
  • When on a phone interview with a candidate, pick up on context clues. If they have a family, they’ll most likely not want to work weekends so they can spend time with their family.
  • Different personalities fit better with certain shops. It’s important to find a shop that will fit in with the technician’s personality. When a technician goes to a shop, they should be happy and have an enjoyable experience.
  • Be transparent, upfront, and confident. As long as you’re working on recruiting and moving in the right direction, it will build trust.

Challenges in Recruiting

  • The talent pool for technicians is small because they’re not heavily present on job boards. They are passive candidates and can be more difficult to find.
  • Some recruiters make assumptions that all technicians are the same, but in reality, all technicians have different backgrounds and personalities.
  • In recruiting, don’t be afraid to retry things. If something didn’t work one month, try something new. Fail forward, take risks, try new things, figure out what works, what doesn’t work, learn from it, and continue moving forward.
  • Shops shouldn’t look at it as having to fill one position. They need to be proactive and build an audience.

Candidate Experience

  • Candidate experience is the full process from the initial outreach, to their first day, and beyond. The biggest thing is to make it as easy and efficient as possible for the candidate.
  • Efficiency is key, along with a sense of urgency. If a technician is talking with one recruiter, there is a good chance they are talking with others. If we’re not acting fast, we’re going to lose them.
  • Technicians know they are in demand and the ball is in their court. It’s important to not waste their time if positions aren’t a good fit.
  • Technician ghosting has become more common within recruiting. That’s the nature of communication in this day and age. We see it in all facets of life, not just recruiting. A lot of people don’t like confrontation and don’t want to have tough conversations.

Show Notes

Resources:

Learn more about WrenchWay Reverse Job Posts

Download the free WrenchWay app in the App Store or on Google Play:

About Our Host:

Jay Goninen
Co-Founder & President, WrenchWay
jayg@wrenchway.com | 608.716.2122

About Our Guest:

Morgan Dolan
Sr. Maintenance Recruiting Manager, U.S. Xpress
mdolan@usxpress.com

Sponsor:

Lithia Motors started in 1946 as a single-point Dodge store, and since then has grown to be the second-largest publicly owned automotive group in the nation. Lithia Motors currently owns and operates over 280 stores in the United States and Canada. If you are interested in partnering with or working for a Lithia shop, learn more at lithia.com.

Follow the Beyond the Wrench Podcast

Don’t miss a single episode — follow to the Beyond the Wrench podcast! The Beyond the Wrench podcast is available on:

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Google Podcasts
  • Amazon Music
  • Stitcher
  • iHeart Radio
  • Pandora
  • TuneIn + Alexa
  • And more!