Angela Clark owner of American Grooming Academy in Temecula speaking at Grooming & Kennel Expo Pasadena. Topic: Competitive Recruitment Strategies
Guest Speaker: Mike Hooper from XCEL Creative in Murrieta
2. Introduction
My Background
Over thirty years in the grooming industry
Founder and Owner of American Grooming Academy
Experience in the private industry as a business owner
Major Pet Supply/Retail Grooming Business
Responsible for 9 Districts which
included 132 grooming salons
3. Introduction
Competitive Recruiting Strategies
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All grooming businesses struggle to find the “RIGHT” person.
How do you find quality candidates in this market?
A good plan is essential in developing a winning team.
I will share strategies to find the star talent you need.
4. Introduction
Today’s Topics
• State of the Pet/Grooming Industry
• Looking Within Your Business
– 4 Step Action Plan
• Attracting Key Candidates
• Where to Find Key Candidates
• Q&A
5. State of the Industry
The Pet Industry
The Pet Industry has a strong track record of growth.
Over 62% of the US households own a pet.
There are over 160 million dogs and cats.
Total US pet industry expenditure is over 52 billion dollars.
APPA estimates grooming sales will exceed $4 billion in 2013.
Estimated 30,000 grooming facilities.
How does this impact grooming?
American Pet Product Association,. 2011-2012 APPA National Pet Owners Survey
6. State of the Industry
Pet Groomers State of the Industry Report 2013
Demand for groomers continues as it has for decades.
Pet Groomers posted over 10,000 help wanted ads/yr.
Approximately 5,000 cat and dogs per grooming facility.
Many professional grooming jobs are unfilled.
2011 hiring of groomers was up 12%.
2012 doubled - employers sought to hire groomers.
American Pet Product Association,. 2011-2012 APPA National Pet Owners Survey
7. State of the Industry
Top Five States for Groomers
2011
2012
California
2,800
3,023
Florida
2,100
2,802
Texas
1,900
2,201
Pennsylvania 1,500
1,633
New York
1,300
1,489
Opportunities:
Concentrated
Grooming Jobs
California
14,117
Florida
9,932
Texas
8,799
New York
6,484
Pennsylvania 6,165
American Pet Product Association,. 2011-2012 APPA National Pet Owners Survey
8. State of the Industry
My Big Box Retailer Theory!
Over the past 15 years the major pet industry pet
retailers (Petco and Petsmart) have been opening
upwards of 75 new stores each per year.
Each store opens with a grooming
salon and requires a minimum of
5 grooming employees. Add it up!
9. Looking Within Your Business
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
Evaluate Your Team
and Business
Determine
Staffing Need
Define Processes
and Roles
Assess Yourself
As a Leader
Determine Grooming
Sales & Goals
Evaluate your Associates’
Strengths and Weaknesses
Clear processes, roles, and
responsibilities help
determine the right person
Leaders set the tone
for the business
YTD Grooming Sales
and Budgeted YTD
Grooming Sales
Full or Part Time?
Operations Manual
Observe your own
behavior. Are you a
good leader?
Daily/Weekly Sales
Trend and Goal
Are you adding a new
Groomer position or
replacing a Groomer?
Job Descriptions
What are your strengths
as a leader?
Current Daily Hours of
Operation and Goal
Are you adding a new
Grooming Assistant or
replacing one?
Shares Plans and Goals
What are your
opportunities as a leader?
Team Buy-In
Get input from
your team
# of Customers Being
Turned Away and When
Flexibility – Don’t get
locked into to seeing only
one way to staff
10. Looking Within Your Business
The seed of any business culture grow from
the values, attitudes and behavior of the
business leaders, that is YOU! The quickest
way to begin assessing if you have the
culture that is attractive to the “right”
people is to first observe your own behavior.
11. Attracting Key Candidates
Health Check!
How will your business stand out and attract talent?
What sets your business apart?
How does your business look, feel, and operate?
Presentation
Daily Operation
Social Media
Why does this matter?
13. Attracting Key Candidates
Compensation…Get Creative!
Direct Compensation Alternatives
Basic Pay: Cash wage paid to the employee.
Paying a wage is a standard practice, the competitive
advantage can only come by paying a higher amount.
Incentive Pay: A bonus paid when specified
performance objectives are met.
May inspire employees to set and achieve a higher
performance level and is an excellent motivator to
accomplish goals.
14. Attracting Key Candidates
Indirect Compensation Alternatives…
Flexible working schedules
Insurance (Health, Dental)
PTO, Paid Time Off
Continual Education, Seminars and
Workshops
In-house training
Employee Discounts
Sponsor Grooming Competition Entry
Grooming Equipment Allowance
What are other ways to improve compensation?
15. Attracting Key Candidates
Sweeten the job offer for that PERFECT candidate!
A sign-on bonus can be offered upon sign-on or for
staying a certain length of time.
Guarantee base pay can be set for a period of time.
Employee Referral Bonus A referral rewards your
employees a pre-set amount of money if they present
candidates to open positions and stay through
probationary period.
What other ways can you sweeten the job offer?
16. Attracting Key Candidates
Compensation Highlights:
Compensation packages can be linked to business
structure, employee
recruitment, retention, motivation, performance, feedback and
satisfaction.
Compensation is typically among the first things potential
employees consider when looking for employment.
It is important, therefore, to give a lot of consideration to your
business's compensation structure.
After all, for employees, compensation is the equivalent not to
how they are paid but, ultimately, to how they are valued.
17. Attracting Key Candidates
The Power
of Networking
Where else can
you network?
Grooming
Schools
Professional
Organizations
Pet Sitters
Dog and Cat
Clubs
Pet Community
Events and
Fundraisers
Veterinarians
Business
Vendors
Network
Referral
Program
Human
Societies
Rescue Groups
Job Fairs
Dog Trainers
18. Attracting Key Candidates
How will candidates apply?
Email
applications
On-line
applications
Success Tips!
Have a designated associate
Be quick to respond and follow through
Turn every event onto a recruiting event
Walk In/
phone
19. Finding Key Candidates
The Power
of Social Media
Social
Media
Job
Search
Sites
Where else can
you look?
Business
Website
Message
Boards
Where do
you find
candidates?
Groomer
Chat
Rooms
Business
Facebook
LinkedIn
Blogs
Twitter
26. Other Online Platforms
Visit Booth 115 for Raffle Prizes and Questions! Be sure to
take photos, and use #hashtag #Booth115!
27. “In hiring "the right people," the
good-to-great companies placed
greater weight on character attributes
than on specific educational
background, practical skills, specialized
knowledge,
or work experience.”
Jim Collins
Speaker’s Notes:Whether you are thinking about hiring for your grooming department or getting ready to hire sometime soon, all grooming business struggle and face the same obstacles in finding the “RIGHT” person or people. Once you have determined it is time to hire, what do you do and how do you find quality candidates in this competitive market? A good plan is essential in developing a winning team. I will be sharing practical and successful recruitment strategies to help sharpen your recruitment efforts in landing the star talent your company desires and needs!I do not have any magic to share with you today, but what I would like to share with you, are some proven strategies that have work for both me and others in our recruitment efforts.
Speaker’s Notes: Are you missing potential opportunities for hiring the " RIGHT" candidates! Through my years working in the pet industry as a business owner, Regional Manager, Trainer and now the President of American Grooming AcademyI have had the opportunity talk with individuals interested in entering the pet grooming industry, seasoned professional Pet Stylists, and graduates of grooming schools.They have shared with me their first hand experiences when looking for employment and what is important to them when making their decision as to where to work. The steps for "Competitive Recruitment Strategies" has come from those conversations with the "RIGHT" candidates!
Speaker’s Notes:Petgroomer.com estimates there are conservatively no less than 2,000 job openings in the US and Canada any day of the year.HOW will your business stand out and attract “talented grooming candidates” that will be an added benefit to your growing business?What sets your business apart? Health Check – How does your place of business Look, Feel and Operate! Presentation – Lobby PresentationSalon/Bathing conditionEmployee Presentation Salon cultureGrooming EquipmentAre you organized! Daily OperationCustomer ServiceOrganizationState of the businessDays and hour of operation Social MediaBusiness FacebookBusiness Web Site
Speaker’s Notes:Assess your professional image. Are you building a positive image?(Review AGA Samples)
Speaker’s Notes:Direct Compensation AlternativesBasic Pay: Cash wage paid to the employee.Because paying a wage is a standard practice, the competitive advantage can only come by paying a higher amount.Base Hourly wageStraight Commission Commission based on associate skill setCommission based on grooming service providedBase Hourly or Commission per pay period Incentive Pay: A bonus paid when specified performance objectives are met.May inspire employees to set and achieve a higher performance level and is an excellent motivator to accomplish goals Example – offer bonus based on employees contribution. Sales/profit, customer service, safety.
Speaker’s Notes:Indirect Compensation AlternativesIn a tight labor market, indirect compensation becomes increasingly important. Businesses that cannot compete with high cash wages can offer very individualized alternatives that meet the needs of the people you want to employ. Such creative compensation alternatives are the small business's competitive advantage.Flexible working schedulesInsurance (Health, Dental)PTO, Paid Time Off Continual Education, Seminars and WorkshopsIn- house trainingEmployee DiscountsSponsor Grooming Competition EntryGrooming Equipment Allowance
Speaker’s Notes: Sweeten the Job offer that PERFECT candidate A sign-on bonus can be tied to not only signing a contract with a certain employer, but with staying at that company for a specific length of time. The sign-on bonus may be paid in installments in your paychecks or all up front.Guarantee base pay can be set for a period of time. Employee Referral BonusA referral scheme proposes to grant your employees a pre-set amount of money if they present candidates to open positions at your company, the person they referred is hired and successfully completes their probation period.
Speaker’s Notes:Email applicationsThis is the straightforward approach favored by many employers. In the job ad, candidates are asked to send their application to the company’s email address. All applications are, therefore, delivered straight to your inbox and, as a consequence, management and tracking of everything is, for good or ill, in your handsOnline ApplicationsNowadays many applications for jobs are conducted not by email but via online web forms whether on the recruitment website or on the company’s own website. That is, candidates enter their basic details, attach a CV (or use a CV stored on the job board), answer some screening questions and send their application via the website. You will generally receive this by email but many job boards and Applicant Tracking Systems have online dashboards where you can review and manage the candidates. Walk In/ phoneBe sure your team has clear instruction of how all potential candidates are to be handled. Recommend that all candidates are handled by a designated associate. Resume and contact information should be collected and given to the correct person for follow up.
Speaker’s Notes:Unlike a good marketing plan, most recruitment efforts don’t start with a clear message. That is because we see recruitment as a transactional activity but forget that Top Talent is driven to work for organizations that send a message they likeThink of recruitment as on going, it never ends.