Background For Successful Hiring
Background For Successful Hiring
For many of our members hiring the right people for long term growth and prosperity is increasingly becoming problem. Leon Osborne, of Osborne Wood Products Company shared these ideas with us at a recent WPMA meeting. The Osborne Wood Products Company is located inTocca,GA, a small town very similar to many of our other members' towns that support woodworking businesses. As in many of our other regions, Leon Osborne found that the employment pool for people interested in a career in woodshop was shrinking. Like many of usLeonhad a decision to make, he could settle for the caliber of workers he was currently recruiting or he could change things up a bit and find a way to attract quality woodworkers. Fortunately he chose to be proactive and began working hard to become an employer of choice.
Over the course of a few years the Osborne Wood Products Company started to make their company a better place to work, not only for the well being of their employees, but also to express their character as a family oriented company. Here are a couple of things they did both inside, and outside, of the four walls of their company that have helpedLeonand his company become World Class.
INCREASED EMPLOYEE BENEFITS & WELL BEING
Some of the things they implemented included adding personal-flex time, insurance benefits, and an impressive wellness program. Each employee has an opportunity to speak privately with a trainer on a quarterly basis until their individual health goals are met. Once their goals are met the company will pay 100% of the employees basic health insurance costs. Osborne Wood Products also built a gym with aerobics, weight training, and family rec centers.
INCREASED COMMUNITY AWARENESS
Osborne Wood Products has become well known as a community-first operation that cares about the area their region. To keep their community in the loop they issue bi-weekly press releases to the newspaper that highlight employee awareness, new hires, celebrating employee achievements, and new product releases. These articles help the community feel like they know the company better, and gives them a better understanding of it's involvement in their area. They also make many charitable contributions, putting their logo on many local apparel and events, increasing awareness for their causes. Lastly, Osborne Wood Products encourages their employees to leave early on lunch to go into the local Junior and Senior High Schools to mentor students.
All of these aims are done keeping two things in mind; first, make Osborne Wood Products the absolute best place to work (attracting quality employees) and secondly, keeping their name in the forefront of their community. These ideas are critical to filling positions in your companies with quality, long term employees. Many of these solutions do not cost large sums of money and can be implemented nearly anywhere in the country.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Philip Bibeau at WPMA 978-874-5445 for more information.