Hiring in Sioux Falls? It’s a New Ballgame.

November 19, 2015March 15, 2017 / Duane Christensen

Help Wanted Advertising Results Radio Sioux Falls

I bet you thought that said McDonald’s.

The couple of items that have employers really frustrated lately are…

Hiring
and then keeping the good people they hire

Some industries seem to just keep trading employees back and forth. The person sees a yummy carrot that an employer dangles out (like a signing bonus)… takes the job… does the time to get the bonus… and then looks for the next carrot. That’s frustrating as an employer.

If you’d like to hire good people, you have to tell your potential applicants something they’d like to hear. Don’t tell them something that every other company is blabbing about. Make them feel good about what you stand for as a company, and then dangle a carrot. I can help with figuring out what kind of carrot to dangle and how to present that carrot. It’s not about saying “We’re hiring and we have benefits and competitive wages!” Nope. Let’s discuss what should be communicated to your desired group of potential future employees.

If you’d like to KEEP your good people, I have 2 sure-fire ways to do that.

Create a Rewards program for your employees. Something totally custom, not copied from someone else you’ve heard about. Make it your own. And don’t be stingy – make it good.
Profit-sharing. There are a few businesses around who have profit-sharing plans. Some are good plans, some aren’t that good. But it’s a start.

I remember back in 6th Grade, I won some “entrepreneurial contest” among classmates. I decided to start a fake auto dealership. I immediately hired two cute female classmates as extra salespeople – and I gave them a VERY HEALTHY COMMISSION. I think it was like 33% of each sale, and even a small portion of the total company’s sales. But I made them invest a little bit at the beginning in order to be a part of my team (which helped out my cash flow). I ended up earning the most money, and winning the fake Million-dollar check. Take from that what you wish… or just chalk it up as just a cute little story.

There’s not a secret formula to keeping good help. But you for sure have to treat your employees well, give them some nice praise when it’s deserved, and have a good incentives program.

The fight for good employees in Sioux Falls is fierce. You can’t keep doing things the way you’ve always done them. If you’re in this for the long haul, it’s time to re-evaluate your ideas about hiring and keeping those recruits.

Are you sensitive to your employees’ feelings? Are you able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and see what it’s like for them? I’m not saying you should be a wussy boss. I’m just saying that showing some compassion and understanding goes farther than you can imagine.

You may wrinkle your face at some of this… but I’m not backing down from my beliefs on creating an untouchable (or close to it) work force. Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

605-940-7984

I’m a radio sales / account executive / ad writer / marketing strategist at Results Radio / Townsquare Media in Sioux Falls. I’ve been with the company since 1998. I love to help good, local businesses attract profitable customers, so they can make a healthy profit.

This is my own personal radio advertising blog.

Help Wanted Advertising Tips for Sioux Falls

June 18, 2014 / Duane Christensen

Image courtesy of “basketman” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Help Wanted Advertising Tips for Sioux Falls

Finding good help is pretty tough in Sioux Falls. The websites that advertise your open positions don’t seem to be working as well as they used to. Here’s why…

Unemployment is super low. Most people, who would consider changing jobs, aren’t actively searching for new jobs online or in the paper. They’re working. They’re busy trying to make ends meet and further their career along.

That’s why using radio advertising for help wanted purposes in Sioux Falls works so well. Because it’s intrusive. People don’t have to be actively looking for a new job to hear your Sioux Falls help wanted advertisement.

But just letting them know about your open position isn’t good enough. You need to say something in your ads that intrigues them and connects with them emotionally. 60-second radio ads work great for this. We can tell a good enough story and more about your company than just the logical facts and the details of the job. We need to shine a bright light on your company, and at the same time, let them know why they’ll be a good fit for the specific job you’re offering.

Changing jobs is a big deal. So, you need to let them know it’s going to be worth it. You need to put them at ease. Take away some of the risk of switching jobs.

It also takes time usually. Someone isn’t just going to immediately pull the plug on their mediocre job, to come work for you. Good employees are already good employees somewhere else. So, to persuade them to work for you won’t be a slam bam thank you ma’am kind of deal. Your radio ad schedule will need to be about a 3-week run. They need to hear your ad for a few weeks. They need to consider it for a bit. They will talk about it with friends or family members. It’s not easy for them to make such a big decision. So, we’ll get in their heads for a few weeks.

Your help wanted radio advertising also talks to all the radio listeners. Not just the ones actively looking for a job. Friends and family of your ideal prospect also hear the ad. They’ll tell their friend or spouse about the opportunity they heard on the radio. It’s called “the networking effect”. It happens all the time.

I help quite a few local Sioux Falls businesses find better qualified applicants. And I don’t let them do something that I know won’t work. I’ve been around the block a few times in my 10+ years doing this. I’ve learned and grown. I’ve made some mistakes. I’ve learned from them. Now, I know what it will take to find you the people you’re looking for.

I don’t just sell you the radio ads…I also write the radio ads. So, I have a vested interest in making this work for you. Unlike other advertising and marketing groups, I will take the extra time to do the research and ask enough questions until I feel we have a message that will persuade and seduce some good new prospects for you. I want it to work because I care. And also because when you need to hire again in the future…I want to be your go-to guy. I don’t want to be the one who left a sour taste in your mouth. Which circles back around to caring. I respect your investment.

Yes, it will cost more than your ad placement on a job search website. It costs more because you’re reaching 10x or more people. It costs more because it has the potential to find you a better quality applicant. And better applicants means you’ll keep those employees longer…reducing your need to constantly be searching for new employees. And reducing your employee recruitment costs over the next year or so. Saving you money in the long run. Saving you stress and time in the long run. Allowing you to focus more on running a good business versus always scrambling to find your next mediocre (at best) employee.

Let me know about your situation. Let’s sit down and discuss…and I’ll put together a plan to consider. A plan with more potential than anything you’ve tried before.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

Help Wanted!

October 31, 2011December 13, 2013 / Duane Christensen

What’s the first thing you do when you need to hire someone? You might see if word of mouth can get you a few applicants, but if that doesn’t do the trick, you probably say, “Let’s put an ad in the paper.” In my experience, you either get a bunch of people applying that aren’t exactly right for the job, or you get none at all.

So, who is looking at the newspaper help wanted section? It’s people who are either unemployed already or that are really “fed up” with their current employer. And a lot of those people who used to look at the newspaper for jobs are now doing it online.

I’m going to offer a better solution. Radio.

The reasons:

Statistics say that about 60% of people would consider making a switch for the right “offer”. (But most of those aren’t actively looking yet. Radio can talk to those people.)
Radio gives you the chance to really tailor your ad in a manner that lets people know exactly who you’re looking for, and exactly who you’re NOT looking for.
Since you’d rather hire someone who already has a job (you know they’re “employable”), radio reaches those people already working, but not actively looking.
A good Help Wanted radio ad can help shine a light on your company in a manner that a Print ad cannot. You’re using the spoken word. You’re adding EMOTION to your ad.
And one of the most overlooked reasons is that friends and family members of your “target” can hear the ad, too! Especially spouses. They hear an ad, and then tell their spouse about your company, and that maybe they should check into the opportunity you were talking about on the RADIO. (We see as much as 50% of Radio Help Wanted success comes from friends or family telling someone about your opportunity.) These are people that definitely wouldn’t be looking in the newspaper OR online to find a job for someone else.

Why radio for Help Wanted? Because we can close our eyes, but we can’t close our ears. Which means you get to reach people and affect people that aren’t actively looking for a new job. You can attract those really great employees that hear your ad…and say to themselves, “That’s worth looking into!”

Let me know when you need to hire. Radio can bring you applicants you wouldn’t normally get. AND it can also reduce the number of bad applicants you normally get. Which saves you time and money in the interviewing process, PLUS what about the wasted training, time, and money put into that person that quit after only working 2 weeks? Before you automatically buy an ad in the newspaper, I’d like you to consider Radio. Give me a call and we can talk about it. I’ve got a lot of experience in Help Wanted radio ad writing… which has resulted in attracting better applicants for local businesses that are tired of “so-so” or non-existent results.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen 605-940-7984

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Marketing Strategist

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

I’m a marketing guy, ad writer, and business grower at Results Radio Townsquare Media in Sioux Falls. I’m on a mission to help local businesses get more from their advertising bucks. I also wrote a a no-nonsense book about how to take a bigger slice of market share with better advertising. It’s available as an e-book on Amazon. It’s called “Take a Bigger Slice”.