The best tactics for recruiting

MCS Influencer Randy Chaffee says to make use of digital platforms when recruiting.

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with MCS Influencer Randy Chaffee. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Alex Tolle: Hello, I'm Alex Tolle with metalcoffeeshop.com and I am here with Randy Chaffee for our January 2025 Metal Influencer question. How are you, Randy? Good, glad to see you again in the new year.

Randy Chaffee: Alex, I'm wonderful in yourself. Awesome. That's great. I haven't talked to you since like last year, like forever. It's always fun to say that. I enjoy that till about February 15th and it gets like stupid.

Alex Tolle: I know. Yeah. So our January question is how can the metal industry better recruit and train the next generation of skilled workers?

Randy Chaffee: You know, that's an interesting question when you presented it because it's along the lines of a lot of things you and I've talked about lately is we're in such a digital age that and especially if you're looking for skilled workers at the, let's say younger genre, if that makes sense. Again, like with customers, you got to go where your people are. You got to go where your potential employees are. And there's all the,

Alex Tolle: Mm-hmm.

Randy Chaffee: Job fairs and all those things that I think make sense and probably should do, speaking at schools and doing all those things, but talking to universities or camp college, community colleges, whatever the case may be. I think the real force multiplier, and we've talked about this before in a lot of different things, is to make use of digital. that's where, I mean, I'm an old guy, older guy, don't like that smile, it's too much. Don't be so happy about that. But you know, and I

Alex Tolle: Hahaha.

Randy Chaffee: Go to digital for everything anymore. And so I think anybody younger than I am talking anybody's in their 40s and 30s and 20s, you're going to find them on digital. you got such a broad spectrum to reach people that I think that's probably the key. And I think the important thing is that we need as an industry, and this is everybody from builders, contractors, installers, suppliers. We need to do a much better job as an industry of letting people know that this is pretty honorable industry. You can make money in this industry. It's good people and it's fun. And I think if we all do a better job from whatever vantage point that is, say as a supplier like I am, to make sure that everybody understands out there all the time with everything that we do, that this is a pretty darn good place to be. And there's real opportunities and there's nothing wrong with and being in the skilled trades world as opposed to getting away from the, it's all about college all the time, right? College is important and it's important for certain people. If you want to be an accountant or attorney or a doctor, you probably ought to go to college, right? But there's a lot of great high paying, good paying jobs in the skilled trades world. And I think we need to do a better job at all aspects because as a supplier and as a rep is what I do, I can do my part.

By making sure that I continually present this industry as a high quality, high quality people, a place to be, right? And that may not have a direct effect on some guy wanting to work with a contractor or with a metal roll form or someplace or whatever. But I think it'll also allow the more and more and more people that see people like myself and anybody else's on digital lot that, hey, this is... kind of like some cool people and kind of a cool industry and it's a great place to be and maybe I need to reach out. So I think that's probably would be my take because the messages can get, we can get that message out all day long and very easily. So, and I think we need to paint the picture that not only can pay be good, but it's a fun job. It's fun to be able to see that completed project, right? A lot of times we do stuff in cubicles and stuff where

You shuffle papers and stuff and you don't really get much, not much feel good about it, right? You just move papers from pile A to pile B all day long and you went home. In the construction world especially, I think there's something to be said like for the, on the contractor level to see that completed project and to be able to drive that completed project with,

Alex Tolle: Right.

Randy Chaffee: With your significant other on a Saturday night going, hey, I helped build that building right there. I helped put that roof on right there. So I think if we really need to do a better job or a, yeah, a better job and do a job period, we're just letting people know that they joined this industry. It's a great place to be.

Alex Tolle: Absolutely. I think you nailed it right on the head. Thank you, Randy. It was perfect. I think it was great. Thank you so much, Randy.

Randy Chaffee: Thank you.