The mission statement was clear, “We are the employer of choice!” But, when Anthony looked around at the company’s talent pool, that statement rang hollow. Turnover was running 68% per year with exit interviews pointing to better wages at another company. Anthony had tried paying more, yet attracted no higher quality worker than he had now. Training times were longer, waste and scrap was higher and throughput was at an all time low.

We changed the program. I told Anthony if he wanted to be the employer of choice, he had to start by choosing better. Choosing better meant turning away more of the applicant pool. We implemented three different skills tests. Two of the tests involved the operation of some basic equipment and one test was a paper and pencil test on some basic knowledge specific to the company’s manufacturing.

We raised the starting wage by $1 per hour. Any current employee below the new wage who could pass the skills test was also raised.

Of the 23 applicants the following week, Anthony would have made job offers to 18 of them. He had always made more offers than he had openings because he depended on a “no show” factor. In this new program, only nine passed the skills test. Anthony made offers to seven of those. All seven reported to work. This was the beginning.

To become the employer of choice, your company has to become a choosier employer. -TF