My pitch to prospective appliance repair technicians is always the same: where are you going to be in five years from now? If they are weighing up joining Baker Group versus one of our competitors, then it makes sense to look at where the opportunities are. And this is where I feel we offer more than most.
As an expanding national player, the prospects of career advancement go well beyond a single city or state. We don’t just work with a single brand; we work with all the major brands.
Baker Group provides a variety of training opportunities for commercial appliance repair technicians including everything an apprentice needs to progress to senior technician and then potentially a product specialist. We offer great culture, training and growth opportunities and this is what attracts like-minded individuals to join our team. This approach is also at the core of our desire to retain the best people.
All of this allows us to take a contrarian view on poaching talent in the industry. As I say to our team, if they are being approached by competitors, this is validation that we are doing a great job and developing them to a point where they are leaders in their field with highly recognised skills. And usually, they stay with Baker Group!
Time on the tools
I trained as an electrician and I’m the first to admit I wasn’t a very good technician. But when I was learning the trade, I saw the value in internal training and being surrounded by experienced senior technicians.
For me personally, it really helps having base technical repair and maintenance knowledge so I can understand where the technicians are coming from. However, I’m the first to admit that my technical knowledge doesn’t come close to that of my peers who are without a doubt, the most knowledgeable in the industry.
Just as I have grown into my role at Baker Group, we are looking for people who want a career, not a job, and who will grow with us. If they are prepared to learn along the way, then I can guarantee those opportunities will arise.
Training and development are top of our list because it’s such a clear win/win/win: for the technician, the company and the broader industry. And the more technicians we have, the better our service becomes.
The right ratio
Recruitment is all about balance. You need the right number of technicians for the work at hand and the pipeline of work ahead, but also the right mix of trainees relative to senior technicians. Rule of thumb, at least three senior technicians to one trainee. Mess around too much with this ratio and your senior people end up getting too many calls and less experienced technicians get thrown in at the deep end.
I’ve seen this happen in the appliance repair industry and it always ends with both frustrated customers and technicians. The biggest frustration for senior technicians is when companies don’t get this ratio right and a lot of the time, this leads them to us. As a truly national player, we have the option to move senior technicians between states if they are open to a change, which helps maintain our 3/1 ratio.
We don’t actively poach technicians from our competitors but those in the industry who learn about our commitment to development and maintaining this standard are drawn to the culture that supports this standard as well as working with other like-minded people. The best always want to work with the best.
Big fish, small pond
The most important trait we look for in people is the desire to learn. We trust our process and we’ve found that these are the people we can develop the quickest because we have the internal resources to do so.
My pitch to technicians in other roles is that they may be the best technician in a smaller company, but have they really challenged themselves? Are they a big fish in a small pond because they have lacked the opportunities to be anything else?
As Baker Group grows, new possibilities will continue to arise. We have had technicians relocating their families without needing to put their appliance repair career on hold.
Most technicians want to reach a senior level and with our national footprint and range of brands we service, we have an ongoing need for specialists, senior technicians and senior management. This all adds up to opportunity, whether a technician wants to stay on the tools or leverage that experience to move into an alternate role.
Support, develop, upskill
When a good applicant comes along, we generally hire first and ask questions about workload later, no matter where in Australia they apply. We have just hired four new technicians in Victoria, where the team is growing very quickly.
If we are tracking well against our 3/1 ratio, we are always hiring everywhere if the right applicant shows up. Once we are convinced we have the right person, we have the resources to upskill anyone who wants to learn and create a robust development pathway.
Our industry requires both gas and electrical licencing. When dual licenced, our technicians can provide the best one-stop service in the industry. This allows them to work on all cooking equipment at our clients’ sites without the need to send multiple technicians, costing twice as much. Unfortunately, dual-trade technicians that are great people just don’t grow on trees.
Investing in people
At Baker Group we know we need to invest in our people and at any given time we have multiple technicians across the country completing licencing upgrades and apprentices completing their trades. We also encourage our people to complete training and licencing that is over and above our requirements as a business, allowing them to reach their career and personal goals.
The people joining us understand our commitment to development and, by doing this, we are attracting the people we want. As I said before, I want our team to be approached with offers by other companies because it reflects well on both their skills and character.
But of course, the goal is for them to stay because of the ongoing development and other opportunities coming their way.