Seeking Heavy Equip Techs - Where to look?

Our company is looking to hire multiple Field Service Techs and Shop Techs and it has been difficult finding qualified applicants in today's market (mainly because they're already employed). Our business has grown, and we need more mechanics. Are there specific staffing companies or recruiters that you tend to use when looking for new jobs? Thanks!

Offer more money or better benefits than the competition as a start. Being better organized and better equiped helps too. I know I wouldn't jump ship to go work somewhere that makes you "make it work" because they're too cheap to buy proper tooling.

And don't forget quality well stocked service trucks and a clean, warm (or in your case cool well ventilated) well lit, well stocked shop. Well we can dream can't we?

You are having the same problem that everyone else is having all across the country. You are going to have to hire them away from the biggest contractors and equipment dealers. If you are not very well equipped or have sub par facilities....... forget it. Expect to pay upwards of $150K a year for heavy experienced personnel.

Some of the better shops here were offering a pretty substantial signing bonus for heavy duty mechanics. The stipulation was you had to stay at least 6 month's or it might have been a year. The shop that rebuilt my engine was offering $12,000 if I remember right. My sister's hair salon does something similar. She'll pay for stylists training and send them all over N. America and even to the UK to the best schools but they have to sign an agreement that they will stay for at least a year. If they leave before a year they have to pay back a good portion of what was spent for their training. Unfortunately she got burned a couple times and it wasn't worth trying to get the money back but her salon is known for being the best salon if you want continuous learning. She wasn't really out of pocket that much for the majority of the training because she earns points from the products the salon sells that pay for the training. Some additional training she'll pay out of pocket for but usually only for the longer term employee's. Training in the UK would be a few thousand dollars if the stylists had to pay for on their own. They have to come up with their spending money but my sister will book it for a few extra days up to a week longer if they want to have a short vacation after the training. I think it would be awesome getting free trips to the UK, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and a few other destinations.

I would more then fill what you expect for a wrench. like I tell every shop that wants me (mostly places I worked at before) Do I get to take the truck home? Do I get any days off I ask for ? Is the money well worth my time? Is the benefits there? Do you expect me to only do your work? Is there enough time left in my day for my side jobs For me anyhow if it doesn't fit these requirements I'm not interested. Sure other people may have different ones but it all boils down to are you wanting happy employees and not well you get the idea!

I'll also add that if relatives of the owner are working on the shop floor, forget it. Been down that road with an owner's kid working in the shop and I'm not dealing with that BS again.

Sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are. If you have a bunch of demands right off the bat, they might just say thanks but no thanks. It's definitely different if a former employer wants you to come back.

92U 3406 said: I'll also add that if relatives of the owner are working on the shop floor, forget it. Been down that road with an owner's kid working in the shop and I'm not dealing with that BS again. Click to expand... It kind of the same with some shops that have a guy that isn't very good at anything but has been there forever because he's the son of someone who knows the boss or someone else higher up.

Welcome to the Forums rockstar! Glad to have you. Moved this thread over to Personnel - Employers seeking employees. Best of luck!

Welder Dave said: It kind of the same with some shops that have a guy that isn't very good at anything but has been there forever because he's the son of someone who knows the boss or someone else higher up. Click to expand... Yep. I don't need some fresh out of highschool kid telling me how to do my job when I've been doing the job since before he was in kindergarten.

CM1995 said: Welcome to the Forums rockstar! Glad to have you. Moved this thread over to Personnel - Employers seeking employees. Best of luck! Click to expand... Mistake on my part. Forgot this forums is PM reply only. Moving into general Personnel so members can comment. Please keep any negotiations on a job through PM. Thanks

Welder Dave said: Sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are. If you have a bunch of demands right off the bat, they might just say thanks but no thanks. It's definitely different if a former employer wants you to come back. Click to expand... Been in the situation that after so long your to get this that or the other thing and it never happened. From that I learn to get it up front or move along. Of course a happy medium can always be found

I've been promised things that never came to be. You need everything in writing and a lot times it would really help to have your phone on record so you can hold people to their word. Not just for employer issues. A lot of people conveniently forget what they said especially if it involves them giving you something, especially money.

Rockstar, Welcome to the HEF. Don’t have any good news for you. It’s going to get worse before it gets worse. Late to the game. The major OEM’s, their dealership networks and trade orgs are 15 years ahead of you. All you can do, in clown world 2024, is provide buckets of cash, nice service trucks (that can be taken home), vaca, P-card, tool allowance, uniforms, coveralls, and better benefits than the other place down the street. Good luck.

Have you heard back from mechanics you interviewed? Did they respond or can you not even get interviews? From my previous job search most companies were absolute **** shows. Bottom of the barrel pay and benefits for ridiculous job requirements, crap management: incompetent or seeing a mechanic as only an expense, wore out equipment so mechanics are running themselves ragged trying to keep up. But it’s usually pay that stopping applicants. The place I’m with now advertises the pay scale, we’re constantly having people apply. The side effect is all the mechanics jobs in my area have raised their wages to compete.

Some of the shops in my area are not drug testing for weed anymore in the UA package. In an attempt to help recruit & retain non-CDL positions.

Just saw this post, locally weed has become a Non Starter for a great many Potential New Hires. Get the word Test required for employ and do not ever return. Insurers note yeah is Legal recreationally but the companies will NOT Pay out if test after an accident shows a positive. CDL is still a requirement under UA, as to machine operators is still a requirement here. Two close weld shops stopped testing for Weed, had weld failure, one lost a forklift at their plant in a rollover, ALL incidents weed was found in the tested employees so they notified would resume testing before a major incident shuts them down, 1/3 of employees Quit.

It’s a huge deal. Big problem up here.

My boss and I discussed this today, for each approvable applicant, there are twenty that will NOT take a Drug Screen, he had the data from three years of applicants. One man was hired years ago, found Weed to be acceptable for his Problematic Pains, started using and tested Positive, lost a $60k a year easy gig and refuses to stop use, sits on State Aid currently.