How Moving Companies Retain Employees During the Busy Season

When gearing up for the busy season, you have a lot to keep in mind. From hiring new employees to scheduling countless moves, you want the best team possible – and you want them to stick around. Keep your company’s turnover to a minimum with these tips for growing your team and boosting employee retention.

During the Hiring Process

Retaining your employees throughout the busy season is much easier if you’ve hired the right people. That’s right, it all starts with recruiting. It might be tempting to hire the first 20 candidates that send you their resumes, but taking a more methodical approach will pay off in the long run. Here’s what to keep in mind when hiring movers for your company.

Focus on character as you interview and onboard

As a moving company, you want to hire team members who are motivated team players. When interviewing each candidate, be sure to ask questions that reveal how proactive and communicative they are. Anecdotal questions are helpful because they give you additional insight into how a candidate handles various situations. Throughout the interview, ask yourself: Do they go the extra mile or are they more interested in cutting corners? As you onboard, make sure new hires put in the effort to get to know your team and ask questions about your company.

Hire employees with staying power

Unless you are looking for short-term work that will only last a few weeks, aim to hire individuals who are looking for long-term employment. Be sure to address their future plans during the interview process so you can be sure that everyone is on the same page.

Keep Employees Engaged

The moving industry is both your heart and your career. You want people whose visions and aspirations align with yours. Hiring these people is the first step. Keeping them engaged is more nuanced. But at the end of the day, if you invest in your employees, they will invest in your company.

Use technology to make their job easier

As you know, moving has many shifting parts. Make your employees’ lives easier by arming them with the technology they need to optimize their time. A comprehensive CRM that lets your employees access customer information, automate tasks, and streamline their workflow will save them hours.

Strengthen employee satisfaction with social media

A whopping 70% of employees say that having friends at work is the most crucial element of a happy work life. Your movers may not have a lot of time to get to know each other on the job, so you can create employee Facebook groups for your movers to bond. If they feel connected to their coworkers, they’ll likely be happier at work and stick around longer.

Create an open space for communication

Make sure your employees feel heard by making it clear that communication at your business is a two-way street. Did they do a good job last week? Let them know. Also, stay open to your employees’ ideas and really listen to their concerns. You can get more detailed insight from employee feedback surveys that let your team share their opinions. In meetings and during reviews, give honest, constructive feedback and be open to accepting feedback in return.

Invest in employee training

One huge advantage of having a career is having career growth. Your employees are more likely to stay if they see opportunities to grow within your company. Leverage this by offering training programs. New movers can learn skills such as how to fix a moving truck when it breaks down, and how to wrap and lift various items. Other employees can take marketing and sales classes, for example. Hold regular employee reviews and let your employees know where they are headed – be it a promotion or not.

Set your movers up for success

As we mentioned, moving is hard work. Make sure your movers are prepared for each job and show them you care about their safety. Keep the moving trucks stocked with water, snacks, gloves, back braces, ponchos, hand warmers, etc. so your movers feel taken care of and prepared to do their best job.

Hold regular company-wide meetings

Meeting two to four times a month is a great way to catch up with your whole team. Use this time to share company and employee news, and congratulate your hard-working employees for their achievements.

Employee Appreciation Ideas

While money does matter, feeling appreciated reaches beyond the purse strings. Make sure your employees feel valued throughout the busy season and beyond with some creative employee appreciation ideas.

Give your movers a tune-up

Invite a physical therapist, chiropractor, or masseuse to the office once a month to help your movers stay in good shape. You can stop injuries before they happen and give your movers something to look forward to each month.

Offer employee fitness benefits

Help your employees stay healthy with discounted gym memberships. Not only will this help your team stay fit, but it will also grow your network as you partner with local gyms.

Award employees for hitting milestones

Moving season is no joke. Award employees for making it to winter, or set other milestones for the company to celebrate. Staying with the company for a year, or exceptional customer feedback, for example, are just two achievements you can award your employees for reaching.

Hold holiday parties and special events

It doesn’t take a big blowout party to let your employees know you appreciate them. A low-key BBQ for the whole company or a holiday gift exchange can help boost morale and let everyone enjoy themselves without blowing the budget.

Celebrate employee birthdays

Everyone has one and many people like to be acknowledged on their birthday. A group card or simply wishing an employee “happy birthday” are small gestures that show you appreciate them as individuals.

Encourage public thank yous between employees

Employees can show their appreciation for one another in staff meetings by calling out the coworkers that helped them throughout the week/month. If someone covered an extra shift, for example, they can be called out by their fellow employees to receive a verbal thank you.

Reward positive reviews

Announce movers who get good reviews on Yelp and the Better Business Bureau at your monthly meetings. This shows how much you appreciate their extra effort and will encourage others to provide even better service.

When it comes to employee retention, company culture is the name of the game. Put these suggestions into practice this busy season and enjoy building lasting working relationships with satisfied and loyal employees.