Help with Hiring

LeafLimb

LeafLimb

Location
Raleigh, NC
Hello All! Let me first say, I recently discovered TreeBuzz and have quickly grown to love this website. The discussions, exchange of information, and items available through TreeBay are fantastic! I'm excited to become a part of the community.

Anyways, the reason I'm posting this is because we are struggling to find good experienced climbers for our company. Given the poor economy, and given that it is winter, I would think that it would be easy to find climbers! Is anyone else having this problem? Do any of ya'll (yes, I'm a North Carolinian lol) have any tips or tricks for finding experienced climbers?

Any feedback, ideas, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
Basil
 
What kind of pay you offering and what kind of equipment for on the job? Talent will cost you money but beware of the stiffs that say they can play the game but instead suck the fun out of it.


If you asking though sounds like you not offering enough. Where would you start the pay scale ?
 
Now Alex who are you saying is ego-less. You've got a very bad attitude and this incredibly large hard head. Didnt know you could get the standard one size fits all hard hat to fit that noggin. Sorry to derail.

When I am looking to join a company I always ask what kind of equipment will I be working with. Quality gear and equipment is important to me. Of course descent wages and benifits are weighed also. But I want to makes sure I will be comforrable at work and not miserable. Then would ask to meet some of the guys I will be working with. Most bosses have been able to do this for me with a latter interview. So you get to meet guys after a long hard day any attitude usually will be showing by then. I know I am a picky S.O.B.
 
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People need to start hiring the young, ego-less, eager to learn guys more.

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Problem with this is that the guy is trying to make money for his company and young know-nothings can't do anything but rake.... i don't mind having a young go getter on the crew asking questions though. If willing to work your balls off I'd teach him/her. out of respect to the effort.

Stand around with your thumb in ya bum and we got issues...
 
Easy dog i was playing...you are actually one of the most enthusiastic and willing to learn people ive met...nice to know how you really feel about me tho...and i wanted to get fired from that job...it was miserable.
 
Sorry man, I thought you were trying to take a shot at me and didn't understand why. It isn't how I feel man, you are a good guy and I was bummed out that we didn't get to work together more.

Back to topic, I know what you mean about needing to bring on a guy to keep the cash flowing. I personally climb as much as I can in my free time to learn enough to be productive. I am all about learning so I can make my employer as much money as I can.
 
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I am all about learning so I can make myself as much money as I can.

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There, I fixed it!
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What kind of pay you offering and what kind of equipment for on the job? Talent will cost you money but beware of the stiffs that say they can play the game but instead suck the fun out of it.


If you asking though sounds like you not offering enough. Where would you start the pay scale ?

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We pay between $18 and $23 per hour, depending on the climber's level of experience. For Raleigh, NC where the cost of living is pretty low, that is great pay. Perhaps that would not be good for NJ or NY, but the cost of living there is a lot more. Do you think that is low?

Regarding equipment, we give our climbers whatever they request. With the exception of really expensive equipment (eg gas powered ascenders) our policy is basically that if you need equipment, we'll buy it.

The rest of the guys in our company are all good fellows. Management is pretty cool as well (in my opinion). So I do not think that personalities are the issue. Rather, we simply cannot find any talent.

I guess I should narrow my questions down a bit: Do you all feel that there is a lack of available talent in the industry right now? Where do you advertise for climbers besides TreeBuzz, TreeCareJobs.com, and Craigslist?
 
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What kind of pay you offering and what kind of equipment for on the job? Talent will cost you money but beware of the stiffs that say they can play the game but instead suck the fun out of it.


If you asking though sounds like you not offering enough. Where would you start the pay scale ?

[/ QUOTE ]

We pay between $18 and $23 per hour, depending on the climber's level of experience. For Raleigh, NC where the cost of living is pretty low, that is great pay. Perhaps that would not be good for NJ or NY, but the cost of living there is a lot more. Do you think that is low?

Regarding equipment, we give our climbers whatever they request. With the exception of really expensive equipment (eg gas powered ascenders) our policy is basically that if you need equipment, we'll buy it.

The rest of the guys in our company are all good fellows. Management is pretty cool as well (in my opinion). So I do not think that personalities are the issue. Rather, we simply cannot find any talent.

I guess I should narrow my questions down a bit: Do you all feel that there is a lack of available talent in the industry right now? Where do you advertise for climbers besides TreeBuzz, TreeCareJobs.com, and Craigslist?

[/ QUOTE ]Yes I believe there is a lack of good climbers. Here's why. We are simply asking way too much of people these days. We want them to get out of the bed early, want them to show up without an attitude ready for work, be drug free, have a clean drivers license, be clean cut, work their butts off, take iniative, work with potentially dangerous tools in a particularly dangerous profession, in sometimes extreme weather conditions, etc. etc. I think it's easier to find a good wife. A GOOD climber is intelligent, tough as woodpecker lips, careful, and self motivated. Good luck!!
 
Many of the most solid climbers I know that are described above...are employed by people who know that you have to give your employees EVERY reason to stay, and NO reason to leave. I feel that the above described climber has already distinguished themselves from many and most have "found home". The above described GREENIE has done the same but I think that there's more of them out there. I'm sure it's tough for a business owner to hire an inexperience person and invest in training them because they risk loosing them but these kids are a good investment. You can give them a career and encourage a culture of constant personal and professional upgrade. You can empower them with confidence in their decision making. One of my friends told his young fireball of an entry level, pinwheeling <ahem> climber, "I can't afford to do this and I can't afford NOT to do this. I'm sending you to this climbing workshop..." Lit that kid straight up!
 
There's lot's of experienced climbers out there. But that is hardly a clear description of what you need. There's the guy with say 10 yrs exp that is just the first year repeated another 9 times. Do you want the bad habits accumulated over that time as well? Try really defining what it is you need and the culture they will be fitting into. From there you'll be better able to define your needs and advertise for the right person.

It just may the newbie who can learn quickly and become productive in no time that is the right fit.
 
I like this thread!!! TH, you bring up a great point about the 1st year repeated. I know a climber that claims 30 years experience but his skill level does not show that at all. Not to mention, he is stuck in old school ways and has bad habits that he has been doing for those 30 years. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks I suppose. Companies want a good climber and I want a chance, I'll scatch your back if you scratch mine. Sorry for taking away from the thread at hand, a lot of great stuff is being said that isn't heard all that often.
 
I didn't really want to say that stuff because I didn't want to offend any long term climbers maybe looking for work but you guys said it for me. I hate the "old dog" cliche but it's sometimes so true. I know good climbers that wear their gear...except their ear protection and they're more prone to missed days because of headaches, fatigue ect, and are hard of hearing. Are you ok with that? Again, you really will have to define what kind of employee you want. There are many training organizations who can come to your front door and train your existing employees in anything from aerial rescue and emergency preparedness to advanced climbing, rigging, pruning, bucket truck operations, the list goes on.
 
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There are many training organizations who can come to your front door and train your existing employees in anything from aerial rescue and emergency preparedness to advanced climbing, rigging, pruning, bucket truck operations, the list goes on.

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What sort of training organizations are there besides ArborMaster?

I definitely believe in training talent from within. As a matter of fact, we have 3 climbers who are being trained now. But it will take 8-12 months of training before they have the skill for complex removal and pruning situations. Right now I just need a skilled climber who requires no training.
 
You won't ever find someone who doesn't need training. Experience brings other company's way of doing things. You'll be going through the process of untraining then training. It may only be a matter of company procedures but there will be training involved no matter who you hire.
 
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