It’s our pleasure to be a resource answering questions that come to us. What I’ve found is that often the questions are similar so it led to this idea to share the questions and answers here as they might be relevant to what you’re going through now, too.
Check this one out from a City Administrator in Minnesota. If you have a question, email it to info@peopleservice.com. If your question is selected for this enewsletter, we will send you a cup of poo. Well, not really “poo” but a coffee mug and poo emoji.
My city is dealing with staff turnover. We have had good employees but as soon as they get their higher license, they leave for a bigger city for more money. We just cannot afford to pay the wages for that license when it is not needed for our city. I post a position every two years and we just cannot find the right candidates. It is getting the attention of our Mayor and Council as this is becoming a concern and inconvenience. Why should we consider PeopleService?
This question is probably the most popular one I get, and of the multiple meetings I have had in the last 30 days, all but one was related to the very issue you are faced with. You are one of many city managers who can’t keep a licensed operator because they move on for higher wages – or you just cannot find the right licensed operator.
Why Choose PeopleService?
In short, we have the bench strength to address this very issue. At PeopleService we encourage, train and pay for operators to achieve their higher licenses and with that, higher wages. We pay those higher wages whether our clients need that level of certification or not. As mentioned in a previous Q&A, we provide opportunities for water and wastewater operators that frankly, the majority of municipalities cannot. In last month’s Q&A, I addressed the biggest hurdle I am faced with…the perception of losing control if you outsource your water/wastewater operations. My respectful pushback is this: What control do you possess now? Water/wastewater operators are specialists – and those individuals that manage them are experts. Public Works and water/wastewater operations are two very different scopes of work as well as certification levels and expertise.
We are not in the business of kicking anyone to the streets. In the circumstance where one of your existing employees is still in a role, we will discuss our company’s culture and benefits with them. The hiring decision is ultimately up to the individual employee and hiring manager, however, we value operators that have the knowledge of your city’s facilities and would welcome their application. We have multiple partners who allowed their staff to weigh in on partnering with PeopleService. In one case, all six moved over to us. Four of those six are in management roles now. I would love to have a conversation with you to see how we can help, how it would work and more.
Let PeopleService take on your headache of staffing and compliance so you can govern and focus on other pressing issues for your community. I’m here to have a conversation with you and answer any additional questions that you or your council might have.