LABOR SHORTAGES ou know how , during the pandemic , people bought any mower you had , just because you had one ? It ’ s the same with employees today for some OPE dealers , they ’ ll take any employees they can get . “ The people I turned away years ago , the ones I wouldn ’ t even consider hiring back then , I ’ d hire them and overpay them today ,” said Dale Cutler , of Cutler ’ s , a powersports and equipment dealer in Orem , Utah . “ We have such a dire need for techs ,” he said , “ I am hiring people right now and overpaying them .”
Cutler is not alone , at least when it comes to his difficulty in finding employees . A lot has changed with the employee marketplace in the last couple of years . And not just for power equipment dealers , though you have your own challenges .
Hiring is laborious nationwide , with some industries hit harder than others , as shown in data from the U . S . Chamber of Commerce .
Business sectors experiencing a labor shortage include durable goods manufacturing , wholesale and retail trade , and education and health services . These industries , according to Commerce data , have more unfilled job openings than there are unemployed workers with experience in that industry . If every unemployed service technician or salesperson with experience in retail trade were employed , the industry would still need more people .
We recently asked OPE dealers : “ Are you shortstaffed , well-staffed , or over-staffed ?” And 92 percent of you said “ short-staffed .” We also asked about the current staffing situation within specific departments . Dealers face the biggest challenge in staffing the service department , which is currently short-staffed for 77 percent of dealers . Sales ? Short-staffed for 38 percent , and the office / administration area is short-staffed in 31 percent of OPE dealerships .
Cutler told us he would open second and third locations if he could find qualified employees . “ I feel like a full-time recruiter , that ’ s all I do . I am selective and I want the cream of the crop . But it takes me a long , long time to find the right person . Technicians are probably the hardest to find . But a good parts person is pretty hard to find , too , one with experience .”
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80 %
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HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DEALERSHIP ’ S CURRENT STAFFING SITUATION ?
92.3 %
7.7 % 0.0 %
Short-staffed Well-staffed Over-staffed Source : OPE Business
www . OPEBusiness . com May 2023 OPE Business 19