Attracting & retaining hard-to-hire talent

When online reviews are everything, companies live and die by recruiting top talent. See how we helped Roto-Rooter overcome an industry-wide talent shortage to rise above the rest.

Challenge

Major markets across the U.S. are facing an escalating shortage of skilled plumbers, and hiring competition is fierce. Retention is also an issue, with top talent frequently switching jobs or striking out on their own. Roto-Rooter, the largest provider of plumbing and drain cleaning services in North America, provides service to about 90% of the U.S., and so had a hiring need greater than most.

The company focuses on providing excellent value, which means not only quality work, but also world-class customer service: Successful Roto-Rooter plumbers must be great communicators as well as expert technicians so they can help customers understand options and make the right decision for their situation – often the deciding factor in how the customer perceives the experience.

In an industry where reputation is everything and online reviews rule the market, Roto-Rooter had a critical recruiting need, and they turned to recruitment marketing experts Sanger & Eby to meet the challenge head-on.

Services:

Stakeholder interviews Competitive analysis Employer branding Messaging & tagline development Content development Print & digital design Responsive website design & development Measurement & analytics planning & reporting

When online reviews are everything, companies live and die by recruiting top talent. See how we helped Roto-Rooter overcome an industry-wide talent shortage to rise above the rest.

Services:

Stakeholder interviews Competitive analysis Employer branding Messaging & tagline development Content development Print & digital design Responsive website design & development Measurement & analytics planning & reporting

Challenge

Major markets across the U.S. are facing an escalating shortage of skilled plumbers, and hiring competition is fierce. Retention is also an issue, with top talent frequently switching jobs or striking out on their own. Roto-Rooter, the largest provider of plumbing and drain cleaning services in North America, provides service to about 90% of the U.S., and so had a hiring need greater than most.

The company focuses on providing excellent value, which means not only quality work, but also world-class customer service: Successful Roto-Rooter plumbers must be great communicators as well as expert technicians so they can help customers understand options and make the right decision for their situation – often the deciding factor in how the customer perceives the experience.

In an industry where reputation is everything and online reviews rule the market, Roto-Rooter had a critical recruiting need, and they turned to recruitment marketing experts Sanger & Eby to meet the challenge head-on.

Mockups of the recruitment landing page and postcard

Detailed close up of the recruitment landing page and postcard messaging

Strategy

The Sanger & Eby team dove in, working with the Roto-Rooter team to build perspective on the industry, the competitive landscape, and the talent market as well as an in-depth understanding of Roto-Rooter’s company culture and employee engagement. A series of in-depth stakeholder interviews with company executives, regional sales directors, and the plumbers themselves helped articulate the employer brand and provide the foundation for Roto-Rooter’s plumber recruitment campaign.

Roto-Rooter’s entrepreneurial focus means plumbers are able to work as much as they want and be compensated accordingly; the company also offers extensive ongoing training that helps technicians broaden and deepen their skills and further build their earning potential. While many plumbers had initial concerns Roto-Rooter’s commission-based structure, once they had compensation models laid out side by side, they preferred the commission basis.

Sanger & Eby designed and developed an interactive recruiting campaign focused on the entrepreneurial aspects of being a Roto-Rooter plumber – the freedom and flexibility of owning your own business, without the challenges and stress, as well as unlimited earning potential.

Campaign elements included targeted e-mails and direct mail, a responsive targeted microsite with custom landing pages and strong calls to action, and video testimonials from real-world Roto-Rooter plumbers.

Results

Initially deployed in key markets where Roto-Rooter faced the most pressing recruiting challenges, the campaign proved to be a huge success and was rapidly rolled out to markets across the country. The company maintains its stellar online reviews, customer testimonials, and A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau; it also has excellent reviews from the plumbers themselves on Glassdoor – a key indicator that Roto-Rooter is attracting and retaining the right talent.

Attracting & retaining hard-to-hire talent

Challenge

Services:

Services:

Challenge

Strategy

Results

Let’s talk about overcoming your recruiting challenges to reach your hiring goals.