Top 5 Ways to Find Talent for Your Funeral Home
Spending time and effort upfront will reward you in the long run.
We often hear from funeral home owners that their number one challenge is finding quality staff. Much of the younger generations these days do not want to work nights or weekends. Many who grew up in the funeral service industry saw their parents’ lifestyle and either love it or hate it. In addition, the compensation ranges have not kept up with other industries.
The NewBridge Group continues to have a high level of respect for funeral directors who understand this is not a “9 to 5” job and where “going above and beyond” is more common than not.
Finding high quality talent is important, yet often challenging, to funeral home owners and directors across the country. Most job search experts agree that it takes time and dedication to properly recruit the right employee.
Why is it worth taking the time upfront to hire the best people for your funeral home? It’s simple: one bad hire can cost you time, money, and possibly your reputation. Nowadays, your reputation not only includes your community, but it also includes your online reputation – one bad review can be detrimental to your business. On the other hand, the ideal employee can serve your customers well, retain your community standing, and result in additional revenue. The people you hire create the culture at the funeral home and hiring the wrong person can adversely affect employee morale. Disengagement at work can be contagious among a group of employees.
Even if the opening is an immediate need, make sure you don’t hire too quickly and interrupt the process of making a good hiring decision. Hiring mistakes can cost you in more ways than one. The cost of recruiting, hiring, and onboarding can cost as much as a whopping $240,000, according to the Society of Human Resource Management.
Write a Solid Job Description
Knowing what you are hiring for is half the battle. Funeral home management needs to spend time in order to become crystal clear about what they want in their new hire. From their responsibilities on the job, past work experience, skillsets, to the characteristics that would make them successful. Look at current or past top-tier employees in that role, if they exist, to help you identify these highly desirable traits. You can even learn from the poor hires made in the past on what is not wanted in the role.
Along with writing a detailed job description, you need to determine salary range. If you want the best candidates to consider you, then your salary offering needs to be competitive. Websites such as National Funeral Directors Association’s NFDA.org, Glassdoor.com, Payscale.com, Salary.com, and even LinkedIn.com can help you determine salary ranges for your industry and geographic location. In addition, do a self-check on your benefits. Top level candidates will include employee benefits in their decision-making process.
Implement a Mix of Recruiting Methods
Next, you need to figure out how you are going to get the word out about this opening. It’s critical that you get a large enough pool in order to find quality candidates. It may take some time to look through resumes, but it’s worth it to find that right person. NFDA.org, Indeed.com, LinkedIn.com and CareerBuilder.com are great places to start. You also want to advertise on sites like the NFDA’s featured jobs. Word-of-mouth is also still a great way to bring people into the talent pool.
If you find that you don’t have the time or energy to devote to the recruitment process, then consider hiring a staffing or recruiting firm that can lead the search, phone pre-screens, and interview schedules. Even though there will be a fee associated, many find it to be worth thecost in the end especially with the right staffing partner organization.
Company Culture Matters
Your company’s culture should be part of your hiring decision-making process. Does the candidate align with the funeral home’s culture? Well, let’s take a look at culture first. What does that really mean? Maybe it’s not so defined. Regardless, every funeral home has its own culture. In a nutshell, it’s a set of shared goals, values, and attitudes that embody your company. It can be described as the way employees feel about the work they do each day and values they hold.
Hiring the right cultural-fit is another aspect of the selection process, aside from skills and experience. You may be asking…how do I assess the cultural fit of a candidate? There are a few ways that can assist in the process. For starters, involve your employees in the interviewing process. It can be as simple as a thirty-minute conversation. Your employees will have valuable input and their opinion as it relates to cultural fit will be priceless. Another tip is to include relevant interview questions in mix like “What is your ideal work environment?” or “What are the most important traits in a manager?”. This can help you learn more about what the candidate is thinking in terms of culture. Pay attention also to the questions they ask you. Last but not least, you can administer a personality test. Personality tests are becoming more commonplace and although not an end-all-be-all solution, you can use them as a learning tool. DiSC, Myers-Briggs, and Keirsey are a few personality tests to check out.
Make your Funeral Home the best place to work!
The top talent will have their choice on which funeral home to select as their employer. You might be thinking that it’s so hard to find anyone that it’s impossible to attract the best of the best. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Word travels fast in communities and once you are known for being a wonderful place to work then it will make a positive difference. Making your funeral home a great place to work is definitely worthwhile.
Expressing appreciation for your employees goes a long way. Working in funeral service has great purpose, unlike many other careers. Funeral service staff have the unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. Recognizing this is good practice as this can be a thankless job at times. Your recognition and praise goes a long way.
Getting creative with your benefits is another way you can make the workplace attractive. Younger workers tend to look for flexibility and work-life balance. Maybe it is offering a flexible working model for some tasks such as remote work. It could be unlimited vacation with trust that it won’t be abused, which has now become popular with more progressive companies. Maybe it’s perk awards for self-care to help avoid employee burnout. For example, you could provide a gym membership and encourage daily exercise. Or even a monthly stipend for self-care services. Thinking outside of the box on how to appreciate your employees will definitely make you stand out from the crowd.
Another area that can differentiate you in the marketplace is technology. Millennials value technology in the workplace so if you have been using the same technology for 30 years then it may be time for an upgrade. Often, the funeral profession hasn’t kept up with technology where other industries have. This will make a difference in how efficient people are in their jobs and while attracting high quality talent.
Passion & Enthusiasm = A lot!
It can’t be overstated how passion and enthusiasm play a big part in hiring the right person. Are they passionate about their work and view their work as enjoyable? Are they always trying to improve themselves to get better at their craft? Is this a person who recognizes their weaknesses and is challenged by improving? Does this candidate seem eager to work and make a difference? These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself during the interviewing process.
When someone is excited to go to work in the funeral profession, this says a lot. This person should be very interested in keeping up with their knowledge of the industry and be dedicated to always improving their work performance. If you are lucky enough to find someone like this, then most of the other chips will fall into place. Even if they are entry-level right out of mortuary school, they will catch on quickly with the right enthusiasm and passion for the job. All in all, soft skills in general are significant factors to consider. Whether it’s people skills or emotional intelligence, be sure to consider those in addition to hard skills.
Retaining good quality employees is critical. Regular recognition of employees by implementing an employee of the month (with photos in the front waiting room), or just a simple email to all staff when someone goes above and beyond, can be very impactful. In addition, creating opportunities for advancement, whether in a new title change, slight raise and/or increased job responsibilities will be helpful. Something as simple as putting someone in charge of removal logistics and/or vehicle management can make an employee feel valued.
In Closing
With the funeral industry having a difficult time finding quality talent, these tips for success become even more valuable. One example is the lack of available funeral directors. Industry insiders say that there are more funeral director job openings than there are licensed funeral directors. This makes the hunt even more competitive. Couple that with the younger generations’ potential decision not to be involved in their family business. Despite this all, we don’t believe you should lose hope because after all, there are still a lot of good reasons to join this profession.
The funeral profession remains a critical part of our society. Helping families in need who are experiencing grief like never before is a special role. The needs of families have evolved over the years and most recently with Covid-19. A sense of creativity and the ability to pivot have become “need-to-have” skills now and into the future. Also, don’t forget that going with your instincts is always a good idea. Pay attention to any red flags and follow your gut while making hiring decisions. The bottom line is that putting forth the time and effort to make sure your next hire is the right one is high priority!
