10 Tips for Recruiting and Retaining “Right-Fit” Employees in a Worker’s Market
Today more than ever, finding and retaining talent requires
creating and projecting a company culture that attracts potential
employees and remains focused on their wellbeing once they’ve
joined your organization.
If anything, The Great Resignation is teaching us that finding and keeping “right-fit” talent is harder than we could have imagined. Hiring managers and recruiters find themselves negotiating a realm of developing benefits like flexible work arrangements, philanthropy and even mental wellbeing.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to attracting talent,” says executive Angelia Pelham. “Every industry is struggling to find right-fit talent, and every industry is struggling to figure out how to retain this talent.”
And she should know: For more than three decades, Pelham has held upper-
management and vice president positions in manufacturing, human resources and sales at giants like PepsiCo Frito-Lay, Yum! Brands, CineMark Holdings and Dave & Buster’s. In addition, she is the Mayor Pro Tem of Frisco, Texas, and founder and CEO of the executive coaching and mentoring firm Real-Talk
(www.real-talkcoaching4women.com). “I’ve been around when it comes to talent,” she says. “I cut my teeth on what it takes to attract and retain in any industry.”
At last November’s SEMA Show, Pelham presented “Proven Strategies to Recruit and Retain Top Talent,” a seminar designed to help employers build their talent game. In her presentation—now available as a SEMA Education on-demand video—she explained how best-in-class companies use flexibility, compensation, engagement initiatives, and cultural factors to make their organizations compelling places to work.
“The smaller the organization, the more critical it is for you to have right-fit talent,” she said. “When organizations like Disney and Pepsi lack talent in one area, chances are they can absorb that missing head count until they can fill the job. When you are in a smaller organization, every head counts. And when you have one person or two people that are missing, you feel it every day.”
Pelham recommended appealing to prospective employees with the single most important component to a company’s presence in the community: reputation.
According to Brookings Institution, routine-oriented jobs face the highest threat of automation, whereas those that require nuanced social interactions or analysis face lesser risk. This skill bias threatens jobs, but attentive employers will retain and retrain the workers who did them.
“Have you read or looked at Glassdoor reviews of your organization?” she asked. “Well, guess what. People are using the feedback from your employees to determine whether [they] want to attach themselves to your organization.” She said the following will go a long way to improving any brand’s reputation…
1. Hire and Promote Emotional Intelligence
Ask yourself if your business’ leaders are emotionally intelligent enough to develop and engage their teams. “People with high emotional intelligence have a good understanding of what their strengths and opportunities are. They’re able to read the room and see how their behavior is impacting other people. Great leaders are people who know how to get things done through other folks.”
2. Future-Proof Your Organization
“Are you thinking about the talent that you will need to be able to manage automation three to five years from now?” she asked. “Can your workforce survive another global crisis like a pandemic? How many of you have sat down with your teams and said, ‘if something like this happens again, this is what we can apply in the future?’
“Organizations that have taken time to ask what they learned from this pandemic have. What did we learn about our business and how do we ensure that we are prepared for the next wave of change?
“Who remembers A&P? Blockbuster? These companies were on the S&P 500, but no longer exist today. New ways of thinking drove many of these companies out of business. But what do you think happened there fundamentally? Intellectual complacency!
“We don’t spend enough time thinking around the corner, especially when it comes to talent,” Pelham asserted. “Automation is going to take over opportunities. How do you protect your people? The job may go away, but you don’t want to lose good people.”
3. Embrace Technology
The technology that threatens your employees’ wellbeing can also help. “Look at applicant-tracking systems,” Pelham urged. “They have them for all levels in an organization; there are small-business platforms that apply to yours.”
These digital assistants write job descriptions, attract talent, conduct video interviews, comb through analytics, and even onboard new hires. “All of that can be automated at the press of a button,” Pelham noted.
“Everybody has a screen now,” she added. “So [instead of] bringing people in for that first level of interview, do a video one.”
4. Preserve Institutional Knowledge
“Key people who do major things are going to be retiring in the next three to five years,” she warns. “And they’re taking their institutional knowledge with them.
“I’ve been in organizations where we allowed institutional knowledge to retire, and as soon as that person retires, we’re left trying to figure out how to fill the gap. What are you doing to make sure that you’re getting that institutional knowledge from them into the minds of the folks who are coming?
“You’re going to have a different workforce than we’ve seen in the past, and that workforce is going to be working to get up to speed with that institutional knowledge.
5. Recruit Now, Wait Later
“Organizations that win the talent war are going to be ones that recruit from trade schools, from colleges, and even from high schools,” Pelham observed. “They are building that talent pipeline. Get to know the principal of those schools. Talk to guidance counselors. If you don’t, and you anticipate having four or five jobs that somebody coming out of school would love, you are missing out on building your talent pipeline.
“Don’t just rely on future talent to decide what to do after they graduate. These things don’t necessarily have an immediate payoff; but long term, these will determine if you win this talent war.”
6. Regard Culture as a Value, Not a Place
“People tell me that their [work] culture has gone down the drain after COVID. They say that it’s because their people are geographically dispersed. So, culture is a place? Because that’s exactly what they’re saying: Because we’re not in the same four walls, we can’t have the same culture,” Pelham observed.
Pelham countered that it’s better to see culture as a value and an intentional mindset. In other words, “what are you doing to make sure that your people, regardless of where they’re located, feel as though they’re a part of your organization?” she asked.
“Think about what kind of culture you want to create so that you can be that magnet for that talent. Some organizations [are] very intentional about what kind of culture [they] want to create. They come up with the adjectives and then work their way backward to ensure that their organization is that kind of space. Organizations that are struggling to retain people, I guarantee you that they have not spent enough intentional time on the kind of culture they want to create.”
Successful organizations do it because culture has value. She referenced a study conducted by Fortune in which workers younger than 35 said they would sacrifice $7,600 annually to work at a job that provided a better culture. “That’s basically saying people will pay to work at a company that has a good culture,” she observed.
And it drives them to review sites like Glassdoor. “If this job [is] paying this amount and [that] job [is] paying roughly the same, what’s the difference? It’s going to be what people are saying about working in that culture [that matters].”
7. Model Inclusion and Affirm Your Workforce
“People want to work for companies with effective diversity and inclusion programs. Workers want to see people who look like them at every level in your organization,” advised Pelham.
“They also want feedback on their performance. The workforce that’s under 35 loves affirmation. They love to be told they’re doing a really good job. In many cases, they just want you to come pat them on the back and tell them, ‘You’re doing a great job, and I want you to know I see you.’ I see you. That simple phrase will change the culture in your organization,” she emphasized.
“You want your spouse to see you. You want your children to see you. It’s a natural human desire to be seen. This workforce wants to know what they’re doing is not in vain.”
8. Do Well by Doing Good
“Employees want to work for companies that have a family-friendly approach. They also want to work for organizations that do things in the community,” Pelham noted, adding that she recommends partnering with a nonprofit.
“Regardless of your industry, there are nonprofits out there that you can support by letting employees volunteer,” she said. “You’d be surprised at what that does for potential employees. If you told me that you’re going to give me two days and all I have to do is show you that I volunteered in the community? I’m going to take it. That may be the tie-breaker between you and another company. You need to be able to [tell] your employees that what they’re doing means a lot in society.”
9. Respect the Whole Person
According to Pelham, Glassdoor and MIT Business School studied 5,000 reviews of companies to determine what people expect from today’s workplace today. The number-one thing that employees mentioned was that they want to feel respected.
“Have you asked your employees what respect looks like?” she asked. “A predictor of the company’s culture was manager support. They had their manager’s attention; their manager had their back. Manager support was the second most important thing that was mentioned in this study: respect and manager support.”
In short, employees want to work for companies that care about their total well-being—their physical health along with their mental health.
“Do you have benefits that support mental health? Are you doing things that would reduce stress on your employees to show that you are concerned about their mental health? Total health and total wellbeing are critical for the future,” she asserted.
“What I’m talking about is not stuff that you have to go out and buy,” she added. “This is all free stuff; you could go back and start a whole revolution without spending a dime because respect doesn’t cost a thing. Manager support doesn’t cost a thing. This is stuff you could do today.”
10. Finally, Tell the World
“Your website is the one surefire way that you can tell consumers how you treat your employees—and you can tell potential employees what it’s like to work there,” explained Pelham.
“It could be a simple video where three or four of your employees say what it’s like to work there. Then put it on your website. [It] doesn’t have to be beautifully produced. People just want to know if [yours] is a company that they want to spend time with. Because you spend the bulk of your time with the people that you work with, you’re missing out on an opportunity if you don’t have a section of your website that’s dedicated to potential employees.”
Wrapping up her presentation, Pelham challenged her audience to ask themselves what they plan to do differently going forward. “How are you going to think about the workforce? Whether it’s through attraction, through technology, through creating a culture that has some of those pieces that we talked about, how are you going to ensure that you are prepared for this workforce shift [and] demographic that’s going to be hitting the workplace today?
“These are not just nice-to-haves,” she concluded. “These are going to be table stakes when employees are starting to make decisions about companies they want to work for.”
SEMA is accepting nominations for its Hall of Fame program, now through March 17.
The award honors individuals in the automotive aftermarket who have enhanced the stature of the industry. Inductees include visionaries, innovators and leaders who have positively impacted what is now a $50.9 billion market. Nominees may be business leaders or contributors from any aftermarket segment or niche.
The SEMA Hall of Fame award honors individuals in the automotive aftermarket who have enhanced the stature of the industry.
“The SEMA community is filled with men and women whose accomplishments are so great that the entire industry is changed for the better,” said SEMA Project Manager of Recognition Programs Chris Standifer. “The SEMA Hall of Fame honors these individuals for their outstanding contributions. Without them, our industry would be significantly different from what it currently is.”
Criteria for the SEMA Hall of Fame are:
His/her contributions must have extended beyond the local level and reach throughout the national or international level.
The candidate is and/or has been involved in the specialty-equipment automotive industry and/or SEMA for a minimum of 10 years.
The candidate must have made outstanding contributions toward enhancing technology, professionalism, dignity and/or general stature and growth of the specialty-equipment automotive industry.
The candidate must have conducted him/herself with a high degree of integrity both within and outside of the specialty-equipment automotive industry.
Candidate must be at least 50 years of age prior to the 2023 SEMA Show, or they may be at any age if deceased as long as the nomination is presented at least one year posthumous.
New Hall of Fame inductees will be announced in May. Nominations can be submitted now at www.sema.org/hof.
Keystone Automotive Operations announced it will open the 2023 BIG Show Presented by Weather Guard—its annual customer event—with a live demonstration showcasing the 2022 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition finalists and winners. The annual customer-only, business-to-business networking event, to be held for the first time in Colorado at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, February 10–11, will feature receptions, an array of automotive aftermarket exhibitor displays, new products, show vehicles and education, along with substantial show-only sales and promotions.
Led by Emmy Award-winning host, Chris Jacobs, best known for his work on “Overhaulin’” and Mecum Auctions as well as a number of Discovery live specials, the interactive 2023 Battle of the Builders Panel will provide an exclusive, insiders perspective into what it takes to compete and win on the world’s largest automotive stage.
Longtime automotive aftermarket industry veteran, SEMA Vice President of Marketing RJ de Vera—a former Battle of the Builders judge for many years—will be introduced to provide his insight along with the history and background of the competition as it has evolved over the years.
“The SEMA Show and The BIG Show are about building meaningful connections; connecting jobbers and shops with the suppliers and manufacturers whose products they install on customers vehicles every day,” said de Vera. “SEMA is proud that this competition creates an opportunity for all builders at every level from multiple aspects of the business to be recognized for their creativity, skill and dedication. While this panel represents some of the industry's elite builders, their efforts in overcoming challenges on the path to accomplishing their goals will resonate with each attendee.”
Joining Jacobs and de Vera will be two-time Battle of the Builders champions Mike and Jim Ring of Ringbrothers, who captured the title at the 2022 SEMA Show with their one-of-a-kind ’48 Chevy Loadmaster Truck. Having also taken the overall prize in 2019, Ringbrothers also took top honors in the Off-Road and Truck category at last year’s Show with their custom K5 Blazer.
Representing the future of customization on the stage will be 2022 Battle of the Builders Young Guns winner and overall finalist Josh Michels. At just 22 years old, Michels rescued a ’66 Corvette from a field in Wisconsin and transformed the classic into a modern supercar to take top honors in his class in 2022. Rounding out the panel will be Russell Built Fabrications’ TJ Russell, who parlayed his expertise in vehicle development and customization along with his passion for off-road racing to take the class win in the Sport Compact, Luxury and Exotics division last year with his ’91 Porsche “Baja” 911.
“The SEMA Battle of the Builders is the greatest custom vehicle competition on the world’s largest automotive aftermarket stage,” said Keystone Automotive Operations Vice President Category Management & Marketing and a member of the SEMA Board of Directors Larry Montante. “Each of the individuals on this panel, representing multiple facets of vehicle building and customization has a unique story to share. We are looking forward to hearing their perspective on their motivation, how they approach their business and sharing with attendees how entering and winning a competition like Battle of the Builders can help attract customers by showcasing their talents with these high-profile builds.”
The SEMA Battle of the Builders Panel will be held on February 10, at 4:30 p.m., at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in the Aurora Ballroom for registered BIG Show attendees only. Show attendees will also have a chance to visit with the panelists throughout the event while viewing the Ringbrothers’ 2022 winning vehicles along with Greg Ward’s ’71 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser—a Top 4 finalist in the 4-Wheel Drive & Off-Road category.
For more information about SEMA Battle of the Builders, visit www.semashow.com/botb. For more information about the Keystone BIG Show, click here.
SEMA is planning its 2023 education program and has issued a call for speakers for its annual SEMA Show—taking place in Las Vegas, October 31–November 3—and its year-round virtual education program. Dynamic and entertaining presenters now have until February 10 to apply to share new skills and ideas targeted to the automotive aftermarket at www.sema.org/speakers.
Organizers are seeking experts who can facilitate thought-provoking, forward-thinking seminars that will help industry members take their businesses and careers to the next level.
SEMA’s year-round virtual program provides relevant, engaging and inspiring information on the industry’s complex issues and topics through online events and informational webinars. Likewise, the educational seminars make up one of the key pillars of the SEMA Show, where thousands of industry professionals come to learn new business strategies.
Topics of focus for 2023 include:
Aftermarket updates and future trends
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Electric vehicles
Emerging and executive leadership
Legal and regulatory
Sales and marketing
Small-business strategy
Vehicle technology
Specific industry segments
Speaker proposals for the 2023 SEMA Show must be submitted by February 10. Virtual education proposals can be submitted at any time throughout the year. Submit proposals at www.sema.org/speakers.
For more details, contact Gary Vigil, senior manager of professional development, at garyv@sema.org or 909-978-6738.
Are you hunting for a new job? The SEMA Career Center has a comprehensive listing of automotive-related job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest jobs posted to the website.
Custom Trucks Unlimited is hiring an automotive technician responsible for installation of aftermarket accessories, including lift and leveling kits, alignments, mount and balance wheels/tires, bed covers, grille guards, bumper replacements, winch and winch mounts, cab lighting, LED lighting, hitches, step bars, toolboxes, cargo-management systems, fiberglass products, etc. Candidates must have at least three years’ experience.
Nostrum High Performance is hiring a test asset engineer responsible for the health and life of critical test assets. The candidate will be responsible for both production and development testing of Nostrum products, including test asset health, test procedures, characterization testing, performance testing and benchmarking. The candidate will conduct hands-on development and validation testing. The candidate will also be responsible for the design, build, qualification and maintenance of the testing assets, including fuel injector test benches, fuel pump test benches, leak test assets, component test benches and additional test equipment. The candidate will be responsible for new test equipment design engineering, including sourcing, building and qualification. The candidate will work with engineering staff and suppliers and will work directly with the calibration and controls engineers. This position will require up to 10% travel to various domestic and international locations.
Brandmotion is hiring a vehicle fabricator to build-up prototype autonomous vehicles as well as prototype installations on factory vehicles. An individual in this position will work closely with product development. The successful candidate for this role has a self-starting mentality, fully developed fabrication skills to influence both engineers and technicians and enjoys working hands-on with prototype vehicles.
As an automotive writer, photographer, videographer, racer and builder, few in the specialty-equipment industry can rival Larry Chen for versatility. Best known for his work with Hoonigan, he is also the official series photographer for the Formula Drift racing series and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. You can find his automotive vlog at Hoonigan, where he hosts a web series called "AutoFocus," or at YouTube, where his channel lists more than 440,000 subscribers. To recognize his contributions to the industry across a variety of media, he was named SEMA's first-ever Influencer of the Year at the 2022 SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet.
Recently we spent some time with Chen to learn more about this uniquely talented individual.
SEMA News: What's your latest project? What's in your garage/driveway/studio, etc.?
Larry Chen: My latest project is my 2022 SEMA Show build. I built a GR86 for the Toyota booth. It’s a simple drift and street car. It pretty much has every single bolt-on that exists for that car, including an HKS Supercharger.
Over the years I’ve just been collecting cars that I love to drive. For off-road, I have a stick-shift supercharged FJ Cruiser, and a wide-body Toyota Tundra. I have a 350z that I built into a drift car so I could learn how to drift. I have an A90 Toyota Supra that I use as a camera chase vehicle. I have a 170 SR20DET-powered 240z as well as a ’90 Nissan Skyline GTR. I have a 996 turbo as well for a fun street car.
SN: What was your first job, and what did you learn from it?
LC: My first job was fixing computers and networks. I did house calls, and I went to businesses to work on their computers. I learned how hard it was to earn money as an entrepreneur.
SN: Besides your photographic work, you’re now a builder. How did that come about?
LC: This all came from a love for cars. I initially got into the hobby from tinkering on my car and driving at the local race tracks with friends. I got into taking photos because it was my way of being around car culture, even though I was not a mechanic or professional driver.
SN: Talk about your SEMA Show build. What kind of statement did you want to make, and how well do you think it came out?
LC: I think it came out great. To prove to everyone that it was a functional drift car, I actually took it to the track to burn some rubber three days before the Show. I was pretty careful, so I didn’t break anything. I just wanted to build something within my skill level. It’s not the craziest car as it only makes 300 hp, but it’s very special to me as my third SEMA build.
SN: What have you learned from your years in the industry that you didn’t know at the start of your career?
LC: I’ve learned so much over the years. I’ve been shooting cars for 17 years now. The most important thing is to maintain and build relationships with people in the industry. There are folks that I’ve been working with since I first picked up a camera, and it’s incredible to have those people you can rely on.
SN: Describe your first SEMA Show. What do you remember most about it?
LC: My first SEMA Show was in 2006. I remember I bummed a ride from a few friends and I actually slept on the floor of a hotel room the entire week. I was so blown away by the cars that were there at the Show. It was eye-opening to see as a car photographer and since then I have not missed a single Show.
SN: What’s your daily driver, and what do you like most about it?
LC: My daily driver is an LC200 Lexus Land Cruiser. I love it because it’s like driving a couch. It’s also very capable as a production vehicle and it’s great off-road. I actually took it on some nice trails in Moab.
SN: Say you’re shooting a cover for Hot Rod. How do you prepare, what kind of gear do you bring, and how much time does it take?
LC: It depends on what we are shooting and where, but generally speaking I have a pretty standard kit for car photography. I’ve only used Canon cameras, and that has certainly paid off for me as I am the only car photographer on their team of professional photographers, also known as “Explorers of Light.”
SN: For someone looking to break into the business, what advice would you give them?
LC: I would say to find an internship to learn as you go. There is a huge shortage of passionate people in the industry. It seems like so many people see what we do from the outside, but they don’t want to put in the hard work.
SN: When you’re not working, where will we find you, and what will you be doing?
LC: You will probably find me hanging out with my family. Or at the track driving my cars or tinkering with them in my shop.
New videos are available from the recent SEMA Show Education Program. Visit www.semashow.com/education-videos to view two popular sessions touching on diversity and inclusion in the automotive aftermarket; the sessions will leave you more aware and inspired.
DEI Business Panel: Diversity in the Aftermarket Industry
Learn about contributions from people of color in the automotive aftermarket industry as panelists reel you into a rich discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). You’ll hear from Alan Williams, general manager of quality systems and planning, Toyota Motor North America Inc; Carmen Belanger-Martin, CEO, AM Hot Rod Glass; Chris Harris, co-founder, African American Racers Association; Lisa Lunsford, co-founder and CEO, GS3 Global; and Edward Hightower, CEO and president, Lordstown Motors Corp., as they share how to accelerate the advancements of people of color in the automotive aftermarket.
Keynote With NHRA Champion, Antron Brown
In his inspiring SEMA Show Education Keynote, Brown shares his favorite industry experiences and life lessons, challenging you to aim higher and imagine new ways of thinking.
SEMA Future Leaders Network (FLN) members are invited to a virtual general membership meeting on March 2, at 10:00 a.m. (PST).
Open to employees of SEMA-member companies aged 39 and under, the meeting is the ideal time to get updated on events and resources provided by the network. Participants will connect with the select committee, meet other members from around the United States, and discover the benefits of applying to the FLN Professional Development Program (PDP), taking place May 11–12, at the SEMA Garage in Detroit.
The PDP is led by the renown Dale Carnegie Institute and is being offered to a limited number of FLN members at a significant discount. Find out how the program helps participants take their careers to the next level and why members of the first inaugural class say it’s just what they needed to develop themselves as professional leaders in the automotive aftermarket.
The 2023 SEMA Scholarship application period for students preparing for careers in the automotive or performance parts industries is now open and will run through March 1. Interested applicants can review and complete the scholarship application at www.sema.org/scholarships.
The SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund offers financial assistance of up to $5,000 to foster future leaders and innovators in the automotive aftermarket industry. A loan forgiveness component is also available to employees that work for SEMA-member companies who have completed and are currently paying off a loan for a program of study at an accredited university, college or vocational/technical school within the United States.
“Education can be expensive, but that shouldn’t limit students from getting ahead in their careers,” said Pamela Brown-Matthis, SEMA director of education. “There are so many career options in the automotive aftermarket, and it’s a thriving industry to be in. We encourage students who have a passion for cars to apply for a SEMA scholarship so that we can help jump-start their careers.”
The annual scholarship program is a cornerstone of SEMA’s efforts to support career development and access in the automotive industry. Scholarship winners will have the opportunity to attend the 2023 SEMA Show, providing unparalleled networking and education opportunities at the world’s largest trade show for the automotive aftermarket.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens 18 years or older and demonstrate a passion for automotive hobbies and careers. Scholarships are available in a variety of categories, including but not limited to, accounting, sales, marketing and engineering. Eligible students and SEMA-member company employees can apply until March 1 at www.sema.org/scholarships.
View the Full Seminar
As an automotive writer, photographer, videographer, racer and builder, few in the specialty-equipment industry can rival Larry Chen for versatility. Best known for his work with Hoonigan, he is also the official series photographer for the Formula Drift racing series and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. You can find his automotive vlog at Hoonigan, where he hosts a web series called "AutoFocus," or at YouTube, where his channel lists more than 440,000 subscribers. To recognize his contributions to the industry across a variety of media, he was named SEMA's first-ever Influencer of the Year at the 2022 SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet.
