Help wanted

Summer in the Flathead has historically been a challenge for tourism-dependent businesses trying to find seasonal help, but continued residential and commercial growth has broadened the help-wanted dilemma.

"There are bodies, but there's a disconnect between the skills employers need," said Mike Shoquist, manager of the state Job Service office in Kalispell. "We're not to the critical stage, but we need people with construction skills. It runs the gamut - plumbers, roofers, carpenters."

Managers at LC Staffing echoed that concern, noting a demand for skilled-trade workers across the board, from tile setters to carpet layers.

"For some of the skilled trades we've brought people in from out of the area. We try to find local talent first, but we can search outside the area," LC Staffing branch manager Angela Pitts said.

There's also a "big crunch" for employees to fill mid-level professional jobs, particularly in customer service, she said. Employers especially need customer-service professionals seasoned with two to four years of experience, but often find only entry-level candidates.

Flathead County began the year with a tight job market, and it's gotten tighter since then, LC Staffing president Kristen Heck said.

"It's tighter now than we've ever seen before," she said.

RESTAURANTS AND lodging establishments often struggle with filling summer slots. Help-wanted signs are posted at several area motels in need of housekeepers.

"It's been tougher this year," said Diane Evans, front-desk manager at Rocky Mountain Lodge in Whitefish. "It seems like for a while we were advertising and no one came in, then two weeks ago we got quite a few [housekeeping applicants]. Things are better now."

Evans said the summer staff is typically trained before the season begins, but this year the training has been perpetual.

"I get them trained, they work two weeks and they're gone," she said.

Does McDonald's have trouble finding workers?

"Absolutely," local McDonald's franchise owner Scott Hadwin said. "It's been pretty tough this year."

Hadwin oversees 200 employees at the McDonald's restaurants in the Flathead Valley and Libby. He believes industry growth has outpaced population growth, creating more jobs than there are people to fill the jobs. Hadwin has also observed that more local teens are opting for volunteer work to round out their college resumes. Getting an after-school job isn't as important as it once was, he said.

Hadwin gives cash bonuses for those who stay with their fast-food positions for more than three months.

"We have ongoing incentives. We just had a company picnic at the waterslides," Hadwin said. "We're also trying different messages for advertising, making them more eye-popping. We've definitely had to get more creative."

The Job Service has helped firms such as TeleTech and CenturyTel put on job fairs, encouraging prospective employees of taking advantage of job opportunities.

At a recent TeleTech fair, Shoquist said "we could've used a lot more people." The Kalispell call center, which already employs 300 workers, has two hiring processes under way for both permanent and temporary employees.

TeleTech is making the application process easier with an online resume submission site, www.hirepoint.com, which will be up and running within a few months. The Web site also allows prospective employees to take a virtual tour of the call center and listen to testimonials.

MANY EMPLOYERS are turning to creative incentives to find and keep workers. Retention bonuses, paid in a lump sum or back-paid if an employee stays through the season, are becoming more commonplace, Pitts said.

"We've done hiring bonuses, referral bonuses, gas cards. We've had to be more aggressive with our recruiting efforts," she said.

With the cost of gas at more than $2.30 a gallon, gas cards for new recruits have become an effective perk, especially for employees who need to commute to their new jobs.

"We're actively responding to those wanting to move here," Pitts said. "Sometimes there's a misconception of what people can earn here."

Prospective transplants compare what they could earn in Seattle and even Spokane to wages in the Flathead Valley and come up short.

"There are jobs here that pay above-average wages, but there aren't as many openings for those," Pitts added.

Shoquist said he's seen a general incline in wages over the past year, even with retail chains.

"Employers are willing to pay more because it's more difficult to find good people," he said.

Schellinger Construction, ranked by the state as one of Flathead County's top 20 private employers, doesn't have as many hiring problems as other construction firms because it's a unionized business, said Ed Toren, operations and safety manager for the Columbia Falls-based firm.

"We draw from the operators, labor and teamster unions, and most of our key people are return people who have been off from December to February," Toren said.

Even with a solid base of union employees for its work force of 200, it's been difficult at times to find workers for Schellinger's two asphalt plants.

"Right now, the operators union is nearly used up," he said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com