In 2019, ASA identified talent as a critical issue facing the PHCP/PVF industry. At that time, the number of industry employees reaching retirement age and the large gap it was creating was significant.

Last year, ASA repeated a national labor study previously done in 2015 and found this issue still exists and may be even worse. More than 31% of the industry’s workforce is over the age of 55 with almost 10% 65 years old or older. This is an increase in workers in these age groups since the 2015 study.

“Our industry continues to face the question of ‘How do I find talent?’ I hear this question often during ASA networking events, meetings and casual conversations,” ASA CEO Mike Adelizzi said.

For many ASA members, part of the answer may be staring right at you through your computer screen — your company’s career website.

It should come as no surprise that the first place most jobseekers will look when learning about potential opportunities is a company’s website. Therefore, it can’t be underestimated that the experience a candidate may have on a website could make or break the chance to attract the best talent possible.

While serving as ASA president in 2022, The Granite Group President and CEO Bill Condron challenged members to look at their websites with a critical eye, given the importance a website plays in the recruitment and talent acquisition process.

Through ASA’s PROJECT TALENT, one of the association’s key strategic initiatives, reviews of member career websites are being conducted and constructive feedback on improvements are provided.

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“Through these reviews, we’ve seen some overall improvement across ASA membership, but there are still many opportunities for distributors, manufacturers and independent rep companies to make material improvements to their websites and improve their ability to recruit,” said Steve Edwards, ASA’s director of recruitment marketing.

In short, there’s still work to be done.

When was the last time you looked at your company’s website and asked these questions?

• Does my website make it easy for people to learn more about our culture, unique selling points and the opportunities we have to offer?
• Is there a simple process for applying for a job and do those applications get to the right people?
• Is my website mobile-ready?
• Can people find my site?

To help address these questions, ASA has developed a checklist of career website best practices that can be used as a guide to measure your company’s site. Also, a webinar was conducted that covered this topic in detail and can be viewed for more information.

Both are available on the new ASA Recruiter Toolbox available to all ASA members with an ASA.net login.

The Recruiter Toolbox is an online repository containing a wide variety of tools and resources that have been created and are available to members as part of their ASA membership. Many of the items like those mentioned above, as well as industry-related images, social media content, job description templates and more have been curated and are available to support local recruitment efforts.

In an environment where virtually every company is looking for talent, it’s prudent to pay attention to this fundamental tool to convey your employer brand. A complete, content-rich and easy-to-use careers website is one of the table stakes of successful recruitment and can make the difference between attracting employees or encouraging them to look elsewhere.

Project Talent is one of four mega goals included in the Association’s strategic plan. This goal includes the objective of developing and implementing a program to attract and grow the number of talented workers taking advantage of fulfilling career opportunities in the PHCP/PVF Industry.