The Future

Our company has been on a year long quest for a tile installer. We have posted our job description on Michigan Works. We have called references and we have performed interviews. We have hired and accepted resignations. We have terminated. It has been quite a year.

Although, we have gone through the proper channels, we are still not sure whether it's the pool we are drawing from or our company that is making hiring so challenging. So now we begin to look at ourselves. Just like in any other relationships, the street goes both ways and we have to be aware of what makes our company attractive or unattractive to new employees.

On the flip side we have to keep our standards high. Our employees have to understand and meet our standards or our company will never meet the goals we have made. We cannot accept poor quality work, laziness or an inability to be flexible to the needs of our customers. We know our dream employee is out there but we are beginning to wonder why so many of the people we have met with find these principles unusual in a climate where jobs are not only sought they are hunted.

Last week we participated in a career night sponsored by Immaculate Heart of Mary - St. Casimir School. We brought our tile setting gear and explained to the children how, in small part, we set a tile floor. The children were not just interested they were enthusiastic. They were waiting patiently but you could see they were chomping at the bit to get down and dirty.

I wanted to hire them all on the spot.

Unfortunately, studies show that most of these kids won't choose our line of work. The Occupational Outlook Handbook shows that the tile setting industry will grow in demand but the concern is that it will not grow in skilled tradesmen. To me that means a great potential for our business IF we can staff our company to meet the demand.

We hope to continue to help show our community that tile setting is not only an honest days wage but a way to be creative. We take pride in the artistry that can last for over 25 years and make someone's home a unique work of art. We do hope that our children will work with us and pay their own way through college if that's the path they choose.

We shared the stage with Joe Murphy from MSU Culinary Services (www.eatattate.com), who shared with all of us the yummiest black bean chili I have ever tasted. Joe Madden, from Neogen came in with his microscopes and showed us all more germs than we knew could exist on one outlet plate. Michelle Hoffman from Hoffman Photography brought beautiful examples of her work and a full portrait studio. Chris Johnson from On Target Living showed the kids a little about living at their best. Kathleen Lavey from the Lansing State Journal was in attendance to talk to the kids about what it meant to be a writer with her two best editors, her daughters. Tim Barron from 92-X and MOJO from Q106 kept the evening lively as they broadcast spots live from the event.

If the children at Immaculate Heart of Mary weren't dreaming big before, they most certainly are now!