BOISE, Idaho — As Idaho employers continue to search for workers to fill open positions, one human resources manager is taking a more creative approach to attracting interest in job openings.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced Tuesday that Idaho will no longer participate in federal unemployment compensation programs. This means Idahoans receiving unemployment will no longer receive the additional $300 per week from the federal CARES Act.
Little said his decision to withdraw from the programs will help employers get Idahoans back to work. He claimed employers have told him workers will not return because they are making more on unemployment than they were while employed.
Despite claims that unemployment benefits are preventing Idahoans from returning to work, Bluebird Express Car Wash Human Resources Manager Monique Hutchins is working to make available jobs more attractive to Idahoans.
Bluebird Express opened a new location in Boise two weeks ago. The company is looking to fill full-time positions with a starting pay of $14 an hour.
To get the new location on Fairview Avenue and Cole Road up and running, the company needed to fill 14 positions. They only filled seven.
Hutchins has been hiring retail employees for more than 20 years and has never seen a situation like this.
"We've hired photographers and film crews to create TikToks so candidates can get a 30-second loop of what the job is going to entail and everything that we offer," she said. "We offer bonuses, longevity bonuses, 401K, vacation, guaranteed full-time, leadership development programs."
Hutchins has participated in job fairs and has been very flexible with her interview schedule, interviewing candidates seven days a week. She said it has been successful for her.
"I have interviewed, for entry-level, over 400 people in this market in the last month and a half to two months," she said. "For us just to net just over 17, it really does really kind of show the struggles I think we have all felt."
In addition to the numerous bonuses, Bluebird Express raised their hourly pay by $2 an hour. Hutchins said this has impacted the search for employees in a positive way.
If the state wants to return to pre-pandemic employment levels, where 'Help Wanted' signs are rare and businesses are not cutting back hours due to lack of staff, Hutchins believes employers need to put their best foot forward.
"It is going to take a collective effort on all of our parts to ensure we are offering the very best experience we can to those candidates that are applying," she said. "Offering them the very best benefits to sign on. I really feel it's important to recognize that everyone needs a motivational point."
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