I am hearing agreement among contractors that good help is extremely hard to find. Of course, the word of the day is “good.”

To many contractors, good means the person has all the following qualities required of fire alarm system technicians:

• Is well-versed in NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code
• Has an installation background with some or several fire alarm system manufacturers’ equipment
• Has experience using the software for at least one manufacturer and can easily program a system
• Is resourceful and can make decisions to get the work finished
• Is a good communicator and can speak easily to owners and fire officials
• Aspires to become a trusted advisor to fire officials and your customers
• Has a passion for what they do, and they know their fire alarm system installation work will ultimately save lives
• Is a take-charge individual and will not shrink from making tough decisions, such as shutting down a job when the building is unsafe due to systems issues

I can almost hear you saying that I must be dreaming, because there is no one person with all or even maybe a few of the above qualities looking to join your ranks!

Even if you believe you cannot find someone with all these qualities, do you think you could find someone with some of these attributes and train them to do the job? I am betting that few, if any, of you have written down the above list when you begin to search for additional employees. Now is the time to start. The fire alarm system market continues to grow and get more technically advanced.

Where to start looking?

The best way to grow your company is to begin advertising, going to meetings and letting everyone know you are looking for people with these qualities. Consider the following options—while not an exhaustive list, they represent a good start in the quest to find the right people for your team:

• Trade schools are an obvious place to start, except the potential employees will generally have little or no field experience. But if they have a strong technical background and good communication skills, you could train them in the other areas.
• Local or state NICET organizations potentially have lists of people looking for work in the industry. At the very least, if you or someone from your company attends the group’s meetings, they can spread the word that you are looking for qualified technicians. Sometimes, a great technician is unhappy at their current company but has not started searching for another opportunity. Having someone front and center makes it easier for them to approach you as a potential new employer. Also, state NICET groups have job boards and newsletters where you can advertise your openings.
• Other industries are often overlooked as a source of qualified technicians. It’s important to be open-minded and accept that potential employees may not have any fire alarm experience. However, they may have tremendous electronics and programming skills and other soft skills. Teaching them the code and essentials of fire alarm systems installations should be relatively easy if they already possess some of the desired qualities.
• Within the ranks, it is likely you have one or two technicians you rely on for fire alarm system installations. However, if you overburden them with all the systems installation work, they may get burned out and seek to move elsewhere. A better approach may be to ask them which of the new unlicensed technicians could fit the requirements of a good technician and give them the responsibility to train them. Obviously, you need to have a culture of training to ensure your technicians can grow and feel they are making an impact on life safety.
• Local Automatic Fire Alarm Association meetings and their newsletters or websites offer good hiring opportunities. The same guidance outlined for local NICET organizations works here, too.

Of course, don’t overlook advertising on national job boards, local newspapers, magazines and newsletters, including those serving veteran’s organizations.

Hopefully, you have discovered some new ideas to attack this recurring problem. Maintaining an investment in training your employees creates a culture that will help you to continue to grow your business. So, at the very least, I encourage you to make that investment.

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