How to level up hiring for home improvement stores

Author Sean Behr Date Feb 15 2024

Home improvement projects boomed during the pandemic and haven’t slowed down in the years since. Home and DIY projects have reached popularity heights, putting demands on home improvement stores around the country. Paint and wallpaper store sales surpassed $15 billion in 2021. To complete these projects, builders want a wider range of products and more convenient access to the tools they need.

How can home improvement centers make sure they’re always ready for customers? By hiring knowledgeable, reliable, and committed workers as easily as a beginner’s DIY project.

Below, we explore hiring challenges faced by home improvement companies and reveal methods you can implement today to improve your processes.

handyman working on a home improvement project on a construction site

Home improvement hiring challenges 

Just like other retail businesses, home improvement companies face challenges of seasonality, slow hiring times, and worker turnover.

Seasonal fluctuations

During busy seasons like holidays and sales events, hardware stores need additional staff to meet customer demand. However, finding and hiring temporary workers can be time-consuming and difficult, and traditional hiring processes often can’t handle the influx of applications during these peak times. 

Get 5 tips for hiring seasonal retail associates.

Slow hiring times

Completing manual actions while juggling hundreds (or even thousands) of applications can cause hiring times to stretch into weeks and maybe even months. Today’s applicants aren’t going to wait this long to hear whether they’ve gotten the job. Hiring teams need to address this sluggishness with a swift and agile applicant experience. 

High turnover

In the absence of official contracts and commitments, hourly workers are more likely to “job hop” until they find the right fit. One of your company’s stores may be one of their stops along the way. To solve this, you need to ensure their experience—from applying to beyond their first day—is easy and informative, and never leaves them wondering where they stand with your company. 

two warehouse workers in a warehouse

How to solve these challenges with a frontline workforce management platform

To overcome these hiring challenges, many home improvement companies are turning to a frontline workforce management platform, like Fountain.

Read: Fountain sits down with TheRealReal at HR Retail to discuss how to simplify recruitment for retail.

With Fountain, recruitment teams for home improvement companies can automate job postings to reach a wider pool of applicants. Mobile-first technology and a variety of tech stack integrations allow applicants to do everything from their phone—from applying to onboarding—simplifying the hiring process and getting candidates to their first day of work faster.

With a frontline workforce management platform like Fountain, home improvement centers can save time, improve efficiency, and hire the right talent when they need it. A streamlined hiring process allows store managers to focus on providing exceptional customer experiences and driving business growth.

To learn more about how to solve today’s home improvement stores’ hiring challenges, click here to read our Modern Hiring Guide for Home Improvement Companies. 

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About the Author

Chief Executive Offier

Sean Behr

Sean Behr is the CEO at Fountain and has served in leadership roles at STRATIM (acquired by KAR), Adap.tv (acquired by AOL), and Shopping.com (acquired by Ebay). Behr also advises, mentors, and invests in entrepreneurs and early-stage companies.