Input Stories

Spending big on TV ads is one of many ways companies are trying to recruit workers in the midst of the national worker shortage, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

Domino’s Pizza: The Ann Arbor, Michigan–based pizza company recently launched TV ads saying that an entry-level job can turn into owning a Domino’s franchise. Domino’s has had to shorten store hours due to staffing shortages and has increased spending on recruitment advertising, though the company declined to provide exact figures.

Expensive FedEx ads coincide with application increase: Last year, FedEx began running expensive TV recruitment ads during national broadcasts like NFL games. The company has spent an estimated $24 million on recruitment TV ads. As the ads ran in December, the company reported 111,000 applications in a single week, a company record.

Signs of ad success at Safelite: “Safelite said it has found TV advertising to be an effective tool in reaching job seekers. Its campaign, which includes TV and online ads running on Instagram and TikTok, has helped boost Safelite’s job application pool by 50% since the ad campaign began in June, the company said.”

National worker shortage: Nearly 80% of surveyed U.S. employers have reported having difficulty filling open positions. The shortage is unlikely to let up in the immediate future as the number of total job openings is much larger than the number of unemployed workers.

Other recruiting tactics: Many companies have tried to compete for workers by raising salaries, offering generous signing bonuses and providing flexible hours. Others have started recruiting workers on social media platforms and some, including Dunkin’ Donuts, have even turned to famous social media influencers to help find employees.

The best ad is an experience: In Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday and Tuesday, hundreds of area students and NAM board members toured Creators Wanted Tour Live, the traveling workforce campaign by the NAM and the MI. The campaign continues to build on its data of more than 150,000 students, emerging workers and career mentors—to drive at least 600,000 new people to manufacturing careers by 2030. Already 70% of students who have toured the experience have come away with a better perception of modern manufacturing than when they arrived to Creators Wanted.

• “Manufacturers face the most competitive climate for talent in modern times,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas. “We have an initiative that stands out amid the noise—and creates the types of memories that can change the trajectory of student lives and get them on journeys to be manufacturers.”