REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — For many businesses, trying to navigate through the woods of COVID hasn’t been easy.
At a time when many are having trouble filling those empty spots, Conner Calhoun is picking up the slack.
He’s worked with Local Waste Services for the last three years.
“It’s always guaranteed hours no matter what,” Calhoun said. “Rain, snow, hurricane [it] doesn’t matter. We’re still working.”
In that time, he says his salary has doubled.
“Oh, yeah, [it’s] definitely worth it,” he said.
He calls it the perfect job. It is also proving to be the perfect fit for many.
In the last two months, Local Waste has hired 20 more drivers and six more mechanics.
“We’ve, as a team, done a lot to increase our activity in regards to applicants coming in,” Ryan Jensen said.
Jensen works with Operation Support and says staffing during the pandemic has had its moments. Two weeks ago, the team was down about 10 drivers due to illness delaying five of its 53 routes until the next day.
But, the company is fighting back.
“I think the perk is that we don’t have as many hoops to jump through,” Jensen said.
Being a local company, it has been able to retain employees while adding more because of incentives.
Local Waste is offering $200 to employees who have received their COVID-19 vaccine. It’s also offering $1,000 for referring new employees.
When it had a vacation freeze during the pandemic, Local Waste paid out 65 hours of vacation to employees.
“I got a nice view,” Calhoun said looking out the front windshield of his truck. “It changes every day.”
Calhoun says he’s grateful to work for a company that invests in its workers and he’s hopeful others will seize opportunities like this.
“I would say definitely do it,” he said. “It’s better to do something than nothing. This is definitely a good job to have while you’re still making your plan.”