When Aaron Urquhart was involved in a devastating accident a few years ago, his team at Trafficca Road Services really rallied around him.
At the time, Aaron was working as a senior traffic controller on government jobs like the construction of EastLink, the original M1 upgrade and the M80 ring roads upgrade.
After the accident, Aaron couldn’t work for 18 months. When he was ready to return to work, he could no longer do his previous role, so Trafficca Road Services offered him the position of senior operations manager.
It’s just one example of how Trafficca Road Services think outside the box to retain their greatest asset – their people.
“The people here are good people,” says Aaron.
“The guys on the road raised a significant amount of money for me and my family while I was off, as I was employed as a casual.”
Since opening in 2006, Trafficca Road Services has grown to be one of the leading traffic management services in Victoria, employing 210 traffic controllers.
Aaron says hiring and retaining skilled staff has proved challenging in recent years, partly due to the nature of the work.
Traffic controllers have to be out in the elements – come rain, hail or shine, which is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Aaron changed the recruitment process, implementing pre-screening prior to induction.
During this pre-screening, Aaron would explain the job description and requirements thoroughly, which helped ensure candidates were the right fit for the company and vice versa.
He also began casting a wider recruitment net. Whether someone’s long-term unemployed or an ex-offender, if they are willing to do the work, he is willing to hire them.
“I’m big on giving everyone a chance,” he says. “Everyone makes mistakes in their lives.
They deserve the opportunity to improve their life.”
Aaron says from a management perspective, casting a wider net and hiring people from all walks of life has solved staffing issues and paid off.
“These people will work twice as hard to impress – it’s not our expectation, but they do,” he says.
Overall, Aaron says changing the recruitment process and being inclusive of candidates like ex-offenders has been a gamechanger for Trafficca Road Services.
“The turnover in traffic management is huge because people move on, but we’ve slowed our recruitment down,” says Aaron.
“There’s a shortage in the workforce and working with these people can really enrich your life. It’s enriched mine.”