SEMINOLE, Fla. and ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Local aerospace part and medical device manufacturer, S.S. White Technologies Inc./SHUKLA Medical, announced a new signing and referral bonus program that pays up to $5,000 as an approach to tackle the worker shortage they and many others are currently facing.
The unemployment rate in Florida as of October 2021 is 4.6%. With those numbers, looking for candidates should be an easy task. However, the application rate is at an all-time low and employers like S.S. White Technologies/SHUKLA Medical are struggling to attract talent.
Last week, the company’s top management held an emergency meeting; they needed to find a solution to the shortage of candidates. “A small signing bonus will not do”, said CEO/President Rahul Shukla, “we need to create excitement and momentum to fill these positions”. The management decided to offer up to $5,000 signing bonuses to fill the open positions.
“The pandemic has not hurt our business”, said VP, Subra Naglapura, “As a matter of fact, we are growing at a pace of 15 to 20% per year. However, instead of finding new employees, we’ve lost employees during the pandemic.”
“We have around 30 current job openings, in production, quality, sales, marketing, finance, and HR from entry to mid-level,” said HR & Marketing Manager, Sheryl Nadler. “The worker shortage has reached near-crisis status,” she added.
“I have been managing this company for the past 33 years”, said Shukla, “but I never imagined that there would come a time when job openings with attractive pay and benefits would remain unfulfilled for months.”
A new hire in a production role will receive a signing bonus of $2,000 paid in three installments. If an existing worker refers the new employee to the company, the existing employee will receive a $1,000 bonus. For technical and office positions, the company is offering a signing bonus of $4,000 and a referral bonus of $1,000.
The company offers production wages from $14 per hour for unskilled workers and $20 to $30 for CNC machinists/programmers. Most office positions start at $50K. The company pays 100% of the premium for employees’ medical, dental, and life insurance.
Last week, the management called their 120 employees for a quick meeting to announce the program. “Call your friends and relatives. Ask them to send me an email at [email protected] to find out more about the current job openings,” said Nadler, “But let me know their names first so that if we offer them a job, you can receive $1,000 for each and every employee we hire from your referrals.”
One employee in the production department, Nancy Santiago, said, “This is awesome. Especially right now, with the holidays right around the corner.” Dustin Saxon, a recently hired mechanical engineer and fresh USF graduate told Nadler, “I have so many friends from USF that are looking for a job. I can’t wait to tell them about this. It’s a win-win!”
This is not the first time the company has offered incentives. In the past, the company gave all employees cash bonuses ranging from $100 to $1,000 for beating current sales numbers and holiday bonuses. Hiring incentives have helped in the past. Shukla is hopeful it will be productive again when it seems everyone is having difficulty securing good help.
S.S. White Technologies and its subsidiary SHUKLA Medical are located off Park Street in St. Petersburg. They have subsidiaries in the U.K. and India. The company manufactures flexible drives used in 95% of all aircraft in the world along with instruments to remove orthopedic implants.
For more information, visit the company’s website: www.sswhite.net or the jobs page at www.sswhite.net/open-positions.
Sheryl Nadler
S.S. White Technologies Inc./SHUKLA Medical
(727) 626-2831
[email protected]
SOURCE S.S. White Technologies Inc.
