FOX VALLEY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Snow in Wisconsin will not be in short supply soon. But workers to help remove it might be for some counties and municipalities
In an ongoing theme of shortages brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, some highway departments have gone into winter not fully staffed.
While the Outagamie County Highway Department is still looking for some snow plow truck seats to fill, overall, highway commissioner Dean Steingraber tells FOX 11 they’re “in good shape.”
Of the 56 positions equipment operators, only three need to be filled right now.
“We are going through the interview process, and we’re pretty pleased that we have some good candidates. We’ll be bringing those people in.”
Outagamie County was able to hire a few workers before the end of the year but, for a job like a snow plow driver, it’s not just getting hired and hitting the road, some training is also involved.
“You can see some of the equipment that’s around here – it’s some pretty big equipment,” said Steingraber. “Because they’re new and somewhat inexperienced in some of the things that we do, we have to train them and give them plenty of time to get comfortable with plowing snow or the different tasks we have for them.”
Calumet County has been one of the lucky ones this year. The department employs about half of what Outagamie County does but, heading into the new year, the department has all of its positions filled, with three workers in training.
“Having quality employees run them, or people that are experienced doing them, so having to get LTEs or people who don’t have the experience trained, yes, it is a challenge,” said Calumet County Highway commissioner Brian Glaeser.
Last year was not the same for Calumet. Hiring was a big issue and, when it’d normally get at least seven applicants for summer positions, not one applied, so the department knows how quickly its good fortune can change.
“We’re not through January or February yet and, if we get a lot of snow, you know, our guys are gonna get challenged by extra hours and everything that goes along with it,” Glaeser said. “To say we’re out of the woods with winter and the staffing, by no means are we out of the woods with that.”
Outagamie and Calumet County Highway departments have both experienced high turnover rates.
The departments say several factors play into that, including competing salaries and bonuses other employers are offering to entice workers.
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