Paraco Gas finds success with new recruitment practices

Paraco Gas is investing in new recruitment practices to attract drivers and technicians.

The investment, Paraco Gas says, responds to an industry-wide driver and technician shortage.

By 2026, the United States will have 175,000 open truck driver positions, according to the American Trucking Associations. In the past couple of years, turnover rates among commercial driver’s license (CDL) drivers have been over 90 percent. In addition to a market with a limited pool of CDL drivers, the number of propane service technicians entering the workforce is also declining.

This problem, the company explains, doesn’t just plague propane. It affects multiple industries.

“Our ultimate goal is to get customers their propane safely but also focus on a best-in-class customer experience,” says Christina Armentano, executive vice president of sales and business development for Paraco Gas. “We’ve decided to think creatively on how to position the company to attract and retain the next generation of drivers and service technicians. We are now focusing on the employee experience, offering newer benefits that are more likely to entice and retain a healthy workforce.”

Starting on Jan. 1, 2019, Paraco Gas introduced a benefits package with some untraditional perks for those in the driving and service fields. Paraco Gas says it now offers parental leave for employees who have completed one year of service, tuition reimbursement and a revised paid time-off policy. These benefits are a part of the comprehensive benefits program that Paraco Gas offers full-time, regular employees and dependents, including but not limited to the traditional medical, dental, vision, 401K, flexible spending, life insurance, disability income, sick leave and paid holidays.

Paraco Gas is also empowering its current employees to help solve recruitment-related issues, offering an employee referral program to help boost workforce numbers and an apprentice program for service technicians, which includes paying for classes and providing a mentor throughout the process.

“We recognize how important work-life balance and support for personal and professional growth have become with the younger generation, and we need to adapt to their needs if we want them to consider joining our family,” Armentano says. “We also recognize that the shortage of these skilled workers is not limited to our industry or geographic markets; it’s a nationwide problem with fewer people entering these fields. So, we are investing in training people from the ground-up. We don’t know many others in our industry – or similar industries – who are offering all of this, but I’m sure many will start to follow.”

Paraco Gas is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York. Family owned and operated, Paraco Gas was founded in 1968 by Pat Armentano.