As the COVID-19 pandemic forced some businesses to close their doors, Manning General Contracting, Lee’s Summit, Mo., gave a handful of laid-off restaurant workers a new employment opportunity.
After several Manning General Contracting employees told company owner Bryan Manning they had friends who lost jobs at restaurants, Manning decided to hire a few people to help handle the company’s increased demand. Manning General Contracting is receiving up to 60 phone calls per day for questions about roofs, windows and other contracting needs, Manning told local news outlet 41 Action News.
“We don’t have a [job] posting out there, but if there are good people looking for a good place to work, it’s just about good people,” Manning said.
Manning didn’t expect to hire new employees during the pandemic, but he found himself in a position to do so. In addition to roofing workers, Manning has hired four office employees during the past two months. He hopes to keep the former restaurant workers on staff when restaurants reopen because he expects the company will need the new employees long-term.
“We take care of them, we make sure they have everything they need, we make sure they’re getting paid well,” Manning said. “They’re really fitting in well. Afterward, I don’t want to lose them, I want to keep them.”
