For Manufacturers in North America, the skills gap is now being met with an accelerated push to automation as a result of the response to the pandemic. How are you preparing to face these challenges around hiring?
When it comes to filling roles inside your organization, developing a solid job description is the first step in setting your new hires, and your business, up for success. Skye Recruitment Solutions, a Manufacturing and Industrial-focused staffing agency, teamed up with Katrina Kibben, Founder of Three Ears Media and expert in strategic job postings, to discuss how that first introduction can set your business up for success as you plan and transform your hiring strategy in 2021. Skye: As we move into the 4th industrial revolution, many manufacturing businesses are being required to hire for automation positions that they’ve not yet had inside their organization. What suggestions do you have for them as they build their job descriptions not knowing exactly what’s going to be expected of the role? Katrina: Focus on success. When you hire someone it’s for 2 reasons. To 1 - take It off someone else’s plate, or 2 - to create something. We get stuck often trying to write hyper technical super detailed job about technology, without qualifying impact. And that’s what people want to learn. What impact will I make on this company? Also, don’t go out and use other company's’ job postings - don’t start any job posting with copy and paste finger. Most job postings are awful. Change the position. We are not describing work; we are writing for people. Many manufacturers are often searching for specific skills and experience on machinery, design languages, etc. Often times, we see the candidate pool being too shallow because there are too many specifics in the Job Description. Do you have any best practices for manufacturers with what expectations to put in the job description vs. What should be saved for interview? It starts with asking hiring managers better questions. Don’t write about skills, skills in applications rather. So, if you need someone with experience with a handheld computer, don’t write that exactly. Experience is not universal. Put the skill IN CONTEXT - “walked manufacturing floor with handheld computer monitoring for...” A rule of thumb – no more than 7 bullets in the description. It starts with better questions. What do they do IN the job? Experiences instead of soft stills. Also, only include things you cannot negotiate in the job posting. Nothing else. Everything else should be discussed later in interview. “Nice to have” is BS. This isn’t a rich kid wish list; this is a description of someone's life. The point is, YES they can do it, or NO they cannot. Anything else does not need to be there. |
On the topic of skills gap, with so many manufacturers looking to automate, and such limited candidates in the talent pool, what recommendations do you have for manufacturers to help them stand out from the first impression of a job, through the hiring, through retaining top talent in such a competitive market?
High volume-low retention roles take a different strategy. Don’t oversell benefits. Most companies’ benefits are great because the company is not. Remember that your role exists in many places. Create a list of FAQs about the job and answer them. Describe the job. For example: “understanding jobs isn't a decision made lightly, here are some questions we get...” Show culture without talking about culture by answering those questions. Show, don’t tell. Covid-19 has put hiring manufacturers in an interesting position. There is more talent than ever, but there still seems to be a skills gap that they are struggling with. What do you think is happening with the talent pool in manufacturing, and do you have any theory as to where it may go from here? Think about dreams and about being a kid again. Your aspirations, ideas for life. COVID didn’t change any of that. COVID doesn’t change how people dream. The reality is any manufacturer that wants to survive the talent flip must figure out a way to make it a dream. How to create experiences that allow people who understand the work or never have dreamed, the impact it can make and influence in life. Manufacturing struggles with that, aspirational side, talking to employees and asking why they stay. If you know why people stay, then you’ll know how to get people. What advice do you have as we navigate 2021? Looking at the demand in this market. There is a 6 to 1 open-role-to-talent ratio in manufacturing. That’s insane. Manufacturing suffers from a shrinking talent market. Consider that and think about how you can protect yourself from turnover from day one. Talking to your employees. Find out why they stay, what they love about working there, or why people are leaving. When you have those answers and hear their voices, you can put together and understand a recruiting voice. #1 recommendation: Create recruiting voices that are unique. They should be used to connect with people who care about the same things you do. What makes you different is not just saying “we are different”. #1 mistake: when the job titles is wrong, you won’t ever get qualified candidates. If you’re not sure, simply search that job title with “resumes” in Google images and scan resumes. If you wouldn’t hire any of the first 10, it’s the wrong job title. For finding the perfect job title for your next role, check out Katrina's ebook on Job Post Writing here. <--- |
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