Tips to Recruit Top Talent in Manufacturing

Recruiting the best talent in a labour shortage is no easy task, especially for manufacturing companies. Indeed, the industry is often perceived as having rigid and outdated practices.

Unfortunately, these preconceived notions complicate an already tense job market: in Canada, manufacturing organizations will open 4.8 million jobs by 2028, with only 2.4 million workers available for recruitment.

This growing labour shortage is mainly due to retirements and the aging population (one-fifth of manufacturing employees are 55 and over).

Another issue is the diversification of the talent pool: although often perceived as a male-dominated environment, the manufacturing industry is composed of one-third female employees. Therefore, considering diverse employee groups is more crucial than ever.

Manufacturing needs to modernize its image to overcome recruitment challenges, both common to all industries and specific to the field.

Although we exist in a formerly inflexible field, we should not perpetuate this rigidity.” – Valérie Rancourt-Grenier, VP of Human Resources & Marketing, LG Cloutier Group

The entire recruitment process needs to be modernized to match the expectations of new candidates. It’s time for manufacturing recruiting to get a makeover! Here are our tips.

Traditional recruiting practices are not the most efficient. We recommend dematerializing your processes with adapted software and tools to save time daily. As far as recruitment is concerned, ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) are essential. They allow you to keep track of all your applications, classify them by keyword, and send automated emails, among many other essential features!

In recent years, recruitment platforms have multiplied and modernized, to the great despair of many organizations that perceive this change as an additional headache in their processes.

However, this evolution represents an opportunity to reach new audiences (especially new generations of workers) and customize job offers accordingly.

Depending on the platform used, you can target candidates and diversify the presentation of offers depending on your audience and the open position. For example, LinkedIn is often used by people who are already involved in professional life, while other networks and recruitment sites attract recent graduates.

Don’t forget to check out our article on SEO strategies for recruiters! You’ll find everything you need to optimize your job postings and get noticed by candidates.

Everyone knows and dreads traditional job interviews. On top of being stressful, they are often perceived as discouraging entrance exams by candidates. However, when it comes to recruitment, first impressions are crucial. Here are our tips for a modern job interview that will motivate candidates:

1. Create trust. The interview is not a test but rather a discussion to determine each participant’s expectations. Let the candidate know they are your equal during this conversation and that you will keep in touch regardless of the outcome.
2. Rethink the questions asked during the meeting. They should be adapted to the situation and the position but more engaging than the classics: ‘What do you think you bring to our company? Why you rather than someone else?‘ Instead, use questions focusing on the candidate’s feelings: ‘What do you expect from our collaboration? What attracts you to this position?
3. Be a good seller! This is your chance to sell the position and your company to the candidate. Highlight the benefits and opportunities offered by your organization and be transparent about your expectations while listening to the candidate’s expectations.

To put these interview methods to the test, you need to receive new and interesting applications: here are our tips for attracting the best talent.

Now that you have modernized your practices to keep up with new trends and gain efficiency, you still need to attract the best talent for your company. This recruiting strategy is divided into several action plans.

Social networks are not only used to publish your job offers. On the contrary, your offers will have much more visibility if you have already built a more ‘natural’ presence on these platforms. Here are some tips to make yourself known to potential applicants:

• Highlight new hires at your company, share your employees’ successes and your recognition of their work;
• Present your current staff through short bios and photos of their daily work, but also during team-building activities;
• Share company news and achievements (awards, growth, involvement in associations or projects…)
• Be inventive, colorful and accessible.

Your ultimate goal? Building a presence and an image that make a good impression on future candidates.

Employer branding: everyone talks about it as an ultimate and unattainable goal. Enough so that we created HR memes about it!

Nevertheless, here are helpful tips to improve your employer brand, one step at a time:

• Manage and recognize employees throughout their lifecycle (including exit interviews);
• Follow up with all applicants (a negative response is better than no response at all);
• Survey teams on their feelings and expectations;
• Use social networks to promote your company’s colors;
• Create an inclusive workplace culture.

We are convinced that a welcoming and accessible brand will always be the most attractive to potential employees!

Other essentials for attractiveness are the benefits and services offered to your employees. Offering more paid time off, health insurance, a welcoming workplace and training and development opportunities is a significant asset for your recruitment strategy. Be sure to detail these benefits in the job description and during the interview.

To keep up with the current challenges of the working world, all organizations must rethink their organizational culture, manufacturing companies included.

The pandemic has shifted employee expectations toward flexibility in their professional lives. Yet, one might think that flexibility is simply unattainable in the manufacturing sector:

“There’sno reason why working in a factory should be less flexible than office life. Once that paradigm is removed, the only limit is our creativity. My motto is that flexible schedules are not an issue as long as my employees are working their hours. I have employees who leave from 4-6 for family dinner and come in to complete their hours afterwards. The important thing in manufacturing is to be structured, and structure can also rhyme with flexibility!”

– Valérie Rancourt-Grenier, VP of Human Resources & Marketing, LG Cloutier Group

The benefits of flexibility for your company go beyond attractiveness: a better work-life balance improves employee engagement and productivity.

The best tips for creating a relevant organizational culture will undoubtedly come from your employees! Regular meetings and performance reviews are the best times to ask them about their feelings.

Confidential and customizable engagement surveys are your best allies in creating a feedback culture. All you have to do is choose the frequency and collect valuable information for your company.

As you can see, modernizing your processes is the key to your success. Finding the best talent depends not only on the efficiency of your recruitment practices but also on your ability to adapt and improve your employer brand accordingly.

The manufacturing sector must reinvent itself to overcome tomorrow’s HR challenges. Using effective HR software solutions with integrated applicant tracking system and strategic HR data, you will be able to stand out from the crowd and ensure business success.