If you’re Man City, you can probably afford to have a wish list as long as your arm in terms of what you want from a top-quality player. However, you’re also going to be in a position, both financially and in terms of location, where you’re able to attract the talent you want.
On the other hand, if you’re Cardiff City, you probably wouldn’t expect to have any realistic chance of getting a player like Messi.
While this comparison might seem a bit of stretch for an article on recruitment in the manufacturing industry, it’s a perfect analogy for the impact which things like location and employer branding can have on manufacturing companies, in terms of their ability to attract the talent they’re looking for.
Here’s a situation we find a lot: Client A is an up-and-coming manufacturing company looking to recruit an engineer. Although they’re located in a very awkward location, they have grand ambitions of growth; therefore, they only want the very best engineer for their growing business.
However, because Client A is still quite a small company, offering below-market salaries and a not-very-exciting benefits package – oh, and they’re also in the middle of nowhere – they might need to lower the bar. In other words, while they might be hoping to recruit an Agüero, they probably only have the budget for a Peter Crouch.
So, what do you do when you can’t afford the right people? If you’re a company like Client A, you probably need to carefully re-evaluate what you’re offering to get the candidates you want. Here we explore some of the things you should consider.
Show Me The Money
Let’s face facts: if you want to attract in-demand talent to an out-of-the-way area, then you’re going to have to offer more than what competitors in more sought-after locations would. If you want to tempt someone who’s got 75-80% of the skills/experience you’re looking for, you’re probably going to have to offer them 20-25% over the market rate to get them out of their current company.
Be Flexible (Realistic) With Your Expectations
If you can’t afford the first option, then it might be time to re-evaluate &/or cross off some of the skills that you would like the person to have. In other words, if you’re a small company based in the middle of nowhere with little in the way of leverage (strong selling points), then you’ll need to be more flexible in terms of your expectations of their skills/experience. If you’ve got the same list of candidate requirements as larger, better-known (better-located) companies, you’re probably going to have that vacancy unfilled for a long time.
So, maybe that means that you need to focus more on a candidate’s soft skills, i.e., behaviours and attitude/aptitude, rather than on concrete skills/experience? Clubs like Cardiff City have to look for value in the market; since they don’t have the budget to go after someone who’s at the peak of a stellar career, they need to take a chance on someone who’s maybe had an injury but who has a great team attitude and work ethic.
Rethink / Restructure The Role
The other option available to clients in this position is to restructure the role internally; perhaps some of the more difficult aspects of the position get split up between one or more existing team members, which then makes the position not as demanding and more straightforward to fill.
Another option is to consider outsourcing certain aspects of the role while the candidate gets up to speed. You could also look into external training to support any skill gaps the person might have. Graduates are another viable option to consider; by mentoring a graduate employee, you could develop them into the role you need.
Seek Out Professional Help / Advice
It’s hard to know what you don’t know; it’s likely that the hiring manager in the example of client A doesn’t even realise how unattractive (or unrealistic) their offer is.
To know objectively where your company fits in the market, you need the guidance of a consultative recruiter who works as a consultant with many different-sized companies within your industry to get an honest appraisal of how your company and your vacancies are going to be perceived in the market.
Without having an objective appraisal of where your company stands amongst the competition, you could waste a lot of both time and money looking for a dream candidate that’s never going to be a reality for your company. It’s therefore critical to work with an experienced consultative recruiter like Sigma Recruitment to help you understand and evaluate how your offer is going to be perceived in the market.
How Sigma Recruitment Can Help
We are a South Wales Recruitment Specialist based in Cardiff, Wales.
We offer a full range of permanent recruitment solutions to many of South Wales’ and the South Wests’ leading manufacturing, technical, automotive and life science organisations. This includes companies in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Ebbw Vale, Port Talbot, Bridgend and the surrounding areas in South Wales.
Sigma Recruitment has one of the largest and most comprehensive recruitment candidate databases in the area. To get in touch with our team call us now on 02920 450 100. Alternatively, contact us here.
