19 Aug Overcoming The Recruitment Crisis

Why is it so difficult to recruit people in the auto industry right now?

I work with many small to medium sized businesses and as you would know finding the right skilled person especially in auto trades, semi-trades, and sales type positions, is particularly difficult at this time. It can be frustrating for me too sometimes and I’ve experienced it all: people who apply for positions, but never return phone calls, despite my repeated attempts; people who don’t turn up to scheduled interviews; and worst of all, people who accept job offers, but don’t turn up for their first day of work, then switch their phone off and don’t return calls.

But I’m no pessimist. Achieving any success in life requires effort, persistence, and a bit of resourcefulness. Despite my frustrations with recruitment, I’ve had a lot of success. When you find a good person that slots right into a business and goes on to help that business grow, it makes the slog worth it.

Common Recruitment Mistakes

I’ve seen many recruitment mistakes in my 25 plus years working in human resources. The most common mistake I see is simply not making enough time to do recruitment properly.

Owners and managers are often busy, so they may not find time to advertise. Instead, they select people who happen to come along and drop off their resumes or select somebody based on referrals from friends or current employees. Referrals can be great, but not if they are about giving a job to someone who lacks skill and experience, just because of who they know. With a bit more effort, could you have found someone more skilled, more experienced?

Another common mistake I see is poor interviewing. A lot of business owners spend more time telling candidates about their business than they do finding out about the candidate. It’s important to give candidates some information about your business and the position you are interviewing for, but interviews are primarily about questioning, finding out about the candidate’s experience, qualifications, motivation, and fit for your business.

Not moving quickly enough when someone good applies for a position can also be a problem. Chances are, that person has applied for a number of positions and when the competition for talent is high, as it is right now, these people can quickly receive a job offer from a competitor. Another mistake is not being clear about the role you want to fill, not defining it. It’s like you know you need someone, but you haven’t taken the time to think about the sort of person your business needs. To increase your chance of success with recruitment, you need to be strategic. Here are some strategies that will help you find good candidates.

Owners and managers are often busy, so they may not find time to advertise. Instead, they select people who happen to come along and drop off their resumes, or select somebody based on referrals from friends or current employees.

Be clear about the job you want to fill

Position descriptions help you to be clear about the position you want to fill. They don’t need to be complex. In fact, I like simple one page position descriptions that answer two questions:

1. What are the main tasks performed by this position?

2. What sort of skills, experience, and characteristics does a person need to succeed in this position?

When you are clear on the position you are wanting to fill, and the type of person you need to fill it, it’s easy to advertise the position.

Advertise in multiple locations

In my opinion, Seek is the most important place to advertise. It’s more costly than other sites, but it’s by far the number one site for job seekers. There are also lots of no cost places to advertise, including Indeed, which I see as being second to Seek (although a distant second). Then there are many job search groups on Facebook where you can advertise for free. These three sources are the best in my view, and I’ve had success with all of them.

Use the Talent Search function on Seek

If you advertise on Seek, you should take advantage of the Talent Search function. I’ve had much success with this, as well as lots of frustration! But overall, it’s a terrific tool.

For every job you advertise on Seek, the website allows you to Search for and download 5 resumes. If you’re smart with how you use this tool, you can find recently updated resumes. For example, someone with the skill set you are looking for, living close to where your business is located, may have updated their resume today or in the last few days. This is a good indicator that they are searching for a job and may welcome a call from you.

Do some basic preparation for the interview

Make sure you have the candidate’s resume with you when you sit down with them. And it’s not that much more work to think about the questions you are going to ask in the interview. Preferably, have some pre-prepared interview questions.

Two questions I find helpful are:

1. Can you tell me about an accomplishment you are proud of (whether work related or personal)?

Answers to this question can give you some insight into what motivates a person, what’s important to them, and what’s a big achievement for them.

2. Why should I choose you above other people I might be interviewing for this role (basically, what makes you special or different)? I like this question because it can tell you about how they think of themselves compared to others, how they see their own differences. And from an interviewer’s perspective, you are trying to determine if that difference is important for your business.

Move quickly when good candidates apply

Competition for talent is high in the auto industry right now. So it’s important to move quickly when you have someone good apply for a position you have advertised. Phone them, get them in for an interview, and if you still think they are good, do reference checks and then make a job offer, without delay.

John Girardi is a human resources consultant who runs Girardi Human Resources. He works with a many employers in the automotive industry to provide outsourced human resource support, including providing Fair Work advice, drafting employment contracts, performance management, management training, and recruitment.

Find out more at www.girardi.com.au or email john@girardi.com.au or mobile 0421 085 546

This item was first published in AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRICAL & AIR CONDITIONING NEWS (May 2021 edition)