Engineering Recruitment... A skill shortage or a shortage of Decision Makers??

While professionals in every market are screaming ìskill shortageî the reality is many organizations have ineffective recruitment practices that donít allow quality performers to join their teams. The most ironic aspect is that HR Departments are often the biggest problem.

In the 10 years that I have been recruiting professional engineers, the past 2 years have seen the most extraordinary recruitment practices by HR departments. I ask the question ñ is there really a skill shortage, or a lack of skill in HR Departments?

The fact remains, that good recruiters add value to an organizations ìbottom lineî by providing quality people. Recruiters spend time, money and utilise strategic sourcing tools in order to recruit professionals. The last thing a good recruitment consultant wants is to spend time talking to someone in an HR Department who neither understand Engineering nor has the skills to determine who is and who is not a good candidate. Add to this the fact that many HR people have never had commercial responsibilities, and the results are disastrous when trying to meet a companyís talent requirements. Rule #1 ñ Only Managers should be responsible for deciding who they should and should not speak with when recruiting people ñ HR can do the paperwork when a decision is made.

More often than not recruiters are constantly faced with HR Departments that want someone to fit the role 100%, but this is hardly realistic in todayís market. Companies need to start thinking outside the square and start talking to people with the will to learn new skills in a new industry and not just look at the industry sectors people have worked in. We are finding that the average age of a draftsman or engineer is approaching mid 40ís and not many companyís are training people in order to look at where their respective businesses will be in 5 or even ten years time when it comes to skilled staff with the will to learn. Rule #2 ñ Think long term when recruiting, and only let managers make decisions about where the business is going ñ HR can do the paperwork.

How many skilled professionals are going abroad to further enhance their career prospects? Too many, and when you consider Australiaís distance from all other industrialized nations, we are hard pressed convincing people we are ìthe smart countryî when we keep losing talent to overseas competitors. Rule #3 ñ Train people who want to work, keep them in the country and keep our industry buoyant by constantly reviewing our work practices and our talent management ñ HR can do the paperwork and present the finding.

My advice to companyís is start recruiting people with the attitude to do the job and not just rely on industry sector knowledge, I also hope that HR departments spend more time training and retaining staff, taking their telephones off DND and keep clear of the recruitment process.
The most successful recruitment drives we have been involved in have been when we are dealing with the companyís line managers as they ultimately know who they are looking for within their divisionsÖ..They will nuture and develop tomorrows professionals.

So, ultimately we have a problem. The wrong people making the wrong decisions about a companyís future.

Ask yourself this question next time you board a flight ñ who is flying the plane?