The fierce competition for top-quality technical staff was highlighted last week by the announcement of recruitment drives at Jaguar Land Rover and at the SAIC Motor Technical Centre (UK). Both companies are seeking to encourage more talented individuals into a profession where there is currently a mismatch between demand and supply.
It’s definitely a good time to be a bright engineer as salaries are rising quickly, but post-recession the incentives to move jobs have to be subtly different. Our own analysis of people already working in the automotive industry shows that in 2011, more technical staff turned down job offers than in any previous year. Vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers are desperately trying to recruit, often offering generous packages and exciting programmes. So what has changed?
Some answers are provided by our 2011 survey, which shows that in post-recession Europe, job security has become one of the strongest motivating factors for technical employees, with 72% describing it as ‘extremely important’ or ‘very important’. The only factor that ranks higher is ‘challenging / interesting work’. To understand these findings we need to look deeper into the events of the last four years.
It’s definitely a good time to be a bright engineer as salaries are rising quickly, but post-recession the incentives to move jobs have to be subtly different.
Until the financial crisis, the automotive industry was booming, long-term projects were agreed with suppliers and exciting developments in technology and process were seen across the board. But the recession penetrated deep into the collective psyche, the unpredictability of demand was exposed and individuals and companies alike began to focus on ‘paying the mortgage’ rather than chasing the next step.
Now that growth has returned, most employees, many of whom have high mortgages fuelled by exceptionally high house prices, are looking to protect what they have rather than make a risky commitment to a new employer. They remember 2008, and when evaluating a job offer, the phrase ‘last in, first out’ is at the front of their minds.
This aversion to risk compounds the problem of there already being too few really good engineers and changes the psychology of the recruitment process. The best candidates will often receive multiple offers, so an employer must understand how the candidate will choose between them. As we have seen, the answer is not simply the remuneration package. In today’s jobs market, there has to be a stronger emotional bond with the candidate and that means establishing a personal relationship; people buy people.
The ‘psychological contract’ between employer and candidate is central to solving this issue. Employers need to develop a bond with candidates, building trust and a mutual feeling of responsibility. Success in this endeavour will reduce the perceived risk for the candidate and help mitigate the fear of the unknown.
Our analysis of people already working in the automotive industry shows that in 2011, more technical staff turned down job offers than in any previous year.
The post-recession recruitment process must therefore incorporate a more sophisticated understanding of the candidate’s motivating factors and how these can be influenced by every touch point in the developing relationship. Using this approach, the best employers will be able to differentiate themselves, acquiring significant commercial advantage through their improved access to the very best people.
But this fresh approach must not be introduced at the expense of speed of process. Too many good candidates are lost by companies taking too long to make a decision and not ‘selling’ their company to candidates until the offer stage, if at all.
It’s good to see highly-professional recruitment activities being launched, especially when they aim to bring new people into engineering or to retain those that may be considering a sidewise move. This is a significantly different recruitment environment from any previous time in our industry, and only those companies that recognise this will succeed in attracting the talented people they need.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Automotive World Ltd.
Jonathan Lee is chairman of Jonathan Lee Recruitment, one of Europe’s leading specialists in the recruitment of permanent and contracting engineers and other professional disciplines for the automotive industry. As well as finding the best people, the firm provides the HR skills and advice that help companies apply the latest knowledge and tools to the delivery of long-term value through exceptional people. For more information, visit: http://www.jonlee.co.uk/industries/automotive-jobs.asp
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