Recruiting in China

Every day, I get calls from frantic and sometimes frustrated HR people. “Can you find a government sales specialist in Seattle? How about a sales manager in California? Is there a metalworking sales specialist in Detroit?”

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the questions come easier than the answers. In fact, the panorama of industrial supply distribution has changed dramatically over the past eight years, especially within the sales arena. Boeing relocated, China infiltrated, 9/11 happened and the experienced industrial people made like rabbits and high-tailed it for safer havens [read: other industries]. Add the proliferation of non-compete agreements to the brew and we have ourselves the perfect storm for industrial headhunters, HR personnel and sales specialists.

The problems are compounded by disinformation emanating from the various media mavens. They manipulate statistics to create news and cause fear with talk of rising unemployment coupled with a labor shortage caused by millions of retiring Baby Boomers. But what’s really going on?

As someone who has been recruiting within the industrial supply sector for more than 20 years, my feeling is that there are still plenty of good times ahead, both for larger and niche players. Here is what I tell clients who ask about the industrial supply industry from the perspectives of talent retention, recruitment and the hiring process:

Talent Retention: From the inside out
• The company that offers options to cross train, interchange jobs and relocate for career advancement has the decided advantage. The cost to the company is more than made up for by successful internal promotions which yield measurable and quantifiable results.
• Positive buzz generated by in-house staff and associates that transfers into the marketplace can be a corporate “Gatorade infusion” of energy and enthusiasm for the entire company. It will attract new talent from within the industry as well as adjacent industries.

The recruitment process: Communication is the key
• Once the need is determined and the funds are provided within the corporate budget, companies want positions filled yesterday. The pressure to hire is immediate and burning. Therefore, every day that the job goes unfilled builds up cost-of-vacancy, which can be very expensive.
• In the vast majority of companies, the hiring process is plagued by delayed responses to resumes, indecisive management follow-ups and poor feedback from line management interviews to the HR departments or the outside recruiter. If these hiring companies ever determined the actual cost-of-vacancy caused by these delays, there would be a great outcry from senior management.
• The faster a company moves within the interview/hiring process, the better the rate of hiring and retention.

The hiring process: Close the deal without delay
• Open your doors to any trainable, sales-oriented individual who understands and believes in relationship sales. That means thinking as broadly as possible as to industry experience. Some companies put their salespeople people through rigorous training.
• Give feedback to every candidate within 72 hours of receiving their resume. This shows you care and mean business.
• Set up a phone interview with either a manager or HR rep within five days of receipt of a candidate’s resume.
• A face-to-face interview should be set up within one week of the phone interview. Thereafter, whatever necessary steps, including tests, background checks or reference screens, should be set up in a similar time frame.
• The completion of the interview/hiring process to the offer phase should take no more than five or six weeks. Add to that at least two weeks for a start date and you have a two-month process. That’s the way to make a strong impression on any candidate.

These are best-case scenarios. It might take longer to unearth the hero/heroine. You might need a recruiter with the right synergy, who can help you avoid many of the potential pitfalls. They can serve as the first line of offense to promote your company, its objectives and its culture — and prepare the candidate for each step in the process.

Whatever you decide, if you stay the course with a proper timetable, you can maximize your chances to make that strategic hire.