tips to expand your industrial talent pool.

Industrial employees are the backbone of your company; they carry out critical tasks and maintain consistent production. To help your team work efficiently, adequate staffing is essential — filling job openings quickly increases safety, profitability and stability. When you're building a faster hiring process, start by expanding your industrial talent pool.

why does your company need an expanded industrial talent pool?

If you're thinking of hiring industrial employees right now, it's safe to expect a few notable HR challenges. The labour shortage tops that list; employers across Canada are struggling to find potential candidates. The effects are strongest in the construction and manufacturing industries, where staffing issues have created economic losses in the billions.

As companies navigate the new hiring realities, they're also dealing with escalating economic pressures. Interest rates are rising, and lingering problems in the supply chain continue to create operational volatility. A recession is a distinct possibility, forcing business owners to plan for possible shifts in demand.

Hiring is evolving, too. If you're like many industrial employers, you're using technology to increase productivity and maximize resources. These new systems often require employees with specific expertise and updated skill sets, adding an extra layer of complexity to the process.

Your workforce is the key to tackling the labour shortage and succeeding in a tough economy. A large industrial talent pool is a must — when you have a broad range of quality candidates to choose from, you can fill positions in less time. Production stays consistent, and your company is better able to adapt to new challenges in the market.

An expanded talent pool also makes recruiting more affordable, benefiting your bottom line. And when you can hire workers faster, your HR team is free to focus on initiatives that build employee engagement and reduce costly turnover.

how to recruit and hire more industrial job seekers

The benefits of a bigger talent network are clear, but where do you start? When you've used the same approach to hiring for decades, it can feel overwhelming to change course.

To help, we've created a guide to expanding your talent pool of industrial workers. It offers straightforward, research-driven tips for building a hiring and recruitment strategy that attracts more external candidates. You'll also discover how to evaluate applicants effectively, even when they don't fit the usual profile.

improve candidate selection

In a labour shortage, your tried-and-true recruitment strategies might not be enough to attract new job seekers. You may need to streamline search criteria and update job posting terminology to make open roles more accessible to nontraditional candidates.

Our guide explores four ways to revamp the recruitment process. It helps you assess existing practices and identify ways to expand the company's reach. You'll learn how to shift away from candidates' years of experience and level of education and focus instead on skills-based hiring.

We also help you look beyond applicants' resumes and find the qualities that make a successful employee. By orienting recruitment around these less-obvious abilities, it's possible to discover hidden groups of applicants that other industrial employers overlook. In a tight job market, these unexpected candidates can give your business a competitive advantage.

evaluate candidates

Once you get access to a broader range of qualified candidates, you must learn how to evaluate them effectively. This process requires an adjustment, especially if you're accustomed to assessing traditional industrial candidates.

If you can create a flexible evaluation process, however, it can pay off almost immediately. Our research finds that when it comes to assessments, one size does not fit all. Canadian job seekers don't fit into a neat category — and when building your talent pool, you must understand how needs and priorities vary from group to group.

When you download our guide, you'll get access to actionable steps to help you evaluate candidates from varied backgrounds. Discover how to find people who fit into your company culture, and find out how to validate transferable skills and abilities. We also offer ways to adjust onboarding and training programs to accommodate people who are coming from a different career path than existing employees.

improve your industrial hiring strategy today

If you're ready to start shifting your hiring practices to get ahead of the labour shortage, our tips and strategies can set you off on the right path. Fill out the form to download the guide.