How a Recruitment Software Helps the Manufacturing Sector Hire Faster

“Building back fast” is how the Deloitte 2022 Manufacturing Industry Outlook describes the future prospects for the global manufacturing sector. 

While labor and supply chain challenges are predicted to impact the industry in the near term, many manufacturers are developing strategies to rebuild supply chains and enhance their resilience, sustainability, and affordability. 

Tacking talent crunch challenges

Manufacturing, like the healthcare sector, also has a “talent crunch” issue currently.

Many workers, who left their jobs during the height of lockdown periods, have not returned.  

In the US, the shortage of workers is expected to hinder productivity and growth in 2022, and 38 percent of the executives interviewed in the Deloitte survey said attracting new workers was their top priority in the near term. Retention and reskilling programs are other key focus areas for managers. 

Increasing wages is one option being considered by manufacturing industry leaders. Widening the search for talent to engage diverse, skilled talent pools is another strategy, as is offering more flexible work opportunities for job hunters.

RESOURCES: Browse through our collection of ready-to-use job description templates for the manufacturing sector.

Hiring tech making a difference

Broadening the search for talent, including workers who may not have considered the manufacturing sector before, is much easier with new recruitment technologies and recruitment management systems. 

They simplify, speed up, and provide a superior user experience for job applicants and hiring managers alike. They are also scalable, which is important for the manufacturing sector where hiring covers two needs - large-scale recruitment for a wide range of general factory jobs and highly focused recruitment, where candidates with specialist skills and experience are sought. 

In practical terms, here are four ways solutions such as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and resume data software can help manufacturing sector recruiters gain an edge in an industry where companies are competing for large pools of talent or highly skilled workers in a limited candidate pool. 

1. Speed up resume scanning and shortlisting of candidates

If you have to hire a large number of manufacturing workers within a tight deadline, technology can play a big hand in making this as seamless, fast, and easy as possible.

ATS platforms are tailor-made for these recruitment situations. ATS solutions and resume data software help companies of all sizes to manage the fundamental steps of recruitment, such as posting job adverts, scanning resumes, shortlisting candidates based on skills/experience/keywords outlined in the job description, recommending candidates, communicating with applicants, scheduling interviews, and more. In taking care of time-consuming hiring tasks, ATS platforms allow HR managers to spend more time on tasks like getting to know candidates better and developing talent pools.

2. Build a talent pool to expand recruiting options

If creating a robust talent pool is a priority for your company, specialist recruiting software can also make this happen quickly and easily. A talent pool is a list of candidates who have either worked or applied to work for your company and have the ‘right fit’ skills to succeed in positions coming up in the future.

Benefits-wise, a strong online talent pool gives you more options the next time you have to recruit. So, in addition to looking for external candidates, you can also scan your talent pool to find “passive candidates,” i.e., “good-fit matches” from prior interviews. In addition to storing data, talent pool software can also help you rank candidates for new positions based on skills, location, and other benchmarks.

3. Provide a better user experience – it’s an essential recruitment first step

Attracting younger job seekers to manufacturing roles is a challenge that the industry has faced for some time. Low wages, hard working conditions, limited growth opportunities, and a low-tech sector are some of the reasons Generation-Z candidates rank other industries ahead of manufacturing. 

Given this perception, delivering a great first step in the recruitment process is essential. If your application platform is clunky, visually unappealing, and hard to use, young candidates will probably not apply. Make the investment to create an accessible, intuitive, and attractive online application platform. It must also be mobile-friendly because most job seekers use mobile devices rather than desktop computers to apply for jobs today.

4. Showcase your company’s point of difference with a video-content heavy career page

Many manufacturing jobs have changed - with automation and robotics tools – doing a lot of the heavy lifting tasks from the past. 

Despite this, some job hunters still hold negative perceptions about the manufacturing sector. While companies can counter this perception in words and photos, video content is more powerful and likely to change hearts and minds. 

Telling your company story with an attractive, dynamic career page is a must if you want to attract young job seekers to your organization.

Linked to the company website, a career page fulfills two key roles:

1. Listing all available positions across the company
2. Providing candidates with a look and taste of what it is like to work for your company

“This looks like a great place to work” is the reaction you want to elicit from a strong career page, and in addition to the company’s vision, mission, business overview, and the management team, it should also include employee-led content describing the work culture, workplace, benefits, and training and development pathways.

Engaging employees as brand ambassadors is a compelling sell – for example, a skilled welder or engineer could be filmed talking about what they do on the job, how they got to where they are, and what they like most about their role. 

Eye-catching employee videos will be shared on career sites and social media and can also be used for marketing and recruitment campaigns. While creating a dynamic, content-heavy career page sounds daunting, many ATS solutions offer easy-to-use career page building toolkits. 

RELATED: ​​4 Ways to Create a Great Career Page using Recruitment ATS

Recruit with confidence

With hiring in the manufacturing sector anticipated to remain competitive and challenging in the near term, investing in recruitment agency software and resume data software is highly recommended.

Robust ATS platforms take care of resource-consuming hiring tasks highlighted in this blog, from tracking candidates to scanning resumes, shortlisting top candidates, hosting career pages, building talent pools, and onboarding. 

Manatal ATS platforms have been adopted by all types of businesses around the world, and if you are ready to streamline and turbo-charge your hiring processes, please reach out to learn how Manatal will manage your recruitment needs seamlessly, effortlessly, and in line with your budget. 

We invite you to sign up for a 14-day free trial to supercharge your recruitment operations.

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