How to attract and retain engineering professionals

You have probably recognized the talent shortage in the engineering profession. Although there may be some variances based on industry sector, some universal key issues remain a concern through all sectors. Sourcing and retaining top engineering talent remain at the top of the priority chain when it comes to reaching company goals and objectives. Before resolving these problems, it’s important to understand the mindset of today’s engineering professionals, and how they shape their career aspirations.

In order to attract top tier engineering candidates, remember that these top four factors still remain at the top of the job seekers mind: salary and benefits, training and development opportunities, work-life balance, and opportunities for advancement. Let’s break down these motivators, and consider some solutions.

Work-life balance options:

• Allow employees to have a flexible hours to balance personal and professional schedules.
• Give the employee the opportunity to work from home part of the week?
• Give out decompression time off, based on extended hours put in during a busy week, or at the conclusion of a major project?
• Reward the team with extra time off, a lunch party, or other non-monetary rewards
• Provide company perks: tickets to shows, sporting events, and vacation trips.

Training and Development Opportunities:

• Corporate sponsored training/development courses, seminars, or conferences. If the members derive information, give them the opportunity to share what they’ve learned upon return, or lead a special project based on their new knowledge.
• Suggest and support the pursuit of relevant job-specific certifications.
• Create and implement a well thought through mentorship program, or schedule mentor related activities to promote career development.
• Engage staff in performance management discussions to help guide skill/job development and career growth within the company.

Of course attracting the right talent is only part of the equation. Without an effective retention plan, you may experience taking a step backward with regard to having an effective and productive engineering team.

So, why do they leave? Why do they stay?

Engineering professionals across all industry sectors have named three factors as reasons that would cause them to leave their organization or change jobs: while salary, compensation, and related financial factors lead the top of the list, opportunities for advancement and the desire for better work-life balance follow close behind across all sectors.

Are engineering leaders and managers in control of these three leading factors?

Maybe not to the full extent possible, but in many cases they do hold the reigns, and can control a portion of the outcome tied to each. Consider acting on these motivators by implementing the ideas from earlier in this article.

The talent shortage is not going away; matter of fact, experts say it will more than likely get worse. Also, you certainly don’t want your competition to attract and retain that all-to-valuable talent that you need.

M4 Workforce Solutions: a strategic partner in providing engineering/technical talent

M4 takes on specialized recruiting assignments throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. We have expertise in various industry sectors and engineering disciplines. Our behind the scenes technologies and tools enables us to locate the right candidate for you.

What more information? Visit www.m4ws.com Remember to mention this article, and you’ll receive a $300 discount off of your next placement!