Lunchtime Learning-Job Applicants as the New Customer

Presented by:  Sarah Schake and Dr. Jana Craft

Job Applicants as the New Customer: Strategies for Successful Recruiting in Midwest Manufacturers
 
The manufacturing industry is currently facing challenges on several fronts?of the most vital is the recruiting of new employees to fill vacancies. The purpose of this study and presentation is to understand current recruiting challenges facing the manufacturing industry and offer strategic solutions to best fulfill employer needs. Main findings focus on the need for varied recruiting strategies at different stages of the recruiting process; what has worked in the past that is not working now; and specific resources used by employers that are producing successful results. A tension was found between published best-practices in recruiting for manufacturers and actual, on-the-ground, practical solutions--an important and valuable outcome of this research.