Hiring and Retaining Engineers - The OEM Approach
Condensing the interview time frame
Companies that depend solely on regimented interview schedules may find job candidate losses amid the recruitment battleground. Ford Motor Co.'s atypical jobs-to-fill approach puts a clever spin on the traditionally slow-to-respond interview process.
First contact between the company and a candidate is now a fast, direct route. Launched in mid-September 2000, www.mycareer.ford.com is an Internet site that lets job seekers learn about Ford Motor Co.'s open positions in a manner far more expansive than a postings presentation.
Click-on one of the site's descriptors and an interactive image of a Ford Motor Co. employee presents his or her career milestones. One of the recent site-featured employees was Jane. She joined the automaker's workforce in 1972 and has spent 28 years working in various divisions and areas relating to engines. Jane explains her involvement with the Women's Marketing Committee Production Evaluation Panel - a group, which does include men, that assists in vehicle design and feature choices. "I did a drive evaluation of the adjustable pedals three years before they become an option on vehicles," Jane noted.
 Felicia Fields, Director of Global Product Development and Quality, Ford Motor Co. |
Engineers can learn what positions are open via Today's Jobs, a link on Ford's career website, including open slots in such nontraditional work assignments as marketing, sales and service, and purchasing. "The way the site rolls, you meet people in different work areas - such as engineering, manufacturing, human resources, finance - to get a broad flavor of Ford. If you can show the passion, that excites recruits and connects them to the wealth of opportunities here," said Felicia Fields, Director of Global Product Development and Quality at Ford Motor Co..
Candidates who pass the web assessment may be invited to a leadership conference. Designed as a weekend recruitment event, a leadership conference represents an unconventional approach to condensing the interview timetable.
A traditional recruiting schedule begins with a preliminary candidate screening. If the candidate passes an initial interview, multiple interviews are required involving supervisors and upper management. That scenario generally unfolds over a period of days, even weeks.
The Ford approach puts the recruit on a nimble interview path with all relative parties assembled together. From Friday night through Sunday, engineering candidates attend a weekend leadership conference in Dearborn, MI. The format spotlights interviews, Ford-focused informational forums, mentoring discussions, dinners with senior Ford staff, Ford product ride and drive opportunities, and a safety crash test demonstration.
When the conference concludes, several candidates receive hire offers. Even candidates who are deemed non-matches can request feedback. "We're there to maintain a relationship because there could be a fit in the future," said Fields. About 300 engineering candidates - and half as many Ford Motor Co. employees - attend targeted leadership conferences scheduled throughout the year based on hiring needs.
Ford Motor Co.'s entry-level engineering position hiring goal for 2001 is 280 people. Although some hire offers will be presented to interns, a percentage will be made to candidates passing through a leadership conference.
Weekend leadership conferences enable both the candidate and Ford staff to determine in a short time frame if a match for a certain position is evident. "We were missing out on great talent, and the last thing we want to do is miss out on talented recruits. We have developed the website and leadership conferences as innovative information tools to improve candidates' understanding of Ford Motor Company and the vast opportunities that are available," said Fields.
