Hiring and Retaining Engineers - The Supplier Approach
More than just a job
The practice of human resources staff members handing job candidates a dry-reading company brochure is fading from the recruiting landscape. In the frenzy to attract the best and brightest candidates, companies are focusing on the big details and the nuances.
Recruiters for Johnson Controls' Automotive Systems Group hand out a number of job-related pamphlets during on-site job campaigns, including a full-color, 10-page brochure that addresses questions candidates ask themselves: "How Do You Measure Success?"; "What Makes You Innovative?"; "How High Are Your Expectations?"; and "What Do You Value?"
 Built in 1990, the 9290 m2 (100,000 ft2) Johnson Controls' People Center located in Holland, MI, is equipped with an exercise room and a full-size lap pool among many other features.   |
"The brochure isn't filled with tons of facts and figures. It shows our opportunities. If you match up with what you see in the brochure as well as the Johnson Controls people that you meet and any other individual criteria, then the growth, opportunities, and excitement present with this company means this company is for you," said Kathleen Osmun, Staffing Specialist/Human Resources for Interiors at Johnson Controls' Automotive Systems Group.
On occasion, candidates look beyond country borders when considering a job. With 285 engineering and manufacturing facilities around the world, a Johnson Controls foreign assignment is possible. "One of our recruiting tools as a global company is a foreign assignment if that's what a job candidate wants at some point in his or her career. We don't specifically recruit with that intention, but if an employee has been with the company a year or two and has expressed an interest in a foreign assignment, and that person's job performance is exceptional, a foreign assignment is possible," said Maria Martinez, International Human Resources specialist with Johnson Controls in Holland, MI. In the six years that Martinez has been with the company, two employees were placed on foreign assignment. In one case, an engineer took a work assignment in Germany. In most cases, an overseas assignment lasts one to five years.
For employees wanting to improve upon their knowledge base, Johnson Controls spotlights more than 20 on-site seminars four times a year with topics ranging from engineering and statistics to management and human relations. For job-related courses, the company offers full tuition reimbursement if the employee earns a grade of C or better.
Work-related travel can be less of a time burden for engineers and others whose work duties unfold in dual locations. A corporate jet - one of four - serves as a quick people carrier throughout the year. The 45-seat jet shuttles between the Holland, MI, facility; the automotive group headquarters in Plymouth, MI; and corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, WI. "When an employee is able to utilize the jet, it cuts down on the overnight stays away from the family. We value our families. It feels great to be treated well by your company," said Osmun.
The Holland, MI, campus does offer amenities not available at any other worldwide Johnson Controls work site. An on-site medical center, staffed by six physicians, is available for employees, spouses, and children. Another on-campus offering that accents good health is The People Center. The facility is equipped with a full-size lap pool; sauna; whirlpool; exercise room; indoor track; basketball, tennis, and racquetball courts; and locker rooms. Fitness programs available to employees and their families include aerobics and inline skating.
Johnson Controls employs more than 1800 engineers in Michigan. Positions in hot demand by company recruiters are product, electronics, design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. "My staffing team of 17 has typically dealt with the need for hundreds of engineers at any given time. We are continually looking to hire engineers," said Osmun.
