Business Challenge
A leading transportation manufacturer faced significant staffing challenges at two newly launched locations. Struggling to attract and retain local talent, they were encountering an offer rejection rate of nearly 80%. To avoid disruption to production, they sought a strategic partner who could help them navigate local labor market dynamics, optimize compensation strategies, and effectively engage top-tier candidates. The hiring needs spanned a wide range of roles, including skilled technical positions, operations staff and specialized functions.
Solution
- Manpower conducted a market analysis to aid in determining compensation and supply vs demand for specific skill sets.
- We recommended a recruitment strategy for direct hire instead of contingent to attract a wider candidate pool.
- Offered recommendations around how to keep candidates engaged through the interview process to placement.
- A team of Direct Hire search consultants with manufacturing and skilled technical expertise were assigned to specific positions, which helped streamline the recruitment process and fill roles quickly.
- Shared drive templates and folders were created and weekly meetings were set up to review candidates, process and market intel.
Results
By providing detailed local market intelligence — including supply and demand trends and compensation benchmarks — Manpower helped the client refine their pay matrix to better align with market expectations. This adjustment significantly improved candidate attraction and job matching.
Manpower’s Direct Hire search consultants also partnered with the client to streamline the recruitment process, resulting in a dramatic reduction in offer rejections — from 80% down to 31%.
As a result, the client saw measurable improvements in operational efficiency, including increased on-time production and reduced downtime — particularly within their maintenance department, where having the right talent in place made a critical difference.