The challenge: Finding the level of skilled staff they required

Kay Dawkins, the Financial Controller for Seldén Mast was finding it extremely difficult to get the level of engineering expertise in new staff needed for efficient production.

“It has been extremely difficult to get production staff. We need a level of engineering skill, to be able to use air tools as well as other tools, to be able to read a bill of materials and to be able to follow drawings. We just couldn’t get that level of staff at the rate we required.”

Kay was up against defence manufacturers in the area, who could procure government contracts and was struggling to compete for staff.  “Government contracts allow for higher rates of pay for staff, there isn’t a level playing field on the south coast.”

Much of Kay’s time was focussed on recruitment, trying to source the staff that the company urgently needed.  She was trawling through CV libraries, advertising - often without success and even investing time in showing potential candidates around the manufacturing floor, but the recruitment problems remained.

“We were even visiting local schools to try and educate and instil some interest from those students about to leave school.  We wanted to showcase our industry in the hope they would think about training in an area relevant to the requirements we needed for our staff, but you exhaust the candidate pool very quickly”

Scouring the area for candidates using their own in-house expertise was becoming expensive. It was becoming a huge waste of resources, both in terms of time and money. “It just got to be too time consuming,” says Kay.

The solution: Working with Workshop Recruitment to find the right type of candidate

Kay’s Head of Sales recommended Workshop Recruitment and she immediately contacted them for help. 

She was thrilled with the level of care she received from the Workshop team from the outset, specifically about finding the right type of candidates for the business.

“They came out to visit us to get an understanding of our requirements and they really showed an interest in the business, which was refreshing. It’s rare to find that level of engagement.”

Kay’s team and Workshop Recruitment worked together to implement a business model that works for Seldén Masts. 

Workshops Directors’ Daimion and Peter have both been involved in recruitment planning for the business. Daimion and his team find suitable candidates for Seldén Mast and they then work for a specified amount of time, ensuring they are exactly the right fit for the company before making a final decision to appoint permanently.

“Pete has provided Seldén Mast with an amazing selection of permanent staff. They’re excellent. I’m very pleased with them,” Kay confirms.

Going above and beyond…

An additional service that the Workshop team provided was helping Kay benchmark to make sure the company was being realistic with their rates of pay.

“Daimion’s been an excellent support. He was very helpful just before the end of last year, helping me get salary scales in place so that we can reward those that need rewarding. I was very grateful to him for that.”

Seldén Mast has now streamlined their recruitment process, saving valuable time and money and allowing staff members to focus on their roles rather than the constant need for recruitment.

“The Workshop Recruitment team really do go the extra mile. They’ve bent over backwards to try and get me the best staff they can and often at very short notice.”

“I know that agencies work on commission but with some agencies I’ve dealt with in the past, that’s all they seem to care about - the bottom line. I don’t get that sense from the Workshop team; I feel that they want to do the very best job possible for me.”