How factories find people to work for them now is a world away from five years ago. Walking into a manufacturing facility and asking how they fill their production roles would yield a drastically different answer from the old “post a job and wait” refrain that used to service so well.

Over the last five years, everything changed all at once and how companies need to look at filling production roles has completely transformed. Some issues presented themselves before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but the last few years have fast-tracked everyone into a revolutionary experience in hiring that many were not prepared for.

Time to Apply is No Longer Waiting

The biggest difference that changed practically overnight. When people applied to jobs five years ago, they were fine with waiting a few weeks to hear back. When the application process went from submitting an application, getting a phone screen, going on an in-person interview to waiting another week or two for a final offer, this was acceptable.

Now, people expect to be reached out to within a few days or even the next day. Factory positions are no longer on old-school timelines where two weeks pass, and the hiring company looks like the good one because it’s vetting applicants. People apply to numerous places all at once now; the company that strikes first, or strikes within 72 hours, gets the person.

Thus, many companies have cut down their HR processes in order to accommodate this new speed. Instead of taking a week to run background checks, they’ve minimized capabilities. Instead of taking two rounds of interviews for temp-to-perm offers, they’re now condensing efforts into same-day interviews, something that most never would have fathomed five years ago.

Skills Needed Differed Drastically

The skill set needed for factory work is nothing like what’s been in place for decades. The technology behind most manufacturing facilities is nothing like what’s been found within the walls of factories in 2019; automated systems, robotics and computer-aided systems are being employed faster than most can imagine.

Consequently, those who need to fill these jobs are becoming more limited because they must comprehend increasingly sophisticated systems. However, those who are filling these jobs now are coming from a workforce lacking advanced technical knowledge, they worked as manufacturers for years but at places with completely different machines or computerized procedures.

Hiring someone with ten years of manufacturing experience no longer means that’s what they did. It means they have great potential, and at some companies, that’s not enough. Thus, companies began attempting to find the right aptitude instead, deeming training capability more important than years spent in previous factories with ancient machines.

Outside Help is a New Normal

The do-it-yourself approach doesn’t bode well for most companies in facilities anymore. Finding talented workers who qualify for these roles requires an expertise that many companies do not possess under their rooftops which means that industrial staffing specialists became a new normal for how people fill these positions.

Why did this change? Because getting the word out was merely not enough. The best talent exists within companies that need to be poached, not those sitting at home scrolling job boards. The right staffing experts know how to find this talent and what strings to pull in order to attract them for consideration.

In addition, companies have also found outside help beneficial because it gives them the flexibility they’re seeking when it comes to numbers. Manufacturing professionals need to be increased or decreased without needing permanent hires. Five years ago, the need for scaled options was minuscule; now, it’s imperative.

Workplace Expectations Have Changed Entirely

Gone are the days where people were thankful just to have jobs that worked for them; now, it’s about finding better schedules, flexibility with their positions and an emphasis on a work culture that no longer resembles 1995.

As it pertains to shift work, telling someone to work second shift because that’s when it’s available is no longer enough as response. Workers want input on their schedules. They want advanced warnings of changes. They want management to at least try for their personal lives.

Pay is another issue that has drastically changed since five years ago; candidates expect to get the pay rate up front. Companies check against other facilities’ pay structures; they even openly share their offers between each other on LinkedIn. Companies looking to undercut or nickel and dime new hires are being called out almost immediately if someone sees someone else paying more.

Competition Got Stronger

Five years ago, factory jobs were competing with other factory jobs. Today, factory jobs are competing with warehouse positions, delivery drivers, retail management, positions that offer low effort and high pay without needing a four-year degree.

Amazon and its distribution networks changed the game; low pay and no benefits is one thing, but competitive salaries and transparency coupled with an interesting career path means that traditional manufacturing facilities need to do something better or risk employees jumping ship for these new opportunities.

Similarly, geographical considerations have changed; remote positions don’t apply for factory settings but they do for other job markets. When people can choose office jobs in Texas, those become one less person who can work in manufacturing. For every remote position filled, that’s one less position potentially helping in a factory setting.

Technology Affects Who You Want

Many of the candidates we seek are not as we pictured 20 years ago. Younger candidates grew up with technology but lack any factory experience. Older candidates have the manufacturing experience but resist new systems.

Unfortunately, this creates hiring challenges that did not exist before today. Do we go with the 22-year-old who has a ton of information about tech but hasn’t worked in a plant? Or do we go with the 50-year-old who has tenured experience but needs extensive training on all new equipment? Either way has its pros and cons but there’s no longer a cut-and-dry answer.

A lot of facilities started providing better training programs as a result of this chasm where facilities realized they needed to invest more time during onboarding instead of just hoping that newcomers hit the ground running.

Talent Supply Dried Up

Vocation programs and programs centered around manufacturing decreased over the last decade substantially. Everyone pushed college as the way to go, while fewer youths were learning trades and figuring out manufacturing was not an ideal career option.

Now the companies are stuck with this predicament. The pipeline is not there anymore; experienced workers are retiring faster than new ones are coming in from community colleges which means that everything from entry level roles, skilled techs and supervisors, is impossible to fill.

Some forward-thinking companies started creating relationships with community colleges and vocational schools as long-term investments but they’re still finding employment wherever possible short term in order to fill gaps.

This Means Moving Forward

Factory hiring is not going back to normal, or back to how it once was. The last five years have transformed how hiring works in labor markets and staffing challenges position companies that adapted extremely well while those who attempted to hire like it’s 2019 have remaining staff shortages.

Hiring requires speed, flexibility, competitive compensation and staffing outside help is no longer out of the question. This includes treating workers like valued assets instead of interchangeable parts, and that’s probably the most powerful change of all.