NOVEMBER 2006 ISSUE
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KEYSER FILE
Recruiting Drive Heads
to United Kingdom
BY TOM KEYSER
Freelance Columnist
How do nine competitors spread the news about engineering openings in Alberta’s hot market? By working together and heading overseas, of course.
Challenging times require innovative strategies. So when a group of Alberta’s best-known engineering firms grew weary of losing top talent to the open market, the nine rivals joined forces to fight a chronic shortage.
At the urging of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta, each company anted up $11,000. Next, the group hired a Calgary firm to develop a creative advertising push to reach potential new hires working in the U.K.
With the groundwork carefully laid, the CEA members travelled to London, Manchester and Glasgow for a recruiting blitz that seems to have paid off handsomely.
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CONSULTANTS ABROAD |
Within a stretch of four busy days, 57 qualified, experienced people were interviewed. Of those, 45 stood out as exceptional candidates – a highly respectable batting average.
“As CEA members, we do compete with one another. But we all share the same problems,” notes Paul Ruffell, P.Eng., president of Edmonton-based EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.
“If you keep your head up far enough, you recognize that by bringing new people into the (Alberta) system, you’re protecting yourself. Your rivals aren’t taking your people out from under your nose,” says Mr. Ruffell. His company, which works in a broad range of consulting engineering and science areas, was an enthusiastic participant in this collaborative and innovative scheme.
Along with EBA, major players Stantec, Associated Engineering and Klohn Crippen Berger took part, joined by five other high-profile outfits: CH2M HILL, Cohos Evamy, EarthTech, ISL Engineering and Land Services, and Morrison Herschfield.
Well Worth the Money
Early returns indicate the experiment was an unqualified success. A steady
stream of new hires, in fact, is expected within the next three months.
Mr. Ruffell considers the $11,000 investment a bargain. “If you recruit via a professional headhunter, you’ll be charged at least 20 per cent of a new employee’s annual salary. If he or she earns $100,000, that’s a $20,000 payment.”
It’s no secret that frontline engineers are at an enormous premium in Alberta, a province currently looking at an estimated $100 million in industrial construction activity during the next 10 years, much of it tied to the oil sands. Three times that much cash is already earmarked for industrial projects planned for Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest during the same period.
Competition for seasoned professionals is fierce.
“It’s very hard in our industry to find good people with 10 years’ experience,” says Mr. Ruffell. “But finding them is absolutely vital for building our business.”
Currently working on important contracts for major energy companies, EBA is looking for people skilled in clean-up-work, preferably with backgrounds in soil chemistry and microbiology.
That’s why Mr. Ruffell was so receptive to the CEA’s “British Invasion,” though he adds that his company doesn’t have the resources to promise the moon and sixpence to potential imports.
“It’s not always an easy sell. The salaries and benefits in the U.K. are pretty similar to what we’re offering.”
Canada’s Strong Points
So, what is the pitch, then? Mr. Ruffell and his colleagues stress
Canada’s
standard of living, quality of life and breadth of professional opportunity.
“Over here, good engineers are likely to be assigned work involving much more responsibility at a younger age than they’d ever find in the U.K.,” Mr. Ruffell says.
Wendy Cooper, executive director of CEA, says the purpose of the scheme was to counteract raiding among Alberta competitors. However, Mr. Ruffell says some of the most energetic wooers of his staff are his best customers. And how do you scold a customer for scooping up your best people? Answer: You don’t. You just smile and move on.
“We put considerable effort into training our staff and improving the core skills they’ve developed in university. With these skills, these staff are in high demand, both from our competitors and from some of our clients,” says Mr. Ruffell.
Still, he’s convinced that offshore recruitment represents an important step forward for the CEA, which has already received feelers from Germany and Italy to for similar ventures.
At the CEA offices in Edmonton, meanwhile, Ms. Cooper is hoping more of the organization’s 80 corporate members get involved.
“We learned a few lessons and we have solid procedures in place,” she says. “We’re already thinking about where we should go next.”