Posts by Ben Talbert
Talent Outlook: The Supply of Skilled Labor
“We always say live for today and don’t waste time worrying about tomorrow. But what keeps us up at night is knowing that tomorrow is roaring down on us like a tsunami, and a lot of us don’t know how to swim.” — Police procedural crime novelist, Barbara Nickless, from her book Ambush
People often think that tsunamis are simply massive waves that submerge a body of land — the kind of waves, for instance, that a hurricane produces. Instead, a tsunami is not only a massive amount of water covering an area of land, but also an underlying epic and violent change in the seafloor, often caused by an earthquake or volcano, that displaces a significant mass of water. The combination of displacing the water and the sudden change in the floor under that water can produce waves that arrive on land at heights of 70 to 100 feet. In the case of the largest known tsunami in Alaska, occurring in 1958, “wave run-up reached a height of 1,720 feet” according to Live Science.
I’ve been a recruiter for various sectors of manufacturing for nearly a decade and prior to that I worked for 10 years as an engineer, first in a large textile and chemical manufacturer, and then for a regional design and construction firm. I can safely say that in my 20 year career I have never seen so desperate a need for manufacturing talent at all levels as this year. I frequently hear — and have said these words myself — “where have all the people gone?” At times the talent shortage has felt “tsunami- like” in its scale.
I think, in order to solve a problem, you have to first understand why the problem has occurred. In the case of our current talent shortage we have, like natural tsunamis, twodifferent causes, one immediate and circumstantial, and the other an epic generational shift.
2020 Response & Consequences
The immediate, circumstantial lack of talent right now has occurred because of the events of 2020 and response to it from both companies and governments. You’ve heard of “The Great Resignation” and maybe you’ve even experienced it at your company. Think of these employment changes as the immediate wall of water rushing towards land.
1) A large number of employees were laid off by companies or were forced to stop working by government edicts. I think we are underestimating what that did to people’s minds and hearts. Some of those who are driven and resourceful determined that they would never again be as subject to the “whims” or power of companies as they were then — and they often went to work for themselves. Entrepreneurship was given a significant boost during the pandemic in part because people felt as if they had no other options. In particular in-person employment — like retail, restaurants, events, and yes, manufacturing — was most effected by the shut-downs and layoffs. Some of those who remained within the corporate structure have struggled as well. The uncertainty and confusion of a year or more of tenuous employment damaged their motivation and commitment.
2) Significant burnout occurred for those in the most-effected industries as they were left to carry the load with less staff, fewer resources, logistics and supply shortages, and often tense and angry customers. That also led to many rethinking their careers and lifestyles.
3) People were faced, some for the first time, with the thought of their own mortality and this has caused perspectives and priorities to change. People simply developed different values over what is now an approaching three year mark.
4) Plenty of baby boomers simply chose this time to finally retire. They looked at a sea of shortages, stress, staff depletion and thought “I can move on from this.”
5) Three million women were forced to leave a job because of the logistics of family, children, and schooling during COVID. Only two million have returned, leaving a gap of one million who have not yet returned to work and may never do so due to either childcare issues, changing values, or other reasons. (For further discussion on this issue see the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, this CNBC story, and this SHRM analysis.) Give people an opportunity to live life a different way — and some people never look back.
6) Many people learned that they liked working virtually, flexible hours, and being at home rather than commuting to the office. If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a thousand times: “I get more done at home, and I don’t waste an hour in the car driving to and from the office either.” In fact, one of the motivating factors for some finding new jobs, new careers, and new industries was the “back-to- the-office” announcements that staff didn’t want to hear.
To sum up the above, there are more options for people to make money than there have ever been before — and, increasingly, people have learned to more greatly value career freedom.
An Epic, Generational Shift
The immediate, circumstantial causes of our talent gap would be enough to create quite a wave. But underlying that massive wave is the underlying epic shift under the water at the seafloor level. For probably one of the first times in history, we have five generations in the workforce — Silents/Traditionalists (now intheir 70s), Boomers, Gen-X, Gen-Y/ Millennials, and Gen-Z — all
shaped by staggeringly different life experiences, at different stages in life, and with different cultures and values — and yet we frequently offer a one- size-fits-all workplace environment.
Furthermore, to add to the challenges of coping with the needs of very different generations in the workforce, power in the hiring process has shifted from employer to the candidate. What that means is that the employer has to work at least as hard as the candidate to be attractive to that candidate. In other words, the company must market itself not just to its customers, but to potential employees.
According to now-familiar demographic research, each of the five generations is accustomed
to and appreciates a different managerial style, has sought different career goals (even in their youth, Traditionalists sought security and stability over autonomy/freedom/ options), and perceives different reward structures for work. Without reviewing every category for each generation, let me mention a few well-recognized contrasts in style.
— Both traditionalists and babyboomers saw job stability
— staying with one company or at most two or three (if they were daring!) — as appropriate and positive. The average millennial has held somewhere around seven jobs before age 30. They think nothing of switching jobs — it’s considered a natural part of life and career.
Careers for four generations were built on the annual review and limited formal feedback. Gen-Z is used to real-time constant feedback at the push of a button. Now.
Gen Z doesn’t “go online” — they live online. They are digital natives — extremely tech-savvy — and born to live in a digital/virtual world. Increasingly younger generations of workers rely on workplaces
to provide purpose and personal development. The purpose — not duty — of the work is what motivates them to get out of bed in the morning and head to the workplace. They don’t pursue sameness or stability; they pursue change, growth, stimulation, and the new and different. If you are thinking of keeping Gen Y or Gen Z employees in the same jobs or roles for even a one-year period, you will lose them.
To sum up the above, unless manufacturers are able to flexibly adapt to the needs, cultures, goals, and values of the newer generations, they will not appreciably close the talent gap.
That combination of the unique circumstances of the past two+ years, which has led to a radical shift in employment values for a large portion of the workforce, plus the significant underlying epic generational shifts that manufacturers must adapt to, is what I believe has led to our staggering talent losses.
The best way that I know to succinctly describe that process of appeal, adaptation, and marketing
that employers will have to pursue to make up that talent gap is that leaders are going to have to pay attention to and build the employer brand as much as they have worked to build the product, service, or consumer brand of the company.
Building the employer brand is easy enough to say. But tackling the steps and sometimes the deep cultural shifts that will have to take place to build a recognizable, appealing employer brand to potential staff is the stuff of years of intentional work — and the topic for another article (or ten articles!) as well.
Originally posted in May 2022; Cover Story, Manufacturing Outlook May 2022
Talent Lures: Two More Tasks for Industrial Companies
April 6, 2023
Two more steps that expand your talent pipeline and attract new generations.
Last month I wrote about three simple first steps that manufacturing companies can take to begin the journey towards becoming the most attractive place to work for employees: 1) create a relevant corporate website; 2) modernize your work spaces & invest in your facility’s infrastructure; and 3) communicate on the relevant tech platforms that your employees and ideal candidates use. The only way to win the talent war is to become an exceptional company for exceptional candidates.
Here are two more tasks to consider, both of which expand your employment pipeline to new generations and also require a greater investment in time and money.
4) Engage at the grass roots in local high schools and tech schools, and become involved in your community.
Your future hires will be coming from those high schools and tech schools — or they’ll be going elsewhere. Somehow we have to challenge a common stigma regarding working in manufacturing.
Manufacturing is a place with good salaries, potential to advance, and possibilities for personal and professional development, creativity, and building a life. But for various reasons, schools, guidance counselors, parents, and entire generations haven’t received that message and frequently miss the opportunity to present manufacturing to students as an option for a career.
Manufacturing leaders must engage with kids at an early age, as early as middle school, by creating conversations, asking questions, offering facility tours, showcasing excellent internal training and development programs, making classroom appearances, and developing apprenticeship opportunities.
Your company’s visibility in the community is vital for building a larger employee pipeline. You can recruit people from far away. Or close to home. Recruiting closer to home is far easier, but you have to begin now to build relationships with future generations of workers.
5) Embrace “gamification” to heighten engagement, performance feedback, and worker satisfaction.
Much of life, including education, has been “gamified.” According to Tapjoy, a mobile ad and app monetization company, about 86% of Gen Z “use mobile devices as gaming platforms.” Measuring, incentives, feedback, competing, learning — all of those things happen through online and mobile games, and education is embracing that shift.
The largest geographic education district in the country recently began introducing mobile games for their students that explore everything from cybersecurity careers to soft skills development. One company that has taken on the gamification needs of industries, schools, and economic/workforce development agencies is skillsgapp, which fields mobile interactive apps that help middle and high school-aged youth achieve career awareness and pathway access, as well as develop the middle and soft skills necessary to pursue jobs in skills-based industries. With a social network through gamification, students can see what others are doing, make comparisons, achieve feedback and real incentives, compete, and grow. Gamification in the workplace can offer the same benefits.
To begin adding “fun and games” to manufacturing, you have to decide what behaviors you are trying to improve and then offer incentives for those improved behaviors. Perhaps you want to increase participation in training and development, improve quality, or boost a safety measurable.
Once you determine what you want to improve, an old principle becomes clear: we can’t improve what we don’t measure. So data becomes critical — employees have to see process data, measure results, review feedback, and compete with one another through data transparency.
“use mobile devices as gaming platforms.”
Gamification is not solely about technology. Decades ago, not long after beginning my process engineering career with Milliken, we began assigning seconds (imperfect products) directly to the shift that produced the defective product – more specifically assigning it directly to the individuals on the shift that were responsible. We graphed this on a large chart where every employee could see their individual and shift performance. Though it wasn’t tied into a real-time mobile application, it was updated daily and was a place where managers would provide positive feedback for all to see.
You don’t have to launch brand new mobile games. Experiment with adding elements of gamification to key strategic initiatives. In recent years I’ve seen one company offer gamified training and development for electrical subcontractors, and another offer $100 gift cards for certain training completions during onboarding. Gamification that is well constructed offers a possibility of mastery for employees. They can take their own careers into their own hands, choosing what achievements and incentives to pursue. Allowing that kind of autonomy and self-motivation offers significant psychological benefits for employees.
Gamification can make manufacturing fun again. Just as importantly, gamification allows you to reach a generation that has grown up with learning through mobile games. And reaching that generation will expand the employment pipeline in a very competitive talent market.
Ben Talbert is President and CEO of Better Than Found, a full-service professional and executive recruitment firm focusing on industrial sectors in manufacturing, engineering, and construction. After graduating with his degree in textile engineering from NC State, Ben spent the first ten years of his career in engineering with stints at Milliken and O’Neal, Inc., an EPC company that designs and builds manufacturing operations. For the past eight years, Ben has been recruiting for the same industries where he had worked. Connect with Ben at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentalbert.
Kayla van Hoff joins Better Than Found search firm as recruiting assistant
Greenville, South Carolina – April 2, 2023
Kayla van Hoff has joined Better Than Found, a professional and executive recruitment firm focusing on industrial sectors in manufacturing, engineering, and construction, as a recruiting assistant. Van Hoff previously worked as a recruiter with two recruiting firms, one national firm specializing in positions at e-commerce, logistics, and manufacturing facilities and the other focusing on sales recruiting in healthcare, technology, and consulting sectors.
“I am so pleased to have found somebody like Kayla to help manage BTF’s growth,” said Ben Talbert, CEO of Better Than Found. “Since founding BTF more than two years ago, I’ve been very busy learning and investing in my clients’ businesses, helping candidates navigate their professional careers, and just trying to keep up with growth. Kayla has brought so much organization, freedom, and peace to the business and I value both her recruiting experience and her organizational and people skills. That’s a rare mix!”
“When I joined BTF, I was a bit burned out on the transactional nature of recruiting,” said Van Hoff. “The reputation and trust that Ben has developed with both his clients and with candidates has been astounding to me. He has made the process much less metrics-driven and far more relationship-oriented. His wealth of experience both as an engineer and as a recruiter has meant that clients and candidates listen to his insights and see him as a trusted advisor.”
Van Hoff graduated from Clemson University in 2019 with a BA in Human Resources Management and Services. She volunteers as the worship leader at Hope Church, and enjoys Crossfit Taylors in her free time.
Industry veteran Ben Talbert launches search firm to service industrial sector
GREENVILLE, S.C. (January 1, 2021)
Ben Talbert, with more than 17 years of experience both working in and recruiting for the industrial sectors, announced that his industrial recruiting firm, Better Than Found (BTF), launched on January 1.
Specializing in professional and executive recruitment across manufacturing, engineering and construction, Better Than Found was formed on the mission to leave companies, careers and lives better than we found them. Based in Greenville, BTF does nationwide recruitment for companies in the Upstate of South Carolina and throughout the Southeast.
Better Than Found is a full-service industrial consultant and talent resource, capable of sourcing vital and specialized professionals and executives. With diverse industry knowledge and experience, its team has served clients in textiles, HVACR, consumer products, OEM industrial equipment and aftermarket parts supply, capital equipment design/engineering/automation/integration, plastics and packaging, automotive, aerospace, power generation, warehousing/distribution/logistics, chemicals and food and beverage.
Better Than Found partners with companies that are committed to excellence within their niche in the market. Its team uses a consultative approach to thoroughly understand a company’s unique hiring needs, adapting its service to attract talent to fit those needs, bringing a focus that precisely matches not only candidates’ skill sets, but attitudes, values and motivations.
Better Than Found also provides highly qualified candidates access to today’s leading companies through a relationship-based approach, finding the best possible environments for their skills, aspirations and careers to flourish. This confidential and very strategic process ensures that all aspects of a potential career move will be in the best interest of everyone involved, leaving companies, careers and lives better.
With 10 years of direct industry experience along with seven years of recruiting across industrial sectors, Talbert set out to establish a search firm that measures success based on the number of lives impacted rather than the number of placements made.
Talbert, who holds a Textile Engineering degree from N.C. State, spent the first eight years of his career at Milliken, followed by two years at O’Neal, Inc.
He has served on the Board of Directors for the Upstate Chapter of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers for over six years. He sits on the Board of Directors for 3GEN Ministries, a local nonprofit ministry. He is an active member and leader at Grace Church in Greenville, S.C., as well as a workout leader and recruitment/expansion participant with F3 Nation (Fitness, Fellowship and Faith). He also is a member of the Southern Textile Association (STA).
Talbert comes from a family with deep roots in the manufacturing industry in the Carolinas. It’s that heritage and his experience working with and placing professionals in the industry that has shown him the importance of relationship building, he said. He said that establishing those relationships in order to place an individual in the appropriate role provides much personal fulfillment.
“It’s extremely satisfying to bring in a candidate, hear their career goals and line them up with a right company,” he said. “Better Than Found is more than just a name – it’s our mission.”