Successful job “speed dating” operation in Issoudun
Business is picking up briskly at Safran Seats, with several new programs in the pipeline. The Issoudun site is a shining example of this ramp-up, which is fueling hiring requirements. To meet these needs, the Human Resources team opted for an innovative recruitment drive in the form of a job “speed dating” session in March 2022, which proved to be a great success.
- Radar
- At a glance
- Perspective
“Business at Issoudon plummeted by 70% between 2019 and 2020,” explains Frédéric Rascouailles, CEO of Safran Seats France, “leading to an unprecedented decline in activity. Then, in 2021, we signed a flurry of new contracts, and today the recovery is well underway. Business has picked up as abruptly as it dropped off and is now back up to 2019 levels.”
This is all very positive for the company, but it also represents a major challenge in terms of recruitment. Starting in March 2020, the site downsized, cutting back on both outsourcing and temp employees. Now, with a number of new products and programs on the agenda, 80 job positions have been opened, at a site that employs 1,200 people.
INNOVATE TO RECRUIT TOP TALENT
Safran Seats decided it had to innovate to rise to this challenge, and held a giant job speed dating event at its site in March called “Come and meet your next employer”. A series of press tours were arranged to publicize the event, which was scheduled for the morning of March 10. The site was also honored by visits from the mayor and the president of the regional government, helping to spotlight the company.
On the day of the event, 250 people visited the site. Participants were given tours of the economy class seats workshops and test facilities – including the famous crash tests – and were able to talk with staff from operations and HR. It was a lively event, with people attending all morning. The site hadn’t seen so much excitement since before the pandemic!
With 80 jobs on offer, HR were delighted to receive more than 100 resumes with the requisite skills. “It far exceeded our expectations,” says Charlotte Robert, head of HR at Issoudun. “Now we must convert these applications into hires so that we can quickly strengthen our teams and meet the challenge of the strong ramp-up in production rates .”
Charlotte Robert
“The increased workload is mainly in jobs upstream of production, such as test engineers, supply chain and purchasing. Issoudun is a small town of just 11,000 people, mid-way between Bourges and Châteauroux, themselves medium-sized cities, so the regional labor pool is quite limited. But as a matter of principle we aim to hire local people, so we’re proud of this successful outcome. We contacted all applicants soon after the event to begin the next steps in the recruitment process. And we make a point of letting each and every one of them know whether or not their application is successful, giving a full explanation.”
But as a matter of principle we aim to hire local people, so we’re proud of this successful outcome.
key figures
- 55%
of participants said they’d heard about the event through the media, and 35% by word-of-mouth.
- 80
job openings at the Safran Seats Issoudun site, which employs 1,200 people.
- > 60%
Over 60% of positions filled since the event.
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