Recent News

Why metals companies may have a talent-access problem—not simply a talent shortage

Across the metals industry, I regularly hear the same thing:

“We can’t find qualified people.”

I understand the frustration. Steel producers, foundries, fabricators, service centers, machine shops, cutting-tool companies, and equipment manufacturers are all looking for experienced plant managers, metallurgists, engineers, maintenance leaders, quality professionals, salespeople, and production supervisors.

A company can advertise for months, receive plenty of applications, and still not find someone with the experience it really needs.

I have spent nearly four decades in executive search, with much of that time focused on the metals, CNC machining, cutting tools, and industrial manufacturing markets. At Davalyn Corporation, we have watched these industries change considerably since the firm was founded in 1989.

One thing I have learned over those years is that a difficult search does not always mean qualified people are unavailable.

Sometimes the problem is simply reaching them.

The Best Candidates Are Often Already Working

Many of the strongest people in our industry are successfully employed. They are running plants, improving production, maintaining critical equipment, solving quality problems, managing customers, developing new business, and leading technical teams.

They’re usually not spending much time looking through job postings.

That doesn’t mean they’re unwilling to consider something better.

A stronger leadership opportunity, greater responsibility, better compensation, new technology, capital investment, career growth, or a move that makes sense for their family may get someone’s attention. But you first have to identify that person, understand what matters to them, and give them a reason to have a conversation.

There is a real difference between attracting applicants and recruiting candidates.

Job advertising remains an important tool, and we use it. But it reaches only part of the market. In a specialized industry, some of the people a company would most like to hire may never apply for the position on their own.

“How Can You Find Them When I Can’t?”

Over the years, I’ve had CEOs and company owners ask me some version of this question:

“I’ve been in this industry for years. How can you find these people when I can’t?”

It’s a fair question.

My answer is pretty simple: recruiting is what we do every day.

Our clients have businesses to run. They are producing steel, casting and fabricating metal, machining components, manufacturing tooling and equipment, serving customers, managing employees, and dealing with the daily challenges of their operations.

At Davalyn Corporation, recruiting within these industries has been our focus since 1989. Over nearly four decades, we have continually built relationships throughout the metals, machining, tooling, and industrial manufacturing markets.

That matters because you cannot build an industry network only when you suddenly need someone.

We have taken on searches after companies had already tried advertising, referrals, industry contacts, networking, trade shows, and other approaches without finding the person they needed.

Many times, the talent was there.

The company just wasn’t reaching it.

How Specialized Does the Experience Really Need to Be?

There is another issue I see frequently.

Metals manufacturing is specialized. Depending on the position, a company may legitimately need someone who understands metallurgy, casting, forging, rolling, extrusion, heat treating, machining, fabrication, maintenance, quality systems, industrial equipment, or metals distribution.

You can’t ignore that experience.

At the same time, companies can sometimes define a position so narrowly that they unintentionally eliminate very good candidates.

If someone needs experience with the exact metal, exact process, exact equipment, exact customer base, same size company, the right number of years in management, and also has to live within commuting distance, the candidate pool can become very small very quickly.

Some requirements really are non-negotiable. Others aren’t.

One of the things experience in an industry teaches you is where those lines can move.

Someone from an adjacent metals process or industrial market may have knowledge that transfers extremely well. A resume alone doesn’t always make that obvious. You need to understand what the candidate’s company actually does, the processes and equipment they’ve worked around, the customers they’ve served, and what the individual was personally responsible for.

I’ve seen very good candidates overlooked because they didn’t look like an exact match on paper.

I’ve also seen companies waste months waiting for a “perfect” candidate who probably wasn’t in the market to begin with.

Look at the Hiring Process, Too

If a position has been open for months, I don’t think it’s enough to keep asking why qualified people aren’t applying. It’s also worth looking at the process.

Is the compensation competitive? Are some of the requirements preferences rather than necessities? If relocation is needed, is the company willing to help? How long does it take to move a good candidate from the first conversation to an interview and then to a decision?

Another question is whether the company is giving a successful person a compelling reason to leave a job they already have.

That’s important because the company isn’t the only one doing the evaluating.

The candidate is evaluating the company, too.

Someone who is doing well may want to know about ownership, leadership, investment in equipment, technology, growth plans, the problems they would be expected to solve, advancement opportunities, and what a move would mean for their family.

We spend a lot of time listening to candidates for exactly that reason. You have to understand what would actually motivate someone to consider making a change. Without that conversation, they’re really just a name on a list.

What Is the Vacancy Costing?

Recruiting has a visible cost. Leaving an important position open has a cost too, although it is often harder to put on a spreadsheet.

An open plant leadership, engineering, maintenance, quality, or commercial position can affect production, equipment reliability, customer commitments, sales, and the workload of everyone around it.

Other managers pick up the responsibilities. Projects get delayed. Problems take longer to solve. Opportunities can be missed.

So when a company is concerned about the cost of conducting a search, I think there is another question worth asking:

“What is this vacancy costing the business every month?”

For a critical position, that number may be much larger than anyone realizes.

Recruiting Has Changed. People Haven’t Changed That Much.

The tools available to recruiters today are dramatically different from what we had when Davalyn started in 1989.

Technology has made it possible to identify and research people faster. Professional networks, databases, digital communication, and newer research tools give recruiters access to an enormous amount of information.

All of that is useful. We use technology every day.

But technology doesn’t convince a successful plant manager, engineer, metallurgist, sales executive, or technical professional to leave a good job.

People still want to know: Why should I listen? What’s different about this opportunity? What’s in it for my career? What would I be walking into? Is this worth making a change?

Those conversations still require industry knowledge, listening, discretion, persistence, and trust.

That’s one part of recruiting I don’t think technology will replace.

Talent Shortage or Talent Access?

There are real workforce challenges in the metals industry. Experienced people are retiring. Many facilities are located outside major metropolitan areas. Relocation isn’t easy. Companies increasingly want people who understand traditional metals operations as well as newer technology, automation, and modern manufacturing systems.

But those issues don’t explain every difficult search.

If a company has been advertising for months and continues seeing the same limited group of applicants, more advertising may simply produce more of the same.

The person capable of improving plant performance, reducing downtime, solving a quality problem, developing new customers, or leading the next stage of an organization may not be looking for another job.

They may be working for another company right now.

So when a client tells me, “We can’t find qualified people,” I don’t automatically assume those people aren’t out there.

After nearly four decades in this business, I’ve seen too many situations where they were.

The company just wasn’t reaching them.

Sometimes what looks like a talent shortage is really a talent-access problem.