What to do if your Chemical project scope expands: Recruitment advice for Chemical Companies

The chemical industry continues to thrive as one of the most successful sectors globally. With the increasing demand for chemicals, plastics, and additives, it is crucial for businesses to recruit and retain top-tier candidates to stay competitive in this ever-evolving landscape.

In this blog, we will explore effective strategies for attracting, selecting, and retaining the best talent in the chemicals industry to help with your expanding project scope.

The Challenges of Staffing in Chemicals

Operating a chemical plant is a highly intricate process involving multiple companies on-site at any given time, with hundreds of contractors working on different bill rates and compensation packages. This already complex operation is often compounded by frequent overspending and the common problem of worker misclassifications, which can expose companies to severe risks.

It is essential to have the appropriate personnel available for your project, regardless of its size or type. Whether you are working on a maintenance event, a turnaround, or a capital project, you require skilled and experienced professionals in each role. You need to ensure that you have the right talent within your organisation to bring their expertise and skills to their teams.

The main challenges that hiring managers face include:

• Ensuring ample time to plan ahead and source the talent required
• Competition – other businesses will be competing for your specialised talent
• Accessing specialised talent – planners and schedulers may work within niche disciplines only
• Overcoming your project back-log and mitigating turnaround schedules

Outsourcing Your Staffing Needs

Working with a staffing partner may be your best option to ensure quality and consistency across your employees.

Building a pool of qualified candidates is a crucial first step in the recruitment process for the industrial chemicals industry. Instead of starting from scratch for each talent search, partnering with a well-respected industry recruiter can provide access to a ready pool of candidates. This collaboration allows businesses to leverage the recruiter's deep well of experience and maintain a wealth of quality options for various roles that may arise.

For efficiency, choose a talent agency with deep roots in the sector, one who understands your needs and can, therefore, source top talent from across the industry and benchmark them ahead of time to ensure that individuals can mobilise when you need them.

Choosing an experienced agency with wider industry connections and attractive compensation packages for new hires enables a more beneficial and strategic approach. Your trusted partner can get into the minute details of individual hiring plans and assignments, leaving you to only think about the overall costs as your business expands.

A well-equipped staffing agency does not just focus on hiring contractors. It also takes care of all the contractors' benefits and pay-related queries. In addition, a truly competent staffing agency understands the importance of maintaining continuity in contractor care and relationship management. Therefore, it assigns key individuals to handle such affairs and build relationships with the contractors.

Building a Pool of Qualified Candidates

In the chemicals industry, employees are looking after high-valued and important assets in high-pressure environments, using very specialised and technical skills. In such a competitive environment, it is not enough to begin sourcing strategies only when the need for talent arises. It should be a constant, ongoing focus. You need to be able to access the best talent nationwide with localised recruitment support.

Salary alone isn’t the only benefit driving people to work in this sector. This means having pipelines in place to access the talent and packaging yourself as an attractive prospective place to work too.

Chemical companies must work with suppliers who understand the talent base and what it takes to attract the right skillsets to operate an effective chemical manufacturing environment.

Maintaining an updated pool of candidates is essential to ensure a constant talent supply. The chemicals industry constantly evolves, with new functions and disciplines reshaping its landscape. Staying current with the latest educational and experiential trends enables businesses to assess future opportunities and better match candidates to evolving roles. By monitoring and responding to industry developments, companies can position themselves for success.

Communicating Company Culture

Besides job expectations and competitive pay, today's candidates seek a sense of belonging and purpose within a company's culture. A company with a rich and rewarding culture will attract better employees and help retain them for longer. Communicating the company's culture during the recruitment process is vital to ensuring a good fit between candidates and the organisation.

Having a thorough and attractive Employee Value Proposition is vital. This is what the company explicitly promises its employees and is the sum of the benefits and values that attract and retain employees. Although the EVP includes tangible things like salary, benefits, flexibility, wellness schemes and so on, it also includes less tangible (but equally important) elements such as vision, meaningful work, sense of purpose, community involvement, inspirational leadership style, etc.

To effectively communicate company culture, employers should go beyond simple job descriptions and highlight the company's mission, values, and initiatives that contribute to a compelling and important cause. Candidates will be likelier to choose a company that aligns with their values and offers a supportive and inclusive work environment.

Overcoming Roadblocks in Recruitment Efforts

Recruitment efforts in the chemicals industry may encounter certain roadblocks. One common challenge is the disconnect between candidate expectations and the nature of the role. Understanding these roadblocks and finding ways to overcome them is crucial for successful talent acquisition.

To address this issue, companies can focus on improving their employer branding and candidate experience. By showcasing the benefits of working in the chemicals industry and offering professional development opportunities, businesses can bridge the gap between candidate expectations and the reality of the role.

Additionally, providing clear and transparent communication throughout the recruitment process can help manage candidate expectations effectively and will ensure you lower the risk of your new contractors getting cold feet before they’ve even started.

Managing Industry Perception

The chemical industry is an exciting place to be, and you need to make sure your prospective candidates think so too. Promoting the industry's overarching value is important to ensure the perception remains positive in the ever-changing landscape.

Educating the public about the importance of chemicals in various aspects of their daily lives can help dispel misconceptions. Companies can also showcase the range of inclusive opportunities available in the wider chemical industry to attract a more diverse pool of talent.

Sparking interest and engaging the younger generation is crucial for the long-term growth and sustainability of the industrial chemicals industry. By encouraging engagement and education, companies can attract a new generation of talent who are passionate about the industry.

Millennials’ attitudes and values are different from those of previous generations - the chemicals industry needs to offer propositions in line with this. The values that this cohort aspires to include environmental responsibility, sustainable business practices, work-with-meaning, inclusive practices and flexible working. Taking action on environmental responsibility and communicating this to recent graduates is particularly important to ensure these skills are developed within the business to avoid the skills gap.

Additionally, companies can establish mentorship programs and prioritize employee training and development. By offering vocational training, skills programs, and continuous learning opportunities, businesses can bridge the skills gap and ensure a steady stream of skilled workers.

Encouraging Engagement and Education

Sparking interest and engaging the younger generation is crucial for the long-term growth and sustainability of the industrial chemicals industry. By encouraging engagement and education, companies can attract a new generation of talent who are passionate about the industry.

One programme aimed at shifting perceptions and encouraging engagement with the logistics sector is Generation Logistics. This initiative promotes the chemical supply chain, advocates for the industry, and promotes STEM education. Similar initiatives can be implemented in the industrial chemicals industry to showcase the exciting and diverse career opportunities available.

Additionally, companies can establish mentorship programs and prioritise employee training and development. By offering vocational training, skills programmes, and continuous learning opportunities, businesses can bridge the skills gap and ensure a steady stream of skilled workers.

Expanding to a Global Search

With the demand for skilled workers as high as ever, sourcing from other countries is a lucrative solution for employers. Expatriates can possess sought-after skills that may be unavailable locally. Working with a company that can provide EOR solutions can also make this less daunting for companies needing talent quickly. 

Ensuring your business is prepared for success

Attracting top talent in the chemicals industry requires a comprehensive and proactive approach. Building a pool of qualified candidates, communicating company culture, and addressing roadblocks are essential steps in the recruitment process. Transforming public perception, encouraging engagement, and providing educational opportunities are vital in attracting a diverse, skilled workforce.

By implementing these strategies, businesses in the industrial chemicals industry can position themselves as attractive employers and ensure a sustainable supply of top-tier talent. Embracing the industry's challenges and opportunities will contribute to its long-term growth and success.

How We Can Help with your Workforce Needs

The demand for skilled engineers working in chemicals is as high as ever. Companies require skilled talent to research, design and construct the future of the industry.

NES Fircroft’s expert recruitment teams have offices in over 45 countries with cultivated talent pools. Our sector-specific teams can source engineering and technical professionals for global roles with some of the biggest names in chemicals and engineering.

With decades of experience in international expansion, we can also help you hire employees from across the globe quickly, compliantly and with minimal risk.

Contact us to discuss how we can support your workforce needs.