For decades, human resource managers have recognized the key to success starts with the people – or human capital management as it’s often referred to. The concept of leading people through the ups and downs in business, while doing what it takes to preserve the company values and mission are the foundations of successful HR leadership. Yet, in an ever-changing engineering industry, this becomes challenging as various skill sets phase out and are replaced with new engineering techniques and technology.
The questions that keep many engineering company leaders up at night include:
- How can HR manage well through a changing atmosphere, yet still retain good employees and productivity levels?
- Is the engineering organization as flexible as it can be to keep up and stay ahead of important industry changes?
- Do my engineering employees have what it takes to lead my company into the next century strong?
While there is not much that can be done about change (which is an inevitable part of the engineering world) there are some ways to efficiently handle change management and remain competitive.
- Realize that you must always be thinking “what’s next?” – As a leader, it’s up to you to see what’s coming down the pipe in your business. Be sure to stay in touch with your industry through networks and associations.
- Continue to develop your engineering employees through succession planning. Today’s talent is tomorrow’s leadership. Take the time to regularly assess the skill-sets on your team and design development programs around the key skills needed for future success.
- Give your employees a stable foundation on which to build their dreams. Create a mission statement and remind employees often of how this helps you to navigate all changes. This can provide a compass from which to build your business.
- Encourage collaboration, technology and connectivity in the workplace. The use of social networking and more open work spaces can propel your engineering firm into greater levels of innovation and success.
- Recruit and hire the best entry level engineers in the industry. Make sure your recruitment team knows what critical skills are needed to get the job done well. Consider the advantages of using an outsourced recruitment strategy, like working with Venteon technical staffing, to get the best contractors on board.
- Convert to agile project management tools and processes. Change will always be a factor in engineering, so shift your project management to that of an agile work process. This will help your business to adjust to changes as they come more effectively.