Beyond simply losing experienced employees, workforce shortages also disrupt opportunities for veterans to pass along their irreplaceable knowledge to young staffers. This situation makes it much more important to establish ties and maintain communications wherever possible.
“The pandemic really hurt relationships between longtime experts and new hires” says Leticia Zarpellon, president of ISA’s Houston section and technology manager at Audubon Co.s in Houston. “I’d also moved into a fully remote role, but starting a new position without in-person interaction made it difficult to build connections and learn from experienced colleagues nearing retirement. After about a year, I decided to leave because I didn’t have enough opportunities to contribute and demonstrate my strengths. In my current job, I’m onsite most days and travel as needed, which I believe provides a much better environment for building relationships and developing my career.”
Just like any employer, Zarpellon reports that her current company also needs to keep hiring to keep growing. It uses several familiar recruiting strategies, including personal recommendations and seeking new graduates. However, because educational backgrounds and experiences vary widely, it must also adapt candidates and new hires’ capabilities to the specific skills the company requires, and meet its staffers' needs at the same time.
“For example, we recently hired a newly graduated engineer, who majored in robotics, which was different from the chemical, electrical and controls engineers we usually hire,” explains Zarpellon. “We did this because his diverse background can bring fresh perspectives and ingenuity, helping us explore new opportunities for growth.”
Unfortunately, most colleges and universities don’t teach advanced process control skills, or how to program PLCs, DCSs, production processes and modeling. This shortcoming means process industry companies have long had to train new employees in many of the skills they want them to know and practice. Recent technological shifts and accelerating advances have increased this burden and thus the value of candidates willing to learn and apply them.
“When we interview candidates, we want to know if they’re good with computers and have some technical knowledge, but we also want see if they’re fast learners,” adds Zarpellon. “We know we can’t expect new hires to immediately fit in and work perfectly. We’re also aware that lots of communication is needed, and we need to provide many opportunities for them to ask questions. That’s why we seek young and eager engineers, who are willing to travel, visit plants, talk to the engineers and operators, and catch on quickly to technological changes.”
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Because persistent workforce shortages mean demand for many skills continues to exceed supply, Zarpellon adds that employers must offer competitive salaries, training, and work-life balance to secure and maintain the best talent. To help newly graduated students increase technical knowledge and get in contact with the workforce, Zarpellon reports that ISA Houston Section visits and makes presentations to introduce automation to local college students. It also revamped and streamlined its scholarship process last year, and began accepting not only written essays, but also video essays to keep up with new technologies. Consequently, where it previously had eight applicants, it now has 40 for six scholarships totaling $40,000.
“Recruiting and retaining also means going digital, using LinkedIn and other social media. It’s also useful to seek and meet people and companies at local events, and encourage everyone to participate in ISA activities, especially those seeking automation contacts and opportunities,” concludes Zarpellon. “However, all of this requires really getting out there, and talking to develop useful, word-of-mouth awareness. It may not be easy or come naturally, but none of us can afford to be shy about communicating.”
