A review of the Contracts and People feature in the Aluminium Times reveals the continuous international requirement of the Aluminium Industry for experienced and competent Executives and Managers.

There has been a considerable amount of publicity about the reduction of the metal industry throughout the established aluminium companies due to the increased competition from new Chinese and Indian businesses. However, in our experience in the field of Executive and Management recruitment we have found that there is still a demand in the United Kingdom and Europe for Managers with technical and operational experience. Many of the aluminium foundry companies have re-evaluated their markets and no longer want to deal with the less technical demanding castings. As a result, they have shown that there is still a rising demand for those companies that, not only can offer technical design expertise in the early stages of component design but also have a highly efficient manufacturing plant that is able to continuously show efficiency improvements and better quality standards.

We believe that our business, de Belder Associates Limited, is in a unique position in that it now has a considerable number of years in providing a highly confidential service to the Industry when there is a requirement to appoint a new Executive or Manager.

The planning of recruitment is essential particularly for a Department Manager or Chief Executive situation and the first key element is to prepare an Appointment Specification so that there is a clear understanding of the current requirement of the appointment. It is fairly easy to determine the areas of responsibility although these may need to be reviewed if the overall organisation is being revised.

We always recommend that the ‘Key Tasks’ of the position are also agreed, in that there may well be major changes required in the areas of responsibility that have to be tackled in a planned and careful manner. Generally, these tasks have to be completed within the first twelve months of the appointment and by careful analysing of these tasks then certain highlights of the level of expertise and experience required in the person to be appointed can be produced.

Having determined the personal requirements for the appointment, it then is necessary to decide upon the best method of finding the person. If the matter is of a confidential nature this is when the services of an established recruitment company with then appropriate areas of business understanding and knowledge of the industry can then be used.

Confidentiality is a key policy in our business and that applies not only for all of the business information given to us by clients but also to the information provided by potential candidates. For candidates, it is often a crucial time in their career and they do not want their curriculum vitae’s sent to any company with out permission – and we know that that happens. In addition, it may be necessary for the recruitment company to make very discreet approaches to possible candidates and this has to be undertaken in a proper manner where candidates know that they can provide information, which will be treated in a highly confidential manner.

We have recently undertaken a Technical Director appointment in a foundry & casting company that has reviewed its market and is now ready for growth and expansion. The appointment was confidential and as a result we were unable to tell candidates the name of our client. Due to our reputation within the industry candidates sent their curriculum vitae’s and we were able to interview a considerable number. We had recommendations for candidates from various contacts we have in the industry and again those contacts knew that we would maintain our confidentiality policy.

Having discussed the preferred candidates with our client, several were selected to them and having informed them of the name of our client all candidates were please to proceed to the next stage.

Location of candidates is therefore a key element in the recruitment process and there are several paths to follow in this process whether it is by advertising nationally, in important journals such as the Aluminium Times, or by supplementing this approach by searching for candidates from relevant sources.

Recruitment of Executives and Managers is a crucial part of a senior executive’s skills and is a time consuming exercise. It is on those occasions that we recommend that they seek advice from de Belder Associates Ltd who have the knowledge and expertise of the industry to help them.