Aluminium Times May 2005
Contracts and People
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.
