With increasing competition in the Canadian manufacturing industry–whether it’s light industrial, food and beverage, machinery, electronics, automotive, transportation and many more; agility and adaptability is crucial. This is the same in manufacturing recruitment as the ability to hire quality candidates at the right speed is critical in reaching business and production goals.

Should you employ a general Canadian talent recruitment agency or look for sector-specific outsourced recruitment? Perhaps, an internal recruitment team makes more sense. Or, a mix of an in-house team augmented by an expert manufacturing recruitment agency?

In this article, we’ll share the types of in-house and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services available to Canadian manufacturers. Hopefully this will guide you on making the best investment for your team.

In-house Recruitment: Have greater control of hiring
As the name suggests, this involves building your own recruitment process with a team of recruiters. You’ll want to supply your recruitment team with the right technologies to source, screen, interview, hire, and onboard candidates. Typically, there is one talent acquisition leader who supports a team of recruiters. This is a great option for manufacturers that already have some recruitment processes in place, have high hiring volumes, and want to manage and control all parts of the recruitment process within the company.

Pros: Have greater control of hiring, one consistent employer brand for candidates.

Cons: May not make sense based on hiring volume. Increased salary and software costs.

Flexible Staffing / On-Demand Recruitment: Manage costs with seasonal fluctuations
Flexible staffing is great for manufacturers with variable production demands, such as food and beverage and light industrial manufacturing. This option gives talent acquisition the ability to scale the workforce up or down without the constraints of permanent staffing. It’s also good for manufacturers that need to manage costs and increase production efficiency.

Pros: Excellent flexibility for variable-based companies such as food manufacturing recruitment and light industrial

Cons: Need a talent pipeline in place for peak seasons, as timing of hires will be critical

Temp-to-Hire: evaluating skills and potential before commitment
Temp-to-hire arrangements allow talent acquisition teams to assess potential long-term hires within their operational environments—a method particularly valuable in manufacturing sectors with specific, niche skills. Those that are a good fit in this period can become long-term valuable employees. This option is also great for TA teams to evaluable culture fit, and it is a common method offered by talent recruitment agencies in Canada.

Pros: ability to evaluate the candidate on-the-job and ensure they have the specific skills required
Cons: quality candidates may leave for permanent roles with competitors

Hybrid In-House and Outsourced Recruitment
A less common but growing trend is augmenting your internal team with a Canadian RPO or manufacturing staffing solutions agency. This combines the benefits of having an in-house team, while saving on software and salary costs. The best outsourced recruitment agencies will have their own tech staff and optimized recruitment process. Their job is to support, close, or expand the gaps of your internal talent team.

Pros: ability to get the best benefits of both an in-house and outsourced team

Cons: risk in selecting the right outsourced recruitment agency

Direct Hire: Salary and/or permanent positions
For critical roles, directly hiring qualified candidates will quickly bring onboard specialists with the skills needed for the role. This is most common in sectors with niche skills in automotive and aerospace manufacturing. For roles with high turnover, it’s recommended to continue building your talent pipeline with SMS marketing and programmatic advertising.

Pros: immediate commitment between employer and employee

Cons: high upfront costs with risk of turnover

Contract Staffing and Project-Based Hiring: keeping flexibility
Hiring temporary employees on a contract or project-basis. For manufacturing companies facing new projects (ex: new factory/production setup, new location), contract staffing and project-based hiring is perfect. The difference between temp staffing and this, is that there’s usually a predefined contract length and partial employee benefits provided. A lot of times, manufacturers can rehire these employees on future contracts and projects. It’s recommended to look at local RPOs (for example, if you’re in B.C, look for BC recruitment agencies), as they’ll usually have their own local talent pipeline and contacts.

Pros: able to scale up or down, based on project needs, cost-savings 

Cons: employees may leave for permanent positions, risk extending time-to-hires if the candidate pool is poor

Executive Search: hiring for leadership and on-site experience
Like the name sounds, executive search focuses on securing top-tier leadership to manage the business aspects of the manufacturing firm. Depending on your manufacturing sector, it’s up to the hiring manager to decide whether to hire outsourced recruitment (like headhunters) to assist the TA team or keep the recruitment process in-house. If the ideal candidate needs specific industry experience, it’s best to hire outsourced help to assist your TA team. A lot of times, these candidates may have to be poached from competitors.

Pros: A great hire will help alleviate business operations and management 

Cons: Potentially high cost 

Which type of manufacturing recruitment do you need?
There are an abundance of manufacturing recruitment solutions available in Canada; the optimal method will depend on your internal resources and needs. Factors like budget, TA team size, number of requisitions, strength of your employer brand impacts whether it’s best to build out an internal TA team or outsource parts of the recruitment process.
If you’re still unsure, dive deeper into manufacturing recruitment services here.