How to Ensure a Manufacturing Process Engineer Fits into Your Team Before You Hire Them

Why You Should Focus on Culture

Finding a talented candidate for your manufacturing process engineer job can take time. You need to make sure they not only have the skills needed to take on the role, but will also work well with your team.

According to Leadership IQ, 89% of job failures are due to a poor attitude. This is an incredibly high percentage, and it demonstrates the importance of knowing that a candidate will fit in with your team before you hire them.

In this article, we guide you through a process to ensure that the candidate you hire for your manufacturing process engineer job will be a great fit.

Define Your Company Culture

Before you can hire a manufacturing process engineer who fits well within your team, you must have a deep understanding of your team’s values and culture.

You may already have company materials that describe this. If not, create a list of core values by speaking with your team. Include these values in the job description, and on your website, so that applicants will have a greater understanding of the company they are applying to.

You also need to understand the type of personality of the team leaders and the colleagues they will be working with. Knowing the management style and the processes they use will help you determine which candidates will work well in the team and which won’t.

Discuss Your Team’s Values During the Job Interview

The last thing you want is for the manufacturing process engineer you hire to quit after the first week because they are not a good fit for your team.

To avoid this, make sure that candidates are fully aware of what it is like working on your team. Explain the values of your team, and how employees are expected to behave. Give candidates the chance to view the workplace and talk with your team before you make a job offer.

Ask the Right Questions During Interviews

You need to ensure that not only does the candidate think they will be a good fit for the company (by ensuring they understand your team’s values), but that you think they will be a good fit for your team too.

During the interview, allow time to ask questions that go beyond checking skills and experience and help you get a better understanding of a candidate’s personality and values. Look for a candidate who demonstrates and upholds the values your team is looking for.

Examples of questions you should ask include:

• How would you describe yourself?
• What do you do when you are not working?
• What do you think is one of the best aspects of your personality, and why?
• What do you think is one of the worst aspects of your personality, and why?
• What core values do you believe in?
• What types of management styles do you work best with?
• Do you understand our team values? Which ones align most with your own values?
• Why do you want this manufacturing process engineer job?

Get Your Team Involved in the Hiring Process

There is no better way to judge fit than to test it directly. One of the best ways to do this is to involve prospective colleagues in the hiring process. Let candidates meet you team, either in the interview room, at their desks, or in a social setting. The feedback you get will be invaluable.

Another way to test for culture fit is to employ psychometric analysis. These tools are designed to test a candidate’s intelligence, critical reasoning, motivation, and personality profile. Psychometric testing is now used by over 80% of Fortune 500 companies and more then 75% of the UK’s top 100 companies in their hiring processes. We offer psychometric testing as a service at Hero, please contact us for more information.

Do Your Research

A tip you often hear is that, before getting to the interview stage, you should do your research on a candidate – especially on their social media.

We’re not sure how we feel about this, but many companies consider that the online persona of a candidate can be more authentic than the person you meet in the interview room.

The belief is that if a candidate is happy behaving a certain way outside of the work environment, they will often be happy to behave this way within your workplace. If this behaviour is not that which aligns with your team, it will cause disruption, possible conflict, and a degree of disharmony.

We would suggest that social media is used as a guide rather than be taken too seriously. There is a little bit of make believe in social media, and it isn’t always a true reflection of the professional candidate. It all feels a little ‘big brother’ to us.

To Sum Up

If you are hiring for a manufacturing process engineer, it is crucial that you hire a candidate who will fit in with your team. Skills can be learned. Values and cultural qualities are ingrained. Follow the above tips to ensure you hire the right candidate for the job.

For help recruiting candidates who will be excellent cultural fits as well as possess the technical skills your role requires, contact HERO.