Wichita has led the global aviation industry for more than a century with its innovation and productivity. Today, our city is proud to be home to more than 450 companies supplying products for commercial and defense aerospace.
Local aerospace companies continuing this strong tradition should consider using aviation recruitment agencies in Wichita to get the talent they need.
Wichita aerospace companies pride themselves on being global leaders, and maintaining that standing requires a lot of top talent. Unfortunately, finding the best aerospace talent is difficult. Recruitment in this industry has always been competitive, and lately, there seem to be fewer good candidates out there.
Most aerospace companies have strategies and valuable tools that can help them recruit good talent. While employee referrals, job boards, and applicant tracking systems are all great investments, in-house recruitment often struggles to compete with the capabilities of aviation staffing agencies in Wichita. Companies that use a blend of in-house and outsourced recruitment enjoy the best of both worlds.
How Does an Aviation Recruitment Agency in Wichita Find and Source Candidates?
Before we further, it’s a good idea to break down the differences between internal and aircraft recruitment in Wichita. Both are capable of sourcing talent for aviation businesses by attracting, screening, and interviewing candidates. But that’s where the similarities end.
Internal recruiters are often part of a human resources department or department managers tasked with hiring responsibilities. Basically, recruiting talent isn’t their full-time focus. HR personnel must also provide services to current employees, while department managers in the aviation industry often have to focus on very technical subject matter.
By comparison, agency recruiters are completely focused on recruitment tasks throughout their entire workday. They must keep up to date on the latest talent demands and labor trends. Aviation recruiters are constantly cultivating a pool of qualified candidates for their clients. This allows them to provide high-quality candidates at the drop of a hat. Furthermore, agency recruiters can invest in the latest and greatest technical recruitment tools.
Why Airline Companies Find Value in Partnering with an Aviation Staffing Agency in Wichita, Kansas
Because of their specialization, aviation recruitment agencies in Wichita have the edge over in-house recruitment teams. But agencies don’t offer their services for free. Understandably, companies looking to use aviation staffing agencies in Wichita must determine if an agency can provide enough return on investment to justify the costs.
Therefore, consider the following ways that staffing and recruitment agencies can provide value.
Aviation Staffing and Recruitment Agencies Have Specialized Industry Knowledge
Wichita may be the Air Capital of the World, but that doesn’t mean it’s an open book. Navigating the local aerospace industry can be challenging, and recruiters have specialized industry knowledge that helps them develop smart labor strategies for their clients.
By nature, the aviation industry is cyclical. There have always been highs and lows. The industry’s cyclical nature has been even more chaotic in the aftermath of COVID-19. The pandemic decimated the aerospace industry, forcing many companies to lay off workers. Using their talent pools and connections, aviation staffing agencies in Wichita can help companies recover from this industry-wide talent drain.
Aviation Recruiters Have Access to a Niche Talent Pool
While in-house recruiters often cultivate a pool of talent for their company, aviation recruiters specialize in this unique recruitment function. Recruiters often build their talent pools by connecting to local aerospace education programs and initiatives, including:
- National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). With more than six locations, hands-on training courses and millions of dollars in annual investment, NIAR is constantly producing top quality talent for the local aviation industry.
- Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus. Although the campus only began in 2015, it is already home to companies like Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems, and Textron Aviation. The campus has received $250 million in investments and counting.
- National Center for Aviation Training (NCAT) at WSU Tech. The world-class educational programs at this institution have a strong focus on aerospace manufacturing and maintenance technologies. Training at NCAT is employer-driven, which means its students are well-positioned for success in “the real world.”
Efficient and Streamlined Hiring
Given the high costs of bad hires, quite a few businesses have hiring processes that have become bloated and bureaucratic. Ironically, this level of inefficiency can be as costly as the bad hires a bloated process is meant to avoid.
For some positions, a hiring decision can include rounds of interviews numbering into the double digits. Add in background and reference checks, and you’ve got a process that takes way longer than it should. The (not so) funny thing is that there’s little evidence to show a lengthy hiring process produces better results.
A long, bureaucratic process is sometimes rooted in protecting hiring managers and their egos and not in making the best hiring decisions. For example, particularly bad hiring decisions might be held against people. In these situations, a consensus-oriented process might be adopted to avoid hurt feelings or individual loss of status.
Local companies can bypass their bloated and bureaucratic hiring process by using aircraft recruitment in Wichita. By outsourcing, companies can shift some responsibility to an outside party and allow managers to remain focused on tasks better suited to their expertise.
Aircraft Recruiters Conduct Thorough Screening
Candidate screening frequently receives little attention, and it can be hard to understand why it should be treated as more than a formality. However, recruiters specialize in screening, and this specialization can provide significant value.
Effective screening quickly sorts out the best candidates, saving time and boosting the likelihood of a great hiring decision. Bad screening can not only lead to great candidates being rejected, but it can also have even more dire consequences.
Candidate screening is a balancing act. It should make a massive initial pool of applicants more manageable. It should also prevent viable candidates from getting eliminated due to “a numbers game.”
There are also legal and practical concerns when it comes to candidate screening. For instance, it is illegal to perform criminal background checks on candidates before an initial interview, according to a 2018 law signed by Governor Jeff Colyer. Bad screening can also impact diversity in an organization. For instance, if automated software shows a preference for candidates with certain names or types of academic qualifications, it could skew a hiring process toward people from privileged backgrounds. Similarly, screening out applicants with large employment gaps could unintentionally eliminate women who left the workforce to start a family.
Aviation Recruitment Agencies in Wichita are vigilant when it comes to their candidate screening processes. They understand how to give their clients great candidates that speak to their DEI objectives.
Airline Staffing Agencies Ensure a Fast and Accurate Hire
While offering good pay and benefits may help bring in top talent, the goal is to hire people who will stay with your company for a long time. You can do this by bringing in folks who are truly invested in your company, its mission, and its culture. When a hiring process is accurate in this regard, it brings in someone who will be loyal and passionate about working for your business.
It is critical to incorporate company culture as part of any hiring process, and this is something deeply understood by aviation staffing agencies in Wichita. When your company partners with a staffing company, its recruiters will work closely with your hiring managers to understand your company culture and the types of people who tend to find success in your organization. Agency recruiters also understand that having different types of people in a vibrant culture is important. So, while cultural match is critical, it’s also important to ensure that different perspectives are added to the mix. Using their deep knowledge and experience, recruiters understand how to pull off this tricky balance.
Provide Flexible Staffing Solutions to Airline Companies
The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us all how important it is for companies to be flexible. Aircraft recruitment in Wichita is now more focused than ever on providing that flexibility to local companies. Staffing agencies can provide temporary and contract workers to handle surges in workloads. They can also help find full-time employees for companies with a strong upward growth trend. This level of flexibility allows a local aviation company to keep down its labor costs and maintain the right-sized workforce.
Ready to Combat Staffing Shortages? Partner with an Aviation Staffing Agency in Wichita, Kansas, and Find Top Talent for Your Team!
With more than 50 years of combined experience, our team at Top Notch Personnel knows the local aerospace industry and job market inside and out. We help our clients quickly fill critical roles and make long-term workforce strategies. We regularly place people in various aerospace positions, including AP mechanic, quality inspector, and engineer roles.
If you would like to learn more about our aircraft recruiting and staffing services, feel free to fill out our contact form and speak to one of our representatives today!