How to get the best for less

Engineered for engineers by engineers

Allyson Black, Caltex Lytton Refinery

15th International Conference for Women Scientists and Engineers

Diverse Engineering Challenges

• Do you speak Gen Y?• “Employer of Choice”• Breaking the stereotype

Is there anybody out there?

Lost in the cyberspace crowd?

The case for change

• Previous recruiting hap-hazard– Irregular and reactive– Direct recruitment or internet advertising (no careers page)– No ownership of process

• Always too late– The early bird gets the worm– Had to interstate to widen the web

• Invisible brand – “Are you hiring accountants? What do engineers do at Caltex?”

• Poor retention– Recruits from interstate moving home or moving on

Myth-busting

We don’t have enough money for a flashy ad

campaign

We only need one or two

graduates, that won’t be difficult Internet

advertising will be good enough

We’ll have to do something special

to hire female graduates

We’ll leave it to later in the year to see who gets the

best marks

Integrated Approach

• Ownership• Vision• Reputation• Relationships• Agility• Retention

Ownership

• Recent (~5yrs) graduate• HR Assistance• Clear expectations• Timelines• Allocated small budget

Vision

• “Engineers ain’t engineers”

Reputation

• Know your audience– Get young graduates involved– Be visible and approachable

• Build a profile with your audience– University guest lecturing– Mentoring events, plant tours & careers expos– Institution involvement

• Vacation/Intern placement– Living advertisements

Relationships

• Target your audience• Find your “Boundary Agent”

Org

UniSuccess

Agility

• Be prepared• Be quick• Be decisive• Be willing to go that extra step

Retention

• Do – Treat them as an individual• Do – Focus on training and development• Do – Give them responsibility early• Do – Encourage professional development• Do – Help them build a network• Don’t – Make promises you can’t keep

The Result

Applications0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200820092010

Male Female Ratio 50:50

Retention100%

The Breakdown

• Know what you need• Know where to find it• Know what it looks like• Know what it wants• Be visible and make contact often• Be prepared to strike quickly• Go that extra step to hook your catch• Continue the development