How to Hire the Best Talent in the Electric Vehicle Industry

Elevation Proving Grounds (EPG) is a staffing and recruiting company that is 100% focused on helping electric and autonomous vehicle clients hire the best people through their industry and product-specific expertise. To learn more, contact EPG’s CEO, Joe Rooney at [email protected] or schedule time on his calendar.

How to Hire the Best Talent in the Electric Vehicle Industry

The face of the hiring game has changed drastically over the past couple of years. Following COVID, the qualities that candidates value and desire have impacted the labor market in a major way, thus resulting in some necessary changes to the hiring process. EPG has been working hard to marry these changes with the needs of our clients, and we have come up with a quick reference list to help your company capitalize on hiring the best talent. Hiring in the EV industry is as competitive as it gets and even if you aren’t implementing these qualities, your competitors probably are.

Salary and Benefits

Before you begin a candidate search, make sure your salary ranges and benefits packages align with industry standards. Before you even begin your search it is important to establish a minimum and maximum salary for each position and why someone would qualify for one versus the other. These days people expect PTO, 401K, healthcare benefits, and the like as the bare minimum. Top talent will be attracted to other perks such as equity, 401K matching, relocation assistance, established bonus structure with clear objectives, tuition reimbursement, maternity/paternity leave, and remote work. Outside of pay and better work opportunities, the ability to have a flexible work arrangement (meaning work from home or the office) ranked highest in a survey by McKinsey and Company.

Hosting a ping-pong tournament or serving beer on a Friday afternoon are a few examples of additional employee benefits, however, they should never be a replacement for fair and competitive pay. These can be great supplements to treating your people fairly but they do not put food on the table or a roof over your employee’s heads.

Expert Help

That’s easy for us to say, right! An expert recruiter in the EV industry will be able to share valuable insights about what is happening in the industry that you otherwise might not have. They will save you time and money by letting your team focus on building a great product and company while they focus on finding the best people for your organization.

If your recruiting partner is not making your life easier by prioritizing quality over quantity, clearly communicating, and ultimately helping you hire the best candidates faster, then it might be time to look for a new partner. Simply put, a good recruiter is not just sending you resumes, they are creating value that you otherwise would not have.

Clear Process

An organized and structured interview process with prompt feedback is essential to holding the candidate’s interest. Each step should be communicated upfront and make sense for the job involved. Example:

1. Zoom with Steve
2. Zoom with Theresa
3. Onsite interview with the entire team and technical skills assessment.

Have a game plan for each position and immediately hold debriefings after each interview. Provide feedback directly to the candidate or to the recruiter within 24 hours so plans for the next step can begin immediately. This is a case where no news is not good news. Communication is key. It is very important to let the candidate know if they are moving forward, not a good fit, or you need more time to discuss with the team. Waiting anxiously for any feedback is not fun. Remember – COMMUNICATION IS KEY! This will send a positive message to the candidate about your organization and its culture.

Recruit

Remember you need to sell your company to the candidate just as much as they sell themselves to you. It’s a two-way street! Sell them on you, your product, vision, culture, benefits, etc. Having the interviewers share what brought them to the company and why they stay will help the candidates get a feel for your culture and what makes it great. Not everyone in the interview process is skilled or experienced at recruiting so helping those that do not keep this in mind will go a long way. Humanizing the interviewing experience sends another signal about your company and culture that can be the difference between an accepted or rejected offer.

Speed

Keep the interview process moving, the quicker the better. Set up initial interviews ASAP and complete the entire interview process within two weeks. Time is your enemy when hiring in the EV industry as most top candidates are likely to receive multiple offers if the interview process draws out. At EPG, we use our internal data reporting to show our clients their Time to First Interview, Time to Offer Acceptance, Time to Start, and more. Having an understanding of these metrics helps to understand where things might be stalling and how to improve.

For example, we recently wrapped up an engineering recruiting project for an EV partner that had a 100% offer acceptance rate because after we presented top candidates they quickly made moves. They averaged a Time to First Interview of 4 days, Time to Offer Acceptance of 22 days, and Time to Start of 39 days. This resulted in an Average Time to Fill of 29 days which is 31% faster than industry averages.

Covet Candidates

Let them know how much they would mean to your company if they joined! Pump their tires a bit, these people are smart and talented and want to be wooed. Whether you like it or not, it’s a new generation of talent and this is how they operate.

Decisive and Competitive Offer

If you want to hire a candidate, make your move. Be direct and place your best (competitive) offer on the table. If you truly like someone, be willing to make a good offer. Plus, starting the process over will typically cost you a heck of a lot more money in work lost and blocking off more time on hiring managers’ and HRs calendars.

A good recruiting partner should provide you with guidance based on candidate conversations, internal hiring data, and industry data to justify your offer.

Conclusion

In short, respect the energy and time of your candidates and be willing to do what it takes to secure the best talent. Updating your hiring methodology will not only make you a more competitive employer, but it will also make your hiring process less stressful and more effective. In return, you’ll hire the best talent in the electric vehicle industry to help you build the best teams, products, and company.

To learn more, contact EPG’s CEO, Joe Rooney at [email protected] or schedule time on his calendar.

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