Carry On Recruitment: Bringing RPO To A Conglomerate's Aviation Division

ROI Facts

  • 117% improvement in hiring efficiency over 18 month period
  • 150-200 hires per month
  • Managed one of the largest co-op programs in the world, hiring 1,2oo students per year
Back view of businessman at airport with suitcase in hand-1

What DZX Brought To The Table

  • Recruitment Process Outsourcing 

 

Degree of Difficulty

  • 7/10
  • Client often faces fluctuations in their workforce needs 
  • Highly specific skills needed for each job requisition 
  • Scalability necessary to efficiently manage costs 

The Dilemma

As one could imagine, the process of constructing an aircraft requires hundreds of individuals with a number of different complex skills to see the process succeed from start to finish. From engineers who design, inspect and perfect the aircraft, to the dozens of mechanics that construct the plane, finding these individuals that are fit for the job can present a challenge for many companies. Changes in market forces in this industry can alter hiring needs at a moment’s notice. Many internal recruiting teams can struggle with scalability, but talent experts are always available to help organizations. Because of this, DZConneX's (DZX's) client operating in this industry called on our experts to guide them through their talent acquisition challenges. 

 

The Strategy

For an ongoing job of this size, DZX installed a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) team to handle the immense undertaking. With a small team of experts, DZX sources, procures, hires and onboards approximately 200 individuals or more per month. Due to the niche skills needed in many of these roles, DZX employs experts who have specialized knowledge in each aspect of the aviation industry to ensure the best people are hired with the right skills for the job.

 

The Impact

Not only did DZX drastically improve processes that our client knew needed an overhaul, but DZX's experts also identified pain points the client didn’t even know they had and made the already smooth processes even more efficient. Over time, DZX improved hiring efficiency by 117%, bringing greater value and cost savings to the client. Our dedicated teams also took charge of the client’s co-op program, one of the largest in the world, and now sources and hires up to 1,200 college students per year. With DZX's RPO program in place, our client had better talent than ever before entering their organization.

 


Aviation Industry Facts 

58.1 million industry employees 

3.1 billion passengers have been carried by an airline 

$22.83 average hourly earnings for A&P mechanics 

360,000+ general aviation aircrafts worldwide

$150 billion contribution to U.S. economy annually 


 

The construction of aircraft engines is a tremendously complex process that requires a significant amount of skill. From the engineers designing and overseeing its construction, to the mechanics in charge of putting everything together, there is a lot of responsibility for these individuals to succeed in their roles. If they make a mistake or miscalculation, every passenger on that aircraft is at risk. Because of the high responsibility these individuals have, the people in charge of hiring them are equally responsible for the safety of travelers.

For example, if an unqualified engineer is hired, the integrity of the entire engine is in jeopardy. Find a less-than-skilled A&P mechanic, and an improper maneuver or technical decision can cause significant and potentially catastrophic issues down the line. The people in charge of hiring the highly-skilled talent that construct an aircraft must be highly-skilled themselves at knowing where to find candidates with the right skills, the right qualifications and the right experience to get the job done.

That’s why when one multinational conglomerate was in need of a team that could handle every aspect of hiring for its world-renowned aviation division, it called on the experts at DZX, who installed a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) program to identify, attract, hire and onboard up to 200 individuals or more each month.

 

DZX RPO Definition Cost Goals

 

First-Class Recruiting 

A little known fact about constructing an aircraft engine is that putting this powerful piece together is rarely, if ever, all done in a single location. That means recruiters not only need to be experts in the skills and experience needed to construct the engine, but they also need to be familiar with the multiple geographical locations in which the engine is being built. In our client’s case, recruiters had to focus their procurement efforts in Indiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and beyond.

With the kind of subject matter expertise and geographical understanding talent acquisition specialists need to fill these positions, it only made sense to bring in an RPO provider with this kind of knowledge on hand. So it made sense for our client to choose DZX as its in-house, white label supplier, as we have been recruiting and building networks in the aviation industry for decades. Initially covering about 30% of the client’s direct hires before moving up to nearly 100%, DZX sourced, hired and onboarded composite engineers, A&P mechanics, environmental health and safety experts, IT experts, facility managers, and more—everyone involved in the construction of an aircraft engine. And to make sure every candidate is fully qualified, each DZX recruiter, no matter his or her coverage area, is intensely trained in all aspects of aviation hiring and regulation.

Of course, hiring isn’t always full throttle. As with any company, there were times of low demand when talent acquisition needs weren’t as high and hiring was halted. It can be difficult to scale down when recruiters are full-time employees of the company, but with a DZX RPO program, our client could easily scale up, scale down or transfer recruiters to another area of the business to maximize value by cutting costs when needed and best using the resources we provide.

 

Complimentary Extras 

Much has changed over the course of DZX’s relationship with this aviation leader. Since the client increased the percentage of hires our experts controlled, hiring efficiency improved by more than 117% over 18 months, meaning more hires were being made using fewer DZX resources. In turn, the client’s spend decreased and return on investment increased. And when the company ran into trouble with a few talent suppliers in other areas of their business, DZX was brought in to help out. The expertise we bring to every RPO relationship means our clients get more than a talent supplier, they get a talent partner  who embeds itself in the organization and works to identify and fix any pain points that come up, whether they’re a part of the RPO program or not.

That extended partnership includes DZX's exclusive support of the client's 1,200-person co-op and internship program—one of the largest such programs in the world. Our dedicated team handles all the sourcing, hiring, equipment ordering, orientation training, hiring manager coordination and more. Our partnership excels at getting students into the co-op program year after year and turning many of those students into full-time hires once they graduate from college.

While every DZX RPO program is unique and tailored to each individual client's needs, the service and expertise we bring to everyone is identical. Whether it’s finding efficiencies at every step of the relationship, managing a worldwide aviation co-op program or anything else your company needs, DZX’s custom RPO programs are designed to make talent acquisition processes more efficient, to increase the quality of talent entering your organization and to do it all cost-effectively. 

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