Spotlight on Leoni
Overcoming
Staffing Challenges
During Peak Times
Spotlight on Leoni
Overcoming
Staffing
Challenges
During Peak
Times
At the end of 2022, LEONI partnered with Gi Group to hire 150 frontline workers for their plants in Tieling, Penglai, and Jining (Greater China).
The recruiting efforts required an intense focus on needing to monitor and come to understand the local labour market quickly, including how to supply a quality workforce from across the country.
After the first successful delivery, LEONI also requested to expand its recruitment ask by soliciting recruitment for 120 FTEs in December 2023 and 1 Procurement Manager position in LEONI’s Shanghai office.
180 FTE
sourced from across China for Tieling, Penglai and Jining plants.
300
workers successfully sourced and onboarded
3
additional recruitment projects to hire permanent positions in compliance, legal and procurement
About LEONI
LEONI is a global provider of products, solutions and services for energy and data management in automotive and other industries. The value chain encompasses wires, optical fibres, standardised cables, special cables and assembled systems as well as intelligent products and smart services. As an innovation partner and solutions provider, LEONI supports its customers with pronounced development and systems expertise.
Know more on the Company’s Website Here →
Overcoming challenges
in sourcing local talent
LEONI sought to work with a staffing and recruitment partner because of challenges in finding new labour sources during Q4 of 2022.
Managers operating in Chinese facilities must plan work schedules around annual calendar events, like the farming season and harvest in late Summer or during the Chinese New Year. At LEONI’s plants in Tieling, Penglai, and Jining, both seasons have a strong impact on worker availability, and there are issues with higher levels of fluctuation compared to other plants. Some local sourcing challenges also stem from the complexity of LEONI’s business model that involves many parties: not just the HR department, but also its global sourcing team and its local sourcing partners. With so many people in the process, this can complicate efficient operations – whether it be decision-making or attempts at problem-solving.
A quick and tailored response
LEONI requested support for hiring 150 frontline plant workers. This was a critical task because these team members, which included wrapping operators and cutters, were needed to ensure the production unit could ship products to customers on time during peak season. The recruiting efforts required an intense focus on needing to monitor and come to understand the local labour market quickly, including how to supply a quality workforce from across the country.
This involves looking both at skills matches and budgets for staffing efforts. Cindy Wu, Head of HR at LEONI, explains that “The process involves a lot of negotiations between staffing firms and potential hires. From our end, we cannot accept big increases in labour costs, so Gi Group experts have had to double down in their pricing negotiations and efforts to find workers who are the best fit for our company. This includes sourcing candidates from all over China.”
Understanding the urgency levels that are characteristic of LEONI hiring has built trust in the business partnership. However, securing the right professionals is only the first step: the key to a successful delivery is making sure that candidates are fully prepared to comply with their assignments.
Gi Group invests time and human resources into training recruits and offering coaching services to our people and the new hires. This means new team members know what is expected of them before they begin to work with us. For example, safety is our top priority, so we must make sure everyone does a three-day training course before heading to the production line. For this we have a training room, a body safety programme, and a coach who teaches employee-trainees how to manage safety steps and ensure compliance. In this programme, Gi Group serves as coordinator and provides employee handbooks that include company rules and safety guidelines. It is truly a joint effort.
– Cindy Wu, Head of HR at LEONI
Meeting demands
of younger generations
One of the current challenges for manufacturing companies is meeting the varied interests and aspirations of young people, as many of them do not want to work in a production plant setting. This disinterest will, in fact, cause the Chinese labour market to face a critical worker shortage in the next 5-10 years. Therefore, it is crucial to start building a strong relationship with young candidates since the very first steps of their professional journey.
“One solution brought forward by Gi Group was collaboration with a local technical school and bringing students on board to work as temporary supplementary staff for a 2–3-month period. This helped us meet both our operational and production needs” explains Mrs. Wu.
She also emphasises the importance of gearing up LEONI’s employer branding and engagement strategies to attract and retain top talent. “We understand that new generations of workers are values-driven and have a strong need to be heard and respected. When speaking with these candidates, I emphasise that the values that drive our business look to build a welcoming, people-first work environment. Our employees contribute to creating a company culture where we all help one another, and we are committed to listening to them as we fine tune our operations. We offer tools like comment boxes or an employee hotline that ensures workers get swift support from their local management teams.”
Impact of a trusted partnership
Cooperation with LEONI has centred primarily around reacting fast to the company’s staffing needs as they change quickly. Cindy Wu comments, “I am really happy with LEONI’s cooperation with Gi Group. They understand and respect the urgency of staffing requests, handle all contractual arrangements, and do their best 24 hours a day to find ways to solve our problems. This shows what a reliable business partner they are and how they deliver outstanding performance. Sometimes worker quality is so high that we later consider hiring these persons directly as LEONI employees: this is because we trust them based on how they engage with us. We always leave the door open for impressive, top-quality talent.”
After the first successful delivery, LEONI also requested to expand its recruitment ask by soliciting recruitment for 120 FTEs in December 2023 and 1 Procurement Manager position in LEONI’s Shanghai office.
We provide flexible workforce solutions with a deep expertise in managing high volumes for the Industrial & Commercial Staffing markets.
Knowing your industry and understanding your needs, we find the right people for your company with a highly flexible approach to help you achieve your business goals.
At the same time, we assist candidates in finding the right job opportunity, understanding their needs and skills, and facilitating their job search.
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