Electrosonic has expanded its engineering and project management teams with the addition of 10 new employees who will assume posts at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Burbank, CA and in Orlando, FL. The new hires are part of Electrosonic’s Employer Branding Initiative, which includes an extensive recruitment process to support significant business growth last year and the fast pace Electrosonic has set for 2017.
“It’s a challenge finding engineering and project management support in a market where every major company is looking for the same limited pool of people,” said Michael Harkness, vice president and general manager, operations. “There’s a scarcity of talent, and it’s difficult to get quality people to apply for positions. Rather than posting job openings, we took a very proactive and specific approach to finding the right talent to meet our needs and service our customers.
“We began by defining the skill sets required for various positions, developed models of the ideal candidates for these jobs, then went out looking for people. We reached out through social media, employee referrals, and attendance at key conventions and conferences, such as InfoComm, that attract the kind of talent we were seeking.”
This streamlined the search process, Harkness said. “Vetting qualified candidates was much faster. By the time we spoke to them, we were aware of the knowledge and experience they could bring to our teams to increase our intellectual property and how they’d fit within the Electrosonic culture.”
In addition to its new hires, the company has restructured its operations in Burbank and Orlando with teams now working across offices on projects instead of operating separately as regional teams.
“We’re looking at operations holistically—at how best to manage and pull resources together to meet client needs,” Harkness said. “That allows us to be more agile for customers and to better support their goals.”
Electrosonic has rebranded and relaunched its apprenticeship program, now called START (Systems Technology and Resource Training). The one-year paid training program, with a full benefits package, has been successful in introducing fresh talent to Electrosonic, according to the company.
“We hope to have four college graduates enrolled in START annually; we have two STARTers on board currently,” Harkness said. “They’ll go through rotations in each of the core department and learn every aspect of the company, from marketing and engineering, to purchasing and shipping. They’ll come away with a perspective of the company that’s rare for new employees.”
