August 20, 2012

Mechanical contractors go high tech on the hiring process

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

DCN staff writer

The Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC) has given a thumbs-up to a web-based hiring tool designed to streamline the employee recruitment process.

“I personally used the ClearFit process to hire our newest member of the MCA Canada national staff,” said association president Richard McKeagan.

“I can tell you, from my perspective, it was accurate, efficient, and really cool.

“It was definitely faster-smarter-cheaper than any other hiring tool I was aware of. I am confident our members will have a similar experience.”

The association said on its website that the ClearFit software allows employers to find job applicants from multiple sources.

It also indicates which candidates are most likely to succeed and provides a detailed report evaluating each applicant’s skills, personality fit, qualifications and experience.

The tool can be used to find a number of different types of employees, from executive-level staff and on-site personnel to office administrators.

ClearFit was endorsed earlier in the year by the Mechanical Contractors Association of Ontario.

“ClearFit has revolutionized the hiring process by providing a one-stop shop, where contractors can go to not only find good employees, but also determine which ones will be a good fit with their company before they go through the interview process,” stated the MCAC and ClearFit in a joint release.

ClearFit now is a partner in the MCAC’s membership advantage program. Association members receive a 10 per cent lifetime discount.

“We’re recommending that the industry, and our members, consider using ClearFit when undertaking hiring,” McKeagan said.

In the joint release, ClearFit and the mechanical contractors’ association said the tool allows companies to find job candidates and predict their success five times more accurately than using traditional hiring methods.

By hiring employees with the right fit, companies could potentially reduce the risk of a bad hire, which, according to U.S. Department of Labor estimates can set a company back 30 per cent of that employee’s earning potential in their first year.

While hiring mistakes have become an accepted norm in the workplace, such errors can be crippling to a business’s reputation and finances, ClearFit and MCAC said.

If an employee is a poor performer, then an entire contract can fail.

And if a company can’t retain an employee, a business will pay exponentially more in labour costs as a result.

It has been estimated that it costs $7,000 to replace salaried employees, $10,000 to replace a mid-level employee and up to $40,000 to replace a senior executive.

“By using this innovative new way of finding top-performing job candidates, companies have been able to reduce turnover and improve retention, business problems which have not statistically improved in over 30 years,” ClearFit and the MCAC said.

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