A technician assembling an engine connecting rod on an automotive line

← Case studiesManufacturing and automotive

Fifty-five-plus placements over four years, across six departments.

A global automotive components manufacturer, Ontario

Engineering, technology, IT, operations, supply chain and logistics, recruited for a manufacturer whose project priorities and staffing gaps kept moving.

55+positions filled
4years as a recruiting partner
6departments, engineering to logistics

The challenge

Specialized vacancies kept opening across several departments at once: an AI application manager one quarter, a PLM consultant and a cloud architect the next, supply chain and logistics professionals in between.

Project priorities changed, delivery timelines did not. The manufacturer needed dependable access to qualified technical and operational people without its own managers spending their weeks on first-round qualification.

What we did

We ran one coordinated recruiting effort across engineering, IT, operations, supply chain and logistics, with a role-specific screen for each discipline and a short, relevant shortlist for every opening.

Four years of the same partnership meant the intake got faster every quarter: we knew the plants, the systems, the managers and what a yes looked like for each of them.

How it was done

The parts of the method that did the work.

01
One partnership, many disciplines
A cloud architect and a logistics coordinator are different searches. Running them from one desk kept the standard consistent and the manager's time protected.
02
Screens that match the discipline
Technical roles were screened by someone who could tell PLM configuration experience from PLM familiarity. Operations roles were screened on the floor's terms.
03
A shortlist, not a stack
Every opening got relevant candidates who had already answered the first-round questions, so the manager's first conversation was a second-round one.
04
Momentum through the changes
When priorities shifted, the search shifted with them. Open roles never restarted from zero.

Results

More than 55 positions filled over four years across multiple departments: AI applications, PLM, cloud architecture, data governance, program management, quality assurance, project management, supply chain and logistics.

Hiring momentum maintained through changing priorities, and the burden of initial candidate qualification lifted from the manufacturer's managers.

Roles recruited

AI Application Manager
PLM Consultant
Cloud Architect
Data Governance Lead
Program Manager / Senior Business Analyst
QA Lead
Project Manager
Supply chain and logistics professionals

What to take from it

If you are hiring for roles like these.

Give one partner the whole pictureA recruiter who knows every department fills the next role faster than five who each know one.
Protect your managers' first roundIf managers are doing first-round qualification, the recruiting is not done yet.
Keep the search alive when priorities movePausing a search costs more than redirecting it. Tell the recruiter what changed.
Technical roles need technical screeningA résumé keyword is not experience. Ask for the screen, not just the shortlist.

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