ABSTRACT
Choosing the best person for the position is often left up to the joint decision between Human Resources and the Plant management team. Too often management settles for the experience without paying attention to the personality characteristics of the individual.
The composite industry is still predominantly a labor-intensive industry, and so the selection of individuals who are willing to perform this type of work are often few and far between. In many companies, the employee base for this industry is mainly immigrants who often do not speak English. This presents an additional challenge when trying to determine if an individual possesses the desired character skills to be a productive long-term employee.
Three questions are discussed: Why are character skills more important than experience? What are the costs for manufacturing from hiring someone with poor character skills? And, how does a manager hire the best folks when communication is a barrier?
