CHAPTER 5
Planning for and Recruiting Human Resources
163
workforce demographics. They analyze all this informa-
tion to identify the changes needed to ll in the gaps in
Boeing’s workforce. Then, to apply the results of this
analysis, Boeing’s HR team plans how to make the nec-
essary changes through a combination of three tactics:
promotions within the company, transfers of employ-
ees into positions where they can be developed to meet
future needs, and recruitment of employees outside
Boeing.
A key aspect of recruitment is reaching out to entry-
level engineers on college and university campuses.
Boeing has intensi ed these efforts and is matching
other companies’ practice of making job offers earlier
during students’ senior years. During recruitment, stu-
dents interview with several different managers and tour
company facilities, so they understand the company
and its culture and opportunities. Then, to ensure that
the reality of working for Boeing lives up to the image
portrayed during recruitment, Boeing has a workforce
development program that plans career growth oppor–
tunities as carefully as the company plans hiring.
into partnerships with schools. As analysis of workforce
needs uncovers important emerging skills, Boeing helps
school leaders plan how to teach those skills. Support-
ing university research projects bolsters the company’s
innovative image on campus. Boeing has also set up a
Higher Education Integration Board, which identi es
needs for continuing education, evaluates the quality of
employees hired from speci c schools, and sets strategy
for future recruiting and research efforts.
Questions
1. To meet labor shortages within the company, Boe-
ing starts with promotions and transfers. What ad-
vantages might it experience from lling positions
with current employees?
2. Besides the external recruitment sources described
here, what other sources would you recommend for
Boeing? Why?
Sources: Claire Zillman, “America’s Defense Industry Is Going Gray,” For–
tune, November 14, 2013, http://management.fortune.cnn.com;
PricewaterhouseCoopers, “The Right Stuff,” Keyword, July 2013, http://
www.pwc.com; Kathleen Koster, “Talent Management: Establishing
