4 Ways to Improve Your Crew Selection Process
Behind every tanker, container ship, oil rig stands the crew, responsible for the safe operation of this complex machinery that drives the maritime industry forward. They are the backbone of the industry and the people who are involved in the crew selection process are tasked with the hardest challenge of all, which is the selection of the right people to fulfill these roles as seafarers.
Efficient crew selection practices cannot be ignored as many sources point out to the human factor as the primary cause of accidents. One example by the National Transportation Safety Board states that the collision between Fishing Vessel Polaris and Tanker Tofteviken, was caused by poor lookout from one mate on the fishing vessel. Moreover, another mate on the tanker failed to identify the risk of collision. The damage amounted to 716,047 dollars.
Although the choices seem endless with over 1,600,000 million seafarers out there, the crew selection process can be more challenging than it seems. While the prospective recruits may have the right skills and work history to match the position, there are many factors beyond what is outlined on paper that will determine if the candidate is suitable for the task. Fortunately, there are certain steps that can be taken to streamline and ease the procedure:
1. Write accurate and specific job descriptions
When writing advertising job openings, be very accurate and specific in terms of your requirements. You may receive fewer applications, but they are likely to be more relevant. This, in turn, will improve the quality of your crew selection process.
It is quite common that the job descriptions we put out are not given the appropriate attention and importance. As a result, the descriptions are very wide and generic. This, on one hand, attracts a large number of applicants, but on the other hand, create a large pool of unqualified talent to process. In such cases, you are likely to select the best candidate you can find at the time rather than the truly best fit for the position.
2. Research your qualified applicants
Highly qualified and high performing seafarers are a true asset. Chances are that the best candidates will be in great demand. Your company will not be the only one in the race to secure their signature on the contract. The demand will also mean that the candidate will have the luxury of choice. This means he will weigh his decisions heavily before making his final choice.
In order to improve your chances of hiring a qualified candidate, you should do some research. This helps to see what motivates them and makes them satisfied with their job. Personalise your communication with such candidates in order to clearly show them what you have to offer to attract their interest in your company.
3. Do not rush with crew selection to hire fast
Due to operational requirements and intricacies of the maritime industry, we want to close the vacancies as quickly as possible. However, rushing into making such decisions make lead to poor candidate selection. In many cases, the cause could be the lack of qualified candidates, but also inefficient procedures within your organisation.
Instead, take time to analyse your entire selection and hiring process. Try to answer if all the steps in this process are really required? Can they be streamlined in order to make the process faster and more efficient? By going through this procedure, you may find that surprisingly a lot of the steps can be simplified. Moreover, this speeds up your selection process without having an adverse effect on the quality of the selected candidates.
4. Apply data-driven crew selection practices
The traditional selection and recruitment process may not be as efficient as you may think. By resting solely on your personal opinion and the information presented in the form of a candidate resume and work history, can lead to biased and unsubstantiated decisions. This will probably adversely impact your selection.
The modern-day concepts and technology now allow for extraction of otherwise hard-to-obtain data about the candidate. These can surely be utilised to improve your selection procedure. Digital solutions such as SafeMetrix assessment platform offer industry-specific seafarer assessments. These assessments give you a deeper insight into the skill levels of a candidate and help you look beyond a resume when making your final selection.
To conclude, as you now see, the crew selection process is a complex procedure. It requires proper handling if your aim is to build successful and high performing teams on board. By introducing the above-stated control measures and techniques, this process can be further simplified. In this way, you can increase the chances of delivering an efficient and successful outcome for your organisation.