When it comes to hiring new employees, Human Resource (HR) managers often use automated recruitment management systems or social media. While these methods can be effective, they have some shortcomings.

For one thing, information about potential candidates is limited to what’s online or on their resumes. Recruitment software will often weed out talented prospects if their resumes are missing specific key words. And a resume can’t provide details about a candidate’s soft skills, like communication, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and teamwork.

While it’s important that candidates have the hard skills to perform the job, it’s more important that they have soft skills, which include a positive attitude, solid work ethic, and the ability to work well with others. Job skills can be taught, but these characteristics cannot.

This could be why some of our best employees have come from employee referrals, who know more about a candidates’ soft skills than recruitment software does.

In addition, our employees know our company’s culture, values, and mission. They understand what types of personalities and work ethics will fit in well with our team, so they are best suited to recommend candidates who have those qualities.

One of our employees, Shane, demonstrates the true value of an employee referral. He was referred to us by another employee, Adam, who attended elementary school with Shane. Adam knew Shane would fit in well with the rest of our team. He also knew Shane was smart, had a strong work ethic, and learned quickly.

But Shane didn’t have any experience in manufacturing. His work experience consisted of truck driving, landscaping, and construction. Shane was accustomed to working outdoors and wasn’t sure he’d like being inside all day.

Despite his lack of manufacturing experience, we hired Shane, and he took a chance on Radcliff. That was two years ago, and Shane is still with us. We feel very fortunate to have him on our team, and he says he’s glad he took a leap of faith with us.

“It’s one of the best places I’ve worked, as far as the people,” Shane said. He says he likes the laid back culture and the way everyone works together as a team to get the job done.
Shane runs the rolling mills, and although he usually runs the same 10 jobs, he says something always comes up. “Each day is different,” Shane says, “I like the challenges, and I’m getting good at troubleshooting.”

When he’s not working, you can find Shane outdoors in the batting cages, playing disk golf, or rocking out at a concert.

He also takes care of his grandmother and her two rescue cats, Lally and Nicco, which reveals something about his character that an HR manager wouldn’t find with an automated recruitment management system.

“We’re lucky to have someone with Shane’s values on our team,” Radcliff Wire President Charlie Radcliff said, “and I’m glad Adam referred him to us. He fits right in, just as Adam said he would, and the quality of his work is excellent.”

Radcliff says he’ll continue to encourage his employees to propose job candidates because, he said, “When our employees become part of the recruiting process, everyone wins.”