Dowell Case Study

About Dowell

Dowell Windows is one of Australia’s oldest manufacturing companies and has been involved in the fabrication and supply of windows and doors to the Australian Residential Housing Market since 1860!

For over 18 years, IRP has assisted Dowell with the recruitment, onboarding and retention of employees for their Perth facility. To successfully service such a large operation, IRP need a thorough understanding of the business, as well as the people in it.

The employees we've placed work in a variety of roles, from factory workers (frame assemblers, cutters, machine operators, powder coaters, and pickers) right through to customer service reps, salespeople, estimators, and accounts staff.

We have assisted Dowell with many recruitment challenges over the years, but this story has stood out to us as a particular success.

A male warehouse worker with blonde hair wearing a black cap, yellow safety glasses and yellow hi-vis holding a variety of tools such as spanners in his hand.

The Challenge

In this case, the challenge was born from having a deep understanding of the client’s operation, as well as consistent, open communication channels with staff.

Dowell’s Account Manager, Alex, is on site with the team regularly to keep an eye on things and ensure expectations are being met. This includes weekly feedback sessions with senior management and supervisors where any issues can be raised (both client and employee), and strategies put in place to mediate them.

On one of these visits Alex was speaking with the Maintenance Fitter who mentioned he would like someone to come in and work under him, help with the scheduled maintenance and eventually get to a point he could take over the role.

Alex knew there had been some preliminary discussions amongst the Managers regarding this position. The team there wanted to make sure they found the right person who would be a good assistant, but also have the potential to grow into a great Maintenance Fitter, filling the shoes of the person currently employed.

Alex knew there had been some preliminary discussions amongst management regarding this position, however nothing formal in terms of a vacant role to be recruited.

The Solution

Within the next few days Alex came across an application for a Frame Assembly role from Charlie. Initially, Charlie suggested he was applying for entry level manufacturing roles that would give him the opportunity to build on his experience and potentially open some career paths.

Following a site tour, it became apparent to Alex that Charlie was very driven and had great learning aptitude - he was someone who just needed the right opportunity. In addition to this, Charlie’s interests away from work closely aligned with those of the current Maintenance Fitter.

A man working in a warehouse about to open a machine to repair. He is in yellow hi-vis, a black cap and safety goggles

This gave Alex the confidence that Charlie would fit in seamlessly and take well to the mentoring and guidance that would be given in this role.

Alex thought that Charlie would be the perfect person for the Maintenance Assistant role that the Managers had previously mentioned. Charlie liked this idea and the progression that this role could possibly give him. The idea was then floated with the Managers at Dowell, and Charlie started the following week.

The Results

As anticipated, Charlie took to the opportunity like a duck to water, his direct report not only enjoyed working with and mentoring him, but also got huge value from his assistance. Charlie quickly progressed from a labour hire casual to a full-time employee. His effort and application were truly rewarded when Dowell offered him an Apprenticeship – all within six months!

Thanks to Alex’s understanding of the client’s needs and knowing what the right fit looks like, he was able to provide Dowell with the perfect candidate and provide Charlie with a long-term career path.

Without consistent presence at the client’s site and an understanding of their needs, the chances are none of this would have occurred. Not only did the account management provide the conduit for the role to become a reality, it also ensured that the right person was put into the right job.

Happy candidate.. Happy client!

Reach out to IRP today

Whether you need support finding the right person for a hard-to-fill position or need advice with retention issues or onboarding, please get in touch today to see how we can help you.

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