Superyacht sector on the lookout for more professional recruiting approach

Shipping recruiter Faststream reports that superyacht managers are seeking more carefully selected crew members and that the traditional ‘press gang’ selection approach is on the way out. The past six months has
seen an increase in the vetting and behavioural profiling of superyacht crews by employers according to global shipping industry recruiter Faststream. As superyachts grow in size and sophistication, the level of competency required of crew members has grown. An increasing number of clients are asking Faststream to employ sophisticated techniques used in executive recruitment to ensure a balanced and competent crew. 

Faststream Group CEO Mark Charman explains: “Too much agency activity involves dragging the most readily available people off the street and onto a yacht via a haphazard process. This results in unsatisfactory owner to crew matching and it is simply a matter of time before one party decides to bid farewell to the other. Although we have a good knowledge of candidates on the market, we can take things a step further by asking candidates to take a psychometric test, using a system based on the DISC model. The acronym stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. While there are no right or wrong answers to the tests, we are looking for people with a successful blend of these attributes.” 

Regarding the reliability of the tests, Charman notes:
 “After five years of using the DISC system, we are happy with its reliability and shortlisting. It is difficult to fake the tests. Occasionally when we have over-ridden the system, its results have proved accurate and we have realised a candidate lacks the right mix of attributes needed to thrive in a given role.”

 Faststream’s robust selection process combines consultants’ knowledge of candidates with psychometric testing to enable only the most suitable candidates to be put forward to interview. Since entering the superyacht sector in 2011, Faststream has had a candidate submission to placement ratio of three to two and despite the transient nature of employment in the sector, a low turnover rate.