March,
1998
Make
Hiring Your Competitive Advantage
IT'S THE TIGHTEST JOB MARKET in decades. Good people have
their choice of jobs. Yet, over and over again, an alarming
number of employers are shooting themselves in the foot when
it comes to competing for top talent.
According
to reports from over fifty Sanford Rose Associates offices
in North America and Asia, lots of companies that ought to
know better are making five communications blunders as they
seek to fill key jobs:
- They
communicate a lack of urgency;
- They
communicate indecisiveness;
- They
communicate disorganization;
- They
communicate indifference to their candidates’ needs;
and, last but not least,
- They
fail to communicate enthusiasm for the person they want
to hire.
If this
sounds like the approach your competitors take, you may be
sitting on a personnel gold mine.
On the
other hand, if this reminds you of your own organization,
perhaps it’s time to take corrective action.
Hurry
Up and Wait
Most
calls to prospective job candidates begin with an explanation
of the opportunity that the new position offers, e.g., "Our
client, who is one of the leading companies in the HVAC industry,
has a critical opening for a senior product manager who can
take its new desiccant technology to market and build a multi-million-dollar
business."
The position
is hot. The position is important. The company needs to interview
good people right away. The company’s search firm drops
everything to locate a few good men or women. And then reality
sets in.
The initial
"phone screen" is rescheduled several times. The
face-to-face interview is postponed when it turns out that
half the interview panel will be out of town or tied up in
meetings. A second interview must be arranged with a senior
officer of the company, who was last seen leaving for an extended
tour of manufacturing facilities in the Pacific Rim. Everyone
eventually likes the leading contender, but perhaps it would
make sense to bring in a few more candidates. Then third-quarter
profits take a turn for the worse, and a hiring freeze is
imposed until the next fiscal year.
When
at last the company is ready to make an offer, the disillusioned
candidate has long since gone to greener pastures.
Wrapped
up in this not untypical example are three of the negative
signals that unsuspecting companies send – lack of urgency,
indecisiveness and disorganization.
How sad,
given the fact that people are indeed a company’s most
important asset. Those in critical positions either make money
for the company or save money for the company. Thus, every
day a critical position goes unfilled, the company is losing
the opportunity to make or save money.
The solution
is to conduct an important job search with the same degree
of urgency, organization and commitment that you would give
to a new product launch.
Define,
for example, the attributes you are seeking – so you’ll
know when the right individual comes along. (Sanford Rose
Associates' Dimensional Search® process can help you zero-in
on the skills, work experience and management style that will
spell success on the job.) Line up in advance those people
to be part of the interview process, clarify each person’s
role and obtain everyone’s commitment to make themselves
available. Keep appointments, in person or on the telephone.
(If the boss needs to put his stamp of approval on a candidate,
but is in Bangkok or Bombay for the next two weeks, arrange
a phone call or teleconference.) Be prepared to make an offer
when you find Mr. or Ms. Right. And, if unexpected events
occur, keep both the recruiter and the candidate informed;
it can help ensure their continued loyalty and understanding
until the situation resolves itself.
"Why
Should We Deign to Hire You?"
In other
times and in other cultures, those accused of breaking the
law had to run the gauntlet, walk over hot coals, swim across
a crocodile-infested river or perform some other perilous
act. Those who survived were declared innocent. Those who
didn't got their just desserts.
Today,
the gauntlet has largely disappeared – except for candidates
in some forms of military training and candidates interviewing
for jobs.
As to
the latter, what could have been a bonding process instead
becomes a trial by fire. Six managers in turn ask the candidate
to describe his (or her) worst character flaw. An HR representative
hands the candidate a personality test and inquires if now
is a good time for the urine test. A spy masquerading as a
fellow worker takes the candidate to lunch and asks all those
questions the EEOC forbids. Would you want to go to work for
such an organization?
Sanford
Rose Associates strongly recommends that the interview process
should be one of screening in, not screening out. (There will
be plenty of time, once the candidate departs, to decide if
he or she is a viable contender for the job.) Turn the visit
into a sales call for your company – not to mention
the job it is trying to fill. Show interest in the candidate
and what he or she can contribute to the organization. Be
responsive to any special needs the individual may have.
Consider,
for instance, a high-potential candidate from another state
whose tenth-grade daughter is a star soccer player. Think
of the impression it would make if someone in your organization
took the time to inquire about soccer programs at local schools.
Most
simply, the interview process is an ideal time to demonstrate
(by deeds as well as words) that your company cares about
its people. If you decide ultimately to offer the candidate
employment, he or she will be that much closer to wanting
to accept the offer. If the candidate doesn’t get the
job, your company still has made a friend. As we have said
in previous issues, you can only make a first impression once.
Why not make that impression positive?
A
Little Romance Never Hurts
Imagine
a suitor who makes the following marriage proposal: "Sue,
I appreciate your participation over the past year in the
dating process. I have had the opportunity to evaluate your
strengths and weaknesses compared to other women and, in general,
have concluded that you have more strengths than weaknesses.
I’d like to offer you this small engagement ring with
the understanding that, if our relationship deepens as expected,
we’ll try to put in a larger diamond at a later date.
Please let me know by Friday, so that I can cancel my weekend
plans with Elaine."
Even
though one assumes that no real person would make so callous
a proposal, companies often exhibit similar insensitivity
when extending employment offers.
Good
candidates are always a rare find, and today, more than ever,
they are in strong demand. So when you fall in love with one,
convey how excited you are to make the offer – and how
enthusiastic you are about the impact this person will make
on your organization.
If there
are details to be worked out (e.g., title, compensation, supplemental
benefits, relocation, etc.), it is desirable to leave these
in the hands of a go-between, whether the internal Human Resources
staff or the outside search firm. In this fashion, the hiring
manager preserves his or her positive relationship with the
prospective employee, leaving the sometimes emotional details
of the negotiating process to others.
In good
times and bad, candidates want to be reassured that the benefits
of changing jobs exceed the risks. While dollars and cents
are one aspect of the risk-benefit equation, they are relatively
far down the well-known hierarchy of needs. Ultimately, people
need to be needed.
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