I regularly speak to groups of CEOs’ who are primarily concerned about hiring. Invariably, someone will tell me that they can’t find the right people because the unemployment rate is so low. They talk about how there are “no good employees” out there and because they don’t have good employees, they can’t expand the way they want.
Do you see the slippery slope they just went down? Irrational thinking like the one I describe above is way more impactful on our hiring processes then any unemployment rates, regardless of how low they may go.
Here are some tips to get you out of the trap of thinking no good employees are available for hire:
Create a great place to work. According to this recent article by Bloomberg News, people are leaving their jobs at a 17-year high. People are leaving jobs like they did right after 9/11, meaning they are looking for a place to work where their work matters. They want to contribute to something bigger than themselves. So very simply put, this is the perfect opportunity to sit down with your direct reports and have a vision conversation about the culture of the company and their roles within it. Ask them where they want to be, what they want to do and how they want to contribute. Then, make it happen for them.
Focus on retention. According to this recent article by HR Dive , employees are 4 times more likely to be looking for a job if they work for a jerk. So, don’t be a jerk. And, don’t let your managers be jerks either. If you want good employees to leave your company, keep a jerk on your payroll.
Have no fear. Don’t focus on the bad stuff. If you fear that you won’t find good employees, you won’t. Write your Ideal Candidate List for your best employee and read over it every day. Don’t settle. They ARE out there, probably just as frustrated as you are in trying to find you. Which leads me to my last tip…
Create a candidate – friendly interview process. What does this mean? It means, interview fast. Call the candidates quickly, get them scheduled soon, and make an efficient interview process. Have your basic screening processes in place but do not be ridiculous in your requirements for applying. Then, give the candidates a clear deadline as to when they will have answers, and stick to that deadline. Say no politely, but firmly, and don’t leave people hanging. Candidates have lots of choices these days. Be a place that they want to be.
Warren Buffet says that money flows from the impatient to the patient. I say that the same thing happens with candidates: be patient, be thorough and be polite.
I had a call from a client who I worked with years ago. We had successfully hired an employee for a very key position in his company. He has called me regularly to share how great of an employee she had become over years. She has been great with his clients, great with her budget, great with the other folks on the team…He could not have been happier.
Then, one day recently, he called to tell me that his “amazing employee” was suddenly dropping the ball. “Beth, I don’t understand it!” he exclaimed. “She is making mistakes on things where in the past she has performed flawlessly! I am actually thinking about firing her because it is so bad.”
Okay. I always advise my clients to first take a big, deep breath when becoming frustrated. Then, I advise them to take another big, deep breath and look at performance issues from various perspectives before firing once high performing employees.
I continued the conversation by asking, “Have you asked her what is going on?”
“Well, no. I haven’t,” he replied.
I encouraged my client to talk to his beloved employee with empathy and compassion to uncover what may be behind her sudden shift in behavior. I suggested he state something like this, “You know, I have noticed that you haven’t been yourself lately. Are you okay?”
As it turns out, she did have some personal trauma happening in her life, discovering someone close to her had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She confessed to feeling like a total wreck. She also expressed that having a conversation with her boss, my client, was really helpful. And while she continued to have a tough go of it for the next several months, but she was able to get help when she needed and turn her performance around.
So, when you see job performance decline in a great employee, before you discipline in any way, check in with their emotional well-being. As a great leader, you will really be glad that you did.
Beth Smith of A-list Interviews discusses why using the term “millennial” when recruiting could be a discrimination in this one minute interview essential video.
I spoke at a conference in San Antonio for the Independent Bankers Association of the state of Texas (IBAT). I had the privilege of hearing the CEO, Chris Williston, speak about his 35 years of involvement with the organization as he prepared to exit. He had grown the IBAT into the largest association of independent bankers in the country. It was obvious that he had made great friends in the group and would completely be missed as a leader. His exact quote was, “I have never worked a day in my life.” He then shared how grateful he was for the organization, that he loved the people and the work, and that he wished for all people to have the happiness in their jobs like he did. He was passionate, articulate and humble.
I have thought about that speech on and off for the past week. I realize how rare it is that people feel this way about their job. Why is this so? How is it that Chris, who had “fallen into this job,” was so successful?
Here are a few observations to Chris’ satisfaction:
There were enough parts of his job that suited him perfectly. He was a natural relationship builder and spent a great deal of his time doing just that: getting to know independent bankers.
He had enough control in his job that when his constituents needed something done, and it was right for the organization, Chris had the power to get it done.
Chris had the resources to delegate the work that he disliked to someone else. He could focus on the parts that he loved and passed off the rest.
He oversaw his own growth and that of the association.
I have so much respect for someone who leaves an organization way better than they found it. Chris Williston is one of those people. Do you empower people in your organization to thrive, contribute and grow? It could be the difference between an unhappy workforce and an happy one.
I received a call from a former client recently who is losing a valued employee. She said, “You know Beth, we weren’t using your process back then, and this employee would never have gotten past the third interview.”
I said to her “Do you know why?”
She said, “Yes! The third interview is all about passion for a position and this employee doesn’t love what we do.”
I have had so many hiring managers and CEOs want to shorten the interview process and rob themselves of one of the most critical steps in the hiring process. I completely understand why. Many of them are in a hurry and impatient to fill a position. Some are afraid that they will lose the candidate to another opportunity or worse, they are afraid they will NEVER find anyone and just hire someone already! All of this is a perfect recipe to a bad hire.
As Warren Buffet so aptly stated, “Money flows from the impatient to the patient.” So do candidates, houses, opportunities, etc.
The third interview measures how passionate the candidate is for the work that you are offering them. If they aren’t loving the job you offer, their skill set doesn’t matter, their availability doesn’t matter, their experience doesn’t matter.
Another client called me today and said “Thank GOD for the third interview! I just avoided a horrible hiring mistake because I followed the process completely! Thank you, Beth!”
You’re welcome! Keep following your interviewing system! It is designed to find you great employees, not “good enough” employees.
