Recruiter Chicks

We are at war with our processes and formality that slows down the recruiting process.  This is a tricky time in the economy when the scales are tipping to one side or the other based on the job, the specs and the industry in which they lie.  I know many of you are saying this is a constant.  Well, I beg to differ…right now finding key talent for opportunities is a fair game, however companies continue to move slowly and are overly process driven with each and every requisition.

I challenge you to make your process more efficient. Really!

Thankfully I work with great clients who know that our firm has the pulse firmly on the market and we provide a more consultative approach to search.  With that said, many companies are listening to and consulting with partners that work in their space daily to get an idea of how they should go to market for a challenging position. My question is, are the majority taking this approach?  Truthfully, most consult with their compensation analyst or provider on salary range or structure and that’s about it.

Herein lies the problem.  Off they go to market to recruit and the recruiter identifies a few candidates that fit the specs. Now the ball is in their court and the competition begins OR slows to a crawl.

How do we prepare our hiring managers for the competition when recruiting for a hard-to-fill position or one where you know they may need to move quickly when they see the ideal candidate?  I have outlined a seven point checklist that can help everyone involved.

1. Contact respected leaders in your space or your company to ask general questions about the market.  Share this information with the hiring manager.

2. Ask if they are prepared to go to the top of the salary range for a “ready now.”  And ask if there is any flexibility to go above the range if you presented someone very strong who is already at the top of the range.

3. Ask if they are open to an “almost ready” candidate with strong potential or if they must have a “ready now” candidate.

4. Outline the interview process and work with them ahead of time to identify inefficiencies and ways to better utilize everyone’s time.

6. Ask if they have anyone who is sharp on their team that could or would have an interest in moving into the role.

7. Ask if they are willing to rearrange their calendar if you identified someone who is top shelf and considering other roles.

The competition is not a game in this market!  I realize that every company has a process, however I believe that we can help speed things up a bit so we don’t lose a strong candidate to the competition solely because your process took too long or the hiring manager wants to see every single person on the market.

It’s all about working together for the overall success of the hiring manager, the candidate and the company.  It’s about winning!

When our firm’s clients ask us to take on a search, they usually lay out the key qualifications as well as some traits and qualities that fit well within their company culture or the job.  Some of those things are easy to assess and others more difficult.  I have filled several executive searches recently where clients have asked for someone with a mix of strategic and tactical experience and the ability to manage up and down well.

The one quality that many of our firm’s clients are seeking and targeting is someone with “executive presence.”  Executive presence is a vital component to being an effective leader.

How do we create or transform to possess “Executive Presence?”

Let me just start by saying that when I think of executive presence it has nothing to do with a suit and tie or skirt and stockings.  Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s really think about the essential qualities that make up executive presence.

Since this became a recurring theme with our clients, it prompted me to purchase a few e-books that focus on Executive Presence.  Of the books I read, I really liked how one in particular laid out the theory of executive presence, entitled Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO.

In this book, they highlighted many traits and skills that come along with “commanding respect like a CEO.”  Of those, there were five that stood out and were reoccurring themes.

5 Traits of Executive Presence:

1. Listening Skills

2. Relational

3. Introspective

4. Commands Attention

5. Ability to Leverage Resources

Executive Presence is not something that shows up overnight, it is something that has to be molded, shaped and practiced.  We all need coaching in some area or another and working on executive presence is sure to pay hefty returns whether you’re an entrepreneur or work for a company.  Executive Presence is not just based on looks and appearance, it is based on the way your interact and how well you manage up, down and laterally.  Most of all, it’s about impeccable listening skills and treating people like people!

It was an honor to speak at Cornerstone OnDemand’s Talent Leadership Breakfast meeting last week in Atlanta.  It was a great event that was dedicated to providing best practices in change management and a plan to implement an integrated talent management strategy.

My session was entitled, “Aligning Employee Engagement to Organizational Strategy” and primarily focused on the Three Key Drivers of Employee Engagement: (1) Recognition (2) Career Development and (3) Influence.

Here is a link to the PowerPoint presentation and slides:

I often wonder with the current process and recruitment methodology in corporations and search firms, are we missing out on sharp candidates?

Think about the current process most companies have in place – post and pray.  The typical job candidate in today’s market is being treated like their time is less valuable than the company’s time.  Few companies have yet to realize that the pond is drying up.

Candidates are treated the same, for good reason.  It is imperative that we have a consistent hiring process for compliance reasons.  This process, however can sometimes leave candidates feeling like they are being herded like cattle.  Especially those passive candidates.  A Recruiter or Hiring Manager will do a great job of finding that person and selling the opportunity to them.  The “passive” candidate submits their resume and becomes part of the general interviewing population.  The candidate that you’ve been courting is excited about exploring a new role.  Now it’s up to your organization to leave a lasting impression on them throughout the interviewing process.  They arrive to the interview and it’s game face on for you and your company.  This candidate that you heavily recruited to come interview with your company is now being herded through the process.

The age-old saying is, “You only get one chance to make a 1st impression.”  In the interviewing process both parties are making a 1st impression at each step in the process.

So, as astute Recruiting & HR professionals we need to up our game!  We must make an extra effort to get everyone in the hiring process on the same page so we don’t lose the best candidates because of our broken, cookie cutter process.  We must learn, sometimes the hard way, that we need to change the process.  By that I mean, learn how to treat people the way you’d like to be treated.  Like a person.  We’re not implying that you should treat the active and passive candidate any different, I’m saying put on your best face and give people a reason to want to come and work with you and your company.  Create a uniform process that is progressive, personable and leaves a lasting positive impressive on every candidate.  There can be a tendency to treat people like cattle until they are identified by the key stakeholders as the top candidate, then they’re treated like a European Truffle.

It is our job to provide suggestions that spice up our interviewing process and take a page out of the Ritz Carlton hospitality handbook.  Make changes that will leave a special, positive, unique and lasting impression on each candidate that interacts with your organization.

If your recruiting process is the same way it was five years ago, I challenge you to take on a new and exciting project – recruitment process enhancement.  One person can make a difference.

I attended the SHRM-Atlanta conference last week and it was all about community and “Working for a Better Atlanta.  It was quite evident as soon as anyone hit the door that people were there to learn, network and grow as professionals over the two-day conference period.

As with other conferences, there were several sessions tracks from Business Acumen to Total Rewards to Talent Management so an attendee could attend sessions based on their current role, projects or future aspirations.  Most of sessions I attended were along with HR Leveraging Technology and Business Acumen tracks.

One of the best sessions of the conference was led by Cathy Missildine-Martin of Intellectual Capital Consulting.  Her session was titled, “Using Data to Make the Right HR Investments.”  Cathy had a room full and it was clear that HR professionals needed to sit in her session to learn more about HR Analytics, which Cathy so happens to be very passionate about.  Cathy discussed HR Analytics and its importance to the overall business strategy.  She started the session by referencing an Accenture study stating that “89% of CFOs have experienced an increase in their workload and 39% of that was taking over the Human Resources function.”  That was an immediate wake-up call for HR practitioners in the room.  She then asked a question to the audience, “How many metrics is your HR department currently tracking?”  There were blank stares all over the room…few knew the answer to this question.  And, we wonder why CFOs are managing and taking over the HR function!

She went through an HR Analytics model using an example of a company with a call center and she nailed down sales training cost along with rewards and recognition cost and tied those two pieces directly to customer satisfaction, turnover and engagement.  She laid out the cost/benefit analysis for an organization against the cost of training and rewards programs to help make the case for such programs and tie them to the bottom line.

Finally, Cathy ended her session by guiding the audience on how they should share recommendations with organizational leaders.  The key point that she drove home is…do not bring your leadership team pages and pages of data and sit it down for them to read.  She suggested using the “killer slide” concept, keep it simple and astound them with the overview of information not all of the details.  The point…you don’t have to prove to the C-level executives that you’re good at HR and math, just bring the information they need and use the language of the business.  Last but not least, she suggested you tie all recommendations and observations back to the overall business strategy.

To close, Cathy challenged us all to go out and be the HR Rockstars we all are!

This was one great session of many at the SHRM-Atlanta Conference.  You can find Cathy Missildine-Martin at www.intellectual-capital.net.