2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 40,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 15 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Stop Fishing in the Wrong Lake- Creating a Recruiting Strategy
In the previous draft Top Talent Acquisition: Stop Fishing in the Wrong Lake, we spoke about the importance of broadening your recruiting strategy. Today, we are going to talk about developing a recruiting strategy, or as I would prefer to title it, “How Not to Kill Your Recruiter and the Recruiting Strategy”. (Decided that one wouldn’t be as marketable of a title.) So, here are some basic steps:
1. Job Description: There is nothing I detest more than having an ambiguous job I am expected to fill. If you are looking for a java developer with a certain certification, have that in the job description, don’t add it later as a filter through which you will grade all candidates provided to you. Job descriptions should have the following:
- Something about the company. So many times companies forget this portion. Sell your company in a couple of lines. Create an interest not only in the job itself, but the organization it supports. Many people would look at an HR Generalist role and see something pretty bland, but what if it was for Google? That would change things wouldn’t it?
- Paint a picture of the job. Don’t only talk about what you are looking for in terms of qualifications, but talk about the scope of the position as well. Help a candidate be able to see themselves in the position. Remember, a job description is a form of marketing, use it to its max capacity.
- Requirements. This is the sticky portion. According to several regulations, you will want to make sure this section is sealed tight but not too tight. Have your requirements listed, but include a range. For instance, if you are looking for someone who is bilingual, but it isn’t a deal killer, you can state something along the lines of: “Fluent in English, fluency in Chinese is highly favored.” This allows the candidate (or at least the ones who read the job description) know that if they do not speak Chinese they can still apply and for those who do speak it, well, they just got a gold star!
2. Follow UP! One thing that can kill a recruiter’s drive is when they identify a candidate for you, after some painstaking conversations, and you go dark on them. Understanding things happen and take priority over talking with your recruiter, however, if you start to show a lack of interest in the position, the recruiter will most likely do the same. Most good recruiters are sales people at heart and aim to please the client, but also aim to “make a kill.”
On the flip side of that, be sure to honor appointments with candidates. It amazes me how managers will blow off phone interviews or miss appointments with candidates who are interested in the position. There are no words for what type of impression that leaves with a candidate. And when you have met with them, provide feedback to both the candidate and the recruiter about next steps.
3. Pull the trigger. So, you’ve interviewed several candidates, narrowed it down to the one you want… so what are you waiting for? Many times, I will have had to endure constant requests for updates and hounding about a particular position only to have the offer negotiation process drag out for weeks. If you know what you want, then you should know what you want to pay for it, therefore, you should be able to pull the trigger. This is the last place you want to appear indecisive.
With all of the turbulence in the market and in every industry, excellence in recruiting can sometimes take a back seat. I would urge every leader to be wary of this common mistake. Remember, once you get them on, sometimes, it’s hard to get them out. Be sure you have a strategy so you don’t find yourself fishing for a trout, only to find you’ve hired a murderous shark! Happy fishing!
Trent Cotton has spent a number of years in management and business consulting. After spending some time in the field, he joined the HR department, beginning in recruiting and eventually serving as the Department Head of HR for one of the major lines of business. With such a varied background, he works to bring all of these together to help organizations incorporate best practices into their business to help them succeed. In his free time, he also writes a lot on his other blog, Christian Men, Christian Warrior.
Do Your Team a Favor-Drop the Loser
If there is one thing that send my blood pressure into orbit quicker than getting pulled over by a cop, it’s managers who say, “But I can’t get rid of them.” Um, to quote the recent presidential campaign, YES YOU CAN and to add to it, YES YOU SHOULD!
Robert Weinberg’s book on caner, “One Renegade Cell” he emphasizes how many bizarre things must happen for a cancer cell to be produced, implanted and eventually, silently, and mysteriously grow to such proportions that it threatens the very existence of its host. With this in mind, we will briefly explore the various phases which neoplasms go through on their way to becoming a life threatening malignancy to your organization.
Before getting into what you should do, let’s get into what you should look for. Think over your team for a moment. Make a T-Chart. On one side of the chart, write down the list of people on your team whom you would lose sleep over if they turned a resignation in tomorrow. On the other side, write down a list of those on your team you find yourself secretly smiling at the prospect of them resigning. Now that you know the who…
The truth is, team members who are not engaged are a drag on momentum. Either through vocal disapproval of progress or the gregarious, often secretive, act of digging their heels in against forward movement, these team members drag any successful effort you plan into the ground. I know from experience as a performer, I want my leader to rid the team of such people and when they don’t, it makes me question, “So why am I working so hard when obviously it’s not a real mandate?”
On the flipside, I have also been one of those against progress. Looking back to a job early in my career, I was one of those who needed to be drop kicked off the cliff. Now, I was a performer. Not being cocky, but I was the top performer on my team from a quantitative point of view. However, when things did not go my way, my attitude was cancerous. I was the one who secretly plotted against plans I did not buy into and even at times, made it a point to let everyone know vocally my disapproval. Looking back, I now understand and am grateful I was pushed out. Although I resigned, (to have the last word) the reality was, I pushed myself out through my own actions. To be honest, it was the best learning lesson I had professionally.
In most cases, the cancer cells in your team do not even realize how cancerous they are. There are three good reasons for this:
- In most cases, they are completely oblivous to their own fault, in large part due to their obsession with finding fault in everything else.
- Those members on your team rarely confront the cancer cells, choosing rather to take the path of least resistance, thereby, allowing the cancer to slowly spread.
- Partially your fault. Plain and simple. As the leader of the group, you have to confront this cancer and either 1. Treat the illness through coaching 2. Cut it out all together. There are three options for a coaching strategy to consider for these types: coach them up, coach them over (find a better fit for their skill set), or coach them out.
Remember, bizarre things must happen for a cancer cell to be produced, implanted and eventually, silently, and mysteriously grow to such proportions that it threatens the very existence of its host. We have addressed three of these “bizzarre things” in this post. In the next post, we will talk more on your three coaching strategies to address the cancer of the team.
Trent Cotton has spent a number of years in management and business consulting. After spending some time in the field, he joined the HR department, beginning in recruiting and eventually serving as the Department Head of HR for one of the major lines of business. With such a varied background, he works to bring all of these together to help organizations incorporate best practices into their business to help them succeed. In his free time, he also writes a lot on his other blog, Christian Men, Christian Warrior.
For my professional resume, click here
