Recruiting in the Turnaround Economy

Slowly but surely it appears that the economy is turning around. Businesses are beginning to breath a collective, yet still cautious sigh of relief. It has been a difficult three years for many businesses, and has certainly been tough for job seekers. That's beginning to change.

In the "go go nineties", which seem a very long time ago, employers experienced a very challenging and expensive time recruiting employees. It was a "seller's market". Inflated base compensation, signing bonuses, stock options and other benefit and compensation perks were the norm in what was known as "The War for Talent". Companies competed fiercely for the "best and brightest", particularly in the managerial, information technology and service sectors.

With the stock market bubble bursting, 9/11, corporate scandals and the Iraq war, employers pulled back. Positions were consolidated, employees were "right sized" and the focus became one of "making do" and "holding on" rather than on aggressive growth and expansion. Yet, in spite of the business challenges of the last few years, there have been some positives. One of the most beneficial has been the historically low interest rates. This has lead to both a housing and banking boom that helped to sustain consumer confidence and has lead to a revitalization of the stock market.

Companies are now coming out of the early millennium doldrums and beginning to realize that there is some catching up to do on the effectiveness of their organizations. Recruiting for external talent is on the upswing and competition for the "best and the brightest" is reheating. It looks a little different this time. During the 1990s many folks were hired in to critical positions or promoted so rapidly that they did not have a handle on the fundamentals of their positions. Many companies where big on strategy but weak on execution. Having suffered the lessons of "show vs. go", many companies are, in fact, getting back to basics. And that is where the upcoming "War for Talent" will likely different from the last.

Recruiting effectively in this tentative turnaround will require a more deliberate, reasoned and evidenced-based approach than the trends we saw which preceded "the bubble". The competition for talent will be for those individuals who can consistently and collaboratively execute to a plan that meets an organization's market and profit objectives. The recruiters and managers who do the best job of getting past "fluff" and down to "brass tacks" will be the ones who win the next "War for Talent". How can you make sure that your company effectively recruits in this turnaround economy? A few key elements are outlined below:

• Be true to your customers.

While this seems obvious and simple on its face, this truism all to frequently gets lost in the process of recruiting talent. Before you begin your search for new employees, whether they be for the front lines or the executive suite, remember who your customer is.

• What do they need? Consider the market dynamics your customer is facing. Look at who and what has effectively worked for them in the past. Evaluate whether or not there are nuances in either your market or theirs that need to be supported by a particular skill set.
• Who are the people who have consistently and effectively met customer demands? Identify the key technical, managerial and personality traits that seem to work best in your organization. Develop recruiting and interviewing process that will ensure that you can accurately assess the critical skills of potential employees.
• How will this position ultimately impact your customers? To hire the best talent, this is a question that must always be front of mind. If the position does not directly service the customer, presumably, the position supports someone who does service the customer. Operations, IT, Human Resources, Finance, Legal... all require the critical skills necessary to execute against customer demand. Being true to the customer means only hiring those who know how to get things done for the benefit of the customer.

• Be true to your team.

"The grass is always greener." "Familiarity breeds contempt." And so the story goes in life and in business. While there is nothing wrong with managers wanting to continuously improve their business, they need to be careful not to "throw the baby out with the bathwater". Being true to the team means going through a well-reasoned and fact-based process of identifying skill and or effectiveness gaps in the company prior to hiring new personnel. All too often, recruitment is used as a mechanism to find that one "magical" person whose presence can "fix" all that is "wrong" in a company. I have seen many more times than I care to recall, the new and much ballyhooed talent, disrupt critical organizational dynamics and drive out the folks who really make the business happen. Being true to the team means recruiting talent with proven skills based on solid evidence of past performance. People who have the interpersonal ability to immediately being adding value by bringing out the best in an organization and building on it will be the most prized of the new recruits.

• Be true to yourself.

Recruiting is as much, or perhaps more, "art" as it is "science". The science, briefly outlined above is comprised of the identification of skills that are required to effectively execute the job in question. The art includes the components surrounding personality, image, communication style and the like. Both the art and science of recruiting are critical when selecting the best individuals to work for an organization.

There are many candidates out there that are very likable. You'd love to have them over for barbeque. They make you comfortable, you can envision being friends. But... can they do the job? All "art" and no "science" lead to hiring decisions with poor outcomes for everyone concerned. The reverse is also true. Overlooking extreme personality, grooming or behavioral issues because a candidate has all of the technical skills is a formula for disaster.

Being true to yourself means being realistic about your company, your customers, your organizational strengths and weaknesses and your own biases. Balancing the art and science of hiring is one of the biggest challenges managers face, but those who face it honestly and forthrightly generally have the greatest success when making hiring decisions.

Recruiting in the turnaround economy and winning the next "War for Talent" will be dependant on following some of the same old tried and true mechanisms while remembering the lessons learned from the "good old days" when form all too often trumped substance.

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