Finding The Right People Now Is Tougher - The Key To Success Is Preparation

Employers say that finding the right people has always been a challenge. But high unemployment has made it even tougher. That doesn't seem to make sense. But our clients place as much if not more emphasis on preparation for recruiting and selection of critical positions in high unemployment markets as in tight labor markets.

Careful preparation is necessary to overcome certain beliefs and behaviors that always seem to show up at times of high unemployment. The behaviors and beliefs our clients cite most frequently as needing to be overcome by careful preparation are the following:

The belief that critical positions should be easier to fill in this economy. With so many people out of work, shouldn't it be easier and quicker to hire the right person for the right job? That expectation and the pressure it places on recruiters and hiring managers can result in taking short cuts in the selection process.

The high number of applicants has made it harder to separate the qualified from the not qualified. It's not uncommon to get 500 resumes or on line applications for a position that, a few years ago, may have seen one or two qualified applicants.

The high volume of job applicants hasn't changed the fact that at least 90% of them will continue to be unqualified for specific positions. Except now it can take a lot longer to sort that out, and the exposure to lawsuits based on discrimination in hiring increases. With so many applicants, the number of discrimination and bias complaints has grown.

There's a real temptation to hire “overqualified” people for jobs – opening the possibility of higher turnover as soon as the job market for their particular qualifications improves.

It's tempting to “raise the bar” for applicants in high unemployment markets. As a conscious choice in a strategy to upgrade a workforce, it may be OK. As a choice based on the assumption that more people, and, therefore, better people are available, it's not so good.

It's easier in today's market for hiring managers to take the “throw them up against the wall and see who sticks” approach to selection. It's a lazy approach to hiring, and speaks poorly of the organization that allows it.

Many of the unemployed got that way by being “cherry picked” by their previous employer. Problems of behavior, performance and other issues that were allowed to fester in good times become the reason for laying them off in bad times. Those issues often carry over to a new employer – and reference checks rarely uncover the real reason for their being laid off or terminated. Prepare to do the digging yourself.

The “cast a wide net” theory of recruiting is hard to resist. With so many people out there, why not throw out the biggest net and get the most applicants and then sort them out? The assumption that a larger applicant pool will somehow result in better selection is false. The large applicant pool is not nearly as valuable as one right person for the job.

It's human nature to see people from the outside as better possibilities than people from the inside – there are no warts on the outside applicant – yet. The temptation to take a chance on hitting a home run with a new hire rather than promote from within is greater in a high unemployment market. The results can be lower morale and commitment and a loss of trust. It's tempting to take the existing employees for granted in high unemployment. After all, with few jobs available, they'll sit tight, won't they?

With so many applicants, it's tempting to not do the homework before recruiting. But lack of preparation slows down the process. Good people don't last long, even in a high unemployment market. Without the confidence of knowing what the right person will bring to the table, it's likely that decision making will be slow – and that right person ends up going somewhere else.

To manage these behaviors and beliefs, and at least a few of them exist in every organization, the key is good preparation.

Here are six elements of good preparation that create the benchmarks of the job – not the candidate - that are key to success in selection.

1 - A written job description covering the who, what, where, when, how and why of the job is critical – not just some boilerplate piece that hasn't been updated for years, but an up to date description that can be shared with all those involved in the selection process – from recruiters to interviewers to applicants.

2 – Separate from that description, but even more critical is a statement of the top 3 to 5 Key Accountabilities for the position. What are the things that this job will contribute, and how will performance be measured? It's amazing how often this key step in preparation uncovers substantial disagreements between stakeholders. Without agreement and alignment on these KA's, how can a selection team possibly make the best decision on candidates?

3 – The stakeholders and those with significant knowledge of the position need to be part of the job description and Key Accountabilities discussions and development. Don't expect a staff person with no real skin in the game to be able to give the same depth of input as a hiring manager or a person who was successful in the position or a person who will depend on the position to support their own.

4 – A profile/benchmark of qualifications including education, experience, industry knowledge, specific skills and other relevant hard data needed for success is developed. This is critical to avoid letting particularly attractive candidates - for reasons other than criteria critical to the position - introduce irrelevant criteria into the process. At this point focus needs to be on the job – not the applicant.

5 – A profile/benchmark of the Behaviors, Attitudes and Motivators, and the Personal Skills critical to the job is developed by the same stakeholders that developed the Job Description and the Profile of qualifications. The best way to accomplish this is to have the stakeholders use the same assessments that will be administered to candidates of interest.

6 – The selection team is briefed on their roles in evaluating candidates, and are given training in the interview and evaluation of candidates.

Once these six steps are taken, attention can be focused on candidates. The focus on the candidates is in the context of a well developed and communicated understanding of what the job needs.

The more critical the job, the more critical preparation becomes. What it does is ensure the investment of time, effort and money spent on acquiring the right talent in the right job is maximized. The proof of the effectiveness of this kind of focused effort in selecting talent is seen in lower turnover, more successful hires and promotions and transfers, and a reduction in the costs associated with selection. An added benefit of this approach is in the acceptance of the person selected. When people in an organization see careful attention being spent on decisions that will directly affect them - in terms of new bosses, new peers and new support talent - they know they are part of a special place, with special people. There is a lot of pride and commitment in knowing that.

Take inventory of how the high unemployment labor market may have influenced the behaviors and attitudes toward selection in your organization. Then compare your preparation steps with the six steps described in this article. Then decide the best way you can use preparation to gain a competitive advantage in the selection of talent for your organization.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph & Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

What To Do When Where You Are Is Not Where You Want To Be

One of the most limiting things we can tell ourselves is that what we are doing and where we are is not where we thought we would be or where we want to be. Lots of people feel that way right now. With all the changes that have happened over the past few years, many people have seen their worlds turned upside down. They have seen their assumptions disappear. They aren't where they thought they would be – and they have a real problem adapting to the realities of their situations.

It happens to all of us at some time – the feeling that where we are isn't where we want to be, or where we deserve to be, or where we planned to be - in work, relationships, emotions, career. And when that feeling occurs, it's really tempting to give in and feel like a victim. Feeling out of control, blaming causes outside ourselves, feeling tempted to give up and give in and blame all the forces that have conspired against us. To do that is fatal. Once the victim disease sets in its hard to see opportunities, even if they're right in front of us.

Our daughter told me a story about the person their pest service sent for a service call. She started to describe the problem she was having with ants. The pest “expert” told her he was just doing this job to pay the bills, that as soon as something better opened up, he would be doing a higher level, more prestigious job than just spraying for ants! I suspect he wanted our daughter to know that he was “better” than the job he was doing. She didn't care – all she wanted was an expert to help with the ant problem.

I met two investment bankers in Miami recently. Both work for a small firm. We got to talking about the impact of the recession on their business. They both admitted business was tough. They observed that many of the people laid off from the large investment firms were simply not equipped to work in smaller firms. They had become used to generous pay, lots of resources and the prestige of being highly educated members of a worldwide firm – work had flowed to them. They didn't have to go looking for it. But in small firms you gotta beat the bushes. Having to pick up the phone and ask for business was not where they wanted to be – and many of the ones that found themselves in that situation hadn't survived. They weren't where they thought they should be – and either wouldn't or couldn't adapt.

Many of the companies I work with are small to medium sized enterprises – anywhere from ten people to twenty five hundred. Most have small support staffs and expect a high level of self reliance and resourcefulness from their people. Most of their experience with executive level hires that have come directly from large companies has not been good. Most of those hires carry a load of assumptions about what they should have to do and what levels of support should be available to them. They are almost always disappointed and frustrated with what they find. The succesful ones adapt. The others fight the situation, try to change it to meet their expectations based on their past experience – with the result that they just survive or get fired. They weren't where they thought they should be. Many of those who failed in their first job after being in a big company learn the lesson, adapt their expectations and perceptions, and succeed using the lessons they learned. Those are the people to recruit.

Here are seven strategies to use when you feel you aren't where you want to be. These are strategies to guard against falling into the the victim trap – or getting yourself out of the one you may be in.

Make Choices - Realize that while you may not be able to control the circumstances that put you where you are, you have complete control over how you respond to them. The key word is choice. A scary word for about 70% of the population. Choice is that space between stimulus and response. Sometimes that space is small – sometimes it's large. It's there for everybody – all the time – even if it doesn't seem to be. That pest “expert” had a choice – and lots of space - to choose how to describe the work he was doing. The choice he made was a negative one. It did not serve him well. Think about how he could have made it positive.

Determine to Adapt – One of the most powerful Personal Skills any person can have is to adapt positively to the situation they find themselves in. Observing and analyzing the situation, then making a conscious decision on how to best succeed – or survive - without compromising basic values is a behavior of the successful. The investment bankers that can see their world as bigger than any one employer, and change to meet different situations, are better equipped for so many more future opportunities than if they had continued to insist on finding work as they had known it. It makes little sense to mourn what no longer exists – adapt.

Create and Review Expectations – Expectations must be reviewed and analyzed and conscious decisions made about them. It's important to accept that expectations need to change to meet changing circumstances. It's also important to realize that expectations that are always too high to be met can drain enthusiasm, energy and self worth. You can keep them as ideals, but don't make ideals into expectations. Think about it – waking up every day and failing to meet your own expectations. Even the most optimistic soul would wilt under those circumstances It's important to realize that expectation are influenced by circumstances – often. We're taught from an early age that we can do whatever we set our minds to do. But when a high school dropout tells me he wants to be a doctor I may suggest he start by striving to get his GED and become an Army medic. There are always new stretch expectations that can be created.

Resolve To Act - No single thing can overcome that feeling of being a victim more than acting. What actions are taken are really less important than just getting out there – whatever that means – and doing something. The Nike Just Do It ads have been so successful because they are simple, they are direct. They mean whatever you want them to mean, and they require Just Doing It. Right now, write down ten things you can do to better your situation, bring you closer to your expectations, overcome the victim disease. Don't just think about ten things – write them down – do them – celebrate the action. And avoid the trap of being busy but not effective. Steven Pressfield, in his book ”The Art of War” suggests you ask yourself one question if in doubt about the effectiveness of what you are doing. The question is “ If you were the only person left in the world, would you continue to do what you are doing right now?” Tough question.

Never, Never, Never Give Up. - Realize there is a real nobility in working to pay the bills, to honor commitments, to feed a family, to survive so you can greet another day with the possibility of success. Never apologize for the work. And realize and guard against giving up. Oftentimes giving up doesn't happen all at once, it can be sneaky. Cormac McCarthy wrote a line in his book “The Road,” about a man and his son, trying to reach the East Coast after a nuclear holocaust, facing untold difficulties. The father at one point turns to his son and says ” When your dreams are of a world that never was or of a world that never will be, and you are happy again, you will have given up.” Hope is critical, dreams are a must, but they need to translate into effective action in today. Make sure the actions you take are important and contribute to your expectations. They can carry you through the roughest of patches.

Develop Observation Skills – See the world around you as it is – not as you wish it would be – or as you dream it could be – or as it used to be. Hard eyed realism is an invaluable tool to moving forward, creating realistic expectations and using today in the best way possible.

Dwell In Possibilities – Stephan Schiffman, in his book “Make It Happen Before Lunch” offers the advice to “dwell in possibility – there is always a door somewhere waiting to be opened.” Possibility thinking leads to opportunities in places you may never have dreamed of.

Use these strategies to help overcome so much of the negative emotions and feelings of powerlessness that the steady barrage of bad news provides us with every day. At the same time, adopting the seven strategies will set the stage for the success that is sure to come to those who stay focused on it – and realize that success may be found in places far away from where you are now - what an exciting thought!

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved