April Fools and the Stunts Candidates Play

Over the past 32 years of recruiting, candidates have shown the wonderful ability to surprise clients.  It almost seems they are trying to find April Fools jokes to play on companies where they are interviewing.

 

For instance, isn’t it amazing when they fail to edit or proof their resumes prior to forwarding them in postings?  Let’s face it, anyone can have a grammatical error in their resume or confuse “it” and “at” or “is” and “as”.  It is not uncommon to receive a resume where the candidate was a “Manger” instead of “Manager”.  Do you also picture hay coming out of their sleeves?

 

Those careless mistakes are more understandable than missing names and contact information.  How can a candidate be that careless?  Yet, it is not uncommon to receive those resumes.  Is the recruiter supposed to call a company and ask for the person who used to work at ABC Company 4 years ago?

 

Then you have candidates who feel the best way to influence others is to be rude.  Recently a candidate that was being kept in the loop – contacted twice in a week with updates, decided they were being forced to “chase a job”.  Their rude response created an immediate disqualification. 

 

Over the years candidates have been very creative in their ways to surprise.  As NCAA basketball coaches know better than anyone during March Madness, you can coach people but they do not always accept the coaching.  Why would an accountant who was coached that the rural client had a very conservative culture and everyone wore suits, decide that business casual was an appropriate way to make a great first impression?  Disqualified…

 

How many times do you hear about researching a company prior to an interview?  Recently a candidate was interviewing with my client.  What possessed them to continually refer to my client’s products by the name of their largest competitor?  Disqualified…

 

Of course, very occasionally a candidate will go out of their way to demonstrate their creative ability to create an April Fools stunt on potential employers.  One candidate during the late 1990’s decided that they could dress as a clown and still be hired because the job market was tight.  They picked a Career Fair to show up dressed in a clown costume.  They told people that companies were so desperate to find employees they could dress as a clown and still find a job.  Maybe they wanted maximum negative exposure?  Unfortunately the companies who met this person did not appreciate his arrogance and disrespect.  Maybe he shouldn’t have dropped his resume at their booths.   In a coup of legendary proportions, he was disqualified by many companies within 2 hours.

 

Actually these people have saved companies time and possibly money by disqualifying themselves prior to employment.

 

On the candidate side of these April Fools’ stunts by others, learn from their mistakes.  Proofread resumes prior to forwarding them to a company.  Ask someone who did not help with your resume to proof it for you.  They generally are more likely to see “Manger” instead of “Manager” and all of those other potential mistakes.  Is your name and contact information easy to read?  Do not put that information in a header because some applicant tracking systems cannot read headers. 

 

Understand that you need to research companies prior to submitting your resume.  Understand their products and refer to them by their name, not their competition’s name. 

 

Finally, learn that arrogance has no place during the job search – or in the workplace.

 

From the corporate experience side, understand that candidates have a wonderful capability to be creative and find new ways to surprise – and disqualify themselves.

Manufacturing Employment IS (not) Dead in the US!

There are always going to be naysayers and those who want us to believe the negative.  While we were almost beginning to believe that all manufacturing has left or is leaving the US, we are now seeing evidence of its return - or maybe some never left.  There is also a not so quiet addition to the American manufacturing story – foreign manufacturers who are successfully finding talent and building their products in the US.

 

What is really interesting are the headquarters locations of some of the companies that have experienced success manufacturing their automobiles within the US for some time – BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.  With them are their suppliers.  Over one third of all cars produced in the US in 2008 were produced in US plants owned by foreign manufacturers.

 

Now the folks who thought all of our manufacturing was taking in place in China and India are complaining that there not enough trained workers in the US to re-shore manufacturing here.

 

There are times we need to be careful what we say – and what we ask for.  If enough people are fed that propaganda long enough, they will believe it.  Then we may really have problems.

 

The evidence shows that there are manufacturing jobs in every state.  Obviously there may be states where there are more experienced manufacturing talent or states where there is a greater need for experienced people for manufacturing jobs.  This is not an unusual situation in other industries.  Remember Software Engineers in Silicon Valley in 1999/2000?  I was out there recruiting for a client then.  It was a free for all.  Did the need for more software engineers end that growth?  No, more likely it was the fact that there were more poor business plans than lack of experienced software engineers that caused the Dot Bomb.

 

Where do we go from here?  Somehow Honda has found experienced workers in Ohio since 1982.  They produce a popular and quality Honda Accord there.  Subaru builds their quality Outback in a zero landfill manufacturing facility in Indiana.

 

We need to get manufacturers in high schools to begin to discuss the new clean and well lit manufacturing facilities and whet the students’ appetite for these jobs.  Let them know there is a future career in manufacturing.  Get into Community Colleges and make them aware that manufacturing is alive in the US.

 

Recruit out of areas that have excess manufacturing talent.  People will move if they find the right job and find housing.  Work with technical and community colleges to create training programs that train both recent high school graduates and previously experienced workers for work in production facilities.  During the telecom boom in the 1990’s, Northwest Kansas Technical College in Goodland, Kansas created such a quality telecom outside plant training program that there were often more recruiters than graduates from their program (I usually got my share!).  Many of their students were not traditional students.  They were experienced in other fields prior to attending Northwest Kansas Technical College.

 

Work with these schools to create manufacturing training programs like the one I mentioned above.  It could become your own minor league development location until other manufacturers learn about it.  If your production facilities use Lean/Agile, this training could include all aspects of eliminating waste and continuous process improvement.  Possibly create a certification program that enables workers to work and get paid while learning new skills.

 

Take a look at this website http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm/"target”_blank”   As of December 31, 2012 BLS table U6 shows that over 14% of all workers are unemployed or underemployed.  Are there potential manufacturing professionals in those 23 million people out of work?  With that kind of potential source of candidates, I would love to recruit production workers for a client with a Lean/Agile production facility!

 

Work with your state’s economic development and workforce development groups to create the training needed; and let’s get workers back to work – and more manufacturing back in the US!  Every time one person finds a new job, our economy improves.

Let's Go Find The Wrong Person!

Obviously companies do not intentionally, knowingly set out to find the wrong person to fill a job.  On the other hand, if they do not seriously create meaningful job descriptions, this is the path they are on.

 

Several months ago we discussed that every company has a Recruitment Strategy whether they are aware of it or not.  Some Recruitment Strategies are very simple – “Just Recruit”.  Obviously those strategies make it difficult to improve because there are no processes defined. 

 

This series of recruitment process improvement articles continues with the most important fundamental of the Recruitment Process – the Job Description.  As the foundation of the Recruitment Process, the Job Description determines:

1)      The Sourcing Process;

2)      The Interviewing Process;

3)      The Selection Process;

4)      The Offer Process;

5)      The Final Candidate Due Diligence;

6)      And will positively impact the first year’s retention. 

The job description is that important.

 

How many times have you read job descriptions and wondered really what the person was going to do on the job?  In my almost 32 years of recruitment experience, I have seen executives require that job descriptions intentionally be vaguely written so it gives them the most latitude in selecting the person they want to hire.  I have worked with hiring managers who did not want to give important details because “I need flexibility” in selecting the right candidate.  One of those managers selected a candidate that I suggested may not be the best fit.  Six months later, they came to me and told me “Your candidate is not working out.”  I reminded them that we discussed the person prior to the offer.  If we had truly specified the responsibilities and goals for the position prior to beginning the recruitment process, the candidate/employee probably would not have been among those selected for interviews.

 

Additionally candidates express frustration when job descriptions are vague.  As a result, many times companies and recruiting firms receive many more unqualified candidates replying to their vague postings.  Candidates feel that “maybe I am a fit for this job” and then apply.  How much time does these unwanted responses cost your recruiting team?  All of these unqualified responses take time from considering candidates who may have the right experience but not in your company’s search terms (and that is the difficulty of allowing the applicant tracking system to “screen out” candidates).  Consider that it is fine for candidates to decide not to apply if the job is not one that truly interests them or they determine they are not qualified.  Why attract candidates that you have no desire to hire?

 

What is the best way to structure a job description?  Since the person will report to a manager, isn’t it best to train and guide the hiring manager how to create an effective job description?  Some positions like call center and production line positions may be cookie cutter job descriptions.  Just ensure they are up to date to cover new technologies or processes that may have been introduced.

 

Obviously what should be the easiest task is to list the day to day duties for the position.  Then list any special project responsibilities, for instance people who work for the Sundance Institute probably have additional duties during the 10 days of the Sundance Film Festival.  Determine any strategic planning or implementations the position is responsible and list them.  What management responsibilities are included in this position?  Are budget responsibilities included?  How many people will they manage directly and indirectly?  What system of management does your company embrace – matrix or line?

 

Once the responsibilities are listed and verified, it is time to add the special sauce that really helps your company determine the best qualified candidate and then retain them.  Now it is time to list the 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 12 month goals for the position.  Once these goals are determined, the skills and experience necessary to be successful the first year become crystal clear.

 

It is important to ensure that the job description contains management responsibilities if the person will be a manager; and conversely that there are no management responsibilities if the person is a sole contributor.  It is important to mention that a job description does not contain all responsibilities related to the position.  Why?  Business requirements change as business conditions change.  The job description should include any physical requirements for the position.  It is also important to include EEO at the end of the job description for public posting.

 

At this point, your hiring manager and recruiter have a clear picture of the ideal candidate.  The recruiter and hiring manager should discuss the best method of sourcing the qualified candidates.  Hiring managers need to be active in sourcing but that is another conversation about engagement. 

 

Smart recruiters create a phone screen based on the job description and present it to the hiring manager for their comments and participation in the search.  Since the goals are listed, the phone screen becomes more relevant and focused.  Now the hiring manager has the needed information to create an interview that measures skills and experience plus the opportunity to probe candidate responses in the phone screen.

 

Why do some hiring managers dread the interviewing process?  They feel they do not have the information needed to effectively interview and select the best qualified candidate.  This is part of the value of a well-structured job description with the goals included.  Effective interviews are enormously important in determining the best qualified candidate who is also the best cultural fit.  As candidates are reviewed after the interview, the elements of the job description are the best way to determine their fit.

 

Companies do have a choice when they develop a job description process.  If an effective job description is not a priority in a company, the recruitment process may be “Let’s Go Find The Wrong Person!”  If the effective job description becomes a priority for a company:

1)      The candidates will be more focused;

2)      Interviews will be more focused;

3)      Selection will be focused on the best qualified candidate;

4)      And, there is a stronger likelihood of retaining the best employees.

The Unemployment Conundrum:

How Can Business Benefit?

 

High unemployment has been with us for four years and economists say it will be with us into 2013.  The MainStream Management Monthly Newsletter #21 states “The employment outlook for 2013 offers little cause for New Year’s Eve celebration. Champagne bottles will have more fizz than the U.S. economy in the near term, and the same unemployment headaches we cited sixteen months ago will persist.”

 

The government appears to settle on the same solutions while expecting different results.  Since we are expecting more of the same policies, will business react differently in order to grow their flat revenues? 

 

Which businesses will benefit from the new “normal” workforce?  How will they change their way of doing business in order to grow their revenues? 

 

Many business leaders point to the economy and say, “Look at the state of the economy!  No wonder our revenues are flat.”  Therefore they are demonstrating they are willing to continue to conduct business the same way while expecting different results or at least accepting their current condition.

 

The workforce is dynamic; and wise companies adopt new methods when the workforce economy changes.  How may companies benefit from the current conditions?

 

The official unemployment rate is table U3 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Household Data, Table A.15 Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm) .  In October 2012, the official unemployment rate was 7.9%.  Table U3 only measures individuals receiving unemployment benefits.  People who have dropped off of unemployment benefits are no longer counted in Table U3.  Then they fall into table U6 where they are counted as unemployed or underutilized as a result of the economy.  In October 2012, that number was 14.6% of the available workforce.  Table U6 translates roughly to 23 million workers either unemployed or under employed as a result of the economy.

 

Of those 23 million workers, how many are spending money and contributing to our economy?  Not many.  How do we improve the economy?  Hire these people one at a time on a full time or temporary basis.  Even large hiring efforts only hire one person at a time.  The time between hires and the methods of sourcing are different.

 

For the sake of discussion, it is well documented that generally companies do not track their high performers well.  Of the 23 million unemployed or under employed workers how many are Top Performers?  My guess is there are only about 10% of those people who are Top Performers.  In our current economy roughly 2.3 million unemployed/under employed workers are Top Performers, otherwise known as “A” Players.  Of course that number causes people to further wonder about the wisdom of only hiring people who have jobs, especially when you consider that 90% of employed workers are not considered Top Performers.

 

Why would a company in need of new revenues want to attract a Top Performer now?  That person may be the person that discovers the answer to revenue woes and change the business immediately while cutting costs and adding profitable new revenues.  As a result of their unemployment, they generally are willing to accept less compensation than if they were employed full time.  Now companies may attract the smart, ingenious, seasoned performers with initiative at a time when they can afford them.  With the additional profitable revenues, the company comes out ahead financially.

 

How can companies with flat revenues attract these Top Performers?  It depends on the business strategy. 

 

If the business only wants to hire full time employees, they need a recruiting process that facilitates the attraction of “A” Players.  Sometimes those individuals are driven away from companies that do not understand that successful recruitment is a sales process.

 

 

Of course some companies’ revenues are so low now that as much as they would like to hire someone new it would be unwise for all parties.  These companies may want to consider hiring a pre-screened interim executive from an established management consulting firm.

 

These interim executives have proven talent growing revenues in companies where revenue growth is stagnant.  Top Performers give a fresh look at all aspects of a company – products, services, pricing, profitability, talent, manufacturing, logistics, vendors, and customers without shades with sacred cows looking in to protect their turf. 

 

The unemployment conundrum may benefit companies with the need for more aggressive profitable revenue growth during a time when the best talent is readily available and affordable.



Post and Prey Recruitment – 3rd Party Recruiter Edition

Since 1981 as a 3^rd party Recruiter (contingent and contract) and Recruiting Manager for a start up CLEC, I have seen our industry quickly evolve in our sourcing methods.  These are probably the greatest number of changes the recruitment industry has seen since its founding.

Within the 3^rd party recruitment industry, there have always been professional recruiters who treat the industry as a profession.  There have also been people who were in the business for the perceived quick money – typically when they decide that consistent successful recruitment requires commitment and hard smart work, they leave.  Those are the people who send almost every resume they find with the right title to every company who may need a person with those skills.  Some recruiters call that practice “wallpapering”.

Anyone who has been in the industry for over 10 years generally can spot these short cutters fairly easily – “Why should I spend the time to phone screen someone when I can just forward their resume and get a fee because I got there first?” is a good way to discern the quick money recruiters.

There is a third group of recruiters who are beginners in our industry with the intent of becoming a professional recruiter.  They have the “long view”.  They realize the need to create a foundation and then build from that foundation.  These recruiters are sponges and try to learn everything they can from seasoned recruiters.

Many corporate and 3^rd party recruiters use the Post and Pray Sourcing method.  In the 1980’s and early 1990’s, almost all of us would run ads in different newspapers.  Retained recruiters would run ads in the Wall Street Journal for executives.  Contingent recruiters would run ads in the Sunday paper, with some of them choosing the Craig’s List version – the weekly county newspaper.

The was a huge difference in execution after finding a candidate who appeared qualified for an opening(s) in the industry we recruited.  The professional recruiter would conduct a phone screen to learn more about the candidate and see if there were the right combination of skills and attributes.  If the mix was right, they would forward the resume to their client.  If not, and they liked the candidate, they would ask if they could stay in touch until the right position came along – in other words build a relationship with them and ask for references.

The short cutter simply forwarded the resume and hoped it would be “a hit” without any intention of building a relationship.

When it came to counter offer times whom do you feel would be more successful delivering the candidate – those who built relationships or those who did not?

Today’s equivalent of running ads in the newspaper is to post openings on job boards.  Then pray the right people respond.  This is the new version of “Post and Pray Recruitment”.  Fundamentally the same as the “old days” with the major difference that resumes fly around more quickly.

The very successful, seasoned third party recruiter is truly a hunter with a hunter’s focus and positive attitude.  These professionals will probably have favorite places to post (because an occasional blue bird does fly through the window).  However their focus is to create new business relationships with new clients (while giving their tried and true clients the best service possible).  At the same time, they work to increase the number of sharp candidates who will occasionally provide them with great referrals and eventually a successful introduction.

These are the people who employ “Post and Prey Recruitment”.  This is the new dynamic for successful recruiting and is a combination of the old recruitment fundamentals with the speed of technology.  It removes some of the time from the sourcing process to enable the wily recruitment sales professional to remain successful.  Post and Prey Recruitment is more fun because most candidates enjoy going home to say “someone tried to recruit me for a new position today.”  The new dynamic increases successful introductions and therefore increases income.

Hiring Managers Say The Craziest Things – Work Week!!

Since 1981, I have worked with over 3000 hiring managers across the United States. Most of whom have never been trained how to effectively interview. If they haven’t been taught how to interview, they certainly have not been taught how to select the best fit. Therefore, they bring their own unique interview techniques and questions to the interview party. Of course, the candidates bring their own special treats to the interviewing party; and I will share some of those also. Doesn’t it sometimes make you wonder how successful matches are ever made?

The setting was a nationally known fulfillment center where I contracted to help them find applications programmers. The manager was a well meaning manager who had never been taught how to effectively interview. The candidate was a very talented applications programmer who wanted to move out of the commotion of Baltimore into the quieter environs of small town Pennsylvania.

The manager wanted to portray the working environment as honestly as he could. When he was satisfied that the candidate had all of the technical skills he needed, he began to describe the work environment and the benefits of working there.

The candidate originally was very excited to interview with this company. When we debriefed after her interview, she said that she felt the interview went well while they discussed the technical environment. She felt she was a very good match for their technical needs. However when discussing the work environment, she said the manager asked a question that really concerned her.

When I asked her what the question was, she replied, “He asked me if I was willing to work 120 hour weeks?” She told him “I didn’t think so!” Shortly after that exchange, the interview was over without further explanation.

In my experience, sometimes candidates don’t really understand what is said by managers. I called the hiring manager and asked him how the interview went. He said that it went very well technically. Then suddenly the candidate seemed to lose interest. I asked him if that happened around the time that he asked her if she was willing to work 120 hour weeks? He replied that yes, it may have been around that time.

I asked if he could describe the structure of a 120 hour work week. His reply? “Well we do have to work some 80 hour weeks!” I said there was a week’s worth of time difference between 80 hours and 120 hours. It is far better to talk about the real environment than the perceived environment. He sometimes probably felt he was working 120 hours.

It also raised the question of his effectiveness as a manager if he had to schedule people regularly to work 80 or 120 hour weeks.

This is an example of a time when the lack of interview training cost the company a fine candidate. After he created the perception for her, she no longer was interested. All she could think of now was an environment where she would not be able to enjoy the satisfaction of working in a small town.

Recruiting is a sales process. The perceptions that we create are sometimes good impressions and sometimes bad impressions. It is important to remember that candidates are measuring us for fit while we are measuring them for fit.

Luck comes in two forms – good and bad. This time the bad luck raised its ugly head and the client lost a very qualified candidate who would have gladly relocated prior to picturing 120 hour weeks.

Don’t put your company at risk of losing well qualified candidates, especially when your company needs them to relocate. Teach your managers how to effectively interview and select the best candidate for each of their positions.

Happy Memorial Day!

Please take time today to remember all of the people who have fought and are continuing to sacrifice themselves and sometimes their careers to keep the United States of America free. These include members of our armed forces and secret services who have died or were injured to keep us free.

Every Company Has A Recruiting Strategy (some just don’t know it!)

“Plan your work. Work your plan.” I’ve seen those words attributed to the great Green Bay Packer Football Coach, Vince Lombardi. Trainers have applied those words to all sorts of training exercises, generally in business. Why are they universally understood? The quote applies to all areas of our lives. It especially applies to successful recruitment programs.

What is the basic premise of Behavioral Interviewing? Once we find a way to be successful accomplishing a task, we will continue to attempt to perform the task the same way forever – or until it becomes too painful. This premise applies to recruiting also.

When a small retail store needs to recruit full or part time help, what do they do? Stick a Help Wanted sign in the window and by the cash register. Then they wait for someone to apply. That becomes their recruiting strategy. As they grow and need more employees, they stick the Help Wanted sign up more often. Generally they have enough success to continue to do so. Finally as they grow into a large enterprise, how do they recruit new employees? Well some actually kept their well worn Help Wanted signs and now place them on the fence or front entrance. Or if they feel really adventuresome, they begin to place their Help Wanted sign online – on corporate websites, job boards, etc.

This is called the “Just Recruit” recruitment strategy. Obviously it is working well enough that no one gets fired (yet). Is their company hiring the best candidates or only people who respond to Help Wanted signs? I think we know the answer to that. Occasionally at SHRM Human Resource meetings I hear, “Everyone knows you can’t recruit for this location!” When I ask why not, their response generally is “It’s a fact!” If I ask them what their recruiting strategy is, they say they posted the positions online and no one replied. As long as their employer accepts that logic, they will receive the quality of candidate that their Help Wanted sign attracts. However, that is not recruiting. It is shuffling electronic and paper resumes.

How do you build a corporate recruitment strategy? Obviously it requires work and a couple of years of effort, especially if your company does not know its cost per hire or where the successful candidates/employees come from. It is also important to keep in mind that recruitment is a sales process. If the mindset is to screen out candidates from the beginning, the company will lose the attractive passive candidates. It is like throwing the baby out with the bath water.

The corporate recruitment strategy needs to be developed in conjunction with the corporate budget. While creating the strategy, it is important to keep in mind the employment market. Today in the United States, we have a market where companies feel they have many choices of candidates (and yet somehow still have difficulty attracting the right candidates). Therefore the supply of available candidates outstrips the need. This employment market will eventually change and there will be fewer qualified candidates to choose from. The employment market impacts a recruitment strategy that is dynamic. While developing a recruitment strategy it is important to have the same “long view” that a CFO has while working on the budget.

Working hand in hand with the executive staff and contributing to their efforts to become more profitable is the best way a Human Resource professional may be perceived to be a business partner. A recruitment budget that nearly always overspends is broken. Generally recruitment goes over budget either when the business decides it needs to add headcount mid-year or there was not enough thought in the recruitment strategy. If the strategy is the “Just Recruit” strategy, it will cost a company that valuable income.

While developing a recruitment strategy, review what worked well in recruiting for your company last year and so far this year. How is your qualified candidate flow? Does it appear to be trending up or down? Are you happy with the flow? What is your cost per hire (include job board fees, 3rd party recruitment fees, salary of staff recruiters, advertising, new Help Wanted signs, applicant tracking software, social media, relocation, promotion items for career fairs, office supplies, manager interview training, etc). Obviously if your company has a year where you are expanding your executive staff, your recruitment costs will be higher because of the relocation costs and potential retained search fees.

Working with your executive staff, determine what positions will be added in the coming year. Then look at current open positions to determine if they may carry over into the new year as open positions. Ask the following questions:

1) How many of those candidates do you forecast will need to be relocated?

2) How many of those candidates will be sourced through contingent or retained search?

3) How many positions does your company currently have in a job board package? Will the package need to be renegotiated?

4) Does your company have a .jobs Top Level Domain (www.goto.jobs) to draw candidates directly to your list of open positions?

5) Based on your employee retention rate, how many employees will you have to replace in the next year and typically at what level? This enables you to better determine your resource allocation and costs.

6) When during the year are the new positions planned to be filled? For instance, if the executives expect positions to be filled in the first month of the new fiscal year, you now know to begin recruiting for them during the last quarter. This question also helps in resource allocation and to determine if your company needs outside resources during peak recruiting periods. It’s better to include the costs in the budget now than surprise executives later.

Obviously budget discussions will help your company better determine a recruitment budget and strategy. As a result of those discussions, the executives may decide to postpone the targeted start date of one or more of the positions. Once the positions and targeted start dates are established (and they can very well change in the dynamic world of recruitment!), the Human Resource department may now determine how to allocate staff resources to best fill those positions.

If the enterprise has more than one recruiter, each recruiter should develop a proposed plan how they will recruit for each of the positions they are responsible to fill. It may be helpful to develop a template to simplify the process for them. This is a good career development exercise to help them think more strategically. In order to create a partnership with the hiring managers, it is important for the recruiters to meet with the hiring managers for their thoughts on sourcing these candidates.

While meeting with the hiring managers, it is critical to discuss the 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and 12 month goals for the position. If these goals are not required in the job description, they should be because they are the foundation to the successful recruitment process. Once those goals are determined, the skills and experience required to be successful the first year become crystal clear. Then the sourcing becomes more successful, interview creation is focused on the right skills and experience, and the selection of the best candidate is based on an important set of metrics. Once the new employee starts, the goals are discussed to ensure the manager and new employee are on the same page. During the employee/manager meetings through the year the goals are discussed. Now you have engaged managers and employees. At the end of the year, the goals are attained – or not. Most importantly, the annual review should not contain any surprises for either side.

After the meeting with the hiring manager, the recruiter completes their plan to recruit for that position. What sourcing or relocation costs are expected for each position? The costs are reviewed against the budget. Then the recruiter returns to the hiring manager to discuss the proposed recruitment plan and ask for any additional suggestions. Now the manager is a partner in the recruiting process.

Once the recruiter develops a plan for all of their responsible positions, the recruitment strategy begins to come together. Review expected costs against those projected in the budget. Add in the expected costs for replacement of employees who may leave during the year (and the expected recruitment staff resource). Now your company has a much more viable plan for your recruiting in the next year.

During the year, track and measure where sourcing worked and did not work as well. “Where did you learn about us?” should be a question asked of every candidate where it is not obvious (i.e. your corporate website). What were your recruiting costs? How many people did your company hire? Now you have a cost per hire.

This plan gives your company a strategy to recruit that is tied to your budget. It breaks down the silos between Management and Human Resources. The more effective job description and follow up should improve the quality of hire, employee/manager engagement and retention.

Maybe Coach Lombardi had a good idea – “Plan your work. Work your plan.”