June 1, 2017
For years, the packaging industry has recognized the need to attract and retain talented individuals. The average age of our key people continues to rise. As these individuals ride off into the sunset of retirement, the vast knowledge they possess will be riding off, too.
There are certainly challenges to attracting young, talented individuals to what many may perceive to be an old, boring industry. But this isn’t the full story. I’d like to set aside how they might perceive the industry to explore another area that could instead be driving the best candidates away.
The list below outlines five of the worst problems with common recruiting processes:
1. The recruiting process is designed and executed in a manner to hire not the most capable or creative person, but the most docile and pliable one. If you weed out the independent thinkers you need during the recruiting process, you don’t get to complain when you don’t see or hear out-of-the-box-thinking from your team at staff meetings.
2. Often there’s a requirement of the prospective talent to fill out fields in a seemingly endless and insulting online application form providing the same information found on the résumé they’ve already attached. This process sends a clear message: “If you want to work for us, start begging.” They’re expected to take tests, complete questionnaires, and tolerate unexplained delays and a severe lack of communication. We make it clear: “You are not a priority, so sit back and be quiet, because if you follow up, we might determine you to be desperate and not the right candidate.” E-commerce marketers stress the importance of the metric that reflects shopping cart abandonment. A potential customer demonstrates an interest in buying, and we don’t want to see them leave the store empty-handed! We change our opinion when a potential applicant abandons the process of seeking employment through the website. Do not mislead yourself by claiming any individual who leaves the process isn’t someone you’d have wanted. It simply isn’t true.
3. The subject of salary and being unwilling to disclose the range for the position is seen as a negotiating advantage. Is the objective to hire a talented individual or to negotiate for the lowest possible pay level and then be surprised when the quality of work reflects this? We demand the candidate’s past and current salary information. There’s a budget for the position—wouldn’t it be easier and considerably more respectful to share this upfront and allow both sides to determine whether the conversation should proceed?
4. Job descriptions are written in language that often really has little to do with the work itself, and they include a set of qualifications that are more about what’s on paper than a skill set. If you are seeking a top-tier salesperson who has 15-plus years in the industry and a proven track record of surpassing the numbers, why are you asking them where they went to college 20 years ago? Be careful when deciding whether the priority is maintaining the bureaucratic system or hiring a smart and capable person to do the actual work.
5. At every stage of recruiting, we send the clear message: “We are the employer, and we are big. You are the job applicant, and you are small. We have the big decision to make
on which one of you is good enough for us.”
As with most businessthere’s a tendency to keep doing the same things you’ve been doing forever, even self-destructive things, rather than to step back and examine the result it is creating. It’s easy to dismiss it as a lack of available talent rather than a difficult and ineffective hiring process.
Good people don’t have to settle for bad treatment. The signals given during the hiring process provide a clear picture of the company’s culture and the value they place on people.
If you recognize your company in the above statements, don’t feign surprise when qualified and eager job applicants don’t show up in droves. If you have several open positions or positions that have been vacant for long periods of time, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your recruiting process. We’re living in the reputation economy. Don’t underestimate its ability to reward you with a limited talent pool. Be the rare employer that understands that great companies have always been built by the hearts and minds
of their team.
Kim Brown is the founder of Corrugated Strategies. She may be reached at 317-506-4465 or kbrown@corrugatedstrategies.com.
