The Recruiting Blog | People First Recruiting

The season might be over but we are still just as in love with our Winnipeg Jets team as we were when it was first announced they were coming back.  A new team into our well established city had no problem finding a warm welcome.

So it got me thinking, we as recruiters know first-hand that organizations often face the challenge of introducing new employees in to a well established team which led me to thinking about the Winnipeg Jets jersey.  So how is this connected?  Well let me talk about my own team.  We’re connected by a strong culture, there is great camaraderie and support.  We celebrate the wins and we mourn the losses together.  With our jersey, you can’t touch it or see it, but you know it’s there – that’s our unifying factor.  It’s our uni-form.

What I have learned from working with so many clients over the years, is the best way of introducing a new employee to an existing culture is to be certain that during your recruitment process you are patient and thorough with your candidates. Ask yourself this question, “could this individual wear our team jersey”?  You can be assured that many candidates will be asking the same question of themselves.  The candidates need information, the good, the bad, the ugly and you have to be willing to give it.  Those candidates need to interview you as much as you need to interview them so if you can, be sure to offer that to them.  Our success has come from recognizing that the candidate fit is as important, if not more important, than the list of qualifications set out for the role.  This is mission critical to retention.

The word ‘fit’ is defined in many ways.  According to Webster’s dictionary, ‘fit’ means “adapting to the environment so as to be capable of surviving.”  Wow, that sounds harsh!  I certainly hope companies considering a new employee and individuals considering a new job don’t use this definition when assessing the “fit.”

I expect there are many individuals out there who feel this way – adapting to their work environment in order to survive.  Whether you are an employer or employee, if you take a moment to think about this you will see how detrimental it is as it harms your business, your team, and your confidence.  Unfortunately, it still remains an all too common occurrence in the work place.

In my experience there are two primary reasons for turnover in a company: 

1. The inability to drum up passion or enjoyment for the job.  Perhaps there is a lack of inspiration or just a lack of desire to achieve more than you thought you possibly could.  This isn’t something that should be shrugged off as unimportant.  How you feel in your work environment is just as important as the work itself. 
2. Not developing connections to your team or company you work for.  Perhaps you don’t feel part of the corporate culture. 

Organizations and individuals can reduce turnover by paying more attention to fit.  Unfortunately, it can be the hardest part of the screening process as it is often times based on a feeling or a sense of belonging.

Consider the following in your process to help you assess “fit”:

1. Four Generations of individuals are working side by side in today’s workplace – the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X’s and Gen Y’s.  Having an appreciation for the different work styles, perspectives and expectations of these generations will help in your assessment.  Do the responsibilities of the role, team and culture hit on some of the elements that are an ideal work environment for the person from one of these Four Generations?
2. Motivational Fit.  If you are interviewing candidates you are most likely engaging this type of assessment whether you are aware of it or not.  This is an important element.  After all, the best predictor of future success is past performance.  Ensure you include Motivational Fit questions in your interview process.  Simple questions such as “What do you (the candidate) find most satisfying about your work,” or “What brings you the most frustration,” or “Why did you leave your last job” can reveal great insights regarding a person’s likes or dislikes.
3. Meet the team...and then meet the team again.  As an individual considering a new opportunity you need to do your due diligence.  If you don't think you can connect or like the people you work with how do you expect to be successful or even happy?  As an employer, ensure the candidate has an opportunity to meet the team in a formal business setting and then again over a lunch or dinner (a meeting which is more informal is a great way for people to get to know each other).
4. Homework assignments.  This is an excellent way to determine the candidate’s interest and desire for the role.  Depending on the role itself, have them complete an assignment.  For example, if you are hiring a graphic artist, get them to create an image for your business.  If you are hiring a Sales Manager, get them to put together a presentation.  Not only will this allow the candidate to determine if your organization is a good fit for them (due to the research that will be required) but it will also demonstrate to you their passion, desire and interest in the role.
5. Finally, have a solid on-boarding plan you can commit to which involves the organization and your team.  The transition into a new job isn’t easy for anyone so anything you can do to ease the process will contribute to the success of your new employee and of your team.

Want more information on the Four Generations?  Read “Four Generations in the Workplace” by Karen Rae Short from the Canadian Management Centre.

One thing is very clear, when you hire a recruitment firm you need a candidate fast, but you also want the best in the market.  Most times you have worked the search on your own and hit a wall so to speak, or you have a highly sensitive replacement search on your hands. 

When you outsource recruitment you expect there to be a database of candidates available immediately and one important question you will ask is, “how long will it take to find my candidate?”  You may be hoping for the answer to be yesterday but the reality is quite different.

I don’t believe there is a recruitment firm out there that doesn’t want to fill an assignment just as quickly as you do.  Recruiters are busy, they have many assignments, candidates and, clients to juggle and remember most work on commission so they are as invested as you in the search.  The question remains then is whether or not you want the search filled quickly with A candidate or with the RIGHT candidate.  This is where your due diligence in finding the right recruiter is most important.

When a position remains vacant your company is losing money and the company stakeholders are hunting you down every day for an update on the search.  I may be stating the obvious but hiring the wrong Recruiter simply to get the job filled will lose you much more than money.

Consider the following domino effect when speed trumps quality: 

• The hired candidate may be leaving a very good job for what they believed was a better one but because of a quick interview process the right questions weren’t asked or important information was not provided.
• Due to the fast turnaround, the appropriate people aren’t involved in the hiring process which means they aren’t available to be a part of those interviews that would allow for such valuable information to be shared with your possible hire.
• You make the offer and the candidate starts.  Now you are spending time and attention evaluating, training, and re-evaluating  the new hire only to realize they may not be the right fit.  You may find yourself reaching the inevitable decision to let them go.  Now you have a replacement search on your hands.
• Sure you are likely to get a replacement search in the fee you paid to the Recruiter but now you might be incurring new costs depending on what’s in the contract.  Regardless, having to start again is in itself a reason to take the time to have a thorough process.

The honest truth is many engagements do take time to complete.  The candidate pool is tight in North America and some candidates are risk adverse right now; they don’t want to take the chance leaving a stable job. 

Here are a few things you can do to ensure the search moves along:

• Provide a job description to the recruiter.  If you don’t have one, put one together.  There are a lot of resources out there that have basic templates.  Or ask for the Recruiter’s help in developing one.
• Meet with the stakeholders in your company to ensure they are in agreement with the job description and criteria.  There is a world of difference between the “must haves” and the “nice to haves”.
• Meet with the Recruiter who will be filling the job and mutually agree upon a timeline.  Try to involve a few people from your company (this might be the Manager of that particular department or HR).  Whenever possible give the Recruiter a tour of your office.  This is great for the Recruiter to get a sense of the environment as the environment and culture is critical to the sourcing of talent.
• Ask for transparency.  By that I mean, rather than an update each week from the Recruiter that goes something like this, “We’re still having some challenges locating candidates, we have interviewed a few this week but they were just not right.  We are continuing the search”, ask these questions:
• Specifically how many candidates have you interviewed this week
• What were their backgrounds and what industry did they come from?
• Why are they not suitable or interested in the role?
• Specifically how many candidates are you interviewing next week
• What are their backgrounds and what industry did they come from?

I think you see where I’m going with this.  If these questions cannot be answered with confidence by the Recruiter then there could be a problem and your search may be longer than the agreed upon deliverables.  At this point you will know whether or not it is time to have a meeting and serious discussion with your partnering Recruiter.

February is the month of love and in a few days it will be Valentine’s Day.  In keeping with the spirit of love, I am hoping you will all indulge me with my love letter to Winnipeg and why I’m so passionate about recruiting for jobs in my beloved city.

I have had a few people (thanks Hawkeye) describe me as an eternal optimist and quite frankly I take that as a compliment.  However I am not the only Winnipegger that is optimistic these days. Our province is humming with optimism – there is a great vibe out there.

Just think of some of the things that are happening in this great city:

• There is the revitalization of Winnipeg’s downtown
• Several Winnipeg companies made the list of Canada’s Best Small and Medium Employers 2012
• We have the new Blue Bomber stadium being built 
• This week it was announced that GE is opening a $50 million aircraft engine testing centre here which may lead up to 50 new Winnipeg jobs 
• Non-residential construction is twice as high in Manitoba than elsewhere in Canada right now
• And of course, how could I not mention the return of the Winnipeg Jets?  (Just last night we watched the Jets beat the Capitals in a shoot out – now that was an exciting game!)

And last Sunday I spent four hours with my family at Assiniboine Park.  I hadn’t been to the park in a while and I was amazed by the changes.  The new warming shack and duck pond was full of people.  The Assiniboine Park Zoo was busy and I was amazed to see the progress of the new Churchill Exhibit.

Although I’m not originally from Winnipeg (my home is Ontario), I love this city.   It’s my love for Winnipeg that makes it so easy to recruit for the amazing career opportunities that are starting to emerge here.

There has only been one time in my 20+ year recruiting career that I considered changing professions and that was back in 1992.  Am I ever glad I didn’t!   Through my involvement in the recruitment industry in Winnipeg I’ve witnessed the growth that is happening here, the pride of its citizens that grow with it and the organizations that are doing great things. 

Yes, we’ve experienced some economic struggles in the past but with any city anywhere that pain can be felt at any time.  To see a city start to have some faith in itself, as well as some passion, well that just makes my job recruiting here that much easier. 

Keep up the good work Winnipeg!

Curious to know what Winnipeg jobs are currently available?

What?  An actual purple squirrel found in a Pennsylvania backyard?  Impossible, purple squirrels don’t exist!

But what about the one found in the UK in 2008?

Regardless if this discovery is the mystery of mysteries, a poor squirrel falling into the hands of some prankish kids, or the actual discovery of an elusive squirrel species (which to be honest, we recruiters have known about for some time), the imagination and delight people seem to be taking in this can be a great reminder to all of us – employer and employee alike.

Take delight in your uniqueness.

As an employer there is no other culture like yours, no other team, and no other business.   As a person there is no other experience like yours, no other drive, and no other creativity. 

Too often we measure ourselves through the lens of “what’s lacking” instead of what we’re good at.  Yet, if we stop and look at the successes we’ve had in our lives, we’ll probably find those times were when we embraced our surplus of imagination, desire, drive and enthusiasm – not what was lacking.

What makes this world we live in so fascinating is the differences we all have.  People who are happiest in their jobs are the ones who get to do what they love and what they’re interested in.  Doesn’t that interest typically come from what makes us unique? 

We applaud leaders in companies that see their teams as individuals, allowing them to engage their individual talents in the work they do, creating a happy and satisfying work environment.  It’s time to stop measuring ourselves against others, wondering what we can do to be more like someone else. 

It is the time of the purple squirrel.

So become the purple squirrel – revel in your uniqueness, focus on your skills and talent, not someone else’s. 

Separate yourself from the pack. 

If you are involved in the recruitment of staff for you organization, then the scenario below should be familiar to you.

• The need for a new recruitment is identified in your organization.
• You assemble the stakeholders, have several meetings and discussions concerning the ideal candidate’s qualifications and experience.
• You develop the job profile, bring together the recruitment and selection team and begin preparing your search strategy.

Then, the search begins

• You look under every stone to find people who have the skills you and your stakeholders desire.
• Several promising individuals get pre-screened, interviewed and qualified.
• The qualified individuals have now been narrowed down to a short list of 1, 2, 3 or more.
• Stage two interviews start and a finalist begins to emerge!

You have found your Purple Squirrel, you are sure of it.

But you’re not quite done.

Now the “courting” phase begins – a time of getting to know each other, of not wanting to look too eager but also not playing hard to get. A time of uncertainty and excitement as you imagine how well this candidate will fit into your organization. Yes, it might sound like dating but in the world of recruitment the courting phase is the moment of truth, the point where the rubber meets the road. You might want 'The Candidate', but will they want you?

So you meet again to discuss the position, you answer questions, you talk about career and advancement opportunities, training plans and on-boarding plans and compensation. Corporate information is given, company tours occur, more meetings with supervisors and colleagues, and finally a lunch or a dinner meeting. You are convinced this candidate is the one.

After a de-brief with the stakeholders, it’s unanimous, they agree with you and an offer is drafted. You are thrilled to extend an offer to the candidate and so you wait with bated breath for them to accept and a day or so later the candidate calls you and…

respectfully declines.

Never mind the disappointment that sweeps over you because right now you have to deal with the panic that’s setting in when you realize you have no one else.

And why is there no one else? Because you stopped looking as soon as you thought you had found 'the one'.

This scenario happens more often than many of us would like to admit. It is what we like to call the euphoric stage of the recruitment, where everything is sunshine and lollipops and the possibility of a no doesn’t exist so we aren’t prepared when it happens. It’s what leads us to stop the recruitment when we shouldn’t have. Now you have to start all over again.

However, it doesn’t have to be this painful. Sometimes these simple reminders can help you avoid intense frustration, disappointment, time and money.

• It ain’t over ‘til it’s over - even if an offer is extended.
• Dedicate time everyday to focus on the search. Even if you have a shortlist of great candidates.
• Be creative and willing to ask for help.  Involve everyone in your organization – creating awareness ensures a solid candidate flow.
• Don’t rely solely on job postings yet don’t remove any until the position is filled – potential candidates should always be encouraged to apply.
• Keep your stakeholders advised along the way – help them with these reminders as well. They too can get caught up in that euphoric stage.
• And the last reminder?

Happy Hunting!

Does your organization work with a recruiter?  Have you always wanted to?  To learn more about getting the most out of the recruitment process download our whitepaper:

The Groundhog is the most famous member of the Sciuridae family who gets world attention one day a year.

We decided to have some fun here at the office and take this moment to shed light on the more elusive, lesser known cousin that we recruiters celebrate not just one day, but every day:

The Purple Squirrel.