Presen ted By :

Steve Low isz

Candidates in the

Swi tch ing Gears to Compet i t ive ly Recru i t

in a Candidate Dr iven Market

Author, Educator,International Speaker

A shift in Mindset

• Major trends have altered the mindset of job seekers and employers in the U.S.

o Shift from the recession – more freedom of career choice

o Level of connection and networking – digital connections at an all-time high

o “Live to Work” vs “Work to Live” or “Traditional” vs “Free Agent

• No more ‘Active and Passive’ – 53% of employed workers are open to new opportunities

o 73% have engaged in job search activities even if they aren’t unhappy in their current role

o 69% of workers say searching has become part of their ‘regular routine’

Candidate Driven Market

A third of talent is looking to change jobs in the next year

• More candidates are turning down job offers (42%)

• Economy: Qualified Candidates Market

o THEY have more control over where to work

o THEY decide if the culture of a company is right

o THEY have more control of what they do

• Makes it more difficult to “sell” the opportunity

Candidate Driven Market

Return of the War for Talent

• 60% of new jobs being created require skills only 20% of the population has

• By 2015, 76% of jobs will require highly skilled workers

• The demand for college educated workers will surpass the supply of this population by 300,000 a year

• 43% of business owners say they are having trouble finding the right talent to fill the role

- Forbes

Candidate Driven Market

The World According to…..

• Attraction, Retention and Engagement will really matter

• “The war for talent is over, and the talent won”

• Employees are not looking for just a career, but an experience.

• HR/Talent Acquisition need to be reskilled.

• High performing companies invest in HR skills development (Training, Certification), external intelligence and specialization.

• Talent acquisition should be working hand in hand with marketing – build the brand.

Candidate Driven Market

Fundamental issues with Recruiting in this Market

• We live in an industry full of Oxymorons

o We stress quality and drive quantity

o We stress employee development yet we don’t train our recruiters

o We stress candidate experience yet we lack communication

o We stress the right candidate but deliver any candidates

o We stress needs assessment but rarely know the why

o We stress automation for efficiency and we speed up disaster

Candidate Driven Market

Fundamental issues with Recruiting in this Market

• Automating an already broken process speeds up failure of the process!

o Relying too heavily on technology – recruiters don’t fully understand how to pair digital communication with human interaction, personalization, proper follow up

o Feel obligated to use every tech tool out there without correctly using the ones they have the right way

o Candidates ignored, put on hold

• Recruiters lacking basic fundamentals

o Struggle to understand candidate’s true needs

o Struggle to understand hiring manager’s true needs

Candidate Driven Market

There is a war for talent but its different than in the past

PAST

• Skills

TODAY

• Skills

• Generational

• Unappealing employers (Brand)

Candidate Driven Market

In this Presentation…

3 Core Strategies to Survive in a Candidate Driven Market

1 Communication

2

Brand3

Speed

Communication

Recruiting often serves three masters……

Human Resources Hiring Manager Candidate

Communication

HR Relationship

To engage with candidate, this relationship needs to be streamlined first

o Problem with an Unclear Life Cycle Between Recruiter & HR

o Who owns the candidate relationship?

o Recruiting focus – belief anything that impedes the process is bad!

o Natural competition – who is creating the most value?

Communication

Google results for “Recruiters & HR”

Communication

HR Relationship

Communication Goals

Establishing trust

Building a relationship

No more finger pointing!

Working as a team

Leverage expertise

Clearly defined roles

Communication

Develop a Healthy Working Relationship

• Meet and engage in dialogue prior to the project to build foundation

• Both parties must realize: Mutual survival depends on success of the process!

• Make a deposit in each other’s emotional bank account

• Spend time in each other’s shoes to get an appreciation of value each can bring to the process

Communication

Hiring Manager Relationship• Understand the common predisposition

to recruiting

• Lead your manager – build credibility

• Communicate the good and the bad!

• Learn to be subject matter savvy

• Don’t rely only in e-communication

Communication

Candidate Relationship

Common Issues:

• Lack of communication leads to candidate disengagement, pipeline drop-off

• 52% of candidates feel like they aren’t being treated like an individual (TMP Worldwide)

• Different generations communicate differently – do you know how to engage them?

Communication

Candidate Relationship

Repair the Timeline

• Embrace full transparency

• If you say it – do it!

• Communicate the good and the bad

• Communicate often – live AND electronically

• Tell the truth but don’t be stupid

Communication

Candidate Relationship

• Get to know your candidates as individuals

o Identify, Build and Engage

o Work to maintain the professional relationship –basics of communication

o Actually listen!!

• Learn how to identify their goals, values, wants and needs

o Present compelling opportunities to address those needs

Speed

StreamliningIt is crucial that Recruiters work with employers to streamline the hiring process to avoid losing their top pick

• Understand that qualified candidates have options and they know it

• What drive candidates to accept offers elsewhere when in the middle of the recruiting process?

• Prepare the company, hiring manager and candidates to encourage a streamlined and efficient recruiting process

Speed - Manager

“My manager doesn’t know what they need” is a common excuse that can be avoided by a more structured approach to streamlining

• Many Recruiters do not ask the rightquestions, in the right way, to solicit the needed response

• Responsibility as Recruiters to ask the leading questions that get a Hiring Manager to properly describe the necessary skills and experience of the candidate

Speed - Manager

Hiring Manager

1. Set expectations upfront on the process and their role.

2. Drive the intake session to identify the “bar” and gain agreement.

3. Present candidates against the agreed upon bar – avoid bad comparisons.

Speed - Manager

Don’t blow off the importance of the intake to the process!

Question, Question, Question

Be realistic–Does the perfect candidate exist?

Have your manager rank skills/competencies

Eliminate “Years of Experience” from the list up front

Establish skills in which the candidate must be Proficient

Agree on “Must Haves” and “Like to Haves”

Recruiting Process Streamline Checklist

Speed - Candidates

Use the Same Streamlining Tactics to BuildRelationships With your Candidates

• Listen – STOP Waiting to Speak!

• Take the time to sincerely listen and develop questions based on what the candidate says

• Avoid “I need” or “I want” in your communication strategy - Focus on what THEY need and want

• The more you know about their needs, the faster you can fill them!

Preparation

• Do you know how to Google????

• Did you talk with your HR partner?

• Where did the last successful candidate come from?

• Your might not be Picasso, but can you paint a picture of the position?

• What’s Plan B?

o What if I can’t get a hold of the Hiring Manager on deadline?

o What if the star candidate drops out of the pipeline?

o What if they won’t give me the information I need?

Speed - Preparation

Speed - Technology

Why don’t these tools make us faster!

• Use technology tools the way they were meant to be used!

• Drop the excuse of time – Time Warner.

• Don’t overuse or over-rely on technology!

• Leverage appropriate tools for the situation:

o Different Approach – Inside Connector

o Recorded Video Interviews

o Video Conferencing/Facetime/Etc.

o Etc., Etc., Etc.,

Brand – Employer

Building a Brand

Your Brand is your professional face to the world

• Today, brand is more important than ever to entice top talent who have a choice of where to work

• As an organization seeking the best talent, every company is under the microscope

• The challenge becomes creating a positive employer brand of which they’d want to take part

Brand – Employer

Building a Brand

Today’s Top Talent is:

• Highly Educated

• Social

• Well Connected

• Technologically Proficient

Brand – Employer

Becoming a Destination Employer

• In today’s world, candidates look for more than salaries

• Does your company offer enough to be chosen?

• How do you build an employment brand with a reputation for helping employees build a long-term career?

Top Career Drivers

for Millennials:

• Giving Back and Being Civically Engaged• A Boss that Acts as a Coach or Mentor• A Collaborative Work Environment• Flexible Work Schedules• Work-Life Balance• Feedback, Engagement, Encouragement• Professional Development• Personal Projects• Leadership Opportunities

(Forbes)

Brand – Employer

Company Culture

• As employer or recruiter, work to prove the company has the right culture by holding true to these aspects of the organization

• Selling the company as a fun, laid back environment that offers great benefits and flexibility? Make sure it’s true!

• The reputation of companies is spreading faster than ever – backing statements with satisfied, happy and engaged employees will attract best available talent

Brand – Employer

Building a Brand

1. Building a brand is creating awareness

2. Awareness leads to traffic

3. Leverage traffic to drive engagement

4. The right engagement leads to influence

Brand – From Awareness to Influence

Define your goals

1. What is the Message you are trying to get across and why?

• What is important to the audience?

• Are you positioning the organization’s civic responsibility? (Cause)

• Are you promoting an event?

• Are you promoting a vision?

Brand – From Awareness to Influence

Define your goals

2. What is the desired result of your message?

• Drive attendance to an event?

• Increase followers on Social Media?

• Drive website traffic?

• Gather contact information

• Share information

• Convert followers to real connections? (Conversions)

Brand – From Awareness to Influence

Define your goals

3. Where do people go to discuss what you are promoting?

• You must understand who your audience is before you can become an active presence in their lives

• Design content around solving problems, answering questions, showcasing expertise, and showing why you should be chosen over the competition

• Ask your candidates about likes and dislikes, thoughts and opinions, ask for suggestions; find out if you’re giving them what they want and need

Employer Brand

“An evolution in the marketplace of talent has quietly but irrevocably changed how people look for work and how companies find workers. The faster your company adapts to the new ways of acquiring talent, the more competitive your business will be.” - Dan Finnigan, Forbes

P r e s e n t e d B y :S t e v e L o w i s z

Candidates in the

Driver’s SeatSwitching Gears to Competit ively Recruit

in a Candidate Driven Market

Author, Educator,International Speaker