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Employee Appreciation Day is March 4, 2022. 

Get it? It’s March 4th… “March Fourth”.

As in… to march fourth / forward. Employees are marching fourth. And they aren’t looking back. The Great Resignation continues to be a threat to businesses and bottom lines everywhere because employers don’t know what to do to attract and retain top talent.

How do employers stop the bleeding? 

I’m in the job market now. And I gotta tell you… it’s a wild ride. On one hand, I read article after article in the WSJ and the NYT, and quotes from leaders who are desperate. “Where are the workers?” “How can I compete?” – say business owners, CEOS and COOs. 

Well, I want to tell you that the great workers are out there. Here I am. Ready to work. For the past few months, I’ve been attempting to run the gauntlet of your truly awful hiring process. And even more ironic, most of the companies I’m meeting with, are actually in the Talent Acquisition business. No, these aren’t transportation companies, or biochemistry labs… these companies core services (and position themselves as experts) are all about Talent Acquisition and Talent Management. Talk about the cobbler’s children having no shoes. 

Attention Fortune 500 companies (you can skip this paragraph if you’re a small/medium business/SMB)! Seriously, how did you get so successful? You are so slow! Talent doesn’t wait. Panel interviews with 5-8 members of the team that take 2-4 weeks to schedule. The hiring process can take 10-12 weeks. This is how SMB is beating you and winning top talent. Intuitively, you know this. You approve budgets for expensive AI tools that your HR leaders demand but your hiring process is still awful. CEOs / COOs, I hear you boo-hooing in business podcasts talking about “what keeps you up at night”. You talk about attracting and retaining great talent… want to know why you can’t find great people? Your hiring process sucks. Despite how much people are complaining about how their businesses aren’t growing because they need to hire people, so… what are you actually doing to fix the problem? 

Your journey starts with a single step… you need to decide who you are and what you stand for. Sounds simple enough, right? Because if you are a good company and you listen to your team (really listen), then you are way ahead of the pack. You already did the really hard part. You built a great company. But you aren’t leveraging your great company well because nobody outside your walls knows your story. That’s marketing. Not consumer marketing. Talent Marketing. So stop hiring more salespeople (if you can even find any or afford them) and start building a Talent Brand.

Here’s how to start.

3 (Real Talk) Strategies To Become an Employer of Choice: 

1. First… and if you only do one thing: Invest in a Talent Brand
   • Now more than ever, talent needs to understand who you are (so your best candidates have a reason to stick around). The simple reason candidates are not applying for your jobs is because you still haven’t told them WHY TO APPLY. That one-pager with high level info about your health insurance and 401(k) isn’t going to cut it. You know why? Because that’s what everyone does. Candidates demand real information. What actually makes you unique as an employer? Start thinking of candidates as window-shoppers. Supply your consumers with all the reasons why they should invest 2, 4, 6, 10+ hours of their valuable time in an attempt to join your company. They will stop window-shopping and buy your jobs.
2. Sell your opportunities
   • With very rare exception, employers are no longer in the driver’s seat. So why are recruiters behaving like bouncers? There are some standout superstars. The best recruiters I have spoken with (I’m looking at you, Patty Fortune) engage and invite people in. Ask your HR leaders about where there are stumbling blocks.
     • Hire salespeople and cross-train them as recruiters (see #3) because salespeople understand how to listen and provide a hot prospect with a reason to stay engaged. Some recruiters act like ‘mean girls’. And I’m not just talking about the women. Men, too. Looking for a job is tough. The really good recruiters understand and empathize with candidates. The great recruiters understand how to sell the opportunity.
     • Read your job descriptions. Are they sexy? Are they fun and engaging? Or do they read like the back of a vitamin supplement bottle with 27 bullet points. When was the last time your HR leadership overhauled your job descriptions? Every time someone starts a new role, they should be adding to the job description so it’s accurate. Good job descriptions are more than bulleted lists. They should reflect who you are.
3. Take a chance on me
   • We have an enormous problem. There aren’t enough people to do the jobs we have. Think about that. Really let it sink in. And this labor shortage isn’t just because of a worldwide pandemic. No. In fact, this tight talent market was only exacerbated by Covid. The harsh business conditions we feel today were predicted in 2010. And lots of companies invested then in better HR processes. While it’s true that you can’t control the world’s talent market, you can control the everyday hiring practices in your organization. Encourage your recruiters and hiring managers to meet with candidates who don’t have all 20 out of 20 bullet points from a job description. We’ve all become too dependant on AI and it’s taken over hiring. We need to put the “human” back into Human Resources. You know this intuitively: the best candidates have that “Je ne sais quoi”. Uncovering their unique talents will require a bit of digging.
     • Make the ‘phone screen’ stage matter. Take 20 minutes and really learn about a person because most of the phone screens I’ve been on a total waste of my time and more importantly to you, the thousands upon thousands of hours your company invests for your recruiters to do them.

A final note

Do not ever, ever tell a candidate “This place prints money”. Yes. This really happened to me while speaking with a Fortune 500 company. The hiring manager who recently had joined a major insurance company, located in Milwaukee, WI told me “this place prints money”. Can you imagine anything less motivating to hear during an interview? Basically, his clear message to future employees: “it doesn’t matter what your contribution will be because this company will be successful no matter what“. And you know what? There are some greed-driven and unimaginative candidates who will accept his invitation to sit back and collect a paycheck. And someday, sooner than later, that business will close its doors like every other arrogant company that has when it falls under the weight of its own hubris.

The time to act is now. Companies that are investing in smart and daring leaders are reaping the rewards and future-proofing their companies. They are hiring leaders who behave like humans — with humility and grace. Great talent is searching for you. Help them to find you by 1) investing today in a better employment brand strategy, 2) showing your deep understanding that people are your best asset and, 3) stop following your job descriptions like they are gospel.