When conducting full day workshops with individual companies, the biggest pushback doesn’t come from the employees. It comes from the owner or president. We build a 4-person recruiting/retention team inside their organization, but they struggle to accept these changes. They fight it. But why? Mostly because in the back of their mind, they really wish the hiring situation would go back to what is was 10-12 years ago. Remember that time?
Right after the Great Recession, hiring was like shooting fish in a barrel. Hundreds of applicants from desperate job seekers equated to endless hiring choices for the company. And if one applicant said no, a line of similarly qualified applicants were waiting in the wings for that opportunity. People needed the company’s job, and the money, more than the company needed THAT person.
Today, job seekers can find a job and money just about anywhere. As of today, there are 8.87 million OPEN jobs in America and only 4.41 million UNEMPLOYED people. That’s right… 2.1 open jobs for every unemployed person in the country. Clearly offering a competitive salary or hourly wage is just the “price of admission” in recruiting new talent today. So how do you get people to choose you?
The good news is that your company already knows what to do next… because you have been competing for customers your whole business life. Unless you are Walmart, you do not get new customers just on price. So, what else do you use to convince customers to choose you over your competitors? Quality? Customer service, technical support? Think about competing for employees the EXACT same way.
What else do you offer employees that is NOT financial? 4-day work week? Unlimited PTO? Educational reimbursement? Challenging problems to solve? A pathway of development they have some control over? A shift schedule that allows them to minimize childcare costs?
What is really important to employees other than money? How about just asking every employee that you have hired and retained over the past 2 years these questions:
“Why did you choose us over all the other options?”
“Why do you choose to stay here?”
…Could it really be that simple?
How about you go ask them and find out…
If you are looking for insight or specific action steps to grow a process within your organization to Win the War for Talent, please reach out. It’s my passion to help companies solve their talent issues, whether that is finding the right talent or retaining and developing that talent. With the right processes in place, your organization can grow and thrive even more!
