Recruiting New Talent and The River

Another teacher conference and another bad report.?My youngest was again accurately accused of talking constantly during class.?This time I sat down and explained to the third grader, “Look you are in trouble again.?Instead of trying to always make your teacher mad, why don’t you try and figure out what makes your teacher happy and do that.?Your smart, so watch your teacher and figure her out.”??He did.?The rest of the year was very successful.

So how do you prepare a new inexperienced person for an interview for the all-important?MBA internship the following summer.?Same advice.?Watch the recruiters and see which culture fits you best.?Then figure out what that recruiter is looking for and inspired him/her.?Tell your story well and ask questions that fill in the blank spots of information you need.

Again, excellent advice but where is the opportunity to do that??Certainly not at the recruiting fairs.?There just is not enough time or opportunity to achieve that level of detail.?

?That is why BYU MBA strategic HR track uses one of the most complete, misunderstood, fun, but rarely used environments-THE RIVER. Pack a paddle raft into the equation, and it is a complete organization.?If you understand the river dynamics, you understand organizations. it is possible to learn anything on the river.?There are the elements of team cohesion, leadership, management, strategic thinking, mergers and acquisitions, vision, and goal setting. Navigating a river requires understanding its hydrology, structural features and rafters’ culture and abilities.?

In another sphere, these are all elements of a high performing organization.?The river is a complete ecosystem and an ideal setting for understanding how its various subsystems interact to form unique identities.

Every year I have the opportunity of taking these incoming MBA students, many second-year students, faculty, and recruiters on a river adventure for Brigham Young University.?This is a key part of onboarding for the new students and a chance for recruiters to pre-asses these students before the formal interviewing process begins.

The magic of the trip is opportunity for the recruiters to see how different students react to this different environment.?Some recruiters are looking for aggressive, take charge personalities that will fit their culture.?Other cultures require more thoughtful, assessing personalities.?Since all of these students are bright stars, finding the right cultural fit is an important part of what the recruiters are looking for.?Those who miss breakfast, are always a little late, or complain a lot are noted.?It is the little things that do not show up in a face-to-face interview that do show up on this trip.?

For the new students it is the best opportunity available to carefully observe the companies represented, learn about their culture, and listen to their corporate stories – and all through human experiences from people like themselves.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that employees’ median tenure for ages 25-34 is only 2.8 years.?Harvard Business Review gave these statistics:

• Nearly 33% of new hires look for a new job within their first six months on the job. (Among Millennials, that percentage is even higher … and it happens earlier.)
• Twenty-three percent of new hires turn over before their first anniversary.
• The organizational costs of employee turnover are estimated to range between 100% and 300% of the replaced employee’s salary.
• It typically takes eight months for a newly hired employee to reach full productivity.

More than 75% of the interns that participate in this program are offered full time employment.?And those employees stay past five years.?These companies are able to recoup all monies spent in on-boarding and training the new employee.?A huge financial gain for the companies involved.

Yes! We are on the river again and many of our charter companies are sending recruiters even though it is much easier to just recruit over zoom.?

Just another example of why stepping out of traditional comfort levels fuels high performance.