Stop Repelling Talent and Begin Filling Jobs

I remember how excited I was when my 18-year old son decided he was going to look for a job during his senior year of high school. He was pretty lucky to be searching for work at a time when there were a lot more job openings than candidates, which is still the case.

I thought his job search would be a slam-dunk. It’s was anything but!

My son wanted to work at this cool new grocery store that had just opened up in town. He’s a foodie and his skills and passion for all things food would have been a perfect match. Alas, this would not be the case.

Why? In spite of a personal referral and numerous follow up phone calls, he couldn’t get anyone to schedule a time for him to come in and interview. Did I mention this company had 34 job openings listed on their website, many of which he was qualified for?

This organization and their leaders were doing a great job of repelling talent. Might you be doing the same?

Here are three reasons why your leaders may be repelling talent and what you can do to change this.

Hiring isn’t a priority. Managers are beating down the doors of HR leaders wanting to know where all their candidates are. HR leaders are doing their best to keep their mouths in check, when they’d really like to say, “Are you kidding me? What happened to the last five people I sent you?” 

If you’re not attracting talent, then you’re repelling talent. It’s that simple.

Hiring managers, who can’t seem to make the time to hire, are turning candidates off. Leaders need to explain to hiring managers that staffing is job number one these days.

Those who can’t pull it together to dedicate the time necessary to fill positions these days, will soon find themselves on the other side of the employment line.

Your hiring managers don’t know how to hire. When I first started out in this business, you interviewed candidates with an eye towards whether or not they’d be the right fit for your job opening. You didn’t give much thought as to whether or not the candidate might be assessing you, as candidates were lucky you were even granting them an interview.

A lot has changed in the world of hiring, yet managers are still operating as if things are the same.

Candidates are waiting for hiring managers to get to the part where they present all the reasons why a candidate should consider this opportunity.

For most, this never happens.

Companies need to be sure hiring managers have the skills needed to assess and pull in talent. Or at a minimum, enough skill mastery to ensure they aren’t repelling candidates.

You aren’t taking care of your people properly. What’s the point of hiring great people if you can’t keep them? Companies are throwing all sorts of perks at their people with the hopes that this will get them to stick around. This money would be better spent on developing the kind of leaders that employees love to work for.

Lots of leaders mistakenly believe they’re losing talent because they aren’t able to provide free lunches or nap rooms. That’s hogwash! I personally know a number of leaders who have a following on par with Bruce Springsteen, and they don’t have the ability to “buy” the hearts and souls of their people.

Let me be clear here. You need to understand the real reasons why employees leave their companies. More often than not, they’re leaving their managers. Now that you know this, what are you going to do to help your leaders attract and keep talent? 

? Matuson Consulting, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Email me at [email protected] for information on my one-day Evergreen Talent Experience.