Reflections – On Fire to Hire

Category: Reflections

Self-Inflicted Epidemic?

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Author

Over the past few years the Human Resources world has had this buzz word floating around … Skills Gap! GASP! Many are in disbelief, while others saw it coming years ago. But what is it exactly and how does it impact our organizations?

A Skills Gap is referred to as the difference between the skills and experience the employer is seeking in relation to the skills and experience the available workforce has.

Let’s unpack this a bit. Hiring managers and HR teams are tasked to develop job descriptions for roles within their organization. This establishes the scope of duties and defines the necessary requirements needed to perform such duties successfully. But this can also be a major cause for destruction in the hiring realm. Far too often job descriptions become too complex and lofty. This tactic, unfortunately, steers quality candidates away from what could be a great fit for them… with some training.

On the other side of this argument is the push for higher education that could very well be part of the reason for this epidemic. Students began hearing as early as the 2000’s that the option to attend a trade school or to go straight into a job was no longer viable and they needed to dream bigger and do more. Our society persistently stirred our youth toward collegiate paths. Doing so, has created a tremendous shortage of skilled, hands on individuals that aren’t afraid to do the technical, sometimes dirty work that our organizations need in order to keep running.

Thirdly, I believe that our daily schedules have become so full and busy, that it has caused us to become disconnected from our workforce. Many times, employees are hired in to a new role, that they may be more than qualified for, but still need some training and guidance in order to fully grasp and take ownership of the role. Unfortunately, that training and guidance is either nonexistent or extremely minimal. This causes a major disconnect with this new employee, which in turn diminishes the chance for them to have any loyalty to the organization.

So, what can we do to close this Skills Gap and put a stop to this troublesome epidemic?

Beyond the Check List

Posted on December 26, 2019December 23, 2019 by Author

Going deeper than the job description to find the best fit for the job!

Last week, we went over a few of my favorite pre-screening tricks that help me narrow down the best candidate for the vacant role. Today, I want to take a minute to reiterate the need to look beyond a person’s resume. As hiring managers, we often get extremely caught up in making sure that candidates are checking off all of the boxes that are listed before us. The skills and expectations that are taken from the job description that was sent down from corporate. You know the ones I am talking about!

Unfortunately, this can cause an extreme injustice to not only the candidates, but also to the department and peers with which the chosen person will work. It is not only our responsibility to find someone that can perform well in the role, but also someone that will fit in with the department culture and that will work well with the people they will need to interact with to complete their job duties well.

Sadly, I have spoken to many candidates that are EXCELLENT fits within an organization, but are quickly looked over due to some minor qualifications missing from their background. The worst part is, that most of the qualifications have been those that can be quickly learned on the job.

So, I ask you, where is the disconnect? Are we too busy to train on the skills that help with performance and therefore willing to get a less likable employee just to cover all of the skill needs from the start? Have we lost touch with the need of a happy and healthy work culture, that we forget about the other aspects of what makes a candidate a good fit?

Let’s be the change that HR needs to see!

Attention! Its time for change.

Posted on October 11, 2019December 18, 2019 by Author

Being in a service driven industry for more than 9 years, I have learned more life lessons than I have time to share in one post. One of the most important of those lessons is the value of response.

What do I mean by that exactly?

Every day many of us set out to perform our job, which often involves servicing others in some way. Some serve others through hospitality and retail, while others serve through assisting with finding and buying homes. And if you’re like me, we serve others by providing a unique professional service.

While serving others is a sought-after aspect of personal relationships, sadly, when it comes to professional relationships it seems much more undesirable. In order to perform a service, you must first seek out whom your unique survive can help and who might benefit from it most. Most often, that involves going out of your comfort zone and researching, targeting, getting to know and ultimately pitching your service offerings to a company representative or qualified individual.

More often than we all probably care to admit, our initial outreach, whether it be in person, by phone/email or even snail mail; often falls on deaf ears. What a disservice this is to our fellow professionals who are working hard to promote a service that can positively impact you or your business. How have we gotten to such a cut and dry state of mind that we can’t even form a simple response of appreciation and acceptance? It’s understandable, that there will be times when you are not in the market for a service or not open to moving from the provider that you currently use, or you just don’t have any spare time to think about it at all. We’ve all been there. But what is the harm in a quick response to a fellow professional who has spent hours or more of research and thought into developing and presenting their service to you?

Possibly because, as a society, we’ve grown afraid of telling someone “No”. Or maybe, many have not personally worn the shoes of a service industry professional who is persistently trying to grow a business and do not know the discouragement an unanswered message can bring on a person.

So, I challenge you! As a business professional, no matter what it might be, take the time to respond today! Tell a sales person that you appreciate them reaching out even if there is no interest or it’s not the best time. Be honest. It’s OK! We’d all rather that! There’s reassurance in knowing that someone took the time to read our well thought out message, as opposed to not receiving any type of response at all, which ultimately creates a sense of discouragement and failure.

Let’s change our culture back to a society where relationships matter!