| Attracting "Passive" candidates |
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(or Anticipating the Critical Mass) By Laura Ricci A recruiter with Dell Computers told me that they are looking for "Passive" candidates, those candidates who are satisfied and doing great things in their current position - because that's the caliber of folks Dell Computer needs. (c)2005 Laura Ricci The week before, Steve Smaha, former CEO of Haystack Labs, asked me "How do we get dynamic, driven folks to come to work for us?" With recruitment on everyone's mind, I'll offer my suggestions of how to get the attention of the best candidates: 1) The work description must be enticing. A bland, generic description of a general administrative /management slot is as interesting to candidates as it was for you to write. The more specific you can be about the challenges facing you, the more likely you will pique the interest of a candidate who is not looking for a position but an opportunity. Generic description begets mediocre candidates. 2) Unless everyone and everything about your company makes a GREAT first impression, you would be surprised how many candidates decline offers to avoid entrapment. Corporate escapees and Generation X-ers are especially skittish about signing on. Take them on a retainer basis or a contract basis and try each other out before insisting on a permanent position. Two Austin startups took this approach to fill their CFO slots. The candidates migrated to permanent positions after a few months. Neither of these candidates would have accepted a permanent position when they first met the organization. (c)2005 Laura Ricci 3) You know that you don't OWN employees, right? Slavery was abolished in 1863 though some firms are determined to bring it back. Great candidates are swift to depart these snares. Lopsided "contracts" used by firms in work-for-hire states like Texas, are alerts to prospective stars. Be clear what you absolutely need and delete what your paranoia (or greed) has added to your offering. 4) Expand your paradigm of what a great candidate looks like. As corporate escapees, most women and minorities are leery of having to battle WITH the company while also fighting FOR the company. If your organization has higher turnover among minorities, you have a problem that needs to be solved before you will engage the best talents of the stars. Lipservice is lipservice. Everyone SAYS they have an open and diverse environment. The best companies can prove it. 5) Shift your focus from "What can you do for me?" to "What can we do for you?" Candidates worth their salary ARE shopping. Few organizations can offer everyone a great next step promotion, so emerging stars look outside for their next opportunity. Think about what you look like from the street or get passed by. I was fascinated by the description I heard this week from a business owner who described the careful cleaning and polishing afforded an expensive piece of equipment each day. The equipment had a life span of 10 years. The CEO realized the equipment cost equaled the annual salary of just one of their employees. And yet they hadn't taken time to "polish and care for" their employees. This firm is correcting the oversight. Is yours? If you are looking for a "Change Agent" read these great tips from a CEO writing for the Wall Street Journal! Laura Ricci is Author of 12 Views from Women's Eyes: Managing the New Majority and is Principal Consultant with 1Ricci, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and on the web at www.1Ricci.com . |
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