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"4 Hiring Myths" ... MedTech-IQ member, Laura Raynak
Colleagues,
Please see "4 Hiring Myths" from executive search consultant and MedTech-IQ member Laura Raynak ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or - Why Is It Harder to Find the Right Person When More Candidates are Available?
This month we review the challenges and some of the assumptions about hiring top talent when the unemployment rate is high, and there is increased abundance in the number of people available to hire.
Myth #1
There are many talented people available, so it should be easy to find what I want at a lower compensation than before.
False
While the recession has been deemed the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and unemployment is now in the double digits, one would think that everyone has been affected equally, which is not true.
True
More people have been laid off, however about 85% of these people were marginal performers or in an industry segment that was hit particularly hard. The remaining 15% are the A-Players. While they are available, they are receiving multiple offers and are in high demand, which also means that they are not moving for less compensation or opportunity than they are currently working.
Myth #2
With fewer companies hiring, the competition for top talent is not as fierce.
False
Effective executive talent is the cure for turning around company performance. As companies focus more intently on bottom line results, people issues can no longer be allowed to get in the way of corporate performance. What is even more important is to align strategic corporate goals with the organization's talent bench.
True
You need A-players as the insurance policy against poor company performance, and everyone wants these people on their teams more desperately than before. The competition for this talent heats up.
Myth #3
If our competition is performing poorly, we can recruit their top talent away, easily.
False
Most companies know who their top performers are, and are taking steps to keep them happy, even when corporate performance is down.
True
Having top talent is an insurance policy against slipping corporate goals. The expense of replacing someone with specialized knowledge of the company, products, services and market exceeds 150% of that performers total annual compensation (I have seen estimates from 100-300%). These poorly performing companies have already stripped away their marginal performers and are relying on their top talent more and more, and have put long-term incentives in place to retain them (restricted stock units, stock options, increased PTO, flex schedules, and other deferred non-cash compensation). Finally, these A-Players are also on choice assignments - new product initiatives, assessment of new acquisitions, promotions to larger assignments, more people to manage, etc. It makes it very hard to recruit them away unless the company is filing for bankruptcy.
Myth #4
With all the resumes and referrals I'm getting, this has to be a buyers market for talent, and I should be able to hire someone with little effort.
False:
There is no guarantee that the candidates who are floating their resumes, or getting referred to you are of the quality and caliber you really need. What it means is that there is more noise in the marketplace for talent, and you have to spend time sifting through that noise to find what you are really looking for.
You need to spend considerable time and effort to reply to the referrals to keep up political capital, and resumes need to be vetted carefully, and then called, if they look like they could be a fit. Consider this, resumes are a tool used by candidates to get a job, therefore, they are likely to have inaccuracies. This means you need to be more diligent about confirming the accuracy of the information in the resume.
To rise above the noise and get what you want requires you to be even more selective and more diligent about whom you do hire. Have you ever shopped a clearance sale at Macy's or Nordstrom's? Lots of great stuff, but rarely in your size, right?
True:
You may find someone to hire, but it will be time consuming, and maybe even painfully disappointing.
Because the hiring process is a form of marketing of you and your company, you will want to put your best foot forward at every meeting, this requires a sales mindset - you need to sell people on your opportunity. While a recession creates many opportunities, strategic hiring is not necessarily one of them. A-Players are more selective in this climate because the risk of changing positions is greater than in good times. They want to be sure that their next move is in alignment with their overall career goals. They want it to make sense, not only financially, but also in terms of engagement, scope of responsibility and the teams they will engage with. A-Players are also actively engaged by their current companies and need to be recruited and pursued, and are not actively looking.
You will also need to appoint someone to, put together a solid position description, recruit candidates, lead and drive the process, return calls and email in a timely manner, schedule interviews, get interview feedback, check references and backgrounds. In other words have the recruitment process reflect how you run your business, as this is the first impression candidates will have of your management style. It is a lot more work to do it yourself, consider what critical growth opportunities you are missing because you are focused on something really important, and also very time intensive.
Many of our clients think twice about vetting people on their own, as it becomes harder and harder to be objective about your hiring needs when you review so many candidates, they find that a professional opinion helps them to vet out the right candidates, and focus only on the cream of the crop. Some things like recruiting great talent, never change, no matter how difficult the economic climate.
Laura Raynak has spent the last 14 years helping employers create a brand, and market their opportunities to top talent, and helping companies, attract, recruit and hire top performers.
Laura
Please note our new contact information
408-399-6167 office
831-325-9838 mobile
718 University Ave, Suite 210
Los Gatos, CA 95032
laura@raynaksearch.com
www.raynaksearch.com
Join us on Facebook and Linkedin
Laura Raynak is an executive search consultant with over 12 years of experience helping companies identify, locate and hire the right exeuctives the first time. She specializes in the hiring of CEO's, Vice Presidents and Board of Director level candidates for life science, medical devices, and healthcare services companies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENJOY!
CC
Please see "4 Hiring Myths" from executive search consultant and MedTech-IQ member Laura Raynak ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or - Why Is It Harder to Find the Right Person When More Candidates are Available?
This month we review the challenges and some of the assumptions about hiring top talent when the unemployment rate is high, and there is increased abundance in the number of people available to hire.
Myth #1
There are many talented people available, so it should be easy to find what I want at a lower compensation than before.
False
While the recession has been deemed the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and unemployment is now in the double digits, one would think that everyone has been affected equally, which is not true.
True
More people have been laid off, however about 85% of these people were marginal performers or in an industry segment that was hit particularly hard. The remaining 15% are the A-Players. While they are available, they are receiving multiple offers and are in high demand, which also means that they are not moving for less compensation or opportunity than they are currently working.
Myth #2
With fewer companies hiring, the competition for top talent is not as fierce.
False
Effective executive talent is the cure for turning around company performance. As companies focus more intently on bottom line results, people issues can no longer be allowed to get in the way of corporate performance. What is even more important is to align strategic corporate goals with the organization's talent bench.
True
You need A-players as the insurance policy against poor company performance, and everyone wants these people on their teams more desperately than before. The competition for this talent heats up.
Myth #3
If our competition is performing poorly, we can recruit their top talent away, easily.
False
Most companies know who their top performers are, and are taking steps to keep them happy, even when corporate performance is down.
True
Having top talent is an insurance policy against slipping corporate goals. The expense of replacing someone with specialized knowledge of the company, products, services and market exceeds 150% of that performers total annual compensation (I have seen estimates from 100-300%). These poorly performing companies have already stripped away their marginal performers and are relying on their top talent more and more, and have put long-term incentives in place to retain them (restricted stock units, stock options, increased PTO, flex schedules, and other deferred non-cash compensation). Finally, these A-Players are also on choice assignments - new product initiatives, assessment of new acquisitions, promotions to larger assignments, more people to manage, etc. It makes it very hard to recruit them away unless the company is filing for bankruptcy.
Myth #4
With all the resumes and referrals I'm getting, this has to be a buyers market for talent, and I should be able to hire someone with little effort.
False:
There is no guarantee that the candidates who are floating their resumes, or getting referred to you are of the quality and caliber you really need. What it means is that there is more noise in the marketplace for talent, and you have to spend time sifting through that noise to find what you are really looking for.
You need to spend considerable time and effort to reply to the referrals to keep up political capital, and resumes need to be vetted carefully, and then called, if they look like they could be a fit. Consider this, resumes are a tool used by candidates to get a job, therefore, they are likely to have inaccuracies. This means you need to be more diligent about confirming the accuracy of the information in the resume.
To rise above the noise and get what you want requires you to be even more selective and more diligent about whom you do hire. Have you ever shopped a clearance sale at Macy's or Nordstrom's? Lots of great stuff, but rarely in your size, right?
True:
You may find someone to hire, but it will be time consuming, and maybe even painfully disappointing.
Because the hiring process is a form of marketing of you and your company, you will want to put your best foot forward at every meeting, this requires a sales mindset - you need to sell people on your opportunity. While a recession creates many opportunities, strategic hiring is not necessarily one of them. A-Players are more selective in this climate because the risk of changing positions is greater than in good times. They want to be sure that their next move is in alignment with their overall career goals. They want it to make sense, not only financially, but also in terms of engagement, scope of responsibility and the teams they will engage with. A-Players are also actively engaged by their current companies and need to be recruited and pursued, and are not actively looking.
You will also need to appoint someone to, put together a solid position description, recruit candidates, lead and drive the process, return calls and email in a timely manner, schedule interviews, get interview feedback, check references and backgrounds. In other words have the recruitment process reflect how you run your business, as this is the first impression candidates will have of your management style. It is a lot more work to do it yourself, consider what critical growth opportunities you are missing because you are focused on something really important, and also very time intensive.
Many of our clients think twice about vetting people on their own, as it becomes harder and harder to be objective about your hiring needs when you review so many candidates, they find that a professional opinion helps them to vet out the right candidates, and focus only on the cream of the crop. Some things like recruiting great talent, never change, no matter how difficult the economic climate.
Laura Raynak has spent the last 14 years helping employers create a brand, and market their opportunities to top talent, and helping companies, attract, recruit and hire top performers.
Laura
Please note our new contact information
408-399-6167 office
831-325-9838 mobile
718 University Ave, Suite 210
Los Gatos, CA 95032
laura@raynaksearch.com
www.raynaksearch.com
Join us on Facebook and Linkedin
Laura Raynak is an executive search consultant with over 12 years of experience helping companies identify, locate and hire the right exeuctives the first time. She specializes in the hiring of CEO's, Vice Presidents and Board of Director level candidates for life science, medical devices, and healthcare services companies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENJOY!
CC
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