Structuring Job Requisitions to Yield the Highest Caliber Candidate What information is important?

August 15th, 2013

Most companies structure their job descriptions to identify perfection. They want to find the right person possessing deep experience, every possible skill, and a god-like track record. This creates three fundamental problems

1)      Makes it very difficult to find qualified candidates because they are evaluated against the job description

2)      Makes a pool of candidates very difficult to build as candidates aren’t evaluated on what they are expected to get done, but to a skills based ideal

3)      High-caliber, top-performing candidates get frustrated as they don’t have the experience required, but know they can do the job.

We have to expect that these same high-caliber, top-performing candidates are capable of learning new skills. The importance comes in validating their performance and caliber.

In starting with the ideal, the job description creator isn’t starting with the end in mind and that is a necessity to hire the “best available candidate in the market”. The Goal has three pieces: make the position fillable, make it possible to have a pool of candidates to recruit and select from, and make it marketable to the top-performing, passive candidates.

To start, redo the format of the job requisition and make it a “Performance Profile”. First, identify the responsibilities of the role, next determine what success looks like if the selected candidate meets/exceeds expectations, articulate the accomplishments that need to happen in the next 12 months, and recognize the challenges / hurdles the role and culture present. By looking at a position from this view, it is much easier to back into the track record, experience, competencies, and motivations a candidate must possess to excel in performance.

Instead of creating a job requisition that focuses on an unnecessary number of required skills, an unwarranted number of years experience, and an unrealistic track record, focus on what needs to get done and the experience necessary to make it happen. After that, it’s all about the caliber of candidates selected, a much more important decision. Once the decision comes down to a core group of high caliber candidates, add additional competencies that increase value and are of benefit to the candidate’s ramp up time.

This process is guaranteed to clean up the identification process, and the interview process (selection process) can be leveraged to find the highest caliber candidates that will fit and excel.

At Honer & Associates, we have specialized in IT talent acquisition for over 30 years.  We understand the steps needed to create a performance profile that can attract high-caliber, top-performing candidates.  Assisting companies in acquiring A-level talent that fuels growth, prosperity and “doing more with less” is our trademark.  To discuss this topic or others necessary to hiring quality talent, feel free to contact us at your convenience.

Increase Organizational Performance through Proactive Hiring

May 15th, 2013

When companies across American desire to accomplish anything, the process is fairly consistent. Vision, mission, goal, plan, tactics, and metrics are terms ensuring the right things are targeted, worked on, and managed. Funding an initiative, function, or organization doesn’t happen in successful U.S. companies without these components.

However, in the world of talent acquisition this is many times not the case.  How can an organization hope to be successful in attracting, recruiting and hiring high-caliber, top performers without setting vision, mission, plan, tactics, and metrics rolled up into an effective “Talent Acquisition Strategy”.  However, for many companies, the strategy is spending as little as possible, with “cost per hire” as the only KPI.

One of a well-managed company’s main goals has to be to continuously acquire and retain high caliber, top-performing talent (even if all positions are filled and your budget is stretched).   Focus on continuously hiring top talent intentionally, even if they are hired to the bench (as part of the “talent acquisition strategy”) and allocate additional budget dollars to accomplish this goal.

This is advantageous to companies because top candidates – full of potential, motivation, and ambition will make a positive contribution no matter the role, far exceeding their compensation and be available, ready to go when future opportunities present themselves (as it always does in growing companies).   Transition becomes a no brainer, as now the organization can move a proven talent (who understands the business) into keys roles, instead of reactively doing critical external searches and hiring a candidate that knows nothing of the company’s business or unique characteristics.

Regardless of structure or what hiring to the “bench” is called – leadership program, rotational staff, special projects  – hiring high caliber candidates, bringing them into the organization, providing top drawer training, allowing them to acclimate to the culture, strategy and process  – is profitably beneficial to the overall organization.

As the company begins the process of proactive hiring – and (unless intentional) foregoes reactive hiring, the overall company’s growth and profitability is enhanced. All companies desire growth (and must grow to survive), but as they grow, they require more skilled employees.  In today’s business environment, turnover will occur – especially in the talent competitive, rapidly changing corporate marketplace of today. Having open positions in the future is a “given”, not a “maybe”.

As the “War for Talent” continues, “talent acquisition” needs to be a focused, continuous, planned process with a recruiting engine that never turns off. Once a motivated, high-caliber candidate is identified, determine their fit, sell them on the organization, hire them, and create a position and growth plan mutually beneficial to them and the organization.

Honer & Associates

At Honer & Associates, we have specialized in IT talent acquisition for over 30 years.  Assisting companies in acquiring top talent that will fuel innovation and growth is our trademark.  To discuss this topic or other necessary to hiring quality talent, feel free to contact us at your convenience.