Why Would They Work for You?

This is a key question you need to answer during this next decade. Every organization I know is struggling to find qualified help. I hear people say, “There just aren’t any Engineers in West Michigan” or “All the Tool & Die Journeymen have left the trade during the recession”. The fact is there are thousands of Engineers and Tool & Die Journeymen working in West Michigan. The real question is why aren’t they working for you?

As business people who are focused on recruiting, we have to recognize there has been a paradigm shift. We have gone from a “buyer’s market” to a “seller’s market”. For decades organizations have been able to hire all the qualified help they needed. The organization is the buyer “buying talent”. It was a buyer’s market for decades. The candidate is the seller. They are “selling” their knowledge and abilities. Previously there were plenty of candidates. The tide has turned.

This paradigm shift has been building for years. People want to blame something; blame the recession, blame academia, blame the new generation, blame the parents of the new generation, blame Wall Street. Personally I believe playing the blame game is futile. We will never agree and if we did, finding something to blame doesn’t solve the problem.

I have recently read multiple experts saying that we will be short thousands of qualified candidates for employment in the coming decade. That takes me back to the original question, why would the qualified people of our area work for you? I believe you must answer this question to survive.

Smaller organizations say, “I can’t compete with the big organizations. They take all the best people.” Then I ask you how the “Mom and Pop” restaurants and grocery stores make it. The answer is they do something that their clientele likes better than the “bigs”. Think about why you go to your favorite small restaurant or shop at the grocery store on the corner. You may see a connection.

Why do you work where you do? Why have your long term employees stayed with your organization? Why do they choose to work for you and not someone else? What part of their employment package keeps them with you? What do you do beyond salary and benefits that draws people to your organization?

Employment packages are more than financial. Freedom to learn and grow, flexible hours, ability to “make a difference”, time for family needs (like a father/ daughter tea party at school at 10:00) are all part of the employment experience. Each employee’s needs are different and change as the employee’s life changes from single to newlywed to raising kids to empty nester to caring for aging parents. Can you offer packages that make working for you “easy”? Allow your employee to be a whole person, not just a “cog in a wheel”. Work-life balance is an effective recruiting tool.

Our organizations’ recruiters need to recognize the paradigm shift. This is a seller’s market. The well qualified candidate has many other opportunities. They can “sell” their qualifications other places. They don’t need to wait for our decision because we are too busy to decide.

The Recruiter needs to know what they have to offer that makes their organization special. They need to understand and believe the message they are giving the candidate; the reasons why they should choose to work for you. Certainly they need to do all they do to ensure they find candidates that fit your position, but don’t lose sight of the fact the candidates have other options. Completing the process quickly is a key.