Recruiting: Are you a dinosaur or a chameleon?
Does it exist or does it not exist – the shortage of qualified workers. Yes and no. Of course, the figures suggest that the absolute number of applicants is declining, but as always, that is only half the truth.
There are companies that find the employees they need, others find it very difficult. Is this due to multi-million dollar budgets for recruiting or advertising?
Do not push away responsibility
It is obvious that the increasing ageing of our society plays a major role in the fact that a job ad today receives significantly fewer applications, sometimes none at all. But to assume this is the only reason leads companies into a dangerous trap.
As always in competitive situations, it is a matter of companies adapting to changing conditions: This is called adaptivity and it means creating the conditions to remain able to act. Every entrepreneur naturally procures the operating resources or machines to be able to process orders. He will steer sales in the direction that promises the greatest success. However, an essential resource is and remains the human being. And in view of the existing scarcity, it is important here – as in other areas – to learn and implement adaptability.
Would you apply at your company?
In a nutshell, this means that companies have to apply to employees.
In the first step, this means a profound rethink of recruiting. The times when managers could choose the right employee from a large number of profiles are long gone. And as a consequence, this means that an entrepreneur must not make his requirement profile for a position too pointed, but must consider to what extent candidates from related professional fields can be made fit. An additional option is also the adaptation of processes, which can help to distribute tasks differently.
Ask your employees!
However, the most important point in my view is that companies have to answer the question of how attractive they are for applicants. As a rule, it is not enough to just ask the management this question. The best people to answer it are the employees themselves. This question – which is sometimes not very pleasant – can not only lead to surprising results, but can also give decisive hints on how to improve the working atmosphere, the management style or the organisation.
Do good and talk about it
In my daily practice, I always ask managers and directors the same question: What makes your company attractive? Often this question can only be answered inadequately. However, if I am given the opportunity to look into the company, I often find a whole bouquet of things that companies do for employees, the working atmosphere and corporate culture. But they don’t talk about it – not in the job advertisements and not during the interviews. This wastes many opportunities to find suitable employees during recruiting.
Armed with good arguments, “advertising” for good employees is much easier.
So don’t be a dinosaur, but become a chameleon.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Charles Darwin
