Luck is involved in many activities, but without a plan you will not be as lucky. If you do not play the lottery, you cannot be lucky enough to win. If your employment selection process is not well designed, your luck with hiring is not going to be as good as your competitors that are more prepared. As baseball executive Branch Rickey said, “Luck is the residue of design.”
- Is your ad or job description targeting the right type of candidates?
- Is your process helping you predict and qualify candidates who can meet and exceed your expectations?
- Do your hiring managers and recruiters truly know how to identify and predict behaviors with candidates that drive success in the positions they are hiring for?
- How are they making their selection decisions?
In-person interviewing during COVID-19 is going to be different. How is your company going to conduct productive and predictive in-person interviews or are you going to use video conferencing interviews?
Recently, Agustin Lebron posted a video on LinkedIn regarding what he calls “The Great Rehiring is Coming.” No prediction when, but when it does happen it will be fast. If you do not prepare in advance, you will miss out on the best candidates.
With over 36 million Americans unemployed due to the pandemic at this writing, competition is going to be fierce and fast once hiring ramps up. Getting your process ready now will give you the edge to hire quality candidates. For those companies slow to react and not ready, they will be left screening the weaker portion of the candidate pool. Employee assessments will be of great value during a speedy hiring process because they are able to measure more traits with high accuracy in a short time than any expedited selection process. They are also COVID-19 safe.
Will Guidara of the Independent Restaurant Coalition mentioned that one quarter (about 9 million) of all unemployed Americans are from the restaurant industry. Some of these former employees will not want to leave their industry. However, this is a great opportunity to find some exceptionally talented candidates who are ready for a new position and industry. Many of them will be a good fit for sales, service, or manager positions with a smaller percentage willing to take on office positions. Many front-line restaurant workers already know how to give good service and how to sell or upsell. Now is a great time to screen some of these to identify which ones will be a great fit for sales, service, or management positions at your company. If the candidates’ cognitive abilities suffice, many of them will train quickly and be a great fit.
Agustin Lebron mentions putting the unemployed candidates into three buckets—great, good, and marginal. He goes on to say that companies are not letting go of too many great performers, therefore the majority of those unemployed are in the marginal performer bucket. Whether you agree or not with the percentages he comes up with, the race is always on to hire the higher quality candidates. The companies that win, will draw from a better applicant pool. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. Those companies with the most predictive and efficient process will be the companies that win this race when it starts. Be ready!
About the Author
Jim Plotkin is president and CEO of The Plotkin Group, a 52-year-old human resources company focused on employee assessments to help companies hire, promote, manage, and develop a stronger workforce. He can be reached at jim@plotkingroup.com.
