Why Your Company Should Recruit Through the Recession
By Bruce Powell
With the economic downturn in the U.S. and whispers of a recession being heard across Canada, many companies are thinking more about laying off employees than increasing their recruitment efforts. And that’s unfortunate – because recessions are the best time to gain corporate competitive advantage with your recruitment efforts.
The notion that it makes sense to reduce your recruiting efforts during economic downturns, while seeming logical at first glance, could not be further from the truth. Attracting and retaining top talent during slower times is critical to ensure your company comes out of these periods even stronger than you went in.
Recession. A lot of it is in your mind.
A recession has a similar effect on individuals as it does on the economy. It causes people to shift into a conservative mode, and many become more concerned about their professional security. For some that means they become more active in their job search – fearing a downsizing; but for most it makes them more reluctant to change roles – fearing the unknown.
Concurrently, while many companies view these soft economic conditions as lulls and follow a “just get through it” strategy, a few truly visionary companies actually INCREASE spending on their hiring during such times. They view such circumstances as an opportunity to further distance themselves from their competition. If everyone else is standing still, or even moving backwards, then efforts to keep moving ahead will be even further magnified.
And for those of us in charge of finding top talent, an economic downturn presents a unique opportunity to find great new people, but come with a few challenges as well.
Good people are always in demand.
As some sectors begin to tighten, and even layoff employees, many companies fall into the trap of thinking that top talent will become easier to identify and attract – in fact might even start applying directly. This isn’t always the case. In fact it’s often the opposite – and it’s imperative not to fall into the trap of thinking that these times are a “buyer’s market”. True A-players will always be in demand, requiring diligent recruiting skills to attract and land them. And during economic downturns, top talent won’t be any more likely to look for a new job; they’re usually too busy with their heads-down working even harder to succeed at their current one.
While there may be more applicants and a greater pool from which to choose, think for a minute why that pool has become bigger and just who’s swimming in it. Are these additional resumes you’re receiving truly “candidates”? It’s not a hard and fast rule by any means, but companies generally, if they can, will try to downsize non top performers first (B/Cs). The “A” players will still be employed – and the truly great companies will be trying hard to keep them engaged and productive.
Hone your assessment skills.
During these periods it will be imperative to become an expert at paring down huge pools of candidates and distilling out the top players. When the number of applicants for the jobs you post doubles or triples, it can become a bit intimidating to find the best of the bunch.
Despite the wealth of options, it’s still important to evaluate people on their true merits and abilities, not necessarily on their last position or where they came from. Coming out of a time where people were promoted quickly (and dare we say even prematurely), it’s important to not take for granted that someone is deserving of stepping back into the same type of role.
The best way to gain true insight into a candidate’s history is to take them through a detailed chronological review of their career, focusing less on their accomplishments in each role and more on their reasons for each transition. Top talent usually moves from success to success – and their missteps are often self-acknowledged and short-lived. And don’t worry about offending people with the detail of your process. A-players will like sharing this detail and think even more highly of you and your company for being so diligent.
So how do you attract these 'Superstars'?
Ok, you’ve got lots of applicants. But what do you do when you still don’t have any A-players in the mix. To succeed in pursuing top-talent who are currently employed, it will take diligent sleuthing, aggressive wooing, a strong and compelling story, and even stronger negotiating skills to convince them that your opportunity is worth the risk for them to jump ship from their current job. Not only will you have to entice them with better compensation and benefits, but you will also have to sell them on your vision for their future and ensure them that this opportunity is just as, if not more secure than their current position (sometimes easier said than done).
This isn’t a short-term play. Building a strong culture and consistent employment brand over a period of time is critical. It must be reflected in your corporate values, and informed by a clear and objective understanding of your business (you’re your market perception) – and why it might be attractive for top talent to join.
Also, trust is critical. Ensuring potential candidates trust you and feel secure in their dealings with you and your business is paramount. If they feel for even a second that they’re being mislead or not being given the whole truth, they’ll close things off.
How to build your employment brand (even during a recession).
- Have a long-term vision (and be clear about your company’s goals).
- Do everything in your power to avoid layoffs and keep employee morale high. Layoffs can be an indicator of tough times in the eyes of employees and spur them to begin looking elsewhere (P.S. top talent usually leaves first).
- Be optimistic, and be candid. If employees see you can manage through tough times, it will instill a sense of confidence in them – and encourage them to ‘stick-it-out’.
- Keep your top employees engaged and challenged. Shift resources to tackle internal projects that have been sitting on the back burner while business was strong.
- Keep treating your top employees like the valuable assets they are, and ensure they continue to feel valued. Like attracts like – and seeing your company go out of its way to keep them will go a long way in building loyalty for them – and the other superstars they’ll attract to the team.
Recruiting Top-Talent is a Long-Term Game.
If I’m worried about keeping my current employees, why would I pursue new ones!? Because recruiting top-talent is a long-term game. And while you may be able to keep top-talent during tough times even without these tips, you’ll be amazed how quickly they’ll exit when the economy turns around. More importantly, you won’t have built a ‘virtual bench’ of top prospects to bring-on when that happens.
A virtual bench? Yup. Because the process of wooing top talent during the recession takes time – and may not result in you actually hiring them. But you will have a solid list of exceptionally talented and well qualified prospects ready for join your team as soon as you can formalize your offer. That’s why smart companies recruit through the recession. And that’s why you should too.
Up or down - Always be recruiting.
No one knows for sure what will happen from one month to the next, but if you’re prepared and have hiring strategies in place for when economic conditions change, you’ll be a step ahead of most others out there. If the economy goes south, remember that your top employees are your greatest asset. Make every effort keep the great ones you have – and keep an eye out for new great ones to join your fold.
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Bruce Powell, Managing Partner, established IQ PARTNERS as an integrated HR services company - providing a broader range of services to help entrepreneurial companies better manage their people resources.
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