“We need more people”
“20% of our machinist positions are open and have been forever”
“Didn’t we just hire someone for that position?”
“We are way over budget, our temporary agency is making a fortune”
Do any of these sound familiar? Do you have any you could add to the list? Many organizations want to get off the recruiting treadmill but simply don’t know how. They may agree they need to change their mindset to hiring people who will stay. However, they may not know what strategic and procedural changes are necessary to make it happen.
The first step is to align your strategies with the above mindset shift. Most organizations allow their recruiting strategies and procedures to take precedence over their retention strategies. This should be in the opposite order. A review needs to be done to determine what needs to change.
Retention must be your first goal in managing your greatest asset
The number of organizations which I have encountered who made getting people “on board” their first goal is literally countless. It is always the same. Get them hired – NOW. Many a CEO has said “I want only good people; but I want them NOW” Obviously, those two things are going to be in conflict. This mindset pushes the hiring managers and screeners to hire employees who have no business being hired. They don’t stay long, for lots of reasons, and you are right back to square one. When you truly come to grips with the reality of arriving back at square one, you have an opportunity for real change.
Over a period of time, if you will be disciplined, the less qualified people will simply stop applying. They know they will not be hired and they are not going to waste their time. There are always organizations who will hire them because they are in the old hiring mindset. At the same time, good people will now see you in a different way. The word will get around within the applicant pool about the changes you have made.
Do you need help making the necessary changes?
