Get Ready for Battle

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By Tim Augustine

The talent shortage in the not-so-distant future is inevitable. The baby boomers (born after World War II and prior to 1960) are retiring and moving out of the workforce, and the subsequent generations; Generation X (people born from 1961 to 1970) and Generation Y (born from 1971 to 1980) haven't been nearly as sizeable.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that there will be 10 million more open positions than available workers in 2010, and the Employment Policy Foundation (EPF) projects that this gap will grow to 35 million by 2030.

In addition, attracting and hiring qualified and educated workers continues to plague many businesses wanting to grow their firms. As our economy continues to change, employees will require more education and specialized skills. Continuing education is becoming critical. Currently, only 38 percent of the American labor force has a two-year college degree or higher.

Finally, the business community has shifted its interests to specialized tasks. As globalization continues to evolve, the business community has begun adopting strategies to begin outsourcing specific functions or tasks to low-cost firms overseas as well as reviewing plans to begin off- shoring entire production lines and manufacturing to specialized firms in other countries to save costs and increase profitability.

These trends will put a further strain on the war for talent over the next five years.

Developing Your Recruiting Strategy
Faced with these challenges, you need to build a plan that will attract candidates to your firm and position your firm to compete with other companies to find qualified candidates.

Use Your Time Wisely
The first question you must consider is where do you spend your time? The BLS suggests that approximately 15 percent of our labor force (140 million people) is actively looking for employment at any given time. Another 15 percent are passive job seekers, which means that 70 percent of the total labor force is not looking. Too many firms spend far too much time focused on the 15 - 30 percent on the market looking for positions. You need to develop a plan of attack that targets the 70 percent of the market that is not looking for a new position. Your goal should be to find the candidates and then hook them.

Plan Your Recruitment Efforts
As you develop your recruitment plan, it is important that you have your ducks in a row, before you start sourcing candidates. You need to have position descriptions that accurately reflect the roles and responsibilities of the position as well as the skills, knowledge education and experience necessary to do the job.

Develop a list of open positions and identify, from the position description, the top five skills and attributes required and the top five desired skills critical to the open position. Make sure the required and desired skills are identified before you begin recruiting to make the sourcing efforts as fruitful as possible.

Remember: For each hour that you spend planning and documenting the desired skills and abilities of an open position, you will decrease the numbers of days to fill the position by 11 days!

Find the Candidates through Different Sources
Below, you will find effective sourcing techniques that could improve your results.

Referrals: Based on my research, I have discovered that the best of breed organizations use referrals effectively and find 60 percent of their new hires through referrals. Referrals could be your best source for candidates. Consider giving referral incentives such as cash bonuses and giveaways that drive motivation -- common referral bonuses are $1,500 - $3000 per hire. Depending on the industry and the level of the position, the cost per hire could averages $5,000 - $8,000 per hire. In addition, referrals can also increase the level of personality and cultural fit of candidates since candidates are referred by your internal employees.

Candidate References: When you interview candidates for a specific position, ask the candidate for
reference names such as peers and managers. These references could become possible sources for your existing position or future positions. In addition, review the resumes you receive and identify the candidate's previous employers that have similar skills and positions that you need. Consider these firms as additional sources from which you could recruit.

Internet: Obviously you can use the internet to post jobs and guide people to your website. This will help you attract active job seekers. However, to find those candidates that are not looking for new roles, you need to build a strategy to attack the Internet. Use the Internet to research other firm's posted positions and consider targeting these firms for recruitment. This will provide you with a list of local firms that have similar positions and candidates that you can source. In addition, the Internet can provide links to professional organizations and associations. Your firm should consider partnering with these groups to advertise your open positions, attend their career fairs and even attend local meetings to network with their members.

College Recruitment: This is a good source to find potential candidates for internships and full-time
positions. The key is to partner with the most appropriate schools in your area and build relationships with the career services center, alumni office, specific department heads as well as professional and social student organizations. This source can be a cost effective solution to find your future stars. Consider offering case studies with your target schools and ask the alumni within your organization to get involved with communicating and partnering with the school to advertising your current opportunities.

Recruitment Agencies: I typically utilize recruitment agencies for both hard to find positions as well as research and name generation in a geographic area. Develop a relationship with industry specific recruitment firms that have a proven track record of success. Agencies work on two different pay structures: contingency and retainer. Contingent recruiters are paid once the position is filled and typically charge 25 - 30 percent of the candidate's annual salary. Agencies that work on a retainer basis typically charge 35 percent of the candidate's annual salary and require payments in thirds. Most require payment upfront to start the search, payment once three candidates are identified and final payment when the position is filled. I suggest leveraging recruitment agencies only for the critical positions that you find difficult to fill.

Relocation: As our economy continues to fluctuate, certain geographic markets can often be more
negatively affected than others. When this occurs, it could be an opportunity for you to relocate candidates from markets that are experiencing high unemployment rates. If you plan to recruit and relocate from other markets, build a relocation program that would entice the candidate to move. Consider covering the household goods move, temporary housing in the new geographic location, brokerage and closing costs, as well as house-hunting trips for the candidate and spouse giving them an opportunity to find a new home or apartment in a desirable location in the new market.

Hook the Candidates and Get Their Attention
Many of these sources will require initiating a cold call to a perspective candidate. Make sure you have a marketing message that will grab their attention to learn more about your opportunity. Keep in mind; you will only have 10 - 15 seconds to get their attention once they answer the phone.

Have an objective before you make the call such as the specific position you need to fill, the skills and knowledge of the prospective candidate, and the type of person that would be successful within your firm. Sell the opportunity and highlight specific items that you think the candidate wants to hear? Try to do your research before the call and learn as much about the candidate as you can.

Understand the candidate's hot buttons, motivations, role and responsibilities, challenges he or she might be experiencing at his or her firm and the opportunities that he or she might be interested in. Also consider selling your firm. Is your company a great place to work? If so, how would you bottle those unique traits and package them in a creative marketing message?

Whatever source you find most effective, make sure your recruitment strategy is well thought-out and the marketing message attracts those candidates that will help your firm. During the next five years, those organizations that attack the war for talent with a detailed pragmatic plan will gain the competitive advantage when competing for talent. Those firms that hire all the best people win!