{"id":"5ef5fa566cee0700067fcf92","slug":"hiring-success-en","title":"Hiring Success","audio_url":"https://hls.blinkist.io/bibs/5ef5fa566cee0700067fcf92/5ef5fa566cee0700067fcf94-T1597746771.m4a?Expires=1643129210&Signature=OV8V0ynOPFcNUUqqml~qobb9EM22vExyiqts~C1sSE7XVUGvYsQMdMYu-cFJPp-nVoR5MOfXOdcZehc9t2mIt7wk9v3UJzvk1BeAqSCMxGdj-jlQAK~FniC~SwGkurj8vmVhAW-JUjnPJXm5~x092ZvVVHWgnCfPV3PJej~1d5ImJNBJpSFG1Qcmu3N1xk-6-lt3ETEnQI6zhE16l-jZDJGKPyoI4OO6Jo5JKDqRn6xf-Sz2y0vrk4H3s9zf1Cu6ZUOFxte5nae7o5IWWMg6-dk6eFiFn4cRdcRipy2HqNKvSyWbDKSFvab8-fzLGZXBjG7x5AgBpIIrKubbbekOkQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJXJM6BB7FFZXUB4A","chapters":[{"id":"5ef5fa566cee0700067fcf94","title":"Hiring the right talent is more important, and more difficult, than ever.","text":"

Summer, 2018. The Italian football club Juventus has a tough decision to make. They need a new player, and the team wants Cristiano Ronaldo. But the renowned athlete wants something, too: $112 million, a contract four times more costly than any other player.

Juventus takes the risk, and it pays off. Ronaldo continues to be a star on and off the field. He wins games, wins over fans, and grows into an even more immense international media sensation. By the end of 2018, the share price of Juventus has more than doubled.

Clearly, companies looking to stay ahead of the curve are in tough competition to attract the best talent. This is why they need to make hiring a top priority and invest in the process.

The key message here is: Hiring the right talent is more important, and more difficult, than ever.

It takes three things to run a successful business: a great idea, a little bit of money, and talented employees to get the job done.

These days, ideas and money seem to be abundant. Everyone feels like they have a million-dollar idea. And there are plenty of investors willing to take a chance on a novel startup. However, that last ingredient – experienced and enthusiastic workers – is harder to come by.

What’s the reason for this scarcity?

Well, today’s jobs are much more specialized than they were in the past. In the old industrial era, most companies could hire anyone willing to work. Jobs were simpler and more straightforward. But in the contemporary knowledge economy, the necessary skill sets are much more specific. Companies don’t just need software developers; they need software developers who know certain programming languages or specific platforms.

These skills are hard to learn and even harder to master. But as the tech sector continues to grow, demand for them will continue to rise. A recent report by the consulting firm McKinsey estimates that by 2030 there will be more than 85 million of these high-skill positions to fill. And, unfortunately for employers, there just won’t be enough college-educated workers to fill the slots.

World leaders like Google are already making hiring a priority. The tech giant pours a lot of money into recruiting. In fact, its number of recruiters per employee – 16 for every 1,000 – is nearly ten times higher than any other Fortune 500 business.

But all the money in the world wouldn’t make hiring simple. It takes smart strategy as well. In the next blink, we’ll take a look at some principles to make the process work for your business.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa566cee0700067fcf95","title":"An effective hiring process needs smart hiring metrics. ","text":"

Step one: take a big, bright marker and write the words “We’re hiring!” on a poster board. Step two: tape that sign up in the window. Step three: hand the job to the first person to come walking through the door.

If only it were that easy! The truth is, it’s almost impossible to fill your open position with just anyone coming in off the street. Matching the right person to the right job takes a bit more thought and a lot more patience.

Many companies see hiring as a mere administrative task that should be carried out as quickly and cheaply as possible. But they need to pay closer attention.

The key message here is: An effective hiring process needs smart hiring metrics.

Usually, the only metrics used to measure the success of the recruitment process are: one, how fast the role was filled and two, how little was spent to fill it.

These metrics make for bad targets because they incentivize cutting corners. A cheap hire means you didn’t invest enough money in broadcasting your vacancy to a broad pool of potential applicants. A fast hire means you probably chose the first person who fit the role but didn’t wait to find the best person for the job.

A better metric for hiring success is the Net Hiring Score, or NHS. This metric takes into account whether or not the job applicants you attract are suited for the open position. To calculate this score, managers should make a list of qualities they want from a new hire. This list could include things like experience, skills, attitudes, and growth potential.

Once you have this rough rubric, use it to evaluate your candidates. For each quality, assign them a score on a scale of 1 to 10. If most of your applicants are scoring 6s and 7s – or worse – you probably need to expand your search. To make sure you get the right person for the job, don’t make any hiring decisions until the majority of candidates are scoring in the 9 to 10 range in most categories.

This framework takes time to develop and often requires coordination between all the stakeholders connected to the open position. Such collaboration is essential if you want to hire a talent able to meet everyone’s needs.

Now let’s find out how to attract the right applicants and top those NHS scores.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa576cee0700067fcf96","title":"In order to sell a job, you have to think like a marketer.","text":"

Imagine you’re running a retail store. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling – it could be appliances, or it could be ice cream. Either way, your business isn’t going to thrive unless there are customers walking through the door.

And how do you get more customers? That’s an easy answer: through a savvy marketing campaign.

The same principles apply to the hiring process. The only difference is, the product isn’t ice cream – it’s your job opening. And the customers you’re selling to? Well, those are your potential job applicants.

The key message here is: In order to sell a job, you have to think like a marketer.

How do you market your job opening to potential applicants?

The first thing, as any marketing pro will tell you, is to know your audience. Think about what type of product you have and which type of people might want it. This is sometimes called segmentation.

Jobs can be broken into segments based on two qualities. The first is their impact, or how important they are to a business's success. The second is scarcity, or how rare the necessary skills are. So, a low-impact, low-scarcity job like secretary or office clerk would appeal to many people and be easy to fill. Meanwhile, a high-impact, high-scarcity job like neurosurgeon or CEO is much more difficult to recruit for.

Use these classifications to choose an appropriate marketing strategy. Jobs with lower scarcity levels can be marketed with general advertising campaigns. Jobs with higher scarcity may require more targeted efforts, such as attending industry events or posting recruitment calls in specialized newsletters.

Of course, for the handful of jobs that are both high-impact and high-scarcity, you may have to rely on word-of-mouth or invest in a recruitment specialist.

No matter how you get the word out, it’s important to keep two things in mind. One, your message should be clear and concise. Make sure each applicant can understand exactly what you’re looking for. And two, the application process should be simple and friction-free. After all, once you have a potential customer interested in buying your product, you want that transaction to be as smooth as possible.

In the next blink, we’ll delve further into marketing your job offer. We’ll look at some specific strategies and enumerate their advantages and disadvantages.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa576cee0700067fcf97","title":"A creative approach to hiring can funnel talent in your direction.","text":"

What would you do in the following scenario? You’re the head of a small company, and business is booming. You need to hire 100 talented workers, and fast.

You could start by hiring a dozen recruitment professionals to comb through LinkedIn looking for leads. Or, you could go viral and let the leads come to you.

In 2019, McDonald’s Canada did exactly this. They launched their “Snapplications” campaign, which let workers apply through Snapchat. It was a hit. The media loved the novel approach, and the campaign got tons of social media buzz. In just 48 hours, the company received 10,000 Snapplications.

Not every company can rely on Snapchat for hiring success. But they are sure to benefit from a little creativity.

The key message here is: A creative approach to hiring can funnel talent in your direction.

Creating a media buzz is one thing. But it’s only the start. Once you have a broad audience looking at your company, it’s time to draw in potential hires through a process known as pipelining.

The goal of pipelining is to cultivate a pool of suitable applicants that are already interested in your team. So, after you have lots of attention, set up a filter to exclude unqualified candidates, such as a quick questionnaire asking about credentials and experience. Once you know who can do the job, nurture those connections. Send emails, hold events – keep them engaged. Finally, when you’re ready, announce your opening to this select group.

Pipelining can be very effective for filling a position. But it isn’t the only way. You can also leverage the connections your team already has. Think about it. If you’ve been hiring the best talent, their social networks are surely filled with possible candidates.

Incentivize your employees to reach out to their friends with a smart referral program. Take a cue from companies such as Google and GoDaddy. These organizations offer a small bonus to any employee who makes a referral. However, to keep the candidates qualified, the worker only gets the reward if their pal makes the cut.

Whatever process you decide works best for your company, remember that it also has to work for the candidates. Always consider their experience. Keep things fun, easy, and engaging so your dream hire will be on board every step of the way.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa576cee0700067fcf98","title":"Evaluate candidates by what they will do, not by what they already have done.","text":"

It’s 2009. Brian Acton and Jan Koum, two bright young programmers, are applying to Facebook. They’re enthusiastic, determined, and ready to work. Unfortunately, the hiring team only considers their credentials and decides they don’t have the right experience. Both candidates are rejected.

Fast-forward five years, and things look a bit different. Acton and Koum have built Whatsapp, the wildly popular messaging platform. Now, Facebook wants to buy the company – and it won’t be cheap. In the end, the acquisition costs Facebook $19 billion.

If the social media giant had only seen the pair’s potential, it could have saved some serious cash.

The key message here is: Evaluate candidates by what they will do, not by what they already have done.

Traditionally, companies have hired based solely on credentials. For each job opening, they simply decide what boxes their dream applicant should check. These are usually specific metrics like possessing the right type of degree or having a certain number of years’ experience. This is called “hiring for aptitude.”

Aptitude is important – but it’s only half the picture. A good worker also needs the right attitude – the right mindset, work ethic, and personality traits. These less tangible qualities are often more crucial to an employee’s performance than any diploma or degree.

So make sure you consider these more intangible elements when evaluating potential team members. Try creating a scorecard that assesses how an applicant will act once they’re hired. Will they carry the values of your company? Will they be proactive? Will they communicate clearly and consistently? Essentially, don’t ask “Can you do this job?” but “How will you do this job?”

And make sure your interviews are carefully structured. All too often, job interviews get too casual and stray off topic. Make sure you get the answers you need by drawing up a list of 10 to 15 precise questions you will ask each candidate.

It’s also possible to supplement interviews with personality tests, such as the popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. These types of assessments aren’t perfect, but they can provide a little more information on how a person thinks and reasons. And since they are standardized, they can help reduce the inherent bias of interviews.

Once you decide who’s the best fit for the role, it’s time to make your offer. But how can you be sure they’ll accept it? Let’s find out.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa576cee0700067fcf99","title":"To close the deal, make a job offer that can’t be refused. ","text":"

In 1983, Apple was looking for a new company president. To fill the role, Steve Jobs wanted to poach John Sculley, then head of PepsiCo. But there was a problem. At the time, Apple was still a small, fledgling organization. For Sculley, the position was a potential setback.

Undeterred, Jobs made his move. He called Sculley and made his case: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” The appeal to greatness worked, and Sculley took the job.

Making a job offer is the most pivotal point in the hiring process. You’ve already put so much work into filtering applicants and deciding on the right candidate. You don’t want to have to start over.

The key message here is: To close the deal, make a job offer that can’t be refused.

Even though you want to hire your first-choice applicant, it doesn’t always work out that way. In fact, job acceptance rates in competitive markets are around 70 percent.

You can avoid missing out by making your job offer meaningful and memorable. Here, a personal touch can go a long way. Take the streaming service Spotify, which makes custom “We Need You” playlists for their selected hires. Other companies deliver special gift packages with carefully selected items, such as concert tickets or favorite foods.

Even if you put in the effort to make the offer special, there’s a good chance your candidate will demure or try to negotiate a better contract. This is especially common in competitive markets. A particularly skilled worker will get a counteroffer from their current employer about half the time.

So, don’t take offense. These negotiations are not about ingratitude. They just mean a worker knows their value and is striving to get the best deal. And, after all, aren’t these desirable qualities in any employee?

If your dream candidate does accept your offer, make sure they feel at home right away. Again, it’s all about making things smooth and easy. Don’t bury your hire in paperwork and protocol. Instead, try to automate as much of the onboarding process as possible. And provide all the need-to-know administrative information in a clear, accessible format, making sure your candidate knows who to ask if they have any questions.

If you keep all of these considerations in mind, you’ll be sure to start your professional relationship off on the right foot.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa576cee0700067fcf9a","title":"A robust hiring system starts with a robust team.","text":"

The setup, the shot, the swish of the net. A pro baller sinking a perfect three-pointer is a thing of beauty. But any good basketball coach knows that one satisfying score doesn’t win the game. You need a team that can always hit the basket – again and again.

The moral here is that consistency matters – on the court and for your company. To outcompete others on the market, you don’t just need one good hire; you need many. So, ensure you acquire the best talent year after year by making good hiring a repeatable practice.

Finding the best talent, like topping the NBA, is an ongoing, long-term competition. In order to succeed, companies must prioritize fielding the best hiring team they can.

The key message here is: A robust hiring system starts with a robust team.

Remember how Google staffed 16 recruiters for every 1,000 employees? Google understands the importance of having a robust hiring team.

If you want to routinely hire top talent, you need to devote the necessary resources to building your hiring team. Studies show that companies that make a serious commitment to funding employee recruitment reap serious rewards – we’re talking 18 percent more revenue and 30 percent more profit than other organizations.

So, what does a robust hiring team look like?

For one, it includes more than just human resources experts. Remember, hiring isn’t just an administrative task, it’s a sales job. Staff your department with seasoned marketers. This strategy was pioneered by the international brokerage firm Gallagher, and it has led many companies to great success.

An effective team will be ready to approach talent-seeking on a variety of fronts. You’ll want staff focusing on generating outside interest – or, in other words, filling your hiring pipeline. And you’ll want others to focus on sourcing – that is, seeking out and screening potential candidates. Finally, you may also want a few dedicated recruiters. These experts are tasked with closing the deal and making final offers.

Find the mix that works best for your company. Don’t forget, hiring is a collaborative process. Make sure any team you build works closely with the departments they’re hiring for. Your marketers should coordinate with managers for each and every step of the process, from establishing hiring criteria to thinking of interview approaches.

And make sure to track your team’s success, refining your processes as necessary. That way, you can be sure to keep the talent coming.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa576cee0700067fcf9b","title":"Smart hiring practices welcome diversity.","text":"

Quiz night at your local bar is fast approaching. The problem is, you haven’t filled the five slots in your team yet. Who should you call?

What about your five astrophysicist friends? They’re definitely smart, and they’re sure to nail any science question. But can you rely on them for questions about movies, sports, or history? Really, your best strategy is to have a diverse team.

The same applies to your professional team. If everyone in your company has the same skills, experience, and interests, you’ll excel in some categories, but you’ll be completely out of your depth for others. And, in today’s rapidly shifting economic landscape, that could make all the difference.

The key message here is: Smart hiring practices welcome diversity.

Just how important is diversity? Well, studies show that organizations made up of diverse members tend to make better decisions and solve problems faster. A recent study from McKinsey found that companies with significant gender and ethnic diversity were 30 percent more likely to outperform a completely homogenous group.

To ensure your team recruits a diverse group of members, take care to make your hiring practices as inclusive as possible, at every stage. This means putting extra effort into reaching out to a variety of underrepresented communities, perhaps through trade organizations or social clubs.

It also means being mindful of using inclusive language. A job posting all about “productivity ninjas” and “dominating the competition” may sound good to some people but could easily alienate others.

As candidates move through your hiring pipeline, get to know them as real people, not just stats on a page. Everyone is different, and some of the best hires might require special treatment. People with autism, for example, don’t always flourish in interview settings.

Some companies have already found ways to accommodate applicants with autism. Microsoft, for instance, forgoes the interview phase and invites them to simply audition by working on actual projects.

Such extra steps may seem like a burden. They’re not. Building a humane workplace starts with humane hiring practices. When you create an open, inviting, and unbiased hiring process, you’ll attract people with a huge array of skills, interests, and abilities – some you didn’t even know you needed.

"},{"id":"5ef5fa576cee0700067fcf9c","title":"Final summary","text":"

The key message in these blinks:

Businesses succeed or fail based on who they hire. A smart company will treat talent acquisition as a major priority and put the necessary time, effort, and money into recruiting the right staff. Rather than following a traditional model of posting a job opening and hoping for the best, a contemporary recruitment team should think like marketers and adopt creative approaches to enticing and engaging the best talent available.

Actionable advice:

Say no to maybe.

Often you’ll come across candidates who are “pretty good” but not “the best.” Don’t settle! If you’re on the fence about a hire, keep searching. A bad hire can lead to major losses down the line. Spend the extra time and money to find the perfect fit. You’ll end up saving yourself a major headache down the road.

Got feedback?

We’d sure love to hear what you think about our content! Just drop an email to remember@blinkist.com with the title of this book as the subject line and share your thoughts!

What to read next: Who, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street

You just learned some simple principles for finding, recruiting, and hiring the best employees. Still not satisfied? Continue picking up talent acquisition tricks with Who, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street.

Our blinks to Who present a seriously thorough and empirically tested method for hiring in today’s competitive market. The advice in this manual is based on more than 1,000 hours of interviews with successful CEOs in a range of sectors. To get even better at finding the right fit, head on over to our blinks to Who.

"}]}

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