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The Great Separation – Why Organizational Leadership Finds Itself On The Unemployment Line

Career Insight, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

Never in my 15 years in recruitment have I ever seen more qualified people looking for work. By qualified, I refer to people who would ordinarily not find themselves unemployed in a traditional marketplace. The other variable is the length of time they find themselves in the market. Good people find jobs, and find them quickly. This has been the expectation for years, but not the case anymore. The market isn’t just candidate heavy, but it’s ‘top-tier’ candidate heavy, and this worries me. The caliber of talent that I am witnessing enter the market is mind-boggling and lends itself to deeper reasoning and investigation. The market has changed drastically over the past 5 years. We’ve lived through a global health pandemic that changed the landscape of how we perform our jobs. We learned quickly that we were capable of being just as productive working outside of the office – the ingenuity of the human race was in full display. This opened up an entirely new marketplace for organizations. They could now explore talent outside their geographic limitations, not to takeaway from the heightened level of safety we all felt as a result of working from the comfort of our homes. Working from home was not only more convenient, but it quickly became the norm, and some have never looked back. With everything in business, there’s always a trade-off. Companies were granted access to a wider and more diverse talent pool, but at what cost, and how has that impacted the future of work, employment, unemployment, and the next generation of workers? Did decision makers over-extend on hiring out of excitement or fear? Did they over-forecast or underestimate the work from home phenomena? Were execs so ‘hire-happy’ that they failed to properly plan for the future? Let’s explore 2 reasons for the rise of unemployment amongst senior leaders. Cost Cutting Due To Redundancy The surge in hiring during covid resulted in widespread redundancy within the workplace. We are currently going through a workplace refresh, with leaders facing tremendous pressure to bring people back into the office. This is hinged on the belief that too much influence has been given to workers. After all, employees now demand/expect to work remote or on a schedule that fits their needs. Many roles were also created during covid to provide the necessary leadership and technical coverage during a moment of great unpredictability – roles that under normal circumstances would not have been necessary. A “swing for the fences because we don’t know if we’ll live to see tomorrow” mentality was now prevalent in the workplace, and this caused a period of irrational behaviour amongst leaders. Consequently, we have an over-populated workplace with no chemistry. This disconnect, coupled with the hires of those with similar skill sets & competencies, has forced decision makers to trim their workforce, starting naturally with the highest paid. Only the 1% have weathered the storm. AI/Technology Has Made Key People Expendable This is a sensitive subject because AI has become integral to how we work and do business. The influx of senior talent entering the market in search of a new career is deeply concerning, but what role has AI/technology played in this shift? Companies are opting to retain their technical gurus with the latest software under their belt over the detached C-Suite professional, primarily because employees are smarter, self-sufficient, and self-managed. Technology after all needs to be managed by someone, and it definitely won’t be by the Director or VP who has little to no contact at the ground-level. The approach is now to automate where & what you can, and trim what is (who is) left. If you’re a Senior Leader in today’s workforce, it’s imperative to remain closely tied to the technical aspects that govern the organization. The days of leading a technical team without understanding what they do or being able to do it yourself are over. We expected hybrid as a type of work, but what we didn’t expect was a movement towards a new hybrid style of leadership – leaders who can teach and also do – this is the 1%. Your leadership style is great (who doesn’t love servant leaders), but tell me the last time you wrote (or understood) a clean piece of code? What are you doing to remain relevant technically? I’m concerned, but optimistic. Good people always land on their feet, and wherever they land it’s for certain that they will replicate past success & cultivate high performers and future leaders. Let’s Sum This Up For anyone who is thinking about changing careers or switching to a new company during a period of great instability such as a recession or another pandemic, make the transition with caution and qualify the legitimacy and future of the position in question. Ask probing questions to better understand the vision the organization has for the role. That new Chief Of Something may sound great on the surface, but is it a role designed to address an immediate leak or a position they believe will be intricately woven into the fabric of the company for years to come. Try these: These questions are circumstantial, but listen for the answers. The more you hear, the more secure you should feel one way or another. Every role should have at minimum a 5-year outlook, a vision of relevancy that extends beyond the short-term. This is especially true for a position that is being created or has not existed beyond the 5-year mark. For more content like this, please follow me here on LinkedIn.

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A Technological Approach To Ghosting Candidates

Artificial Intelligence, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

There’s no doubt that AI and Recruitment will be married for the foreseeable future. If leveraged correctly and with balance, it will only serve to optimize the service and address more needs. While the benefits are clear and lucrative, I worry about placing an AI band-aid over a broken system and mindset. Let’s dive deeper… ​Ghosting for instance has been commonly associated with recruitment for years now, and while I don’t know when it became a thing, ghosting has become a predictable outcome when dealing with recruiters. What is Ghosting? In my own words, it is the complete disregard of basic human decency – the prioritization of profit over ethics. A practical example of ghosting is calling a candidate about a position that you’ve received from a client, qualifying them, submitting their resume, coordinating the interview(s), and not getting back to them with the results. Most are familiar with this… There are an assortment of other questionable practices that recruiters engage in that has created a negative impression of the industry… Ghosting is really a mirror of deeper issues within our own ranks. Poor leaders have produced poor recruiters. The pressure of meeting quotas has removed quality and integrity from the equation… Fast forward to 2023 – cue the rise of AI… Like any prior great discovery or invention, AI serves to enhance the human experience or expose our flaws… Without dealing with the core issues in recruitment, I worry that we will only make negative experiences more prevalent… Automating your service does not address the trust and credibility concerns that decision makers and candidates have about recruitment… Your tech stack might be great, but your people lack resilience and character to weather the turbulence that is coming their way… We are attempting to cover up our “people problems” with automation, and that’s a recipe for disaster… Until we address the elephant in the room, I’m afraid that AI/technology will never complement the human experience in the way it was designed to… You’re simply automating ghosting. Personal story: ​Just yesterday, I had a candidate reject an offer from my customer. I prefaced the formal offer with a pre-acceptance letter outlining the terms of the offer as a way of addressing any concerns beforehand; normal practice for me. I was confident that it would come back signed. The following day, the candidate called me to say that his Wife had concerns that could not be overcome with more money. Completely understandable; take care of home. I asked whether he had discussed the opportunity with her during the process. He said yes, and her remarks were: “you get calls like this all the time, and they never go anywhere.” In other words, recruiters call you all the time and never follow through so I thought this was one of those cases about to repeat itself. Deal lost because of a failure to take the outreach seriously. Let’s get back to providing a memorable experience to everyone involved. AI is the cherry on top!

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How You Present Something Matters

Human Resources, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

An A5 steak with its complementary sides is not very appetizing if served on a dirty plate You can have the greatest invention known to man or a service/product that can change lives, and none of that is of any significance if it is not introduced in a way that resonates with your audience This is precisely what’s hindering the recruitment industry from reaching its true potential. The service is credible, your tech is world-class, but the messaging sucks… • Check out our extensive database…(irrelevant to a decision maker)• We have experience in your industry…(everyone does)• We just filled a similar role 3 weeks ago…(prove it)• Our fees are flexible…(reeks of desperation) Decision makers are craving tangibility They care about their time and recruiters are known for wasting it They care about moving their organizations forward by filling roles in the shortest time possible They care about retention – backfilling poor hires is time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating They want to be/feel prioritized; not 1 of 4 hiring managers you’re presently dealing with (even if that’s the case) If you’re dealing with HR, they want to feel included. Valued. Kept in the loop. They don’t want their role reduced to signing agreements and setting up interviews Rather than cliches, lead with insight, evidence, & specifics Rather than big promises, be honest and realistic. Set clear expectations and keep your word Let’s plate our service in a way that is appealing and appetizing to decision makers and candidates.

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Real Leadership Starts At The Pumpkin Patch

Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

Leadership is a privilege, not a right of way. You cannot inherit it; it’s a calling for a few. Yet, leadership advice is available on every street corner. Real leaders nurture future leaders, and are only interested in the development of people, not processes, strategies, or goals. If you take care of people, then those very people will take care of the business. It’s no wonder why your people are drowning in anxiety, having conversations with recruiters, & taking time off work to meet with your competitors. Real leaders don’t make counteroffers – they take care of their people in the first place. Losing your people is not a poor reflection on your leadership. In fact, effective leadership makes it easy to move on. It grooms and equips you with everything you need to replicate that leadership in another environment. Real leaders create a runway for their best people to reach their potential, wherever that may be. They celebrate your departure and pursuit of greatness because they know you’re ready for it. The best thing I can do for my Son is to train him well enough so he can one day leave my home and lead his own family. I would be doing him a great disservice if I hindered his personal pilgrimage towards manhood because of my own selfish agenda. Real leaders are groomed from within; in the dark when no one sees. Take me to your home – let me see how you treat your family. Are you received with joy when you walk through the door or do those around you run from your presence? I served under a man who created a culture of fear and hid office supplies in his office. I served under another man who took a pay cut to create more cashflow for the company. One was tolerated; the other was celebrated. Real leaders treat their people like ambassadors of the company, not employees. Ambassadors embody the values of the organization and their leaders. Ambassadors have rights, privileges, and a stake in the organizations success. They think about what they can do for their organization. Employees are managed by poor leaders and can have their rights taken away from them when it’s convenient. They ask what can my organization do for me. Before I seek leadership of a fortune 500 company, let me first master my own home and strive to be loved by the people who matter the most.

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The Embassy Of Search

Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

In my role as a search partner, I am an ambassador for my customers. As an official partner for these organizations, I represent their corporate interests & goals in the marketplace. I am an extension of the brand, a defender of the reputation, and an enthusiastic promoter of current and future plans. Once an agreement is signed, the search partner and that organization become one. Agendas are fused and a relationship is forged based on the alignment of values, proper business practices, and basic human decency. The role of an ambassador also means that there cannot be any lapses in integrity – character is vital. Your decisions are hinged on a core set of values, and any sign of compromising will undermine the very foundation of that partnership, even if that means forgoing a fee payout or the end of a relationship with a tenured customer. The same level of service, protection, and advocacy applies to candidates. That search partner should symbolize a place of refuge for candidates who are seeking guidance in their career pilgrimage. Like an embassy, the role of a good search partner is to foster relations based on trust with candidates, facilitate communication between the candidate and hiring company, mediate negotiations, and offer whatever support is necessary, pre & post hire. They understand that a good candidate/company fit isn’t just about resume or technical alignment. It’s values and culture centric, and they know how to navigate these conversations on both sides. A good search partner knows that they cannot work with every organization. Similarly, an embassy only represents the citizens of its home country. Neither one is a universal service for all people (or organizations). The recruitment industry is not as saturated as we might think. There are only a few who operate from a place of excellence.

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A Cost Effective Approach To Profitability

Career Insight, Career Preparation, Leadership, Recruitment /

One of the weaknesses of leaders that I’ve witnessed is their resistance to engaging in proactive dialogue with talent in their industry. Most decision makers are reactive when it comes to talent acquisition. It’s for certain that an organization will experience turnover by way of resignation, retirement, parental leave, termination, or death. We know these things will happen as a normal course of doing business, yet we wait for the inevitable, and scramble to fill these gaps in our talent structure. These are generally not when the best decisions are made. Hires in these moments are normally made out of convenience to stop the bleeding. The best time to take a loan is when you don’t need one. The same theory applies to hiring. The smartest time to be engaging in conversations with suitable people in your marketplace is when you don’t need to, or when your team is running at full capacity. Talent scouting should not take a break since you can’t control people and the decisions they make. We’ve all had those untimely meetings with our best people on a Monday morning. They usually start with, “Good morning, Steve – I’d like to thank you for this amazing opportunity to work with you and my team at XYZ Company for the past 10 years. That being said, I’ve decided to take my talents to South Beach.” The first reaction is usually how you can soften the impact of this person’s departure and prevent any disruption to the core activities of your business. Counteroffers seldom work, and the process of searching for a replacement is time consuming and taxing emotionally for all involved. What I’m proposing is the initial investment of 1 conversation a week with someone in your industry. However this person comes to you, you should be receptive to these meetings / discussions as a way of evaluating your market, that person’s fit, and the likelihood of a hire now, or in the future. This is proven, and guaranteed to solve a lot of your people problems. The argument against this might be, “It’s a waste of time to engage in these discussions without an official hiring request.” Or, “this goes against company policy. All such conversations should be had with the appropriate HR or TA professional within our organization.” Fair. Follow the appropriate policies and procedures. Don’t burn bridges. I’m speaking to a minority of decision makers at the highest level who can afford to be having these conversations with key people in their industry, choosing not to handle such situations as they come. This is detrimental to talent building. By the way, these discussions should also be happening internally with members of your current team as a way of succession planning, and knowing what roles are appropriate to be evaluating externally. You may need to push back on the conventional mindset, and that requires diplomacy and patience. What’s for certain is you’ll be ahead of your competitors, and your brand will reach those in your marketplace that wouldn’t have known about you otherwise. Your organization will reap the benefits for years to come. This is what good leadership looks like.

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The Colonization of Good Leadership

Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

Unprecedented circumstances call for unprecedented leadership. Followers are crying out for compassionate leaders who put the human above profit. Morals above self-interests. This starts at the ground floor… Ground floor? – Making better hires. This requires doing a better job of vetting current and future leaders. The growth of any company requires enlisting the service of competent professionals who work and lead with character. Any company that cuts corners when it comes to hiring the best their marketplace has to offer, is not interested in sustainability. By cutting corners, I refer in part to hiring strictly based on technical prowess and business acumen, while ignoring gut or instincts. Hiring for character & integrity has nothing to do with credentials from an accredited institution… Engineers are notorious for being highly analytical and data-driven… The best that I’ve witnessed and had significant exposure to, were able to level the brilliance of their engineering minds and couple that with instincts, sometimes used interchangeably with making decisions with the heart. However you choose to spin it, there is a demand for leaders who are balanced and who can cultivate new leaders. That’s the mark of effective leadership – its ability to replicate itself. This leads to great financial, and people returns for that organization. My premise is simple – if I’ve been enlisted to find a replacement for an employee who has left the organization, wouldn’t it make sense to investigate the reasons for that failed relationship? Too many in the recruitment and talent acquisition space are complicit in these failed relationships. How many of us have nailed a “jumpy” professional to the wall in a condemning manner and let poor leadership off the hook (Jumpy – a term used amongst recruiters to describe someone who moves from job to job frequently (i.e., months or a year at a time). We scrutinize those employees without holding leaders to the same level of interrogation. We have a responsibility to ensure that we are putting people into organizations that are healthy, working for leaders who understand their own responsibilities.

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Some Vultures Wear Custom-Fitted Suits

Career Insight, Leadership, Recruitment /

Recruiters! You’re feeding on dead-end positions; chasing after them like hungry vultures; willing to compromise for an organization that will not give you repeat business. You’re feeding on dead-end positions; positions that have no legitimacy or strategic direction, no growth trajectory for top prospects, no upper management support, and will likely end in termination or resignation of the hired employee within a year. This cycle has repeated itself time and time again, and you’re guilty by association. You’re complicit in this hoax of a hiring process by accepting these types of roles from hiring managers that are looking to exploit the most vulnerable the marketplace has to offer. Top performers don’t trust you, and rightfully so. Why would I put my career and family’s well being in the hands of someone who operates out of desperation and purely transactionally?! You have been biting the fee bait, taking anything dangled in front of you, and feeding this into the marketplace. We have a responsibility to the people, families, and corporations we represent to hold ourselves to a higher standard. There are times when you will have to walk away from something (or someone) to guard the integrity of what you do as a profession. This test will come to all of us. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

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Don’t Take Time For Granted

Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

There’s a war for time! More time with the family. More time with your children. More time to complete that project. More time to exercise. More time to eat. More time for everything you hold dear. We’re all given the same allotment of time in a day. It cannot be subtracted from, or added to… 24 hours is our daily portion 🕰️ The difference between a good professional and a poor professional is their ability to give you a return on your time. You pay a plumber to fix that leak because it will save you hours of trying to fix it on your own, which gives you more time to do the things I mentioned above. Don’t take time for granted. We think we’ll always have more time. Hiring Executive – “I don’t believe in retaining a recruiter!” You’re essentially saying that you have no regard for your time. You’re willing to commit your most valuable commodity to a search process with 3️⃣ to 4️⃣ recruiters who have not given you their undivided attention. The majority of decision makers have confused the benefits of retaining a search partner. They think it’s about paying you for work you haven’t done yet. What you’re really doing is retaining the time of that partner. Why do we continue to take time for granted?! That position will go unfilled for months/years despite your elaborate job advertisement, LinkedIn post, network, or even your robust TA team. A good recruiter marries all of the variables and people involved in the hiring process. We are the glue that allows for a seamless engagement of top talent. We ensure superior brand representation by crafting a go-to-market campaign that is sure to sift the best out of your marketplace. Why do you continue to put your “people problems” in the hands of those who have “people problems.” Give yourself a return on your time.

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You Are More Than Just A Resume (The Follow Up)

Career Insight, Career Preparation, Inspiration, Recruitment /

📢 Candidates! The job market is tough right now, but your activity will lead to positive results… The key is to create small wins everyday by following up. A good follow up is not always discussed, but it’s your key to standing out. The average job seeker does a quantitative blitz of the marketplace, thinking it’s about volume of send outs. True to some extent, but a well thought-out and personalized follow-up to a decision maker (HR or hiring manager) is important to gaining momentum, and landing that dream role. I speak with job seekers regularly and the most common frustration stems from a lack of responses from decision makers. These are the types that will accept a position that they are not truly interested in, and end up quitting shortly thereafter 🤔 Stop treating the job search like a mind-numbing numbers game. Instead, approach it like a Consultant. Make your outreach directed and customized to the organization’s you’d like to work for. When you’ve applied via a posting or through a referral, follow up at least 3 days later. Empathy dictates that the hiring manager is inundated with applications, and time is a scarce resource for them. We’re also dealing with AI generated screening mechanisms that rule you out based on prompts from the company. Differentiate yourself by showing hiring managers how much you care. You are more than just a resume 📜 Here’s an example of a concise, yet effective follow up ⤵️ =================================================== Hello, Mike – I am a Project Manager with 10 years in the plastics industry. I am presently employed for ABC Plastics, and I am steps away from acquiring my PMP designation. I am interested in learning more about the following advertised vacancy on your team: ▶️ Program Manager, Injection Molding I followed the necessary steps to be considered for this position through your online posting, but I wanted to take an additional step by sending this email to you personally. You have my resume, so please let me know how we can coordinate another step to be introduced. Thank you. Troy Saddler=================================================== Talent Search Partners, Inc. was designed to empower job seekers and to allow decision makers to sleep better at night 🛌💤

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