Thermoforming Report

The world of recruiting has and continues to change at a very rapid pace.  Technology is a big driver but current market dynamics can’t be dismissed either.  Finding great people with the right skill set has never been easier… and yet why are organizations of all shapes and sizes having so much trouble filling amazing roles?  People.  Yes, it’s people.  Let me explain.

People hire people.  LinkedIn doesn’t.  ZipRecruiter doesn’t.  Your fancy new ATS didn’t.  Your amazing new HR plug-in for your ERP system certainly didn’t.  And some newfangled AI that is all the rage didn’t either.  These are tools in the hiring process but it always boils down to a hiring manager with support from his or her team making a decision about someone that they’ve met with, spoken too, and vetted to the best of their ability.  A high level of “people-ness” is lacking in the current hiring environment.

In several recent searches, the feedback I’ve received from those that have been away from the messiness of looking for a new role is how remarkably impersonal the process can be.  So much is done in a disconnected way – texting, emailing, filling out incessant forms, filling out personality profiles, and similar.  Again, these are necessary and part of the process but the human element is commonly lacking – detrimental to both the person looking for the role and to the company that is seeking to find the best of the best.  And what is really surprising is that most hiring decisions are made where biases are most likely to happen: in the interview itself (“Your approach to hiring is all wrong”, Peter Cappelli, April 2019, SHRM article). 

I really could go in any number of directions with this blog post but I really don’t like to regurgitate what’s already been said (the article above is a great read for example).  The point I am trying to make is that recruiting is a people business.  Conversations matter.  Understanding the role with a strong level of detail and then talking about those details with prospective candidates is absolutely critical – the earlier in the process the better.  Engaging and communicating with those candidates as the process unfolds is imperative.  Hiring processes can be mind-numbingly long and without that human touch – a quick call to check in, a personal text that shows that you value the effort, and similar – those talented people you are courting will lose interest and the impression of the company will degrade.    

Recruiting is a people business – it always has been and always will be.  Those organizations that embrace this will win as they truly will be different.  This quote is great: “…the big idea is that people are unique and an effective hiring process needs to address that uniqueness.” (“Are Hiring Practices Fundamentally Flawed?”, Lou Adler, Feb 2016, SHRM article).  The short article points to commonly flawed interview processes but makes my point – we are all people, uniquely gifted, and need to be treated with value and not be reduced to the very impersonal trap that we can all so easily fall into.