Recently I was having a conversation with an accounting firm owner and we were talking about the constant challenge of hiring good talent.
I gave her the best advice I ever received as a firm owner…
Always Be Recruiting (ABR)
In a down market…
In an up market…
In a flat market…
You ALWAYS need to be recruiting.
Because recruiting top talent is a long game. Over the course of my career, my most successful hires were people I met a year or two BEFORE I ever brought them on board- when I didn’t have a position for them, when I didn’t have the budget, when I didn’t have the clients to support them.
It was a calculated long-game play.
ABR requires foresight and patience and the development of great relationships.
But most importantly, it requires that you have a recruiting process.
The importance of having a recruiting process
I treated my recruiting process with the same amount of effort and systematic discipline I used for finding new clients. I had a sourcing process, a screening process and an interview and evaluation process. I also tracked conversations and potential candidates and kept in touch with them even when I didn’t have a role open.
That process allowed me to paint a picture for them of what it would be like to work with me and my team, and that was powerful.
Because as a scrappy small firm, I couldn’t match the big firm’s salaries or benefits or even PTO. I had to sell them on the VISION of working with me and my team.
Those conversations weren’t a one-time “sale.” They occurred over multiple conversations and multiple touch points. All throughout that process I was adding value to them.
I was making connections, sending them relevant articles, reviewing their resume, mentoring them as they navigated tricky situations in their firms, or setting up networking groups where they could meet others and collaborate.
It takes effort.
It takes time.
But the payback is big.
You need a people plan
When you don’t have a long-term vision for your hiring needs, you’ll find hiring challenging. That is why you need a people plan. The worst hires I made were made out of desperation– when we were busting at the seams with work and I needed someone– anyone– to fill a role. I didn’t follow a process and I didn’t have a deep bench of relationships.
I settled.
And hiring in haste often turns out to be a very, very expensive mistake.
I won’t go into how expensive bad hires are, and how turnover costs are completely underestimated; I’ll leave that for another post. But following an ABR philosophy helps mitigate bad hires because you’ll be drawing from a pool of candidates you have nurtured over time, giving you time to get to know them and them to get to you– and to make sure they are a cultural fit.
Having a people plan can help define your ABR strategy as well. Think of your business now, and your business at 2X and 3X its current size. What is going to need to change? Who do you need on your team to be successful?
Then start looking.
And remember, good people know good people. Put it out to your network you are looking for connections.
Don’t stop recruiting in down markets
One of the biggest mistakes I think people make is to stop recruiting during a down market. In fact, you should be accelerating your ABR strategy at those times.
Why?
Because there are a lot of companies making cutbacks that kill culture and make their employees disgruntled. They offshore jobs or hire “B” players or junior people because they are cheaper.
And those rock star employees in those companies, well, they are growing increasingly unhappy.
Those employees may not be ready to move, but they sure as hell are looking.
So that’s why you need to be out there for them.
You may not have a job right now for them, but you can plant the seed of interest. Then water it, nurture the relationship and then, eventually bring them on board. You’ll find them more open to conversation than they would be in an “up” market.
And most importantly, you’ll be able to scoop up top talent who are hungry for something new and challenging.
And you can gain a competitive advantage.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Hiring top talent is a long game. That is why you need to Always Be Recruiting (ABR), whether you are ready to hire someone or not. It requires foresight, coupled with patience and a process and topped off with some good ol’ selling. No matter what is happening in the market- if it is expanding or contracting or just flat, the best companies adopt the ABR strategy and secure top talent and leave the competition wondering how they do it.
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