Building a Consistent Candidate Pipeline
by Philip Foti

Building the Candidate Pipeline is the buzz today for the most cutting edge Talent Acquisition Guru’s worldwide.  Understandably, as revolutionary as “just in time inventory” revolutionized the manufacturing and retail distribution processes of great companies like McDonalds, Wal-Mart and Dell, this same concept in reverse order has become the key strategic component for progressive, forward thinking companies in regard to successful Talent Acquisition.

In manufacturing and retail, the efficiencies gained were in limiting the surplus and “carrying costs” of material goods, resulting in higher profit margins, lower production costs and in Wal-Mart’s case a more competitively priced product. In fact, Wal-Mart’s success has historically been attributed to the genius of their JIT Distribution system.

If only the surplus inventory model worked for us in the Talent Acquisition industry today, however, in reverse order the deficit of inventory facing many employers today and the drive for Candidate Pipelining is to Talent Acquisition what JIT Inventory was to the very heart of success for today’s industry giants, and the rewards are equally critical to the very success of any company.
Reactionary Recruiting, It’s Bad For Business.

Today, unfortunately many companies following the herd mentality continue to fulfill the proverbial definition of insanity, doing the same futile things and expecting different results. Many employers are stuck in what I call a Reactionary Recruitment mentality. With little, no or at the least poor workforce planning, companies that fail to develop solid, forward looking Pipelining Programs are simply reacting to record vacancies with old school methods all to the detriment of the businesses success. 

Having consulted with hundreds of great employers who all have their own systems and methods of finding and recruiting talented employees, I came to realize was that the most successful recruiting organizations never experience the inconsistent repercussions of Reactionary Recruiting but have instead worked hard to replace it with a finely tuned, smooth running process. Much like a car, when the engine is always running and a smooth acceleration to increased hiring is almost effortless, similarly, when these organizations are fully staffed the engine idles along waiting for the next round of hiring.

Your candidate pipeline is the fundamental building block for successfully recruiting the employees you need.  And, while it may seem incredibly oversimplified, if you never stop filling the pipe (recruiting) your process will automatically get smoother. Let me say that again, never stop recruiting (even when you aren’t hiring) and your process will get smoother.
What are the costs and damages of Reactionary Recruiting?

Every company has its own set of consequences; however in common are a few of the basics:
 

• Increased cost per hire- Reactionary Recruiting results in knee jerk acts of desperation to throw money at the problem.
• Loss of Revenue.
• Stagnated or Recessed Business Growth.
• Weakened Competitive Advantage.

Benefits of Pipelining  

 There are many benefits to this constant method of recruiting, some of which are outlined below.

• Avoid emergency hiring  .
• Save time and money   – In most cases, it is more expensive to start and stop and restart your recruiting process that it is to keep it in motion. Emergency hiring is always more expensive than a typical hire because of the urgency inherent to the process. Constant recruiting allows you to plan and budget both your time and recruiting dollars.
• Ramp  up  hiring  smoothly  when  needed    –  When  you  are  constantly  recruiting,  it  is  very  easy  to accelerate the process when you need to hire more people faster. Instead of recruiting from a dead stop, your process is already in motion gathering candidates before you need them.
• Top Grade   – When you continuously recruit, you continuously see the best talent in the market. You may find new employees to join your organization that will outperform some of your existing staff.  Having a constant stream of new applicants allows you to top grade your workforce if you so desire.

 
Of course the two most important benefits of Pipelining are:
 

1. Meeting Business Revenue/Growth Objectives, especially for mission-critical revenue generating positions. 
2. Strengthening Competitive Advantage. When the quality and consistent supply of talent IS your greatest asset, pipelining becomes paramount to maintaining competitive edge on competitors breathing down your neck.  

 

These are just a few of the obvious benefits on continuous recruiting. You may find that the process had completely different benefits for your organization once you start.

How to develop a Pipeline?

Think like a Marketer! Recruitment is marketing.

• Great Marketers aren’t reactionary, they are forward thinking, much like a farmer. They understand the Law of Reciprocity, what we sow today will be tomorrows harvest.
• Great Marketers attract and develop a broad database of prospects (candidates), then define their market into segments and define each marketing tactic to appeal to the individual motivations of each segment/demographic.
• Great Marketers then understand the “Rule of 7”; it takes at least 7 touches or exposures to a consumer to gain any space in the real estate of their mind. 
• Great marketers don’t just try one tactic; they try multiple tactics based on reasonable and calculated risks and test, test, test. From their testing they develop a “control” medium, which is any combination of a tactic/copy/strategy that outperform the rest and become bankable!
• Great Marketers continuously augment, purge and remarket to this database and the result…a customer pipeline.

The same will happen to you with candidates.

The bottom line…

Simply think, strategize and execute like a marketer. Attract and develop your base of candidates, segment them and understand the differences, motivations and personality characteristics of each segment. Pick your top 3-5 “keep in touch” strategies and keep talking with them and telling them your story. Most importantly, focus all of your marketing efforts on them, yes it’s important to know how GREAT a company you are to work for, but that has become as cliché as the Pizza Guy’s “You’ve tried the rest..Now try the best”, yeah  . Remember its human nature to ask “What’s in it for me? Hit those buttons and build, then wash, cycle, rinse and repeat and you will have a strong base of candidates that are either ready to work for you, be an evangelist for your organization or be willing to open up the treasure trove of referrals.

Happy Hunting!
Phil

Philip Foti   is a well-known thought leader in Healthcare Recruitment. He is a frequent speaker and advisor to Leading Healthcare Providers nationwide and is the founder of Atavas Staffing and RPO and 1-800Med-Jobs  specializing in candidate Pipeline Development through recruitment process outsourcing.  
http://www.linkedin.com/in/philipfoti
www.atavas.com  
 
If you enjoyed my article feel free to pass it along. Republishing is permitted as long as my brief bio, email and website link are contained in the publication.

 

ARTICLE
Healthcare Employee Retention, A Headhunter's Perspective
By Philip Foti

Surprisingly with the state of the current economy, retaining "A" Players has never been more challenging. The unemployment rate for high value, high demand skills that drive successful business outcomes is ZERO.

Losing talented employees?

Though the first instincts of giving a raise or increasing benefits can certainly help, they won't always keep employees working for you. I'm a headhunter and throughout my 18 year career of assisting dissatisfied workers, I've noticed a main thread: that the biggest reason employees leave their jobs is not pay-related, but due to a negative work environment. So today I want to share with you a few tips for keeping your rock-star employees, i.e., the workers you do not want to lose, without spending anything more than creativity and time.

The secret to employee retention is job satisfaction.

1.    Allow employees to annually submit ideas on improving the work environment. The employee gets a reward, such as a tee shirt or mug, and those with the best ideas are publicly recognized. However, only do this if you have the ability to implement these ideas.

2.    Grant employee requests. Many will be simple, such as a parent wanting a schedule change so they don't miss their child's birthday party.

3.    Integrate the personal and professional life of your employee.  On-site health care, daycare, and a cafeteria will work wonders at cutting down hours of wasted time.  I assure you that people will stay in this environment even if offered more than twice their salary elsewhere.

To further illustrate my other methods for employee satisfaction, I've put together a system I term REPs, which stand for Recognition, Education, and Promotion.

Recognition: 

1.    People want to feel good about what they do. Give them ownership of their decisions by asking them how they would tackle a problem, and then compliment them (and publicly) for their good work.  Never underestimate the power of a simple, well-placed “Thank You.”

2.    Reinforced recognition aligns the employees to the intentions of the business.  Create a value statement which goes on everything at the company; walls, business cards, advertisements, etc. Every four months, put employees into teams to evaluate how their fellow employees fulfill these values. The team with the highest points gets publicly recognized with a banquet, medals, gift certificates, and photos hung up in the company's offices.

3.    Find your good-as-gold workers and reward, reward, reward them.  It instills positive behaviours and makes for a better work environment.  Remember, surprise, fun, and collective fulfilment engage the employee as much as material rewards. 

Education:

1.    Provide training for your staff.  This prevents confusion and is an incredible bonus, creating invaluable self-satisfaction and loyalty to the company.

2.    Instead of telling people what to do, involve them in the decision-making. If they make a mistake avoid criticism but rather have them creatively rethink the problem by posing the question “How would you have done this differently?”

3.    Accountability at the top of the company creates alignment to the bottom. Educate your executives to realize the reality of front-line employees by having them work beside them at their jobs. Thus they won't make as many rules that impact employee satisfaction. Critiques of peer groups and direct reports further provide managers and executives with tips on how to improve themselves.

4.    Poor communication is a leading contributor to work stress. A digital marketing agency based in Toronto, cancelled internal email citing lack of prioritizing, focus, and sapped accountability.  For similar methods,  try moving managers out of the office, writing handwritten notes instead of emails, and having daily voice messages from the CEO delivered to employees.

5.    When an employee does quit, do not reject them but maintain the friendship. Former employees can make for an invaluable alumni association, and you can be certain they will think of you again if they ever decide to change jobs.

Promotion:

1.    Promote from within when possible.  Don't hire outside the company if an internal candidate is qualified. It frustrates people when a position they're trying to achieve is given away to a newcomer.

2.    Promotion does not always have to be monetary. One company I know provides an employee competition. Each person submits a praise for a fellow employee, as well as providing tips for their improvement. Then the company hosts a formal ceremony, awarding the workers with the most points as rock stars, king and queens, heroes, etc. You would be amazed at how people positively respond to something reminiscent of preschool games.

If you create a great working environment, then you won't have to find new people, and we all know that keeping workers is the best recruiting strategy. So, find out the truth and constantly improve.  You might find that turnover rates could be due to such minor issues as a lack of parking spaces. Finally, don't forget to smile and have a sense of humor!  It's all in a day's work.

Why Mr. Headhunter are you encouraging me to retain employee's? Isn't that bad for your business?

Quite the opposite. Company's always need to poach "A" talent to drive their business, and recruiting "A" talent is so much easier when we have so many great intangibles that make an offer irresistible to a candidate.

"A" players, self confident and capable will more often than not, accept an offer from a company that has an a positive work culture in competitive offer scenarios.

Creating a better work experience for your employees is in your best interest. Start now.

Philip Foti (phil.foti@atavas.com) is a well-known thought leader in Information Technology and Healthcare Talent Acquisition and Strategy. He is a frequent speaker and advisor to companies nationwide and is the founder and President of Atavas Staffing and RPO. He can be reached directly at  952.451.0765

© 2011 Philip Foti, All rights reserved. You are free to use this article in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link to Atavas.com.