One of the key factors, when we have discussions internally or with clients, is why hiring goes wrong in certain cases.
The question remains how do you qualify someone as a wrong hire?
It is especially true when someone doesn’t align with the culture and working environment and in some cases, the alignment of roles and performance doesn’t match.
-The Problem of Culture Fit?
One of the key ways to avoid this problem is to be extremely clear on who you are as a company and that can only happen if you can pinpoint your employer brand.
Ask your employees how they associate the company and what as a founder or captain of the company, how you perceive it. The amalgamation of these two will give you the answer.
Although a long interview process is exhausting, take that as a point of discussion- one round simply is not enough and one needs to understand who the candidate is and whether they thrive within the culture of the company. You can avoid a lot of Culture Fit mishaps by being open and transparent.
Make your interview process a discussion first process.
-The problem of performance-
Is the employee unable to perform basic duties or are you not providing the right tools?
In this case, have multiple rounds of discussion, and understand the pain points for them, and with resources provided, they most likely can perform and in the unlikely scenario that they still can’t perform, make a clean break.
Performance is indicative of both the organization and the employee. Introspection is very important but so is to understand when you cut your losses as an organization and as an employee.
Not even a match will work out, but if you look for the right behavioral traits and indicators, you are bound to find more matches that work in your favor.
Why Is Employer Branding Necessary For Your Recruitment Efforts?
Recruitment has always run till very recent times on the belief that supply is more than demand. But as the war for talent continues and newer generations put work environment and salient benefits over monetary benefits, they have made recruitment a trickier business.
Before it was transactional where an employee gave in 9 hours and return took a market standard or higher compensation. Now it is about what is career progression planning, does the company supports the beliefs of the individual being interviewed, and whether the role itself lends to the personal aspirations of the candidates.
As rightly put by an HBR article, all organizations need to now have their three basic checks in place, what is the vision of the company and can that be trickled down to the employee base, what is the kind of talent that the company hires or the community that will be for the new hire and lastly how well does the role itself helps the prospective employee in their career and learning curve.
Although this does sound easy on paper, finding a cause that the employees can rally behind, a career progression plan that is equitable and fast-tracked enough for this newer workforce and a community of like-minded and talented individuals is not an easy task.
Having said that, if as a leader, whether a Start-up or a Legacy firm, working with your recruitment and HR team, and top management, can work out the three checks of what is your vision for the company, a learning and career path and finally the workgroup for your employees, it is easier to have your recruitment efforts lead to becoming the employer of choice.
It is always perceived that Employer branding is an external exercise but unless your employees are not becoming your brand ambassadors, the organization will always run on fumes of the three checks rather than having a great foundation backed by your talent.
Once the three checks are in place, all you need is to spruce up your candidate experience, where you become responsive and fast, your employee experience where the employee lifecycle is managed to provide maximum satisfaction to the employee, and an alum experience where your ex-employees will always feel part of the organization.
The Layoff Season 2024 Continues: Are you prepared for it?
Companies continue to lay off 8-10% of their workforce, especially in tech with YouTube, Discord, and Paypal. The latest is SpiceJet, the latest organization letting go of their tech and non-tech staff. Pairing with funding winters which continue to plague the start-up world, the employee. With Growth being replaced by Profit, the bottom line chase has impacted the employees significantly.
The rise of the number of employees in 2022 from 80,000 to twice, coming at roughly 164,969 tech workers and the number rising for non-tech workforce. Signs for the tides being turned and slowly the market becoming more employer-focused, the job seekers need to understand these new trends where job security has come out to be a myth.
There is a lot that can be done from your end to make yourself a star candidate for the current times –
- Have transferable Skills
Knowing your domain is excellent but having transferable skills that can be used in various industries will help you widen your net for prospective opportunities.
- Have a dazzling Resume
No matter what you do, have a resume that speaks for itself. It truly should represent not only what you have done so far but also your future career prospects.
- Network, Network, Network
It may seem redundant but having a professional network will always outweigh a good application. Here you already are a shoe in and all you need is to get through the interview process.
Build that network which acts as a security blanket.
- Mental Fortitude
It may seem as if every career coach, HR, or even one random LinkedIn account will give you the same advice, and that is to know that getting laid off in this economy has nothing to do with your talent or skill, it is simply an arbitrary decision. Keep your job hunt going before the final gong so to speak.
- Start your job hunt ASAP
This may seem counterintuitive especially if you like where you work, everything is hunky dory but having a backup would always add to your confidence and let you also see the opportunities available in the market.
These are only some ways to weather the storm that looms over the horizon, but also to bolster yourself with skills that are in demand within your domain, recessions come and go but knowing your worth and enhancing your skill will always be in trend.