Josh TolanThere are several reasons and ways a company can transform. The process could be due to mergers and acquisitions, rebranding, change in leadership, relocation, investments, and restructuring. Some transformations bring with them growth, others require a unique staffing strategy to maintain profitability during turbulent times and turnover.
No matter the circumstances, it’s critical as a staffing professional you have access to the information and tools you need to make the best-informed decisions when passing talent on into clients’ high-volume hiring processes. Candidate drop-outs and bad hires are too costly to risk at any time, especially when clients are going through major company transformations.
Let’s take a look at some of the organizational elements within your client’s company that can be impacted by transformations and how you and your team can exceed their expectations for high-volume hiring amid big changes:
Leadership
Connecting with leadership is important to candidates in the hiring process. In fact, the 2021 Candidate Experience Global Research Report by Talent Board revealed an average 83% improvement in the onboarding experience if candidates engage more with team members and company leaders in the pre-boarding process. A hiring manager reaching out for a personal connection was reported to increase a candidate’s willingness to build a relationship with the employer by 68%.
When there is a changing of the guard, so to speak, it can be hard to help candidates make these critical connections with clients. Even if a hiring manager is on their way out or a senior executive is moving into a new role at the company, you can encourage clients to ensure potential incoming talent knows what to expect from leadership.
Transformations are bound to happen even after a candidate accepts a new role. It’s reassuring to know leaders care about the stability of the company no matter what their role in the changing climate.
It can be difficult to connect talent with leaders during rapid or high-volume hiring, especially when outgoing leaders are tying up loose ends for predecessors. Guiding company leaders, both those transitioning out of the company and those coming in, in creating engaging and personal videos you can share with incoming talent is an effective way to help candidates get a pulse on company leadership under these conditions.
Company culture
Generally speaking, company culture is a guarded element of an organization. Preserving the culture ensures employees know what to expect in social interactions and when collaborating on projects. It is a filter by which new talent can be screened and a key factor that attracts the right candidates to open roles.
With all that said, there are reasons the culture could change at a company and when your clients are in the middle of a shift, it can be more difficult to assess talent for fit. Not only that, you need to communicate to candidates how they fit the culture so they know if they want to continue into the hiring process.
A few ways a company culture can change include:
- Change in work model
- Rebranding
- Leadership principles/values
- DEI initiatives
- Growth
Before you set out to source and screen candidates when filling a high volume of open positions, make sure you get a firm idea of changes in the company culture. Ask clients to distribute a brief survey to employees if they’re not sure what changes in the culture might be significant to the staffing process.
Be sure you and your staffing team understand the most important or non-negotiable qualities and qualifications for candidates to meet to fit the culture. Ask candidates to expand on any details candidates may need to know about the transformation to ensure they are likely to be successful and satisfied.
Read about: Structured Interview Criteria That is Non-Negotiable Even Under Pressure in the Staffing Process
Relocation
If a company relocates, it can have a huge impact on your staffing strategy. Clients may turn to you because they have grown to trust and respect your recommendations even if they are not looking for local talent. With virtual interviews tools like video interviewing available, you can easily screen candidates from remote locations even if they will be potentially joining the team in person at the new office.
This is the most challenging high-volume hiring circumstance to source and screen talent for because you and your team are likely going to need to fill all of the available positions. It’s possible if the business is moving, there may be employees who can relocate with the company. But if they are expanding, the new office will need to be staffed from the ground up.
Either way, you will be missing certain elements you typically use to assess for fit. For example, it’s difficult to determine how candidates relate to leadership style if the leaders are not yet in place. The company culture, while influenced by the brand, values, and customers can be presumed to some degree, people and personalities play a major role in bringing the culture to life.
During a transformation like relocation, you will need to use all of your resources and experience to screen and place talent effectively. Trust your instincts and be sure to communicate frequently with clients to learn about new developments as they prepare for their relocation. Be as clear as possible about these details with candidates so everyone stays on the same page as you filter potential new hires into your client’s hiring process.
Role responsibilities
A shift in leadership or culture may not necessarily have to impact a role description or responsibilities. But under most circumstances, one transition will trickle into another and there’s a good likelihood job details or requirements are changing. When you’re screening for high-volume hiring, you cannot afford to be off base. You will have far more ill-fitting talent filtering through your staffing process, wasting valuable time and resources.
If the roles you’re screening for are brand new, you’ll be able to start from scratch with your job descriptions, structured questions, and evaluation criteria. But it may not immediately occur to your clients how their internal shifts are going to impact current role responsibilities once their transformation is complete. This can devastatingly affect how well candidates perform or adjust to their new jobs after they are hired.
You must discuss with clients qualifications and requirements that may be necessary or inapplicable in a month, three months, etc. How will the changes happening within their company change the function of current open roles or even mobility?
It’s not logical to put all of this information into a job listing. In fact, it would likely be confusing for candidates. Instead, screen for the immediate skills candidates will need and look for evidence of adaptability, flexibility, and additional hard skills that will help them be successful as the role evolves. Be transparent with candidates that the job responsibilities are expected to change and describe on-the-job training that will be available to support them through the transformation after being hired.
Learn how you can: Overcome 9 Unique Challenges to Recruiting for High-Demand Jobs
Salary and benefits
Transformations that impact roles and responsibilities could directly impact salary and benefits. The same goes for transformations brought on by mergers and acquisitions and rebranding or relocation. New offices may land in states with an adjusted cost of living and employees will need compensation to match their expenses. There may be boosts in pay for employees who agree to relocate and clients need to share how that will affect new-hire compensation in similar roles.
Benefits could also shift as a company transitions through a merger or acquisition. Employees may gain or lose benefits and this could impact the employer branding new candidates gain access to on their job search. You need to be prepared to discuss these impacts with clients and candidates. You also need to be sure clients understand how their salary and benefits transparency can affect how they attract talent to open positions, especially when they need to fill a high volume of roles.
In the event there are disparities between salaries or negative responses to benefits, be prepared to highlight the positive culture, engaged leadership, and advancement or development opportunities. Salary and benefits are not the end-all-be-all for all candidates.
Tools and resources
As part of a major company transformation, many organizations opt to update their technology or processes. This can be influenced by leadership, changes in roles, updates to products and services, and more. When clients adopt new tools during a transformation, you can use updated technology as a means to attract innovative and tech-savvy talent. But it’s also important to understand the new tools and resources the company will rely on so you can adequately screen talent.
Check with clients to determine what new technology and resources they are adding to their toolbox and learn enough about the platforms and apps to recognize critical skills in candidates. If it’s going to take weeks to onboard their current employees with the new technology, find out how long they plan to train new hires with it. Do they expect candidates to come into their hiring process with familiarity or advanced skills?
This is especially important to know when you’re screening candidates for a high volume of placements. If their onboarding team is not prepared to handle a large number of new hires while shifting their current team over to new tools and processes, there will be a major productivity slump which can hurt morale for employees and new hires alike.
Transformations create unique challenges for your staffing team due to the lack of clarity and reliability in clients’ processes while they work through transitions. When they need to fill a high volume of empty seats during the transformation, it’s up to you to be sure you have the vital information you need to accurately screen talent to fit into an unclear picture.
Just remember, if you go into discussions with clients and candidates with confidence, and honestly answer with, “That information is not available at this time but this is what you can count on,” they will trust you to help them connect and work toward the answer together.
Spark Hire
