New Practices for Technology Companies Hiring in Today’s Super-Tight Market
Part Two
In the feedback on “New Practices” – Part One – nobody disagreed with or put forward refinements to the six industry and economic forces that contributed to the formation of today’s tight hiring market. Many readers are resigned to the here-and-now of these factors – such as Amazon’s or Google’s compensation packages for senior AI software engineers. The present reality of these factors is very hard to counter, and the likelihood that they’re and here to stay increases with each passing day.
Two people who responded shared their opinion that the label of “job jumper” has all but disappeared as a criterion for eliminating candidates, and with good reason. This now-outdated concern has been overridden by the acute need to find talent in this market. This is especially true of engineering candidates (AI/ML engineers in particular) and sales personnel who are situated in the org chart below the management level.
There appears to be two main reasons for job jumping pre-COVID up through present day. The first is increased demand for and the larger influence of contingent labor – aka “gig workers”. This category covers people such as Uber drivers, but it includes both blue and white color jobs. The second big driver of job jumping is the attitude among many millennial-aged workers that they can do just fine building a career through a series of short stints, usually between six and 12 months.
One reaction by hiring manager to these dynamics has been adding more “seasoned” (read: older) paid-consultants. Those managers view this as a more viable option than taking on a group of younger, full-time employees plagued with high turnover. Another driver of this reaction is that the higher price tag for consultants is often more than offset by employer not having to pay for benefits packages nor offer them stock.
When he heard about the job jumper label fading in this tight market, one wizened recruiter remarked: “Don’t make panic hires. No hire is better than a bad hire.”
This blog post puts forward an add-on set of new and proven best practices. Like the first set of best practices cited in the earlier post, this second can also be used to attract, hire, and retain top-notch talent.
Please note that for any products mentioned in either of these two posts, I am not endorsing or recommending them in any way, nor have I invested in these companies. These technologies are cited merely as way to facilitate readers’ evaluation of these new approaches and categories.
Toward the goal of effective hiring in this challenging talent market, following is a dozen additional data points, new practices and reminders that readers should consider.
COVID has made remote and hybrid working models more acceptable. A recent survey by Indeed indicates that looking back on their months at home, around 80% of remote employees say they’ve adjusted well to the new arrangement, and 63% found the transition easier than anticipated. Further, Indeed found that 46% of job seekers now prefer remote working over a hybrid work model.
Beware of “job title inflation”. In addition to the staggering inflation of compensation packages discussed earlier, title inflation is being used more frequently these days to retain valued personnel. Be very skeptical of titles, especially novel ones. Find out what a candidate’s actual job scope, responsibilities and achievements were in his or her prior roles.
Evidentially, green cards and work permits are easier to obtain under the Biden Administration. In addition, there’s also the option to hire offshore (contractors or full-time employees) – especially from Singapore, Western and Eastern Europe, and South America. Checkout Remote that can help make these offshore options more viable and effective.
The established leaders in online talent acquisition solutions include SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, and iCIMs. But there are others, including these three up-and-comers:
— Avature is a flexible enterprise SaaS platform for global talent acquisition. The company has over 650 customers, including 110 among the Fortune 500.
— Beamery is a London-based recruitment marketing software geared toward fast-growing companies.
— Yello provides a variety of recruiting solutions.
The arena of applicant tracking systems includes PinPoint, Greenhouse, SmartRecruiters, as well as others that fill out this category.
Many startups teams frustrated with disappointing hires and turnover are trying to do more to get clearer pictures of candidates in order to make better hiring decisions. One way they’re doing that is by using customized tests that predict job performance. These tests assess aptitude, personality, emotional intelligence, and skills for an array of jobs. Providers in this category includes Criteria, Berke, Hackerank, Imocha, Toptal, Traitify and many others.
A number of CEOs emphasized that startups should make recruitment a business function either in-house or when an external partner is hired. Moreover, as a business function, it’s important to specify deliverables, timeframes, and attach KPI’s to this activity. Lastly, Board-level ownership of recruitment – in particular, attached to the comp committee members – brings about a higher probability of success. This approach is also more likely to succeed when it’s structured, the interview process is fully outlined or documented, and all hands follow it.
In later-stage startups and especially scale-ups, hiring managers emphasize that relying on personal networks (collections of what they often call “the usual suspects”) is a zero-sum game. Expanding one’s professional network is required. Try Clubhouse.
What is the true cost of a bad hire? A UK-based recruiting firm that does a lot of business in the U.S. has a bad hire calculator that helps lay out the costs.
Relaxation Facilities (aka “nap rooms”) plus entertainment zones and workout or exercise equipment or rooms can be a major plus with candidates, especially in the post-COVID period we seem to be entering. These options provide an enticement to return to work and offer productive ways to counteract some of the stresses associated with working at early- and later stage companies. Today, some companies offer to subsidize workout equipment for remote employees and certain contractors.
“Virtual War Rooms” for hiring are now common in many early- and later stage companies. They serve as a focal point for resources focused on filling open jobs, mobilizing employee referrals, tracking the various stages of recruitment, hiring, and on-boarding, and overseeing HR-related KPI improvements.
Keeping up with the latest trends is very demanding. Make sure that you customize your business news feeds; leverage your team (does your company have a Slack channel on recruiting and retaining personnel?); subscribe to magazines and trade journals (HBR newsletters are a good place to start), and most important. remember to network with customers and peers, and keep an eye on your competitors.
Finally, you might consider attending a trade show or conference (check out this link), even as new COVID variants appear. They are one of the best ways to keep your finger on the pulse of the talent market, and a way to gain back some of the personal interaction time with people that we’ve lost throughout this extended public health crisis. Yes, it’s time to get back out there.