Talent Acquisition -
Finding and Hiring
Employees.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to another episode of “The Rabbi Who Got Rich on Sunday”. I’m Rabbi Dave and
today I am sharing a special bonus method on “Talent acquisition – finding and hiring employees.”
This is a part of the mini series called “Business Relationships – Hiring, Firing and Working with Business Partners”.
In the transcription of this podcast, you’ll see the link to my website where you can see more resources as well as previous episodes of my podcast.
Talent acquisition story
When I was working with a middle school, one of my jobs was supervising the student board. One of the students was a young man who we’ll call Mark. The board was made up of the most popular kids and then there was Mark who had won the election of his peers because he was the person who actually sincerely wanted to help his classmates and the school.
As you can probably guess, Mark ran circles around the rest of the student board and single handedly accomplished a lot.
Years later, I was working in a big office in Manhattan.
I was looking to hire a number two and tried all the traditional websites and headhunters and was getting nowhere.
As I was walking to the elevator who was coming the opposite direction, none other than Mark. His head was down and I asked him what happened.
He said he had just interviewed for a different position with someone else and it went terribly.
I was excited and he was depressed.
He saw my excitement and probably wondered what was going on.
I immediately went to my supervisor who thought I was crazy, but let me hire him.
He did a great job, we made a great team and we accomplished way more than the goals anyone thought possible.
After a few years together, we had accomplished as much as we could and Mark decided to move on to a different department and then eventually a different organization.
We kept in touch and remained close, but did not talk shop.
Many years later, I started my consulting firm and one of my biggest clients gave me a very important project.
After figuring out the path to success, I knew I needed to hire several people to work on the project.
The most important person being the manager.
Again, I used all the websites and headhunters and was unimpressed by all the candidates.
A friend of mine threw a party for the engagement of his daughter, so I went to wish a quick congratulations.
Who was there? Of course, Mark!
I asked Mark how he was doing and he shared how he was unhappy with his current job and was looking around.
As you can guess, I offered him my manager position on the spot and two years later once again we are knocking the goals out of the park!
This is only one of many examples of where I have consistently found my best employees over the years.
They almost always come from friends and colleagues.
Either they themselves joining me or referrals of their close contacts or current or past happy employees.
I’ve hired dozens of people who became super stars in their positions over the years.
Almost every single one was either someone who had been a super star friend or colleague in the past or were referred by one.
Only once in my 38 plus years as a professional did a super star business partner respond to a cold advertisement.
How to hire great employees
In the dynamic landscape of talent acquisition, the ability to find, attract and hire great employees is a skill that sets successful businesses apart. Mastering the art of employee acquisition is crucial.
This guide provides actionable insights into leveraging referrals, poaching talent ethically, handling tricky situations, and making offers that resonate.
Elevate your recruitment strategy and build a team of exceptional individuals who will drive your organization towards unprecedented success.
Word of Mouth: your most potent recruitment tool
In my experience, 99.9% of the time, I get referrals from people I know.
Referrals don’t happen in a vacuum.
You need to cultivate super star referral sources to recruit super stars.
Recently, I found a COO for a major organization.
They had been looking at many candidates for over a year and I found them two to whom they offered the job (only one accepted).
Both the new hire and the CEO who hired him asked my close associates what they could do to show their appreciation.
The new hire made me a rack of ribs smoked to perfection and the CEO took me out to a steak dinner to discuss future projects together.
They may not pay as well as other clients, but you better believe I’ll work hard for them the next time they ask!
Spend time building referrall networks for talent acquisition, including other employees, friends, and organizations with similar cultures.
Building strong relationships within your industry will lead to a pipeline of potential candidates. Give positive feedback and rewards to your referral sources not only to ask them beforehand to validate a candidate’s skill set and vouch for their cultural fit within your organization.
After the referral, even if it does not work out to hire the employee, report how it went and express your sincere appreciation just as much as if it had.
Recruit from the major league; not the minor league
It’s great to have a pipeline of up and coming entry level employees to move up in position as they get experience; but, when hiring for any higher level position don’t hire someone with potential that you “can train.”
If you were starting a professional sports team, you would hire as many proven major league players as you could rather than minor league players with no top level experience.
It has been my experience with talent acquisition, that when you hire for important positions, look for people who already have the experience you want.
It may take a lot longer and cost more up front but you will save a lot more than if you hire people who fail to achieve your goals.
The “Art of Stealing” in talent acquisition
By maintaining transparency, ethical practices, and clear communication, businesses can attract top talent while fostering positive relationships within their industry.
Recruiting employees from other organizations requires finesse and ethical consideration.
If the potential hire approaches you about a position, then the first step is ensuring that both you and the employee are certain about the desire to work together before notifying the current employer about your intention to interview them.
If the employee hasn’t approached you and expressed interest in leaving, you may discreetly inquire with the current employer about getting their permission to explore the possibility of recruiting them.
A good boss, recognizing the employee’s growth opportunities, may provide their blessing. In the worst case you will be giving their employee more value in their eyes. Many times people have hired away employees from my departments.
Ninety nine percent of the time, I would have given my blessing and most of the time I would also have given them a fair evaluation of the probability of success in the position.
Ironically, the majority of the time this approach would have saved the new employer a lot of time and money by making a hire that was never a good fit.
Navigating employee initiatives
When an employee actively expresses their desire to leave their current organization, I urge you to distinguish between two possible scenarios.
In the ideal situation, the employee informs their boss about their decision to leave and immediately transitions to the new role.
However, if the situation is less amicable if they are leaving a toxic working relationship then complications may arise.
Communicating with integrity – The “Courtesy Call”
In cases where direct communication with the current employer is necessary, I always remember the importance of common courtesy.
In situations where the employee cannot openly communicate their desire to leave due to a toxic working relationship, transparency becomes key.
A courteous call to the current employer, notifying them that the employee has applied for a position in your organization, demonstrates professionalism and helps avoid tension and unnecessary conflicts.
Be sure to emphasize that the employee applied without any solicitation, to show your commitment to transparency and ethical recruiting practices.
Offering the right position – making the perfect offer
Crafting an offer that aligns with the candidate’s aspirations is an art within the art of talent acquisition.
The grass quite often looks greener to the prospective employee in a new organization.
When eyeing talent from other organizations, it’s crucial to approach the process with discretion and respect. Before initiating contact, be 100% sure that you want to hire the individual.
Then be very transparent about the work environment. Also, be prepared to be the cause of the employee staying with their current firm and quite often getting a promotion and or raise because of your interest.
Be proud of having approached the situation correctly.
You may not have helped your own organization directly, but you have helped the other organization retain a valued employee and helped the employee as well.
The way you handle these situations will pay you back many times over in the future.
Join me next week as we begin a new series on lead generation, “Developing Relationships with Those You Don’t Know Yet”.
We will learn how to expand your business and improve your life because some of the best people you should know, you may not have met yet.
For more guidance and tips on how to live your dream life, go to my website, https://therabbiwhogotrichonsunday.com to access content-rich articles and more.
You can also access a link to that web page through the show notes, if you are listening to this podcast on any of the popular podcast platforms.
Resources:
Rich on Sunday
