My best management idea: Competing with the Big Guys for talent
May 19, 2008 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Communication, Hiring, In this week's e-newsletter, Incentives, Latest News & Views, My best management idea, Pay and benefits
HR exec Spencer Kupferman found that every time it looked like he was about to land a prize recruit, a bigger company – and a bigger salary – pulled the recruit away, until Kupferman came up with a novel approach (part of an ongoing series).
Question: How do you compete for top talent when you know the bigger guys can outspend you?
We faced that problem right at the time we were trying to expand our operation – and become one of the bigger guys ourselves. But we simply didn’t have the dollars that some of the larger employers were able to throw at good candidates.
Sure, we could offer challenging work and a degree of independence that wasn’t available in the big corporate settings. Sometimes, though, people wanted something else.
We figured out what that was when one candidate told us she wanted to leave her employer because “all they care about is how much work I do.”
Just 15 minutes
Maybe we could show them we cared more than Humongous, Inc., down the street. How? By setting up a 15-minute meeting between candidates and our CEO, meetings with no talk about work.
For example, the talk might center on a person’s favorite class in school or a favorite nonwork activity. You’d be surprised about the effect something like that has.
More than once, a talented applicant has signed with us for less money while noting, “Your company was the only one that showed an interest in me that had nothing to do with work.”
(Spencer Kupferman, VP, Global Software, Inc., Raleigh, NC)
May 27th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I’m surprised with the suggestion to talk about anything but work. What an employee (or applicant) discloses in that conversation may become too personal. If anything ever happened that you needed to terminate the employee, they could use things discussed in those conversations as lawsuits for discrimination. It seems so risky.
May 27th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
HR is always telling managers not to ask anything personal in a job interview. How can anyone suggest that you have a meeting to talk about only personal things? Not only would it open you up to lawsuits if you terminate them, but lawsuits if you don’t hire them. I’m with Jennifer…it’s much too risky!
May 27th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I’ll offer one defense of the idea, then leave it to everyone else to decide.
There are plenty of nonwork-related, perfectly legal areas that are open to discussion. To name a few: What was your major in school? Did you play a sport? What are your hobbies?
I think the author of the idea assumes that the person conducting the interview would know, with guidance from HR, which topics to avoid and to steer the conversation away from trouble topics the candidate might bring up (which could happen even if you only stuck to work-related questions).
I liked the idea, and I guess it shows, because it illustrated that you don’t have to stick with the stock questions or feel totally constrained when questioning a candidate.
Jim Giuliano
Managing Editor
HR Morning
May 27th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Actually, I agree with Jennifer and Lora. I believe I’ve read on another HR site that discussing things even as seemingly harmless as sports can land you into discrimination trouble–not to mention what ever these conversations can lead to. And, it’s especially risky in a small company that probably doesn’t have the wide ranging HR expertise and support that a larger company has.
I think you can let someone know you’re intersted in them without resorting to informal “talks.” I also think a lot of applicants would find this uncomfortable, anyway.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:38 am
I think the idea is outstanding. More often than not, HR professionals get to wrapped up in worrying about what is going to cause a law suit. How many CEO’s take the time to be part of the selection process of a new hire? Not many. If I were a potential employee for an organization and the CEO took the time to have an informal discussion with me, I would feel pretty good about that company.
During any interview, there is potential for personal information to come out. It is how that information is gathered and if a question was asked purposely to obtain it that is cause for concern. The CEO should be coached by HR to ensure that he/she avoids potentially discriminatory questions. I like the involvement!
May 28th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I once had a HR manager tell me that it is best that candidates never reveal that they are single parents to an interviewer during the ‘ice breaker’ area of an interview. What seems like a harmless personal conversation may cause the hiring manager to conclude that the candidate will not be reliable due to potential sick leaves and absenteeism, and would most likely not be considered for positions beyond entry level.
This HR manager also said that he’s had countless hiring managers turn down great candidates because of what was said in personal conversations. She said the candidate and the interviewer should stick to the professional questions during the interviewing process.