How I Hire: Laura Tracy, Talent Acquisition Specialist at LBMC - Glassdoor for Employers
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How I Hire: Laura Tracy, Talent Acquisition Specialist at LBMC

THE BASICS

Name: Laura Tracy

Location: Nashville, TN

Position: Talent Acquisition Specialist at LBMC

What attracted you to your current role/company?

I loved the idea of fostering relationships with people and being the channel to someone landing their dream job. The more I read about LBMC culture and all the opportunities available to clients, the more excited I was for each day to hold a new opportunity for learning and development. I love that I can have input and be a change agent and that my input is valued because of the relationships I have built.

Because LBMC has been evolving due to vast growth — we have doubled in size in the last five years and now have a presence in 47 states — we’re really competing for leadership-quality candidates on a national scale. Being an integral part of the process of bringing in some of tomorrow’s leaders is exciting. I have fun looking for the leadership qualities and focus on a whole-person approach to recruiting and retaining the workforce of the future.

[Related: The Most Important Interview Questions to Ask When Hiring Executive Leaders]

What initially attracted you to the HR, recruiting and hiring space?

I like being the vehicle between the company brand and potential employees. I thrive on making people feel welcome and relevant and showing them that they’re a part of the bigger picture, an important piece of the puzzle at LBMC. It is rewarding for me when I can solve a problem for the company in finding the right fit and watching all the pieces of the puzzle come together. Knowing I could do this every day with potential employees was a huge draw for me to this pillar of HR.

If you couldn’t work in the HR space, what would you be doing?

Staying in the corporate world, I’d choose Industrial Psychology, studying workplace productivity, management and employee working styles to ideally help companies get a better feel for the morale and personality of the company.

Non-related to the corporate world, I would love to become a Marriage and Family Therapist in Cancer Care to work in partnership with the medical teams, the patient, the family and support system to help them manage the impact of illness on their lives and relationships.

YOUR WORK

What’s your OS/mobile device/tech preference?

I love my iPhone 8 Plus! It affords me the opportunity to stay connected to LinkedIn and conduct virtual interviews anywhere I am.

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Personally, for having pictures readily available to all my family and friends of my boys, I couldn’t live without Instagram!

At work, Smartsheet keeps me organized and is mobile-friendly, allowing me to stay connected with teams and workflow of productivity while traveling for work. I’m also learning Agile Scrum now and loving it.

[Related: 4 Hot Recruiting Technologies That Help You Attract Top Candidates]

How would you describe your workspace?

I like to create a space that also looks like a lived-in room in my house: flowers, books, artwork from my son, monogrammed tumbler, framed pictures, desktop calendar to keep notes about upcoming projects and a desktop diffuser. Everyone who walks by my workspaces always says it looks like “home.”

RECRUITING AND HIRING

What one word that best describes how you recruit and hire?

Intentionally

Would you say you’re more introverted or extroverted?

Extroverted

What basic recruiting and hiring thing are you better at than anyone else?

Keeping the big picture in mind about what is best for the potential employee and what is best for the company. I invest in relationships with our candidates as much as I do with my hiring managers to find the best fit. By diving deeper into the front-end, I’m better able to put the puzzle together and find a long-lasting fit, rather than a quick fix.

What’s your best time-saving recruiting and hiring tip?

Skip the back-and-forth emails and pick up the phone and have a conversation! It is amazing what you can unpack from a simple, quick conversation with someone. That works on both sides: with the candidate AND with the hiring manager.

What’s the best recruiting and hiring advice you’ve ever received?

Listen first, act second. Tuning in on the front-end allows for more intentional action later, which pays off in the long-run. Get as much information on the needs of the potential employee and the company before jumping into action. This will also allow you to have the kinds of conversations the best and brightest candidates need to have before they’ll be interested in a job — authentic engagement that wins their hearts and minds over to the role and the company.

If you had to pick one recruiting and hiring practice or “tactic” most companies should avoid at all costs, what would it be?

Keeping the status quo — it just doesn’t work! Hiring trends are constantly changing, so are the needs of the workplace. You need to evolve and challenge your process constantly to see if it is really working and be willing to be innovative if it is not.

[Related: 4 Recruiting & HR Trends You Need to Know This August]

If you could impart one universal understanding about recruiting and hiring to every senior executive in the world, what would it be?

Consider the whole person when hiring — think outside the box. Clients’ needs are ever-evolving; you need innovators in decision-making seats, those who are not looking back at yesterday.

What do you think recruiters and hiring managers should be more recognized for within a company?

It seems to me they should be more recognized for their stewardship of the workplace culture and brand. They are the leading edge of identifying the correct mix of talent by interpreting the needs of the hiring manager, the business unit and enterprise.

Any final advice?

Don’t take the human component out of the equation when it comes to recruiting. As a recruiter, real people with real stories and real lives are greatly impacted by the actions you take from the moment you pick up the phone when they call or answer an email. Take the time to be honest and intentional, even if it isn’t the best fit for them or the company.

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