If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that things can change in an instant. For months on end, we watched as the unemployment rate dropped to record low after record low. Now, businesses are temporarily closing or modifying their services to cope with the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, and many employees are newly out of work.
What will ultimately happen — and how it will impact hiring — is beyond what we can foresee at this point in time. But what I do know to be true is that your hiring strategy must be foolproof in both a candidate-driven and an employer-driven labor market.
No matter what the workforce environment looks like, the roles that are trickiest to fill are often at the mid- and upper levels. And, when these roles are left open too long, it creates a domino-like negative effect on productivity and morale. So, where’s the problem?
Hiring manager expectations are way too high for senior-level roles.
To fill entry-level roles, many companies slash the job requirements list, leaving only what’s truly necessary. In doing so, they open up positions to more candidates, giving themselves a better shot at filling roles. But when searching for senior-level candidates, it’s not the same case. The higher the role, the higher the expectations. While this initially seems reasonable, consider this: Hiring managers often promote internal employees who aren’t qualified into leadership roles.
Why? External candidates are missing something that internal candidates already have: their boss’s trust.
Managers often promote their own employees who, on paper, aren’t completely qualified for their new roles. While they may lack experience or expertise, they benefit from being “known” within the organization, whether that’s their strengths and weaknesses or even their soft skills or leadership styles. For external candidates, the bar is set higher because there’s more risk involved.
Now, I don’t necessarily disagree with this approach. It makes good sense. We’re more apt to use a product or service that comes recommended or with which we have some familiarity in some way. The same goes for employees.
And while existing employees already have trust, they also have another distinct advantage over external hires: tribal knowledge. They understand the company’s mission and vision. They’re already familiar with the organizational culture and what success looks like across the company. There is less ramp-up time involved, and they’re able to contribute quickly in their role.
So what’s the solution? Embrace it. Train the employees you already have for senior-level roles instead. Focus your recruiting efforts on finding entry-level candidates with the most potential, with the intention of grooming them to fill your leadership roles later on.
No matter what type of labor market exists, adopting a strategy of promoting from within gives you more control. However, it takes much more than simply flipping a switch. Here are a few tips to get you started.
• Find your starting point. Understand where you are as a business when it comes to internal promotions. What percentage of your employees are promoted into higher positions? What’s your success rate in terms of their tenure after being promoted? Do your employees feel your company offers them a compelling career path?
Answering these questions, and setting goals for where you want to be in the future, will help you map a meaningful strategy to move forward.
• Devise a plan. How do you grow and develop your employees? Do you have a formal program, or does it differ across departments? You may need to reevaluate your current strategies depending on how successfully your company hires current employees for leadership positions.
Be sure to consult with your company’s managers who do the most senior-level hiring. They can share what internal candidates are often missing or what external hires bring to the table that make them valuable. This information will ensure your training and development program targets accordingly.
• Embed it into your culture. Make development part of your everyday office communications. Promote the opportunities you offer to employees to improve, from trainings and webinars to feedback channels and mentorship programs.
Incentivize hiring managers for hiring from within, and consider offering an incentive to employees for giving recommendations, similar to how they’re recognized for referring an external candidate.
We can’t predict what the future will look like when it comes to hiring. But no matter how the labor market changes, mobilizing your employees to become your company’s future leaders ensures you have who you need to be successful. Promoting from within will also help you fill your positions more quickly and drive retention by giving employees the opportunities they need to advance their careers.
