Bryan Passman is the Founder of Hunter + Esquire, a cannabis industry talent acquisition firm.
Getty
Companies that value people do well. Similarly, people who are authentic, transparent and true to themselves are companies’ best assets. When good people and good businesses come together, you have the opportunity to create a professional community with goodwill at its core, which results in more growth and prosperity for both employers and employees.
For both job seekers and hiring businesses, building goodwill begins at the interview process. It’s more important than ever for those in the hiring process to be interviewing from both sides of the table. Potential candidates should be interviewing the business just as much as the business is interviewing them.
Often, an interview process can feel like a sales presentation. However, the decision for employers and candidates to work together should be because it makes good business sense, not because either party is sold. An ideal job interview should feel like a fact-finding mission. Each party should be honest and transparent about what they bring to the table. Get all the facts from both sides and see if you’re in alignment.
A problem we often see at Hunter + Esquire is both potential candidates and hiring businesses have a tendency to not show all of their cards during the interview process. Too often, both sides feel entitled and try to take advantage of the other, which leads to a high employee turnover rate, wasted time, wasted money and failure. So what can employers and potential candidates do?
Advice For Employers
You might still be wondering if creating goodwill within your company is entirely necessary, but it absolutely is. When you have goodwill, you become a talent magnet. Better talent improves your business which, in turn, attracts bigger and better talent. Your business becomes a powerful talent orbit, always improving the business and the lives of employees. Your company must create goodwill by treating your people as they should be treated and it starts with the selection process. Here are a few tips for employers.
• Be upfront about your company culture, the job requirements and what the employee’s future will look like. Have integrity when you explain this to a potential candidate and have their best interest in mind. If you try to “trick” them into working for you by not being completely upfront, the employee will not be happy, will likely resent his or her work and may end up leaving the company. If there’s a grey area in your business, bring it to the table so there are no secrets. Be honest and transparent. You don’t need to represent yourself as Mother Teresa, but quit the “bait and switch” or you’ll have a low employee retention rate and a failing business.
• Treat human capital well so they keep coming back for more. If there’s an opportunity or part of your business that’s not fully defined, acknowledge it and put it on the table. When you’re transparent, you’re more likely to be respected and trusted.
• Use connectional intelligence to build a stronger network of goodwill. Grow your business’s goodwill using connectional intelligence and seeking connection with good people. Your network is your net worth. Responsibly and confidentially bring connections from conversation to conversation. Grow your orbit of talent by building sturdy bridges with vendors, talent, customers and employers.
Initiatives like these could even earn your company a “Best Place to Work” award, but you must have a strong mission, value people, value culture and be transparent.
Advice For Candidates
Similarly, candidates, show up with your A-game, be honest and transparent and look for a company that aligns with both your skills and personality. There are a few ways to do this effectively:
• Accurately display yourself. Show recruiters what you have to offer and be honest about it. You won’t get hired solely based on resume and uniqueness. If you have skills that are on par and have a personality that aligns with the company, recruiters will prioritize you over someone with a better resume but a terrible personality.
• Be honest and transparent. Candidates need to bring honesty and transparency to the table. When companies are selecting the right person for the job, it’s a disservice to both you and the company if you’re not authentic.
• Have integrity. In the cannabis industry, as with other more established industries, businesses often seek out “unicorn” candidates that possess sharp functional skills and recent industry experience. The problem is that sometimes this “unicorn” candidate knows how desired they are and they leverage every bit they can. If you’re going to alter your compensation or title demands after winning the job, there’s a chance you’ll be cut because of a lack of integrity. Taking advantage of your desirability is not how you develop strong, lasting relationships and goodwill. Instead, consider the best interests of both you and the company and assess if those interests are a match.
• Put your best foot forward with recruiters. If you’re working with a recruiter, be sure to extend the same kind of courtesy and transparency to them that you would with potential employers. Recruiters want to find a good fit for you, but they can’t stand behind you or recommend you to potential employers if you treat them poorly as it would diminish the goodwill between the recruiting firm and the employer.
Conclusion
Both employers and candidates will benefit long-term by creating goodwill from the very beginning of their business relationship. As Warren Buffet once said, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.” The worst of people are exposed eventually, especially during hard times like the ones we’re experiencing now; but if you’re not hiding anything, then you don’t have to worry about indecent exposure.
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
