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Over the past two years, many companies have announced layoffs, especially in the technology industry. Only last yr I saw it 10% increase in layoffs across all industries — 19.8 million in 2023 compared to 17.6 million in 2022, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In release technology increased 59% as companies that overhired during the pandemic sought to do more with less in the face of rising rates of interest and global uncertainty. What does this mean for you?
Great people are being laid off. After shedding underperforming employees, companies are now making the painful decision to part with exceptionally talented employees, especially in departments where growth is the least.
Fortunately for these staff, today’s labor market is proving to be resilient, and constant layoffs do not mean high unemployment. From December 2021 unemployment rate stays stable at 3.4% to 3.9% (compared to an unemployment rate of 14.7% in the second month of the pandemic). The best and brightest don’t remain out of labor for long.
The excellent news about the current situation is that careful companies can attract great talent. This means it is important to pay close attention to who is available in your industry and be ready to start a conversation. Some of the best employees are already in the market and looking for useful positions.
But that begs the query, how do you discover the right talent amidst all the layoffs? How do you notice a game-changer? Here are some strategies to allow you to discover candidates who could turn into your next superstars—and then keep them.
Raise the bar on performance
As a company leader, I have seen a dramatic difference in the quality of obtainable talent compared to just two years ago when companies were struggling to fill positions. One of my managers recently identified that every one of the top candidates for a key position she was sending had been fired from their previous positions.
The best way to start is to keep an eye on who is in your sector. Then take a close look at your talent profile and ask yourself, “Do I have the right people applying for the right positions, or are there people who could do better?” Come on, take your time. When it comes to hiring, I like to say, “Go slow to move fast.” We’re aiming to increase our workforce by over 30% this yr, so if we’re not hiring intentionally, our work culture could suffer.
Most importantly, make sure every hire has an impact. Amazon has developed a programmatic, repeatable way to do this through its website “Raising the Bar” program. To continue to fuel the company’s innovation, Amazon hiring managers are tasked with ensuring that each recent worker has skills and abilities that are higher than 50% of their peers in similar roles, thereby raising the talent bar. To achieve this, they employ staff interviewers – Bar Raisers – who have undergone extensive training in looking for specific qualities and assessing candidates using a hiring strip. To provide the hiring manager with the best feedback, they ask themselves questions like: “What will Amazon lose if we don’t hire this person?” and “What about this person makes you want to work with them?”
At BambooHR, we have a philosophy that embraces the idea of a diverse panel of interviews with employees from across the company who can perform a check: Will this person definitely raise the bar on performance and be a culture fit? Thanks to this philosophy, we are becoming higher at identifying and retaining the best talent, and I consider that every small and medium-sized company may gain advantage from the same.
Take a critical look at your managers
Of course, hiring the right talent doesn’t matter if you do not have managers who know how to keep them inspired. I’ve found that top talent wants to be actively managed, so it is important to discuss expectations during the interview. But most of all, they hate being treated like everyone else. They want to grow faster and do more. Once the best performers are identified and hired, can managers actively manage them? Can they supply clear and honest feedback so that talent can continue to develop? You might think they’re already doing this, but there’s a good probability they don’t seem to be.
Some leaders have lost their way when it comes to proactive performance management, especially when it comes to having difficult conversations about expectations and accountability. For example, consider the recent assistant you hired in the marketing department. From your viewpoint, they are doing well, but not great; nonetheless, they might think they are perfect in their role. According to BambooHR performance management data between 2019 and 2023, 38% of employees who received the lowest performance rating from their manager rated themselves as highly valued. This discrepancy doesn’t help employees grow – especially recent ones – and hurts the company.
You need to make sure that your managers talk about energetic management during interviews and conduct proper interviews with recent employees instantly. It is you, as a leader, who must invest in their training.
Offer purpose and a clear vision
Know your organization’s why and communicate it clearly when interviewing potential employees. Tests to introduce that more and more employees want to know that their work has a purpose, especially millennials and Generation Z candidates. With every recruiter I talk to, my entire first conversation is focused on mission, vision and values - I’m not talking about our revenues and how we are going to develop. At BambooHR, we are on a journey to turn into the number one HR platform for small and medium-sized businesses in the world – but that is our product, not our goal.
I start with our mission: What is our purpose? At Bamboo, we give people the freedom to do great work. Over three million people log into Bamboo every day, and I need to make their lives higher in some way. Then we move on to the vision: What do we would like to achieve? And then values like how we end up. I need to know if all this excites the person I’m talking to? Do they need to be a part of it?
Never underestimate the impact the right hire can have. Who you are on your team matters a lot, and understanding how to use redundancies can allow you to find the right people.