Candidate-short marketplace
You probably don’t know the exact statistics but have certainly felt them. Unemployment is hovering around 4.8%. Of that, white collar unemployment it is around 1.8%. That is virtually ZERO unemployment, and these are the folks you hire to manage your schools! Now, if we factor in the tremendous growth the industry has gone through over the last 10 years, you don’t have to know metrics to figure out everyone is trying to hire the same individuals.
Great info, Vin. So, how does that help us? Great question! For starters, it explains some of your pain and answers some of the questions you might have had. Some of these questions are:
- Why did I lose my best campus director?
Simple. Your competitors are aware this person is your best. So make sure your employees are happy, and I am not just talking about compensation. Sure, money is important – make sure they are on par with the marketplace – but the majority of candidates we place make a move because they are less than satisfied with their current employer. Sometimes they even make a lateral move for happiness. Ask yourself, and ask them: are they being micromanaged? Do they get recognized by you for their achievements? Do they have the autonomy to be creative and make decisions? One of the most common complaints we hear from employees is being given unrealistic, undefined and unreachable goals. Make sure their performance goals are clearly defined and realistic. Make sure they fully understand them. Are there rumors of acquisition? Be as open and honest as you can; they should know what is coming down the pipe from you, not from rumors or secondhand information. Lay out a map for the future and their roles in it. Employees embrace change and progress when they are an integral part of it. Talk to them, take them out to lunch, find out if they are happy, and if they’re not, what you can do to make them happy. If employees know that you care and are trying to work with them, they respond. When companies do this, these are the folks I typically cannot recruit, no matter how great the opportunity or how large the compensation package is. Five or six calls like this into a company, and my seventh call is to the CEO to see if we can represent them! If your best campus director is happy, they can’t be recruited, not even by me.
- We made a fantastic offer to a candidate, but they turned us down. What did we do wrong?
Let me guess. The base salary was 15K more than they are making now. The bonus potential was through the roof. Your relocation package made sure he/she would not have a single need/want. Oh, and your school is brand-new, the crown jewel of the organization, but they turned you down. Why?
Tune in next time as we address this question. If you have a question you would like answered in upcoming blogs, please list them in the comment section of this post, or submit them to vincent@hudsongrp.com.
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