Change Management, Leadership, Resumes, Talent Acquisition Problems
Does anyone remember Netflix when they first came out? In the beginning they had a slightly different approach to renting movies (at the time DVDs). They would ship the movies to your house and you would ship them back. It was a decent idea. They got rid of late fees, had return envelopes to make the process easier, but they were also hemorrhaging cash and almost out of business. That’s why they approached Blockbuster Video with the hopes of being acquired for $50M. Blockbuster declined their offer, and the rest is history.
It wasn’t until they made the pivot to streaming that they truly became the disruptive Netflix we all know today. Why? Because they finally tossed out the status quo thinking of “needing an actual DVD” and began thinking how they could be fundamentally different.
True disrupters are rare, even in this technology-driven world we live in. But every once in a while a disrupter like Uber or Netflix comes on the scene at the right time and completely changes our world.
There is no department that needs disruption more than talent acquisition. Every other department in business like Sales, Marketing, Finance, etc. has upgraded their tools, technology, and processes over the past 25 years. It is time for talent acquisition to do the same!
At SmartRank we believe that we have the innovative ideas and technology to disrupt the talent acquisition market because we:
1. Ask a lot of important, detailed, and sometimes difficult questions to uncover the most important problems
2. Identify the root-cause of those problems
3. Put ALL assumptions, opinions, status quo, and the “way things have always been done” type of thinking to the side
4. Accept early objections and criticisms of our ideas because they are so different
5. Understand that sometimes it just takes time for everyone else to see the same vision
If your disruptive technology doesn’t scare people a little, then you aren’t even trying to be a disrupter.
Change Management, Leadership, Talent Acquisition Problems
Here’s a fun exercise. Ask your significant other or your kid or a friend to sneak up behind you and scare you. Then see which reaction you have. Do you immediately start running, do you ball your fists up and raise your arm ready to swing it, or do you completely freeze up?
The amygdala is one of the oldest parts of the brain. It’s responsible for our fight, flight, or freeze response to danger. This chemical reaction in the brain and body has kept us alive as a species for a very long time. It kept us from becoming prey to a saber-toothed tiger and allowed us to avoid environmental dangers. It’s actually really cool how it works and so many of our reactions like sweaty palms or “butterflies in the stomach” are associated with this response.
Luckily we don’t face the same threats that we did 10,000 years ago, but that part of the brain is still alive and active. Today, the amygdala simply responds to a different set of fears and perceived danger.
The question is, how do you respond to danger in business? Do you choose to run away from the problem? Do you choose to simply do nothing and hope the situation somehow resolves itself? Or do you address the problem head-on?
If you look at many quotes from successful leaders in history, they almost use inaction as a four-letter word. If you’re a business leader and your go-to problem solving strategy is to simply do nothing about a problem or threat, or to run from it, then perhaps leadership may not be your calling.
In talent acquisition, there are MANY problems that desperately need to be solved. Unfortunately these problems will not get solved with “fleeing” or “freezing” as the response. It may seem like there is comfort in those responses, but the only way to truly solve those problems is to address them head-on.
Lastly, for the record, being a “freezer” or “flighter” is not a bad thing. You can even be a freezer or flighter when someone jumps out and scares you. But now that you’re aware of how that part of the brain works, you can make a conscious decision to “fight” problems when you face them at work. Is it scary? Yes. Is it uncertain? Yes. But as JFK once brilliantly said, “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”
Change Management, Leadership, Talent Acquisition Problems
Just to get this out of the way, this is not a religious post, but rather a business operations post.
In our extremely demanding business culture we live in today, it sometimes feels like we never have enough time to do anything we need to do. We’re too busy with tactical day-to-day tasks that we can’t step back and strategically assess our operations.
When we can’t look at the operations strategically, we can’t look at the tools & technologies that drive our processes, which dictate certain challenges, which ultimately keep us from achieving certain positive business outcomes or producing negative business outcomes.
If you get this opportunity to strategically assess your business, YOU TAKE IT!!!
Missing that opportunity will result in a never-ending cycle of reliving the same problems over and over, because eventually that opportunity will pass, and you’ll be right back to the busy hustle of just trying to get through the day. You definitely won’t be implementing any real change in process, tools, or technologies at that point.
One department that has this opportunity right now is talent acquisition. Many companies have hiring freezes in place or hiring has significantly slowed. This is not only the best time to be looking at how you should be improving your operations, but also the best time to implement new processes and technologies.
Noah didn’t build the Ark after it rained. He didn’t build the Ark while it was raining. He built the Ark BEFORE it rained.
To all the talent acquisition leaders out there where they’re hiring needs have slowed down, it’s time to build your Ark!!
ATS, Change Management, Hiring Manager Engagement, Talent Acquisition Problems
Imagine this:
You walk into a Best Buy to buy a brand new flat screen TV with all the newest technology. You want Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/ Youtube and 50 other apps included, app store access, music streaming, 4k Ultra HD, and your smartphone is the remote.
Strangely, you don’t see any of these newer TVs, instead you see a wall full of 1970s tube TVs like the graphic for this post that come fully equipped with radio dials and “rabbit ears.” Totally confused, you ask a Best Buy employee where all the newer TVs are and they tell you that the industry has decided to stop manufacturing those newer flat screen models and are now going back to the 1970s models.
What would you be thinking?
Now wonder what an applicant thinks when they have to submit their résumé for your review, and they know that is the ONE determining factor that will either get them an interview or not. Now wonder what your hiring manager thinks when they have to review those 5 résumés you sent over email.
A LOT has changed in all aspects of society over the past 50 years…all except the process for evaluating job applicants. If you’re still cranking out those job descriptions, checking out those résumés, and even working with this “state-of-the-art” new technology called an Applicant Tracking System…then your process is very likely outdated…like 25 – 50 years outdated. If you think this process is a good one, well then there may be a high likelihood you are also perfectly content with your tube TV with rabbit ears at home!
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DE&I)
Your DE&I efforts might be terminally stalled and we can prove it.
Let’s rewind:
It is 2020 and companies will tell anyone who will listen that they prioritize diverse talent and they have renewed commitments to DE&I.
However by 2021 it was already reported that roughly 80% of companies were “going through the motions” when it comes to DE&I.
Fast forward to 2023 and big tech layoffs are everywhere. Women are disproportionately affected and underrepresented talent will face heavy competition for any open positions, especially entry level.
Many recruiters and TA teams are bracing for hundreds of new applicants and, unfortunately, resumes are the biggest source of unconscious bias when it comes to screening.
This is a recipe for disaster when it comes to DE&I progress.
Has your executive team (or maybe shareholders) put an emphasis on DE&I in the past few years?
Want to actually show some real progress?
SmartRank will help you create actionable and meaningful DE&I progress and reduce compliance and legal liability in the process.
