Why us? Top Talent Seeks Out Little Known Employers.

 ADDENDUM 2023 - a year and a half later and this this exec is still enjoying life and his decision to leave a large corporate travel position to be home every night in Naperville, Illinois.  It is also a testament to the strong company culture at Skolnik Industries (https://www.skolnik.com/)


“We really like this guy.  But honestly, he seems too good to be true.  He’s worked for leading global companies.  Why does he want to come here?  Why us?  Let’s check some references.”

This was my feedback from a client, a 100 employee Midwest manufacturer, who wondered why such a highly talented candidate would have an interest in joining a small, 100 year old, family owned manufacturing business.

On the one hand, you might think this employer should be extremely pleased that such a talented person recognizes the success and holistic culture of a very well established family owned company.  But there is good reason to be cautious.  The pandemic, like other economic crises in the last few decades, has working professionals searching for new options and ideas.  

I told this client that it’s a common new trend for professionals to be reevaluating their careers and lives as we adjust to the post-pandemic (although it’s continuing) world.  And, it’s happening to people at all levels of their career progression - young professionals, mid-career, and senior execs.  

Coming out of the 2008-2009 Recession, I was recommending senior execs who had lost their jobs to consider buying small businesses and franchises because the job they had may not exist any more.  Also employers at that time dug deep to hire a “Next Gen” to train instead of rehired the trained senior level pro.  Out of that, I became involved in small business brokerage.

The economic crisis of 2020-2021 is certainly different than 2008-2009.  There are many factors at play leading industry analysts and management gurus to question if the philosophy of work has changed completely for many people.  And, I believe it has.

In the August 14th issue of The Economist : Job Markets - “Coming up short. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/will-the-rich-worlds-worker-deficit-last/21803401Will the rich world’s worker deficit last? “ questions the cause of the weak demand in the job market.  Some economists see weak consumer spending resulting in weak labor demand and how long could this last.  Three disruptions are seen to contribute - unending Covid spread & fear, impact of welfare payments & policies, and changes in attitudes.  There are an increased number of both delayed and early retirees right now.  This is causing real havoc for many companies whose succession plans are being tossed like a card table puzzle to the floor.

But the article summarizes on what I’m seeing and hearing from small to mid-sized businesses.  “The pandemic has made people value work less.  Many report to surveys that they treasure family time more than they did.”  And the longer the pandemic goes on, the harder it will be for those who are participating in the labor market to come back.  So we are likely looking at a continuing deficit in available labor across the board for all companies.

So what’s the answer to the small to mid-sized company faced with “too good to be true” applicants?

Back in 2009, I penned an article based upon an Indianapolis Business Journal interview called “Economy Pushes Execs Into Small Firms”.  http://careersolutionsgroup.blogspot.com/2009/09/ibj-economy-pushes-execs-into-small.html 

The answer in 2021 is still the same as described in this post.  Small firms really have an opportunity to upgrade talent right now, but their management teams MUST take the time to do due diligence on the people.  And after a detailed background check, reference interviews, multiple interviews with managers, a hiring manager can then evaluate all the data.  Does a “too good to be true” candidate make sense?  





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How To Develop An Executive Team - Advising an Owner/CEO on developing an organizational chart

Labor & Recruiting - 4th Qtr into 2024 - Indiana perspectives

Indiana Hiring & Recruiting 2024 Outlook & Interest Rate Impact