Your Company Needs to Approach Staffing Differently, and We’re Here to Help

Professionals in the middle of their careers and those entering middle management are the lifeblood of an organization, driving the specific actions that generate revenue. They are your front line in profitability and managing teams, making them vital to your future.

Unfortunately, demographic trends are leaving most companies without a growing middle-managerial staff. If you have not yet experienced this, you may soon find your organization in a position where your top talent is retiring, leaving a younger, less-experienced staff to take the reins, which can pose a significant risk to your operations.

Companies like yours are already fighting this problem by being prepared and creating long-lasting relationships with recruiters. At The James Allen Companies, we’re helping organizations like yours find the people they need, giving leadership the tools it needs to understand and assess these risks.

We have outlined four key points that drive the successful recruitment of your mid-level career talent and create a pipeline of leadership that propels you forward.

Prepare for the Market

Today’s labor market is undergoing significant change. As more industries move into the digital arena, we’re seeing positions shift in-house from outsourced operations, creating a greater workload and demand on staffs.

Specifically, for markets like yours, we see three big career trends hitting in 2017:

1. Economists say the unemployment rate will fall further as the year progresses, so you’ll be facing a tighter race in the War for Talent. Prepare for increased discussions on salaries, benefits, perks, and a mix of new demands that may include telework or family leave options.
2. Succession plans are vital, now more than ever as a greater number of Baby Boomers continue to retire. This is also the time to transform positions so as to make them more appealing to a more modern workforce (and save money in the long-term).
3. Watch to see if your competition turns to staffing consultants. In 2015 and 2016, enterprises spent heavily to create relationships with a wide number of recruiters. At the end of 2016 and moving into 2017, that practice started moving to smaller companies as they became better aware of the ROI and competitive advantage it garnered them.

These trends imply that nearly every organization is going to need to change the way it thinks about recruiting and talent retention.

Take Time to Learn Your Audience

Who do you picture when you think of a mid-career employee? What attributes do you give them? How experienced are they? What do they care about?

These questions can help you begin to understand and approach mid-level career talent. And as you ask these questions, you may be surprised to learn that Millennials are entering your target zone.

Born as early as 1980, the first Millennials are in their late 30s and may have as much as 15 years of true professional experience. They’re not only hitting their stride, but they’re making a bigger mark than anyone else today. In April of 2016, Millennials officially became the largest generation in America, roughly one year after they became the largest generation in the labor force (by 2020, nearly half of all U.S. workers will be Millennials).

If you’re looking for talent that is ready to grow with your company, has years to stay in similar positions, plus has plenty of room to grow, make sure you’re looking in the right place and tailoring your business to meet them.

In regards to Millennials, it’s important to espouse your brand’s social responsibility efforts and stances. They’re not the first generation to want companies to give back — Gen X is sometimes even more demanding of this — so many companies already have a cause or purpose. It is vital that your cause is articulated on your website, in your promotional materials and in your interviews.

Put Your Company in Terms of Their Goals

Identifying your audience allows you to understand where they want to go in their career. In today’s professionals, from Boomers to Millennials, one of the more significant pushes is to view their employer as a flexible partner who provides meaningful work.

The days of demanding the big expense account and corner office are ending for most employees who are in the beginning and middle of their careers. They want to know that career and lifestyle can be balanced. But they’re also more willing to take work with them during those afternoons and weekends, so you have an opportunity to be considered a relationship as much as a source of income.

Present your company through individual connections: meetings and phone calls with candidates you’re interested in, instead of doing everything through email. When you’ve narrowed down your selection, try to add a personal touch when you recruit.

Develop a Relationship with a Committed Recruiter

Most of today’s businesses need to hire specific talent, but they have a small HR staff that’s already overwhelmed. If you’re in this situation, what do you do?

Instead of obtaining the services of a vendor, work to build a strategic, long-term relationship with a reliable partner who understands the nuances of your industry and can help you find quality candidates quickly. If you create this relationship before your need becomes critical, you’ll have someone in your corner who understands and can help your business.

Together we can develop a clear workforce plan that will help you expedite your hiring process and can even anticipate needs before they happen. Our goal is to save you money over the long-term by reducing turnover rates and letting you spend time with top talent, instead of having to sort through a mountain of resumes.

When you’re ready to find the right candidates for your mid-level positions and leadership opportunities by changing the way you think about creating a talent pipeline, contact The James Allen Companies, Inc. or call me directly at (573) 334-3688.