Qualified Candidates?ByRaymond D. Matkowsky
A very common refrain heard from business owners or managers is that “I cannot find enough qualified people.” These people have three courses of action. But, before we get into these let me say that in spite of what is desired, no one “hits the ground running.” Every business is unique, has unique products, every customer has his or her own needs and problems. It takes about a year for any employee to learn and experience your business thoroughly. This is not something you can control.
Speaking of desires, over the years I have observed a slavish attachment to a background wish list. Again, very few candidates will possess all the attributes listed. If you are going to wait until you find a candidate with everything you want, you will be waiting a very long time. You will have to weigh the cost of waiting against the cost of not having someone do the work needed.
Another technique is the keyword matching of resumes. This only gives a candidate another way to game the system. If you find this hard to believe, keep in mind the prevalence of the technique and by their own admission, hiring managers make the right decision only 50% of the time.
Three Options
From my point of view, you have three options that you could follow. The first is to do nothing but complain. This is not going to get you anywhere soon. Even if the government miraculously decided to tackle the problem immediately, it will be several years down the line before there are any positive results. Also, you have no guarantee that any programs established will meet your needs. My understanding is that many times when a person goes for retraining, he or she chooses more training in their previous field. This is not what you may want since their field may no longer exist or you are establishing a new field or an updated methology that didn't previously exist. You cannot count on the authorities to solve a problem which no one else but you can solve.
The second option is to work closely with your local vocational training school. The instructors are not clairvoyant however. They do not know what your needs are unless you tell them. You may also have to supply them with the where with all to carry out your desires. Along these lines you could arrange to have certain students come to your facility once a week and work side by side with your employees. Alternatively, you could setup an internship for a student that the instructor picks where you pay him or her little to work at your facility several hours a week. At the end of the internship, you have a potential employee that is more qualified than can be found on the outside.
The third option you have is what I feel is the best for you, your business and your employees. Simply, it is to train your existing employees to handle your new needs and hire less sophisticated people to assume their old jobs as need be. Existing employees already know your business.
They could come as close to “hitting the ground running” as anyone can. Several companies have gone in this direction and I have not heard of a negative appraisal of the outcome. Unfortunately, not enough businesses have moved in this direction.
First of all, the outcome is immediate. You have an employee who is gearing up to implement your new business strategy. This employee knows your business already, knows your customers, and knows how you like things done. This can be a big win for you!
This employee looks favorably at you. They see themselves as progressing. When Henry Ford was gearing up his automobile assembly line, he decided it would be wise to institute a five day workweek without reducing an individual’s pay. He did this for two reasons. The first reason was loyalty. His workers knew that he had their backs. You can give your workers the same type of feeling. The second reason was that he wanted his employees to buy and enjoy his product with pride. Thus he guaranteed future sales. You may be able to do the same.
As I mentioned earlier, you have three options. If you have been complaining for several years about the state of the labor market, ask yourself if it’s done any good. If the answer is no, discard option 1. The saying is that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the result to be different.
Option 2 is more medium term. You have to expect a minimum of a year for payoff. It is still a good option since it guarantees labor for the future.
The third option may have more of an immediate payoff. Training can be structured in such a way as to compliment and start to filfull your needs.
If you have any further suggestions, do not keep it to yourself. Help your fellow readers!
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions drop me a line at rdm@datastats.com.
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