Make recruiting a top priority

Jun 1, 2003 12:00 PM, by I. Gregg Van Wert, Former NAPL president and principal, The Haven Group | ivangpr@aol.com

One industry sage recently commented that while most printers have installed contemporary manufacturing and business systems, few have installed new mentalities. In other words, achieving productivity and cost effectiveness involves more than just deploying advanced technology. At the foundation of every exceptional company I've known are people who have a passion to perform to the highest standard of evolving customer expectations.

As competition for quality employees increases, however, where will tomorrow's highly motivated people come from? Recent experience shows that too many of them are gravitating to industries other than ours.

Recruiting, 365 days a year

Anyone who works in the printing industry today recognizes that a dramatic transformation has taken place from the outdated image of printers manually setting type. We are a dynamic, high-tech business.

Exceptional printers take this message to the streets along with recruiting initiatives designed to identify, attract and retain bright people. At some companies, recruiting takes the form of tony events and glitzy campaigns that serve to raise the organization's visibility. At others, more traditional recruiting approaches involve quiet networking through schools, universities, and local and national business organizations. Whatever the approach, recruiting is practiced 365 days a year.

Great managers don't wait for positions to develop or vacancies to open before commencing their recruiting process. “We're always recruiting, whether or not we have a job to fill,” says one CEO. “When openings suddenly occur, having access to a pool of pre-qualified candidates shortens our hiring cycle. Because we keep a list, we never feel pressured to relax our standards just to fill an important position that has opened unexpectedly.”

For exceptional companies, identifying and qualifying potential employees is ongoing and rigorous, bolstered by management's awareness that the hard and soft costs associated with hiring the wrong person can be substantial. Avoiding the costly mistakes of making bad hiring decisions not only requires thorough vetting of prospective employees' skills, but also a complete understanding of candidates' attitudes. In fact, the view held by successful leaders is that of the two qualifications — experience and attitude — attitude counts more. Hiring individuals who don't fit the personality of a company or its culture will likely disrupt organizational balance and eventually divide employee interests.

How deep is your bench?

A number of other commonalities surface in exceptional printers' recruiting practices. First, no stone is left unturned when qualifying potential hires for employment. Pre-employment testing includes aptitude and personality evaluations, and screening for drug use. There is also an exhaustive review of a prospect's employment and personal history, including a thorough background check. Employees who would interact most with a hired candidate conduct the interviews.

Second, compensation is beyond competitive; CEOs who want the best are willing to pay for it. Third, frequent and formal appraisal of new employees encourages two-way communication that focuses on how the performance of both the individual and the organization can be improved.

“At the end of the day,” explains an executive, “recruiting is all about building bench strength. We will never achieve our potential for excellence if we are unwilling to recognize and address our limitations. That begins with hiring people who may be smarter than we are or who may know more than we do.”

Management's fit

A company's approach to recruiting often comes down to how management perceives its own organizational fit. In a culture where supervisors possess an inflated sense of self-importance, we find individuals at all levels whose job security is easily threatened. Where managers are insecure in their authority, recruiting practices tend to attract subordinate employees who are less knowledgeable and less skilled than those to whom they report.

Conversely, in companies that seek to improve and evolve, managers understand the value of being surrounded by competent, enthusiastic people who eagerly step up to any challenge or opportunity. Managerial expectations encourage employees to exceed their potential.

A successful executive weighs in with this enlightened view: “The standard we apply to our employees will make us either functional or dysfunctional as a company. I have learned that you can never terminate an employee too soon for poor attitude, bad disposition or non-performance issues. Likewise, a position can never be considered vacant for too long, if you're trying to find the best person for the job.”