Recruiting has been interesting for Human Resources professionals over the past two to three years. It has definitely been an employer’s market. So many organizations have downsized, leaving a significant number of quality candidates in the job market. This economy has been tough, but I am a believer that it is turning around. With that turnaround will come a shift in the marketplace. The control in the recruiting process will shift from employer to employee, or potential candidate.
What does this mean? It means that finding the “right” talent will be harder than ever. It means that what you have done and how an organization has managed during the tough times will be shared more than ever. Someone in HR once said, “The employee’s memory is longer than the economy will be bad.”
Now that we know the opportunity to hire the right talent will become tougher, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to be complacent and “hope” that people are interested in your jobs? Are you going to just hire “anyone” for the sake of filling the open requisition? Or, are you going to do something radical?
Radical to me means looking at your culture. What is going to drive people to your organization? What is going to set you apart? For government, it might be the opportunity to telework. But, as you may have seen on the many posts about Telework on the GovLoop site, just because it is made a policy doesn’t mean that people will take advantage of actually Teleworking.
So I suggest something completely radical- focusing on results. Shifting your culture to a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) will turn things upside down. Trusting people to focus on results. Trusting people to manage their time. Treating people like professionals.
In a ROWE, productivity increases, morale soars, and people will be knocking on the door wanting to work for your organization- even when the economy shifts and the job seeker has the upper hand. Make your organization the cool place to work. Do something radical and go ROWE. But don’t wait. That economy is turning around fast, and you want to stay ahead of the marketplace. Be radical- today.
To learn more about Results-Only Work Environment, visit gorowe.com
Stacey Swanson can be followed on Twitter @StaceyMSwanson
I imagine employers are getting steals in this economy as far as gaining talent is concerned. When searching for applicants, how would an HR manager advertise that an organization uses the ROWE model?
Corey- The would want to post that an org is ROWE in the posting, or advertising. I have seen some orgs tweet the opening and include the ROWE hashtag. Job seekers can look at gorowe.com for the list of ROWE Certified organizations to make sure they are getting the real deal. Thanks!
I was somewhat saddened to see OPM’s early abandonment of ROWE. As I with client’s in the recruitment, retention and engagement space I often find the principles to be customizable and helpful. The mention of culture is an animal unto itself. My views on how to create a high performing culture, as outlined in my whitepaper on the topic, are often not all practiced within the public sector – a shame as government is facing an increasing talent crises.