2020: A Great Time to Hire?
Recent events have turned the world upside down.
Everyone is looking for leadership to navigate through this unprecedented time of crisis, and with unemployment numbers at an all-time high, the importance of team and strong leadership is more apparent than ever.
Under revised rules on requirements around mass layoffs, companies are reacting to unpredictable markets and shedding talent in striking numbers.
Due to this, the market has been flooded with talent.
Not only that, it’s been flooded with fantastic talent. It’s no longer just the bottom 10 to 20% being impacted, it’s entire teams.
That means there is a surplus of people with superb skills who are unexpectedly looking for jobs. Similar to swooping up stocks at bargain prices, there is an opportunity here to hire amazing talent.
In looking to the future, leaders not only need to be assessing how to best position their companies to survive, but should also be thinking about how their companies will look as the state of the future becomes more clear and the economy inevitably reemerges.
Remember the Pareto Principle where 80% of results come from 20% of the input? Apply that to your team:
Who are your top performers? If they are in a non-essential area, can you pivot them?
Who is weighing your team down or not providing more value than they cost?
How will layoffs and hiring freezes affect the team you want to retain? Will it lead to decreased confidence in the company and possible accelerated attrition?
Who and what is missing from your ideal team? Diversity? Leadership? Strong individual contributors?
Who will do the hiring? Recruiting typically should not be treated as a faucet that is turned on and turned off, so ripping out the plumbing is a risky move. How will you identify, attract, hire, and/or retain those team members who will drive your company forward?
Can you rearrange the input equation (budget, headcount, roles) to hire people who have a strong likelihood of being in or above your current 20%? If so, this is a great time to hire.
As we come to terms with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to make the best and most responsible decisions we can with the information we have.
To put our teams, our companies, and our economy in the best possible position, we would ideally have our best people on the front lines to help lead us to the future.
Do you have the team you need to be productive now and to emerge from this time as strong as possible?
We are all in this together. Please reach out if we can be helpful.