Recruiting
As the HR Department prepares to handle the supply and demand of talent during this demographic and economic shift, recruiting falls on the front end of the human capital supply chain. The basic role of a recruiter is to hire appropriate candidates who can contribute toward the growth of the company. Large companies will have entire departments dedicated to recruiting, while medium and smaller companies may have one or no designated recruiters. When this is the case, recruiting becomes a part of every leader’s job. Companies that have a culture of developing talent will often emphasize recruiting as a part of everyone’s role, as even individual contributors can recommend and help recruit talent for the organization.
Regardless of who is doing the recruiting, companies will find recruiting has changed along with everything else. Recruiting companies can stand up and testify as they have seen more and more companies move recruiting processes from external to internal in an effort to save money and keep a close watch on the “culture fit” of potential recruits. There is definitely a time when the best strategy is to work with a recruiting firm, but more on that later.
The big issue we see with the shifting demographics when it comes to recruiting is the impact on recruiting high-quality leaders. Remember, the scene in the generational parade is changing, and with the Boomers exiting the workforce, there will be 11 percent fewer Gen Xers to fill the seats. Of those Gen Xers, many are unprepared to step into the vacated positions, and Gen Yers are still too young. It’s more than just demographics that cause a challenge: “Events during the past five years have resulted in a sea of change, which has brought a new set of dynamics to senior level executive recruiting. In short, it has become more challenging to recruit senior executives. The aftermath of 9/11, the recession, going to war in Iraq, and the aging of the baby boomer generation have caused individuals to rethink values and priorities in a climate of uncertainty, while the pressures of Sarbanes-Oxley have caused corporate citizens to do the same. It has become increasingly difficult to get people to change positions in which they are comfortable and doing well, particularly if relocation is required. When these factors are put into the context of the demographics, it is clear that the problem of finding the talent to fill key positions, predicted years ago, is coming true.”1
Organizations are going to have to get creative to meet the shifting workforce needs, and recruiting is no different. They will need to reach out to skilled immigrant talent, recruit from across the globe, tap diversity pools, advance women at a faster pace, and revise a historical age bias when it comes to hiring. No, we’re not talking about hiring under-experienced Gen Yers for senior leader positions. We’re talking about the other age discrimination—people over 55. Let’s unpack these a little.
Recruit Immigrant Talent