While at a meeting this morning, I spoke with a couple of business leaders who were both looking for people for their businesses – yes, people are hiring in this environment.
One commented that the people just didn’t have the motivation for the job. Granted, the jobs at this business are not the most exciting, but they are necessary and valuable.
The other commented that our local job market didn’t have a lot of qualified people.
I told them both I thought the people were out there.
What Are You Looking For?
The reality of our local job market is that we are a bedroom community and many people are employed in Lexington. Additionally, while being impacted by the downturn in the economy, our region has been impacted less than others. So we don’t have a large percentage of people looking for work.
But the number is growing.
Meanwhile, these leaders are not easily finding the people they want. And I wonder why they aren’t finding them.
I have this fundamental belief that businesses have and can find the resources to support their organizations in the same area of their business influence. If not, people will move in to fill the opportunities, or move out to find better opportunities elsewhere. This is a simple application of supply and demand.
I realize there are many factors associated with this (growth, resources, family-influences, and so on). However, I think when you take a macro view of your business market, you can find the resources you need. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to source from a broader market for certain positions or reasons, like specialized expertise.
My point is local businesses can usually find the resources they need in the local market. Regional businesses will look regionally and find what they need.
The challenge, as these leaders found, is finding, filtering, and bringing on board the ones you want.
Where Are You Looking?
I recently did a workshop as a public service for people looking to upgrade their employment or to find a job. The focus was on creating a resume that will get the attention of business leaders. Part of my message to participants was focusing on the business you are targeting to get a job with.
I wonder if too many businesses are not focusing on targeting the people they want to get into their business. Some big job boards are very global; they have search criteria, but don’t do a great job of making your positions visible to the right community.
Many specialized job boards have sprung up to meet the need of targeted search efforts. However, not everyone knows about these boards.
As a business, your opportunity comes in focusing on the specific attributes of your market. The better you can focus in on those attributes, the more likely you will be to look in the right place, and find the right people.
This may seem like a simple statement, but consider how much money businesses spend to understand their customer and their market demographics. And how hard it is even then to find and attract those customers.
Business leaders looking for the right people, need to approach sourcing and recruiting from this same perspective. Casting the net wide is good; but it becomes a lot of net to get a few qualified people.
Workforce Expertise:
Rather than casting the net wide, and getting few results for the effort and expense, think more like a hunter than a fisherman. Target exactly what you want, figure out where it is, and then go after it.
Do this from a human resources perspective by spending more time being very clear about what you want – not the years of experience, not the degree – be clear on the type of performer you want and go after that.
This is just as pertinent when you are looking to promote, train, or move into leadership positions as hiring.
