We’ve all seen it in one form or another: the “little guy” who manages to become successful in some endeavor even though the competition is bigger and stronger and has more resources.
There’s the corner pizza shop that has people lined up outside, even though one of the big chain places is right across the street. Or the burger joint that’s built a loyal following and pulled business away from the Golden Arches or the King. Those little guys are using special skills and tactics to compete against the big guys. So can you when it comes to recruiting and hiring.
Now, let’s get started on learning the special techniques that will bring you the types of applicants – and, ultimately, employees – who are “keepers,” no matter what the state of the economy is or who’s competing with you for talent.
Recruiting for ROI and MVPs
When you’re recruiting with limited resources – and especially against organizations that have more resources – the first question you might ask yourself is: How should we best spend our resources – time, money, etc. – to make sure we’re getting the best return on our recruiting investment? The answer is to focus recruiting for MVPs – Most Valuable Positions.
In a perfect world, with perfect resources, you’d make certain that every new hire is an “A-level worker.” We’re talking about top performers who produce top-quality work. They come up with new ideas. They always meet deadlines.
In the real world, however, you’re going to get saddled with some Bs and Cs (and even a few Ds). You know it’s a fact of life. So consider that when you’re trying to get the best recruiting ROI -- and best people -- with limited resources you want to make sure that, first and foremost, you’re looking for A-level employees to fill your Most Valuable Positions.
Apple’s Approach
To illustrate what you MVPs might be, let’s take a famous example, Apple, one of the big guys that nonetheless can provide a lesson to everyone.
What’s Apple known for? As much as anything, product innovation – cutting-edge electronics that leave competitors in a perpetual copycat position. So who would be the MVPs at Apple? Consumer-product developers and designers.
Those positions are the bread and butter of the company. Without them, Apple is just another electronics provider among a sea of providers.
Certainly, a company like Apple needs sales and support staff, bookkeepers, accountants, janitors and all the other positions that make up a business. But when you come down to it, what Apple needs most are top-notch product developers and designers.
And that example leads back to the big question for you and your organization: What are your MVPs?
First, ask yourself: What business are we in? Next question: Which positions – MVPs – are crucial to the success of our business? No one but you, in consultation with other managers, can answer those questions. Once you do answer them, you have a roadmap on how to spend your recruiting time and resources.
There’s no magical formula on allocation of those resources, but if you find you’re spending more than half your recruiting time and money on non-MVPs, it’s probably time to make some adjustments.
Note: Determining your MVPs has the collateral effect of guiding you on the decisions of which jobs to outsource and which to keep in-house. Few companies have been able to successfully outsource MVP-type work. Many companies, however, have been able to determine which types of functions aren’t MVPs and thus can be done by a contractor. And of course if you do outsource those positions, you won’t be spending your recruiting resources on them.
About the Author: Jim Giuliano writes for Progressive Business Publications as editor of Communication Solutions for Managers and Supervisors, and is the former editor of What's Working in Human Resources and HR Morning.
