'It wasn't what I expected'
Recruitment reflected, pt 6
I mentioned a few common reasons for leaving gainful employment in the last edition.
Of course, there are others, some out of a person’s control, such as redundancy.
But there’s a reason I hear all too often, from people who’ve only recently joined a business, who are still in their probationary period.
It’s hardly ideal is it, that a preventable situation such as this is cause for needing to rinse, repeat and replace a 3 month in employee.
Has it happened to you?
“It wasn’t what I expected.”
Perhaps a reason for going back to their previous employer, where the grass was greener than they remembered.
Or a platform for a job elsewhere.
Shouldn’t it be preventable, in a way that improves your recruitment?
A couple of examples to share, with a happy and a predictable ending.
Friend one
Wanted to leave the teaching profession after a successful career.
Saw an opportunity with a local employer, known to be a great place to transition from teaching.
Salary in line with expectations.
No real idea what the role entailed, except that her experience met their requirements.
Interviewed. Liked the people.
No real idea what the role entailed, as a lot of internal terminology was used.
Offered the job.
Resigned.
Looked forward to day one.
No real idea what the role entailed.
Started there, and about three weeks in got an idea of what the role entailed, and it proved to be something they both enjoyed and were good at.
Success!
Yet, it’s only because of her situation, in wanting to transition careers, that she was willing to go into a known unknown.
Why couldn’t their process have clearly shown what the role was?
Friend two
Successful sales chap. A Director who is well-known in his industry.
Friends with a local business owner who wanted to formalise their approach to sales.
Chap knew what the job was, but wasn’t clearly shown the context.
Nor did they follow due process to check his approach was aligned with theirs.
Started the job. Loved the people.
Left after three months to go back into his old sector, because the context made the role non-viable.
He didn’t tell me about his planned move, and when he left said he regretted not speaking to me beforehand.
With good reason - they are a decent employer but he isn’t right for them, and they aren’t right for him.
Why couldn’t their process have clearly shown what the context was?
You may think ‘This has never happened to me’ so it isn’t a concern.
But I can guarantee it will happen at some point, in a growing business, especially if you can’t get the meaning that’s trapped in your head into a form potential employees will understand.
So how is it preventable?
It’s down to integrated communications - consistent messaging across all channels that bring the right people along for reasons that are clear to them.
The moment you lose that integration is when otherwise controllable risk becomes a factor.
The channels here are all too familiar, in that they are communicated at each step of your recruitment process:
A true and fair, suitable and sufficient job description
What good actually looks like in a successful candidate
Adverts that appeal to the right people for the right reasons
Transparency around process, compensation
Documentation that shows the culture, context and nature of a business - such as a career page or EVP
Interviews that allow candidates to make an objective decision
Clear and timely offer documentation
Keeping in touch during their notice period to make sure they are happy and ready (preboarding and onboarding)
Having everything ready for them when they start
Introducing them to relevant stakeholders and team members at the earliest opportunity
No internal lingo; only clear and concise words
By doing so, there’s no reason for new employees not to know what they are letting themselves in for.
And by doing so at every opportunity, with baby steps, they learn to adapt before they’ve even started, so that a surprise becomes the expected, and not something to be shocked at.
While, if it was never going to work, best to find that out right at the top of the process, rather than three months in, which is why I always find the no’s first.
Better yet, these steps benefit everyone, including those that make a successful splash.
Win-win.
And that means the best time to solve this problem of ‘not what I expected’ is before it ever happens. The second best is if it does happen.
Thanks for reading.
Regards,
Greg
P.s While you are here, if you like the idea of improving how you recruit, lack capacity or need better candidates, and are curious how I can help, these are my services:
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