Talent War? Believe Me It's Real!

We've all heard about the war for talent for years and if you're anything like I was, you wondered how real this "war" really was. People got hired, jobs got filled, what was the big deal?

I can say with absolute certainty that when it comes to technology, the war is very, very real. I've become increasingly convinced that there is more demand for top technical talent in Louisville than there is top technical talent available. The evidence is there. 

From speaking with IT Leadership throughout the area it's very clear that everyone, without exception, is looking for the best talent available. The path diverges from there. Every company wants the best talent, few companies have the processes, urgency, and perks to consistently. What do the successful companies do that allows them to attract the best people? 

In no particular order:

1. They have a candidate friendly hiring/interview process. 

2. They understand that talented people don't stay on the market long. Think days versus weeks. The best candidates are only on the market for a matter of days. If the process takes any longer than a week, it could be too long.

3. They understand their own culture and have great perks and benefits in place. 

4. They partner with their recruiters (internal, external or both) versus asking them for resumes to fit a description. 

5. They're open, honest and happy to answer questions that the candidates have.

I'll elaborate on these 5 points in future posts. I'm sure I've left some out as well, but in my experience, these attributes are the common thread with companies that are able to consistently find, attract, hire and retain people with top talent. 

Lifting The Veil

Linkedin is a great resource to make professional contacts. Most recruiters are taking advantage of this vast network of professionals. On a daily basis we are advertising our jobs, direct-connecting and requesting introductions. For an IT market the size of Louisville's this means we're essentially connecting with and advertising to the same group of people. It's an important group of people that we definitely want to get to know.

There's another, equally important group of people that the best recruiters can find. This group of people hasn't taken the time to make themselves known on linkedin or facebook or any other networking site. They're out there working and not giving much thought to connecting with others. They may not be happy with their job, but they may not be giving it much thought. They may just be too busy to think about it. Are you confident your recruiters are uncovering these people too? I hope you are.

Ohio Valley meets Silicon Valley

I saw a news report yesterday that there are over 130,000 IT jobs in Silicon Valley, with over 52,000 of those being for software developers. There's a real talent war going on out there and companies are getting very creative about what they're willing to offer candidates.

We have a similar situation in Louisville, though on a much smaller scale. Demand for IT talent is increasing faster than the supply, which will obviously increase the level of competition for that talent. With this war for talent on our doorstep, it's time for companies to consider what they can offer top candidates and be creative about it. Someone is going to do it, it might as well be you.

Stay Human

A former coworker and friend of mine recently reminded me that before, during and after our working day we are all still human. We all have something that motivates us to work, which keeps us there and drives us to be good at what we do. We build relationships and friendships throughout the course of our working life that transcend our company connections.

We are not machines.We may have the occasional transaction that becomes just that....a transaction, but whether we're selling or buying we all want strong relationships in and out of the workplace. If you're the buyer, you are naturally going to be more comfortable with someone you know and trust. You like the person and you know they can solve your problem. 

Staying Human is pretty important to what we all do. We all face problems  in our daily work life and I think we would all love to find a way to solve those problems. Because we're human we are more likely to choose to work with someone who has taken the time to understand our problem and wants to solve it than to choose to work with someone who may be able to solve our problem, but hasn't done the human stuff up front.