Quality vs. Quantity – The Struggle is Real
With many years of dedicated experience in the specialized recruiting & staffing industry, our vantage point of client service has always been through the lens of quality versus quantity and the “no fit, no fill” mentality that was ingrained early in our careers. Yet the struggle to find talent remains a challenge for business owners and business leaders/senior management, and there is a need to evaluate positions and people on a role-by-role basis to cover the gaps between needs and wants. The common phrase of don’t force a round peg into a square hole is always top of mind. Perhaps even more now after years of experience, and personally being in this misfit position/culture in a past role. Certainly, it was no fun for me, yet valuable learning lesson to take moving forward.
Over the past few years, there have been several new phrases introduced into the workforce, such as The Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting and the latest – the Big Stay. Creativity, thinking outside the box and stretching some of the boundaries of expectations may be more necessary than before. We have found that in some instances when servicing clients, we may only have 1 or 2 candidates to present, or it takes several weeks to find that needle in a haystack candidate.
Which of these variables, you as a hiring manager, may be willing and able to address, negotiate, and/or flex, especially when considering the impacts on your existing team to avoid burnout or misalignment in internal equity:
- Salary
- Years of experience
- Degree/Education requirements
- Technical skills with a specific software/ERP system
- Workplace schedule/hours or location
- Speed to Hire / length a vacant position remains open
We have routine conversations with clients how resumes don’t tell the whole story, and the applicant tracking systems combined with AI technologies, may be weaning out talent, who has exceptional potential, tremendous soft skills, and/or leadership capabilities. When do these skills matter more, and how does value alignment to your organization’s mission statement override the skills and qualifications expectation? What skills are teachable, or able to be part of an employee development program? What skills must a candidate have ready to hit the ground running?