- September 1, 2020
- Posted by: Michael Yinger
- Category: Recruiting and Sourcing
Most of the talent acquisition news I read focuses on what’s coming, what we’ll need to be doing, how things will work, all future focused. Nothing wrong with looking ahead, and looking at the present, what we’re dealing with now gives us the perspective for what’s coming.
This week I had the opportunity to meet with a number of TA leaders. The general topic was a product in the TA space. As part of getting the conversation going, the discussion leader asked everyone to talk about what they are seeing, now things are going now. Below are some of those thoughts, some worth a smile, most not a huge surprise to me. How about you?
The very first comment was about large Zoom meetings (specifically, in the case, over 150 TA folks across the country). The person sharing was genuinely surprised at what a great venue that Zoom was turning into. She said she looked forward to the conversation every week. It was an all hand’s general discussion, no agenda, giving voice to whatever was on people’s minds. Her overall feeling was one of creating a level playing field, removing the barriers commonly between corporate and field. I’m starting one of these this week with my team.
There were several comments about candidates:
-Passive candidates are hesitant about committing. They want to see what’s going to happen with the economy before making a change.
-There are expectations of greater flexibility: work from home, work hours, work assignments. Signaling, perhaps, an underlying desire for a shorter work week to deal with the additional responsibilities of working from home with a family?
-The candidates themselves are providing fewer referrals. It’s hard to pin down what’s driving this, since there are certainly more people out there looking for work. Maybe a reflection of the passive candidate thinking, caution about sharing because of the unknown.
And one process comment: clearances are taking longer. Not hard to understand that, with all the folks working from home and the possibility of process slowdowns.
The overriding sense I took away is we’re not yet trending up. A kind of plateau has been reached, and it’s not clear where the next upslope is coming. Much like climbing in the clouds or fog, all you can do is follow the trail with faith in the destination, even though it’s not clearly in sight.
Share what you are hearing, with me, with your team, your peers. Together we’ll find our way.
