On Monday, we discussed the poor circumstances that most candidates encounter when they look for a job or investigate a career change.  When simple research techniques and metrics are used to quantify a candidate’s experience, it is no wonder that job changes are constantly cited as one of the top stressors in a person’s life.

While you can’t change the employment landscape for everyone, you can make sure that the candidates who interact with your organization are experiencing something positive and out of the norm.  If managed proactively, this can become a significant competitive advantage for your company.  The most talented people will be naturally drawn to organizations where they feel respected and valued for the contribution they can make to a team.

Here are some ideas regarding how you can take the negatives from Monday’s discussion and turn them into positives in your company:

1.  70% dissatisfied — 70% of the candidates and 28% of hiring managers indicate they are dissatisfied with the hiring process (Source: Staffing.org):

Ask yourself this question:  Why do retail companies go through the trouble of ensuring that their customers are having an enjoyable experience in their stores?  It is obviously because those customers are the source of the company’s revenue.  I don’t mean to sound overly harsh in this statement, but if you run a real estate company, where does your revenue come from?  That’s right—your agents and (looking into the future) your perspective agents.
Maybe it’s time to change your frame of reference.  Treating candidates like you’d treat a customer makes much more sense from a business perspective. 

Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes—what kind of experience would you want to have if you were interviewing with your organization?  Try surprising the candidate with something that would exceed their expectations.  Even if a candidate does not become an agent, the person could still eventually become an actual customer that takes advantage of your company’s services.

2.  46% failure rate — 46% of U.S. new hires must be classified as failures within their first 18 months (fired, pressured to quit, required disciplinary action, etc.) (Source: Leadership IQ):

Keep in mind that these metrics represent the hiring results of companies at large—many real estate companies are even worse.  What causes someone to fail in a job?  There are many reasons, but one cause that researchers consistently identify as being at the top of the list is that the new hire is a poor fit for accomplishing the tasks necessary to be successful in the job.  In hindsight, the mistakes made in the hiring process usually become clearer.  But, how do you recognize the problems before the hire?  

As earlier suggested, treating candidate like you’d treat a customer can help you avoid these missteps.  Think about how real estate is sold—the essence of the agent’s role is to help the client make a connection between their personal and financial circumstances, and the house that best fits their needs. 

Helping someone make a career change is very similar.  People need assistance and coaching as they try to figure out how a job change could work in their life.  What they don’t need is a judgmental attitude, trait responses, or indifference.  If you’re willing to take on a positive career counseling approach with high-quality candidates, I think you will find you’ll become better at making the right selections.

3.  Only 30% of organizations measure quality of hire, and only a handful specifically define and measure recruiting process failure: 

If you’re a regular WorkPuzzle reader, you’ve often heard that it’s difficult to improve what you can’t measure.  Don’t assume you know what the candidate is experiencing.  Instead, collect data and act on that data.  To measure the candidate’s experience, have a third party call the candidate after the interview and collect some anonymous feedback.  You’ll be surprised what you learn. 

I’ve given you a way to address three of the twelve metrics that Dr. Sullivan documents in his original article.  Hopefully, you are getting the idea of how these issues can be addressed and turned into positive differentiators for your company.  One thing we know for sure, if your recruiting process and results systematically improve, your company’s financial results will improve as well.

Editor’s Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you’re an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the “comments” link below.