A year and a half ago, I wrote a newsletter article on this subject and received some very positive responses from managers who had tried the approach.  One manager claimed that it was what finally hooked an agent who she had been trying to recruit for years.  Instead of “trying to recruit” like “trying to pick someone up,” she simply took the agent out for a glass of wine and listened— That was it!  The agent called the next day to join her company.

So, I think it would be beneficial to revisit the content of that original letter.  By the way, no matter what business you are in, if you influence people in any way, you can benefit from the following information:

The basics:

Building a pipeline of agent candidates, or recruits of any type, is similar to building a sphere of influence.  You cannot rely on luck or one-time conversations.  You must build rapport with consistent follow-up and lots of attention.

What people need:

Just like people need air to breathe and food to eat, they need acknowledgement and attunement to become attached to a company.  Attunement means “to adjust or accustom your response to become receptive or responsive to someone else.”

For those of you who have ever dated… How many of you like to hear your date drone on and on about themselves without wanting to know anything about you?  We all know that this is a very bad sign.  It really means that the person desires a relationship for the purpose of meeting their own needs, and cares very little about meeting yours. 

Being attuned means that you are interested and curious about the given person.  Being attuned helps build attachment, and attachment leads to hiring and thus, commitment to your organization.

What happens when you treat a person like an object? 

Treating people like an object is never a good idea. People have a sixth sense about this.  If you are interviewing and coaching a person who is fairly desperate for a job, he/she might put up with it for awhile.  But, sooner or later, frustration will set in and he/she will want to leave.  You see, they know that you have no interest in them beyond what they are generating for you and your organization.  BUSTED! – They’ll take the first opportunity to leave.

Solution:

First, examine yourself:  Do you treat those who work for you as objects?  Or, do they know that you are genuinely interested in their growth for their sake, as well as the company’s?  If you’re unsure, ask a few people you trust who will give you an honest answer. If you do have this tendency, there is a very simple rule of thumb to apply in every interaction:  Following the tried and true “Golden Rule,” ask yourself, “How would I like to be treated if I were in their shoes?” 

Additionally, remember that impatience is the fruit of pride.  Most of us would like others to be patient; We’d like them to be interested in our strengths and how we use them daily; we’d like them to be curious about us as people who have lives outside of the office.

If you want to build an environment of attachment and performance, you need to seriously consider how to shape your own strengths around the above solution.  The challenge is keeping it up after the dating, and during the marriage.