Recruiting is a time consuming process. Nothing is more frustrating than spending time and effort pursuing a candidate who is not willing to make a change. You not only lose the time you spent trying to dislodge someone who is stuck, but you also forfeit the opportunity of engaging someone else who might have a higher propensity to change jobs.
With the susceptibility for such waste, it makes sense to put some thought into the inclination a person has for change at an early stage in the recruiting process.
Many years ago, Steve Hieman, the co-founder of the sales training company Miller-Heiman, developed a model for thinking about change. The model was built to help salespeople understand how decision-makers would potentially react to sales proposals.
Heiman observed that people generally fall into one of four modes depending upon their perception of reality:
1. Growth Mode: The perception that there is a hopeful difference between today’s reality and the potential for short-term gains. Something needs to be done to reach the potential.
2. Trouble Mode: The perception that today’s reality will soon deteriate. A person in this mode has anxiety about the difficulty looming on the horizon. Something needs to be done to avoid the trouble ahead.
3. Even Keel Mode: The perception that that there is no difference between today’s reality and what will actually be accomplished in the months ahead. “Rocking the boat” is risky and unnecessary.
4. Overconfident Mode: The perception that growth and prosperity are inevitable.
If you think about these concepts from a recruiting perspective, the definitions apply. Each candidate tends to have a perception of reality that matches one of these modes.
It’s not hard to figure out a candidate’s mode during a conversation. The questions that get a candidate to reveal his/her perception of reality are natural and easy to ask. Once you’ve made this assessment, you have some insight into the candidate’s propensity to change.
Candidates who are in a Growth Mode or Trouble Mode have a high likelihood of making changes. Candidates who are in an Even Keel Mode have a much lower chance of making a change. And candidates who are Overconfident have very little chance of making a change.
In working with a candidate in your talent pipeline, those in the Growth or Trouble Mode are going to be much more open to direct conversations about making a job change.
Those who are in an Even Keel Mode will most likely need to percolate over time. As a recruiter, staying in touch and being seen as an indirect resource is the best way to spend your time while you wait for an external event to dislodge them from the Even Keel mode.
Those who are Overconfident will not be responsive until they “crash and burn.” It’s a waste of time to try to engage them until their arrogance causes them to enter the Trouble Mode themselves.
Try making these assessments with the people you work with this week — See how quickly you can become adept at assessing their modes. With this knowledge, you’ll be more focused on the activities that produce results.
