Transforming Ideas Into Impact.™

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This is our favorite time of year to get down to work. To shore up foundations. To bridge disconnects. To reflect and retool. And because of the freedom and opportunity the cyclical nature of talent and recruiting fundamentally affords, it should be yours, too! As the year winds down, we should all be revving up.

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Around this time last year (and every year), we addressed the opportunity cost of ineffective recruiting, namely centered around the ROI-generating steps that companies can take specifically throughout late Fall to support their recruiting and retention efforts, brand, and visibility year-round. Why? Because candidates and current employees are looking at you year-round. And because November and December tend to be passive months. Most recruiting events have taken place. Offers have been extended. In the early talent realm, the semester is almost over and we are all speeding towards the holidays. A lot of companies feel their work is done and they can sit back and relax because they have “shown up.” On the contrary, now is when the work begins!

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Now is when you are showing up because you want to, not because you need to. It’s that distinction that makes a world of difference. Just like integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking, authenticity is doing the work to do the work. All of the tools and strategies that go into attracting and retaining your dream candidates and employees are needed year-round, which means companies need their game face ON year-round, need to be doing the work year-round. What better time to jumpstart things than coming off of the traditional recruiting cycle timing – i.e. now.

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Start Here: build out and work your way through that to-do list.

1. Show up!

• But before you do… assess and refresh your front line and your materials. What is your messaging? How is it communicated and by whom? What are your optics? Are you effectively reflecting your brand? Keep it authentic, consistent, and relevant.

• Connect with local schools, schools where your last intern class or entry-level hires hail from, your alma mater. Meet students, faculty, and administrators. Offer to speak on a specific subject or about your path into and through the industry. Showcase your brand, your job paths, your opportunities.

• Map to local feeder programs, i.e. high schools, local InVEST or National Alliance affiliated schools, academic enrichment programs, etc.

 

2. Obtain and leverage feedback, identify disconnects and address areas for improvement. Repeat. Don’t try to read minds or make mis- or underinformed decisions! Start by seeking feedback from:

• Employees: access and elevate the built-in asset of employee voice by connecting with a broad representation across race, gender, age, tenure, level, etc. A well-crafted survey is vital to gauge satisfaction and belonging, DEI progress, opportunities to draw business impact from BRGs, and so much more.

• Candidates: what was their experience throughout the process? What was the result of their experience? Do your people, materials, and message resonate with your target audience?

• Your most recent intern class, including those to whom you did not extend offers and those who did not accept your offer. How can you double down on positive experiences and course correct where you’ve fallen short?

 

Countless benign deflections hamper momentum and growth. We don’t have the time or the budget to focus on that now... We need to get all these other things in place first... It’s almost the holidays, we can’t get anything done now. We need more buy-in… We’ll get to that next year… Well, this is next year, soon to be was next year. Let’s stop getting in our own way to effect transformational change. What have the opportunity costs been of putting off until tomorrow what needed to be started – started, not completed! – today? Could a little fine-tuning (or a massive overhaul!) have course-corrected you to have landed in a dramatically different place?

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Either way, it’s a candidate market, plain and simple. Candidates are being inundated with companies clamoring to get in from of them in an explosion of targeted talent connection points and burgeoning partnerships. Differentiation and authenticity will win the day. Stakes were high last year, and they are higher now. Plan for a strong 2022 kickoff, and Insurance Careers Month will be here before we know it! What roadmap are you using to chart your course and evaluate your actions and progress against goals? Who was involved in crafting the plan? Perhaps more tellingly, who was not involved? What changes do you need to make and how do you need to show up to achieve the results you want? NOW is the time to get to work. The VERTO team can help with every stage of this journey.

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