According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2016, 59% of companies are investing more in their employer brand compared
to 2015
This is because a company’s reputation and popularity are important. It’s important from an employer’s perspective and describes the value company give to their employees. The report also states that great leaders who drive the bottom line continue to value the quality of hire as the most important metric to track performance. They define and measure the quality of hire against employee turnover.
With this in mind, last week, I was talking to a senior professional currently working within a FTSE 100 company about their current recruitment and retention issues. He believed that they were not open enough about the job’s realities, which inevitably led to interviewees being employed that, in reality, were not suited to the role or the lifestyle. It was not what they expected or suited to, so they left within a few months, making it hard to build the team’s resilience.
This reminded me of the 1914 Trans-Antarctica expedition led by Ernest Shackleton
The crew were stuck in ice which was slowly crushing the ship. The crew had no choice but to abandoned the ship and set out for the nearest landmass, where they were stranded until rescued. The remarkable thing about this story is that all the crew survived; despite a time in history where such isolation would normally have led to death, the survival rate was exceptional.
The main reason given for this remarkable feat was the crew selection process.
It did not focus on skills or objectives, rather it was brutally honest about what the crew could expect with the possibility they would not return;
“Men wanted: for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.”
The crew were absolutely the right people to go on this adventure, they were by design a strong team full of leaders which enabled them to pull through even during the toughest of challenges and uncertainty. The recruitment process built resilience from the start.
A Special Forces soldiers view of recruitment
As a former Elite Military Soldier, I experienced a similar experience within the selection process. I joined the Royal Marines, renowned for having one of the toughest selection processes in the world. It wasn’t until I moved up into the Special Forces that I understood the real difference between a gruelling, mentally tough selection process and one that takes it up a notch and creates a team of total trust.
Royal Marine training was tough both physically and mentally. Yet if you met the required objectives and criteria, you earned your green beret.
Moving to Special Forces was different. In addition to raising the standards and meeting the required objectives and criteria, the final call was based on whether the instructors could a) trust you and b) work with you. I heard stories from within the military that soldiers failed the entry requirements because their face didn’t fit or the instructor did not like them. Common stories within any working environment. However, what it meant in reality was that when it came down to it, the instructors could or would not want to work with them.
Ultimately, we all work in teams
It’s how we get things done, thrive and create the conditions for resilience. If we don’t trust the people we work with then we don’t open up. We lose the confidence and ability to speak up when needed and don’t play to our strengths. In other words, we don’t feel we can be ourselves, we lose our authenticity and hamper the potential for resilience to grow. Inevitably it means that the organisation we work for doesn’t utilise our talent.
Some might say that in the military, effective teamwork and strong relationships were necessary because of the extreme circumstances resulting in either life or death. I can tell you that was never the focus, it was simply about being able to trust the rest of my team enough to allow me to be myself and vice versa. This created an open, trusting and empowering culture, and culture is ultimately what will ensure we drive and motivate as opposed to drain and suppress the talent within our organisations.
With this in mind, the next time you are recruiting don’t just focus on skills and capability. Be honest with your expectations and the reality of your organisational culture. Then consider whether that person is right for your organisation.
