As a full fledged football widow, I hear those words screamed by Hank Williams Jr and my husband every Monday night during the season. Married to a dedicated Buffalo Bills fan, football is religion and our weekend activities are planned around what games are on TV. It’s a phenomenon that I do not really appreciate, and count down the weeks to our freedom. What I do appreciate is the amount of time and energy coaches and the players put forth in preparation for a game from week to week.

If you look at their model it is one we should embrace from a hiring perspective. These coaches and players, week in and week out, review countless hours of game film. They study the competition, know their every move, put together an extensive game plan and communicate it to the whole organization so when they are on the field on game day they know how to execute. They are as proactive as possible to win. Most importantly, they ensure they have their BEST PLAYERS on the field and have a plan to put those players in a position to succeed versus the competition.

When it comes to hiring within organizations, I think companies are more on the defensive than the offensive. They are reactive vs. proactive. They do not have a game plan when it comes to hiring. They go out and start recruiting without taking a step back and thinking about what needs to happen.
I encourage my clients to be as proactive as possible when it comes to hiring. Companies will yield a better hire to meet their overall career goals if they have a clear, thought-out game plan. What can we do to be more proactive?

The first step is to put together a hiring plan that can evolve over time. Look 3 to 6 months out at your business plan. Determine if you have the right resources in place to meet your deliverable to your clients. If not, then determine the gaps. Can you move resources around within the company? If not, determine where you need to hire. Once the need is identified, think about what this person needs to accomplish to be successful, talk to people within your organization to make sure you are all on the same page and then put together a complete job description. I know what you’re thinking, but candidates actually read these! This might seem like it will take more time, but will yield significant time and savings when it comes to avoiding hiring the wrong person for the job.

There have been many times when I have been called to help an organization with a hiring need and they do not have this game plan in place, we spend several days or sometimes weeks looking for the wrong candidate or resource. The impacts of this are far-reaching indeed: Hiring the wrong resource, lost productivity, lost revenue, wasted time interviewing the wrong candidates that would not fit the role if hired, etc. I read in a recent study that 59% of the managers surveyed believed that less than half of all candidates they interviewed were qualified for the job (eBullpen, LLC).

So the next time you have a hiring need:
1) Put together a strategy – look at the skills needed, and first determine who in your current talent pool might have those skills.
2) Put together a resources plan for the next 3 to 6 months so you have a funnel of candidates for your upcoming positions and you can be more proactive vs reactive in hiring.
3) Develop a complete job description for the skills that you need, make sure everyone is on board the first time around.
4) Communicate to your company what you are looking for so you can encourage employee referrals and ensure that the interview team knows what to look for when they meet with a candidate.
5) Execute the plan by engaging a person that specializes in hiring so you can target the right resource.
Companies need to remember that people are their best resources. Hiring top performers can increase revenue and productivity by 40 to 67% over an average performer (McKinsey & Co). Having the wrong person in place can jeopardize your ability to maximize your success and reach your goals. Ask yourself: Are You Ready For Some Hiring?