Are Your Hiring Requirements Truly Necessary?

In today's Talent Driven market-place, a true trend to watch is whether your requirements are truly necessary to do the job in the first place. Today, many organizations have tight requirements in their staffing push that are:

>Inflexible and Based on Someone's Gut Instinct VS. Data Driven Realities

>Are Perhaps Ill-Suited to the Realities of the Job Market in this Modern Age.

There may be times when certain individuals have dynamics, focus points, and other circumstances that really shouldn't be part of the hiring equation. Gut instinct, an inflexible requirement based on a past experience of a leader, or anything that may not be necessary as a job requirement to do the job at hand might be causing time to fill to be longer, your team to be left without options, and create more hurt than is necessary in filling a role. Often times this is based on emotion rather than fact based decisions in hiring approaches. As a talent acquisition professional we must have courage to push back on such naive circumstances as these no matter the cost, as it may have a negative impact on the hiring managers we serve, and for that matter the candidates.

I find that such blanket requirements as Education, having 100% of skills, or the "Perfect" Purple Squirrel candidate might be the problem in our world today, and where possible we need to break down the barriers to success when we witness such behavior. In truth, often times the perfect candidate does not exist, rather we can get close to checking as many boxes in our slate as possible, but inflexibility on the requirements may be limiting your pool. For instance - could it be that the degree is not relevant to the job in the first place? Could it be the requirements in the job description are outdated? Could it be that a candidate with more soft skills who shows future "potential" might be a hiring manager's BEST candidate option? And do all the requirements make sense to have as your standard in the first place. The most important step in evaluating this is Job Analysis. When individuals seem to think as Hiring Managers that the standards are "absolutes" it may be necessary to push back and show them the "why" of the market place and how this might limit their options for filling the job. It is always important to keep your eye on the reality, vs. the perception. Because - therein lies the key to success. Underlying Metric Trends, Scientific Based Evaluations, and limiting the "gut" instinct is vital. OFCCP Compliance, Federal Requirements, and other matters dictate the "must" in this. Are your requirements having an adverse impact? Do they make sense? You better ask yourself these questions as a business leader. Because if you don't you are opening yourself up to risk. If your hiring decisions are inflexible, that is if you have "blanket" requirements that can't be tailored to cities, and regions, you are limiting yourself and for that matter setting a precedent for circumstances later. Let's just say if your competitors are standing on inflexible ground, you will beat them to the Talent Acquisition game and vice versa. So - therefore it may be time to evaluate what is happening at Macro and Micro levels. Sure circumstances may dictate your approaches, but fact based hiring is going to set the competition apart, and the winners and losers in getting great talent aboard.

What can a recruiting professional do then? Try and drive fact based decision making on the realities in play, get data to the surface when everything might seem challenging. In short, be honest, candid, and unafraid as a Talent Acquisition Professional in turning a corner to challenge this behavior, with facts, and scientific approaches that allow greater fact based hiring. Removing the barriers to entry for more quality candidates is necessary to assess the entire pool.

I remain unafraid and firm in the approach needed at times when others may be allowing themselves to "go with the status quo". The "Status Quo" today needs to be re-evaluated for function and for "fit". A true Talent Partner will not stand idly by and not push back when the need arises. I am happy to say I work for a forward thinking company that does it's best to try and maneuver when needed. But - Talent Acquisition Professionals should never back down when we are right in the facts we see, and the realities that need to be expressed.

The Best Service anyone can ever provide is doing the "Right Thing" within their power to do so, when it may be necessary to stand on principle, but also be balanced in one's Facts and gradually drive change when that may be necessary to success.

"Innovative Disruption" to me means driving the way forward when one sees the realities that your business partners are putting forward. Nothing satisfies me more than overcoming these matters and driving the way ahead when you find what works. If you are experiencing as a Talent Acquisition Professional realities of instinct, and other matters that may be limiting your options, it may be an up-hill fight at times, but it is necessary to bring about change, especially when those who you serve could be hurting themselves. Being bold is necessary in a balanced approach to bring about Talent Acquisition grand outcomes.

Margaret Thatcher once said "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." This is a true statement. When your goal is best outcomes, best practices, and such, don't let anyone stop you when you are right, and for that matter, drive forward with faith in your business partners, even when they could be making mistakes that are causing them to lose great talent.

Indeed Rome was not built in a day, but the value added approach of a solid business partner is not always an easy road. Quite frankly, you might have to fight a few battles with forward thinking belief in self, and belief in others until the Talent Acquisition victory is won.