I’ve been hunting for hard-to-find talent since 2011. In those 13+ years I’ve facilitated thousands of hires, averaging well over 1 million per year in fees, all while mastering dozens of niche positions within 3 wildly different markets.
Mapping outputs to results has been the single most important tactic I’ve used to drive consistent & predictable outcomes.
So in this week’s guide, I’m going to cover each of the 7 major data points we track.
I’ll also include some of our own benchmarks to ensure you have a feeling for the right volume at every phase.
So without any need for advanced calculus, let’s look at a simple talent equation.
The 7 Major Tracking Points In Every Hiring Process.
If we “begin with the end in mind” we’ll first need to agree that the primary goal of hiring goes further than merely getting an offer accepted or keeping someone for their first 90 days. Our long term hiring goal should always be “growing a valuable member of the team.” With that in mind, these are the data points you’ll want to manage closely…
- 1. All potential leads (the accessible & available talent pool)
- 2. Contacted leads (the ones you actually reach to qualify within your talent pool)
- 3. Interviewed candidates (the ones who participate an official initial interview)
- 4. Candidates who have been given a job offer
- 5. Candidates who accepted the offer
- 6. Candidates who started the job
- 7. Candidates who stayed in the job (1 year, 2 years, promotion)
Let’s explore each step in detail.
Step 1: Building a massive talent pool
Think of this as a “brainstorming session” where there are no bad ideas, no wrong answers and no limitations on where you can go or who you can find. The best way to improve your odds starts with identifying everyone, everywhere, all at once.
Most companies merely “react” to applications or job ad responses. We want to go deeper and add in every possible “proactive” resource.
How can you expand your reach beyond the usual channels?
Try adding in the following: All past applicants & interviewees in your HR database, past employees who left on good terms, professional association members who fit the role, people who moved out of the area who might be open to return, people in markets with worse weather or economic circumstances, anyone within 100 miles, people in areas with a higher cost of living, any recent plant closures (nationwide), industry conference attendees, transitioning military members, active online forums or community members, any/all qualified active LinkedIn profiles, any contacts in your phone (you can upload to LinkedIn & see who you know that you may have forgotten about), alumni networks, professional training programs & trainers, and our favorite – employee referrals.
Anyone who has held the same job or title for 3-5 years makes a great target.
We regularly review 80-100 potential profiles for every successful placement we make. If you’re hiring 3 people, you’ll want to identify 250-300.
Step 2: Making contact
Once you have a sizeable list of all who would qualify for the role, the first cut is simple.
Out of any 80-100 profiles we review, we’re only going to be able to get in contact with 40 and likely screen 12-14 of those people. This is why it’s so important to start with the widest list possible. You’ll be eliminating 88-92% of your options in this one step.
Fortunately, there are almost endless channels to utilize. Unfortunately, these channels are plagued by poor offers and spammy requests. The secret is to approach with an openness to connect, share value and understand what the person you’re trying to reach is looking to add to their career.
Once you have a solid “what’s in it for them”, try every communication format until you catch them on the channel that they prefer to use. Call, text, email, voicemail, social media DM, mutual contact intros, local meetups, industry conferences and direct mail campaigns are all a part of the equation. Do you truly desire to find the right person for your team? Apply different messaging to each format – this is a hunt!
It will likely require 7-12 attempts to get any response. Then, once you reach people, agree that it’s ok to come to a “no” most of the time. That’s a good thing because every rejection is a natural part of getting closer to the next “yes.”
The point is to pursue everyone you can to find the people who are open to being found, then have a chat to see if you’re right for each other, right now. Be sure to keep note of where people are and where they want to go. Make notes & build your list of good contacts for future openings.
Step 3: Interviews: Education > Evaluation
Often the primary focus of the interview stage is “screening out” anyone who doesn’t fit.
If you’re hustling through 120 applicants to fill 12 high turnover positions for a project that starts 2 weeks; by all means – divide and conquer.
If you’re looking to add long-term assets to your team, you’re going to miss a lot of value with short term tactics. This is where education is superior to evaluation.
Approach your interviews as an opportunity to share what’s exciting about your company, projects, upgrades, training, products and team. Good “word of mouth” and future referrals all come from utilizing your interviews as a platform to open your doors and give someone a look into what you’re all about.
If the person you’re interviewing isn’t right for the job, are you providing the kind of interview experience that would have them happy to apply again?
If you’ve done a great job of sourcing, educating and evaluating; your list of 7-12 interviewees will shrink down to 3-4 of the most ideal candidates AND 10-15 people for the future when another job opens up. At this point you’ll be in a position to rank and chose between several high quality candidates.
Step 4: Making offers
Making an offer is not an administrative task, it is a competitive necessity.
This is where all of your team’s effort comes to fruition. If you’re delayed, unfocused or otherwise careless; a fumble at the offer stage can destroy ALL of the trust you’ve built in the process.
Be prepared for your offer and evaluate your position on a candidate ahead of the final interview. If you’ve earned their genuine trust, you will know if they are interviewing elsewhere and where they are in their decision process. Research the market (indeed.com and glassdoor.com are both excellent resources) and prepare to come out strong.
Lowball offers seldom succeed and generally show a lack of concern along with hostility towards someone’s intrinsic value. Manage your HR processes appropriately to ensure you’re treating potential hires like valued teammates and not commodities to be traded. Offers should be presented clearly, promptly, and contain all of the promises made from the various conversations of the interview process.
For every 3-4 finalists you identify, you’ll only likely make offers to 1-2 of them. Be sure you’re making your offer, in writing, no less than 48 hours from final interview.
Step 5: Securing an acceptance
It’s important to track how many candidates you’ve offered VS how many have accepted because a simple improvement in acceptance rate from 60%-80% can reduce your total hiring process burden by 14-20 hours per hire.
While we’ve managed to win an acceptance from 4 of every 5 offers we present, you may experience closer to 2 out of every 3 or one 1 of every 2. Track your numbers and aim to get to a 70%+ acceptance rate.
Remember – Background checks fail, sometimes a spouse’s career can’t accommodate the move, housing or cost of living adjustments may contain a surprise. Not everyone you make a solid offer to will be able to accept, this is why it’s critical to keep the hiring process open with every qualified candidate until your new hire is secured.
Step 6: Starting your hire
Does everyone who accepts their job show up the first day? Of course not.
While the “flake rate” has dropped dramatically since “the great resignation” of 2021-2023, poorly vetted candidates will still occasionally derail your dreams.
Would you like to know what kills more starts than “the flaking of the unvetted”?
Dragged out onboarding.
We’ve seen 3 week background screenings (it should be closer to 2-3 days, ESPECIALLY for hourly positions). Errors in the offer letter. Hiring manager changes that were never disclosed. Variable compensation documentation that doesn’t align with what was promised. These are all the sins of the company.
For the 191 hires we’ve completed in manufacturing, we’ve likely seen 20+ great hires that never started the job due to internal process issues with steps 4,5,6.
Step 7: Growing a teammate
Have you ever seen a football player celebrate a touchdown before crossing the end zone, only to be tackled by an opponent they didn’t see? Have you ever seen a runner slow down or get tripped up 3 yards ahead of the finish line and lose the race? This is exactly what happens when a great hiring process meets poor onboarding & integration.
What is the single biggest thing you can do to reduce your hiring requirements? Take great care to keep & grow the people you have!
We can all remember individuals we’ve hired who failed to perform as expected – yet there are just as many companies that didn’t live up to their promise. How will you ensure your new teammate is getting exactly what they’ve come to expect from you? How do you integrate people into your culture? How do you ensure all training and benefits are utilized? Do you follow through on meeting their expectations of you?
True hiring success is measured in the results your people bring to their team.
Starting a new hire is not the goal of hiring – it is merely the commencement of the real game – building a self sustaining team that rarely requires replacements.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
- Manufacturing Talent Mastery Newsletters: Join a network of over 1,000 industrial leaders and learn how to dominate every phase of the engagement cycle with our weekly tips & tactics.
- Talent Assessment: If you have a maintenance team that’s short on talent – or just not running as well as it could, our FREE Competitive Market Analysis uncovers the precise market positioning required to attract and retain experienced talent.
- 5 Pillars: If you’re eager to further explore how winning teams are attacking the talent market, I invite you to explore our in-depth research on “The 5-Stage Industrial Talent Attraction Formula.” Download our FREE guide and discover the exact blueprint for building a High-Performing team… the right way.
