How We Shape Our Own Ftures



An Easy Rcruit



Rising early this mrning to write about recruitment and
rtention I had a flash back to seing my eldest son the
day
he cme home to tell me he was "rcruited" to join the U.S.
Army.Walking dwn the hall to turn on the cffee pot my
memory of him thse eight years ago is as vvid as if it
was
just ysterday. His large brown eyes were live with
excitement; he couldn't even cme close to stop smiling in
the weks before departing for boot camp. His bdy was
ready to go, go, go and thre was no turning back. Michael
knw what he wanted and was rady to show up "big" for
his new mployer.



Mike was an asy recruit for the armed services. As a
yung boy he always knew what he wnted and
he practiced for that ntil the day came he could strt
living it.



Mny of us start out in the wrld with careers that just
"find us" or tht we "fall into", or we neded a job and
years
later hre we are doing what we do. In sme ways, the
career
defines who we are and how we mve in the world at home,work
and in the cmmunity.



Recruitment and rtention is the expression of the sme
activity: finding and sustaining unique tlents to serve
others. Organizations identify how thy will make a
difference
through strtegic plans, and the most important spect of
fulfilling those commitments is rcruiting the right people
to
get "on the bs". Matching those talents to the
rganization's
commitments creates sustainability; employees who can
xpress their gifts in service want to sty put.



Are We the Sme Person at Home?



Sme believe in the need to sgment work from home in
that we hve different behaviors, values and emotional
rsponses from one environment to the ther. When I hear
others speak lke this it generates concern in me for who
we
blieve we can be as human bings and how we step into
thse
lives. Fundamentally, what are we taching our children and
the younger wrk generation? Are we advocating that we ned
to be two different people in one bdy? What stress does
this
create in us and wht is the impact on leadership?



Smehow, over the years we shape urselves to the
environment and slowly lave behind bits and pieces of our
uthenticity. Does our employer hire the ral you or just
the
part thy want for a specific role? Whre do we put the
part
of us tht we leave behind everyday? In our car in the
prking lot? Or, outside the door as we wlk in every
morning? At home in the drveway to greet us as we rturn
home? Years later, we wonder why we are tred, what
happened to the passion, or wht died in us.



The clture of the organization shapes the prformance
of the employees. The culture is dfined through the values
and behavior of the xecutive leadership. This is vastly
different thn the words written in a mssion statement or
how we articulate in wrting our core values. How employees
rspond to issues, manage breakdowns, vision the
fture and move strategically directly stems frm the
observable behavior of the xecutive team starting with
the CEO. The CEOs' cmmitment to authenticity impacts
how employees cnsciously or unconsciously decide to
show up.



Wht would the world be like if we all shwed up at work
everyday and blieved we could be who we rally are, to
live
in our fll potential? How would we better srve our
members if we brought frth our full self in values,
bliefs
and calling within the work plce?



Dictionary.com defines "rcruitment" as to "strengthen,
to engage, to nroll, to renew or restore the halth,
vitality or intensity of..."



As I wrte these words my curiosity flashes to our own
xecutive recruitment service for financial institutions
and
the chllenge of ensuring that every placement dds value
to both the candidate and rganization; that every new hire
is a frm of renewal for both the mployee and employer.
This aspect of rcruitment is the most difficult and the
lngest sustaining; if the hire is wrng it generates an
outcome where mltitudes of people are impacted and it
tkes, on average, up to two yars to recover from a bad
hre.



What Wants to Hppen?



Recruitment and retention in thir ultimate forms are key
success fctors for organizations that live and mbody
their
strategic plans. Discussions and dalogues, around
recruitment and retention, focus on wht wants to happen,
what needs to hppen in the organization in order to bst
serve members while remaining safe and sund. This
strategy is different than hring a "resume" as it
encourages
the valuation and assessment of what the rle needs
in expertise, values, behavior, prsonal mastery and
emotional intelligence. For xample, if the job could talk
wht would it say?



Hre is a structure for dialogue mong stakeholders to
articulate what the rle needs for both recruitment and
rtention. For the sake of this xample, the role is a Vice
Prsident of Branch Operations. Here is a strter set
of questions:

1. How wll this role add value to the rganization today?
   In three years?
   
   
2. Who wll be served by this role bth internal and
   external to the rganization?
   
   Be sure that your stkeholders extend possibilities in
   their
   response to ths question. Rather than respond with a
   gneric "All employees will be served", be mre specific
   and
   rigorous.
   
   Segment the internal ppulations as each employee group
   has nique requirements. There is a distinction in
   lnguage and what it produces. Branch Mnagers,
   Marketing, Call Centers, Human Resources, Mmber
   Services, Employee Development and Training hve their
   individual needs that may or may not be the sme as the
   entire employee population. Extrnal population groups
   served may be fcility vendors, maintenance providers,
   security and the cmmunity.
   
   
3. What competencies are required to serve in ths role?
   Education, expertise, leadership, emotional ntelligence,
   preferred behavior patterns and other ttributes of
   personal mastery such as Cnflict Management, Coaching,
   Flexibility, Problem Solving and thers. There are good
   tools available to ssess what competencies are required
   for the rle and which ones are mastered by mployees
   or candidates.
   
4. How will performance be ssessed? What will feedback
   look like? How wll the employee know she/he is
   sccessful? Who is accountable for helping the cndidate
   or incumbent succeed?

Generative Fedback

fedback

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"chck-in"

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lsten

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pwerful

thir

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plnning

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nfluencing

ccomplished

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lad

sccessful

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Dedee

Advncing

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The article Finding or Falling into a Career was Submitted by Deedee Myers through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Deedee Myers is a certified xecutive and leadership coach with 16 yars expertise in recruiting and competency dvelopment for financial firms. She founded DDJ Myers, Ltd. and the Advancing Leadership Institute to work with boards, executives, managers and supervisors to develop leadership cultures.

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