Susan has been growing businesses that impact humanity since she was 17 in education, well-being, leadership training and real estate.
The traditional model for hiring has become outmoded, and the numbers clearly indicate that the market has entered a hiring crisis. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of resignations and job openings reached record highs while the number of discharges reached record lows in 2021. In many industries, employees are less satisfied than ever, and retention and engagement have become large issues. Moreover, much of the population has found itself excluded from the job market as we strive to recover from the “Great Resignation” that emerged from the Covid-19 Pandemic.
As per conventional wisdom emerging in the 1970s, hiring is a process of elimination. As employers, we place our desires for employees out into the world, and we, either by way of recruitment or from a network, get a field of candidates. The people we end up with are presumed to be the most suited for the job. They’re the ones with the best degrees, experience, qualifications and the best work history. Applicants end up being judged by their access to education and to previous work experience.
Most team leaders and team members will tell you that this system isn’t working. Employee vacancies are still high in some industries. So why haven’t we adapted? What assumptions are keeping this broken system in place? We need a new model for entry-level employment with a path toward career growth, one that works for everyone has never been clearer.
We need a drastic shift in how we hire and why we hire.
Fortunately, the solution to these issues already exists. Most of the problems in the employment market are the result of traditional perceptions of who is hireable and how we should go about finding them. Changing that perception, and operationalizing it, serves as the kind of disruptive innovation that can solve these problems.
Perception is what many would describe as a “soft value.” It’s something that isn’t easy to model or represent numerically. Consequently, perception isn’t something that our leadership considers when it comes to hiring. Yet, perception is hard-wired into our system; it continues to dictate who we deem to be hireable and promotable. Being locked into the traditional perception of who makes a valuable employee and which skills are meaningful can be woefully shortsighted. This practice isn’t usually a matter of consciously making a choice about hiring policies but is instead treated as the default truth of hiring. We have a perception of who is a professional and who is deserving of work. None of these are objective, but I feel that they are rarely questioned. And we miss out on many opportunities by not questioning these assumptions.
Left out of this system are those who have left the work market, anyone who didn’t benefit from the traditional education system because their skills and aptitudes didn’t fit into neurotypical learning environments. Moreover, people who have exited the criminal justice system and scores of others who don’t fit into the preconceived notions about hireability due to unconscious bias about race, gender, and class. These individuals can have a huge variety of skills that are not currently recognized by the labor market. For example, a parent who temporarily left the workforce acquired a huge variety of skills; They need to manage time, to budget, to delegate, to recruit and to interview professionals, among other skills which take years to learn inside of a professional organization. Despite these transferable skills, women returning from maternity leave tend to earn significantly less than they did prior to leaving the market.
This type of perceptual innovation can be put into practice with great success. Employment is one of the great social and economic equalizers, and there are many factors that make it difficult for individuals, especially racialized women and youths, to attain. As a leader, you may consider stripping away the typical hiring process and looking at these qualifications to hire inclusively.
1. Coachability: Is the candidate open to receiving and giving feedback? This competency is critical in new work environments committed to honoring new populations as well as effectively sharing suggestions for improvement
2. Communication: What does effective communication look like in practice? Are they committed to improving communication skills?
3. Beginner’s Mind: Is the candidate open to practicing determination, faith and doubt (principles of Bernie Glassman’s open hiring) to let go of limiting beliefs and create new possibilities?
Leaders can encourage system-impacted populations to apply through word-of-mouth in their communities or partnering with local nonprofits focused on transitions for system-impacted populations. It’s important to note that bringing dignity to this process is critical for success. In my opinion, most humans that have been out of the workforce have dealt with empty promises both in opportunities as well as valuing their contributions. Developing JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, inclusion) awareness throughout the system is critical.
Based on my experience advising companies, opening employment up for the groups who are normally overlooked in the hiring process can result in seasonal new hires becoming permanent employees, demonstrating that when a person, organization and culture work to shift their perceptions, their reality also changes. This shift can manifest to great effect, beating the current hiring market and putting companies in a better position than their competition.
This transformation is possible for any company that is willing to examine the frame of their perceptions across the individual, team, and organizational levels. It can allow for innovation and reinvention while also offering the opportunity to clear obstacles to productivity and communication in ways that traditional hierarchies cannot.
In conclusion, if we want to end the Great Resignation and provide an equitable path for career growth, one of the tools in our toolbox must be inclusive hiring.
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