In a few years the majority of our adult working population will be under the age of 35 (let that sink in for a second).
These are people that grew up post Internet, where surfing the web was akin to changing a TV channel. A common thread for them is their negative view of the concept of “career.” They saw their parents spend a lifetime climbing the career ladder where either a promotion or a pink slip waited regardless of ability, and they want no part of it.
To this new majority "career" is all about job ads and the “recruitment process,” and its something to be avoided if at all possible. Yet the employment industry bases 80-90% of their efforts on the use of these very tools. Something has to give and the change needed is fundamental.
This could be the main reason that more than 50% of American companies are having trouble filling jobs. Its not that there aren’t people out there potentially interested, its that the method being used to engage their interest is failing. The majority of today’s workers want to build a business relationship before they agree to a business marriage. Responding to an advertisement in hopes of being picked for a short interview that culminates in getting “hitched” professionally doesn’t cut it.
Today, most people making employment decisions are older than 35, and from their experience a business relationship is one that is developed after the job is acquired, but the marketplace will show the way and we will adapt. Twenty years ago the way someone found a personal relationship was typically at a bar or night club. The stigma of dating clubs was palpable, yet today companies like Match.com and eHarmony boast millions of members and the Online Dating Industry is the #1 Internet revenue generator with widespread social acceptance. For most, Social Networks didn’t exist five years ago, yet today they are beyond mainstream. New methods of building employment relationships with future workers will also evolve and the speed of its acceptance could be breath taking...
In the past few years practically all of the Employment Industry Conference Agendas have included topics discussing talent management initiatives in the Social Age. Many have punted the Talent Community concept back and forth – and this could be the best path to building pre-hire business relationships that most are seeking. There are a few obstacles to overcome in getting the concept established.
The word “community” seems to be a stumbling block to industry wide acceptance as people have a dizzying array of views as to what the term implies. This may be mostly due to Social Media practitioners who measure community effectiveness much differently than a Talent Acquisition expert measures a Talent Community. The goals are very different and of course, Social Media is huge with ability to drown out those promoting talent based communities... In addition, until professional development is viewed as the enriching and rewarding activity it should be, the people attracted to Talent Communities will be the active job seeker that job ads originally brought in. These are just speed bumps and talent communities, cooperatives or collaboratives (whatever they end up being called) should explode.
There are two key elements needed regardless of the approach. One is to provide workers the means to develop pre-hire business relationships with companies and their employees to determine where they could do their best work. The other is to provide companies with a better sense of the “inner chemistry” a worker possesses and their ability to succeed in various functional and team roles. Neither of these elements are currently available and the company that can provide them and pave the way for their acceptance by worker and company alike will be the eHarmony equivalent of the business world.
Companies who begin using this community based approach for hiring will see their Job Satisfaction and Quality of Hire metrics soar... For workers, you’re not going to find the love of your life, but you might find a job that you’ll love…