Don’t lose great hires by being too rigid in your skill requirements. Be flexible in your recruitment advertising to capture more diverse talent, and consider creating new positions for high-potential candidates who align with your vision.
Recruitment usually involves job advertisements with a formal description and list of requirements and qualifications. But this process can restrict your business’s potential to attract new, growth-minded talent.
Vivek Bapat reporting for Harvard Business Review recommends assessing how your current employees’ professional skills, passions and values intersect. Then, in your recruitment marketing and advertising strategy, be creative in redefining roles for creative professionals who demonstrate high potential in line with your organisational goals.
Bapat describes an interesting case study demonstrating how he tailored a position to suit a great candidate.
“Recently a member of my team left to take on a different position in the company. As we interviewed for a replacement, we found many candidates who looked to be perfect matched for what the position as described, but very few had a clear-eyed view about what the position could be.
“Joe wasn’t a perfect fit on paper, but during the interview process he painted a new creative vision, different from one we had before. Ultimately, we created a new position that was custom designed for that vision, and also [harmonised] with where the team was going.”
Start by asking your current employees to describe themselves, their career growth and personalise their job descriptions. Pay particular attention to what they are good at, what motivates them, and what career successes they are most proud of. Take into account hard and soft skills, and use this information to inform your recruitment marketing strategy.
Beware that tailoring job descriptions to suit individuals and other workplace customisation may come with drawbacks. Certain responsibilities may fall to other staff and cause resentment or other problems. Keep the big picture in mind to ensure matching one of your roles to fit a person suits your overall business structure and goals. This strategy may just help you become an employer of choice for creative talent.
Source
Why You Should Let Employees Personalize Their Job Descriptions
Vivek Bapat
Harvard Business Review