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Over the past two years, we have seen many companies announce layoffs, especially in the technology industry. I saw it last year alone Layoffs increased by 10% across all industries — 19.8 million in 2023 and 17.6 million in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In tech, layoffs up 59% Companies that have overhired during the pandemic have struggled to do more with fewer resources due to rising interest rates and global uncertainty. What does this mean to you?
Great people are being fired. After firing underperforming employees, companies are now making the painful decision to part ways with talented employees, especially in their slowest-growing divisions.
Fortunately for these workers, today’s job market is resilient, and steady layoffs don’t mean high unemployment. From December 2021, unemployment rate It has remained stable, hovering between 3.4% and 3.9% (by comparison, the unemployment rate in the second month of the pandemic was 14.7%). The best and brightest people don’t stay unemployed for long.
The good news about the current environment is that attentive companies can bring in great talent. This means it’s important to pay close attention to the people in your business area and be prepared to start conversations. Some of the best employees are out there, and they’re looking for quality positions.
But this begs the question, how do you identify the right talent amid layoffs? How do you discover game changers? Here are some strategies to help you identify candidates who may be your next superstar – and then keep them.
related: How to build your fantasy team through recruiting when everyone else is firing
Raise performance standards
As a company leader, I see that the quality of available talent has changed dramatically from two years ago, when companies were scrambling to fill positions. One of my managers recently pointed out that the top applicants for a key position she posted were all fired from their previous jobs.
The best way to start is to pay close attention to the players in your industry. Then take a close look at your talent profile and ask yourself, “Do I have the right people for the right jobs, or is there someone who can do it better?” Next, take your time. When it comes to recruiting, I would say: “Take it easy hurry up. We intentionally recruitour culture may be affected.
Most importantly, make sure every recruit counts. Amazon has developed a programmatic, repeatable approach to “Bar Raiser” Program. To continue driving innovation at the company, Amazon’s recruiting managers are tasked with ensuring that each new hire has skills and abilities that are better than 50% of their peers in similar positions, thus raising the bar for talent. To accomplish this, they hire employee interviewers – “Bar Raisers” – who are extensively trained to look for certain qualities and calibrate candidates against hiring criteria. To provide the best feedback to hiring managers, they ask themselves questions like: “What will Amazon miss out on if we don’t hire this person?” and “What is it about this person that makes you want to work with them?”
At BambooHR, we have adopted a philosophy of using a diverse interview panel, made up of employees from across the company, who can provide a gut check: Can this person clearly raise the bar on performance and become a great employee? cultural fit? With this philosophy in mind, we are getting better and better at identifying and retaining the best talent, and I believe every small and medium-sized company can benefit from doing so.
Take a critical look at your manager
Of course, hiring the right talent doesn’t matter if you don’t have the right talent. Supervisor Who knows how to keep them inspired. I’ve found that top talent wants to be actively managed, so it’s important to discuss expectations during the interview process. But most of all, they hate being treated like everyone else. They want to grow faster and do more. Once you’ve identified and hired your best talent, can your managers actively manage them? Can they provide clear, candid feedback so that people can continue to improve and grow? You might think they already do this, but chances are they don’t.
Some leaders already struggle with proactive performance management, especially when it comes to having difficult conversations around expectations and responsibilities. For example, think about the new assistant you hired in marketing. From your perspective, they’re doing okay, but not great; however, they may think they’re doing a great job in their role. According to Bamboo Human Resources performance management data From 2019 to 2023, 38% of employees whose managers gave them the lowest performance ratings felt they were highly rated. Not only does this disconnect not help employees—especially new hires—grow, it can also hurt the company.
You want to make sure your managers talk about proactive management during recruiting interviews and have the right conversations with new hires right away. As a leader, you have a responsibility invest in their training.
related: ‘You can’t feel sorry for yourself’: Barbara Corcoran shares her best mindset tips for getting fired
Provide purpose and clear vision
Know Your company’s reasons, and communicate this clearly during interviews with potential employees. Research programme More and more employees want to know their work has purpose, especially Millennial and Gen Z job seekers. With every new employee I interview, I discuss mission, vision, and values in the first interview—I don’t talk about our revenue and how we will grow. At BambooHR, we’re working hard to become the world’s number one HR platform for small and medium-sized businesses – but that’s our product, not our purpose.
I start with our mission: What is our mission? Purpose? At Bamboo, we give people the freedom to do great work. We have over 3 million people logging into Bamboo every day, and I want to make their lives better in some way. Then we turn to vision: What do we want to achieve? And then there are values, like how we show up to each other. I wonder, does all this excite the person I’m talking to? Do they want to be a part of it?
Never underestimate the impact the right talent can have. The people on your team are crucial, and understanding how to leverage layoffs can help you find the right people.
