Today’s guest blogger is Jim Lyons, JD, CPC of LHI Executive Search in the New York City area. LHI is an investigative executive search & research outsourcing firm covering the information technology, capital markets, private equity/venture capital, digital & social media, mobile, cloud, big data, and legal business sectors. Jim has been an NPAworldwide member since 2012 and is currently serving as the secretary/treasurer of the Board of Directors. Below are some talent acquisition questions to help your clients determine whether an opening is likely to be filled.
On a recent project with an NPAworldwide partner, I got an idea for a new client development tool. I’ve developed an assessment, along with case studies, that helps hiring managers think critically about the jobs they need to fill. Specifically, The 4A’s of Talent Acquisition is a simple assessment tool focused on the one question hiring managers must consider when bringing a job to market: How long will it likely take to fill this job?
The assessment guides hiring managers through a series of questions with a scoring rubric including the following areas:
- Availability of Top Candidates … are there enough candidates available locally, are enough candidates willing to move, how many likely candidates can be found from direct competitors, and whether the company is willing to pay to relocate the right talent?
- Accessibility & Approachability of Top Candidates … can the company access the top candidates through their existing internal and external networks, can the company access the top candidates through advertising or social media, does the company have the time/resources/process to source and close the top candidates, is there a qualified external search professional who has access to the right candidates?
- Appealability of the Job Offering … Is the job title appealing to top candidates, is there an attractive career path, does the role include a virtual office option, is there an intriguing or unique offer?
- Affordability of Qualified Candidates … Is the compensation plan in line with the market, is the compensation plan above the market, does it include equity, is the benefits plan better than the market?
Depending on how a client answers the questions, a scoring rubric helps them know if the job is likely to be filled quickly or perhaps not at all. Accompanying case studies offer ideas on how to fix jobs that score low on the assessment scale.
This can be used as a conversation-starter with new or potential clients as an activity they can do on their own or as part of a “complimentary” offer that we can share to demonstrate market knowledge.
If you’d like a copy or want to discuss more in depth, please give me a call.