Handling Talent

This week has been an interesting week, in the worlds of my two favourite sports, cricket and football.  The England Cricket Board have decided to part company with Kevin Pieterson, in the same week Swansea Football Club have sacked Michael Laudrup.

These two decisions have split opinion, but to me have highlighted the trickery in managing prodigious talent.  You have to give genius time to grow, but it often needs boundaries to focus the talent in the right direction.

Take KP, England's all time leading run scorer, without question a 'box office' player capable of magical things.  Just him batting could and should be inspiration enough for his teammates.   He has been given time to develop, given chances to make up for wrong doing, and on every occasion, when push came to shove, delivered for his team.   In  a world where success is judged by how many runs you put on the score board, he seems to have banked a few credits.  However, his failing seems to come when he is involved in non batting issues, when he steps out of his core skill, and uses this success to create an agenda that should be none of his concern.  Does he need sacking, or re-directing?  Is the pay off for having to bring him into line every now and then large enough to risk it happening over and over.   I hope that this latest end of the road has come after weeks or months of trying to channel and focus him in the direction in which he can have the largest pay off for his team.  If this has been tried and he has been unable to tow the line, then perhaps this was the best decision for everyone....but you must be sure when you are risking such a talent.

Michael Laudrup has brought more success to Swansea in the last 12 months than they surely could have wished for; he is recently going through a dip in form.  In my experience people with true talent use these times to become better and stronger.  Surely it is better to back a known quantity, someone you know can be successful for you, than to back a newcomer who may be great, but may be not so.  If you give some time and you are wrong, you have lost some time.  If you don't give them time, and you are wrong, you have lost all that talent.

I always read such stories and wonder how I would manage such situations; there is never a wrong or right answer.  I always hold on to the notion that good people don't become bad overnight, but bad people can become good overnight. If it's your job to influence behaviours to improve performance, take a long hard look at yourself before you spend too long investigating everything  and everyone else.

Give people time, space, direction and focus, and if they want and are able to win, they will and then - so do you!

Feeling Old!

I was moved to blog today having awoken to the news that Ant & Dec won a special lifetime achievement award at last night's Television Awards.

Don't get me wrong I thought, I love those cheeky chappies, but a lifetime achievement award?, c'mon.

Then I heard the presenter say they had been in the business for 25 years!

It was then I realised that we are all getting older every day, to think that 'PJ and Duncan' are now the leading lights of the British light entertainment industry and winning lifetime achievements awards, makes you realise how time flies.

We all need to make the most of every moment we have, we can't all live the lives of celebrity, many would choose not to, but we can all achieve.  If we work to influence our own worlds in as positive a way as we can, then we all have lifetime achievements.

So don't fret about getting old, fret about what value you are adding to your world.  Where you can, add as much value as you can.  Your name may not go up in lights, but your actions will light up someone, somewhere, and that is what counts.

How do you react to rejection?

We had two very strong candidates rejected for a role this week.  Myself and my colleagues were left baffled that neither went forward in the selection process but knowing the client well, were sure that strong and reasonable consideration would have been given.  Our only conclusion was that our candidates were good, but beaten this time by more suitable candidates.

These are the worst moments in recruitment, closing down candidates you believe in and like.  No-one wants to hear bad news, but of course, how we react to this news is key.

You have to let the feedback sink in, digest what you hear, take it as it is meant - constructive.

As recruiters, when we give feedback we need to be clear how we deliver it.  We mustn't highlight the reason given by the client for not progressing, and develop that point into an issue.  If a candidate has been pipped at the post let them know, be sure and assuring, tell candidates that when recruitment works well, you sadly have to reject great candidates, and accept on occasion that more suitable candidates are selected.

A reason for rejection isn't always about weakness, but often about simply lesser strengths in relevant areas.

Candidates: listen to the feedback, don't just close down when you hear it's bad news, it isn't personal  and remember, when you are the one getting the good news, several other strong candidates will be feeling how you feel now.

The company that you were dead set on joining shouldn't lose any attraction simply because they said 'not this time'.  Perhaps next time will be the right time; don't burn bridges and don't close any doors.

Ask your recruiter to pass on your thanks and appreciation at being considered, ask them to specifically contact the client on your behalf and ask to be kept in mind for future opportunities. 

One day, you'll be grateful you did!

Success is a balancing act!

The reason for my blog today is because I have been enjoying an excellent discussion on Linked In with some forward thinking individuals who really support the idea of flexible working conditions.

I was and am very aware that, in recruitment,  the best clients and best candidates in the world, mean nothing without the best, most highly qualified and credible consultants looking after them.

When I set up Nicholas Howard, I knew from the word go that for me to attract leading talent into my business, I needed to create an environment which encourages, harness and nurtures...... growth, development, enjoyment and fulfilment in the workplace.

To this end, we have tried at least, to roll out ways of working that make it easy for our team to be everything they want to be at work, and also to be everything they have to be at home.

As a father of three wonderful children myself, I was constantly frustrated in my corporate life, seeing potential in people quashed and disheartened by unsympathetic business leaders who seemed fixed on hours worked when judging productivity.

For me success is built not on the hours that you work, but the work you put into your hours, and I am lucky that the  Nicholas Howard team consistently prove this theory for me.

We work hard, and there are days when we all have to roll up our sleeves and dig in, but more often, by offering flexibility in hours, home based working, and remote systems set up, and encouraging a culture of working when you can, only when you have to, we are able to manage these hectic days, and still keep the quality of life that is so important to all of us.

That said, all of our grand ideas would result in nothing without the effort and patience from the team. We all do everything we can at different times to support and accommodate each other, and every one of the team deserves to be recognised.

We will continue to push hard to create the best working environment possible for all members of the team and drive towards my ultimate goal of not living with a work life balance, but enabling a success life balance.

Please take a message...

Just a very brief blog to share something which I thought was funny this week.

I was attending an appointment (non work related I should say) this week, and was able to hear a receptionist answering calls into the building.

I have to admit I was over hearing her side of the calls and was impressed with her helpful nature and professional tone, but I then heard her asking the caller to repeat themselves several times.  She obviously decided asking for a third repetition was too much, and I heard her sigh, call through to the person for whom the call was intended and announce the following (names changed!) -

"Hi John, it's Jane on reception, I am not sure what it is about, but I have James from the Office of National City Sticks for you....what are City Sticks?..(pause).....oh!....ok, I'll put him through now..."

It made me laugh while I waited...hope it makes you smile as well, have a great weekend.

The customer is always right......right?

I have been on a business trip to Manchester this week, and another great trip it was meeting excellent candidates.

I had a very pleasant stay in a hotel that I have not used before, but unfortunately, my breakfast booking had not filtered through onto their system.  I therefore had to have several conversations with several different individuals before anyone was able to believe that my booking confirmation (with the words 'Bed and Full Breakfast included' clearly written on it) did actually include breakfast!

Finally over breakfast, I got to thinking: what happened to the customer always being right?  I certainly didn't feel right this morning, even though I was.  Then it struck me, the customer isn't always right.

In recruitment this is more the case than any other industry I know.  How often do we pull our hair out because clients won't agree to see candidates we know are great?  How often will great candidates not entertain brilliant opportunities for reasons which we know aren't the issues they perceive them to be.

Of course, it’s our job to convince, cajole and manage these objections, and we should be able to provide all the information needed for our clients and candidates to make informed decisions.

It isn't always that black and white though is it.  The thing we fell in love with about a candidate can't be captured on a CV or in a consultant overview; the potential of a role or organisation can't be accurately mapped out on a spec or organisational chart.

The connection which makes a good piece of recruitment into a great hire, or great career move, is typically based on the human element, which you only get from meeting.

Our job isn't to sell CV's or job specs, and our job isn't to simply agree with clients or candidates.  They aren't always right, that isn't their fault, they don't know what we know, and haven't (yet) felt what we have felt.  Our job is to have a relationship of trust with both our clients and candidates which means when we say, please, just meet this candidate, or please, just have coffee with this client...they say yes.

One of my favourite and widely used lines in recruitment is: "Look, meet this individual, if, after that, you don't know where I am coming from, never use me again, but I promise, once you have spent some time together, you'll understand why I am pushing you, and be glad I haven't let you make this decision and live to regret it"

It's a bold phrase and opens you up to be criticised, but only if you are wrong.   So, do your job properly, make sure your candidate or role is as good as you are saying, and if it is, then be confident and be bold.....the customer isn't always right, but, in this situation, you must never be wrong!

Remember.

Today is Armistice Day, and as I prepared to write my latest blog, I could think of nothing but this.

It isn't a moment to consider furthering our own careers or hiring, but a time to remember those who lost so much to give us this chance.

Remember them, whoever they are for you, thank them every time you have a chance to take, and respect them enough to give it 100% when taking that chance.