What we can Learn from College Football Recruiting - American Society of Employers - Mary E. Corrado

What we can Learn from College Football Recruiting

Many of you know I am a big sports fan.  Although baseball is my favorite, football is a close second.  No, I am not going to write about the history making Super Bowl Sunday.  Although what a game!  What a comeback!  A true never give up testament! But I am going to talk about another football hype from last week, National Signing Day.  Can you imagine if corporate recruiting had the same level of excitement around it as that day does?  What can the business world learn from this?

My undergrad and MBA are both from U of M, so let’s focus on them. (Sorry, all you Spartan fans.) The reason football teams like the Michigan Wolverines are historically so successful has everything to do with their recruiting.  Teams like U of M find the best of the best players and spend years recruiting them – sometimes watching them years before they even get to their 17th birthday!  Of course team leadership and coaching is important, but without the key talent, the coaches couldn’t do what they do.  In my opinion, U of M’s ability to recruit such top-notch players is because Jim Harbaugh is deeply involved in the recruiting process.  Potential players don’t meet him at the very end of the recruitment process, he is involved from the beginning.  He is known for personally playing a big part in their recruiting process.  This makes me wonder what level of employees corporations could attract if leadership took a bigger part in the recruitment process. 

In the age we are living in, where finding talent is deemed as “very difficult” by nearly 50% of Michigan employers (ASE Recruitment and Retention Survey 2016), maybe we should take a lesson from college recruiting.  As Emily Joseph writes about in this week’s EPTW, are we really actively searching for candidates throughout the year, or just when we have the opening?  Are we just reacting to resumes we receive, versus being proactive and going after who we want to join our companies?

While other elements of the job – work environment, commute, benefits, perks are so important, it really comes down to how well the candidate thinks he/she can work with the manager.  It’s the same with college recruits.  While they may be wowed by a brand new practice facility or the size or prestige of the school, the fit the player has with the coach is often still the main deciding factor.  Top-level players often have multiple schools trying to wow them.  It’s the same with top-level corporate recruits.  Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are the only company the candidate is interviewing with.  The recruiting process can make or break a candidate’s decision.  The hiring manager should be involved from the beginning and remain personally involved along the way.  The candidate will appreciate it and feel more valued.  As Keisha Ward, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, ASE, recently wrote in an EPTW article, “Hiring managers should understand that the “Am I hired?” clock starts from the moment they leave the office.  They want to know how well they performed and most importantly, will an offer follow.  If there is no follow-up, candidates will start to think the worst.  After two weeks of no feedback, negative feelings towards the company will surface. These negative opinions can come up in casual conversations with others or even in a social media rant.”   The relationship you build throughout the recruitment process will help you identify what it might be like to work with that person and vice versa. 

Now back to National Signing Day.  Imagine if hired candidates were celebrated like college football recruits!  They would feel a deep commitment and connection to the company they’ve chosen.  So when an offer is extended to someone, be involved.  Thank them for choosing you, and keep in touch throughout the weeks leading up to their start date.  Make them feel like a star football player.

Do you do anything special in recruiting?  I’d love to hear of any successful, unique recruiting programs you have implemented.  Email me at [email protected].  I heard from several of you regarding passive-aggressive behavior in the workplace, and you confirmed that addressing it head-on is the best approach.  As always, I appreciate your feedback.

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