One thing has been certain throughout this pandemic: uncertainty.
Every industry has been impacted and the tech and digital spaces are no different, with many leaders having to make those difficult decisions early on (and throughout) that saw plenty of redundancies, terminations, big budget cuts, and changes in direction.
There’s nothing like a global pandemic to highlight and exaggerate the pain points and issues within a business. Many business leaders with excellent ambition and vision have been failing to meet company objectives – or even keep their heads above water. If time management was an issue before Covid, it certainly would be during the crisis. How do you stay ahead when you don’t know what’s ahead?
Another problem that’s impacted businesses throughout this pandemic is staffing. Companies have had to tighten their budgets wherever possible, and many members of staff have been laid off. Some have even lost top performers to competition – particularly sore during a time of economic uncertainty, when you need your key players most.
All this – added to peer pressures, working longer hours, and skill shortages – has meant many strong leaders have felt as though their careers are on a descending path, and have never been more uncertain about the future.
So why are so many leaders struggling so much? One big reason for this is that they cannot attract and retain top-performing talent. In fact, some companies may have made the mistake of laying off top talent or cutting off their recruitment strategy altogether in the name of ‘budget cuts’ – when investment in recruitment is vital at this time.
“Development can help great people be even better – but if I had a dollar to spend, I’d spend 70 cents getting the right person in the door.” – Paul Russell, Director of Leadership & Development at Google.
Instead of going ahead in a mad rush and hiring the first candidate that applies to your job opening - in the belief that you can upskill them - ensuring you hire the right one is a much better move.
But how many hours are in a day? Once you’ve done X, Y, and Z, do you have time to read countless cover letters? In doing so, you could be wasting your own time and money – money that could instead be spent on an excellent recruitment strategy.
When business leaders are struggling, the tendency is to do the hiring themselves or use the cheapest recruitment service they can find. From my experience, this doesn’t often turn out well in the long run.
It’s the same with staffing – why hire two mediocre people when you could hire one top performer? Why pay two mid-range salaries to the former when you could pay at the higher end for the person that really works for it? Everyone knows that staff are not simply outgoings – they’re not just wages you have to pay. They are revenues and catalysts for growth in and of themselves. If they are truly the right fit and have your goals in mind, that is. Great care must be taken to find the right person, and to not simply prioritise cheaper candidates over top-notch candidates.
It follows then, that hiring a specialist headhunter as opposed to a generalist one, will work out in your favour. Specialist headhunters will know the ins and outs of the business – for example, the digital and tech sector – and know the exact soft skills and qualifications required. They’ll also take the time to work with you and for you, rather than hastily pulling together a list that could’ve been found on popular job sites. Top notch talent isn’t always readily available – and you need that expertise to be able to seek it out. Less time wasted, more money saved, top talent found sooner.
If you’re passionate about finding the top 1% of Tech and Digital talent so that you can build high performing teams, achieve your company objectives, and scale your business with less stress and headaches, here are 3 ways Concentric can help:
