the quiet revolution... for now!

Are you missing out on some amazing people as they aren’t your ‘normal hire?’

Returning Workers.. ​Who are they?

​These amazing individuals are people who have decided that they are either returning to work or coming to work for the first time, but they aren’t 16-30.

These are people that potentially:

• Have had a ‘life change’.
• Need to return or start working due to financial pressures.
• Have taken a break from their working life and are now ready for their next challenge.
• Have a completely different story.

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​WILDCARD =
​Wild card refers in a sporting context including "underdog", "long shot", and "outlier".

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Have you ever interviewed someone who was in your ‘wildcard’ pile of applications, and it turn out to be the best decision you have made?  I know that this used to be a regular experience for me, in fact until I ended up making the decision that I would always interview from that pile at least 1-2 individuals. 

Why?  Well, those individuals may not meet the written requirements or set expectations that you have in your mind whether that is conscious or unconscious but they may bring more to the table than you think in terms of skills and experience.

Let us break down the possibilities and of course, this blog is all hypothetical, but we know that we have an ageing workforce and a skills shortage, so maybe putting these two together can help resolve some of that!

They don’t have the right skill

• Have you asked questions about their transferable skills?
• have you thought about whether they could do an apprenticeship or other ‘on the job’ training?
• Are you sure that they can’t do ‘any’ of the job or is that an assumption being made?

They don’t ‘fit’

• If you fast forward 5-10 years, what will your workforce population look like?
• What if you were to calculate the gender pay gap, not only on gender, and ethnicity but also on age - what would the results look like?
• Is the ‘fit’ the right one for your customers, consumers, and future employees?

They are nervous at the interview

• As with many candidates maybe, the nerves stem from them really needing or wanting the job.
• Maybe, they haven’t had an interview for some time or;
• they are feeling from you, that they aren’t the ‘fit’ for the business.

They are far too experienced!

• Try and see this as a positive. If they have seen; a job description, and salary and had time to research the company and they have still shown up for the interview the chances are they are good with the expectations that are being asked of them.
• They might not stay too long if they get a better offer
  • Neither might a 25-year-old. Have that conversation with them but recruitment is never a sure thing and it’s highly unlikely that someone you recruit these days will be with your business for the next 30-40 years!
• They are more skilled than the manager
  • What if they can impart all their knowledge to their manager in a good way?  This could support the manager through up-skilling and making the team stronger. Interviewing managers need to reframe their mindset so that they aren’t seeing this as a negative but as a positive - the more knowledge and skill you have in the team then the better the team will be. 

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A true leader does not have to be the most ​qualified
or the most experienced within a team for the team to flourish!

I hope I am getting you thinking!

What else might you need to consider?
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• Recruitment Policy and Process - is it as inclusive as it should be?
• Qualifications - Do you have after each qualification ‘or equivalent’ so that it is inclusive for all?
• Training and Increased Awareness for Managers. - do your managers, and recruiters see the value in hiring someone with experience? If they don’t the chances, are they won’t so, what do you need to do to protect your business?
• Training for the successful candidate - do you have a clear process on what training could be offered to candidates and how you can support them to be successful?
• Feedback - Do you give candidates feedback on why they haven’t been successful? Whilst there is a time factor for businesses for those individuals it would be great for those people to hear the reason they haven’t been successful rather than letting their mind chatter to them about the fact it's “they’re too old, not skilled, too qualified” so that they have the confidence to continually move forward and eventually find their new career and join us in the workforce.

If you feel you need any support, guidance or training in order to review or implement strategies to benefit your business then please contact me and book a discovery call.

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