Part Two – What Bus? Where? 
The short answer to this is: how did you ask them?
A while back, businesses had the luxury of being selective about who they wanted to let onto their bus, they held all the power.
Even with the current global downturn, the power has still largely shifted to the job seeker, who is now looking around the bus depot at all the various bus ride options.
Today’s job seekers rightly want more information up front before they are prepared to step aboard. For example: who is driving the bus who else is on the bus, what the trip will be like and the benefits offered during the trip.
In fact, there is so much choice, that it is difficult for many of the buses to be seen by the job seekers given all the competition.
Take a step back and look at your business from a prospective job seekers’ perspective. If your business was one of those buses lined up at the depot with thousands of other buses, would you get on? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Because there are talented job seekers doing just that with your business right now.
Let’s take the bus analogy just one step further. Think of HR as the ticketing booth or ticket person who has the first interaction with job seekers who connect with your business.
- How do they come across?
- Are they friendly, knowledgeable about the bus service and the businesses history?
- Do they take questions and provide meaningful answers?
- Do they engage with the customers or come across as unprofessional and bored?
In short, when the customer arrives at the window is there an “out to lunch” sign blocking the view?
The reality is that the first contact most job seekers have with your business is with your HR department. If their first impression is of a badly written job ad, , an application they submit that is never acknowledged, or, even worse no-one to speak with before they submit their application,, then they are unlikely to sing your praises.
Tomorrow: Part 3 – All aboard …
One Comment
A most pertinent article. Some years back I was offered a position with a publicly listed company which was a great job title. But for reasons which my wife could not understand, nor could I articulate at the time, prevented me taking that position. Some years later I watch as this company falls from the limelight and can now see it was the culture which did not match mine. It was the right decision to decline. Culture determines the harmony of the bus journey.
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