March 2012
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| Learn the purpose behind the chart and the Blackberry. |
Ah-Ha! Moment – In mid-March, I began seeking a worthy successor to my fantastic Manager of Business Development, who was leaving for a job better aligned with her passions, working for a human services company. I immediately met with two close advisers to begin our recruiting and selection process, which has always included two manual and time-consuming steps:
- For all resumes received before the position is filled, we email the applicant acknowledging receipt. We also send a follow up email after we make our final selection.
- For all resumes received after the position is filled, we email the applicant with that information.
To reduce time and effort, one of the advisers suggested we eliminate emailing applicants. I was uncomfortable with that idea, because I had received many "thank you" emails in the past letting me know how much someone appreciated hearing something ... even if it was not the answer they had wanted. So, we kept our emailing processes intact.
Well, wouldn't you know – I once again received many emails thanking me for acknowledging receipt of the resume, and for sharing the outcome of the selection process.
The lessons learned? I hired the perfect applicant in less than two weeks and I earned a lot of goodwill with the nearly 50 other applicants by not being a "black hole" where resumes go in and nothing ever comes back out. Just by being gracious and courteous, our recruiting and selection process enabled us to create value for all the applicants. It's amazing how people appreciate being treated people like ... well, people.
