Episode: 659

Episode Title: Traditional Hiring, Only Better

Traditional job descriptions aren’t doing your organization any favors. Here’s how to make them better, coming up next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 659 show:

You’re now in The Perna Syndicate—welcome! All week we’ve been talking about what makes talent-centric organizations, or TCOs, so different from your normal workplace. In addition to vibrant L&D programs, TCOs are also smarter about who leads the hiring and how they craft job descriptions. 

Carol Schultz, a leadership advisor and author, says that roughly 98% of HR professionals have zero experience in recruiting. So why do most companies put HR in charge of recruiting the best talent? 

Instead, Schultz argues, hiring should be led by the chief talent officer. This person should report directly to the CEO, whose job it is to ensure the company’s success.

Schultz also takes a dim view of traditional job descriptions which she says are filled with fluff, extraneous bullet points, and sometimes unreasonable demands. Instead, TCOs write position descriptions that approach job roles in a holistic way. They see these descriptions as a sales pitch for the organization—an opportunity to explain why someone would want to work there in the first place.

These descriptions proactively answer questions about the team, the expectations, the company’s culture and track record, career and growth opportunities, and next steps.

Great position descriptions help build TCOs because they remove the ambiguity that leads to bad hires and high turnover, asserts Schultz. They allow the company, recruiter, and candidate to all start on the same footing. In other words, it’s like traditional hiring—only better. 

Tomorrow: we’ll share the essential questions that can help your organization move closer to becoming a TCO. Join me next time on The Perna Syndicate for that conversation. We’ll see you then!