1. A Recruiting Strategy
It is important to understand that the old hiring paradigm has been shattered and the war for top talent will be the
defining feature of the business landscape. Your ability to attract, develop, and retain talent will give you a major
competitive advantage far into the future.
Building a better talent pool is not about adding more people to your HR department. It is not about better training.
It is not about offering more stock options. It is about leaders and managers at all levels embracing a talent
mindset. Managers must believe that talent is their TOP priority. It is a deep-seated belief that having better people
at all levels is how you will outperform your competitors. Leaders must commit time and energy to strengthening
their talent pool and helping others in the company strengthen theirs. They must have the courage to take bold, new
actions.
Old Recruiting Strategies New Recruiting Strategies
Grow your own talent Pump talent in at all levels
Recruit for vacant positions Hunt for talent all the time
Go to a few traditional sources Tap many diverse pools
Advertise to job hunters Find ways to reach “passive candidates”
Specify a firm compensation range Break the compensation rules to get top performers
Recruiting is about screening Recruiting is about SELLING as well as screening
Hire as needed Develop a recruiting strategy for EACH type of
talent
The New Mindset
1- Establish a talent standard. How often have you debated your organization’s talent standard? Before you can
adopt a talent mindset you need to share a common notion of exactly what constitutes superior performance. If
you’re not clear on what those characteristics are then you can’t expect managers below you to be clear on what
defines talent and performance. This can be as simple as a sentence or it can be a comprehensive list of six to eight
competencies (strategic thinking, communication skills, etc.). You should define the talent standard for every
function, describing the behaviors that distinguish between poor, average and superior performance. These
standards then become the benchmark for evaluating current staff and those you interview.
Top leaders should be actively involved in hiring decisions. There are many companies I know where vice-
presidents never interview manager-level candidates. At companies where talent is a high priority, senior
executives get involved by interviewing finalists and voicing their opinions, but they leave hiring decisions to their
immediate supervisors. This helps ensure that the talent standard is being applied and it sends a message to
department heads that top management is setting the drum beat.
2- Leaders must instill a talent mindset in the organization. It is your job to demonstrate this mindset through your
own actions and behavior. Every meeting of department heads and every meeting with clients is an opportunity to
talk about this new talent mindset. Why not a have a staff meeting and brainstorm new ideas for locating,
identifying and attracting talent? If you’re a services firm, clients should be made aware that you are embarking on
a strategy that makes talent management a top priority. Ask them to keep an ear open for superior candidates that
might be of interest to you. This has a dual benefit because it sends a message to your clients that by focusing on
hiring stronger talent you’ll do an even better job for them.
3- You need to invest real money in talent. You must not be constrained by the old compensation rules. You

2. should be prepared to rewrite the rules to attract the best outsiders. I see study after study that suggests that highly
talented candidates can be twice as productive compared with average and low performers. Having a talent mindset
means being less concerned about internal pay equity. You cannot afford to be held back by compensation levels
that attract no better than average performers. By breaking the rules you will send a signal to your staff that you are
serious about hiring the very best and that you are prepared to offer highly competitive compensation packages to
attract the best outsiders.
4- Managers should be held accountable for the strength of the talent pools they build. This is a foreign concept to
many companies, but think about it for a moment. Would you be comfortable not holding a manager accountable
for the strength of their talent pool knowing that this is what gives your company its biggest competitive advantage?
You do this by setting anywhere from three to six specific talent pool strengthening objectives for each department.
This requires some judgment, but the idea is to have ongoing discussions about how effectively these objectives are
being met. Accountability is the difference between companies that just talk the talk and those that walk the walk.
Here’s a checklist of questions. If you can answer “yes” to each of these, you have truly embraced a talent mindset:
1- Do you believe having better people is how you will stay ahead of your competitors?
2- Do you believe that strengthening your talent pool is a crucial part of your job and that of your top managers?
3- Have you convinced all of your managers to make talent a crucial part of their jobs?
4- Have you established a gold standard for talent at all levels that drive your people decisions?
5- Are you deeply involved in hiring decisions two and three levels below you?
6- Do you talk to your people about talent frequently?
7- Are you prepared to invest real money in talent?
8- Are you holding your leaders (and yourself) accountable for three to six highly
specific and measurable actions to strengthen their talent pool in 2005?
Action Items
1- Hunt for talent all of the time. You should hunt for talent continuously so as to capture people when they are
ready to make a move. There are several ways to make this work. First, when you become aware of someone that
you’d like to have on your team someday continue a dialog with that person until the right job becomes available.
That means staying in touch with that individual every few months to “check in” and ask how they’re doing. Start
with a list of people identified by your staff. What about talented candidates you interviewed in the past who didn’t
get hired? There is a high probability that no one has been in touch with them. Perhaps their situation has changed.
They are also going to know other people. Make it the responsibility of each manager to keep a dialog going with,
say, ten potential candidates. It can take the form of phone calls, meetings at trade shows, lunch or sending an
occasional note by email. The idea is to learn about the personal and career factors that might affect their career
decisions (“If you could change anything about your current job, what would you change?”) and then trying to
convince them to join when the time is right for them. Also, bring people in for an interview even if there is no
opening. Make it the goal of every department head to try and bring in one person every month. These names can
come from your own employees. Tell your line managers that they should spend 3-5 hours each and every month
recruiting or interviewing people or making client contacts to talk about your new campaign. Have them report
back during your department head meetings.
2- When a truly outstanding candidate becomes available, create the right opportunity for them. You may not get a
second chance to do that.
3- Begin an internal referral program if you don’t already have one. Do you offer a “bounty” to your employees if
they refer someone who gets hired? If not, you’re missing out on one of the best ways to attract top performers.
Most companies make the mistake of offering an incentive that is much too small. Offer a $2K or $3K bonus to

3. anyone who refers a candidate who gets hired. That’s a real incentive that will get their attention. If you think
several thousand dollars is too much, compare that to the cost of a search fee or the cost of a job posting on the
internet and the time HR must invest pouring through hundreds of useless resumes.
4- You should tell the world about your new talent mindset. Every communication that leaves your office should
contain something that describes your focus on hiring top people. That includes marketing collateral, your
website, trade shows, etc. Let’s take trade shows for example. Along with materials that describe your products
and services, why not include a handout that describes your company as THE place to work in your particular niche
of direct marketing. If you currently have no career page on your website you should put one up ASAP. One client
of mine has included on their career page a separate section they call “Best and Brightest” that describes their
mission to seek out and attract top talent. Instead of “Best and Brightest” come up with your own slogan and make
it creative so people will remember it. When I launched directmarketingcareers.com seven years ago I placed
some ads in the job classified ads section of DM NEWS. They were not your normal ads:
“Some days you’re the dog. Some days you’re the hydrant. Tired of
being the hydrant? Directmarketingcareers.com.”
and,
“There is no such thing as security. There is only opportunity.
Directmarketingcareers.com”
These little ads created lots of “buzz” about the website and I credit those ads for bringing in a tremendous amount
of business. Think of places where you can put small ads or messages that convey your philosophy.
5- Visit colleges and universities that offer direct marketing programs. If some of them are within a short drive of
your office there is really no reason why you shouldn’t have someone visit these schools and let them know that
you are very interested in talking with their students and graduates. You could offer to send someone to talk to the
students about careers in direct marketing. Contact their alumni associations and check if they have a job posting
service. Offer a scholarship. It doesn’t have to be much, but something like that will generate additional PR.
6- Always check references of applicants. Ask candidates if you can check references during the interviewing
process and always call references of candidates who give you permission to do so. You are doing this for two
reasons: Not only do you want to know more about the candidate, but chances are the references are going to be
direct marketing hiring managers. Many of these people are exactly the ones you might want to recruit or call for
future referrals. Here’s your chance to get to know them while at the same time advertising your talent
management philosophy and asking who else they might recommend you network with.
7- Step outside the box and look for candidates who are outside your industry. One of my clients now fills about
25% of their sales and operations positions with candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. These types of hires
can bring a fresh perspective and a rich vein of creativity to the company. Many of these candidates have
outstanding people skills and can relate well to customers. Also, the military is another source you can tap. Often,
military officers bring strong cross-cultural experiences, technical knowledge and a strong work ethic. Troop
experience, in particular, has given them plenty of “what if” experiences and other competencies that may match
critical skill sets your jobs demand.
Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC
2068 Greenwood Drive Owatonna, MN 55060
507-451-4270