5 stakeholders you need talk to before posting a single job opening

 

 

It’s not that I’m the smartest guy in the room, but I do ask really good questions.

Whether you’re running a single plant or a large conglomerate, it’s easy to get caught up managing operations and lowering costs.

And keeping workers happy. And tracking output. And managing benefits programs. And maintaining competitive pay. And just keeping the whole ship afloat.  

And…that’s how you get stuck doing staffing the same way you’ve always done it.

When I come in to talk to procurement about a new requisition, I also need to have a conversation about the bigger picture. Because the only way to know if you’re making the wrong decisions is if we stop and think it all the way through.

And these decisions can’t be made in a bubble, so before I start asking too many questions, I begin with my first: Which stakeholders need to be in the room so we can start to paint the entire picture?

Operations

I need to make sure I understand what operations is seeing. If they’re facing a regular bottleneck or breakdowns in their process flow, then they’re likely seeing firsthand where and why workers are overwhelmed or frustrated. And by the way, that’s probably destroying your site’s productivity and morale, creating a problem that’s much harder to put a price on.

Human resources

What’s going on with your Glassdoor profile? Are you getting comments about a revolving door of workers? Are they saying you don’t care about your people? Because if HR says your staffing strategies are absolutely tearing your culture apart and coming off as a terrible employer – then that’s a conversation I need to have with them, so I understand its full impact on your organization.

Finance

In procurement, you might just be thinking about the 1% that needs to be shaved from my bill, but are you stopping to understand what’s really impacting your bottom line? What costs are actually hurting you? For my team, we want to know where your biggest cost drains are when it comes to workforce management, and see if we can create a solution to fill those holes.

Direct supervisors

A floor supervisor knows firsthand if your recruiters keep sending the wrong people, and that can change how managers treat your temporary workers. If their gut is telling them this new hire won’t make it until the end of the week, why should they bother onboarding and developing someone who isn’t the right fit? It sounds callous, but they’re not going to invest their time until they know a hire is going to stay. In the meantime, no worker is going to stay if they believe they’re just another number.

Other department heads

Are you thinking about how your decisions impact the rest of your business? Take this example: If you’re hiring for your customer service team, bring in sales – someone who regularly communicates with your customers and hears their complaints. Get their feedback on your client relations. Because at the end of the day, those are the people who really understand the impact your hiring choices make downstream.

Start with the right question

Some problems can’t be fixed with a flip of a switch. You have to start with the right questions.

When you bring all of your stakeholders together, we can sit down and figure out what we’re truly trying to solve. Because your staffing solution is impacting every single level within your organization, whether you know it or not.

Because here are the options from my perspective, I can give you the best price out there and never fill an order.

Or, I can give you the best markup, always fill the order with the wrong person, and cost you a whole lot more in turnover and productivity.

Or, I can start by saying, let’s figure out how to build a strategy, one that takes into account price but also resolves the major cost drains on your staffing.

When you’re ready to start that conversation, reach out to my team at Adecco today, and let’s start finding the answers.