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When marketing people see me, they know their jobs are safe.  I am not the creative type and I do envy those who can produce great, engaging work such as Kris Dunn and the gang at Fistful of Talent.

This year, my moment of inspiration came in the form of an internal communication for the employee referral program here at TiVo.  The the referral’s name has been redacted.  Hopefully you get a kick out of it just as much as I did when it came together for me.  Merry Christmas!

A few nights before Christmas (at TiVo)

T’was a few nights before Christmas
And all through the TiVo house
Engineers were a-stirring
Every single last mouse

Each were busy developing
As they typcially do
But they were short a PM,
That’s “project manager” to you

They needed someone to help
Track the budget you see
Remind folks of the milestones
To the nth degree

The job had been posted
Applicants had applied
But no one seemed to fit the job
All that had tried

When down the referral chain
“John Smith” made a clatter
The recruiter interviewed him,
The hiring manager was a chatter

TiVo did make “John”
An offer he couldn’t refuse
And he started this past Monday
Isn’t that great news?!

So see what happens
When a referral make?
They win, so do you
All for TiVo’s talent sake!

One of my peers, @tivo, just introduced me to Icebreakers, a merino wool clothing maker.  She knew I shared the love the outdoors and the New Zealand-based company made clothing that: a) smelled clean even on multi-day backpacking trips with only stream water and b) was green and sustainable.  Great statements and interesting facts.  However, what impressed me was when my colleague showed me how I can track with a“baacode” where my products wool came from, right down to the sheep.  That’s personalized, something I experienced and it resonated with something I already valued.

I started wondering how this impacts what I do…

• What “value” do I offer? An applicant seeking a job doesn’t alone define value for all parties.  If  I tell applicants how great a place TiVo is to work, that’s insufficient.  I need to show them.  Photos and videos can communicate value more than just text.  It engages the other senses and it involves other voices (and adds more credibility.  I think of it as giving prospective candidates references on our organization.
• Do I empower my fellow employees? The “don’t-call-me,-I’ll-call-you” line doesn’t cut it anymore.  People expect more.  Great, talented people command more.  How can I help my peers share what they know with others?   I’m realizing that it’s becoming more and more critical to help facilitate conversations within the walls of our organization (intranet, chat etc.).  This is also applicable to outside the walls of our organization.   Social media helps somewhat, but enabling self-discovery is key too.  Perhaps a self-selecting quiz to help a candidate see if one would like working at TiVo.  Or, maybe, a sponsoring industry-related webinar by a peers to reach folks in a key skill set area.

Of course it isn’t up to just up to me, it takes (thankfully) a team effort.  I just need to remind myself to keep asking the questions.

My “people”, be they applicants, customers, or fellow employees, won’t follow me by accident.  They’re not sheep.

What if a recruiting firm made a decision to not play today’s client-agency game?

Instead they:

• Create new value propositions (e.g. Heidrick & Struggles)
• Build communities around felt needs (e.g. Intuit)
• Relied only on  personal introductions

Such a recruiting firm would be free from:

• Participating in a system that has commoditized talent
• Focusing on weekly or monthly transactions
• Being viewed as competition

What would such an agency look like?

Would this be easy to create?  No.  Making your own rules and redefining success never is.

Photo by nickwheeleroz