Is hiring stressing you out?

April is many things — tax season, spring, the beginning of a new quarter for many companies — but did you know it’s also Stress Awareness Month?

Consider the ways in which your company cares for employee mental health and wellbeing. Perhaps you offer robust mental health benefits, subsidized fitness or yoga classes, flexible work options, or a liberal PTO policy.

Of course, hiring is stressful, too. That’s where I come in. In this month’s newsletter, spies at SXSW, what the voice of the American workplace sounds like right now and how a recruiter can help you with succession planning.

The CIA Does Not Play Buzzword Bingo

The CIA still relies on old-school interpersonal recruiting methods, like setting up an HR booth at the annual Austin conference SXSW to attract hip young candidates.

“Spies at SXSW?” you say.

Indeed. The CIA has a stake in recruiting technology talent, of course, and where better to do so than at a hub of innovation like SXSW? CIA HR recruiter Nicole told HR Brew, “I think a lot of people have learned to put in 20 buzzwords [into their cover letters résumés] but for us, it’s not buzzword bingo.”

Instead, the CIA HR crew takes short applications in person and conducts quick interviews onsite to select candidates who will be brought into a more formal vetting process. Yes, there’s a lot of background checking and paperwork involved in getting hired by the CIA, but this hands-on HR tactic makes the hiring process more efficient overall.

What Professionals Are Looking for in a Job Today

Franklin Templeton’s Voice of the American Workplace Survey has three critical takeaways for hiring managers and HR and L&D departments.

1.The biggest challenges today are employee turnover, outsized expectations and declining loyalty

2.Employees are under tremendous financial stress, and that influences how they make job decisions

3.Employers think they’re addressing employee needs, but they’re not always doing a great job

This last point is especially important for HR leaders to consider. You might be able to rattle off a list of perks and benefits you offer your employees. But are they the right ones? And are employees actually taking advantage of them?

Are your offerings aligned with your employee needs? Do you provide compensation and benefits that truly match the cost of living and of healthcare and retirement in this country?

What’s Your Succession Plan?

Most people think of recruiters when they need to hire a key role quickly.

But what about your succession planning? This is another area in which a recruiter can be a key asset.

Recruiters like those of us at KIP Search can help in very specific ways…

●Leadership talent scouting to find talent with future leadership potential

●Internal candidate assessment to help you evaluate your own talent marketplace

●Succession strategy consulting so your plan aligns with your long-term business strategy

As well as the obvious — executive search and placement.

While it can be hard to widen your view of talent enough to engage in proactive succession planning, a recruiter can help manage the process so you’re better prepared for the future of your leadership.

Ready to Start Your Next Search?

If you want to get better at a vocation, you hire a professional to train you. If you need legal help, you hire a lawyer.

And if you’re hoping to hire a stellar, above-average, crackpot candidate, well, hire a recruiter.

A good recruiter (like, ahem, those of us at KIP Search) has the specific skills and the broader network to help you tap into the right candidate pool and take the appropriate steps to launch an interviewing and vetting process. A recruiter also provides a reasonable buffer between you and potential hires so that you can make informed, methodological decisions without emotional component.

If you’d like to launch a new search or even just have an exploratory conversation, reach out today.