When I ask sales executives what their biggest challenges are for this year and the next, the emphatic answer is hiring and retaining sales talent. These managers clearly understand that they are only as good as the quality of their employees. The reality is that in today’s mortgage banking world, it is very difficult to recruit above-average sales talent. This effort will only become harder as Baby Boomers retire and a new workforce has to be recruited for dramatically changing sales positions. Order-takers will not survive in a purchase money marketplace.
The fact that traditional recruiting methods are not as effective as they once were further complicates the issue. Depending on personal outreach by local managers will not be enough to drive a company’s growth. Moreover, Gen Y sales candidates don’t respond to many aspects of the typical mortgage originator position. Troubled waters are ahead for companies that ignore how the talent landscape is changing. The traditional response of over-paying for average performers won’t work going forward. So what will?
Casting a wide net will be critical for any company. As a result, companies will have to incorporate social media into their recruiting efforts. This is the same approach that is being applied to attracting new borrowers. Social media interaction is essential.
Companies will have to make the hiring process just as fast and easy as they are trying to do on the application side of the business. The truth is that talent acquisition has become a seller’s market and companies will be left behind if they don’t adjust to the reality of candidates having many choices.
Just look at college football recruiting today and how coaches are using social media, particularly Twitter. A recent www.philly.com article bluntly stated that coaches must not only outsmart their opponents on the field but “they must also outwork rivals on social media, using hashtags and graphics to attract the best players.”
Twitter allows schools to monitor recruits like never before while distributing promotions and videos to potential candidates. Likewise, recruits get to see the coach’s posts on interests outside of football. So it works both ways. There is no more famous current user of Twitter than University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh who has made the school’s program cool and hip with his posts.
While the old ways die hard, it is clear that the talent search is shifting to a more digital approach that includes innovative tools such as social media, big data and other technologies that give insight into individual candidates.
Is your company ready for the digital recruiting age? Give me a call to discuss how to move your efforts forward for best results.