Strategy Sourcing for Intel Professionals

Not many companies have an unlimited recruiting budget. Therefore, it is important to utilize recruiting resources that are cost effective and produce timely results. Helios HR provides qualified recruiting services for TS Full Scope cleared candidates. Our dedicated recruitment team utilizes and has expertise with various social media methods, job boards, job fairs, networking and holds strong connections within the Intelligence Community.

When recruiting talent, you need to reach out and touch, brand, push, promote, provide value, and basically get involved with Intel professionals. People prefer to work with experts in their field as long as they are genuine. Therefore attracting top talent in the Management and Lead positions is imperative to greater and future success. Treat each individual with respect and provide a strong referral program.

Invaluable resources in the Intelligence Community are military transition points. They can connect you with retiring military men and women that are looking to join a professional organization. Retired military are not only well trained and qualified but they bring a work ethic to the team that is admirable.

Utilization of social networking is an absolute must moving forward. Initially, it may be daunting and certainly time consuming, but it is a necessary investment and time well spent. You might as well get on the band wagon because it is here and continues to evolve. It is one of the most cost effective ways to get your message out to the general public as well as the members of the Intelligence Community. The more people that know about your organization and your expertise the better!

A subject matter expert (SME) is often characterized as someone who writes or talks about a subject. However, most people never observe an SME performing the tasks they write or talk about. It is important to use various strategies to establish yourself as an SME in the Intel market.

Here are some basic examples of establishing your corporate expertise in the Intel market.

1. Develop a blog with daily contributions of value-added articles for Intel seeking professionals. This may include job sourcing tips, resume preparation, Q&A forum, user groups, other sub-set skill forums for your growing readership, and RSS feeds from other Intel related blog, etc.

2. Conduct career invitationals of pre-screened candidates at either your facility (preferred) or some nearby establishment. Make sure that all your technical managers are present and that you are prepared to give contingent offers, both verbal and formal at this event.

3. Create your own opt-in list of prospective Intel job seekers for both advertising your jobs and soliciting referrals. Continually promote your brand, focus, and draw them to your blog, and user groups that you frequent and contribute. An opt-in list is considered permission-based marketing where the intended receiver of your message has granted you permission to send them information.

4. Get involved in Intel-related association meetings/conferences. This doesn’t mean simply becoming a member, but volunteering to chair a sub-committee or serving as a guest speaker.

Hiring for ‘Fit’

According to Monster.com, reports show that the Washington D.C. labor market is expected to return to positive job growth in 2010. 46% of recruiters surveyed in the Mid-Southeast stated more than half their openings are difficult to fill. The current economic environment has created additional challenges for employers and recruiters when searching for potential candidates and making hiring decisions.

Hiring the right fit is critical to an organization’s survival. One bad hiring decision is an enormous cost to the organization and goes beyond the initial salary and benefits investment. The true cost of a bad hire includes recruiting costs, training, salary, benefits, reduced team productivity, missed opportunities, and the negative impact on top performers. Dealing with underperforming employees is a psychological drain for the manager, and a frustration for top performers.   Organizations that are slow to address a bad hire experience negative impact on employee productivity and increased risk of turnover of the high performers. Studies show the true cost of a bad hire is anywhere from one to five times the employee’s first year salary.

Finding the right fit goes beyond identifying a strong skills match. It is important to ensure you have a cultural match as well. For example if you have a creative laid-back culture without a lot of structure, potential employees should be motivated self-starters who can operate well without a great deal of process.  Applicants from a large company environment who are accustomed to detailed process and resources, may struggle in an emerging organization that has yet to implement its process. In a start-up organization, it is important to find people that are flexible, thrive in a fast paced environment and enjoy wearing multiple hats. When making your next hire, we suggest you:

· Evaluate your organizational culture and solicit feedback from your team. Keep in mind your perception may not always be reality, so feedback is important.

· Talk to your high performing employees.  Determine traits they have in common and why they enjoy working for you.

· Be clear on the skills and character traits needed for success in the position.

· Identify what success will look like in the position a year from now and seek candidates who will meet be successful now, and in the future.

We’d love to hear your stories of how ensuring you hire for fit has worked well for your organization!

~ Bridget Pulivarti, Senior HR Business Partner, Helios HR