Continuing our series of Best Practices to help you recruit students with the “best fit” for your organization, the IFMA Education Foundation, through the PEOPLE FUTURE 2025 initiative found that students are deciding earlier which industry they want to pursue and the companies they would like to work for.
To bring new talent that will contribute and hit the ground running, companies must be willing to invest time to create awareness, identify students early, and give them experiences that complement organizational needs. So, if you are looking for ways to attract talent that will best fit your organization, you should consider looking at talent acquisition as a strategy and not a task!
The current and past Chairman of the IFMA Education Foundation, Hugh Roth (PepsiCo) and John Flood (elevate.), are passionate about their work on the PEOPLE FUTURE 2025 initiative. The work that they’ve implemented with the committee will deliver the results your company needs, they know that “When you have talent that fits, you have the best chance to optimize performance, increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover .“ Since they both have seen and realized the benefit of earlier exposure, they know it works!
They also know that to attract the talent you desire, you cannot just “Tell Your Story!”, you need to engage early and build relationships with students who want to be a part of “your story” and who exhibit character traits that “best fit” your organization.
It is never too early to start telling your story in this industry. 32% of all students choose the careers they want to pursue while still in high school relying heavily on guidance counselors and their parents. If your company is not present, students will be influenced by other companies and industries who are creating awareness.
IF YOU ARE NOT AN INFLUENCER, SOMEONE ELSE WILL BE!
To become an influencer, you must engage early and see the investment as a strategy that will give a long term ROI. It requires management time, resources and an investment where you will not realize an immediate return. This long term investment is not easy and is often the hardest to get buy in and support. But not doing it and continuing to do what you have always done will not change the course of your company. If you want to become a company of choice and assure future performance, you must start now in order to have a pool of talent to choose at your organizations. The fight for talent is only going to get tougher.
Companies new to this process should be aware that it may be 3-4 years for the first full cycle to begin paying off. Once it does there will be a continuous flow of talent coming into your organization that has already been vetted, is proven and gives you the “fit” you need to assure your future. Ultimately, ROI will become easier to see and understand. Engaging early, supporting internships and other meaningful interaction works.
If you don’t know where to start, we will be able to help you. As part of the work that PEOPLE FUTURE 2025 is doing, we are developing additional insights and tools for our member companies to use that are proven to work. We will be showcasing these at the IFMA Presidents Conference November 3-5 in Scottsdale.
In our next best practice, we will give you a sneak peek and dive deeper on how to “Engage at a Deeper Level” to build the relationships with the schools you desire.
If your company is interested in joining the People Future 2025 initiative or to learn more, please contact us at IFMA@IFMAworld.com.