Doctor, Please. Far Less of This

I don’t know about you, but when I arrive at my doctor’s office on time for an appointment, I am greeted (if you want to call it that) by a receptionist who would rather be a nurse who asks me to fill out an intake form that could have been emailed to me in advance of the appointment, The form requires certain basic and obvious information which, upon completion, I am asked to return to her (and it is generally a “her”).

From there I wait.

I am not asked to wait or asked if I CAN wait. I am left alone to wait and read magazines that are often 6 months old. The wait can take a minute or an hour.

How different is that from the experience that is offered to job hunters who come to human resources at your organization?

How does a receptionist “receive someone” That is what they are there for, right? To be the receptor for an organization receiving someone, right?

Do you email applications to applicants or make them complete the form in person?

Subconsciously, do you judge their handwriting?

How old are your magazines?

Is someone invited to have a beverage?

How long are they kept to wait by you? Is you receptionist overwhelmed and thus delays occur between the applicant being ready to meet you and when they actually are caused by their being expected to answer phones which delays notification of someone’s arrival.

Once a week, I receive a call from a client who is asking where my candidate is only to later discover that the delay was caused by the receptionist or security not letting them know someone is waiting for them.


And what is the message that you are sending with this “process”? I’ll tell you. Once you join, you will become the third drone on the left in a cubicle and become Dilbert.

How different would it for someone to receive the application by email so that they can complete it online, print it out and sign it and bring it with them to the interview.

How does someone feel if they are greeted by someone with a huge smile or who apologizes to them for not taking time to chat with them but that they have a project to do for someone? How about this week’s magazines and today’s newspapers or a short video about the firm and opportunities within it featuring the CIO, CEO, CFO or other leaders who make it inviting to join.

How do you think someone feels when they are greeted on time?


The process most organizations have for receiving someone is cold and impersonal. You can change it and make your one that helps to make your process a hiring magnet.


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com. Job Search Universe is also available at www.jobsearchuniverse.com To add your firm’s career page to “The Universe” email the url to jobsearchuniverse@gmail.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

If you have a question that you would like me to answer pertaining to job hunting or hiring, email it to me at:

thebiggamehunter@gmail.com

The Prime Directive

Does Your Company’s HR Function Lead or Fail to Lead?

The July 17 issue of Businessweek carried a terrific column from Jack and Suzy Welsh entitled, “So Many CEO’s Get This Wrong” that describes how HR should function and the mistakes that corporate HR makes.

Responding to a question that points out the HR is often felt in a negative way vs. The Welsh’s claim that it is the most powerful part of any organization, they acknowledge that HR is often marginalized in organizations into the people who issue the newsletter, plan the company picnic or, at the other extreme, “the cloak-and-dagger society.”

They then call for HR to be “the killer app” within a company but acknowledge it seldom is, laying the blame squarely upon the CEO who does not put HR at the table the same way as the CFO.

They recount a story of speaking to 5000 HR executives in Mexico City and asking how many of their organizations were on the same footing as the CFO and getting fewer than 50 hands to go up. They then ask whether the Boston Red Sox would be better run by the CFO or the Director of Player Personnel (as a Yankee fan, I encourage the Red Sox to try the Welsh’s suggestion and report back in a decade or two).

So what do they suggest?

Part pastor (who can hear all sins and complaints without recrimination) and part parent (loving and caring but giving it to you straight when you get off track), they are men and women with stature and substance.

Their job is not to make people warm and fuzzy. The job is to create ways to motivate and retain people; they create review and appraisal systems that let’s people know where they stand and monitor it with the rigor that is invested in SOX compliance. Third of all, they need to be able to confront charged relationships like those with unions, people no longer delivering the goods, or those with egos as large as all outdoors but who have stopped growing.

They exhort CEO’s to elevate HR to the same level of professionalism as is expected of their CFO’s while acknowledging that few organizations are currently pointed in this direction. They ask, “. Since people are the whole game, what could be more important?”

So, what’s the focus of your work? Is it attracting and retaining great people? What are you doing to put systems in place that motivate, inspire and reward (yes, reward) talent. You know, the people you say are at the crux of the organization and its achievements and success.

And what are you doing to support people when they stop growing or stop performing. How do you get them on track or get them out?

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2006 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To subscribe to Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, or receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).