“It’s not the business that gets better, it’s the people within that constantly improve”
This is a mantra that we use within Jobtrain. Why? Because we want to drive improvement from the perspective of people wanting to better themselves, not being told to do something better. Lou Tice, a self-image psychologist guru, once stated that “all meaningful and lasting change starts on the inside and works its way out”.
In other words, whatever it is that you want to change – whether that is your business culture, your personal habits or your ambitions, it is pointless simply being told what to do. The only way to make such changes long-lasting and effective is to commit to those changes yourself.
Think about giving up smoking as an example. Being told it is bad for you does nothing in itself. However, telling yourself it is bad for you and then making a commitment, to yourself, to do something about it, is the way to achieve a sustainable change.
Now, for those of you who read these articles/blogs assiduously, you will note that the common theme is that they always centre around our own business area – that of Applicant Tracking Systems (or online recruitment application software – call it what you will). So what has the opening paragraphs got to do with this?
Well, the point that I wish to make here is that if HR and Resourcing teams are going to evolve and improve, then looking at how they work, the tools they use and the activities they undertake, is a key part of that. And within that, ensuring that the business has the right people at the right time often falls to HR to deliver.
And here’s the rub. Online recruitment systems like ours will help enormously - but they don’t function on their own. They are tools that people use to do their jobs better. But if you want to enhance your business and function performance, then don’t just buy an applicant tracking system and expect it to deliver. It will add some benefit, but the real impact comes when people embrace the new way of working – when they can re-shape their own activity.
For example; instead of spending days at a time producing reports, you can utilise the time to print instant reports and analyse them! Then make informed decisions about how to make improvements (best sources of advertising? Reducing ‘bottlenecks’ in the recruitment time cycle; selecting the best agencies to work with; utilising talent pools to reduce expenditure, etc). It then starts to become easier to see the degree of positive impact you can have on an organisation.
The danger is that when systems are foisted on people and change is imposed, then it is inevitably resisted and that leads to lack of progress. However, when people are engaged from the outset, when they can influence how a system is selected and configured – when they are involved in the scoping and the training, then they take ownership. At that point, they have ceased to be a ‘doer’ and have now become a stakeholder. And that is how you make change to be both meaningful and lasting.