Winning the War for Talent | Leadership Breakfast 10.13.2021

As听usual听around campus on the day of a Leadership Breakfast,听海角原创鈥檚听Dining Complex听bustled听with people from the community on October 13, 2021. This time around, the attendees gathered not just for inspiring or helpful talks over听breakfast,听but for the听annual听尘别别迟颈苍驳.听听

, Chairman of听ThriveED,听welcomed the group to the annual meeting and introduced the agenda. Following the welcome and directions,听, President of听ThriveED, highlighted the five-year milestones. Incorporated in 2016,听ThriveED听has sought to grow through building steady relationships between听Dodge and Jefferson counties. 鈥淲e do regional economic development because when one company wins, the community wins,鈥 Pratt stated.听听

Pratt then introduced the speaker for the day, . Czarnik authored听听and has given hundreds of presentations on HR management.听听

Czarnik passionately began his presentation by听stating听that he was triggered.听His reason for being听triggered?听Employers complain听that people are lazy and don鈥檛 want to work.听听

鈥淚t is not the world鈥檚 fault that you do not have employees,鈥 he stated emphatically. Czarnik reminded the听attendees听that advertising for a job is not the same as it was 40 or even 25 years ago.听听

Employees or Customers?听

Czarnik posed the question, 鈥淎re you working as hard to find your next employee as you are your next customer? What would you do if your customers didn鈥檛 want to buy your product anymore?鈥 He begged the audience to stop trying to make the hiring process hard.听听

Businesses compete for customers. Why would it be different when it comes to employees? While many HR Directors consider themselves to be good听recruiters, reviewing resumes and screening applications听doesn鈥檛听make it so. Czarnik shared that 93% of resumes are without response (not rejected!) since 1998.听听

鈥淵ou鈥檝e been ghosting my job seekers for decades!鈥 he berated the audience. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e blaming a 22-year-old because they can鈥檛 find you in a series of 27,000 different organizations that could hire them within 30 miles of this building.鈥听

Czarnik acknowledged that each business owner becomes enamored with their business. They live and breathe their business听bubble,听making it hard for them to comprehend that no one has ever heard of their company. He encouraged them to think back to the customer mentality. They鈥檝e been competing for customers for years. Why should they not expect to compete for employees?听听

The Population Math Problem听

If you were to ask someone about听generations听today, you鈥檇 probably hear something about how the Baby Boomers听are听grandparents, Gen Xers make a ton of 鈥渄ad jokes鈥,听Millennials听part their hair on the side, and Gen Z are the only people to understand their slang. No cap.听

Culture aside, no one talks about generations with听population听in mind. No one except Czarnik. Czarnik shared that when the economy stabilized after the COVID-19 pandemic, 12 to 13听thousand听Baby Boomers are retiring every day. And there are 65.9 million people (Xers, Millennials, Gen Z) trying to fill the jobs left by 75.4 million people (Baby Boomers).听听

That鈥檚 9.5 million fewer people between the generations. 听

鈥淚t is a mathematical certainty that somebody is going to lose,鈥 Czarnik affirmed. He encouraged people to build personas for their employees the same way they build personas for their customers.听听

鈥淚t鈥檚 your job to go to them,鈥 Czarnik told the audience.听听

Czarnik shared that he is a Baby Boomer. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the problem,鈥 he stated. 鈥淒o you get that?鈥 The Baby Boomers are the largest generation with the most people and the most assets. And where do those assets go? 鈥淲e鈥檙e giving it to our kids, and they don鈥檛 have to work,鈥 Czarnik declared with a smirk on his face.听

鈥淪top with 鈥榯he people are lazy鈥. Stop with 鈥榯he young people don鈥檛 want to work鈥. Stop thinking what you did in the past is actual recruiting. It鈥檚 not.鈥听

Understand Your Audience听

You can鈥檛 find future employees if you don鈥檛 know who you鈥檙e looking for. Seventy percent of job seekers cannot find your company because there are thousands of companies clamoring for their attention. How can they find you if you鈥檙e not building bridges with them?听听

Czarnik encouraged those in attendance to consider the cost of having the position open for a year. Business owners know the cost of everything else in their corporation; it shouldn鈥檛 be hard to determine that number.听

鈥淎re you investing the same amount of money that it costs to not have that employee to get that employee?鈥澨鼵zarnik asked. He entreated the audience to treat their open jobs like听problems,听not like the world doesn鈥檛 want to work for them. He encouraged them to get to know their current employees听so they听can hire the right new employees.听

In closing, Czarnik shared听four听criteria to consider before recruiting:听听听

  • Working in a geographical radius 鈥 People are going to commute a maximum of 24 minutes听
  • Paying a respectful wage 鈥 A wage in the 45-60th听percentile of the current reigning wage for similar jobs听
  • Creating work that fits their personality type 鈥 Will your new employee succeed in this line of work听
  • Constructing听job ads that create questions that people can only answer if they interact with your business听

鈥淵ou are vanilla ice cream in a vanilla ice cream aisle,鈥 Czarnik asserted. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e just like everyone else. Good recruiting is creating questions, not answering them.鈥听

Pratt moderated a closing question and answer time with Czarnik.听

On November 11, Susan Marshall, founder of the , will be presenting 鈥淟eadership: Breaking through Toxicity.鈥 Learn more and register听here.听

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