You are the Best! Don’t you love it when someone says that to you? It just makes your day, doesn’t it? I am not sure we really appreciate how far those four words really go when they are shared with honesty and enthusiasm. I heard it twice this morning already and having just returned from vacation with a very long "to do" list, it is fuel to keep me moving forward with the energy I need to have a productive day. Can you tell one of my "strengths" is significance?
Many times you do not have to ask someone to share with you that they think you are the best (or the worst in some cases). Sometimes the experience is so compelling that you just have to say it. This is helpful feedback to reinforce positive behaviors or to curb negative behaviors. However, there is a lot of valuable feedback out there that we never receive if we do not ask for it. In January, I posted a blog about the Importance of Feedback and in that post I talked about the fact that:
"We ask our candidates and our clients how we are doing as often as we possibly can. After interviewing in our office, every candidate receives a survey and at the conclusion of each assignment, we send a survey to ask both the client and the candidate about their experience with us and with each other. The feedback that we receive from these surveys is critical to how we conduct and manage our business."
The big questions is, however, what do we do with that feedback? How do we turn into useful information that we then apply to our business practices? We recently compiled all of the quality control survey feedback for the first 6 months of the year and we are about to embark on a deep dive on all of the ratings, comments and the overall Net Promoter Score of the services we provide. We received so much great input from our customers that it is crucial that we listen and we learn.
One set of data focuses on the interview experience for all candidates who visit our office for the first time. We want to know how we are doing, but more importantly we want to know what is important to the candidates. Here are some of the themes we heard:
- Communication: Quick responses, good advice on what the company is looking for, and honesty. If the individual is not a match, let them know so that both the company and the individual is not wasting each others time.
- Placement: The most important thing to me is going in and getting a job from a well known staffing agency that strives in staffing the best person for the job. An agency that really understands what their client is looking for and goes out and get that person.
- Understanding: It is important for me to feel the agency understands my career goals, and is willing to partner with me to work toward making those goals happen.
- Professionalism: Staff being friendly and professional.
- Honesty: from both sides. If there is no position available, I would rather hear that than be strung along with the possibility of one coming available in the "near" future.
- Individuality: That they listen and understand and value me, not just the positions they are trying to fill. Many discount the applicants as just commodities and don’t take a real interest. Amber did take interest and keeps in touch with me off and on. The best recruiting experience I’ve had.
- Relationship: The most important aspect when working with a staffing agency is the relationship formed between the employee and the staffing agent. The agent and the employee communicate frequently during the employment period, so a good relationship must be formed for the two to work effectively.
- Information: Thorough information about the position, employer, and details regarding pay, length of assignment.
- Comfort: It is important that I feel comfortable with the company, as well as, having trust that That’s Good HR will help place me with a company that is best for me.
Next step? Incorporate these into our business strategy. Now that we know what candidates are looking for, it is up to us to make sure that we use this knowledge wisely. None of this is rocket science and these are not deep dark secrets. Anyone who takes the time to ask and listen can get the same information. It is not just the information that is valuable after all, it is what you do with it. What will we do with it? Our very best to hear those four words…"You are the Best!"
