We’ve all probably watched at least one episode of the show “Undercover Boss” where the CEO of a company is disguised as a front-line employee in order to get a very different, and usually more accurate view of what’s right and what’s wrong at his or her company.
Most of these companies are sufficiently large that front line employees have never met or even seen their CEO, so the CEO can get away with the disguise. But for small to midsize companies (SMB) where employees may see and or interact with the CEO daily, this isn’t a practical strategy. However, SMB CEOs can effectively go “undercover” when it comes to recruiting.
In a short Fast Company article, Chris Bakke, CEO of talent search firm Laskie, offers several suggestions for evaluating your hiring process by a tactic not unlike that of “Uncover Boss”. One of the strategies in winning the “War for Talent” is winning the “Battle for First Impressions.” For many companies, this often means their hiring process. Mr. Bakke wins it because, he says, “As CEO, I apply to jobs at my own company every year.”
Is your hiring process an open door, or a locked one?
(My thanks to Vistage-Oklahoma Chair George Glover for this article!)
