I came across this job ad a couple of weeks ago:
Hi, I am the CEO of a $50,000,000 per year global company that’s growing to over $100,000,000 in the next 36 months, and I am looking for a Ruthless Headhunter with a little touch of Human Resources in them to run my HR department-and I’m willing to pay handsomely for the right individual.
Here’s what I am talking about, basically I’ve found there are two kinds of HR people. Starting with the normal HR person which is NOT the type I’m looking for right now. There are several reasons why and I’ll fully explain those reasons in a few moments.
First, let me explain the “Ruthless Headhunter” type because they’re the elusive one I’m searching for now. Simply stated, it’s an exceptional individual that is part salesman, part psychologist and is an unconventional recruiter. (With a touch of normal HR thrown in.)
Furthermore, you truly understand exactly what it takes to acquire and build a bench of “A Players”, and you’re worldly enough to realize that most of the time you don’t get them by using conventional methods. That’s something most of the other normal HR types just don’t get.
Let’s call it the way it really is, because most “A Players” are happy where they’re currently working and it’s very difficult to find them using the normal channels.
Add to this, when you’re asking them your interview questions, not only are you qualifying them to see if they’re the right fit for our organization, those questions are also pre-framing them to the experience and setting their expectations for when they join our team.
Plus, at the same time you’re selling them on the idea they made the right move, all the while inoculating them against the family & friends resistance that might come when they get home and tell them the great news.
Ok, now to be clear, let’s talk about what I don’t want for my HR department’s senior manager, and that’s the “camp counselor/ union steward” type whose nose is stuck in the labor law book and organizational charts.
Now don’t get me wrong, labor laws are important and for the last 7 years I’ve gotten more than my fill of labor laws. So we’ve got those bases absolutely covered already and I respect labor laws.
But the normal HR types just don’t have any interest or desire to understand how to get the “A Players” – the ones that make all the difference and give your business an immense advantage over your competitors, while making your business life sane.
Straight to the point… I need “A Players” to keep my company on track as it goes through this intense growth period. In fact our company has grown an average of 41.36%/Yr each and every year over the last 5 years.
What do I love about this ad? Well, it certainly does a good job of attracting the right kind of person. You can bet that the “normal” HR person is probably not going to apply.
This ad spoke to me. I run into “normal” HR people all the time who are very good at putting in bureaucratic, ineffective and inefficient HR “solutions” that really don’t work for the business. I think a good HR person (an “A Player” HR person – someone who is top notch) has to think differently and navigate through the junk. Your HR needs to work for you. Not just make things more difficult.
Next time you make decisions about your Human Resources, think about whether you are hiring someone who is an “A Player ” as your Human Resources professional – someone who is really good at coming up with creative, innovative HR solutions that actually help your company run better.
If you don’t want a normal HR person, call us. We come up with real, common-sense solutions that don’t sit on a shelf gathering dust.
