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Last week we talked about how our fundamental hiring process in the United States is about 80 years old and laid out some of the basic problems we face today because of a lack of innovation in that process.

We had the pandemic, we had a recession, the great resignation, the great retirement, and the great reset. We had to pump so much money into the economy that it caused inflation and quite possibly another recession. We saw record levels of people leaving the workforce and not coming back. We saw record levels of job openings and low unemployment rates that we haven’t seen in nearly 50 years.

It is the perfect time for radical change, so I am going to give you one idea. If possible, as you read the next few paragraphs have R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” playing in your head. Or just click on the embedded video.

The concept is to actively recruit the type of talent you would like to add to your company or team, and to do it on a constant basis. Companies in the plastics manufacturing space who can begin to embrace this philosophy and move away from the paradigm of waiting until someone quits or retires will outpace the competition over the next decade.

The practice is not yet widespread, but we have clients who will ask us to always let them know if we talk to someone who is confidentially open to a new opportunity, if they have specific product knowledge, skillset, or come from certain companies within the industry. It is an emerging best practice.

I call it Continuous Talent Radar. I tried to copywrite that, but it turns out that you can’t copywrite a phrase, so I might as well share it with the plastics industry.

A final note: This does not include running a continuous job ad. That only cheapens your brand, it will probably be terrible, and top performers will not see it.

About the author

Paul Sturgeon is CEO of KLA Industries, a national search firm specializing in plastics, packaging, and polymer technology. If you have a topic you would like to see discussed, a company that is growing, or other ideas for this blog, e-mail Sturgeon at [email protected].