A long time ago, in a country far, far away…I helped steal $22million.
While no gold bullion or diamonds changed hands, the manoeuvre involved guerrilla recruiting tactics. What our small team did was effectively a heist that had a very real financial impact. One that I was reminded of by events at Tesla this week.
Over the past few days Elon Musk has taken his Tesla workers on a wild ride. Telling his office based employees, that they need to return to the office for at least 40hrs per week, or find somewhere else to work. Then backing this up by stating Tesla’s office workforce needed to be cut by 10%, because he had a bad feeling about the future. Now, maybe not that many cuts are needed, but still, some need to go. This is not what we would call, activity and conduct of a manager conducive to long term loyalty from his employees. It is downright disrespectful and he has opened his company up to be raided by competitors using guerrilla recruiting tactics.
In a previous life, I worked for a company overseas and we heard that employees at a company we had considered buying a few years prior were very, very unhappy. Their company had subsequently been bought by a competitor for $22m and now several years in, they wanted out. We met with a couple of employees who told us how bad their culture, systems, processes and new senior management were and if we would consider hiring them. On their own they wouldn't be much use, but their whole division? That was different. So we made a decision. We would hire everyone. On one day, we made offers to all 40 employees in the division and all of them accepted our offer. A month later we had a new division and our competitor…shortly thereafter, had to exit the market.
Currently there are recruiters trawling LinkedIn and picking up the phone to Tesla employees to see if they are willing to jump ship. The good ones will. Will this affect Tesla? It depends on the talent that leaves. The likes of Polestar, Rivian and other electric vehicle and tech companies are actively approaching key workers. Their departure will have a greater effect on workforce effectiveness than having all employees on site every day. It may also allow these companies to make technological advances that could have taken them years to achieve otherwise, as they are able to hire people with the right behaviours, attributes, knowledge and drive needed to achieve the next set of transportation goals.
Great people don't stay in companies where they aren't respected. This creates a great opportunity for good companies and good leaders. When you see bad news at a company, don’t write off their staff. Start mining LinkedIn for the people you need. A direct or 3rd party approach, while turmoil or uncertainty are in the air, can reap instant rewards, as does the question - “Who else can you recommend at your company?”.
Several companies and CEO’s have hit the press recently for the wrong reasons. Creating an environment ripe for talent acquisition. In this talent short environment, this is an opportunity too good to miss.
Author: Andy Foy – Talent Optimisation Consultant & Certified Predictive Index (PI) Associate
I know how frustrating it can be when you cannot get the organisational results you desire. There is no way around it; people drive business and all business problems at their root, are people problems.
For over 25 years, I have built my career on solving business and people challenges in the most practical, pragmatic, and cost-effective way across a variety of industries, countries and cultures. I know business and I know people.
Using the innovative, market-leading Talent Optimisation tools from The Predictive Index (PI), I help organisations align their people strategy with their business strategy to create better workplaces and achieve optimal results.
These tools are practical, fast, scientifically validated, easy to use and deliver deep insights to help managers hire the right people, manage their teams, and improve performance. Moreover, I train and educate managers and their teams so they can understand each other, hire the right people and build cultures and interpersonal relationships that drive business success.
I have helped hundreds of companies and teams across the world & have an extensive network of consultants in New Zealand around the world I can draw upon to solve many of your business challenges. I'm here to help you.