Like many company leaders, due to government lock-downs, I’ve been forced into a change of scenery. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some ideas and experiences from my background in business. We’re all in this together, I hope my ideas are useful to you in some way.
“If you ever find you're the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.”
- Austin Kleon
What the heck just happened?
Global downturns are like flash floods, they have an immediate impact like a torrent of water sweeping down a previously tranquil stream. The torrent appears to take everything with it, but after the waters subside, what is left? The large boulders remain, along with a lot of debris and new sand and stones deposited from upstream.
There will be winners and losers… and opportunity.
The rocks represent the solid businesses that were unmoved and survived the torrent. The debris reminds us of the new and unfamiliar landscape, full of opportunity and the small stones are the beginnings of new businesses. In the long run, economies benefit from upheavals. People rethink, innovate and revitalize their businesses. New businesses start, and old stagnant businesses are lost. Good people who were trapped in unproductive occupations get released and make new beginnings. I know of countless people who started great businesses after being made redundant. Would those skilled people have ever left the safety of employment to risk it all and start that business? Probably not.
The talent tap is about to be turned on.
Downturns release talent into the marketplace. Skilled people who have been in secure employment for years may suddenly be looking for new opportunities. Previously, these people were hard to find, and had to be head-hunted, usually at a premium price. If your business is poised for growth, maybe now is a great time to think about tapping into that new pool of talent.
The opportunity to hire talented, experienced team members may be the best we’ve seen in a lifetime. Looking for great people to join our team is always a top priority. Here’s are a few ways you can find that talent:
LinkedIn. It’s an obvious one but shouldn’t be ignored. Advertise on this site and other employment sites in your city/country.
Chamber of commerce. Contact your local Chamber of commerce. They will be able to connect you with companies that are having to downsize or restructure. Sometimes they will act as a confidential intermediary to connect employees with you.
Press releases. While other companies are talking doom and gloom, a positive article about a growing company will certainly attract attention. As well as outlining how your company is bucking the trend, mention that you are looking for talented team members. It will surely attract attention.
Keep an eye on the news. Look out for tech companies that go bust or announce redundancies. After a major earthquake in our city, I approached some major employers who went broke and asked them to connect me with some of their best staff – they happily obliged as they wanted to help out their staff. Just phone the CEO, like I did.
Contact the university. There will be less opportunities for graduates as well, and the best ones make great interns. I once offered a job to a student with excellent grades a full year before he completed his study. He accepted and started with us the following year. I’m incredibly grateful to say he is still with us.
Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.
- Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett was referring to investing, but it also applies to hiring. After all, hiring great people is investing in your business. At Comet, we're growing. Not because market conditions are good, or any other external factor. We're growing because we choose to, and that starts with a focused and talented team. Right now, we're using all of the above strategies to grow our talented and passionate team.
Next time, I’m going to talk about how working from home creates opportunities for MSP’s.
Kia mau, kia ū, otirā, kia haumaru (Hold fast, stay strong, furthermore be safe). Peter Thomas, Director, Comet Backup
Need help configuring computer backups?
A lot of our partners are using this downtime to migrate data backup customers to Comet. During this time, we are offering free hands-on support to customers wanting to migrate your computer backup customers to Comet Backup.
We can help with that.
- Comet has built-in tools to make migrating your backup customers from competitor software easy.
- We run regular computer backup webinars and we show you how easy it is to migrate data backup customers to Comet.
- Our team can provide hands-on setup and migration assistance, free of charge. Book an appointment here.