Recruiting and hiring the best employees requires a 2-minute drill

The score is 21-20 and your team’s score is 20. The referee has just called time out at the final 2 minute mark.

Your team has possession of the ball when time restarts and you are on your own 20-yard line. It’s a one-possession ball game. It’s time for your 2 minute game plan.

Just like the best football teams, all the best recruiting teams need a 2-minute game plan.

When you most need a 2 minute strategy

You need to have a 2-minute game plan when you have to move a candidate through your recruiting process in a very short period of time.

This most often happens when you spend too much time closing top candidates already in your hiring process and discover that your top candidates now have competitive offers. You communicate enough with them to make that discovery, don’t you?

This can also happen when you get a top candidate who is already well into their job search and has or is about to have competitive job offers.

What is your strategy? How can you benefit from a 2 minute drill and what would that look like?

A culture of playing to win

It starts with developing a winning culture. In today’s fast-paced competitive world, there is little time for error or waste when hiring top talent. Like a well-disciplined soccer team, recruiters can adapt the techniques of winning soccer teams to ensure their recruiting teams move the ball, score, and win.

Too often employers are beaten while the clock is ticking and top talent is lost! HR/Recruiting departments and their hiring management are often bogged down by slow recruiting practices that stifle change. They are unable to pick up the pace when it is necessary to score and win.

Winning means preparation even before the game begins. Once in the last 2 minutes means being able to communicate quickly and effectively, take control of the situation, adapt quickly, and above all, execute!

A frequent symptom of gambling

A telltale sign of a culture that plays to lose can be seen when employers have adopted an attitude of “If we don’t get this person, there will be others we can hire” and they just don’t seem to care about winning and getting a superior employee. This would be similar to a football team saying, “We’ve already lost this one, but there will be other games.”

Any soccer coach who took that attitude and didn’t play with determination to win until time ran out would be fired quickly!

Build your 2-minute exercise with 11 strategies

You can improve your recruiting process, especially when competing for the best candidates, by applying the same principles that soccer teams use when running their two-minute drills.

The best professional soccer teams must combine speed and execution. Winning teams often use offensive and defensive talent during this time. They are not afraid to use talent in different roles during critical moments when victory is on the line.

They practice teamwork and execute well-designed “game packages,” especially when there are only seconds left in the game and they need to score to win. Here are 11 key elements of a winning 2-minute recruiting and hiring drill.

select a leader. During the last 2 minutes, the lead finally passes to the quarterback. It’s up to him to execute the 2-minute pregame plan, but he goes further than that. Even after the coaching staff has called the play, he must analyze the defense in a matter of seconds and possibly call an audible play depending on his “read” of the defense. Who on your recruiting team is responsible for orchestrating the general 2-minute drill between your players?

Know the score. The quarterback must know the number of points needed to win the game. Will that be a field goal or does it have to be a touchdown? Your hiring team needs to know what it takes to get the candidate to say yes. This goes beyond fair compensation and likely includes other factors that are important to the candidate. Have you clearly established what is important to the candidate and whether you can provide it, and if not, can you offer other things that might get the answer yes? Knowing what will close the candidate means that he knows the score.

Operate with a sense of urgency. Seconds are critical for a soccer team during the last 2 minutes. Every play counts and every decision is magnified. Each member of the team in the field must execute their task accurately in a time-constrained environment. Does everyone on your hiring team do that?

Keep track of the clock. The amount of time between plays, stopping the clock, and knowing exactly when to use remaining timeouts become critical as the quarterback “runs the clock.” Do you know how much time you really have before your candidate accepts another offer? Have you built in some time for quick negotiations before time runs out?

Use the right package of plays. The number of plays available during the 2-minute drill does not include all the plays in the playbook. The plays in the 2 minute plan are generally designed to quickly move the chains (see below). This means abandoning certain ‘bread and butter’ plays that are part of the overall game plan.

2 minute plays are usually much higher risk plays, like long passing plays. We’ve all seen the “Ave Maria” plays before. When everything is on the line, do you have a plan that might even include higher-risk solutions to win over the candidate?

Play with the right players. Having the right players on the field is essential. Use the talents of individual players for the good of the team. This often means using defensive and special teams players in roles that are different from their normal position. Understanding player strengths during this compressed time period becomes critical. Have you identified certain players on your draft squad, or players who could become part of your 2-minute squad, who bring a special background to help close out certain top candidates?

move the chains. This strategy is to gain yardage in amounts of at least 10 yards and therefore have the opportunity to continue to get closer and closer to scoring the winning points. This means that often the best strategy isn’t the “hail mary” pass, but to gradually make concessions to improve your chances of scoring. A 2-minute recruiting drill can include eliciting a series of smaller yes responses from the candidate to overcome all concerns and get the final yes to accept your offer.

Build momentum. Positive momentum is contagious and energizing. The 2 minute time frame is as mental as anything else. When your draft team consistently wins, each player gains confidence and improves their game. Are you winning most of your games, even the close ones?

Play hard to the end. The best soccer teams know it’s not over until it’s over! They strive to play at the top of their game until the very last second. They realize that execution is the key to winning the game. Knowing the plays designed for your 2-minute drill and fielding the best players in each situation can mean the difference between winning and losing. The best hiring teams don’t take no for an answer and never give up until the game is truly over. Close the candidate, then celebrate.

Acknowledge your opponents’ 2 minute defense. The offensive team isn’t the only one to have a 2-minute drill. The best soccer teams know that when they start their 2-minute drill, their opponents have a 2-minute defensive strategy. The tempo of the game changes. Mistakes are magnified. Split-second adjustments are required. Gaining an understanding of your candidates’ motivators is critical and when they make a final decision on your job offer, you need to know how to close them. The time is short. Effective communication is critical. How are you doing when the completion of the recruitment is really anxious?

Do a post-game analysis. The best soccer teams film every match from various angles. Each game undergoes post-game analysis that includes careful scrutiny of your two-minute drill. This approach allows you to better understand your overall strategy and find elements where you are strongest and weakest. From that analysis, you can modify and refine your 2-minute exercise, as well as other parts of your recruiting process. When was the last time you did a post-game analysis of your recruiting process and then deliberately improved it? If you haven’t, when will you start?

conclusion

• Developing a winning 2-minute strategy will make the rest of your game plan that much better.
• Develop your own 2-minute drill and make it part of your playbook and make sure everyone on your teams knows “the drill.”

Bottom line, if you don’t have a 2-minute workout, you’re not playing to win!