The Importance of Great Communication
Its 3.35am and my Spayse mobile has rung four times in ten minutes, as it is the middle of the night, it’s still on silent but the vibration alert is shaking the bed side table enough to wake me up. Upon listening to the voicemail I find out it is a candidate that is calling to apologise that they can not attend the scheduled 9am interview due to a family emergency. They sound rather distressed at the family emergency unfolding and also about missing the interview.
As I am now awake, I call them right back and leave a message to say I will sort it out and to not worry about the interview. I explain it will be easy to reschedule the meeting when all is okay with the family member and I pass on my wishes on that the family member is okay.
This is an example of great communication. A quick email to the client on behalf of my client continues the great communication. I advise them of the situation and give them a call at 8am to follow up to make sure they have got the email. The client is understanding and happy to reschedule when the candidate is next available. The fact the candidate took the time to communicate with us, even when they were under a great deal of strain, means we will do all we can to assist their future job search. It is a shame to admit that this is not the norm.
Yesterday was a manic day of back-to-back interviews; the market is very buoyant and we’ve lots of great candidates coming through our doors but there are the exceptions. Of the dozen or so I was due to meet, one didn’t show, and three were late. 25% of my candidates in one day. Of the four only 1 of them had the courtesy to call to communicate they were running late. The one no show didn’t communicate with us at all, there was no apology for the delay, no reason explaining why and it’s embarrassing to say they were a senior candidate who should really know better. They did however find the time to submit another application to me for another role we have advertised. In this instance I shall be sending them a polite thanks but no thanks. At Spayse, we have a unique Spayse promise that we give all our clients. We guarantee our placements for 1 year and this means it is not worth our time placing unreliable candidates within companies especially when the first impression is not good. Never underestimate the influence of a good or bad first impression.
Of the final two late comers, one did apologise when they arrived but the other did not. As you can imagine, the one that did not is not being represented by my company moving forward. Personally I hate being late, and I don’t like to keep people waiting, if it happens I am the first to apologies, to me it’s about respect, whether you know the person or not.
I always go into any meeting or conversation with the basis of offering respect, and I use various tools to communicate this non-verbally, including ‘mirroring’. Mirroring is where you match a person’s demeanour and mannerisms. This can take many forms such as sitting in a certain way or smiling when they smile. It can be a very powerful way to create rapport and make people feel comfortable in your presence; it can be very formal or informal depending on the situation, the location or the mood of the meeting.
When you are meeting someone, whether they are a client, an employer, an employee or a general meeting, look at what you are offering and how you offer it. I try to smile when I meet people, and see if they smile back, if they do it helps relax the meeting if not it tends to be a more formal chat, my personal style is to tell a small joke in the first few minutes, again to see the reaction and gauge where we are at. The most successful meetings are the ones that I get to engage with the person I am meeting, this doesn’t always happen but when it does the meetings are so much better and productive.
In any interview or meeting it is important to just be yourself; personality is key. Remember cold as ice doesn’t make people warm to you, but the life and soul of the party may also having people running in the opposite direction. Even after 15 plus years there are times I get it wrong, but I use these experiences to learn and evaluate so that next time I can get it right.
In general, people buy people, if they like you they are much more likely to go to the next stage with you.
If you would like to talk to me about any roles or projects you need assistance with please email: info@Spayse.com
