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IBN: Defining Excellence in Electronic Recruiting

John Sumser's
Electronic Recruiting News

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It is better
to not be on
the web than
to be on and
not know why
John Sumser

Reality
is more
complex
than
it seems.
John Gall

It's better to
do a few things
really well than
than to do
a lot of things
badly.
If you can't
make the necessary
commitments of
time and energy
to your
electronic
marketing
efforts
scale back
your plan.
John Sumser

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Perspective

(January 31, 2001) On average, we see about 30 pieces of email a day from readers who are reacting, in one way or another, to an idea we've floated in an article. A really controversial piece will generate as many as 60. Our email in baskets overflow with the feedback. As a result, we're always way behind in our correspondence. We read every piece of mail. We want to return a thoughtful reply but often fall short of the mark.

Generally, the notes are very well thought out. Our readers are the "thinkers and doers" in the industry. The mail proves that. Our ongoing correspondence, though legendary for its slowness, is full of rich relationships with real leaders who are trying to figure this thing out as it evolves. We try to answer every piece (eventually) and believe that for every note we get, there are 25 that didn't get written.

Sometimes, there are very negative letters. We have strong opinions and express them clearly. We don't like everything we see and believe that some vendors (and their leaders) just "don't get it". Generally, they don't like it when we don't praise them and they use the occasion to let us know how completely stupid and useless we are. Since we seem to forget those facts, the notes are good reminders.

The most interesting part of negative feedback is that sometimes we are dead wrong on an issue. The archives are full of evidence that we learn from our readers on a routine basis. Sometimes, we just "don't get it" and need an angry note (or a well thought out critique) to move our opinions in a more productive direction.

Learning to read and use the negative feedback is a challenge that has taken years to come to terms with. Electronic communications, email and web page alike, have a surprising potency. Somehow, the words are more powerful on a screen than they are on paper. Critical stuff, delivered electronically, lingers in the heart longer than the same material in regular mail. We believe that it is a part of the job to be sure that we generate adequate volumes of negative feedback. While it's never fun to get it, the material is a powerful indicator of the passions in the industry.

We're certain that the difference between a web endeavor that makes it and one that fails will be rooted in the organization's ability to utilize negative feedback. Chris Locke (and his co-conspirators) have made that case powerfully and succinctly in the Clue Train Manifesto. The web creates an environment in which it is impossible to hide from negative things. Figuring out how to incorporate them into your business is the essence of building an adaptive enterprise. Any recruiter whose company has a stock discussion area or a board on Vault is familiar with the dynamic.

So far, we have received 137 pieces of email concerning this week's articles about Monster's Superbowl ads (they are still coming in). The notes seem to fall into two categories: You really get it and You Really don't get it at all. Here's the breakdown:

113: You really get it
- 53: HR Issues are subtle (same thing happens with gender and race)
- 24: Personal Or Family Experience With Addictions
- 36: Unexplained congratulations or "bravos"
024: You really don't get it
- 15: From Monster/TMP Employees
- 09: From Others

As much as we'd love to gloat about being right, a half dozen of the "You really Don't Get It" letters were extremely persuasive (the angry stuff from staffers we sort of ignore, noting that their feelings were hurt). In essence, they suggested that the nuances we saw in the ad weren't seen by everyone who viewed it and that we had been overly harsh in our criticism of the Big Green Machine. Almost 10% of the mail (9 of 137) expressed that position.

We think that both perspectives are right.

Advertising, when artfully executed, offends, incites, tickles and pleases. By its very nature, a well done ad delivers different messages to the groups who see it. It's really not very surprising that people see ads differently; they see everything else differently. Layers of meaning are a normal part of advertising.

Although we understand that a range of perspectives are possible, we were very moved by one note whose author said "I was most shocked by the fact that I wasn't shocked when I saw the ad." We were surprised by the extent to which Monster (an advertising company) could not tolerate negative feedback and could not control its response. We also were reminded that a range of perspectives (often directly opposing each other) are possible (and even likely) when the audience is so large.

- John Sumser

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