Talent Lab for Leaders
Messaging problem or operating problem?
Most teams that say they need better communication already communicated. People heard them. They just didn't believe them, because the experience didn't change. This check tells you which problem you actually have.
How to use it
Pick one problem your team keeps announcing a fix for. Low applicant flow, a slow process, a tool nobody uses, a survey score that won't move. Answer the ten questions below about that one problem. It takes five minutes. Answer the way your recruiters would if you weren't in the room.
The ten checks
Every yes points to something people experienced, not something they misunderstood.
- 1
Have you announced a fix for this problem more than once in the last 12 months?
- 2
Does the announcement have an owner while the problem itself doesn't?
- 3
Would a recent candidate describe your process differently than your careers page does?
- 4
Did the people doing the work hear about the change after it was decided?
- 5
Is someone measured on an outcome they don't control?
- 6
Did the last survey end without one change employees can point to?
- 7
Was the new tool added on top of the old steps instead of replacing them?
- 8
Does what you reward contradict what you say you value?
- 9
Is the fix a training, a rewrite, or a launch with no change to workload, budget, or headcount?
- 10
Could your loudest skeptic name the last time this exact fix didn't work?
Answer all ten to see your result.