Dr John Sullivan Talent Management Thought Leadership

A post-disaster strategy allows you to hire from the large talent pool that the LA fires created.

The goal – to highlight the benefits of the “post-disaster recruiting strategy.”

The Benefits of a Post-Disaster Recruiting Strategy

Because of its high ROI and the competitive advantage that it offers, corporate talent leaders should make implementing a “post-disaster recruiting strategy” a standard practice. In the case of the LA fire disaster, this strategy provides three major benefits. 

• This strategy allows corporations to take advantage of the exceptionally large LA talent pool that will be created as a result of the economic and other impacts of the fires. 
• This approach will allow your corporation to make more high-quality hires. Many in this LA talent pool are highly desirable (they’ve been continually employed with up-to-date skills). They wouldn’t typically be looking for new opportunities if it weren’t for the fire-related layoffs and frustration of many residents with the disruptions that the LA fires have caused.
• And the third major benefit is that your recruiters won’t have to face much competition. Most employers in the LA area will be busy cutting and regrouping rather than adding staff.

You’re Not Raiding, You Are Adding Opportunities

Now, a skeptic might call this recruiting approach “Raiding of LA.” So, they will likely also consider this approach unfair because corporate recruiters shouldn’t be exploiting the LA residents who are down on their luck. But most outsiders quickly change their perspective when they realize how many LA business facilities have been destroyed or disrupted. This means most LA employers won’t be able to bring back their released employees until their facilities are rebuilt. And to many disrupted LA residents, their best chance for immediate work in a professional job may now be in another state.

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Plan A – Offering Your Recruiting Targets A Job Outside Of California

The primary audience for this article is the aggressive corporate leaders with a significant number of job openings outside of California. If this description fits you, you should realize that many Angelenos (and even many Californians) consider this recent fire disaster in LA to literally “be the last straw” and a final reason to leave LA permanently. So, it’s smart for all corporate recruiters and hiring managers with open jobs in other states to specifically target the growing LA “talent bulge.” This talent surplus includes a large number of frustrated LA professionals who are suddenly open to taking a job out of state. The next section highlights the multiple reasons why so many Angelenos are suddenly willing to abandon LA and move out of state.

The first step – Understanding why so many are now willing to permanently move away

Of course, some corporate hiring managers will be reluctant to hire Angelenos because they fear these new hires may soon change their minds and want to return to LA. So, it’s important for executives and talent leaders to fully understand the many factors driving LA residents away. They aren’t whimsical, but in fact, they are permanent ones that won’t go away. The seven most powerful reasons why Angelenos are now willing to work in another state include:

Many LA residents now demand to live in a fire-free environment – many residents (especially those with families) are fed up with living under the year-round severe fire danger that everyone in California now experiences. So, it’s not surprising that many residents will now desire to live in a place with significantly fewer fire dangers. That, coupled with the continuous rise in fire insurance rates in California, will push many LA professionals to seek jobs in other states with safer living environments. 

With few remaining possessions, it will be much easier for residents to relocate – it’s a sad fact, but in the cases where burned-out residents have literally lost all of their possessions. Having few possessions makes it easier for them to consider out-of-state opportunities. And for once, because the move will be so inexpensive, some job seekers may be willing to relocate to a job in another state, even if their new employer doesn’t pay much for relocations.

Many will once again begin seeking a lower cost of living – the final straw that might drive many employees to a job in another state is California’s increasingly higher cost of living. Of course, for years, many have been threatening to leave California. However, losing their current housing and/or their job may be the final trigger that will cause them to actually take an out-of-state job. In addition, the fear of the much higher local taxes that will be needed to repair all of the infrastructure damage from the fire will be a new reason to leave. On top of that, many states will be attractive with no income tax, much cheaper housing prices, reasonable insurance, and a much lower overall cost of living.

The limited housing stock and the skyrocketing costs of housing will drive many out-of-state – after this fire and the loss of over 12,000 homes. This huge loss of housing stock will worsen LA’s long-existing housing shortage. For those who want to purchase a home, this shortage will further raise LA’s already outrageous housing prices. For those who want to or need to rent. This shortage will make finding another affordable rental property within a computing distance of their work painfully difficult.

Rebuilding will be extremely expensive, and it will take forever – for those who want to rebuild their destroyed home or business, they’ll need to plan for the fierce competition for building materials and contractors. They should also realize that the upcoming federal mass deportation plan will add to the rising construction costs. A fear of deportation will severely limit the availability of the majority of construction workers who are foreign-born. Another frustrating factor that will need to be considered is that after the fire, homeowners will need to realize that rebuilding will take much longer. New construction permits will be severely delayed until new, more stringent fire protection building standards are set. Unfortunately, all of these factors, taken together, will force many who initially favored rebuilding to seek a job and a new home outside of the extremely expensive housing markets in LA ( and California).

The lingering memory of lost family and friends will drive many out of LA – for some, the thought of moving back to the neighborhood someday. This will mean that they will be continually reminded of their loss of family, friends, neighbors, or even pets. Simply living in LA may mean that they will be frequently reminded of the loss of their childhood home and the neighborhood experiences that they loved so much. So, to avoid having to deal with these painful reminders. Many will be more open to permanently leaving LA.

Their search for new schools will help to drive many away – because so many schools were destroyed in the fire, families with kids face a long, uphill battle to find schools of equal quality. As a result, many parents will suddenly be willing to accept a job in a new geographic area with great schools that will be easy to get into. 

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Plan B – Consider Offering Those That Don’t Want To Move A Remote Work Job

Some potential hires won’t be able to leave LA until all their fire-related issues are resolved. It might be wise to offer these new hires the opportunity to temporarily work from home until everything is cleaned up. Of course, if your corporation wants to take full advantage of this “talent bulge.” It can still recruit those who are not yet willing to leave LA. Instead of requiring a move, you can offer the best candidates a work-from-home job. This possibility is contingent on whether their job can be done remotely and whether your corporation is set up to manage remote employees. However, you also need to add to your algorithm the fact that you won’t be able to offer every LA candidate a WFH job. Because many of those burned out, they may have been forced to live in an apartment so small and cramped. It won’t meet the minimum requirements of a work-from-home location.

Actions To Take

Of course, before you decide to implement this post-disaster strategy, you will need to prepare for a great deal of internal resistance. In my view, dramatically increasing the pool for your professional jobs with a high volume of high-quality candidates will be well worth the cost and the effort. So, for many, there is no time to waste. Your next step should be immediately developing your “I love LA” post-disaster recruiting plan.

Note for the reader

This is the latest post from Dr. John Sullivan, who was labeled “the Michael Jordan of Hiring” by Fast Company Magazine.Please help spread these ideas by sharing this with your team/network and by posting it on your favorite social media channel.