Navigating a New Normal: An Interview in Partnership with Major Tom
We've partnered with digital agency Major Tom to join an initiative that offers a curated version of our services to helps business leaders make good decisions quickly—because connection is more important than ever. You can see them here.
We spoke with Liz from Major Tom to discuss the state of the recruitment industry, including how e-commerce is being affected, what it all means for talent, what has changed for us personally, and how you can prepare for what's to come. Watch the video below, and read on for the full conversation.
Liz:
Okay. Alrighty. I am Liz from Major Tom here with Alisha Adams and Tess Sloane from Eleven Eleven Talent. They are headquartered in Vancouver but are a global company and we're going to chat today about the current state, what's going on in the world and how it's affecting us and our unique takes on it. So to kick it off, what changes are you seeing in your industry right now?
Tess:
Yes. So we are in the retail apparel and consumer goods industry and so a large part of our industry is bricks and mortar, and a large majority of brick and mortar has been closed down and completely grounded right now. So what we are seeing is a lot of the brands that don't have an established eCommerce channel are truly suffering right now. A large portion of sales and profits have been impacted and a large number of hourly workers have been significantly impacted.
So we're seeing a lot of mass temporary layoffs. We're now seeing some of those temporary layoffs and move to permanent layoffs to help companies recoup those lost sales. Straight off the bat, we saw salary cuts as well. So in retail, in our industry, at the beginning we saw entire senior leadership teams take a 20% salary cut right off the bat. And now we're seeing that actually funnelling down to the senior vice president level, the VP level, the director level, they're all being asked to take a cut at this point.
We've also seen some of the larger players taking a real stand to keep their hourly people paid for as long as possible, and their salaried people as well. So we actually, locally, we saw Lululemon do that straight off the bat. And then we had a lot of brands follow suit, so that was a really positive thing that came out of it.
We're going to see a lot of movement with top talent through this and some of the bigger players are really trying to ensure that they secure their people. We are going to see a lot of talent exchange going on in retail and apparel and consumer goods right now. And I guess on the flip side, some businesses in our industry are thriving currently, any kind of fitness product, obviously Amazon, grocery stores, drug stores, big box retailers, Costco, Walmart, to really great talent during this time, and we're seeing them actively pursue that as well.
Liz:
Definitely, yeah, a lot of companies really awesome and really great people. So lots of personnel shifting for sure.
Tess:
Yes.
Liz:
So what do you find in your business and the people that you're working with? What specifically are people struggling with right now?
Alisha :
Yeah, I mean I think it's going to be similar things to what you’re hearing or maybe that resonate with you. A lot of them resonate with me, but there's a lot of uncertainty right now around the timeframe, like how long is this going to go on for? Obviously that's quite anxiety inducing or stress inducing, not knowing how long we're going to be in this state for. A Lot of our clients and candidates obviously are working from home, which produces new challenges if you're not used to that, whether it's having your children at home, your dog with you, your husband in the room next to you, or sharing an office. We're hearing a lot of challenges around that. Obviously there's not childcare support, which is a huge a challenge for our clients and candidates right now.
One thing that we've heard a little bit from some of our candidates is around a lack of communication from senior leadership, which is actually why they're reaching out to us, because they're feeling really uncertain. You know? And so there's a lack of transparency around how their business is doing, how long they can survive operating as they are, not being able to get in touch with people. It's already kind of an isolating time, so not having that connection with their leader is, like Tess mentioned, going to cause a lot of shift in talent right now, which we're starting to see already.
And things like financial burdens that people are feeling right now. And there's this really interesting, I don't want to say phenomenon, but there's an interesting feeling around a need to be overly productive right now. And I think there's a really interesting distinction to be made around being productive and having a sense of purpose. There's a lot of research around how getting up every morning and having a sense of purpose actually contributes to your longevity, as opposed to this feeling of productivity right now where people are like, "What business are you starting? What new skill are you learning? What Instagram-worthy recipe are you making every day?" Which is actually having the opposite effect, like which is actually causing people to feel anxious and stressed in addition to all of those other things that I said.
Liz:
Yeah, absolutely. Lots of reasons to be stressed. All of the uncertainty on both sides. So lots of challenges going around potentially. What changes and challenges have with your business face uniquely?
Tess:
Yes, I guess I think that, you know, we've seen immediately a real slowdown of new business coming in. So our established client group is stable, but typically each month, we would get three or four new business opportunities come in and that's just kind of significantly slowed down.
Personally, I now have my kids at home and I have two school-aged kids, so I'm trying to figure out and fit in homeschooling and running a business and getting on calls and cooking every meal, like it is absolutely a lot. Challenges, we're really trying really making a concerted effort to keep our team engaged, more than our usual efforts. So really over-communicating, keeping them updated and really trying to foster that feeling of connection between our team. We are, like a lot of people, navigating all of the government support relief. Every day, there seems to be a new update and we're trying to figure out what we qualify for and what's available to us, and seeing if it's effect.
I think changes to our business. We've really pivoted to a lot of project-based work right now. So we've just launched a podcast called Session Eleven and we're sharing a ton of tactical information around careers and work and development. So we're really shifting the tone of how we show up currently and being really intentional, mindful, really sensitive. And the filter we're using right now through our social is does this add COVID-19 specific value to our clients, to our candidates? And we're stepping into that, you know?
And so for an example, some of the resources we've developed is how to interview digitally and we've created a worksheet and made sure that's available to people. This week, we're releasing a worksheet called how to onboard employees remotely, so that will be available on our social channels and our website next week. But we're actually creating content specific for this time right now. And we've offered a lot of free webinars and workshops and we're just trying to be sensitive to the time that we're in.
Liz:
Yeah, I think that's a great point. I mean, first starting with how do I add value? You're never going to go wrong with that. We at Major Tom always encourage our clients to consider. And especially now, more than ever, if you don't have anything valuable to say-
Tess:
Yeah.
Liz:
... sometimes it's better just not saying anything at all.
Liz:
So that being said, you spoke about some ways that you realized you can help folks. Do you believe that people or business need anything else in particular right now?
Alisha :
Yeah. So we've been coaching our clients from a business perspective to really continue keeping their finger on the pulse of what's happening with candidate pools right now and their pipeline. Like we've been mentioning throughout this interview, there's going to be a lot of movement happening, whether people have lost their jobs, whether people are feeling uncertain.
We're also hearing from candidates that they're actually unhappy with how their company has handled this whole situation and epidemics. So we anticipate and are starting to see movement, and it's really important not to lose your sight on your pipeline. And it doesn't mean that you have to be making offers right now. We understand that there's a certain financial aspect or financial stress to businesses, but keep networking, keep having conversations with talent and building those relationships.
So that's some coaching we're giving businesses. Another thing that's really important to do is to continue having really open lines of communication with your team as a leader. And even if you don't know what's coming down the pipes, at least tell your team that. Just having the vulnerability and the transparency to let them know that in some sense will keep their mind at ease, that at least you're in conversation. We've heard from some of our candidates that their leader was telling them if business doesn't pick up in two weeks, we're going to have to start cutting back salaries in three weeks. We may begin to do layoffs at this level. And while that's hard to hear, it at least gave them some kind of ease to know what's coming down the pipe. So just having those difficult conversations and opening those lines of communication is really, really essential right now from a business perspective.
From an individual's perspective, just going back to all of those issues and stresses and anxieties that we're hearing right now, it's so, so important to keep connected with people and connected with your community, your network, and it's actually such a blessing that social media exists in this time, because that is how exactly how we're connecting right now. I mean there's so many technologies available to us. From a candidate client perspective, we're certainly encouraging that keeping connected in terms of networking. That's totally possible, even though we're locked in our houses, in our apartments to do, to leverage LinkedIn and, and there's more of an openness for people to be having these Zoom conversations or Zoom coffees now. So certainly take advantage of that and reach out to the people you've always wanted to be networking or connecting with.
And one more thing that we've been really encouraging our candidates to do is to spend some time updating their resume. Like what better time to do that now? No one ever really wants to do that, but people have the time and capacity to do it. We actually just released a podcast on the five foundations of updating your resume. We have a ton of content on our website and our Instagram handle as well. So even if you haven't lost your job, it's a really good time to just be refreshing and thinking about your accomplishments and writing them down somewhere.
Liz:
Totally. That's great advice. So you spoke about quite a few things of ways that you are able to, to help some folks and things to think about just individually that will be helpful in this time. Some of the suggestions that you made, they're very helpful right now, but a lot of the changes that are happening and the ways that businesses are evolving now, I feel that it's not only going to help now for them to survive and thrive, but it's also going to pave the way for an even better future beyond all of the things that are happening now.
So can we think a little bit about into the future, these changes that are happening, how do you envision this will impact your industry and your business in a positive way?
Tess:
Yes, that's such a great question, and I think we're going to see a huge shift in remote work and the ability to work from home. Companies are going to allow more flexibility now that they've seen that productivity doesn't decrease.
And what it allows people to do is integrate their lives more holistically, which is what people are yearning for and what they really want to do. And the research shows that they are more productive when they're able to do that and they're going to perform higher. So companies, I think, are going to learn that through this experience.
Another thing that we are so excited about is that now that we could have a remote workforce, this opens up for businesses dramatically what talent is available to you. So if you're a company based in Toronto, you can now hire the best talent in the world anywhere for your role, regardless or no restrictions on geographic location. So that is going to be a true game changer. So we're really excited to see how that unfolds.
And to Alisha's point, I think we're going to establish a new bar for leaders around their level of communication and engagement that they should be extending to their teams consistently year round, in a pandemic or out of a pandemic. The bar is just going to be raised that much higher. People are going to be really reevaluating what's truly meaningful to them, and that includes where they work and how they spend their time. And I think that's a really important thing that people, like we're kind of scratching the surface at it now, but we'll see it go to a much deeper level.
We sense that business travel is going to decrease. People will be more open to digital connection, which is a really positive thing for our environment, for people's lives and their time at home and with their families.
We predict there'll be more of a focus on sustainability and ethical brands. So we're really curious to observe how consumerism is affected by this. Like, will it just jump back to where it was or are people going to be more cautious or more conscious when they're making purchases and really mindful about where their dollar is going? And I think the big takeaway I would love everybody to hear is that in the future, you know, every brand with this remote capability has the potential to be a global brand. And I think that is a really exciting thing.
Liz:
Absolutely. That's something that you have been able to take advantage of. And I know Major Tom has worked with you for about 12 years or so, so we definitely appreciate and have benefited from your expert insights in HR and beyond. So if others are interested in fostering such a partnership with you and continuing this conversation and connection, where is the best place for them to go to do that?
Alisha :
Yeah, so our website has all of our contact information, as well as our list of services and clients we've worked with. So that is eleveneleventalent.com. And to get a better sense of our brand and who we are, our values, our ethos, our Instagram, we pour a lot of resources into that. So @eleveneleventalent, and we have a bunch of free resources available on there, including worksheets and just information and knowledge around career development and recruitment.
Alisha :
And then of course, we also have mentioned our podcast, which we just released. So Session Eleven is available on iTunes and Spotify. So again, it's a resource where we're giving away valuable insights and information to help people really propel their career forward.
Liz:
Awesome. Well, thank you so much to both of you for taking the time to chat about these topics today. We really appreciate it, and we hope that everyone else have enjoyed it as well.
Tess:
Thank you for having us.
Alisha :
Thanks, Liz.