Toy industry hiring remains quite robust and toy companies are beginning to have difficulty securing the services of the top people they want. While there are a lot of “bodies” out there, top people are receiving multiple offers allowing them to be more choosy than they were 2 or 3 years ago.
In order to land top people, companies must be willing to interview, decide and offer at a faster pace than their competitors. They also have to realize that, for top performers at least, they have to offer attractive remuneration, career growth opportunities and work environments. Those companies that move slowly either because their “hiring process” is overly bureaucratic or because it is actually their plan to postpone hiring decisions until the last possible minute (much as retailers make their buying decisions) are missing out on the talent that can drive their companies forward. This is also true of companies that try to nickel and dime new hires or even their existing employees. As for companies with lousy work environments, my experience is that ownership and/or senior management is generally not interested in making positive changes and they will continue to be hurt. As a recruiter constantly on the lookout for good candidates, I love these companies. Trust me; you don’t want to be one of them.
Please note that the above is not a forecast but rather what I’m seeing on the ground every week. This is a particularly Darwinian time in the toy industry and that favors companies with “the fittest” and most talented staffs. In order to hire and retain a top team: move fast, move fair and treat them right. That’s a formula for a staff of enthusiastic overachievers which is the backbone of any company’s success.
All the best,
Tom Keoughan
