Page 40 of Fun Together
“The problem is that we’re struggling to be competitive with other big companies in a similar space to us. Employee retention is at an all-time low and management is scrambling to not only hold onto the talent we have, but hire more people to align with where the company wants to be.”
I remember Faye mentioning that her boss said something about this to her, too. “I see. So is the company making changes to their offerings?”
“How so?” she asks.
“Well, benefits or other perks?”
“Oh, well, that’s the other thing. We don’t really have the revenue right now to offer better health benefits or anything like that. But we do have our annual company party coming up that usually provides a little boost.”
“But nothing long-term?”
Her eyes harden and I remember that I’m scared of her. “Eli. You have a job, and I have a job, and we know what we have to do. Right?”
“Right. Sorry, just anticipating potential questions a candidate might ask.”
She seems to like this answer, and I relax a little. “That’s good thinking. Just stick to the talking points. You’re just doing intro calls, so there shouldn’t be too much detail given.”
I resist the urge to mention that health benefits would be the first thing most people ask about during these intro calls. I guess I’ll figure out how to navigate that when the time comes.
“What is the timeline for when they’re looking to have someone in place?”
“Ideally within a month,” she says.
That’s soon, considering how long these things usually take between working with schedules and finding candidates that are a good fit for the role.
“Okay, no problem.” I can do this. I can make this happen. No need to stress about a repeat of my last performance review at my previous job.
Unreliable. . . No growth mindset. . .
“I think you’ll be a great fit here, Eli. You should have access to the applicant portal so you can begin screening. I look forward to hearing about your progress.”
This bolsters me up a little, and I feel more confident. “I’ll get started this afternoon.”
I makeabout ten phone calls before I start to feel like I’m going to lose my mind if I have to leave another voicemail. Two people have called back so far, and both said they weren’t interested when they found out the pay for the role. One woman was so shocked, she said she thought I was joking when I told her the salary.
Focusing on a single task like this goes against every fiber of my being. I feel so full of pent-up energy, I could sprint laps around the office. I think a little afternoon exploration break is needed, so I send a Slack message to Faye.
Eli: What are you doing?
Faye: Working?
Eli: Come with me to the duck pond.
Faye: Can’t. I’m swamped.
Eli: Are you making a pond joke?
Faye: Not intentionally, but that was pretty good though.
Faye: We have a duck pond?
Eli: I heard there might be baby ducks.
Tom told me about a small pond located on the property that may or may not have a family of ducks living in it. And I know I’m curious about it. Who can resist the pull of potentially seeing some baby ducks? I see dots pop up and go away a few times before she responds.
Faye: I guess I could use a break too.
We meet in the lobby five minutes later. This is the first time I’ve seen her today. She looks pretty in a flowy skirt with flowers all over it and a white T-shirt.
