Soccer Lessons for Successful Recruiting

In many areas of life, we find clever implementation strategies that we can also use effectively in the company. Let's take a look at professional football. It may sound far-fetched, but at second glance you will be surprised at how many football-derived approaches can open up a fresh perspective on recruiting, or even provide confirmation of a good approach.

In an inspiring collaboration with Jonas Hammerschmidt, who has extensive experience as a football player and later as a professional team coach, and our team at TOWA, we have developed exciting ideas to learn from football. In doing so, we have recognised how talent scouting strategies from professional football can also be integrated into our own talent acquisition at TOWA.

The "transfer market" is a term used in professional football to describe the process of buying and selling players. Players are carefully selected and evaluated to ensure that they fulfil the needs of the team and can contribute to the success of the club. The overlap of the transfer market concept with recruiting is obvious.

You are the boss in the transfer market and in recruiting in the candidate market if you implement the following tips for yourself and your organisation:

1. be early in the talent identification process

A good football scout recognises talent before it is generally known. It makes sense to take a similar approach in recruiting: Be it through Girls Day formats, internships, student jobs or cooperation with retraining institutes. We seek access to talent at an early stage and in a variety of ways so that we can recognise them first, win them over and build them up.

2. use data as a competitive advantage in the transfer market

Football clubs use advanced analytics to assess players and identify strengths and performance gaps. A football team needs different player positions to be successful. A team consisting only of strikers or defenders would not work, it is logical. It is similar in recruiting: diversity in terms of skills, experience and a shared "playing philosophy" is a decisive success factor.

It pays to base the proactive direct approach of experienced talent on a comprehensive data analysis. This is based on clear requirement profiles that identify current and future needs for various positions.

Concepts such as "hire for attitude, train for skills" can work well in practice, but not necessarily. The right attitude alone is by no means a reliable predictor of good performance. In the end, what counts in football and in the corporate context is a good combination of different criteria - a mix of professional-methodological, personal, social-communicative and activity- and action-orientated skills that complements the team well, supplemented by a willingness to learn, desire and curiosity, as well as cultural fit. Individual diversity and shared fundamental values - getting this balance right can help a company to build a harmonious and high-performing team that promotes both cohesion and creative solutions and development.

3. let he who binds himself be tested:

Data and analyses, all well and good. The vow is made in personal meetings and dialogue. People always choose people. In football, you come to a trial training session, at TOWA you come to Chemistry Day, where applicants get to know the TOWA team, everyday life and the work on site, which is so important - because this way the culture can be experienced live and an informed selection decision can be made afterwards, on the part of the applicant and on the part of TOWA. Giving all applicants the opportunity to self-select. Because if you don't identify so well with the future colleagues, the job or the company and how it ticks, it is a benefit for everyone involved and saves time and resources on all sides.

4. be at the forefront of the transfer market with a network:

In football, relationships and networks are crucial. This is also the case in the corporate context. Building a network can be accelerated by creating a talent database through the following points. Talent approach and inclusion in this database after qualification: Inclusion of cancelled but good candidates where recruitment is not possible today, but cooperation in the future is not ruled out. Building relationships with educational institutions, retraining institutes, specialist groups, meet-ups: If new positions arise internally, there are a number of "good acquaintances" who can be approached to fill them. This in turn can lead to a significant reduction in the time to hire. Company growth can also be supported more cost-effectively in this way. We like!

5 .Plan for the long term:

Football clubs build their team not only for the next game, but also for the next few seasons. Recruiting has an advisory, highly strategic role to play by promoting an ongoing dialogue at an early stage about who the company will need in the future and aligning talent identification accordingly.

6. It is okay to be a "talent supplier" in the transfer market:

As TOWA, we consciously opt for the role of trainer, because due to the breadth of our business in terms of content, all employees:inside put down a steep learning curve, which they can later resell well to new top employers. However, many alumni become customers, and often like to return to TOWA employees after 1-2 stations elsewhere. What goes around, comes around, and so we are driving the digitalisation of the economy not only with our services, but also with highly trained employees for other companies.