A Big Whopper

Burger King is facing a lawsuit, claiming that its Whoppers are smaller than they appear in ads.

So what does that have to do with recruiting?

I’ll get there, I promise. But first, in a response to the lawsuit, Burger King claimed that reasonable consumers have long been aware that food is styled in ads to make it appear "as appetizing as possible" and they are not required to serve burgers that look "exactly like the picture."

Translation: People know ads are not reflective of actual products. To get you to purchase a product, the company presents the most idealized version of the product, even though they are fully aware that you – should you be enticed enough to purchase the product – will never have the experience that is being sold. TL;DR: You’re being lied to, but it’s okay because you know it.

A $4 hamburger that doesn’t live up to the marketing. Bummer.

A job or employer that doesn’t live up to the marketing. Devastating.

Mont Blanc viewed from Lac Blanc, Chamonix, France. Photo Credit: No Vacation Required

People can handle the truth

It’s not just fast food companies (and airlines, and travel brands, and, and, and) that are trafficking on “aspirational” representations of their products. Recruiters and HR decision-makers are as guilty. And it’s bad for everyone involved.

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Idealized portrayals of a position and the organizational culture/climate are standard practice in recruiting. Ostensibly, this will attract higher-quality talent, reduce time-to-fill, and have a positive impact on a wide array of other HR KPIs. But that’s not what’s actually happening. The truth is, when applicants aren’t told the truth about the position or organization:

Employers lose money when new hires quickly leave
High turnover kills morale and further erodes the culture, making the discrepancy between the ideal and the real even more dramatic
Applicants lose money, time, and opportunities

This is why we’re big proponents of transparent recruiting and realistic job previews.

In short, a realistic job preview is a way of giving potential employees a clear and honest picture of what a job entails, both the positive and negative aspects. This enables candidates to make informed decisions about whether they are a good fit for the job and the organization, which reduces the chances of disappointment or turnover later on. For employers, realistic job previews have a whole host of benefits, including increasing the quality and commitment of newly hired employees, improving the organization’s reputation and credibility, and ultimately enhancing employee satisfaction and performance.

Isn’t it nice when the right thing to do also delivers the best results!?

But organizations aren’t the only ones playing fast and loose with the truth

Organizations need to be more transparent and honest, but candidates do too.

A client of ours shared an interesting story.

She was poached for a marketing position with a company that she, via her current employer, was a customer of. As a customer, she had a very positive view of this potential employer, so she was excited about the opportunity. Maybe unrealistically so.

Feeling burnt out in her current position, she was completely glamoured by the recruiting. The attention she was getting felt validating. The organization, the position, and the pay – as presented – all looked like a perfect fit. It was all just so ideal.

Fast forward to her “realistic job preview” moment.

As she put it, she was “horrified” by the marketing team meeting she was allowed to observe. The energy was tense and she “could see the workplace politics playing out” right before her eyes. Completely disillusioned, she chose not to accept the position.*

We were proud of her for making a difficult decision. She decided to keep looking, placing her own happiness ahead of a bigger payday. That’s a hard decision to make, especially when you are not thrilled with your current position.

But, with some time, she also realized that the Monday meeting horror show she witnessed was probably not that bad. She was so eager to believe the marketing – to buy into the corporate fantasy of unlimited PTO and Friday happy hours and hiking with her ERP cohorts – that she didn’t tap into her instincts and lived experience. Had she, she now realizes, she would have been more circumspect about the opportunity and how life with this organization would actually play out. She may have seen that Monday marketing meeting more for what it really was: the unremarkable truth of life in a corporate marketing department. Perhaps not the most effective work environment, certainly not ideal, but completely de rigueur.

*You may think: “Oh nos! That realistic job preview ended up with the company losing out on someone they were pursuing. Maybe they shouldn’t have let her ob that meeting!” You’re right, they did lose someone they were actively pursuing. But they did so early in the big scheme of things – before they sunk a bunch of money into hiring, onboarding, and training someone who would get into that meeting and think “I’ve made a terrible mistake!” So, that loss was a win.

Burger King’s legal team is not “not correct”

We are all very aware that the Whopper in the picture is not the Whopper we are going to get when we pull up to the drive-thru. That doesn’t mean I agree that Burger King should be able to market extra large, juicy burgers fluffy with fresh vegetables when what they actually sell are, well, NOT that. And organizations would be wise to be more transparent in the recruiting process.

We, as consumers (of burgers and, um, work) need to be more honest with ourselves. It’s okay to be aspirational. But buying the fantasy only to be disappointed (as we, deep down, know we will be) is lunacy. Being honest doesn’t mean we can’t dream. It just means that we won’t be sorely disappointed when we unwrap our flaccid burger or, worse, learn the position lifestyle we were sold is work.

Onward & Upward,