A prospective employee said no to us because we wouldn’t give her an iPad! What the?!

Dear Aunty B,

I have just been told by a prospective employee that she isn’t taking the job because we didn’t offer her an iPad.

I actually emailed her to ask if it was the case and she said she felt it was a reflection of the attitude of the company towards technology rather than the iPad per se. What the???

Do we now have to offer new staff iPads as well as mobiles, phones and computers? How about peeled grapes?

Megan

Dear Megan,

Peeled grapes might help. Look, what you do need to take on board is that many people have now wired to the hilt in their social and personal lives. And many workplaces are not.

Think about it.

Many people – particularly the young, bless them – are attached to machines 24/7 and they feel very productive and comfortable running their lives this way. Then they arrive at work and, boy oh boy – it is like coming off crack.

Sometimes things don’t actually work!!! Or they work really slowly. Or there are stupid rules attached like No Facebook. And to them it is almost intolerable! It is literally unbearable! They don’t know how you can bear it and why you don’t spend millions and trillions of dollars attaching yourself to bits of wire or wireless-ing the joint up the wazoo so they can just wander around talking into things and poking gadgets.

Now, your new employee is never going to see things through your perspective, so look at it through hers. She thinks she can do the job better with an iPad. Is there any truth in that? Why did she feel she was entering a cave instead of a modern digital business? What can you and your staff do in interviews to talk up the technology? How can you improve the technology?

Mind you, a few fit balls, super-fast internet or some peeled grapes might just help you in the war for talent when we have to compete against businesses with names like Google and Facebook.

Be smart,

Your Aunty B

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