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Hiring / Interviewing / Recruiting Articles Index The use of these articles are for our clients only. You must have permission from Sorrell Associates to use these articles in any format. We add articles to this page constantly. With over 4000 articles currently in our archive it will take some time to get them on this page. Keep checking back. Want to submit an article? Click Here
H102 MISSED WORK COSTS $600 Unscheduled absences cost small businesses $600 per employee per year, according to the 10th annual survey of human-resource executives by CCH and Harris Interactive. An article outlines the reasons… Members can read this entire article by click here
H104 Recruit Vs. HireDefinitionsRecruit - to seek out a person and persuade them to join you Hire - to engage the services of a person in exchange for payment Comparisons fills long-term need vs. fills immediate need
Example: When Jenny wanted an assistant, she placed an ad in the paper, and hired the one who seemed most qualified. Robert got to know ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H105 INTERVIEW MISTAKES In sales, there is a saying that you have two ears and one mouth and you should use them in that proportion. In interviewing, perhaps the ratio should be four to one. The interviewer should lead the candidate to do most of the talking. The second problem of the interviewers ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H106 Do you focus on retaining staff? Yesterday's employee perks are today's standard fare. Therefore, it's essential that you offer your best workers more of what they want to keep them happy and on board. Take this quiz to rate your retention savvy: 1. Another firm wants your top employee. You should: a. Remind employees that your firm offers many perks not available elsewhere. b. Match or beat the other company's offer. c. Create your own retention... Members can read this entire article by click here
H107 Even when it's subtle, discrimination is still illegal You may not intend it, but your job postings and ads may be filled with discriminatory language. Be aware of the subtle ways you reveal biases which can lead to legal trouble: Age limits. Employment discrimination due to age is prohibited under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Watch for phrasing like, “Under 40,” “Recent retiree,” “Great for... Members can read this entire article by click here
H108 Trouble Finding Employees? Tap a rich source of able job candidates The next time you have trouble filling a job, think disabled. With often- minor accommodations, you can tap into a chronically underemployed workforce of some 54 million people with disabilities. Only 30% of working-age people with disabilities are employed, compared to 80% of nondisabled adults, says the National Organization on Disability. And if you’re worried about having to make expensive accommodations for employees with disabilities, don’t: On average, ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H109 Recruiting and Retaining the Best Talent Recruiting and Retaining the Best Talent in a Competitive Economy Requires Planning and Flexibility. It is no surprise that rising costs of salaries and benefits are the topic of discussion among growing companies who seek to recruit and retain the best talent. Many managers are frustrated by the tightening supply of potential key employees. Larger, well-funded companies are offering employees and contract workers the highest salaries, while smaller growth-oriented companies are having to compete with the rising costs of salaries, benefits and recruiting efforts. How can the smaller employer keep abreast of these market conditions? They must carefully evaluate their salaries and benefits, offer other forms of compensation, and consider employing... Members can read this entire article by click here H110 Start Out On The Right Foot With New Hires Companies spend a lot of money recruiting and hiring new employees, only to forget about them when they start. Here is how to start off correctly with your new hires:
H111 What To Ask Before You Hire Few things can waste more valuable time and resources or cause more morale problems than mismatching the person and the job. As a busy executive, you want to get the most out of your people while protecting your investment in their training. Good employees turn up, not by magic, but through good hiring practices, and smart hiring starts with smart interviewing. After you've asked the... Members can read this entire article by click here
H112 TOP 10 WAYS TO DEVELOP AND RETAIN THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN A FORWARD THINKING ORGANIZATION 1. Identify talents required for the job. Find candidates who display those talents identified for the job. Get the right people with the right talent in the right place at the right time. Talents + Skills and Knowledge = behavior = outcomes 2. Be clear on outcomes required. By studying the best employees achieving outcomes it is then possible to identify the behaviors displayed which are their strengths (a combination of talent, skills and knowledge). 3. Hold employees accountable for their outcomes. Each employee should be aware that... Members can read this entire article by click here
H117
In his books, "Built to Last" and "Good to Great," author Jim Collins
states that the best organizations have the best people in their organizations. This
is no small task and is not just something that happened by chance. It was
a very specific strategy the organizations set out to achieve. By having
the best possible people on the bus then the rest of the efforts put into
process, procedures, customer service, etc... all roll out that much more
effectively. Members can read this entire article by click here
H118 Skill Shortage A job-skills shortage is already reality in the manufacturing industry, and is likely to spread to other industries over the next 10 to 15 years as baby boomers retire. Despite a recession that cost 2 million manufacturing jobs, a recent study by the National Association of Manufacturers warns that "manufacturing could experience a shift from merely having a talent shortage to facing a serious labor crisis." That’s just manufacturing. Warnings also are forecast about the need for... Members can read this entire article by click here
H119 Recruiting Older Workers With the graying of the workforce, American business is going to have to pay attention to what older workers want and how to recruit them, says Deborah Russell, manager of Economic Security and Work at the American Association of Retired Persons. "Terms such as ‘fast-paced,’ ‘high-energy,’ ‘young,’ and ‘vital’ are often signals to older workers that they need not apply," she says. AARP encourages companies to use terminology that better reflects age diversity such as "experienced workers" and "age-diverse." A recent AARP-sponsored study, using a... Members can read this entire article by click here
H120 Recruit, Recruit, Recruit Part 2 Where do I find talented resources?
n part one we introduced the concept of a strategy to constantly recruit talent to your business. The concept is not that hard to understand. However, allocating the time and energy to set it up and follow through, can be another challenge. I recently had the opportunity to meet with the Business Development Director for a new organization called Staffing Master - http://www.staffingmaster.com/. This organization has set up a system that helps organizations recruit talent to their organization for a fixed fee. Some of you may have been exposed to head hunters and other recruiting firms that charge a percentage of the hired candidate’s compensation package or some other fee system. Other providers in the marketplace have hourly rates for conducting services in this hiring/recruiting area. Their particular... Members can read this entire article by click here
H121 Mentoring: An Important Strategy for Employee Retention
oday’s employers are looking for innovative and creative ways to attract and keep talented employees. Traditional recruitment and retention approaches focus on offering attractive pay and benefits packages. Yet, those well-intentioned efforts are falling short. In their ground breaking work, “First, Break All the Rules,” Buckingham and Coffman have found that once an employee’s basic financial needs are met, talented employees want more. They want to know how their job impacts the overall good of the organization. They want to feel a part of the organization and they want opportunities to grow and develop their skills. A successful mentoring relationship will help employees meet these vital developmental needs. Employed properly, mentors create a safe environment for employees to discover (or rediscover) why their work matters as well as gives them a sense of belonging. Successful mentors:... Members can read this entire article by click here
H122 What it takes to keep workers How important are wages and bonuses in retaining talented employees? Answer: Not as important as other benefits, according to a survey of 352 employers by the American Management Association. Here are the four most cited incentives: 1 . Sending employees to conferences and seminars. 2. Tuition reimbursement. 3. Skills training. 4. Pay for performance. Members can read this entire article by click here
H123 Recruiting and Retaining the Best Talent by Marla Winitz
ecruiting and Retaining the Best Talent in a Competitive Economy Requires Planning and Flexibility
It is no surprise that rising costs of salaries and benefits are the topic of discussion among growing companies who seek to recruit and retain the best talent. Many managers are frustrated by the tightening supply of potential key employees. Larger, well-funded companies are offering employees and contract workers the highest salaries, while smaller growth-oriented companies are having to compete with the rising costs of salaries, benefits and recruiting efforts. How can the smaller employer keep abreast of these market conditions? They must carefully evaluate their salaries and benefits, offer other forms of compensation, and consider employing higher level contract workers to add value in specific areas. The smart job seekers are also aware of these conditions, so employers must be prepared before they begin recruiting. 1. Carefully evaluate the salaries and benefits your firm offers. How do they compare in the marketplace with your competitors and companies with similar demographic. Professional and trade associations conduct surveys for their specific industries. Employers can conduct their own salary and benefits survey. Even if your company can't match the salaries being offered in the largest companies, you should know where your weak spots are. Though a competitive compensation package is a powerful recruiting tool, companies can offer other perks that may be more important to a key employee. Offer other incentives in place of... Members can read this entire article by click here
H124 Recognize good performance and deal with poor performance.If an account executive fails to meet a mutually established skill or financial goal, he or she is given a warning and an opportunity to improve. If that improvement is not achieved, the executive is given 60 days to follow a new strategic plan under the guidance of the sales manager. The new plan is designed to give the salesperson every chance to work, providing the salesperson is willing and able to follow the plan. If the corrective action plan works, the employee continues; if the plan fails, the employee is outplaced. As an alternative to following a new strategic plan, the salesperson can elect to seek another position during a specified period. Chances are that they will find a new position that matches their job skills. Once the decision between these two options is made, the employee has no choice but to improve or move. Members can read this entire article by click here
H125 Do Executives Hate HR? That's probably too strong a characterization. But, 47 percent of Fortune 1000 senior executives polled recently by Accenture HR Services said they are either dissatisfied with or ambivalent about their human resource department. Their biggest complaint? Slow response times to requests. The 53 percent of execs expressing satisfaction with HR praised their departments for giving personal attention to workers and offering easy access to a wide array of useful information. The business leaders do want HR to... Members can read this entire article by click here
H126 Retention and Employee Benefit Options: HRAs & HSAs One of the best ways to retain top performing employees is to offer competitive employee benefit options. Two relatively new concepts in healthcare benefits are Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). I suggest these two concepts, coupled with an ongoing aggressive wellness program, can also be a much better long-term solutions to the annual double- digit increases in the medical portion of your group benefit packages, than raising deductibles, coinsurance percentages, and co-payments. What is an HRA? A Health Reimbursement Arrangement is an employer-funded health plan that reimburses employees for qualified medical expenses on a tax-free basis. Employers have a tremendous amount of flexibility in designing these plans. This includes determining the level of deductibles, how much will be... Members can read this entire article by click here
H127 Word Count: 136 Find An Applicant’s Biggest Weakness Most job seekers are savvy enough to anticipate common interview questions such as: "What are your strengths?" and "What are your weaknesses?" You're bound to receive a canned response if you stick with those old chestnuts. You'll be a lot more successful at uncovering a candidate's shortcomings if you ask: • "Can you share with me three areas of your performance you're trying to improve?" •"Tell me about a time when you lost your temper at work." •"Tell me about a time when you were working on a team and you thought the group was heading in the wrong direction. What did... Members can read this entire article by click here
H128 Word Count: 101 Job Satisfaction in the United States Job satisfaction has declined across all income brackets in the last nine years. While 55 percent of workers earning more than $50,000 are satisfied with their jobs, only 14 percent claim they are very satisfied. The largest decline in overall job satisfaction, from 60.9% to 49.2%, occurred among workers 35-44. This is also the worker group next in line for management and leadership positions. The second largest decline took place among workers aged 45-54, with the ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H129 Word Count: 168 Employment Statistics
Fact #1 In 1978, our workforce growth rate was 3.5 percent. By 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the rate to be 1 percent.
Fact #2 By 2008, the number of young adult workers, from 25 to 40 year olds, will DECLINE by 1.7 million. That's 1.7 million less workers to replace the nearly 77 million baby boomers who will be eligible for retirement.
Fact #3 We now... Members can read this entire article by click here
H130 Word Count: 218 Reduce Turnover Using Your Daily Planner Studies show that employees that are appreciated stay with a company longer. Most employers think employees leave because they want more money. Simply not the case according to employee surveys. Consistently showing appreciation to your employees takes a lot of work and planning. Here is a simple method to keep you on track and to show your employees that you care. s Take out your daily planner. If using an electronic calendar set the alarm as a reminder. s Schedule a weekly meeting with a different employee for the next 12 months. s Review the employee’s progress on a project, attendance, teamwork, running their department, etc… Do this prior to your meeting. s Meet with the... Members can read this entire article by click here
H131 Word Count: 155 Collect ‘Turnover Causes’ With An E-Mail Box Dedicate a company e-mail address to employee retention. Set up the address to allow employees to post anonymous messages. Then let everyone know that you are looking for turnover causes – those policies, procedures, or problems that cause people to leave the company. You should be able to sniff out potential problems-before they start driving employees out the door. Please keep in mind one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to set this up and then not follow up. Employees will take time to help a company if they feel the company is listening and willing to take action. Periodically post... Members can read this entire article by click here H132 Word Count: 712 Halo Effect: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." When President Bush looked toward his embattled director of FEMA and announced to the world "Brownie, You're doing a heck of job", he epitomized one of the most frequent and damaging problems in corporate America today - the halo effect. Not unlike thousands of managers everyday, President Bush patted his guy - Michael Brown, former director of Federal Emergency Management Agency - on the back for failing to do his job. This unfortunately all-too-common method of giving positive but undeserved accolades is the bane of managers everywhere. Known as the halo effect, managers tend to rate all employees as excellent, good, or acceptable regardless of actual job performance. Why would a manager take this tenuous path to performance management? As his leader, the President wanted to stand behind his man, encourage his employee, and direct attention to the positives he was doing. He did the right thing too by not admonishing Mr. Brown publicly for the incredibly... Members can read this entire article by click here H133 Word Count: 787 “Impending Crisis” Too Many Jobs- Too Few People by Roger Herman, Tom Olivo and Joyce Gioia
By the year 2010, there will be a labor shortage of 10,033,000 workers for open jobs. That’s over 10 MILLION unfilled jobs. These projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics don’t even take into account the growing skills gap in the workforce today and into the future. These startling statistics prompted authors Roger Herman, Tom Olivo and Joyce Gioia to create a strategic plan for companies in the book “Impending Crisis”. Why this is happening, the implications to you and what YOU as a business owner can do to counter this costly trend are well-outlined in the book. WHY will there be a worker shortage? Simply, the Baby Boomers are aging out. Losing these Baby Boomers in the workplace will create a major chasm between what is needed to keep companies producing and what is actually available for those tasks. Additionally, the following group known as Generation X is 15% smaller than the Boomers. What are the implications to YOU? ...continued Members can read this entire article by click here H134 Word Count: 237 Alert Supervisors To Little Known ‘Association-bias’ Law By now, your supervisors know it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because of his or her disability. But do they also know about a less-obvious part of the ADA that makes it illegal to discriminate against people because they have an association with a person who has a disability. For example, you can’t refuse to hire someone because of an unfounded fear that the person will be excessively absent or unproductive because he needs to care for his disabled child. The ADA’s association provision covers hiring, firing and other terms and conditions of employment. Other examples of discriminatory actions: s Firing or refusing to hire someone based on concerns that the person will acquire a condition from a family member or friend; s Refusing... Members can read this entire article by click here
H135 Word Count: 901 The Biggest Mistake A Company Makes Is The Hiring Mistake! By: Robert Alderman, CEO/President PERFORMANCE 2000 INC. I hear it over and over. "They were great in the interview, their resume was impressive and I checked their references. I thought I did it right but I ended up with a sub-par performer." Today, a company will not survive with average people. The competition for good people is heating up and according to human resource studies it is never going to end. The race is on to find the brightest and best. Great people build great companies. Average people put average companies out of business. Look at the hiring process as a chain. Break one link and the chain will fail. The hiring chain should be composed of the following: 1. A complete job description so the interviewer knows exactly what they are looking for. What behaviors, values and skills are required for success in this specific job? 2. A written set of interview questions which relate specifically to the job requirements for this candidate. 3. At least two... Members can read this entire article by click here
H136 Word Count: 498 Hire Slow After speaking to a group of employers about hiring practices, one of the attendees approached me and said, “You say hire slow to get the best results, but it doesn’t do us any good. We just end up rushing around trying to hire someone because the job has been open for too long.” She described her company’s selection process. The average time lapse between receiving the last resume and the first interview was about two months, during which time multiple managers reviewed each resume in an attempt to reach consensus on which applicants to accept, the method to be used to determine who would be selected for on-site interviews and who would manage the process. There is a difference between a “hire slow” selection process and a broken process that drags. Her company’s process is a good example of the latter. The phrase “hire slow” is not about taking a long time to invite an applicant in for an interview. It is about attention to detail at a calculated speed through a well planned and organized process. The hire slow process involves six steps: 1. Plan the process. Determine the requirements of the position, how will you solicit resumes, who will screen the resumes, who will be responsible for each step of the screening process, and who will be the principles that make up the selection team. 2. Establish a timeline for each... Members can read this entire article by click here
H137 Word Count: 393 You’re Hired…I Quit! Keeping New Hires Question: We take fresh engineers, top graduates from the best colleges, and train them. The challenge is keeping them: many leave our firm for jobs with IT companies and/or higher studies after 8-10 months. How can we reverse this trend? Should we start looking at hiring people who aren't considered "high flyers"? Reversing the trend of high turnover can be difficult, but hiring lesser-qualified people is not the answer. High employee turnover is typically an environmental issue resulting from a mismatch between the employee and the work environment. When employees leave an employer, they often cite... Members can read this entire article by click here H138 & S127 Word Count: 843 Hiring A Top Salesperson In these highly competitive times, it is necessary to stock our sales force with the very best performers – the all-stars. The creation of a world-class sales force is not only desired, but necessary for long-term prosperity. Replacing one salesperson could cost your organization between 1.5 to 5 times the fully-loaded salary of that individual! Wanting to create a world-class sales team that stays the course, what should you be looking for? Should you hire salespeople that have been to every sales training program ever offered to man? Might it be people who have set records at all 10 stops along their career path? Could it be people with impressive resumes? Would you only hire the smooth talkers? Good looking people? Those hot-shots with fancy cars? Should you only hire people with knowledge of your industry? I have seen many sales managers hire new salespeople based on their industry knowledge only to have these new recruits fail miserably. These “recycled” salespeople are known for... Members can read this entire article by click here H139 Word Count: 459 Don’t Be The Victim Of A Hiring Mistake
very employer makes both good and bad hiring decisions. Both are unavoidable. Even the worst hiring system will produce some very good employees on occasion, and the best selection systems will occasionally produce mis-hires, or employees that don’t fit the job they are hired for. No selection process can guarantee that every newly hired employee is the best or even a good match for the job. A good selection process is designed to reduce the probability of hiring the wrong person, regardless of what the person that designed the process says it will do. The problem is not that employers occasionally hire a bad employee. The problem is that once the bad employee is on the job and gives indicators of being a poor performer, the employer avoids terminating the worker promptly. A supervisor once said to me that his reason for not immediately firing a mis-hire was that “there is a 90-day probationary period and he has only been here for 30 days.” The experience then becomes one that lasts far too long. While the employer is ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H140 Word Count: 638 Using Assessments In The Hiring Process
iring the right people for your organization has always been a key ingredient of success, but is more critical today than ever before. Individuals come into the workplace with diverse cultural, education, experience, and backgrounds and many have clear expectations of how they want their job to fit into their overall lifestyle. With increasingly strict guidelines for hiring practices, how can an employer differentiate among qualified candidates without discriminating against them? Background and reference checks may allow a decision maker to eliminate some candidates, and a well-planned interview or series of interviews can provide valuable insights into the candidates. Unfortunately, the usefulness of the information gathered by these means greatly depends on the skill of the individual gathering that information. Organizations seeking additional insights into candidates are turning with increasing frequency to assessment instruments or processes. These processes may include assessment centers, where candidates go through a battery of assessment instruments, role playing exercises, and interviews over a period of one or more days. Psychological assessments by an organizational psychologist, assessment instruments administered by company personnel either on site or on line, or some combination of these approaches may also be done. (Assuming that the individuals administering and interpreting the assessments have been properly trained). The advantages of using assessments as part of the hiring process are as follows: 1. Benchmarking – this is the process of determining what skills, talents, attitudes, and behaviors are important for successful performance in a given position. By analyzing the results of individuals who have demonstrated success in a given position and the requirements of the position, candidates can be compared with a set of objective standards. 2. Comparative analysis – standardized ... Members can read this entire article by click here H141 Word Count: 499 Recognize and Address Hiring Mistakes
he objective of a selection process is to increase your odds of selecting the best candidate. No matter how good a selection system may be, occasionally it will result in the selection of an applicant that is not the right fit for the job. The final decision is always made by humans that may divert from the selection process in favor of intuition, appearance, familiarity, school, past employer association, or the pressure of time. So, poor fits are bound to happen despite a well developed selection process. If you hire someone that ends up being a poor fit for the job, do not make the second big mistake; holding on to the future poor performer for far too long. Suppose an applicant is hired because he or she makes a good impression, reminds you of someone else, or happens to interview at just the right time. Shortly after the orientation process, the new employee begins to show signs of not being the right fit. It could be something as basic as frequent absenteeism or as critical as not having the talent or level of experience expressed during the interview. Your big mistake occurs when you attempt to ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H142 Word Count: 370 Is Offshoring Waning? For years, the United States and some other developed countries have been sending jobs to less-developed countries. In most cases, the motivation has been cost-savings…almost always in labor costs. It was assumed that workers in the receiving countries would be able to perform the work at least as effectively as the workers who had held the jobs for years---sometimes for decades. Manufacturing jobs shifted overseas, along with administrative, back-office, coding and design, and information technology positions. Recently, because of the difficulty of finding qualified workers in the home country, jobs have moved to other countries. Employers in the United States, the United Kingdom, ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H143 Word Count: 373 US Facing Surplus of Hispanic Workers? The second largest contributor to Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product is the money sent back to families in the country from citizens who are working in other countries, particularly in the United States. That amount may soon surpass the revenue generated from Mexico’s leading industry, oil. Labor, much of it unskilled or semi-skilled, is the country’s most significant export. A wide range of American employers use Hispanic workers as full-time, long-term employees, and as transient and temporary workers. Employers have found that these employees are most often dedicated and hard working. Their strong work ethic is accompanied by a welcome appreciation for having a job and respect for management. Interestingly, these values which built American industry, are lacking in many US citizens---both white and black. While longer-time workers complain about employer use of Hispanic immigrants, there are important differences in productivity and attitude. Undocumented Mexican workers in the United States are a primary source of ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H146 Word Count: 117 Some common sense rules for interviewing It seems like everyone should know the common sense rules for interviewing, but according to the sad tales told by a lot of hiring professionals, common sense must be in pretty short supply these days.
H147 Word Count: 702
Hiring Plans Make all the Difference By Chris Egizi The good news: as companies continue to grow, personnel budgets are being beefed up in order to allow departments to expand their staffs. The bad news: managers, who are already struggling to keep up with additional demands on over-burdened teams, must figure out how to navigate the hiring maze quickly, effectively and efficiently. One of two scenarios typically plays out when it's time to hire new personnel: hiring managers post positions or place ads and launch blindly into the interview process, or they turn to a recruiting firm with the idea that recruiters will do the heavy lifting and the right candidate will magically appear. The problem with either scenario is that hiring manager’s risk missing out on the best candidates because they don't have a clear understanding of precisely what or who they need. Conversely, ideal candidates get frustrated because they either can't get a clear handle on what the hiring manager is looking for or because they are left cooling their heels while the hiring manager deals with more urgent day-to-day needs. The solution is to develop a well-defined hiring plan before placing that first ad or approaching a recruiting firm. In fact, a hiring plan may help maximize internal resources by identifying under-utilized talent that already exists within a company. The first, most critical, step is to define exactly what your team needs, look at strengths and weaknesses and define skill gaps that, if filled, would round out the team: Is your team overwhelmed and are permanent personnel needed to ease the burden? If so, what specific skills should you add to maximize your team's abilities? And what kind of personality will mesh best with your existing team? In other words, go beyond general definitions to identify what you need very specifically by skills, personality, etc. Once the ... Members can read this entire article by click here H148 Word Count: 451
Always be Prepared Good jobs come and go quickly. Great jobs come and go at warp speed. Therefore, one of the most important strategies you can use for dealing with today’s job market is to be “interview ready” at all times. What does that mean? It means making sure you are always prepared for that first contact with an employer. It means your resume is up to date. It means knowing what is going on in your industry. It means being ready to take that leap if the right opportunity comes along. Look at it this way: Recruiters receive hundreds of resumes on a daily basis. From their perspective, they have the pick of the crop, and they believe they can be more selective than ever. For your part, this situation guarantees the competition for any job will be intense, and the competition for the best jobs will be off the charts. How will recruiters sort winners from losers? They’ll look for candidates who have state-of-the-art skills and are up-to-date in their industry and the business world. In addition, recruiters will expect candidates to demonstrate professional knowledge and business awareness from the very first nanosecond of the contact. That’s the definition of being prepared in today’s job market. I know that’s a big challenge; sure, you have other things to do. But, continuous preparation is the single most important step you can take to set yourself apart from others in your given industry. Here are some simple tips ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H149 Word Count: 775
Are You Having Another Ground Hog Day? Often when I talk to professionals, I ask the question, “Where would you like to take your career?” I ask this question since I don’t just consider myself a “headhunter” but more of a career counselor. I see my job as placing people in a position that progresses them toward their ultimate career goals. In other words, if I understand where someone wants to go in their career I can often help them get there a lot quicker than if they did it on their own. What I have found is there are two types of responses to my question. The first type of response is, “Yes, I want to become XYZ,” or “I plan on getting into ZZZ”. They have an idea but may be uncertain as to what their next step should be, or they may be planning on making a change once they have XXX under their belt. My experience has taught me that if a person knows where they want to go with their career then they are more likely to excel and progress. Therefore, when I hear this type of response I can usually place the professional into a job that will help them progress their career plans. Unfortunately the type of response that I hear most often to my question is usually something like “I don’t know” or “I haven’t really thought about it”. In other words they are quite content with just getting by until something upsets their routine. They have given little thought to where they are going in their career. Have you ever seen the movie “Ground Hog Day”? In this movie Bill Murray plays the character of a TV Anchor man, Phil Connors, who stumbles into a time warp and ends up repeating ground hog day over and over again. This repeated experience and his desire to get out of it forces him to examine what he is doing wrong in his life. While watching this movie, I came to the realization that people who give the “I don’t know” type of response might have ‘Ground Hog Day’ careers. They ... Members can read this entire article by click here
Legal1211 Word Count: 159 Employment Laws You Should Know
here are many complex laws that govern the employer-employee relationships as well as the provisions requiring reporting or record-keeping. The more employees you have, the more such laws apply, and the more likely the employer is to inadvertently violate a law due to not knowing the requirements. Here are two of the laws of interest: At-will employment defines the employment relationship in many states. Under this approach, the employer and employee both may terminate the employment relationship for any reason or no reason at all, just so long as the reason is not illegal or otherwise prohibited by law, such as discrimination. Without an express or implied agreement of employment, employees are usually considered "at-will." Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act ("COBRA") is a federal law that requires employers to allow employees to continue their health insurance coverage after termination, in the same insurance group, at the group rate and providing the same benefits. Members can read this entire article by click here
legal1214 Word Count: 379 More Employment Laws You Should Know In our last newsletter we wrote about a couple of the complex laws that govern the employer-employee relationships as well as the provisions requiring reporting or record-keeping. Here are a few more that you should take notice of: Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") is a federal law that protects older employees (those over the age of 40) from employment discrimination on the basis of age. Only employers with more than 20 employees are required to comply with ADEA. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against any disabled employee or applicant who could, with or without a reasonable accommodation of that disability, perform a job. The act also requires an employer to provide accommodation, such as modified work hours or duties, or special equipment, if such an accommodation is not "unduly burdensome" and is necessary to help the disabled employee perform his or her job. Pensions, benefits and compensation are governed by an array of laws, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and laws such as COBRA, which requires an employer to continue some forms of employee insurance coverage for a period of time after the employee has been terminated. Some employment benefits are also mandated by state or federal law, such as Social Security, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation. Wrongful termination or discharge refers ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H150 Word Count: 388 When hiring, play for all the marbles
hat does the expression "playing for all the marbles" mean to you? Derived from a competitive children's game, the expression typically conjures up images of ongoing preparation and a fierce determination to win. If you are a business owner or manager with one of the few job openings available in today's job market, then the term "playing for all the marbles" is significant to defining the success of your business. If you are an employer trying to fill a job vacancy, it means ongoing preparation and a fierce determination to hire the best possible talent available. Today's economic climate of downsizing and bankruptcies has produced a job market with a lot of talented applicants available. The best employers already know that and are taking action. They prepare to recruit, interview and select new employees as if the life of the company or their career depends on it. They realize that every time there is a reduction in force somewhere, there is the potential to get a Secretariat for the price of a very good show horse. A client recently asked ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H151 Word Count: 328 Resume Blunders These are taken from real resumes and cover letters and were printed in Fortune Magazine: 1. I demand a salary commiserate with my extensive experience. 2. I have lurnt Word Perfect 6.0 computor and spreadsheet progroms. 3. Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year. 4. Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave. 5. Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions. 6. Its best for employers that I not work with people. 7. Lets meet, so you can ooh and ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H152 Word Count: 408 Curb “Talent Slippage” at Your Company Develop Your Best Employees What do your best employees want from their jobs? Most often, they want to keep on growing. When your focus fades on developing your best employees, their enthusiasm and commitment fade, too. Your best employees are top performers who value and seek growth, challenge, and advancement. They seek these rewards anywhere – either inside your company or someone else’s. Talent slippage happens when your best and brightest walk out the door! Reducing talent slippage in your employee ranks is rising in importance because replacing talented employees is becoming even more difficult. You already know that serious employee shortages are on the horizon as a result of massive workplace retirements (Baby Boomers) and insufficient numbers of qualified replacements (Generations X and Y). However, this does not begin to address the larger challenge of replacing your best employees with new top talent who can carry on where they left off! Is your company at high risk for talent slippage? Take a moment to evaluate what your company is doing to develop and engage the interests of your most valuable employees. Here are four questions you can ask that will readily reveal where you need to focus: Members can read this entire article by click here
H153 Word Count: 673 Taking the next step... You have finally made the decision to look for a new job. Maybe you were tired of the lack of support, heavy overtime with no end in sight, lack of appreciation for your hard work, no further growth within your current company or any number of other reasons. Ideally you teamed up with a good recruiter who listened to your goals and found you a great opportunity that offered you a position that fulfilled your desired career objectives. Now for the next step: resigning. You may not be aware that there is a right way to resign and unfortunately, there are also many wrong ways to leave your company. This article focuses on the right way ensuring you a smooth career transition. First, you should schedule a meeting with your supervisor. Before the meeting you should have a prepared written resignation letter that you will hand over to your manager. You may also need to forward a copy to Human Resources as well. Detailed below is an example of an appropriate resignation letter: Today’s Date Dear Employers Name: Please accept this as ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H154 Word Count: 140+484
You Got to Know How to Hold
‘Em- Our corporate society has changed drastically over the past forty years. No longer are professionals feeling compelled to stay with an organization over the long haul. With economic uncertainty, quickly shifting trends and leaps and bounds in technological advances, employers are no longer in a position to offer long term job security. This is not necessarily a negative trend – but a different one. Employers today will have to create an environment that gives employees a compelling reason to stay. Interestingly enough, there are a number of simple strategies that employers can institute into their culture that can give them the edge in retaining high performers. Most of these approaches do not require resources to establish, but do take a concerted effort to ingrain within the organizational philosophy. Retention tips for today’s workforce: Praise Productivity, Ingenuity and Initiative. Incredibly, this is the ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H155 Word Count: 476
People Changes:
usinesses grow based on the energy, ideas, creativity and dedication of their people. Finding and retaining the best possible fit of people to jobs is among the top priorities of every business leader. However, changes happen. People changes, that is. Now they happen more frequently than ever, driven by a multitude of reasons in our volatile workplace, including: · People are moving from one job to another within the company for career advancement · People are leaving companies for better opportunities elsewhere · People are being fired or downsized · People are relocating to another state or nation · People are becoming disgruntled and quitting · People are retiring from the workplace People changes are further accelerated by the workforce’s growing acceptance of multiple job changes as “normal and desirable.” But for whatever reason people leave their jobs, they leave holes in the organization that must be dealt with effectively. People changes can be ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H156 Word Count: 453 State of Recruiting Currently we are experiencing the deterioration in financial market conditions, a turbulent election period, a credit/housing crisis, and increased energy costs. The national index indicates a slowdown in economic growth. In a recent survey, CEO’s of small to mid-sized businesses indicated a significant drop in confidence; a five-year low. Most CEO’s surveyed expect the overall economy to weaken but they anticipate much smaller declines in their own firm’s revenues, profits and employment in the coming year as they stated they will remain dedicated to finding and retaining good employees. More than half of the business leaders surveyed think the economy will worsen but they have no plans to scale back recruitment and in fact, they plan to increase their payroll in 2008. Most of these companies state they will raise prices in response to the increased costs of production but staffing remains their most significant issue. Finding, training, and retaining good employees are issues that have remained on the top of their agendas to position their firms for future growth. The following are some practical things that you can do in this slowing economy: 1. Make finding, training and retaining top performers your number one priority. Double your current recruiting efforts. You need top performers on your team. You simply cannot afford to tolerate marginal performers who statistically account for about 10% of every business. You can direct these marginal workers to other career options. 2. Communicate with each employee. Let every employee know, on a one to one basis, that the economy is ... Members can read this entire article by click here H157 Word Count: 517 Why Do People Leave Their Job? Experience-Based Retention · Is it because of money? · Benefits? · The fact they believe there are no real opportunities for them at the company? While many might argue about which of the above has more impact on whether or not a person decides to jump ship, attempting to identify the main overall culprit is probably the least productive approach to increasing retention. Why? Because while studies may show that one factor carries more weight than another, those same studies also show that all of the factors have the ability to influence people to some degree. So that means by focusing solely on the main culprit—whatever it might be—your retention plan is only as good as the number of people in your company who are primarily affected by that factor. Which means that it’s nowhere close to being 100% effective. People and situations Are you going to retain every ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H158 Word Count: 689 Helping Your Best Employees Grow In our previous issue, we discussed how providing a positive experience for your employees is the best way in which to increase retention within your team, your department, or your company. In this article, we’re going to address a specific way you can provide that experience, and it involves giving your best employees the proper amount of attention. This is important for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it’s human nature to not pay enough attention to your best employees and top performers. Why is that? Because they’re usually self-motivated go-getters who need no prompting or anybody looking over their shoulder. As a result, managers don’t feel the need to interact with them as much, or to “check up on them,” if you will. This gives the manager more flexibility and more freedom to tackle other issues. After all, there never seems to be enough time to get things done. If you have a select number of employees who are high achievers, people who need a minimum of supervision, it only makes sense to leave them be and let them do their jobs, right? To a certain degree, that’s correct, but if that philosophy is taken too far, it can prove disastrous in terms of retention. The 20-80-20 rule For superstar employees, a positive experience with the company includes the opportunity for professional growth. If they don’t Members can read this entire article by click here
H159 Word Count: 516 Job Benchmarking and Candidate Assessments – What’s the Deal? The use of job benchmarking and job candidate assessments has grown in recent years. What are they, and why should you care? Job benchmarking is the process of characterizing what behavioral style, motivators, and talents a job calls for. Job benchmarking allows us to “let the job talk”, and identify what the ideal candidate looks like. Candidate assessment is the flip side of the job benchmark. The candidate assessment looks at the behavioral style, motivators, and talents of an individual. There is a third component that links the other two—the gap analysis—that makes clear those areas where the candidate is not a good fit for a job. Viewed another way, the gap analysis shows where the job is not a good fit for a candidate. Why use assessments? Studies show that a good fit between a candidate and a job is a key factor in job satisfaction, productivity, and retention. Nobody likes getting turned down for a job, but ultimately making sure a person is a good fit for a job is a win-win proposition. From an employer’s perspective the ... Members can read this entire article by click here
H160 Word Count: 824 Building the Best ‘Before-and-After’ ExperienceIn our previous article about retention, we discussed the importance of helping your best employees to grow, mainly by giving them the proper amount of attention. This provides them with the experience they crave, thereby increasing your rate of retention. In this, our next article in the retention series, we’re going to take a small step backward for the purpose of going forward. That small step involves what the candidate hears during the interview process vs. what they experience after accepting the offer and starting their employment. This “before-and-after” dynamic is crucial to the overall retention experience, and it’s all the more crucial because many employers don’t take the time to examine what type of experience they’re providing for their new employees. And then they wonder why they take another job after only three months. It’s human nature The “before-and-after” experience is a smaller component of the larger, more complex subject of onboarding, which we’ll be discussing in future articles. However, it differs from onboarding in the respect that it continues for a greater length of time after the candidate becomes an employee—for at least the three-month period mentioned above, and perhaps even longer. What it comes down to is this: you have to ... Members can read this entire article by click here H161 Word Count: 812 ‘Common Sense Retention’ There are many facets in regards to the all-important issue of employee retention, but perhaps none makes as much sense as the |