Here we are in 2008, soon to be 2009, and almost a decade into the 21st century. The Internet is maturing: it’s been around for ordinary people to use for almost 15 years and has already earned its place as a technology and a social movement as important as electricity.
Most recruiters, corporate or agency, have finally developed career sites and use the Internet for attracting, sourcing, and communicating with candidates and clients. The website is the bedrock of an effective recruiting practice, and while it may still be possible in local or niche markets to avoid it, for mainstream and volume recruiting a website is essential. In this article I am assuming you already have a decent website that has interactivity, video, audio, and other graphic material and updates frequently. That is old news.
But, to get a jump on your competition and to attract the savviest candidates, it takes more than a good website and good recruiting skills. Here are four essential tools for success.
Tool #1: Facebook or MySpace
You should have a personal and a corporate presence on a social network. I have only listed Facebook and MySpace because they represent the largest share of the social networking world in the United States and a significant percentage outside the U.S. If your organization has global operations and recruiting needs, then there are networks for China, India, and many other places that you should also consider.
College students and most other young professionals turn to these networks for information about you, to ask their friends about you, or to join a community of practice that you have created.
IBM DB2 developers have a Facebook community developed and maintained by IBM. KPMG in South Africa has developed a Facebook page to attract and communicate with potential candidates.
The U.S. Army, faced with massive recruiting challenges, has numerous Facebook and MySpace pages. Some of the pages act as testimonials or provide videos of real people talking about why they joined the Army. Other pages are focused on fun experiences such as simulations of driving a tank or on gaming.
However you use these networks, you will be exposing your brand to thousands of potential candidates who, at least to some degree, will judge their potential work experience by the quality of the content. That’s why these pages have to be done thoughtfully and have to connect to the type of viewer and what they are expecting to see and hear.
Tool #2: LinkedIn
I separate LinkedIn from Facebook and MySpace because it is not really a “social” network so much as a simple way to link people who know each other together in a web of interconnections. These interconnections can be useful when they are leveraged well, and LinkedIn has developed special applications for recruiters.
You should all get a copy of Bill Vick’s excellent guide to using LinkedIn for recruiting. LinkedIn allows you to build a network of people who know you and each other. By working to populate this network with the kinds of people who you either would like to recruit or who can help you find those you can recruit, you can leverage your success many times over.
And by learning methods such as those taught by Shally Steckerl you can use LinkedIn as a structured, searchable database of potential candidates.
LinkedIn is a versatile tool and can be used for marketing, search, and connecting. This is what makes it as essential tool for your toolbox.
Tool #3: Your Personal Blog
Developing a blog puts you ahead of almost all other recruiters by building your brand and your organization’s brand. Blogs have become the most authentic course of information for candidates. They like to read the personal stories and hear about your organization from your perspective.
Most candidates are wary of official corporate career sites because they realize how controlled these sites are and they understand that a public relations expert wrote the copy. What candidates are hungry for is authenticity and personality. And this is what blogs have in abundance.
Yet, every time I tell recruiters to create a blog I hear groans and complaints. I hear things such as, “My organization won’t allow us to blog.” Or, “I don’t have time.” Or, “No one can read all the blogs that are out there.”
While I can’t do much to help you overcome internal organizational bans of recruiting blogs, I can suggest you think about creating a personal blog outside of work that can build your brand and help you source good candidates.
Blogs can be updated once a week or so and entries can be quite short. Good blogs keep each posting to a single idea and add pictures or video to maintain interest. Devoting an hour or two a week to a blog is far more useful than spending that time pouring over unsolicited resumes or cold calling.
Tool #4: Twitter
Twitter is the most recent and least understood of these tools. It is a mini-blogging tool that allows you to write 140 characters at a time and send the message to a candidate’s mobile phone or website as a message or as an SMS. Over 2 million people have Twitter accounts and the number is growing very fast. Twitter can be used in a variety of ways to improve the recruiting experience and as a sourcing tool.
Jason Whitman from IT Toolbox has written a few blogs pointing out ways Twitter is being used as a sourcing tool. Art’s Blog from Bullhorn, a major supplier of recruiting software for the agency world, also gives some ideas of ways to use Twitter for recruiting.
Use Twitter to push out job announcements to potential candidates, stay connected to a special group of people, or keep those top candidates in the loop. It’s free and easy to use. And, because so few are actually using it, you will have a real advantage for a while over everyone who is isn’t using it.
Staying current is never easy, but at least it can be fun. Experiment, play, and see where these tools take you. I think you will like where you end up.
Source: Kevin Wheeler, ERE.net
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Video is About to Become King — Are You Ready?
Let’s face it: YouTube, Break, Hulu, and Veoh have changed the way we view movies and videos and, more important, they have changed the way we use the Internet.
We rely more and more on pictures, graphics, and videos to display data, deliver the news, give us instructions, and keep us up-to-date with our families. The facts are amazing. Using Quantcast as my source, here is a rough idea of what’s going on. The online version of the New York Times, for example, has a monthly readership that averages about 14 million people in the United States. And that’s the largest readership of any print media I could find. The online Wall Street Journal does a paltry 4 million and even the prestigious Economist does only 3 million globally and most are seeing declining readership.
On the other hand, YouTube averages about 71 million viewers monthly — just in the U.S. And its rivals are also doing well and growing. Veoh does about 23 million, Hulu about 19 million, and Break about 15 million globally.
This indicates a decisive trend: more and more of us are getting information and education from video, rather than from words – whether in print or online.
We have already seen video slowly gaining in popularity and importance in recruiting. All top-tier career sites incorporate both pictures and video. Usually the videos are of employees talking about their jobs, but some include campus tours or chats with the CEO or a hiring manager. Many recruiters have received a video resume, and chat rooms have buzzed with concerns over the legality of such resumes and whether they should be accepted.
I don’t believe there is any serious legal issue in using video resumes, as long as your organization has a policy about how they are used. They are no more discriminatory than a face-to-face interview and may actually help to showcase communication skills and other positive traits. They can speed up the pre-screening process and may even eliminate the need for the number of interviews we subject candidates to.
Younger candidates, who are just entering the job market, may prefer to create a video resume as it reflects the media with which they are most comfortable. I can also easily imagine a time when the face-to-face interview is replaced with a live, virtual interview, perhaps with the hiring manger and several others also present virtually. The use of video lowers costs, expands the number of people who can participate in an interview, allows asynchronous viewing, and makes it more convenient for a candidate.
Click Here to see four of the ways organizations are using video.
Source: ERE.net written by Kevin WheelerDec 18, 2008, 6:12 am ET
We rely more and more on pictures, graphics, and videos to display data, deliver the news, give us instructions, and keep us up-to-date with our families. The facts are amazing. Using Quantcast as my source, here is a rough idea of what’s going on. The online version of the New York Times, for example, has a monthly readership that averages about 14 million people in the United States. And that’s the largest readership of any print media I could find. The online Wall Street Journal does a paltry 4 million and even the prestigious Economist does only 3 million globally and most are seeing declining readership.
On the other hand, YouTube averages about 71 million viewers monthly — just in the U.S. And its rivals are also doing well and growing. Veoh does about 23 million, Hulu about 19 million, and Break about 15 million globally.
This indicates a decisive trend: more and more of us are getting information and education from video, rather than from words – whether in print or online.
We have already seen video slowly gaining in popularity and importance in recruiting. All top-tier career sites incorporate both pictures and video. Usually the videos are of employees talking about their jobs, but some include campus tours or chats with the CEO or a hiring manager. Many recruiters have received a video resume, and chat rooms have buzzed with concerns over the legality of such resumes and whether they should be accepted.
I don’t believe there is any serious legal issue in using video resumes, as long as your organization has a policy about how they are used. They are no more discriminatory than a face-to-face interview and may actually help to showcase communication skills and other positive traits. They can speed up the pre-screening process and may even eliminate the need for the number of interviews we subject candidates to.
Younger candidates, who are just entering the job market, may prefer to create a video resume as it reflects the media with which they are most comfortable. I can also easily imagine a time when the face-to-face interview is replaced with a live, virtual interview, perhaps with the hiring manger and several others also present virtually. The use of video lowers costs, expands the number of people who can participate in an interview, allows asynchronous viewing, and makes it more convenient for a candidate.
Click Here to see four of the ways organizations are using video.
Source: ERE.net written by Kevin WheelerDec 18, 2008, 6:12 am ET
Friday, December 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
In a Downturn, Employers Cut Jobs Rather than Pay
Why employers facing a recession will eliminate jobs and slash benefits before they cut wages.
The parallels between the current economic downturn and the Great Depression are often scary. This is the first time since the 1930s that the U.S. has experienced big, extended declines in house prices. And as in the Depression, the financial system is under extreme stress.
But there is one important way in which history is not repeating itself. Average annual earnings of workers fell for several years in the 1930s but have not fallen since. And it looks like they won't fall in 2009, either. Businesses are reporting that they plan to increase pay by roughly 3.5% in 2009 for U.S. workers, according to recent surveys by compensation consultants Mercer, Watson Wyatt Worldwide (WW), and Hewitt Associates (HEW). Salary increases are crucial because rising wages make it easier for some families to pay their debts.
By penciling in pay hikes, employers are signaling that they don't believe that the U.S. government will flub policy so badly that the country succumbs to another depression. Their plan to raise pay is good for the economy: Lenders will be more likely to make loans if they think families will have the income to pay them back. Households will be less afraid to shop. "Confidence is crucial to limiting the negative effect of the current financial crisis," says International Monetary Fund economist Luca Antonio Ricci.
The news isn't all good. Pay hikes may fall below current expectations, and while employers are planning to raise pay, they are simultaneously cutting jobs. The jobless rate hit 6.5% in October, and many economists think it could reach 8% by late 2009. Employers are also looking for less conspicuous ways to save on benefits, such as reducing 401(k) matches or increasing deductibles and co-payments in health plans. A Watson Wyatt Worldwide survey in mid-October showed that 26% of employers were planning layoffs or other reductions in force in the coming 12 months, while 25% planned to raise employee contributions for health care. In contrast, only 4% were planning to cut salaries. "Firms are cutting workers instead of wages," says Ethan S. Harris, co-head of U.S. economics at Barclays Capital in New York.
By raising pay while cutting jobs, companies can "thin the herd" while giving remaining workers "the big corporate hug they need," says William C. Yoh, CEO and president of Yoh, a unit of Day & Zimmerman Group that supplies high-tech temps. Starbucks (SBUX) recently announced it was cutting jobs but isn't cutting pay or benefits. "We have to take care of our partners [i.e., employees] and keep them engaged," says spokeswoman Tara Darrow.
Companies are cutting bonuses, which have accounted for a growing share of compensation for many workers. But at some companies, bonuses are so important that reducing them can be as traumatic as slashing base pay. That's one reason Wall Street resists calls from Washington to eliminate or sharply restrict their bonuses. Law firms have even less to gain from trimming bonuses because they account for only a small portion of associates' pay. "Firms are kind of locked into laying off or not laying off," says Dan DiPietro, head of a Citigroup (C) unit that lends to law firms.
That leaves benefit cuts, which are more likely than pay cuts to escape employees' notice. Edward Kaplan, national health practice leader for Segal Co., an employee benefits consulting firm in New York, says one employer he deals with has excluded coverage for Nexium and Prevacid, the much-prescribed heartburn medicines, saying there are plenty of generic substitutes available. Those medicines account for 7% of the employer's drug costs.
Of course, some hard-pressed companies are cutting or freezing pay. Nortel Networks (NT) and American Express (AXP) both announced salary freezes for many employees. The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, is freezing 2009 pay for himself and 400 other employees. And in Los Angeles, restaurant operator Grill Concepts (GRIL) is slicing top executives' pay 10% in an effort to avoid job cuts. Says Grill Concepts Chief Executive Officer Philip Gay: "It doesn't make you feel good when you go home at night if you've let people go."
But those are the exceptions. There's a good chance that if you keep your job in 2009, you'll get a raise. What's more impressive is that the raise is likely to be greater than the rate of inflation. That's because inflation is plummeting. The median estimate of economists for 2009 inflation is just 1.5%, according to a Bloomberg survey released Nov. 12.
Why raise inflation-adjusted pay in the teeth of a severe recession? After all, theory says that the price of labor should adjust to the demand for it. Theory also says that workers and employers alike should care only about pay adjusted for inflation. In reality, though, both groups tend to get anchored to certain pay hike numbers (4% is a favorite) regardless of changes in the rate of inflation.
That may be one reason employers haven't shaved much off their 2009 pay-hike forecasts. Amazingly, Mercer found that 2009 salary-increase budget projections for 190 U.S. companies barely declined from April to October (from 3.7% to 3.6%) despite a steep decline in projected inflation. "I wouldn't say inflation rates plus or minus are causative" in setting pay, says Laura Sejen, Watson Wyatt's practice director for strategic rewards. Americans have a lot to worry about in 2009. But for now, pay cuts are not at the top of the list.
Source: Business Week, November 12, 2008
The parallels between the current economic downturn and the Great Depression are often scary. This is the first time since the 1930s that the U.S. has experienced big, extended declines in house prices. And as in the Depression, the financial system is under extreme stress.
But there is one important way in which history is not repeating itself. Average annual earnings of workers fell for several years in the 1930s but have not fallen since. And it looks like they won't fall in 2009, either. Businesses are reporting that they plan to increase pay by roughly 3.5% in 2009 for U.S. workers, according to recent surveys by compensation consultants Mercer, Watson Wyatt Worldwide (WW), and Hewitt Associates (HEW). Salary increases are crucial because rising wages make it easier for some families to pay their debts.
By penciling in pay hikes, employers are signaling that they don't believe that the U.S. government will flub policy so badly that the country succumbs to another depression. Their plan to raise pay is good for the economy: Lenders will be more likely to make loans if they think families will have the income to pay them back. Households will be less afraid to shop. "Confidence is crucial to limiting the negative effect of the current financial crisis," says International Monetary Fund economist Luca Antonio Ricci.
The news isn't all good. Pay hikes may fall below current expectations, and while employers are planning to raise pay, they are simultaneously cutting jobs. The jobless rate hit 6.5% in October, and many economists think it could reach 8% by late 2009. Employers are also looking for less conspicuous ways to save on benefits, such as reducing 401(k) matches or increasing deductibles and co-payments in health plans. A Watson Wyatt Worldwide survey in mid-October showed that 26% of employers were planning layoffs or other reductions in force in the coming 12 months, while 25% planned to raise employee contributions for health care. In contrast, only 4% were planning to cut salaries. "Firms are cutting workers instead of wages," says Ethan S. Harris, co-head of U.S. economics at Barclays Capital in New York.
By raising pay while cutting jobs, companies can "thin the herd" while giving remaining workers "the big corporate hug they need," says William C. Yoh, CEO and president of Yoh, a unit of Day & Zimmerman Group that supplies high-tech temps. Starbucks (SBUX) recently announced it was cutting jobs but isn't cutting pay or benefits. "We have to take care of our partners [i.e., employees] and keep them engaged," says spokeswoman Tara Darrow.
Companies are cutting bonuses, which have accounted for a growing share of compensation for many workers. But at some companies, bonuses are so important that reducing them can be as traumatic as slashing base pay. That's one reason Wall Street resists calls from Washington to eliminate or sharply restrict their bonuses. Law firms have even less to gain from trimming bonuses because they account for only a small portion of associates' pay. "Firms are kind of locked into laying off or not laying off," says Dan DiPietro, head of a Citigroup (C) unit that lends to law firms.
That leaves benefit cuts, which are more likely than pay cuts to escape employees' notice. Edward Kaplan, national health practice leader for Segal Co., an employee benefits consulting firm in New York, says one employer he deals with has excluded coverage for Nexium and Prevacid, the much-prescribed heartburn medicines, saying there are plenty of generic substitutes available. Those medicines account for 7% of the employer's drug costs.
Of course, some hard-pressed companies are cutting or freezing pay. Nortel Networks (NT) and American Express (AXP) both announced salary freezes for many employees. The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, is freezing 2009 pay for himself and 400 other employees. And in Los Angeles, restaurant operator Grill Concepts (GRIL) is slicing top executives' pay 10% in an effort to avoid job cuts. Says Grill Concepts Chief Executive Officer Philip Gay: "It doesn't make you feel good when you go home at night if you've let people go."
But those are the exceptions. There's a good chance that if you keep your job in 2009, you'll get a raise. What's more impressive is that the raise is likely to be greater than the rate of inflation. That's because inflation is plummeting. The median estimate of economists for 2009 inflation is just 1.5%, according to a Bloomberg survey released Nov. 12.
Why raise inflation-adjusted pay in the teeth of a severe recession? After all, theory says that the price of labor should adjust to the demand for it. Theory also says that workers and employers alike should care only about pay adjusted for inflation. In reality, though, both groups tend to get anchored to certain pay hike numbers (4% is a favorite) regardless of changes in the rate of inflation.
That may be one reason employers haven't shaved much off their 2009 pay-hike forecasts. Amazingly, Mercer found that 2009 salary-increase budget projections for 190 U.S. companies barely declined from April to October (from 3.7% to 3.6%) despite a steep decline in projected inflation. "I wouldn't say inflation rates plus or minus are causative" in setting pay, says Laura Sejen, Watson Wyatt's practice director for strategic rewards. Americans have a lot to worry about in 2009. But for now, pay cuts are not at the top of the list.
Source: Business Week, November 12, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Learn How to Use Web 2.0 Technologies for Recruitment and Retention
As part of our on-going effort to bring new and best practice information to the attention of the HR professionals within the Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska Areas, you are invited to attend a FREE one-hour webcast on the innovation of Web 2.0 technologies for recruitment and retention. The webcast will be held on:
Monday, December 15 at Noon Central Standard Time
The seminar will be conducted by Kevin Hawkins, National Internet Strategist. Kevin is a pre-eminent and highly sought-after thought leader in the area of Web 2.0 digital advertising and career site best practices.
Monday, December 15 at Noon Central Standard Time
The seminar will be conducted by Kevin Hawkins, National Internet Strategist. Kevin is a pre-eminent and highly sought-after thought leader in the area of Web 2.0 digital advertising and career site best practices.
To reserve your seat at the webcast, please RSVP by registering here
This webcast has been approved for 1 hour of recertification toward HCI's Human Capital Strategist designation (HCS) and may be eligible for credit toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).
We look forward to your participation on this webcast.
We look forward to your participation on this webcast.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
You're Invited to a Sneak Peek of The New Monster
We wanted to be the first to let you in on an exclusive webinar offered by Monster. They will be completely revamping their Site, providing more cutting edge solutions and offering custom and personalized content to turn Monster into a total career management tool in 2009.
Monster invites you to a free one hour Webinar previewing the new Monster - A whole new way for employers and candidates to connect!
Please join us on: Friday, November 14th at 11:30 AM EST for this exclusive customer Webinar
Speaker for the Webinar: Sue Hayden, Senior VP of Global Product Marketing
RSVP TODAY - Space is limited
Call or email Linda Hangartner linda.hangartner@monster.com 415-343-2225
Monster invites you to a free one hour Webinar previewing the new Monster - A whole new way for employers and candidates to connect!
Please join us on: Friday, November 14th at 11:30 AM EST for this exclusive customer Webinar
Speaker for the Webinar: Sue Hayden, Senior VP of Global Product Marketing
RSVP TODAY - Space is limited
Call or email Linda Hangartner linda.hangartner@monster.com 415-343-2225
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
U.S. Downsizing and Economic Trends
U.S. Downsizing and Economic Trends Report ISSUE 21 (October 4, 2008-October 17, 2008) has been posted. For full report click here.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Workplace Bullying: Why Women Are Affected More
It's a classic case of mean-girl syndrome, where cliques are formed and isolation sets in for anyone not included in the popular circle. But this is not the playground--it's the workplace.
According to a study conducted last year by the Workplace Bullying Institute and Zogby International, an astounding 71 percent of office conflict cases are women bullying other women.
"I'm not at all surprised by the findings," says David Thomas, professor of business administration and chairman of the Organizational Behavior department at Harvard Business School. "If you think about the kind of bullying that goes on between [women], which is often more psychological, more subtle, more in the form of social putdowns, that's the kind of bullying that happens in the workplace."
In fact, women bully other women 2.5 times more frequently than they target men, preferring to use sabotage and abuse of authority as their forms of bullying. In addition, women who bully in the workplace prefer to do it behind closed doors and are slightly more likely than men to enlist the help of others to "gang up" on their targets.
"Sometimes it's a natural inclination to feel that I have more power, control, rights when I am someone who is a majority member," says Stephen Young, president of Insight Education Systems and former chief diversity officer for JPMorgan Chase, No. 13 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list.
But what if the isolation is reversed and the perpetrator suddenly becomes the victim?
"The punishment that the group can put on the bully is essentially to deprive that bully of interaction with the group, and that is often what will bring about a more compliant kind of behavior," says Thomas.
Known by the United Nations' International Labor Organization as the "silent epidemic," workplace bullying often goes unreported. But it is four times more prevalent than illegal, discriminatory harassment. Since it is not considered illegal, even when reported, employers rarely take action or, in some instances, can exacerbate the problem for the person being targeted.
"If I'm more powerful in terms of influence … I have more influence with the boss because the boss likes me better [or] I've been around longer; that gives me an element of power," says Young.
But why do more women bully?
"Sometimes gender and race cause people to treat others like the roles that they had traditionally been in as opposed to identifying specifically what their role is," says Young. "When you have been the recipient of treatment that denies you equal opportunity, sometimes people--not [just] women, but people--will overcompensate."
There are resolutions to these conflicts, however. Here are four ways to resolve office conflict:
At the first instance, the conflict should be addressed.
"When someone is exhibiting a bullying personality, it goes to something we call 'the art of inquiry,'" Young explains. "Asking questions puts you in a much more powerful position than making statements. Never allow someone else who has equal power to force a decision that goes against your best interest."
Find an intermediary.
If attempts at direct communication fail, you may need to find an intermediary, someone who can stay neutral and objective to the situation.
"The mistake we make is waiting so long to bring it to our manager and things have escalated, so by this point in time, you and this person are having words and arguments," states Thomas.
Managers aren't always allies.
Don't assume your manager will be willing to immediately mediate the conflict. Some managers choose to do nothing about it at all. In fact, 44 percent surveyed did nothing while 18 percent worsened the problem for the person being targeted. This is an indication that sometimes, depending on your manager's reaction when approached, it is better left for you to resolve.
"If your manager is not going to be an ally and you're not ready to escalate it, then you have to figure out how you isolate yourself from that individual so that you limit your interactions with them," says Thomas. "Other people become a buffer between you and them."
When all else fails …
Communication, asking questions and even bringing it to the attention of your manager could all be possible solutions to office conflict. However, 40 percent of the cases surveyed indicated that a resolution could not be reached and the target voluntarily left the organization--which may be the only solution for some.
"I think it gets to that point because the bully becomes very effective at ultimately having the victim feel isolated," says Thomas. "[It's] the same reason that when kids are bullied, they try to get out of going to school."
Source: By Zayda Rivera©DiversityInc.
According to a study conducted last year by the Workplace Bullying Institute and Zogby International, an astounding 71 percent of office conflict cases are women bullying other women.
"I'm not at all surprised by the findings," says David Thomas, professor of business administration and chairman of the Organizational Behavior department at Harvard Business School. "If you think about the kind of bullying that goes on between [women], which is often more psychological, more subtle, more in the form of social putdowns, that's the kind of bullying that happens in the workplace."
In fact, women bully other women 2.5 times more frequently than they target men, preferring to use sabotage and abuse of authority as their forms of bullying. In addition, women who bully in the workplace prefer to do it behind closed doors and are slightly more likely than men to enlist the help of others to "gang up" on their targets.
"Sometimes it's a natural inclination to feel that I have more power, control, rights when I am someone who is a majority member," says Stephen Young, president of Insight Education Systems and former chief diversity officer for JPMorgan Chase, No. 13 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list.
But what if the isolation is reversed and the perpetrator suddenly becomes the victim?
"The punishment that the group can put on the bully is essentially to deprive that bully of interaction with the group, and that is often what will bring about a more compliant kind of behavior," says Thomas.
Known by the United Nations' International Labor Organization as the "silent epidemic," workplace bullying often goes unreported. But it is four times more prevalent than illegal, discriminatory harassment. Since it is not considered illegal, even when reported, employers rarely take action or, in some instances, can exacerbate the problem for the person being targeted.
"If I'm more powerful in terms of influence … I have more influence with the boss because the boss likes me better [or] I've been around longer; that gives me an element of power," says Young.
But why do more women bully?
"Sometimes gender and race cause people to treat others like the roles that they had traditionally been in as opposed to identifying specifically what their role is," says Young. "When you have been the recipient of treatment that denies you equal opportunity, sometimes people--not [just] women, but people--will overcompensate."
There are resolutions to these conflicts, however. Here are four ways to resolve office conflict:
At the first instance, the conflict should be addressed.
"When someone is exhibiting a bullying personality, it goes to something we call 'the art of inquiry,'" Young explains. "Asking questions puts you in a much more powerful position than making statements. Never allow someone else who has equal power to force a decision that goes against your best interest."
Find an intermediary.
If attempts at direct communication fail, you may need to find an intermediary, someone who can stay neutral and objective to the situation.
"The mistake we make is waiting so long to bring it to our manager and things have escalated, so by this point in time, you and this person are having words and arguments," states Thomas.
Managers aren't always allies.
Don't assume your manager will be willing to immediately mediate the conflict. Some managers choose to do nothing about it at all. In fact, 44 percent surveyed did nothing while 18 percent worsened the problem for the person being targeted. This is an indication that sometimes, depending on your manager's reaction when approached, it is better left for you to resolve.
"If your manager is not going to be an ally and you're not ready to escalate it, then you have to figure out how you isolate yourself from that individual so that you limit your interactions with them," says Thomas. "Other people become a buffer between you and them."
When all else fails …
Communication, asking questions and even bringing it to the attention of your manager could all be possible solutions to office conflict. However, 40 percent of the cases surveyed indicated that a resolution could not be reached and the target voluntarily left the organization--which may be the only solution for some.
"I think it gets to that point because the bully becomes very effective at ultimately having the victim feel isolated," says Thomas. "[It's] the same reason that when kids are bullied, they try to get out of going to school."
Source: By Zayda Rivera©DiversityInc.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
10 Recruiting Problems You Might Face During Tough Economic Times
During volatile economic times, some things that used to be easy in recruiting and Talent Management become much more difficult. As a result, it’s important to identify and then focus on these new problem areas:
- Hiring freezes. One of the first knee-jerk reactions during tough times are company-wide freezes. Although salary, promotion, and budget freezes negatively impact retention, hiring freezes can decimate a recruiting function. Some tips on fighting hiring freezes can be found in my recent article.
- Stock options are no longer a major motivator. With the stock market constantly going up and down, stock options become less valuable as a motivator both for current employees and for candidates. As a result, you need to shift your sales approach to candidates to emphasize exciting work, flexible work, better benefits, more security, or to focus on cash performance bonuses.
- Job security is king. Economic volatility makes both employees and candidates nervous about their future. This fear among potential candidates causes them to increase their emphasis on security, which will definitely make “drawing away” the currently employed top performer from their current firm much harder. Recruiting needs to re-examine the information that it provides on job security on its website, in position descriptions and in its offers in order to make it more compelling.
- An increased volume of traffic. Normally, all great recruiters focus on the employed candidate (the so-called passive candidates). However, layoffs and high unemployment may mean that some high-quality people are now available among the ranks of the unemployed. Unfortunately, if you actively recruit during tough times, the volume of mediocre but enthusiastic unemployed people who will apply for your jobs will also increase dramatically. This high-volume, low-quality flow means that your screeners will be strained and that your selection process has to be more precise to ensure that you don’t mistakenly hire highly enthusiastic people who turn out to be low performers.
- Relocation issues. Moving people between regions becomes nearly impossible when individuals can’t get new mortgages or sell their existing homes. This problem affects both internal transfers and new hires. Alternatives to consider include focusing on recent college grads who generally rent or consider “narrowing” your recruiting area to a reasonable commuting distance.
- A loss of trust and confidence. Although your firm might not have been involved, the general mistrust of business that has resulted from the economic turmoil means that both your employees and your candidates will likely now have less trust and confidence in anything that you say. In recruiting, this means that your website must be more objective and believable, your interviews need to be more credible and your offers will need to be stronger, if you expect to convince the cynical.
- Managers will focus less on recruiting. Few managers have ever really enjoyed recruiting. But their interest in it will likely even decrease further during tough times as the stress from their business workload increases, while their available staff decreases. Their interest in recruiting will decrease because they certainly won’t be doing it as often but also because of the increased frustration that invariably occurs when many of their “active searches” are never be completed because of frequent “surprise” hiring or budget freezes. Their lack of interest in reading resumes and interviews will invariably mean a dramatically slower average “time to fill” at your firm.
- Layoffs. Although you probably can’t stop layoffs from happening, you should certainly fight to minimize their impact on your employment brand image. Work with PR to ensure that layoffs by your firm don’t become front-page news for potential applicants to see and worry over.
- Technology budgets. Almost invariably during tight economic times, any budget resources available for buying new technology (ATS systems or new software) are likely to disappear. So either make your purchases immediately or be prepared to live with what you have for a while.
- Recruiting budget cuts. Almost everyone gets their budget cut during business downturns but there’s no reason for recruiting’s budget to be cut any deeper than others. The key to maintaining your budget is to build a strong business case demonstrating that cutting recruiting has more negative business impacts than the limited cost savings that these cuts generate. Also utilize split samples to demonstrate your impact. When possible, work with powerful executives in growth businesses to get them to “champion” your cause or to directly fund recruiting initiatives that impact their business unit. Also, work with the CFO’s office to quantify the dollar impact of low quality and bad hires, as well as the revenues lost as a result of position vacancies in revenue-generating and revenue impact positions.
Finally, focus on winning external recruiting and “Best Place To Work” awards to increase your visibility and credibility among executives.
Source: Managing Recruiting During an Economic Downturn: The Top 10 Action Steps to Takeby Dr. John Sullivan Oct 20, 2008, 6:00 am ET
Monday, October 13, 2008
Will Hiring Freezes Decimate Recruiting?
Whenever there is a downturn in economic conditions, one of the first knee-jerk reactions that many CFOs and senior managers take is placing a freeze on all hiring, pay raises, budgets, and promotions.
The effect of long-term hiring freezes is particularly damaging to the recruiting function, because “no hiring” generally means that a majority of recruiters will be laid off. Historically, budgets for recruiting have been cut so low that the function is literally decimated, making it rather difficult for companies to resurrect a decent function when the economy swings up.
The effect of long-term hiring freezes is particularly damaging to the recruiting function, because “no hiring” generally means that a majority of recruiters will be laid off. Historically, budgets for recruiting have been cut so low that the function is literally decimated, making it rather difficult for companies to resurrect a decent function when the economy swings up.
Many executives think that the decision to institute some sort of resource freeze is one that helps the organization because it contains costs; however, the opposite is more often the case. Poorly thought-out freezes that impact talent acquisition and other talent-management activities may actually harm the organization by:
- Driving increases or vacancies in revenue producing/impacting roles that decrease revenues beyond any cost savings.
- Driving increases in employee burnout/turnover.
- Missing out on new talent opportunities (i.e., not be able to hire a superstar that becomes available).
- Decreasing an organization’s capability/capacity to innovate.
- Damaging the employer brand making hiring more difficult when the economy returns.
Rather than waiting for the inevitable announcement of a freeze, recruiters need to be proactive and preempt any such silliness long before it occurs by making the business case for leveraging this time to re-architect the talent acquisition function, upgrade its strategic programs, and trade up the talent population while salaries and vendor costs can be negotiated down significantly.
Source: The Economic Downturn Means That Hiring Freezes Will Soon Decimate Recruiting
by Dr. John Sullivan, Oct 13, 2008, 6:28 am ET
Monday, September 29, 2008
Are Your Jobs Google Ready?
Over 30 million job-oriented searches are run monthly on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other major search engines. Not surprisingly, these search engines get 25-30X more traffic (i.e., potential candidates) than the mainstream job boards and according to Peter Brasket, Co-founder of HotGigs, and leader of Jobs2Web, employers account for less than 2% of the first 100 search results. As the saying goes, “90% of success is just showing up.” The sad truth is that most employers aren’t. Read the full article here.
However, we can help. NAS has partnered with Jobs2Web to supply a cutting edge solution to this problem. Jobs2Web will optimize your Career Site to ensure that your jobs can be found on all major search engines as well as distribute them to the key job aggregation sites such as Indeed, SimplyHired, and GoogleBase. In addition to transforming your career site into a magnet for job seekers on the Web, Jobs2Web has the added capability of capturing passive candidates using easy email subscription functionality and job feeds in RSS, the widely used format that makes it easy to share and distribute your jobs to other websites.
For more information or to schedule a demo, please contact us.
Source: Recruiters Edge,“Why Your Jobs Need to Be Google Ready – and Why They Probably Aren’t” by Peter Brasket, November 2007
However, we can help. NAS has partnered with Jobs2Web to supply a cutting edge solution to this problem. Jobs2Web will optimize your Career Site to ensure that your jobs can be found on all major search engines as well as distribute them to the key job aggregation sites such as Indeed, SimplyHired, and GoogleBase. In addition to transforming your career site into a magnet for job seekers on the Web, Jobs2Web has the added capability of capturing passive candidates using easy email subscription functionality and job feeds in RSS, the widely used format that makes it easy to share and distribute your jobs to other websites.
For more information or to schedule a demo, please contact us.
Source: Recruiters Edge,“Why Your Jobs Need to Be Google Ready – and Why They Probably Aren’t” by Peter Brasket, November 2007
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Snapshot: Relocating for Work
Percentage of employees reporting how far they would be willing to relocate for employment opportunities, 2008:
Anywhere in the world 36.9%
Anywhere within my current country 19.8
Within a few hours of my current home 18.5
Anywhere in Europe 13.2
Anywhere in North America 4.4
Anywhere in Middle East 3.6
Anywhere in Asia Pacific 2.1
Anywhere in South America 1.2
Anywhere in Africa 0.3
Source: Manpower Inc.
Anywhere in the world 36.9%
Anywhere within my current country 19.8
Within a few hours of my current home 18.5
Anywhere in Europe 13.2
Anywhere in North America 4.4
Anywhere in Middle East 3.6
Anywhere in Asia Pacific 2.1
Anywhere in South America 1.2
Anywhere in Africa 0.3
Source: Manpower Inc.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Recruitment Videos- Worth Far More Than a Thousand Words
Everyone in recruiting and employment branding strives to demonstrate to potential candidates the excitement that can be found within their organization. Most rely almost exclusively on “words” in paid advertising, brochures, and websites, but words are “so last year.”
Each month, fewer and fewer people read newspapers and books, and more of us get our information from moving media, including online videos, film, and TV. Why? Because videos require little effort to watch but still provide a powerful message. Written “words” are weak tools for quickly transmitting the energy and the passion that your employees have for their work. A better alternative is pictures, but they too can be limiting.
If a picture is worth a thousand words…then a video must be priceless. Recruiting videos can excite by allowing potential recruits to better “see, feel, and hear” the passion and the excitement at your organization. Videos allow an outsider to “meet” your employees, to see your technology, and even to tour your facilities.
Watch how we have been able to help one of our client's convey their culture, opportunities and employee experience here.
If your recruitment video is either obsolete or could put you to sleep, let us help you develop something that really speaks to candidates and brands you as the employer that you are. Please contact us for more information and a demonstration.
Source: Recruiting Videos Allow Potential Candidates to Feel the Passion
by Dr. John Sullivan Aug 11, 2008, 6:30 am ET
Each month, fewer and fewer people read newspapers and books, and more of us get our information from moving media, including online videos, film, and TV. Why? Because videos require little effort to watch but still provide a powerful message. Written “words” are weak tools for quickly transmitting the energy and the passion that your employees have for their work. A better alternative is pictures, but they too can be limiting.
If a picture is worth a thousand words…then a video must be priceless. Recruiting videos can excite by allowing potential recruits to better “see, feel, and hear” the passion and the excitement at your organization. Videos allow an outsider to “meet” your employees, to see your technology, and even to tour your facilities.
Watch how we have been able to help one of our client's convey their culture, opportunities and employee experience here.
If your recruitment video is either obsolete or could put you to sleep, let us help you develop something that really speaks to candidates and brands you as the employer that you are. Please contact us for more information and a demonstration.
Source: Recruiting Videos Allow Potential Candidates to Feel the Passion
by Dr. John Sullivan Aug 11, 2008, 6:30 am ET
U.S. Downsizing and Economic Trends
U.S. Downsizing and Economic Trends Report ISSUE 18 (August 23-September 5, 2008) has been posted. For full report click here.
Dial M for Mobile Learning
Black & Decker has found a way to eliminate waste, shorten delivery time and gain better quality control over the training for its 300 field reps, all by replacing paper-based training materials with mobile learning content delivered directly to their hand-held PDAs.
The globally recognized manufacturer of power tools, hardware and home-improvement products spends thousands of dollars every year researching the most effective displays and educational materials for its products. Careful research goes into the planning of each display, and the field reps’ jobs are to set up those displays to exact specifications in the aisles of retailers, including Home Depot. They are required to replicate every detail, from the way the product is angled and the number of packages on every shelf to sign placement and inventory control. They are also expected to educate the Home Depot staff about the new products that they stock.
In the past, to create consistency across all markets, the reps were sent manuals, photographs and other materials on paper to guide them through these exacting steps. But there was no way to track whether they were reading or following the guidelines, or whether they’d even received them, says Cesar Saavedra, field sales analyst for Black & Decker. "You get bombarded with so many communications when you work in the field, there is so much waste and no accountability. A lot of it never even gets looked at."
To minimize waste and keep closer tabs on rep performance, Black & Decker began using a Reflexis Enterprise Learning System tool called Enfoblasts, which deliver short two- to three-minute information bites directly to the PDAs used by every rep. The digitized learning modules deliver key points of the products and displays, including include task lists, images, quizzes and short videos about the products.
"It’s an easy way to deliver information," Saavedra says. "It saves money, and it creates accountability because we can track who opens and reads the files."
The field reps can also show the videos to the Home Depot personnel in the aisles as a quick training tool rather than explaining the new product to them. "It increases the number of people we touch and creates a consistent message," Saavedra says.
While the idea of replacing paper-based training with multimedia content may sound expensive, it actually costs less and takes less time. The savings in cost and time come primarily from the elimination of printing and mailing materials, which can take days to produce and distribute, Saavedra says. Instead, he creates content using videos already produced by the marketing department for the product, which means there are few additional costs to develop the training.
This mobile learning model delivers on the just-in-time training promise that is especially beneficial for field workers who may not work out of an office or have a computer at home, says Jerry Massey, director of operations in the enterprise learning systems division of Reflexis in Kennesaw, Georgia. "With mobile learning there are no excuses," he says. "Everyone has a cell phone or PDA and it’s with them all the time."
Source: Workforce Management, September 24, 2008
The globally recognized manufacturer of power tools, hardware and home-improvement products spends thousands of dollars every year researching the most effective displays and educational materials for its products. Careful research goes into the planning of each display, and the field reps’ jobs are to set up those displays to exact specifications in the aisles of retailers, including Home Depot. They are required to replicate every detail, from the way the product is angled and the number of packages on every shelf to sign placement and inventory control. They are also expected to educate the Home Depot staff about the new products that they stock.
In the past, to create consistency across all markets, the reps were sent manuals, photographs and other materials on paper to guide them through these exacting steps. But there was no way to track whether they were reading or following the guidelines, or whether they’d even received them, says Cesar Saavedra, field sales analyst for Black & Decker. "You get bombarded with so many communications when you work in the field, there is so much waste and no accountability. A lot of it never even gets looked at."
To minimize waste and keep closer tabs on rep performance, Black & Decker began using a Reflexis Enterprise Learning System tool called Enfoblasts, which deliver short two- to three-minute information bites directly to the PDAs used by every rep. The digitized learning modules deliver key points of the products and displays, including include task lists, images, quizzes and short videos about the products.
"It’s an easy way to deliver information," Saavedra says. "It saves money, and it creates accountability because we can track who opens and reads the files."
The field reps can also show the videos to the Home Depot personnel in the aisles as a quick training tool rather than explaining the new product to them. "It increases the number of people we touch and creates a consistent message," Saavedra says.
While the idea of replacing paper-based training with multimedia content may sound expensive, it actually costs less and takes less time. The savings in cost and time come primarily from the elimination of printing and mailing materials, which can take days to produce and distribute, Saavedra says. Instead, he creates content using videos already produced by the marketing department for the product, which means there are few additional costs to develop the training.
This mobile learning model delivers on the just-in-time training promise that is especially beneficial for field workers who may not work out of an office or have a computer at home, says Jerry Massey, director of operations in the enterprise learning systems division of Reflexis in Kennesaw, Georgia. "With mobile learning there are no excuses," he says. "Everyone has a cell phone or PDA and it’s with them all the time."
Source: Workforce Management, September 24, 2008
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