Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Article: Happy Workers = Productive Workers

Does it matter if workers are happy?

Only if an organization wants to do well.

One academic study found that managers with average salaries of about $65,000 cost their organizations roughly $75 a week per person in lost productivity if they are “psychologically distressed.”

Multiply that at large businesses, and the financial whammy is big.
Research shows that employee well-being is inextricably tied to higher performance, which is inextricably tied to the bottom line, says Thomas Wright, the Jon Wefald Leadership Chair in business administration at Kansas State University.

Read the entire article here.

To find out how NAS' consulting services can help reduce stress and encourage inclusion within the workplace, contact one of your dedicated reps today.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Wall Street Journal Article: Employer Branding

Companies have long divided consumers into segments. They should do the same with potential -- and current -- workers.

Ask most people about "branding," and they'll usually start talking about products and services. But in recent years, companies have begun branding themselves as employers, too, betting that if they can convey to the world why their workplace is appealing and unique, they will have an easier time attracting good workers.

In fact, for many companies, employer branding has become a critical management tool, as the emergence of China, India and Brazil as economic powers and aging work forces in the U.S., European Union and Japan have increased the competition for skilled workers. More recently, the current economic slowdown -- and the pressure to cut costs and increase productivity -- has made the need to get the best people in the right jobs even more crucial.

But how should a company brand itself as an employer? The key is to align the brand with the company's business plan, meaning the brand is designed to attract and retain the kinds of workers the company needs most -- those who can help it increase sales, profits and market share. And the key to doing that is to borrow a tool from the product-marketing toolbox. Marketers have long divided consumers into groups based on things like their demographics, buying behavior and lifestyle, and then tailored product offerings and advertising messages specifically for them in the belief that it is more profitable to treat certain groups of people differently than to treat them all the same. A movie studio puts out some movies for kids, some for teens, some for women, and so on. Each product has its own marketing and advertising message. This is known as segmentation, and it lies at the heart of brand marketing.

We argue the same principle applies in employer branding -- that it is more profitable to treat certain groups of current and potential employees differently than to treat them all the same. employers who use segmentation to pinpoint who they need to attract and what they need to do to attract them will have an advantage over those who don't.

Read the rest of the article here.

To find out how NAS can help you develop your Employment Brand, contact one of our Account Managers today.

Monday, March 23, 2009

NAS Continues Evolution from Agency to HR Communications Consultancy

Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) March 23, 2009 – NAS Recruitment Communications is expanding its industry-leading Total Quality Customer Care and focus as it continues to evolve from a Recruitment Advertising Agency (RAA) to a Human Resources Communications Consulting Practice (HRCCP). By reinvesting in technology and the development of cutting-edge, exciting interactive products and services, NAS has strengthened its portfolio to provide effective and creative HR strategy solutions.

“While print medium services can still be used,” said Len DiSalvatore, Director of NAS’ office in Rochester, New York, “the focus has shifted to meet the strong interactive and strategic demands within today’s hiring challenges.” He went on to say, “Our core competencies are in place to support every aspect of our clients’ recruitment communications and talent acquisition initiatives.”

NAS clients will continue to benefit from its expertise and award-winning creativity in such key areas as employment branding, recruitment marketing planning and media buying, campus recruitment, metrics and reporting, internal communications and employee referral programs. The move to a Human Resources Communications Consulting Practice reinforces NAS’ commitment to clients’ changing needs.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Talent Management Article: Virtual Job Fairs Attract Recruiters and Talent Worldwide

The bright side to today's turbulent economy is that layoffs, acquisitions and buyouts are driving seasoned talent into the labor market. But to capitalize on the availability of top talent, many companies will need to overhaul their recruiting processes and procedures.

Today more than ever, it is essential to explore new techniques to identify and engage with qualified workers, maximize recruitment budgets and bypass the ineffective recruitment tools of yesterday. The question for many talent managers remains: What is the magic ingredient? One answer lies in virtual environments and virtual job fairs.

Virtual environments use 3-D renderings to replicate a convention center that features a main hall, an exhibition floor, a resource center and a job center. During the virtual job fair, recruiters interact with job seekers in real-time and deliver presentations in the conference hall. Following the event, a hiring company can continue attracting candidates and building its brand through the virtual environment.

Virtual job fairs enable job seekers to see and hear company presentations, interact live with company representatives and submit their resumes. Not only is this scenario more cost-effective compared to hosting a physical event, it supports global participation and offers increased productivity to recruiters because they never have to leave their desks.

Companies are attracting higher-quality candidates with virtual job fairs because the job seekers can conveniently access the events online, from anywhere, and without fear of taking time off from a current job — or even worse — being "outed" by a co-worker or boss.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by Unisfair, 64 percent of HR managers believe the hiring cycle could be reduced through virtual job fairs, and as a result, 40 percent of hiring managers are exploring the technology. Respondents, which included more than 100 U.S. human resource managers, sited the most important reasons for hosting a virtual job fair as: ease of use (84 percent), ability to screen applicants (76 percent), reduced costs (75 percent) and access to candidates (72 percent).

To read the rest of the article click here

Allow NAS to help you coordinate a cost-effective Virtual Career Fair to attract A-Level talent to your organization. For more information, please contact your NAS Rep today.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

NAS Expands Search Engine Marketing ServicesSmartClicks Center combines SEM, Recruitment expertise

Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) March 16, 2009 – NAS Interactive, a division of NAS Recruitment Communications, announces the expansion of its online HR recruitment offering with the opening of the new NAS SmartClicks Center. Staffed by Google-certified specialists, the NAS SmartClicks Center will allow clients to tap into powerful search engine marketing strategies that can maximize the return on their recruitment investment.

“Today, more job seekers begin their job search on search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN than on the big job boards combined,” said Patty Van Leer, Senior Vice President of NAS’ Interactive Division. “And since recent studies indicate that few searches go beyond the first page of organic search results, strategies that engage candidates early in their search takes on even more importance.”

“Search engine marketing strategies like Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns keep your opportunities visible, especially if your ranking in organic keyword searches is less than desirable,” said Dave Goebel, Sr. Interactive Marketing Analyst. “In addition, NAS SmartClicks Search Engine Marketing campaigns are optimized to bring the right candidate to your career website.”

The SmartClicks Center’s certified specialists handle all aspects of the campaign, from keyword research and bid monitoring, to developing appropriate landing pages or optimizing an existing site to maximize the campaign’s effectiveness. This allows NAS SmartClicks to provide the highest-possible-quality scores at the lowest cost-per-click.

NAS SmartClicks Center manages Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and Microsoft AdCenter Search Engine Marketing Campaigns. When combined with Total Source Tracker, these campaigns are powerful ways to both draw and track candidates from initial click to completed application and to reduce your overall advertising spend.

To find out more about SmartClicks, and NAS’ comprehensive array of Digital Recruitment Solutions, please contact your Account Representative.

NAS Recruitment Communications, part of McCann Worldgroup, delivers best-of-class HR strategy solutions for online and offline candidate engagement and specialized expertise in career websites, onboarding, employee communication and HR metrics. Creating Demand. Delivering Talent. Changing Lives.

Monday, March 16, 2009

4 Ways to Look at the Strength of Your [Employment] Brand

Even in a recession, employment branding is still counts. During times of instability where employee trust and loyalty are eroded through short-term cost cutting and job shedding, employee engagement plummets.

Many employers in return can count on employees’ feeling less connected to the organization, and being less productive. But even in a crisis where 2.6 million jobs were lost last year, there are organizations that will seize the opportunity and achieve a significant competitive advantage by continuing to build and sustain employer brand strength.

In an outstanding webinar delivered for ERE this week, Frank Lane, author of Killer Brands, offered this definition:

A Killer Brand exists when an entity derives a disproportionate amount of success in its category because of a compelling and differentiated expectation that comes to be associated with its name.

A quality employment brand strategy proactively and appropriately manages expectations, reputation, and image, all toward what you’re trying to do — attract and engage a skilled and productive workforce, which is the most critical driver of business success. Even in today’s environment, “A” players will exercise careful choices about where they come to work and what they want out of the employment relationship. Many will also be preparing for change as that market recovery presents new opportunities. Every category-leading “brand” is focused on two primary channels to grow share:
  • The attraction of new customers
  • The continued loyalty of existing customers

While attraction/recruiting needs have certainly lessened (although in some sectors critical skills are still in high demand) the brand loyalty of existing employees will certainly be an issue into the foreseeable future. And while many people may be thankful or merely satisfied to have a job today, that level of brand equity will not necessarily translate into productivity, engagement, and retention tomorrow. That’s why forward-thinking organizations will use this down cycle to prepare and deploy a strategy to grow and sustain a true talent advantage.


And it represents an opportunity to consider what “disproportionate amount of success” your organization derives because of the desire among A-level talent to apply their skills to your business?


In evaluating your organization’s employment brand strength, consider these four primary objectives:


Authenticity
Employment branding is an inside-out strategy, and an ultimate reflection of the day-to-day work experience inside the organization. The job experience needs to be consistent with the expectations, or you’ll have an immediate disconnect. More organizations are working to shore this up, particularly in the assimilation of new talent into the organization, by building highly interactive, high-touch, high-engagement, onboarding experiences over the critical first 12 months of employment.


Some organizations continue to exceed employees’ expectations not just when employees start the job, but over and over again. The ultimate litmus test of brand strength exists inside your organization, among your existing workforce — especially the stars. If they champion the cause internally and extol the virtues of working for your organization externally, home run!

Differentiation
To successfully attract the highest quality, critical skills in a market space and sustain high employee engagement, it has to be clear what gives your organization a competitive advantage. Without very specific differentiation, you will compete to win and keep talent primarily on the basis of compensation. Be very focused about what makes working for your organization different and better.


Compelling
The differentiation must be compelling enough to command attention, motivate change, and drive loyalty. Achieving high levels of authentic, compelling differentiation requires you to carefully analyze the culture, leadership, work experience, and engagement levels in the organization. You’ll also need to understand existing external perceptions — what candidates and potential candidates think of you.

Consistency
To deliver a consistent, quality brand experience, you’ve got to test out different things and measure how they’re working. And you’ve got to find people who’ll spread the word. Smart organizations are proactively building advocacy through employer-brand-ambassador training programs to ensure stakeholder buy-in and broaden awareness across the organization. And organizations are incorporating new tools, technology, and better resources to extend the brand externally, create improved experiences, and validate outcomes through intelligent reporting and data.


Employment branding 2.0 will be increasingly more experience- and relationship-driven as better networked candidates are exposed to more opportunities faster, across an ever-evolving platform of constant communication. Social media will mean employees know a lot more about your company a lot more quickly. Employer branding will need to become more authentic and be driven inside-out from current ambassadors (employees/stakeholders) whose influence impacts talent management across the organization.


Those organizations that are preparing now can widen the gap and yield a significant gain advantage.

Source: ERE.net, 4 Ways to Look at the Strength of Your Brand by Ryan Estis, Feb 10, 2009, 5:44 am ET

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Web Users Shifting to Social Media

According to a new report from Netpop Research, "Media Shifts to Social," the percent of time people spend communicating online has increased 18% since 2006, while time spent on entertainment has declined 29%. The Executive Summary says that Online entertainment is shifting to a small, powerful proportion of social media contributors fueling Web activity through blogs micro-blogs, social media, video and photo sharing.

Key Findings from the study include data such as:

  • 105 million Americans contribute to social media
  • Social networking has grown 93% since 2006
  • 7 million Americans are "heavy" social media contributors (6+ activities) who connect with 248 people on a ‘one to many' basis in a typical week
  • 54% of micro-bloggers post or "tweet" daily
  • 72% of micro-bloggers under age 18 post or "tweet" daily


The report concludes that market trends and customer opinion are being shaped by end users more rapidly and with greater impact on business than ever before as an entirely new form of leisure develops around talking and sharing, providing opinions and perspectives... and suggests that Websites need to connect directly with users or the users will create their own venues that are harder for companies to track and participate with effectively.


To learn how to leverage social media and Web 2.0 to attract A-Level Talent contact your NAS Rep today.

Source: Research Brief: Web Users Shaping Consumer Opinion, March 09, 2009

Thursday, March 5, 2009

You're Invited to Attend a Free Webinar

Campus Recruiting online is one of the most cost effective ways to recruit. . . students today don’t just use electronic tools; they’re practically attached to them 24/7! But don’t look like an out-of-touch company because you are not using social networks and text messaging to deliver the message. Join us for this complimentary session and see how NAS can help you tap this primary talent market

Campus Recruiting: Employing Web 2.0 Strategies to Attract A-Level Talent

Tuesday, March 10, 10:00am CST

Reserve your seat today by emailing Lauren Garten at lgarten@nasrecruitment.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Jurassic Web

The Internet of 1996 is almost unrecognizable compared with what we have today.

It's 1996, and you're bored. What do you do? If you're one of the lucky people with an AOL account, you probably do the same thing you'd do in 2009: Go online. Crank up your modem, wait 20 seconds as you log in, and there you are—"Welcome." You check your mail, then spend a few minutes chatting with your AOL buddies about which of you has the funniest screen name (you win, pimpodayear94).

Then you load up Internet Explorer, AOL's default Web browser. Now what? There's no YouTube, Digg, Huffington Post, or Gawker. There's no Google, Twitter, Facebook, or Wikipedia. A few newspapers and magazines have begun to put their articles online—you can visit the New York Times or Time—and there are a handful of new Web-only publications, including Feed, HotWired, Salon, Suck, Urban Desires, Word, and, launched in June, Slate. But these sites aren't very big, and they don't hold your interest for long. People still refer to the new medium by its full name—the World Wide Web—and although you sometimes find interesting stuff here, you're constantly struck by how little there is to do. You rarely linger on the Web; your computer takes about 30 seconds to load each page, and, hey, you're paying for the Internet by the hour. Plus, you're tying up the phone line. Ten minutes after you log in, you shut down your modem. You've got other things to do—after all, a new episode of Seinfeld is on.

On June 25, 1996, Michael Kinsley introduced Slate in an inaugural column. Two months later, David Plotz wondered who pays for the Internet. In 1997, Carol M. Beach pondered the possibility of taxing the Web. In 1999, Timothy Noah credited the Democratic Party with the Internet's invention. In 2003, Kevin Werbach heralded the return of the 1995 Internet. In 2006, Paul Boutin examined the highly imprecise science of measuring traffic, and in 2008 Chris Wilson complained that the Internet was still infuriatingly slow.

I started thinking about the Web of yesteryear after I got an e-mail from an idly curious Slate colleague: What did people do online back when Slate launched, he wondered? After plunging into the Internet Archive and talking to several people who were watching the Web closely back then, I've got an answer: not very much.

We all know that the Internet has changed radically since the '90s, but there's something dizzying about going back to look at how people spent their time 13 years ago. Sifting through old Web pages today is a bit like playing video games from the 1970s; the fun is in considering how awesome people thought they were, despite all that was missing. In 1996, just 20 million American adults had access to the Internet, about as many as subscribe to satellite radio today. The dot-com boom had already begun on Wall Street—Netscape went public in 1995—but what's striking about the old Web is how unsure everyone seemed to be about what the new medium was for. Small innovations drove us wild: Look at those animated dancing cats! Hey, you can get the weather right from your computer! In an article ranking the best sites of '96, Time gushed that Amazon.com let you search for books "by author, subject or title" and "read reviews written by other Amazon readers and even write your own." Whoopee. The very fact that Time had to publish a list of top sites suggests lots of people were mystified by the Web. What was this place? What should you do here? Time recommended that in addition to buying books from Amazon, "cybernauts" should read Salon, search for recipes on Epicurious, visit the Library of Congress, and play the Kevin Bacon game.

Source: By Farhad Manjoo, Posted to Slate.com Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, at 5:33 PM ET