Before we experienced the 2008 economic disaster, the phrase “war for talent” seemed to be overused by every corporate and agency recruiter I came in contact with. It seemed to go away until the first or second quarter of 2011 and now seems to be back on every executive and recruiter’s mind. Recruiters [...]]]>

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1499

by Stephen Lowisz, ere.net

Before we experienced the 2008 economic disaster, the phrase “war for talent” seemed to be overused by every corporate and agency recruiter I came in contact with. It seemed to go away until the first or second quarter of 2011 and now seems to be back on every executive and recruiter’s mind. Recruiters across the country have shared with me the excitement they have about recruiting again — about building talent pipelines, implementing social media, bolstering up their LinkedIn connections, and creating new and compelling candidate value propositions.

Let me start by giving one word of advice: stop!

If you are serious about recruiting the best talent, take this as an opportunity to build a recruiting culture throughout the entire organization — up to and including the CEO. Don’t make the mistake of throwing all of your time and money into new-fangled technologies, building talent communities, or costly social media campaigns unless you have the basic principles of recruiting drilled into both your recruiting staff and your hiring executives.

Let me ask a few questions:

1. What is your organization’s candidate value proposition? Does everyone involved in the recruiting process understand these points? How is this information communicated to candidates?
2. Are you really using your social networks/connections? Are you continuously broadcasting your open positions to your networks? Are you growing your LinkedIn connections?
3. Are you building talent pipelines? How do you create a talent pipeline? How do you communicate to and track those in your pipeline?
4. Are you interviewing consistently and effectively? What questions is the recruiter asking? What questions is the recruiting committee asking?

Most of those reading this can probably provide a detailed answer as to what they are doing in each of these areas. For example, every time I ask the question “Why would someone want to join your organization” I get a very lengthy answer. Whether I ask the CEO or the recruiter, both can rattle off 10-15 bullet points of why any particular candidate should pack up their current offices, quit their jobs, and walk across the street to a new, fantastic, opportunity.

In the same way, everyone talks about growing their social networks, particularly LinkedIn, and the value this brings to their recruiting effectiveness.

On the surface both of these issues seem like great news — but are they really?

As the competition for finding, engaging, and attracting the right candidate heats up, every organization needs to reassess their understanding of, and strategy for, implementing each of these focus areas.

Let’s go through the four questions I asked earlier.

What Is Your Organization’s Candidate Value Proposition?

Although we need to understand the perceived selling points of our opportunities, relying on canned pitches identified by your marketing organization or some third-party branding organization does not really provide you with the edge you might think.

The best answer to this question is not that you have “bring your dog to work day,” or that lunch is free each day. The best answer is in fact a question: how many of us ask potential candidates what is important to them before we tell them why they should work for us? Few recruiters or hiring executives can tell me with certainty what the hot buttons are for any candidate they are potentially courting, with the exception of very few superficial issues.

Although it is always important to understand the selling points of the organization we are recruiting for (value proposition), the key differentiator as competition increases is being able to deliver a more compelling value proposition based on information gathered from the potential candidate.

Learning what to ask candidates, when to ask candidates, and how to ask candidates about their motivation is the key to unlocking the door to their minds. Understanding what makes they tick and crafting an appropriate value proposition is much more effective than a mass-marketed value proposition.

Are You Really Using Your Social Networks/Connections?

It seems that in recent years the badge of honor that recruiters wear proudly on their chests is the number of first-level connections that they have on LinkedIn, the number of friends on Facebook, or the number of followers on Twitter that they have. Unfortunately when you look at many of the statistics on source of hire, these same tools still lag behind other more traditional recruitment tools.

Expanding your network for the sake of claiming that you are the most connected is a bit like saying you have the most friends, but when it’s time to move, no one shows up to help, leaving you to fend for yourself. Sheer numbers do not guarantee success as many organizations have discovered since social media hit the scene.

Why does social-media-based recruitment often fail? Let’s look at a few of the reasons:

Disregarding the branding aspects of social media

In today’s age of technologically savvy consumers and candidates, social media is a tool often used to uncover more about an organization then often known by its recruiters and hiring managers. It used to be joked that a consumer who had a negative experience with an organization’s service or product would tell seven people, while only telling one or two about a positive experience. With social media, one negative hiring experience can now be tweeted to thousands of others in seconds. Other sites like glassdoor.com provide a dedicated medium for potential candidates to learn about the darkest secrets of your hiring process, management staff, and other company-related dirt.

So what do you do?

• Use your current employee population at all levels to create a balanced social media picture of your organization. People love to use Facebook, Twitter, and the like to convey their dissatisfaction with their previous or current employer. Encourage employees at all levels to post honest, positive, and encouraging information regarding their experience. An employee praising their internal mentor; an executive thanking an employee for their contribution; the CEO openly tweeting the success of their organization and thanking all team members.
• Encourage staff to join and contribute to user groups on sites such as LinkedIn and others. Get your team involved with others in their specific function or discipline. Relationships can be made with future candidates while at the same time placing your company name front and center in each group.

Primary focus on taking without willing to give back

We have all seen this happen. Recruiter A joins LinkedIn, connects with as many people in a given industry user group, has six to nine months of success identifying candidates, and then complains that the well has dried up.

Social networks are all about relationships that include give and take. Always being the friend who asks for help but never offers to help others eventually leads to the lone-mover syndrome I mentioned above. In a similar way, joining user groups solely as a way of recruiting candidates without providing some benefit to the group is the same way. Join user groups where you actually have something to contribute in the form of information, statistics, trends, etc. This could include hiring statistics for a specific related position, or compensation trends based on recent recruitment data. Be seen as a valued member of the group who is not just sucking information from the group.

Primary focus on building contacts and not relationships.

Quantity over quality of relationships is an ongoing battle in recruiting candidates. Whether a recruiter, hiring manager, or company executive, this is often the No. 1 cause for failed recruitment initiatives. Social media increases the issue since it seems to favor numbers of connections over quality of relationships. The intent of social media was to foster relationships, yet its poor application usually detracts from its success.

Building real relationships that foster an exchange of ideas and a willingness to refer others should be one of the primary goals of tools like LinkedIn. Qualified candidates are being InMailed on a daily basis from multiple recruiters and hiring managers regarding the “great opportunities” that they have. How does a potential candidate decide which unsolicited request they will respond to?

Potential candidates have an overwhelming propensity to respond more often to a request that is based on developing a relationship then on selling a “great opportunity.”

In simple terms, there are basically two ways to approach a consumer or candidate when approaching them regarding a potential opportunity:

• Selling what we have
• Selling what the buyer needs

The problem is that most recruiters and hiring managers make assumptions about why candidates should be interested, rarely uncovering the real needs of a candidate. The right value proposition in recruiting must be tailored to the unique needs of each individual, especially when they are being courted by multiple organizations — namely your competitors.

Most recruiting processes look like this:

1. Fill the need (Pitch the value proposition — “Great Opportunity”)
2. Ask pre-closing questions (Does the proposition fill the need?)
3. Close the sale

Effective recruiting looks like this:

1. Build a relationship — It’s tough to find out what motivates or demotivates someone if we don’t have some type of common ground.
2. Identify the need — what does the potential candidate like about their current role/organization and what could be improved? (This is how to create a real value proposition)
3. Overcome objections — If the candidate is happy and we just pitch a canned story about our great opportunity, how to we uncover their real motivation?
4. Fill the need — now it’s time to deliver a tailored value proposition based on specific candidate desires.
5. Advance the sale — if done correctly, your value proposition sets up the candidate in a way where it becomes very difficult to say no.

Are You Building Talent Pipelines?

First we need to define what an effective talent pipeline is versus the traditional understanding of pipelines. More than 95% of the time I ask the question “What is a talent pipelining?”, I get a similar answer: “Talent pipelining is having a stable of candidates who are qualified for our positions and open to a call from us when a position becomes available.”

Although I don’t necessarily disagree with this statement, there are obvious issues putting this type of philosophy in place:

• With the demand on recruiters to fill open positions, do they really have the time necessary to initiate, cultivate, and maintain these types of relationships?
• What is the shelf life of a pipeline candidate? If the recruiter has successfully performed their job in developing a relationship and understanding the motivation of a candidate, they have also helped educate the candidate that better opportunities exist. At some point those developed as pipeline candidates will make the shift from somewhat passive to active and will proactively seek opportunities, quickly adding an expiration date to their shelf life.

Don’t misunderstand my point here. I’m in favor of developing pipelines. In fact my definition of pipelining is: “All activities that result in developing relationships with contacts in a given function, company, or field that can be sustained, and result in future candidate development or referral attainment.”  Pipelining can include all of the activities referenced above: social media, user groups, etc.

Always initiating, developing, and maintaining relationships with those who you can return to at a later time to assist in a search directly or indirectly is a more consistent and successful strategy when candidate pipelining.

Are You Interviewing Consistently and Effectively?

Whether a recruiting executive or hiring executive, have you ever interviewed a candidate who the other had met with, only to come up with a completely different view of the same candidate? Why does this occur?

Inconsistency in the interview process is often the main factor in mis-hires.

Interviewing inconsistencies generally stem from one or more of following areas:

Not understanding the required skills/competencies of the position. After conducting hundreds of post interview briefings, it is painfully obvious that many recruiters, hiring managers, and interview committee members are not looking for the same skills in each candidate. The recruiter can be looking for skills A, B, and C while the hiring manager is looking for skills D, E, and F and so on. Much of the disconnect actually finds its roots in the position-intake session between the hiring committee and the recruiter — if the meeting ever happened! The goal of the intake meeting is to:

• Define the short term and long term objectives of the role.
• Define realistic skill requirements of the candidate — ranked in order of preference.
• Define the realistic preferred skill requirements of the candidate — ranked in order of preference.
• Define the realistic competency requirements of the candidates — ranked in order of preference.
• Define the realistic preferred competency requirement of the candidates — ranked in order of preference.

If the intake meeting does not result in agreed upon candidate requirements, what do the members of the interview committee base their interview questions on? What do they compare the candidate against (More on this one to follow)?

Improper candidate comparisons. Comparing candidates to each other is a recipe for failure, unless the candidates are compared to the agreed-upon skills and competencies first. The natural tendency of interview committee members is to only compare candidates against each other and not the actual agreed upon candidate requirements — a mistake that often leads to choosing the “best of the group,” and not the “best of the best.” Example: Let’s say that you interview three candidates and decide to hire/recruit the best of the three as compared to each other. Six months later the new employee is failing — he/she just does not seem have what it takes to do the job. The employee is unfortunately terminated and a post-termination review of the employee is made in comparison to the required skills and competencies. Although the candidate may have been the best of the three, he/she did not meet with the required skills and competencies. This is a common issue at all levels; however, it seems to be even more prevalent as senior leadership levels.

Interview committee interviewing for different criteria. This is much different than not understanding the requirements or improper candidate comparison. Although the interview committee may understand the position requirements, there is not formalized comparison and discussion of their opinion of each required criteria. A best practice is to have each interviewer rate each candidate on each individual skill and competency required — such as a 1 to 5 rating with 1 being the highest. Upon completion of the interview, results from each interviewer are lined up side by side for comparison. In an event that the ratings are more than two points apart (one indicated a 1 rating while the other indicated a 3 rating on the same individual competency or skill) it becomes obvious that one interviewer saw something the others possibly did not. This difference spurs on discussion and healthy debate if handled appropriately. If there is only a single interviewer and the recruiter, the same comparison should be done only after each has an opportunity to interview the candidate.

It seems the war for talent is slowly returning to a pre-recession fervor. How we position our brand, engage candidates, and select only the best will determine the success of each and every organization that has employees. Happy hunting!

http://www.ere.net/2012/04/25/4-strategies-to-address-the-coming-war-for-talent/

By Chase Crawford

Seeking for employment will surely require a lot of your time energy and resources. Moreover it could be very overwhelming physically emotionally and psychologically. Thus job hunting tips are really important to those who are in serious need for employment. Following are [...]]]>

By Chase Crawford

Seeking for employment will surely require a lot of your time energy and resources. Moreover it could be very overwhelming physically emotionally and psychologically. Thus job hunting tips are really important to those who are in serious need for employment. Following are some of the top strategies employment seekers could try.

Know Yourself – Begin with an honest analysis of what your real strengths are. Then know which of your skills are transferable. This means you need to be definite about what you can offer the marketplace and how you are going to carry it out.

Determine What You Want – You cannot go anywhere with your employment search if you don’t know exactly what you want. Believe it or not, most people have already spent some years working for a company before they ask themselves if they have the right career fit.

Herewith, take time to list your key skills, experience level and relevant qualifications. Also identify the salary and benefits you wish to have and the career development opportunities you might be looking forward too. On the opposite side of your list include the name of companies you wish to work for, the actual opportunities available at the moment and the future trends for these opportunities.

Get Some Career Counseling – Although this is one of the job hunting tips famed among college graduates, it could also be helpful to those who have been employed but seeking for a new job. Each college has a career services department that can help fresh graduates and alumni get a hold of relevant employment listings. In fact interview preparation assistance, resume writing and career advice may be provided too. Local cities and counties provide career placement services as well. They can connect you with relevant hiring for free or minimal payment. If these are not enough get a professional career advisor who can help you figure out exactly what you want to do and guide you on maximizing your resources and qualifications.

Review And Update Your Resume – The main purpose of your resume is to market you to prospect employers as you find a new job. And so it must highlight your qualifications, achievements and compatibility with the job that you are applying for. If your resume only includes a summary of your accomplishments up to the date of its creation, ensure to include a short explanation of how each of them was achieved. While you can always compose resume it is still best to do it under the guidance of a professional.

Approach Companies – If there are companies that you really want to work for contact them directly. Employers usually prefer job seekers who apply this way. Search for their respective career websites and register there your interest for specific employment opportunities they might have.

Prepare For Interviews – This may be the last but definitely not the least in importance among the job hunting tips. Doing this can help you feel calm and focused come the interview day. As you have already practiced with a coach or a friend, you are able to think in advance great answers to commonly asked questions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6934418

No one will argue that being unemployed isn’t a traumatic experience, especially me. I was on the receiving end approximately nine years ago and I meet jobseekers daily. Being unemployed isn’t what I’d wish on anyone.

This said, if jobseekers aren’t mindful of the attitude they project, it [...]]]> By Bob McIntosh, RecruitingBlogs.com 

No one will argue that being unemployed isn’t a traumatic experience, especially me. I was on the receiving end approximately nine years ago and I meet jobseekers daily. Being unemployed isn’t what I’d wish on anyone.

This said, if jobseekers aren’t mindful of the attitude they project, it can hurt their chances of finding their next job. This is perhaps the most difficult thing jobseekers can accomplishment, keeping their attitude in check.

One’s negative attitude shows itself in many of one’s mannerisms. Demonstrations of your mannerisms precedes any opportunity to appear before an employer. Failing to control your mannerisms can prevent you from getting to the interview. Below are some signs of a negative attitude. These are things you should keep in mind when going out in public.

1. Arrogance impresses no one. You may have been outstanding at what you did, and you may be outstanding in the future, but keep in mind that diplomacy is your best card at this time. You will be relying on many people to help you in your job search, and most people don’t appreciate being looked down upon.
2. Apparel is one aspect of your attitude. During the summer it’s hot out there, but please refrain from wearing gym shorts and tee-shirts with Budweiser advertisements. At all times make sure you are well-groomed and presentable–you never know when a potential employer might be just around the corner.
3. Your countenance is more noticeable than you think. I’ve witnessed people who walk into the career center looking as if they’d like to strike anyone in their path. Their mouth looks like it was chiseled into a constant frown. There seems to be hatred in their eyes. This can be intimidating, let alone off-putting.
4. Be outgoing…or at least fake it. For you introverts (I can relate), try to use every opportunity to network. Your most vital job search technique must include networking. It’s not as hard as it appears. You don’t have to see networking as only going to arranged events. It’s a daily thing and that’s why you have to be on your game every day. One jobseeker I know told me he was meeting someone for lunch, and he was dreading it. Nonetheless, he met the person for lunch. He faked it.
5. Mind your manners. “Thank you,” “it was great seeing you,” “hope your day is wonderful,” etc., go a long way. These are things we learned in Kindergarten, yet not all of us practice the niceties as much as we should. I am often thanked by customers after a workshop or in an e-mail. They’re the ones who do the hard work, and their hard work will result in a job.
6. Don’t appear desperate and despondent. Most people want to help you, but if you seem like you are giving up the battle, your peers, career advisors, and people employed in your industry, will doubt your ability to succeed at your next job. “Don’t let ‘em see you sweat.”

Why does this matter?

Simply put, your job search is ongoing. You are being judged wherever you go. The man or woman who has the authority to hire you, may be standing behind you in the checkout line. Those who try to help you take into account the aforementioned aspects of your overall attitude. If given the choice to recommend someone for a position, anyone is likely to back the person who has their attitude in check.

As I’ve said, maintaining a pleasant demeanor and appearing positive is difficult under an extremely stressful situation like being unemployed; but I’ll guarantee you that a negative approach to conquering unemployment will not lead to quick employment. Be mindful at all times how you appear to others.

I meet some of my clients after they have completed an MBA program. Some of them have previous work experience in totally unrelated fields and assume that the MBA is an automatic ticket to a new job, a management role, and a higher salary. And often they are very disappointed when they [...]]]>

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From CareerSolvers

I meet some of my clients after they have completed an MBA program. Some of them have previous work experience in totally unrelated fields and assume that the MBA is an automatic ticket to a new job, a management role, and a higher salary. And often they are very disappointed when they realize that the MBA is not the golden ticket they thought it would be. Before returning to school for an MBA, ask yourself these questions.

Why you are considering the MBA? If it is to learn the curriculum that is taught, great. If you are doing it because you think you will earn more money, tread carefully. Earning an MBA does not guarantee you will be paid better than your non MBA counterparts. And they may have gained valuable practical work experience while you were spending your time learning the theories behind management in school.

Does the MBA support the career you have already started or take you in a totally new direction? If the MBA builds on experience you already have in a particular area, gaining the degree may help add an additional level of expertise and relevance. But if the MBA focus is unrelated to your past experience, just having the MBA won’t necessarily open the right doors for you.

Can you get a third party to help pay the tuition costs? If your company offers some tuition reimbursement or if you were previously part of the military this might be the case. Better to have someone else help defer the costs than end up in debt later on.

How old are you? If you have been working for less than 5 years, getting the MBA may be a logical career move. If you are going back to school after 15+ years, chances are it won’t get you as far. The one
exception may be an EMBA program that your employer is sponsoring.

Are you considering an MBA because you see job postings that say  an MBA is preferred ? Take this with a grain of salt. The employer may be using this preferred qualification as a screening tool. Networking is still the best way to find a job. Having a relationship and no MBA is generally better than having an MBA and no relationship.

Deciding whether or not to go back to school is a big decision that requires significant time and money. Regardless of the degree program you are considering, assess how an advanced degree will help position you for future opportunities and be honest with yourself about what a degree can and cannot do. Talk to people who have completed the degree program you are interested in and learn what their outcomes have been. Make an appointment with the school’s admissions office to learn about their career resources and support systems, and if possible, their placement rate.

http://www.careersolvers.com/blog/2012/04/06/5-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-going-back-to-school-for-an-mba/

Chesterfield, MI (PRWEB) March 31, 2012

Attica Hydraulic Exchange, Inc. (http://www.ahx1.com), a Hydraulex Global company, has recently expanded its already successful hydraulic, servo, [...]]]> Servo motor repair has been added to Attica Hydraulic Exchange’s expanding repair capabilities. Servo motors will be a part of an already multi-million dollar servo and proportional valve division.

Chesterfield, MI (PRWEB) March 31, 2012

Attica Hydraulic Exchange, Inc. (http://www.ahx1.com), a Hydraulex Global company, has recently expanded its already successful hydraulic, servo, and proportional repair capabilities to include servo motors. Attica’s team of specialists have the industry and component knowledge to provide and efficient, high quality repair of a large variety of servo motors, spanning many brands including Vickers, Allen Bradley, Bosch/Rexroth, Fanuc, and ABB.

“Electric servo motors are gaining popularity in machinery that was once controlled by hydraulic components. The machine tool industry, once highly populated with hydraulics, is now almost exclusively servo motors,” states Randy Wildner, National Sales and Service Director for Servo, Proportional, and Electronics at Hydraulex Global.

Attica’s servo motor repair process involves thoroughly inspecting the motor before and after repair. Once completed, feedback devices are calibrated and checked for proper timing, shape, off-set angle, and amplitude. Lastly, the motor is dynamically tested to ensure it is optimized and ready for work.

“In the last 10 years the population of electric plastic injection machines has greatly increased. As this trend continues to increase the number of applications, our customers will have a greater need for the service of servo motors,” says Wildner.

Since 1976, Attica Hydraulic Exchange has provided solutions at the best value to meet your hydraulic needs. Products include new, Benchmark, remanufactured, repair, and rebuilt units and components.

Hydraulex Global (http://www.hydraulex.com) was formed through the acquisition of Attica Hydraulic Exchange in 2010 and Hydraulic Repair and Design in 2011 and is headed by Chairman and CEO, Shirish Pareek. The company is a leading worldwide remanufacturer and distributor of all major makes and brands of quality hydraulic pumps, motors, valves/servo and cylinders for a vast variety of industrial, mobile, mining and oil-field applications. It currently employs over 200 people in corporate, engineering, and manufacturing.

For more information about any Hydraulex Global products and services please contact their sales department at 1-800-422-4279.

When you can’t meet in person, use these 6 rules to build rapport and communicate more clearly.

The telephone has been in existence for 136 years, but the way some people use it, you’d think it was invented yesterday.

With business travel at an all-time low, there [...]]]> SALES SOURCE | Geoffrey James

When you can’t meet in person, use these 6 rules to build rapport and communicate more clearly.

The telephone has been in existence for 136 years, but the way some people use it, you’d think it was invented yesterday.

With business travel at an all-time low, there is simply no skill more important to business success (especially in sales) than the ability to build rapport during a telephone conversation. When you can’t shake hands or look somebody in the eye, your voice (and your voice alone) must be able to communicate “I am capable and trustworthy.”

Unfortunately, many people in business have no idea that they sound like idiots, hustlers or robots when they’re talking on the phone. They talk too fast, they mumble, they blather, they make remarks that would only make sense with an accompanying hand gesture.

It’s crazy. You wouldn’t believe the stuff I’ve heard. And that’s just the negative, sales-killing stuff. Very few people use their voice and word choice actively to create a better connection with the person at the other end of the line.

Here’s a quick primer how to do this:

1. Expunge your verbal weaknesses.

Record some conversations (with the other person’s agreement, natch) and see if you’re doing something annoying–saying “uh …” in the middle of every sentence, for instance, or slapping a “you know …” at the end.

Important: Never, ever turn a statement into a question by putting a little uptick at the end; it’s a huge credibility killer. Same goes for regional accents that carry a stigma in other regions. If necessary, hire a vocal coach.

2. Always have an agenda.

Never have a business conversation, especially on the phone, without knowing exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. This is also a good idea when meeting face to face or emailing, but it’s even more important during a phone call. Two key reasons:

• You may not have the other person’s full attention.
• Unlike email, it’s real time–which means you can’t craft a message and then edit it before hitting “send.”

3. Listen (really) to the other person.

When in a conversation, most people barely hear what the other person is saying; instead, they’re thinking about what they’re going to say next. That’s really stupid during a phone conversation because nuances are much harder to catch than if you’re face to face.

It takes a bit of practice, but what you need to do is suspend your “what do I say next?” until after the other person is done speaking.

4. Take a second before each response.

When you pause before responding, the other person knows that you’ve listened. If, by contrast, you jump right in immediately with your response (or worse, cut the other person off), you’ve just communicated that you think your own thoughts are far more important than anything the other person could have said.

5. Listen (really) to your own voice.

This is the flip side of listening to the other person. When in a conversation, most people, as they talk, are thinking about what the other person is going to say next. That almost guarantees you’ll communicate poorly.

Instead, listen to your own voice as if you were listening to another person. (By the way, this is much easier if you’re following rules 1 and 3.)

6. Adapt your tonality to match.

As you speak, gradually take on the least obvious elements of other person’s voice. The key here is to make it subtle, not obvious–lest the changes fall flat or, worse, seem mocking.

For example, if you’re talking with somebody with a Mississippi accent, draw out your vowels ever so slightly–but don’t cram “y’all” into your normal speaking pattern. Believe it or not, this trick really does build rapport quickly.

One final note: I probably don’t need to say that the rules above also apply to face-to-face conversations. However, the rules are not quite as important in person, when your body language and appearance create enough interference that things like voice tonality can get lost in the mix. This is especially true for people who are very attractive. Back when I was single, I was often amazed at how a woman who wasfascinating in person could be annoying over the phone.

In fact, if I can make a non-scientific observation, it often seems that there’s an inverse relationship between physical attractiveness and good phone skills. It’s almost as if the “beautiful people” have become dependent upon their looks to smooth over their character flaws–flaws that emerge, big time, when they’re on the phone.

If you have a current or upcoming major retention problem at your firm, review your probably “rusty” current program in order to identify where it needs improvement. If you consider retention to be a major business problem, you need to decide if you’re willing [...]]]> by Dr. John Sullivan

If you have a current or upcoming major retention problem at your firm, review your probably “rusty” current program in order to identify where it needs improvement. If you consider retention to be a major business problem, you need to decide if you’re willing to go the extra steps necessary to develop a true world-class retention program.

After over two decades of researching and implementing retention programs, I have found that there is a significant difference between the average program and an excellent or world-class one. Most HR executives don’t seem to have the time or interest in moving beyond the simple answer “yes, we have a retention program.” But if you need dramatic improvement in yours, you will find this easy-to-scan checklist to be a valuable tool in assessing where you are and where you need to be in retention.

I guarantee that it will be the most thorough and comprehensive checklist on retention that you will ever see (simply because most in the field of retention are satisfied with an average program). 

A World-Class Retention Program Checklist

The following characteristics, components, or elements differentiate the average retention program from a great one. So if you want to move from “good to great,” your program should contain most of the following items. The bullet points can be used as an assessment checklist but they are also written as “action steps” in case you need to add them to your current effort. The assessment steps are broken into seven parts.

Part I – A Snapshot Assessment of Retention Programs

If you need a quick assessment of whether your program has major flaws, here are some criteria that can give you an instant assessment without having to collect any data.

• You consider the business impact of every employee leaving to be equal
• You have not calculated the dollar impact of retention on business results
• You apply retention prevention measures equally to all employees
• You liberally use retention bonuses
• You rely on exit interviews to reveal the actual causes of turnover.
• Your retention strategy has no formal name other than to “keep good people”
• Believing it’s “the money” that causes people to leave and not bad management.

Part II – Select a Retention Strategy

The majority of retention programs are not strategic, and as a result, almost no one in HR can name even a handful of the available retention strategies. Assessment criteria for your current retention strategy program or action steps to take when selecting a new retention strategy include:

1. Identify if the strategy is a root cause – thoroughly analyze your entire retention process to determine whether most of the problems are caused by a weak or inappropriate retention strategy.
2. Identify your competitor’s retention strategies – develop a process for identifying and assessing the effectiveness of strategies that seem to work at similar firms.
3. Identify the right strategy for you – next identify the root causes of turnover at your firm and the effectiveness of your current prevention actions. If you find them lacking, you may need to reassess your current retention strategy or pick a new one.

The 14 major retention strategies are broken into four major categories. They include:

Laissez-faire approaches

1. Do nothing (no formal program)
2. Individual managers own retention
3. React with a counteroffer or a retention bonus

All-employee strategies

1. Improve employee benefits
2. Improve training and development
3. Increase compensation
4. Improve employee engagement
5. Speed up career progression
6. Employer branding
7. A communications focus
8. Fixing bad managers
9. A flextime/flexplace strategy

Targeted or personalized approaches

1. Regional customization strategy
2. Personalized retention offerings to prioritized employees

Part III – Key Processes in a Great Retention Program  

Assessment criteria for your current retention program or action steps to take when redesigning your retention program include the following.

You need a separate selection/identification process for:

1. Prioritizing jobs - when resources are limited, prioritize jobs and individuals in order to identify key employees to target for retention (mission-critical jobs, revenue-generating jobs, high-customer-impact jobs, hard-to-fill through recruiting or succession, managers and executives, innovators, those with key future skills, those with key contacts, and high-impact business units or regions).
2. Who might leave – develop a process for identifying “who” (which individual employees) are at risk of leaving. This might include a mathematical algorithm for identifying risk factors (used at Google).
3. General causes of turnover – develop a process for identifying the general causes of turnover in the past.
4. Turnover causes for individuals – develop a process for accurately identifying the specific causes or reasons for why a targeted individual actually left (i.e. a post exit interview).
5. Potential turnover causes for current employees – develop a process for identifying the specific causes or reasons for why targeted current employees might leave (i.e. interview them as to why they stay).
6. General actions to prevent turnover – develop a process for identifying the general actions to prevent turnover
7. Actions to prevent individual turnover - develop a process for identifying the specific actions to prevent a targeted individual from leaving.

Part IV – Effective Turnover Prevention Actions and Tools

Assessment criteria for your current turnover prevention tools or action steps to take when redesigning your retention tools include:

1. A retention toolkit – develop a series of pre-tested effective turnover prevention tools that a manager can choose from depending on their preferences and their situation.
2. A list of weak prevention tools – develop a list of common turnover prevention tools that have a weak or ineffective track record (i.e. retention bonuses).
3. A blocking strategy – develop a company-wide strategy for identifying who is raiding your firm and how to minimize their access to your employees.
4. Alerts - develop an early warning system that alerts you long before key employees begin interviewing.
5. Create “overdue” lists – develop a process to identify which employees are overdue for raises, promotions, new equipment etc. because these factors may influence retention.
6. Implement post-exit interviews – develop a survey process to ask former employees six months after they leave to identify “the real reason” why they left.

Part V – Select and Use High-impact Turnover and Retention Metrics

Assessment criteria for your current turnover/retention metrics or action steps to take when redesigning your metrics.

1. Cost of turnover this year in dollars
2. Regrettable turnover %
3. Preventable turnover %
4. Turnover %s by manager and business unit
5. Overall voluntary turnover %
6. % change in turnover since last year
7. Industry comparison turnover rate %s
8. Forecasted turnover %s for next year
9. Create a five-year trend line of turnover rates contrasted with unemployment rates in the area

Metrics steps

10. Let executives choose – be sure and present a list of these potential metrics to senior executives and let them determine which ones they consider the most important to report.
11. Turnover reporting – make sure that your turnover statistics and their dollar impact are included as part of traditional financial and managerial reports.

Part VI – Include Key Definitions and Measures

1. Turnover is – the percentage of your workforce that voluntarily leaves each year. Retention is the percentage of your workforce that “stays” each year
2. What is not turnover? - – identify the specific types of turnover that will not be counted in your turnover statistics (i.e. death, retirement, forced terminations, etc.).
3. Regrettable turnover – determine if you will separate regular employee turnover from “regrettable turnover” in your turnover reports (i.e. high-value employees who you have designated as keepers).

Part VII – Elements of the Retention Planning Document and Plan

The retention planning document contains the retention design plan itself, as well as key factors in the implementation and the operation of the actual retention process. Assessment criteria for your current written plan or action steps to take when creating your written plan include:

A) Advanced or pre-work actions for your plan

These are actions to take before you design a retention plan or implement a retention process. You can use them as assessment criteria for evaluating your existing pre-work or as action steps for conducting a new pre-work stage.

1. Calculate your current turnover rate – identify your current turnover rates and compare them to previous years and your competitors.
2. Business impacts - calculate the business impacts and the costs of losing and replacing a bottom, average, and top performer in dollars — and these calculations are approved by the CFO.
3. Estimate the current total revenue impact - multiply the cost of losing an individual employee by the number of lost employees in order to estimate the total current costs of your turnover problem.
4. Plan owner - designate a single accountable owner for the plan and the operational program.
5. Benchmark research – conduct benchmarking research on the best practices and common problems of retention processes.
6. Set goals - set the preliminary goals of the retention program, so that everyone will know what you’re trying to accomplish.
7. A checklist of the differentiating factors – after researching and becoming an expert on retention programs, develop a checklist of the factors that differentiate the good retention programs from the great ones. Use a checklist to assess or improve your current program. (i.e. use this article)

B) Improving your chances of getting the plan approved

1. Executive sponsor - convince an influential executive to sponsor and provide internal support for your plan, at least through the funding process. The entire process must be critically reviewed by your executive sponsor before it is presented.
2. Executive funding criteria – identify the funding criteria that executives will use when assessing your plan and process for funding.
3. Questions to anticipate – develop a list of the potential “questions from hell” that you are likely to get from critics and executives. Provide an answer for each one.

C) Initial steps in the plan

1. A written document – develop a written plan and distribute it widely.
2. Leadership and team makeup – develop a process for selecting a team leader and for filling team roles based on the skills of the available employees. At least one team member must be an expert in retention.
3. Plan name – give the retention plan a name.
4. Plan goals – set the final goals for the plan which need to be clear, communicated, and measurable.
5. A timeline – included in the plan a minimum/maximum timeline for each step in the overall process.
6. Identify an outside expert - closely assess and then select at least one outside subject matter expert to advise the team.
7. Identify program benefits - work with the CFO to identify a credible list of program benefits and business impact that will convince managers to use it.
8. Calculate the likelihood of success – after researching previously successful and failed plans, calculate your plan’s and process’s likelihood of success (as a percentage).

D) Operational aspects of the plan

1. A process map - develop and include in the plan a process map covering the entire operational retention process.
2. When to use the process – identify the specific times, based on turnover numbers, when the process should be implemented and when it should go into high gear.
3. Key decision points - identify and then highlight each of the key decision points in the development and implementation process. Be sure and include a stop-and-reassess point and potential abandonment point.
4. Critical success factors are identified – develop an approach for identifying critical success factors for the process and make sure each one is present in the design.
5. A QC process - develop a quality control process that includes a QC person, a QC checklist, and a determination of the percentage of variation that will be tolerated.
6. Define key words – include clear definitions of any important words that could be misinterpreted.
7. Include key formulas - develop formulas for each of the key calculations that must be made (i.e. rolling average turnover rates).
8. Passing and maximum scores – for each key metric, assessment, and selection process, determine the minimum passing and a maximum scores (i.e. the minimum revenue impact for an employee target for retention must be $200,000).
9. Record keeping – develop a recordkeeping and documentation process for use in identifying problems.
10. Rewards and recognition – retention results improve dramatically when individual managers are assessed, recognized, and rewarded for superior retention results. Work with HR to ensure that these things occur. 

E) Information relating to the major steps in your process

1. The steps are clear – identify the sequence in which the steps of the program must be implemented. Provide detailed instructions on how to execute each step and include an explanation of “why” each step is necessary.
2. Ensure repeatability – develop detailed process instructions that are so clear that the process and each individual step can be repeated with consistent results by others in the firm in the future.
3. Identify key handoff points – develop a list of the key handoffs and integration points during the process. Also identify possible problem areas related to the handoffs.

F) Requirements of the plan, process, and the program

1. Inputs required - develop a list of the required inputs for the retention process.
2. Data / information requirements – develop a list of the specific data and information that will be required to design and operate the process and then list the specific sources where it can be found.
3. A budget – a budget is provided including total cost, startup costs, and yearly costs.
4. Managers time – the cost of the project include the number and the cost of the number of hours that an average manager will spend on retention.
5. Software/resources required - a list of the software, hardware, and any other resources that will be required to implement the program.

G) Results or output of the plan and process

1. List process deliverables - develop a list of process deliverables that will be completed at the end of the plan or process.
2. Results measures – develop a process and a set of at least four metrics for assessing whether the plan and the process met each of its goals.
3. An ROI calculation – working with the CFO, an average and a high ROI estimate for the program must be calculated.

Final Thoughts

It’s no secret that as the economy improves around the world, retention problems will return to the ferocity levels that they had during the “war for talent.” As one of the top global experts and the author of a retention book, I can tell you that most existing corporate retention programs are simply not ready for that battle.

photo from Bigstock

One of my clients, an accomplished CFO involved with global M&A responsibilities, wanted to make sure that his new finance hires could really use all the brainpower they had been blessed with, so he incorporated a critical thinking test as part of the interview process. He was pleased [...]]]> by Greg Fall on www.ere.net

One of my clients, an accomplished CFO involved with global M&A responsibilities, wanted to make sure that his new finance hires could really use all the brainpower they had been blessed with, so he incorporated a critical thinking test as part of the interview process. He was pleased with the results, seeing an increase in the problem solving abilities of his new team members. However, when he decided to take the instrument himself, there was a different reaction …

“I don’t understand why I only scored in the fiftieth percentile!” he thundered.

I pointed out that that is well within the norm for senior managers. “There must be something wrong with the test,” he continued.

“You and I examined the reliability and validity coefficients together,” I said.

“I wasn’t as focused as I should have been when I took it,” he implored.

“Would you like to take the instrument again?” I offered.

(after a long pause) he said, “Well, no, I guess not. It really is a bugger, isn’t it?”

“A lot of folks say that,” I said. “And, remember, you now have people working for you whose processors can scream at warp speed.”

He smiled.

The #1 Sought After Skill

Critical thinking has been rated the #1 desired skill in key contributors and senior level leaders, according to surveys conducted by organizations such as SHRM and AMA. And, as Socrates understood, although it can be learned, organizations today don’t have the luxury of teaching this skill. They need people already adept at:

• Accurately understanding problems,
• Analyzing evidence, and
• Making good decisions.

With 7-10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, the need for critical thinkers has never been greater.

Hiring High Potentials or High Performers?

Yes, please.

During my years as a retained search consultant in the golden days of the late 1990s, companies had more room for choosing both types of candidates — those who could make a significant impact now and those who were solid, but were oozing with potential to be developed. Today, the market demands both.

So, how do we determine critical thinking ability in candidates?

To Test or Not to Test?

There are a few good instruments out there, including Pearson’s Watson-Glaser II. However, many search consultants I know choose to develop their own critical thinking interview questions. Both are valid methodologies.

And, what about combining the two strategies? After you have culled down the list of candidates to the top three to five, give each a high-quality, critical-thinking assessment. Then, incorporate the results into your last round of interviewing, developing questions specifically targeted to the possible weak links identified by the testing. I believe this to be the most powerful approach.

Drill Down from Targeted Questions

So, what types of questions really get at critical thinking ability? Behavioral questions can be used, but be careful — remember that candidates will tend to showcase war stories/accomplishments which only show their best. Motivation questions, while trendy and powerful, are as much about heart as head — while they are mandatory for any 2012 interview, they don’t really get at critical thinking directly. Situational questions can also provide us with a respectable platform from which to examine a candidate’s critical thinking ability.

And, once we have developed the right question for the right candidate, the next key is following up their answer with drill-down questions.

Here are a few sample questions and follow ups you might build out from:

Behavioral Questions

Describe a complex situation in which you …

… had to think through information which conflicted with your own viewpoint or beliefs.

… had to make a critical choice based on incomplete data or inputs.

… convince others to examine different approaches surrounding a contentious topic.

Behavioral Drill-down/Follow-up Questions

List your basic assumptions when you first considered the situation.

What were your individual actions?

How did you determine which actions to take?

Please describe all the intended and unintended outcomes.

What could you have done differently to achieve similar outcomes?

What could you have done better?

Situational Questions

A cross-functional (you pick the disciplines) team you are serving on is tasked with identifying, analyzing, and reporting on operational efficiencies. The efficiency data provided to the team by senior management is accepted by all team members as accurate, but you recognize it as faulty. Describe, in detail, how you would proceed.

A strong-willed and influential peer attempts to win you over to their position by using erroneous information as foundational to their argument. Give a detailed description of how you would respond.

The general manager emails you a consultant’s report which outlines findings about a recent decline in customer loyalty. In the email, the GM also makes a general statement that “the path forward seems obvious,” that she wants you to “take action now,” and that she sees “no need for any discussion.” After reading the report, you determine that there is more than one way to proceed. In detail, describe what you would do.

Situational Drill Down/Follow-up Questions

What assumptions are you making?

Why did you choose to proceed that way?

How did you determine that was the best course of action?

What other unknowns have you not accounted for?

Describe all the elements of your decision making process.

List three other pieces of information that it would helpful to know about in advance.

Implementation Thoughts

• Make sure you consider the potential liability of testing.
• Use only the highest quality tests and expert interpreters. Tests should have reliability and validity coefficients in the high seventies or eighties if possible.
• Remember — all tests and interview questions have built in error.
• Certainly, hiring decisions should never be based solely on test results.
• Optimally, integrate both testing and targeted, personalized questions into the process.
• Consider assigning a 1-10 rating for answers to follow-up questions if the same questions are asked of all candidates.
• Ask references to rate the candidate from 1-10 on: accurately understanding problems, analyzing evidence, and making good decisions. Then ask them to back up their ratings.
• Consider additional measurements of resiliency, impulse control, and other stress-related areas. High performers need to have a high tolerance for stress in order to problem solve when it counts.
• Remember that formal education and degrees do not necessarily translate into critical-thinking ability. Aristotle once said “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
• Take the test yourself.

Finding a job or breaking into a new career these days can be very difficult. The employment rate is rising or stagnant giving you a narrow window to acquire that position you have wanted for so long. An employer can be very particular [...]]]>

By Karen Ranieri

Finding a job or breaking into a new career these days can be very difficult. The employment rate is rising or stagnant giving you a narrow window to acquire that position you have wanted for so long. An employer can be very particular in their choices since there is an abundance of talent looking to be hired, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance. After sending out dozens of resumes, you finally get that call for an interview.

The interview is the only challenge standing between you and employment. Now is the time to get yourself prepared. Dress codes are very lax today, but you need to make a good first impression, and I suggest that you are cleaned and pressed in business casual unless the position dictates otherwise, i.e. suit & tie. Keep in mind that the person conducting the interview is looking for skills that will increase the company revenue. In order to accomplish this, they will want to see confidence, a positive attitude, drive, dedication, determination, cooperation, and a willingness to go above and beyond the scope of the position.

The first inquiry you will hear is “Tell me a little about yourself.” Take a minute to show that you are giving it some thought and not spitting out a canned statement even though you have it memorized. Be creative when starting your explanation. Use statements such as, “your philosophy is” or “people who know me would say”. The next question will probably involve your qualifications for the position. This is the time to give the employer a picture of what you know and how well you know it. Give examples of past successes or education references. You may then be asked if you are familiar with their company. Take the time to do the research. Be sure you are able to speak intelligently about the company.

After you have answered all the questions ask of you, you will be presented with the opportunity to ask your questions. Have your questions committed to memory. This will usually start a dialog between yourself and the person conducting the interview. You will want to know if they are filling a new position or replacing someone. Inquire about the requirements, expectations, and/or limitations of the position. You will want to know if there will be a second interview and how soon they are expecting to hire someone. Leave the question of salary off the table until you are sure which interview is the final one. If the salary is too low, find out their salary increase history and how raises are determined.

Sit yourself down in front of a mirror and practice. Go through all the stages of the interview and visualize the entire procedure in your mind. Watch your body language and correct your posture when needed. The more you practice the more confidence you will have, which will give them a great first impression. This will be your full-time job until you change employment through having a great interview.

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