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Thursday, October 02, 2008
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The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) was signed into law on September 25th.This newest act corrects some of the inequities left unaddressed by the original ADA that was passed 16 years ago but, it won't impact staffing until corporations recognize the value of a truly underappreciated and underutilized labor pool
Suzanne Robitaille writing in the Wall Street Journal this summer reminded us of the challenges faced by the nation’s working-age disabled- only 38% of whom have a job.
She pointed to the great strides that have been made and
documented several laudable efforts by companies who make a difference. Two examples mentioned in her article:
-Rich Donovan, a former Merrill Lynch Trader who has cerebral palsy founded LimeConnect in 2006 with Merrill as a his first partner to help people with disabilities find jobs. With the addition of Pepsi, Google and Goldman Sachs, Donovan’s firm last year “sourced more than 300 disabled internship candidates from two dozen universities.”
The National Business & Disability Council with the initial help of Booz Allen Hamilton supports “Emerging Leaders”, a diversity internship program that has placed 75 students in summer internships in the last three years. AIG, KPMG, Liz Claiborne and P&G are among the 30 firms who support the program today.
Beyond the acknowledgement of a narrow band of best practices, there is still much work to be done.
- Your website is a reflection of your breadth of diversity. Our review of corporate websites is still somewhat disappointing with regard to welcoming people with disabilities. Few photos of employees on company staffing pages show individuals with visible disabilities. We count no more than 5 of the Fortune 500 who clearly depict their disabled among their profiles. This can be easily fixed.
- Access to content that allows disabled job seekers to assess a firms openings and employee value proposition is open to debate. Clearly marked accommodations for people trying to navigate staffing pages (visual, auditory or motor) are few and far between. ..and the disabled are becoming more agressive seeking solutions.
Two years ago a NY Bank was targeted for its lack of access via online applications. Changes were quickly made and the suit was dropped. Last month Target settled a “two-year-old class-action lawsuit alleging that visually impaired people were blocked from using their website by technical incompatibilities the company declined to fix.” This was a customer focus but how far behind are you?
It isn't just making the technical fixes, it is also the transparency that is critical. An example of a best practice is the GE Careers Accessibility Statement - a clear effort to move forward
- Before accommodation there is the interview process. Companyu Affinity Networks of people with disabilities can offer staffing leaders and their recruiters significant insight on the hiring on the hiring of people wioth disabilities. (The Suzanne Robitaillearticle singles out networks at KPMG, Eastman Kodak, IBM and Pepsi.)
- Finally, think about the training recruiters receive in recognizing and handling the needs of people with disabilities in the recruitment process.
Several years ago CareerXroads had the opportunity to study the challenges of graduating seniors from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute For the Deaf (NTID) under a grant they received from IBM.
Our final report was included in a WSJ article and we received a great deal of response- including one email from a young man who had recently graduated from NTID and whose story is worth repeating.
He had graduated with a Computer Science degree near the top of his class and spent a frustrating 6 months applying to positions (after lots of initial response that quickly tailed off as recruiters learned that he required a TTY.
He persisted however and was thrilled to have recently received an offer. He had a question though. A week earlier he had been online at a company’s staffing pages reviewing an entry level programming job when he was offered an opportunity to enter a chat-room to talk with a recruiter- which he did. After getting a positive response from the recruiter he was given a code to an online test- which he passed with flying colors. Then he received the offer, conditional of course on a background check.
His question? “I start work next week”, he said. “When should I tell them I’m deaf?”
“Now, would be a good time” we responded.
We renewed our acquaintance with one of the NTID career services professionals at the National NACE conference earlier this summer. Despite improvements it is still telling how few firms seek top engineering and computer science graduates at RIT-NTID. It is about walking the talk…so to speak.
Our belief is that recruiters are a critical piece of the solution when it comes to hiring quality candidates who may also be disabled. Learning how to examine the candidates ability and not be distracted by their disability is a part of it.
Ensuring a recruiter is trained to easily accommodate a range of disabilities in the recruiting process is also and obvious competency – and yet no public seminar geared specifically to guide recruiters in this effort is readily available. A partnership between Cornell and the NJ SHRM Council is close (but what we think will resonate is still a step away).
Perhaps the most interesting statement a firm can make is if a recruiter or recruiting leader happens to have a visible disability. RBC and Wal-Mart are two firms we admire who walk the talk. We would enjoy meeting others.
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Saturday, September 06, 2008
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Destination ImagiNation is a kids' careers program that has been around for 25 years. It fosters development in teamwork, creative problem solving, and innovation. According to Ginger Geen, a colleague [who used to work in recruiting with Abbott Labs and now volunteers and consults with the not-for-profit],
"It's global, works almost entirely with a volunteer network of around 45,000, and is based on some very solid research, theory, and an educational foundation. The American Dairy Council, 3M, SciFi Channel, and AEM (The Association of Equipment Manufacturers) are big sponsors, and there are quite a few local ones.
The real story Ginger wanted to share began when "a representative from AEM (John Deere, Cummins, Komatsu, Caterpillar, Case, lots of others) came to the DI Global Finals competition awhile back and saw the relationship Destination ImagiNation has with kids. Facing a severe talent shortage in the Construction industry, AEM launched an initiative with DI called the Construction Challenge.
It's a hands-on competitive challenge for high school students that started with 36 teams at each of 5 regional rallies that wound up with the top 50 teams competing in Las Vegas at CONEXPO-CONAG--the largest trade show on the planet."
Ginger went on to share recent results,
"Last year's event was spectacular! Participating students saw the breadth and magnitude of the construction industry - its careers and practitioners at their best. Industry folks saw what these fantastic and innovative kids were capable of. Teachers, parents, and team coaches were flabbergasted all the way around, and many communities and their infrastructure officials got pulled into the excitement for real impact. I got to interview team managers at the event, and they've never seen their kids so motivated about anything to this degree. As a former staffing person---I LOVE THIS!" Ginger concluded.
Apparently last year's event was so successful that they're coming back for more... with an expanded approach. There will be 15 regional rallies this year. The competitions are now open to middle schoolers in addition to high schoolers. The event finals will be held at the same time as the Destination ImagiNation Global Finals at the University of Tennessee.
Ginger needs some help though- "We have Program Coordinators working on recruiting fabulous folks for the contract regional rally leader positions. We've got a few more to fill in Seattle, Phoenix, Kansas City, Charlotte (NC), Oklahoma City/Tulsa, Toronto, and Boston. We're scrambling to get these filled and get the rally planning off and running. The positions are paid (well, you gotta really want to do this...); responsibilities run from now through mid February, and we have a teeny staff to tackle the recruiting, but it's a wonderfully rewarding and fun experience."
Interested? Have recruiting advice? Call Ginger or, even if you're not interested, send her a word of encouragement
Ginger S.Green
Destination ImagiNation,Inc.
2009 Construction Challenge (Milwaukee)
ggreen@DIHQ.org
847-816-1954
224-433-0381 (cell)
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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Mark and I were going over this fall's conference season and I was struck at the number and quality of the conferences available...and these are just the ones where we are doing a session, moderating a panel (or just playing poker):
In September we are looking to connect with friends at Sourcecon in Atlanta...essentially the only conference of its kind devoted totally to the sourcing community. The contrasts here are fascinating to observe.
I'll head back to Toronto shortly afterward for Jason Davis' Recruiting Blog- Recruitfest. I'm thrilled to see Jason's community of recruiting iconoclasts grow and conbtribute to the voices that are out there.
The former is on a mission to become the standard bearer for HR technology standards while the latter offers organized insights into HR & Staffing technologies & applications that are changing the game. This conference may offer us the most controversial platform for us this year- to discuss the future of social networks. (We never speak to the same topic twice)
October is also an opportunity to enjoy the fall ERE Expo 2008 in still sunny Florida where we have hijacked three mystery panelists to help us assess new recruiter tools and apps. We'll also be running a small pre-conference workshop based on the methods we use in our CareerXroads Colloquium that we facilitate 6 times each year with invited staffing leaders.
As a student of the space, I hope to learn a great deal from my colleagues, eat well, enjoy deep conversations (or those that seem deep depending on the time of day) and perhaps...if I'm lucky, win a few hands.
Please support your favorite conferences this fall and stop by and say hi to Mark or myself. Take in an extra one if you can or send your team...you just never know when the budget for travel might get hijacked.
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
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During a recent meeting at Johns Hopkins, delving into college recruiting, one of the staffing leaders linked us up to a YouTube 5-minute video produced by nearly 200 students in a sociology class entitled A Vision of Students Today.
While most of the demographics are familiar, the mode of sharing them is highly personal- i.e. one young student holds up a sheet on which she has printed "I will read 8 books this year" and then replaces it with another the says "& 2800 web pages", "1280 Facebook profiles"...
Well worth perusing and adding to the library.
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Imagine you are a qualified candidate for a position in a great company. You don't make it to the interview stage and don't get the job but you do receive a turndown email that not only gives you the bad news but also offers you a consolation - an invitation to share your resume/profile with other great companies.
We've seen versions of this concept attempted by vendors and company consortiums in the past. The idea resonates because if you can't use the candidate maybe someone else can - and, in return, maybe someone who was a finalist in a similar firm or a great company near our location might be accessible and interested (as well as low cost to source) before we have to spend money on ads, or additional sourcing and marketing campaigns.
The challenges, however are significant. AllianceQ, recently launched on the premise above, might just have a chance at overcoming the obstacles by setting up a true consortium without vendor interference. We believe it will depend on the quality of the companies who participate.
Phil Haynes (who recently left Wachovia) is working the initial AllianceQ startup for QuietAgent, the firm behind AllianceQ. We can see dozens of possibilities if they limit themselves to great brands but there are plenty of landmines to navigate. I wish them well.
Collaborative trends however are inevitable. You only have to look at the values driving membership in HCI, Direct Employers, ERE, and others to see that models tapping communities of staffing professionals who are willing to share can move the game to a new level.
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This morning the car dealer that sold me my latest gas guzzler sent the following email to me:
From: Doug Wells at Ray Catena Motor Car Group
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 2:32 AM
To: Gerry Crispin
Subject: Is it time to trade in your C350w4?
Dear Gerry,
I was just reviewing your records and noticed that your C350w4 has almost 36,000 miles on it.
Are you interested in selling your C350w4? If so, there is a strong used car market and we may be able to give you more than you would expect.
Should you choose to purchase another vehicle from Ray Catena Motor Car Group, we have many new models to choose from.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you. Respectfully, Doug Wells General Sales Manager dwells@raycatena.com732-549-6600 P.S. - Should you decide to purchase a new vehicle from us, included in this email is a Check for $300 dollars towards the purchase of any new vehicle at Ray Catena Motor Car Group. Please present this check/email as verification. ----------------------------------
I loved the note and its obvious timing and have been looking for examples of CRM - that reflect touchpoints that could be translated to staffing situations- if only to contrast the current reality of CRM tools that are essentially empty contact management templates and little else.
Below I've rewritten a 1:1 translation of the above email with the notion that staffing could (in this fantasy) target their own employees from a talent re-acquisition perspective at a point where they are more likely to be vulnerable to turning over.
From: Doug Wells at our GreatCompanyToWorkFor
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 2:32 AM
To: Gerry Crispin
Subject: Is it time to re-consider your career with us?
Dear Gerry,
I was just reviewing your records and noticed that you have been with us two years working as an Engineering Project Leader.
Are you interested in continuing in your current role or are you looking to examine other career possibilities? If so, there is a strong internal and external market for your skills and, our staffing and development professionals may be able to give you more insight than you might expect.
Should you choose to look at new options at our GreatCompanyToWorkFor, you may discover we have many new career paths you can choose from.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
Respectfully,
Doug Wells
Director, Talent Re-Acquisition and Development
dwells@GCTWF.com
732-555-5000
P.S. - Should you decide to examine a new career path with us, included in this email is an additional budget authorization for $3000 dollars toward your development this year.
Next week at our Seattle Colloquium meeting I plan to challenge teams to examine the connection between customer and staffing CRM thinking.
Do you have a customer CRM touchpoint that would turn staffing on its head?
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In our CareerXroads July Bellwether that goes out to Colloquium members we noted that
"after an initial 4-week onboarding, Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ president, offers each new hire in their Las Vegas headquarters a $1500 bonus… if they’ll quit… and 2-3% of their new hires actually take the offer and leave.
The idea is if the new employee realizes they made a mistake, they can get some coverage while they look for that new job. Employees to stay- choose to. Zappos does about $1 billion in online shoe sales and has 1600 employees."
Afterward, Heather Hamilton, one of Microsoft's staffing leaders riffed on the note and offered some excellent insights in her blog, One Louder.
Filling Up at Jobing
We also couldn't overlook the innovation in "pay" which afforded
"Jobing.com more press in the past two months than the largest job boards combined. The upstart firm (with a huge presence at the 2008 SHRM conference) was founded by Aaron Matos and gives new employees (after an initial period) a free car and free gas. The cars are wrapped with Jobing’s logo and are essentially mobile bulletin boards. "
While the cost of the benefit is expensive- until you think about the millions of dollars in free PR they received during the recent gas hike extolling the company’s foresight, the idea that a company can reward their employees in ways that fit the exigencies of the moment is worth a deeper look.
Mark and I applaud these two innovative retention concepts.
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The following is from our CareerXroads July Update. We've had significant response
Best of the Best
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While the attention of the staffing paparazzi is focused on the wows of the darling-of-the-moment, Microsoft has reinvented how the web can be used to build positive relationships and engage a new generation of prospects.
Microsoft has been listed by us ( CareerXroads' Top Ranked Websites for 2008) as among the 25 best corporate staffing web pages that we rank each year from the Fortune 500 list published in April. (We then presented these firm's best practices in our session at SHRM's national conference in June). This year Microsoft is arguably one of the firms at the top of the list.
Why highlight Microsoft? The reason is that a half- dozen, cross-referenced, career-related micro-sites - some carefully crafted, some organically grown and a few inserted to fill critical gaps - have been quietly launched and/or integrated with their Careers site. Microsoft may arguably be the most transparent firm on the planet. You just have to know where to look - and that is getting easier and easier to do.
The beauty of this suite of sites from our perspective is that they a) are all interlaced within a careers theme, b) cross-reference one another c) focus on specific target audiences, and d) have solid interactive elements i.e. 2-way communication, engaging graphics, video, etc.
A sampling of the new and the old(er) include:
- Microspotting: This popular blog is actually a microsite archive of interviews with interesting characters and their equally interesting views who all work for the "Empire." Ariel Stallings is a most unlikely part-time Microsoft employee devoted to finding and interviewing her colleagues. Read her bio and you will understand her appeal.
- Hey Genius: If a career exploration medium that is a cross between Marvel comics and 2nd Life appeals to your curious side (and that would mean you are likely a bit unusual) you will get this site's hold on the coolness factor. This is an award winner.
- Microsoft Jobs Blog: Published since 2004 and edited by Gretchen Ledgard this site offers a public face for several Microsoft recruiters. The blog is designed to engage those "who are thinking about applying for a job at Microsoft, already in the interview process, or just curious about we have to say." Other blogs of well known recruiters like Heather Hamilton's, One Louder, also offer the personal views of Microsoft's recruiting gatekeepers. This is a powerful opportunity for anyone getting serious about applying.
- View My World: This micro-site is Geek heaven for anyone looking to see the inside from someone like themselves. The site proclaims "this is a candid view of what it's like to be a techie at Microsoft, from those of us who actually are" and it delivers. The videos, audios and text offer a rich view found nowhere else.
- You at Microsoft: This is the newest of the career micro- sites and it's a deep dive into Diversity and Inclusion. We think it can be improved but it is already a step beyond nearly everyone else.
- Workin' It At Microsoft: This is Microsoft's Facebook page and, like other firms using this medium (such as EY, Deloitte, Yahoo, etc.), it is an experimental playground to brand and link a company's careers content.
- Microsoft Careers: And of course the standard (or in this case not so standard) Corporate Careers pages. Starting with a global landing page, seekers can navigate to locations, specialty careers, open positions and much more.
The bar has been raised.
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They are running out of engineers in Japan.
More precisely, fewer Japanese are choosing technology majors. The universities even have have a name for it -“rikei banare” or “flight from science”. At the root cause, according to this NY Times article’s author is a desire among Japanese to emulate Americans. How convenient. How dumb.
The problem with the artcle is that it barely scratches the surface of this critical issue.
While it isn’t likely that Japan will become an offshore destination for your engineering design lab anytime soon, the US suffers from the same lack of interest in engineering and science at the high school and college levels. And it is driving the war for talent. Eventually it will drive more and more firms to staff their core skills from off-shore sources.
Two solutions are obvious ( but not on any horizon I can see.) The first is a national commitment to a goal or vision that engages highschoolers... and those who educate them. Sputnik did that for us in the 60's. I'm guessing we'll have to wait til China lands on the moon...in 2012.
The second is fixing immigration. The strongest demographic among engineers who are US citizens is that they are 1st generation. Reduce immigration and you undercut the true innovation this country relies on for its dominance.
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Dave Williams was the nice guy at the Corporate (Recruiters) Roundtable who oversaw all those cool reports members received. (We got a few complimentary copies and an occasional acknowledgment for our contributions).
David left last year to become an author...of science fiction. His first work The Mirrored Heavens is out.
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