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Tag: talentmanagement
Over the past few months I’ve been describing a new approach for determining quality of hire, and using changes in this to justify any new expenditures on an ROI basis. While the methodology is pretty slick, the pushback is coming not from the process, but from the idea that HR/recruiting is responsible for quality of hire at all.
If not HR/recruiting, then who? keep reading…
A survey released this morning says employers are fooling themselves believing workers are content simply to have a job.
According to the survey conducted by Monster and Human Capital Institute, 84 percent of employers indicated they thought their were workers content because they were working. However, only 58 percent of workers said that.
For workers, the disconnect extends to their feelings about their workload, the longer hours required of them, and their willingness to give their employer the benefit of the doubt for layoffs.
“Today’s employers feel that employees are loyal due to the economic times, but the reality is they are not,” said Katherine Jones, HCI Research Fellow. “Because of this, there is a strong likelihood that when the economy turns for the better, employers could find themselves with valued employees jumping ship. This places pressure on them to put retention measures in place now.”
Monster and HCI conducted the survey in May and June to assess the impact of the recession on workers and companies. More than 700 companies and almost 5,000 passive and active job seekers participated, responding to questions about their attitudes to work, employees, their post-recession expectations, and purchasing plans. keep reading…
Every vendor in the recruiting space touts their latest recruiting and sourcing tool as the next killer app. If you were there, you saw many of them at the last ERE Expo in Florida in September. As the economy recovers, there will be many more at ERE’s Expo 2010 in San Diego next March. Some of them will be superb and worthy of serious consideration.
However, while many will work as advertised, getting budget for them is a different matter entirely. In the past, the only way to get any significant new expenditures past the CFO was with some type of rigorous cost-savings analysis. However, this approach ignored any improvements in candidate quality as possible justification due to its “intangible” nature.
But as Dr. John Sullivan has been ably pointing out for these past 10 years, improvements in candidate quality dwarf potential cost savings. In fact, one could easily justify a cost increase if quality of hire could be proven.
In this article, I’m going to introduce a means to calculate the ROI of any new recruiting program on a quality-of-hire basis. Further, I’m going to suggest that once you have a means to measure quality of hire, you’ll shift your focus toward improving it, and consider cost per hire a secondary priority. keep reading…
It’s hard to argue against the concept of strategic integration.
Having related business units working closely together, rather than operating as independent silos, almost always increases efficiency, reduces errors, and improves overall results.
There’s no better example of what integration can accomplish than the modern-day supply-chain organization, which used to operate as four independent functions (purchasing; inventory management; warehousing; and shipping).
The integration of these functions into a single function with cross-activity analytics and shared goals turned an “overhead function” into a profit center at companies like Wal-Mart, Toyota, and Dell. The customer-service function also demonstrated the value of integration when it created single points of contact for customers using “customer contact centers” capable of addressing a wide range of customer needs from technical support to warranty registration and billing inquiries.
The result of all these innovations was a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty/retention. City governments also strive to increase capacity, reduce errors, and save scarce resources when they closely coordinate police, fire, ambulance, and hospital services for handling emergencies.
When executives contemplate what function would benefit the most from breaking down silos and driving integration next, talent acquisition is almost always on their list. Given that numerous organizations are currently engaged in process reengineering efforts and that the budgeting cycle for 2010 is just around the corner, what better time could there be to start integration efforts?
While recruiting continues, requisition loads per recruiter are down and non-essential programs are on hold in many organizations.
Kristen Carroll, of Elliot Health System, provides six questions to ask yourself about the role of human resources in your organization. We don’t have a scorecard on us, but suffice it to say if you give yourself a zero, that could be a bad sign.
Carroll was speaking at ERE’s Fall conference today. She also spoke at ERE’s Spring conference (those Spring slides are online, by the way. And let me know if you want her slides from today). She also has a good article about succession planning, full of handy tools to tear out, coming up in the November Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership.
Here are some of the characteristics that Carroll says are associated with a human resources department that is healthy, influential, and if we can use an overused word, strategic. keep reading…
If you want to be strategic and make quantum steps in performance, look outside your familiar zone. Step beyond the best practices in your industry and find new ways to leverage your resources, including talent.
In fact, the best way I know to learn about radical new approaches and innovations is to examine the best practices from organizations operating completely outside your industry. I call this practice of adapting “unheard of” practices from other industries parallel benchmarking.
It is known as parallel benchmarking because you are learning from completely different industries that still, however, share a parallel problem. The practice that I am suggesting that your firm consider is from baseball and involves “trading” surplus talent with other firms.
If you want to make dramatic improvements in business practice, you need to study how best-performing firms in completely different industries attack your problem.
If you want to go beyond merely talking about outside-the-box solutions, consider changing your approach and focus on “likely to be laughed at” talent-management solutions like those emerging around Twitter and YouTube, and developing a “talent trading” program.
Almost all firms at some point have a surplus of employees that results from changing business conditions. Unfortunately, the typical approaches for getting rid of surplus employees are cost-containment approaches that provide no payback to the firm.
The most common approach, where corporations lay off surplus talent, is a lose-lose approach. You release talent and get no remuneration for it, despite having invested in it for years via salaries and training. At the same time, you also incur huge costs because you pay for severance, outplacement services, and damage to your employer brand reputation.
But what if there was a solution where instead of releasing talent, you could exchange or “trade” talent with other firms and get something of value in return? Now that would be a talent-management breakthrough that would make any CFO smile.
Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, created a stir at the SHRM conference in New Orleans this year by stating: “There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.”
Organizations worry about being perceived as offering a good balance between work and personal time.
Many career sites and recruiters stress the ways the organization addresses this through flexible work policies, family-friendly HR polices, child care, and so on. And, for many job seekers, finding a company that offers this magic blend is the Holy Grail.
While Jack was addressing women specifically and speaking about their opportunities for promotion and growth within traditional corporate America, he was reinforcing this assumption. He was heavily criticized for talking to women in this way, even though it is an accurate reflection of the thinking in most of traditional corporate America.
My problem is not with Jack as much as it is with the assumptions that work/life balance is based on. keep reading…
Last week in Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that as the global economy continues to emerge, many organizations may find themselves needing to cut labor costs on a recurrent basis. During times of economic decline, the need may be for drastic cuts, which the options presented last week can address, but it is entirely possible that smaller or moderate cuts will be needed even in times of growth.
The following options address those circumstances and are grouped into options for moderate cost reduction and small cost reduction. keep reading…
Recruiter of the year Dan Hilbert must have found the smartest 4th graders on the planet for his OrcaEyes focus group. He says that it took them no time at all to navigate through the OrcaEyes console, generating reports on the cost of vacancies in an Exult Energy division and on the financial impact of an 80 percent improvement in time to hire for that group.
After taking a whirlwind tour through some of the things OrcaEyes can do, I have no hesitancy in admitting that “I’m not smarter than those 4th graders.”
Of course the significance of those reports was lost on the kids. Hilbert just wanted to make sure the navigation was easy to use and the red-yellow-green alert system easy to understand. And they are.
But it’s those reports that make the $200k a 20,000-employee firm can spend on OrcaEyes seem like a bargain.
Before I get into how, here’s a bit about the what, as in just what is OrcaEyes? Hilbert describes it as HR System Management Software. You can think of it as ERP for HR. Either way, the system provides an overarching view of how human capital impacts the enterprise. It does this by connecting to a company’s existing business systems — hooking into finance, sales, operations, supply chain, or an ERP (if there is one), the HRIS, HRMS, and whatever others may be there.
OrcaEyes crunches the data it extracts from these systems and combines it — for certain uses, like recruiting and salary setting — with data Hilbert obtains from such external sources as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census, and private data providers. Thus, in an instant, literally, an HR recruiter and a division VP can tell the cost in lost business for staffing shortages in the North Sea unit of Exult Energy’s refining and petrochemical division.
I thought that was nice information to have, but no special feat since any CFO can do revenue averages per year-end headcount. But as every CFO and line manager knows, being down one position doesn’t translate into a direct or immediate loss of revenue. Depending on the size of the unit, other workers will pick up the load. keep reading…
SHRM had employees use a 4-point scale to indicate what’s “very unimportant” (that’s a 1) or “very important” (that’s a 4).
The percentages below indicate how many people gave the item a 4, meaning “very important.”
The 601 full- or part-time employees were randomly selected from the U.S. telephone population. keep reading…
Imagine being able to unleash the hidden talents and untapped skills of every single one of your employees?
Imagine if every single one of your employees, from front-line staff to senior management, was 100% engaged, doing the work they were cut out for, contributing to the success of your organization by focusing on their core competencies.
Can you envision the collective power you would unleash? No laggards … just a company filled with rising stars. Absenteeism would drop instantly, worker defections to your competitors would cease entirely. Entire departments would start exceeding quotas.
You would become a preferred employer, and employee recruitment would be an exercise in picking the talent you wanted. Better yet, what if I told you this can be achieved and without the tremendous cost and resource drain of investing in hard-to-measure training programs? That long-sought-after seat at the management table would suddenly materialize for you.
Does this sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not. There is a beautifully simple tool called a “human capital development audit” that you can implement immediately to achieve these results.
Here’s how it works: keep reading…
(Editor’s note: This is the sixth installment in Dr. Sullivan’s series. Here are Part 1, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V.)
No matter how enthusiastic your employees are about participating in an internal movement program, they are bound to be somewhat frustrated if there aren’t a wide variety of assignments available for them to choose from. Even if you successfully excite your managers and other rotation program participants, you can’t automatically assume that they know how to identify or develop exciting assignments or rotations.
As a result, the rotation program manager needs to design a process and provide managers with a variety of suggestions and tips in order to make it easy for them to create internal movement projects, assignments, and rotations. This section highlights over 20 of the approaches that I have found to be effective in helping managers create more and better rotations. keep reading…
There is little argument that job rotations, stretch assignments, and other forms of internal movement are some of the most effective development and retention tools available. While world-class organizations aggressively manage deployment for development purposes regardless of the economic state, such programs become universally popular when economies turn sour.
When corporate revenues are down or stagnant, talent managers typically shift their focus away from volume hiring to developing and improving existing employees. Executives are always challenged to make the correct “buy or build” decision, but when hiring is frozen (the buy option), obviously the only remaining tool available to drive change in organizational capability and capacity is to “build” your current employees.
Such efforts increase the emphasis organizations must place on project deployment for skill building, mentoring, leadership development, and succession planning to ensure that the organization’s capability and capacity evolve — not deteriorate — during the downturn.
Change is a difficult thing. Oftentimes we are comforted by routine, but when situations arise that call for a drastic change, they are frequently met with resistance. With cutbacks and structural changes due to the recession and other factors, many organizations have had to undergo huge changes. As a result, effective change management strategies are in higher demand than ever.
Riviera Advisors consultant and former ERE expo chairman, Jeremy Eskenazi, joined us at at the ERE Expo 2009 Spring to moderate a panel discussing the challenges and strategies of change management. The panel also included Rodney Moses of Research In Motion/Blackberry, Vicki Perry of the Avery Dennison Corporation, and Aziz Chowdhury of the Baker Hughes Corporation.
Throughout the course of the session, the panel discussed the various changes they have encountered over the years, as well as what has worked and what hasn’t. Rodney Moses brought up an excellent point about how issues can arise when the focus is placed on why the change must happen rather than how the change will happen. Moses emphasized that communication, role responsibility, and openness are crucial during the process.
Another major change that many encounter in their organizations is the change from a decentralized business model to a centralized one. Vicki Perry addressed some of the challenges and resistance faced, especially regarding role responsibilities. Perry found the “myth of the month” strategy to be especially effective, helping to dispel rumors about the new system.
Aziz Chowdhury spoke on the same subject, discussing some of the mistakes that were made and things that were overlooked during the change. He also stressed the importance of communication and dispelling rumors during the process.
The panelists were all in unison regarding the importance of communication during the process, as much of the discord is a result of false expectations. Watch these highlights from the presentation for more!
keep reading…
DETROIT — General Motors Corporation Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House. –Comcast.net Finance
I always liked Rick Wagoner. He is the quintessential Boy Scout. Probably makes a great neighbor and a wonderful friend, so I take no glee in his departure. On the other hand, he was not the right person for the job and hasn’t been for endless years. GM made cars few wanted and it hemorrhaged cash. (This should bother you just a tad, as it is your cash they are currently hemorrhaging.)
As an example, rumor has it that when GM unveiled the Aztek in 2001, there was only a gasp and then dead silence; an unspeakably ugly car instantly hated by one and all. (John Sullivan’s Aztec is for sale by way; e-mail him on pricing.) How, in all that is holy, could Wagoner allow a car like this to see the light of day? He should have laid his body in front of it sooner then having it hit the press.
As you can see, poor leadership devastates us all. But wait: put down that latte and read on. I am not at the good part yet. keep reading…
Most corporate executives and HR professionals might think that the impending swine flu pandemic is strictly a public health issue, but if you are thinking that way, you would be wrong.
It turns out that the impending swine flu pandemic is also a major corporate issue that needs to be addressed with decisive plans and clear communications. Fear surrounding the illness is already affecting employee productivity and attendance, as parents in regions impacted are being forced to find child care or stay home as schools close for weeks at a time.
The potential damage that this particular flu can cause corporations is further intensified by the fact that many corporate staffs are already incredibly lean, making it difficult to tolerate extended spikes in absenteeism. If your corporation hasn’t set aside some time to assess how this threat can negatively impact your business and your employees, the time to act is now. keep reading…
For a number of reasons, Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, Outliers, is a good read for recruiters and managers, in fact, for anyone who wants to get ahead in life.
The basic premise is that circumstances are far more critical to ultimate success than any other factor. For example, he cites the fact that Gates, Jobs, and comparable computer all-stars were born in the mid-1950s as being a critical factor leading to their industry success. When the PC revolution started they were just the right age — old enough to participate, but not yet established on a career path that prevented them from taking risks.
For another example, Gladwell points out that most professional athletic stars are born in the first quarter of the year they were first allowed to participate in their sport. The idea here is that whether it’s youth hockey, baseball, or any sport for that matter, the best players at this early age are more mature since they’re 3-9 months older than their competition. This difference means a lot when you’re five or six. The chosen ones are then given more opportunities to be trained and play more often. Overall, the best of this group put in thousands of hours more honing their skills, in comparison to those of equal talent who didn’t make the team just because they were too young at the time.
Of course, opportunity is just one factor involved in success. Talent is still critical and essential, but according to Gladwell, not as important as hard work. This is where the extra thousands of hours of effort comes into play.
To become a master at any craft requires plenty of hard work, at least 10,000 hours, according to Gladwell. As an example, he cites Mozart who didn’t write any worthwhile music until he was in his mid-20s, after about 10,000 hours. The Beatles are another example cited, who worked 10 long years perfecting their craft at all-night clubs in Germany.
Now what does all of this have to do with recruiting and hiring top talent? The answer started back in 1978 when I first became a third-party recruiter.
Over the past several years there have been a number of articles written about the role of a chief talent officer. Each of these articles has pointed out the need for someone to have responsibility for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategic approach to people.
The current economic situation just underlines the need for organizations to develop sustainable talent strategies to minimize the trauma of poor economies; maintain a top notch, committed and skilled workforce; and encourage the development of new skills among those already employed rather than the mass hiring of new workers.
It is more obvious now than ever before that the need for semi-skilled labor is ending and that most organizations will need a highly skilled workforce to be competitive. keep reading…
The first casualty when war comes is truth. – Sen. Hiram Johnson (R., CA), 1918
The looming passage of the Employee Free Choice Act has the business world in a frenzy. The EFCA, if you haven’t been paying attention, would make it easier for unions to organize and reduce employers’ leverage in contract negotiations.
Businesses act like sentries on the parapets of ancient castles, warning of the approach of barbarian hordes. Consultants, trade associations, and labor lawyers presage unions gaining strength and forcing onerous agreements, obliterating productivity and adding costs. All of this comes, of course, at the worst possible time from a business perspective. keep reading…
Ken Zeigler, who talks, writes, and speaks about stress and productivity, offers tips on managing your day better. It won’t take long. keep reading…
When Monster bought Trovix in the summer of 2008, the blogosphere popped with wonder at how the job board would make use of T... more »