No? Then you need to watch this video to help you identify 4 key insights….

***How to exit interview candidates is now only available as part of the DIY Recruitment Toolkit.

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Did you know the first few weeks on the job will either engage your new employee, or motivate them to leave! In fact it’s the first few days that creates the strongest impression. A poor first impression is very difficult to reverse.

The key to achieving a positive impression is to create an organised, structured and informative new employee induction program. Do you have one in place?

The objective of an induction program…

is to ensure the new employee is set up to succeed in their new role. You need to ensure they understand:

• The company, policies and organisation structure
• Job, department and company goals and objectives
• All aspects of the employment relationship
• Available communication channels
• The geography of the work place

The transition to new employment can be a challenging (and rewarding!) time for new employees. Skilled professionals are used to performing their job without having to frequently ask for help. The first month can be particularly frustrating, and is a time when employees can place additional stress and pressure on themselves. You can help alleviate this pressure by taking the employee through an induction program that includes clear guidelines on what to expect.

7 Benefits of an induction program…

• Accurate information is received by the new employee
• Employees are kept focused and busy from day one
• Good work habits are quickly installed
• The new employee feels welcome
• A professional impression of the company and your management style is created
• Key stakeholders are met
• Clear expectations are established to help employee performance

Creating an induction program is easy…

with Chilli Factor’s How to Create An Induction Program. We’ve laid it out step-by-step for you, talking you through the induction process and guiding you how to create the induction program, induction training, new employee induction schedule, new employee set up checklist and 90-day induction review using our easy templates. Once you’ve set up induction program for a specific position, you can quickly clone program for other jobs as and when required.

A new employee induction program is a smart investment of time, reducing the risk of your valuable employee leaving your employment prematurely!

How to induct new employees is part of the DIY Recruitment Toolkit.

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We all know the economy affects unemployment rates. Back in October 2007, the economy was buoyant and unemployment was low. Today, however, unemployment has risen due to a challenging economy.

This may mean there are more candidates available on the labour market, but it doesn’t necessary mean they have the skills you require. Skill shortage remains a constant, especially for specialist jobs, and is not predicted to ease up.

What does this mean?

Major global skill shortages are widely anticipated by industry experts. Prior to the global recession, some predicted America would face a resource shortfall of around 10 million jobs by 2010.

The timeframe may be altered but in the not too distant future, this will affect the New Zealand labour market too. We’re likely to see more recruitment drives from offshore multinationals luring our talent to ‘greener fields’, leading to a greater ’brain drain’ and an increase in migration.

New Zealand’s workforce is also changing rapidly as Generation Y enters the workforce, and employee expectations change.

To combat these challenges, it is essential companies take back some ownership and develop stronger recruitment skills in-house to ensure their sustainability and growth.

Unless you know how to define your job requirement, who your target market is and how to reach out and communicate with them, you’ll be looking at very expensive alternatives.

In New Zealand, recruitment agency fees are typically 15 – 22% of the candidate’s first year basic salary. In comparison, several years ago it was typically 12 – 17%. Get ready for this to climb over the next few years as the cost increases for agencies to source candidates in a skill short market. It’s supply and demand 101!

Research tells us overseas recruitment agency placement fees are typically 20 – 30% – capped at 40%! We are bound to follow suit.

For some, this may be money well spent. But what if the incumbent leaves within 18 months? This is not uncommon in today’s workforce where employee loyalty (especially Gen Ys) is based on “what’s in it for me?” Will you be able to afford to recruit several roles a year?

In-house recruitment

Given the increasing challenges and costs, it seems prudent to invest in in-house recruitment practices. The time to build in-house recruitment knowledge, systems and processes may seem both time-consuming and expensive, and this is a major factor why recruitment is outsourced to agencies. We’ve heard the argument “It’s easier to just write the cheque and get someone else to do it.” It might be quicker and easier but it doesn’t necessarily mean you get the best the result. Instead, consider the ROI in-house recruitment practices can produce, such as decreased time and cost to hire; increased ability to attract and retain top performers; and increased staff productivity and performance.

Recruitment campaign activities are often reactively processed by Hiring Managers because of lack of recruitment skills and knowledge and lack of time. Many do not treat recruitment as a business project as it should be.

Recruitment is not just about filling your job vacancy. It involves spending time understanding why your position exists, defining clear job expectations, understanding and connecting with your target market, maximizing your compelling offer, managing a best practice candidate selection process, making the right hire decision, skillfully transitioning new hires into the business workplace and always understanding your employee needs and expectations.

3 basic steps to get you started:

1. Create and implement a consistent company-wide recruitment process.
2. Provide all Hiring Managers with basic recruitment training.
3. Unbundle your recruitment process and engage third party assistance only where you need it. This will slash your third party recruitment expenditure.

3 recruitment practices you can use in-house right now:

1. Do your own work history reference checks or engage an impartial service to do so for you
2. Implement an exit interview process to understand why all employees leave, especially performing staff so you can address and counteract this in the future
3. Implement an Induction programme to help retain the talent you have worked so hard to employ!

This article featured in Employment Today August 2009 issue written by Kirsten Clark, Founder, Chilli Factor. Chilli Factor’s DIY Recruitment Toolkit helps hiring managers recruit successfully, retain staff and save money!

Chilli Factor: Tell me Paul why are you currently looking for a job?
Paul: I was recently made redundant.

Chilli Factor: What was your role?
Paul: National Sales Manager

Chilli Factor: How long have you been looking for a job?
Paul: 2.5 months

Chilli Factor: What type of job are you looking for?
Paul: In the same field, sales management and business development.

Chilli Factor: What salary range are you looking for?
Paul: $70k to $80K + car and bonus.

Chilli Factor: How many years experience do you have in sales?
Paul: 12+ years.

Chilli Factor: So tell me Paul, how many jobs have you applied for in the past 2.5 months?
Paul: 120 jobs.

Chilli Factor: Where did you spot these advertised jobs?
Paul: Online job boards, predominately Seek.

Chilli Factor: What about the newspaper?
Paul: Very occasionally.

Chilli Factor: Why?
Paul: Because I noticed a lot that is in the paper is advertised online, and there have been fewer roles in the paper.

Chilli Factor: Of the 120 jobs you have applied for, how many application responses have you received?
Paul: I have received a generic automated response to each online application. 70% of the time I’ve only had a “Thank you for your application, we’ll be in touch shortly”. Outside of that I have been personally contacted by only 30% approx of job advertisers. Be it to formally decline my application or to arrange an interview.

Chilli Factor: So you’ve applied for 120+ roles and only 30 – 40 approx companies have personally contacted you?
Paul: Yes.

Chilli Factor: How does that make you feel?
Paul: Frustrated. Anxious. When you don’t hear anything you don’t feel like your being taken seriously. And you start to question your own ability, and whether you have the right skills and experience.

Chilli Factor: It’s very competitive market at the moment. You will be competing with a number of candidates with similar skills. Would you agree with that?
Paul: Absolutely. Plus you are also competing against people with far more experience, whom because of the market are applying for jobs they wouldn’t normally apply for. I’ve been doing the same and recognise it is an employers’ market.

However, only receiving a generic response to a job application which often has involved completing lengthy online application forms, I think presents a poor reflection on the employer or the agency.

Chilli Factor: In what form have you typically received decline responses?
Paul: I’ve received a couple of letters but mainly by email.

Chilli Factor: It’s never nice to be declined for a job but what format do you think is most professional – email or letter?
Paul: My impression has been a letter seems really professional. I felt like the company had taken the time to recognise my time in applying for the role. It left me with the perception they are a professional organisation.

Chilli Factor. Would you apply for a job with a company that sends you a decline letter – again?
Paul: Yes

Chilli Factor: Would you apply for a job with a company who emails you a decline letter – again?
Paul: Yes

Chilli Factor: Would you apply for a job with a company who does not respond to you – again?
Paul: No

Chilli Factor: How many interviews have you attended?
Paul: Approximately a dozen.

Chilli Factor: Typically what type of roles have you applied for?
Paul: Senior sales positions, plus I have found myself applying for roles well below my level.

Chilli Factor: What has been the average package offered?
Paul: For jobs that match my level of skill and experience, a good proportion were offering $20 – $30k below what market rates were 12 months. Some companies were only offering commission.

Chilli Factor: How does that make you feel?
Paul: I was frustrated with some offers because a couple of roles I turned down had real potential but I felt like I was being taken advantage of.

I think this is a poor reflection on the employer and believe they will find themselves in a situation when the economy picks up again where their new employees may look to move on to greener pastures.

Chilli Factor: Can you give me example of an unattractive offer?
Paul: One recent role, I was offered a base salary of $40k plus commission for a Sales Director role!

Chilli Factor: How many jobs have been advertised directly with employers compared to agencies?|
Paul: 80 – 90% of jobs I have applied for have been with agencies. However, I’ve noticed employers advertised a lot of the same roles directly too.

Chilli Factor: On a scale of `1 poor to 5 excellent’ how would you overall describe the `candidate care’ you have received?
Paul: 2. Why? Lack of response, lack of feedback, lack of professionalism by recruiters (both employers and agencies).

Can you expand on this?
Of all the interviews I’ve been to, there have only been two recruiters that were professional. By professional I mean, someone who seemed to have a good understanding of the market, the job opportunity, asked me a lot of questions, and seemed to be as concerned for the client as they were for me. They came across as being genuine and not just trying to make a placement.

Chilli Factor: What has been your experience with regard to recruitment follow up response timeframes?
Paul: I’ve found follow up response quite random from employers and agencies. Outside of the automated “thank you for your application” email it takes between 4 – 6 weeks after applying for a job to get a further update, unless they wish to arrange an interview.

Chilli Factor: What has been your experience with regard to interview feedback timeframes?
Paul: Hasn’t been much better. On average 7 – 10 days to get interview feedback!

Chilli Factor: What has been your experience with regard to quality of interviews?
Paul: Overall poor. Only two interviews I’ve been to were professional. The rest – information was very light.

Chilli Factor: Overall…

a) Did you clearly understand why the job existed?
Paul: For the majority of the time NO.

At the interviews that you rated did you? Yes. Why? The Interviewers gave clear job descriptions and detailed info about why the jobs existed.

b) Did you understand the Employers goals?
Paul: No in general. Again only in two interviews. Why was that? They gave me indications of budgets, and how they related to expectations and bonus structure.

c) Did you understand what outcomes the company expected from the role?
Paul: No 80% of the time. Yes in the two interviews I’ve mentioned.

How did you understand? They gave me written indication of budgets, value of the product and how they expected budgets to be achieved.

d) Did you understand what training and support were provided for the role?
Paul: Yes for two. How? They explained the structure around the role – e.g. teams, technology and marketing.

Chilli Factor: You’ve mentioned some companies were offering commission only. Did you clearly understand how the commission worked?
Paul: A number of the roles I did not realise were commission only until I got to the interview. I found they couldn’t explain how the commission structure worked. When I asked about targets, a number of times I was told they couldn’t answer this, as the previous incumbent had not achieved these.

Chilli Factor: How did this make you feel?
Paul: It instantly raised alarm bells for me. I was given advice once – if an employer cannot clearly explain a commission structure, walk away! I think this is good advice.

Chilli Factor: Tell us about the recruitment experience that has made you feel the worst about yourself so far…
Paul: Probably the most recent role I turned down. Had they been more professional I probably would have accepted the role, and wouldn’t be doing this interview right now!

Chilli Factor: Why did you turn the job offer down?
Paul: Lack of detail, no contract presented. It all felt really loose, I felt extremely pressured to make a decision – at the interview on the spot and then when I asked for more information, I was then pressured to make a decision by close of day! This made me feel uncomfortable about the company’s’ working style – so I declined.

Chilli Factor: What type of information were you wanting to see?
Paul: Letter of offer or a draft contract, commission structure in writing, confirmation of tools I would have to do my job like a mobile phone and a laptop.

Chilli Factor: Tell us about the recruitment experience that has made you feel the best about yourself so far…
Paul: The role I am currently being considered for. The recruitment consultant was friendly, personable, asked a lot of questions, and could answer all my questions, presented me with written company information to take away and was communicative.

Thank you Paul for your time. I wish you every success with your job hunting!

End of interview.

The reason I share this interview is to highlight to employers professional recruitment processes are just as important in this ‘employers’ market’. There may be more candidates on the market, but skill shortages continue to exist. When the market turns and more talent is required to increase business performance, skill shortages will be a major constraint for many companies.

Professional candidate care generates positive company branding. Done poorly and you may find down the track talent you desire won’t be interested in opportunities with your organisation.

Chilli Factor’s online recruitment resource will help keep you on track. Featured in the toolkit is a comprehensive candidate care program which can be instantly implemented. View Chilli Factor’s online recruitment resource here.

The following is a brilliant example of positive thinking. Go Trilogy!

By Sarah Gibbs, co-founder and director of Trilogy advanced natural skincare.

There’s no ignoring it. Times are tough and likely to get worse before they improve. But at Trilogy we see this difficult economic climate as an opportunity for us, our business partners and New Zealand businesses in general to think outside the square, think smarter, be braver and do things differently.

That’s why we’ve launched a campaign to R-PROOF (recession proof) offices throughout New Zealand and our other key markets Australia and the United Kingdom.

The campaign started internally.  My business partner, Catherine de Groot, and I committed to not using the dreaded word ‘recession’ – the R-word – and our team at Trilogy embraced the idea. We all also resolved to think of new ways to conduct our business which is producing and selling natural skincare products. Our staff found this process so productive and fun that we decided to share our campaign with business partners in our key markets.

So we created an R-PROOF pack with some essential tools to inspire businesses to think positively and stand out from the crowd. The pack includes: top tips to R-PROOF your office; R-PROOF posters to motivate your team and personal R-PROOF computer wobblers to keep you on track. We’ve also suggested a penalty of $5 for those staff who slip up and say the R word  – all proceeds to be spent on a staff treat!

So the R-PROOF campaign is fun, but it has some serious underlying messages which are: positive thinking breeds positive outcomes and now is not the time for retrenchment, it is the time for strategically thought through, but not over thought, action.

This thinking is reflected in many of our ‘top tips’ which include:

• We never mention the R word
• We ensure all glasses, coffee cups and water coolers are half full, not half empty
• We ban words such as ‘downturn’, ‘discount’ and ‘cut back’ and replace them with one word – opportunity
• We don’t get ready, we get going
• We don’t waste time and energy on emotions we spend it on solutions

New Zealand companies are well placed to take advantage of this kind of thinking. Many of us, like Trilogy, are small so we are nimble and can adapt our business practices to suit the times and the changing needs of our customers. Trilogy frequently introduces new products and new ways of communicating with our customers as a direct result of feedback we receive. We also value the input of all our staff.  I encourage Trilogy staff to share their ideas at weekly meetings and to take at least an hour a week of quiet thinking time away from their desk to think strategically about the company or particular Trilogy projects and products.

Since we launched the R-PROOF campaign in late March over 70 businesses throughout New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom have signed up.   We now have business partners ranging from department stores, health and pharmacy chains in New Zealand to Myer in Australia and Boots in the United Kingdom on board. And increasingly the R-PROOF campaign is capturing the imagination of a broad range of businesses throughout New Zealand that we haven’t worked with, but which have heard about the campaign, like it and want to sign up.

We’re thrilled at the response as our aim when we launched the campaign was to R-PROOF offices throughout New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom and we certainly seem to be on track.

To R-PROOF your office contact contact Trilogy here. For further information about Trilogy visit: www.trilogyproducts.com.

I talk about this often, and have AHA moments all the time, around the lifestyle strategy (actually tactic) I’m about to share. I think it’s an essential part of any workable lifestyle performance strategy:

People often ask me why I always have time to train, eat well, sleep, rest, recover and rejuvenate amidst a relentless schedule – and don’t burn out. (That was not always true).

My answer is this… when I do these things, as needed; I use this time to plan my next steps.

In other words, when I am exercising I plan the next steps of my day. I often use the time to “actively meditate”; to let ideas gestate and gel, crystallize and clarify and by the time I’m done taking care of me, I’m ready for some serious action.

I do better work and I am often far more productive in a self care mode than I am in the mode of action. It’s called preparation time.

In a PerformanceLifestyle we are always preparing for the events and actions in our life, so why not do it during self care time. Use self care time, as the time where you prepare yourself psychologically, emotionally and physically for the events in your life.

In a PerformanceLifestyle you don’t take time out to take care of yourself, you take the time you need to prepare for the events in your life, and that means managing your capacity. So you are always taking care of yourself. Self care, how you do everything we do in PerformanceLifestyle, is preparation time! Who needs permission or time out for that, it’s your lifestyle!

Self care time is among the most productive time there is in your day . It should be happening all the time as you are basically always preparing for events. ALL THE TIME!

If you are suffering from personal energy debt you will have trouble doing this. Or if you don’t understand your present situation… then you won’t likely have the awareness to do this well in the moment. This is where mastering PerformanceLifestyle skills will really help you.

Move forward in a position of strength,  ~ JAM

John Allen Mollenhauer “JAM” is the creator of the PerformanceLifestyle® Formula for More Freedom and Personal Energy to Achieve Your Goals!

The Strengths Mastery Advantage System

will lead you to making better decisions. It measures how you take action based on your natural instincts. Then it shows you which actions are strengths and which rely on your weaknesses. Just imagine how this kind of clarity and guidance could make your life more enjoyable and more profitable.

The Strengths Mastery Advantage System

We find this tool very helpful when listening to recorded mp3 training and seminars. It seriously helps us to quickly complete audio training and listen to audio books. How much faster? Up to 4.5 x faster!

FasterAudio™.