Bullhorn recently released the findings of our 2013 North American Social Recruiting Activity Report, based on data culled from the actual activities of more than 160,000 recruiters in the Bullhorn Reach user network in 2012. The results show that the potential payoff for effectively utilizing social networks to recruit candidates has never been more favorable.

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Despite the promise of social recruiting, though, our results found that a surprisingly small percentage of recruiters are actually taking advantage of the three primary social networks — LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter — to target passive candidates.

In 2012, only 12 percent of recruiters were connected to all three of the networks, with 14 percent of recruiters using a combination of LinkedIn and Twitter for recruiting versus eight percent using LinkedIn and Facebook. Fifty percent of North American recruiters using Twitter for recruiting have fewer than 50 followers, and 26 percent of North American recruiters using Facebook have fewer than 200 Facebook friends.

Why do the majority of recruiters who use these platforms have significantly smaller network sizes than many who use these channels purely recreationally? It’s clear that most recruiters aren’t getting the most out of social recruiting and it’s a huge missed opportunity.

LinkedIn continues to be the dominant social network for recruiting, likely due primarily to its reputation as a professional destination. As of this writing, LinkedIn has the highest percentage of recruiters with large network sizes (15 percent have between 1,001-2,000 connections).

Data suggests that Facebook provides recruiters with candidates of the same and potentially higher quality than Twitter. In 2012, only 22 percent — fewer than one in four — of North American recruiters used Facebook, despite it having an impressive one billion active users.

While we expect LinkedIn to remain the top dog in the social recruiting game, we predict that in next year’s report, we’ll see Facebook grow considerably in average network size and will overtake Twitter in terms of applications per job post.

We’d love to know — what changes do you expect we’ll see to the social recruiting landscape? Over the next year, do you plan to rely on one network more heavily for recruitment than the others? Or do all three play important roles in your social recruitment strategy? We welcome you to share your comments below or to join the discussion on Twitter.

Click here to download the full 2013 North American Social Recruiting Activity Report.

MORE: Blending traditional recruiting methods with newer social tools can get the job done

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Bloomstein went on to share invaluable information on what factors merge to build a comprehensive content strategy. One that’s cost-efficient, yields the greatest impact, and refines the “non-passive voice” a brand uses when speaking to a target audience.

Another key take-away from Bloomstein’s presentation: “Content is more than just copy, it’s an entire lifecycle of information,” meaning your content must include other appropriate mediums of expression. It needs to be future-proof and scalable to social media and other forms of publication.

More of what Bloomstein advises on content strategy in this “must see” webcast:

• Content demands an owner with ownership
• The content role is becoming a necessity in everyone’s job
• A content strategy is the glue that holds brands together with cohesive messaging
• Regular content audits are essential
• Content dredges up politics
• Know thyself… You invest in knowing your users, but what about your brand?

Bloomstein also touched on a variety of important topics from social media not being free to Message Architecture. “Embracing Brand-Driven Content Strategy” is an invaluable resource for anyone who creates, manages, or works with content in any way.

If you’d like to hear more from Bloomstein, pick up her book: Content Strategy at Work: Real-World Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project (Morgan Kaufmann, 2012).

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PREMIUM RESEARCH: Evolution of the Talent Acquisition Function

The article, How to Interview Your Hiring Manager, discussed how people are consumed by worrying what questions they are going to be asked in an interview and how to respond to them, but don’t take time to think about questioning the companies themselves. Author Rajat Taneja advises interviewees tor read analyst reports, browse the company’s job site, look at how long the jobs have been open, and find people in their extended network who may be familiar with the company’s culture. “Just as you wouldn’t invest your money in a stock without researching it in great depth, don’t invest your human capital in a company without a lot of due diligence, ” Taneja writes.

We agree. We want our potential hires to know about the company they are interviewing for and be prepared to ask questions about the company thus engaging themselves in the entire process. After all, your job is where you’re going to be spending the vast majority of your time, you need to make sure you’re making the decision that is the best fit for you.

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One reason is that more and more employers are looking for that perfect “Purple Squirrel” candidate — the one with the exact qualifications, education, salary expectations, and soft skills desired; and they’re not hiring until they find them.

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The “MOOCs” solution
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are large online college classes available for little or no cost, and open to anyone interested worldwide. Courses are typically taught by star faculty from top-tier universities like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, CalTech, and UT Austin. Since the term was first coined five years ago, MOOC companies like Coursera, Udacity, and EdX have enrolled more than 5 million students in assorted IT, business, math, science, humanities and arts classes. As a result, these online courses have been disrupting academia and capturing headlines as the biggest innovation in education for this era.

So what does this mean for Staffing?

• MOOCs expand the overall skilled talent pool. Participants on MOOC platforms are accessing classes and learning skills previously available only to a few select Ivy Leaguers. These new platforms, therefore, are creating an expansive global talent pool of highly skilled and tech savvy individuals.
• Employers want what MOOCs are teaching. Not only are MOOC students voluntarily mastering in-demand academic subjects, they’re also demonstrating key soft skills employers look for today: Self-motivation, Adaptability, Collaboration, and Drive for Learning, etc.
• MOOCs recruit. Recruiting is actually built into several MOOC models. For example, Cousera offers employee-matching services introducing high performing students with enterprise partners; and Google, Amazon, and Facebook are already using similar sourcing strategies provided by Udacity.
• MOOCs are ideal for identifying Purple Squirrels. Much like recruiting at Hackathons, and business or science competitions, MOOCs provide visibility and insight to high achieving participants’ capabilities—exactly the kind of places that Purple Squirrels can be found.

The Bottom Line
By incorporating these new educational platforms into recruiting activities, contingent workforce providers can deepen and broaden their skilled talent pool, find more Purple Squirrels, and increase placements. More placements equal more revenue going directly to the bottom line. Simply put, leveraging MOOCs in the Staffing business just makes good dollars and sense.

Key Recommendations
How can you leverage these platforms into your recruiting activities today? Here are three tactics:

1. Offer information on MOOC courses to your Contingent Workforce. Include links to targeted classes on your company website for quick and easy participation.
2. Search for MOOCs listed on résumés and social media profiles. Include MOOC courses, certificates, and company names in boolean and key word searches when sourcing.
3. Enroll in a MOOC. Take relevant courses for professional development, and build relationships with top talent in your courses.

Try it out for yourself, and watch as your Purple Squirrel pipeline grows!

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Well, the same is true in marketing. Most sales pitches, ads and even blog headlines reflect a time-honored formula. Famous New York ad man, Gene Schwartz devised the following 10 formulas.

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Can you match the formula to the headline example?

1. Numbered lists
2. How-to headlines
3. Secrets
4. Questions
5. Reasons why
6. The big promise
7. Exotic or foreign reference
8. Time reference
9. The “now” headline
10. The “don’t pay until” headline

Examples:

a. Revealed at Last, Secrets to Boosting Site Traffic
b. How Social Media Can Make Your Brand Stand Out
c. One Day with ASJ Partners Proves Inbound Marketing Works
d. 11 Reasons You Need a Branded Web Site
e. Now—Take Advantage of Google+
f. Don’t Pay One Cent Until You’ve Seen This
g. Are You Taking Advantage of Mobile Applications?
h. Why Your Blog Shouldn’t Be a Sales Pitch
i. You Can Be A Rock Star Marketer with These Tips
j. Technology Experts in Asia Premiere Coding Shortcuts

So how did you do?

The answers:
1-d
2-b
3-a
4-g
5-h
6-i
7-j
8-c
9-e
10-f

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PREMIUM RESEARCH: 2012 Staffing Company Survey: Employee Incentives

According to a recent Dynamic Business article, a manager may want to make the company more innovation-friendly by getting rid of non-productive business practices and promoting more original thinking instead. Encouraging, measuring and rewarding visionary behavior may help increase more inventive thinking at the workplace.

Encourage Original Thinking at the Workplace
As the staff is the heart of any organization, investing in employee development to help workers become more original thinkers may contribute to the company’s overall success. According to a Business Zone article, support from management may help employees understand their ideas are important, as they have an impact on the organization’s growth.

The following tips may help HR create more visionary employees:

1. Employee Development. Providing training, such as a workshop, for employees that encourages them to challenge assumptions and come up with a fresh perspective may boost critical thinking and inspire fresh idea generation.

2. Authority. Letting employees know they have the freedom to innovate may boost more unique thought. Giving workers permission to make suggestions and share insight may help employees understand they have permission to think in a more unique way. In addition, allowing workers autonomy by letting them manage their own projects to contribute to the company’s success may increase creativity.

3. Teamwork. When employees are working on collaborative projects, an employer may want to use smaller teams to boost innovation. Workers who are part of a team that is too large may feel as though their contributions have little impact, which may de-motivate them and decrease idea sharing.

4. Create a Framework. Giving employees an outline of general expectations, goals and guidelines for projects may provide workers with the support they need to work effectively, which frees up time for more visionary thinking.

Utilizing these tips to encourage innovation may help an organization gain a cutting-edge in today’s competitive marketplace and ensure sustained business success.

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PREMIUM RESEARCH: Best and Worst U.S. Metro Job Markets

Below are the 10 metro areas with at least 1,000 potential HR candidates in the workforce and the lowest scores on the WANTED Analytics Hiring Scale. The Hiring Scale ranges from 1 to 99, with 99 representing the most difficult-to-recruit conditions. The below 10 metro areas all score below a 45. Norwich-New London currently has the best conditions in the U.S. for sourcing HR talent, scoring a 33 on the Hiring Scale.

1. Norwich-New London, Conn.
2. Rochester, N.Y.
3. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ariz.
4. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.
5. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.
6. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
7. Columbia, S.C.
8. Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.
9. Springfield, Mass.
10. Mobile, Ala.

Because these above locations have low demand, but still claim a relatively large talent pool, it’s likely that employers will experience significantly less competition to attract qualified potential candidates. By targeting job ads in these areas, sourcing candidates, and considering relocation of a candidate, employers may be able to fill jobs faster. The average posting period in these metro areas is five weeks, compared to the national average of more than six weeks.

In comparison, if you’re an HR professional looking for work, these cities are likely to present challenges for you. With only a few openings and a relatively full talent pool, you’re likely to face more competition from other candidates when applying for jobs. We can reverse the Hiring Scale to look at locations with high demand, yet talent pools unable to support hiring. Some of the best locations to find a job in HR are Waco (Texas), Charleston (West Virginia), and Anchorage (Alaska).

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Despite this, and in contrast with other talent products and solutions, the MSP model is sometimes undervalued and viewed as transactional and tactical versus strategic and relationship-driven. This perception has grown from market pressures, misaligned objectives and poorly constructed pricing models. Ideally, an MSP program is the point of intersection between advisory services, supply chain and client stakeholders. It’s best positioned for long-term success when considered for its sophisticated consultative approach and elegant management of the complex talent supply chain.

MSPs transform talent models by assessing market conditions, talent availability and costs, and determining the right management architectures for their clients. For example, supply chain consolidation is a tactical part of talent strategy for any MSP client. Suppliers become experts on the type of talent that succeeds within an organization, and businesses can take advantage of volume pricing discounts. But managing the supply chain for highly skilled, niche and hard-to-fill roles often requires a broader approach. A skilled MSP can create the right strategy and a fluid architecture that supports talent needs and business goals over time on both the transactional and strategic levels.

Transformational MSP includes a full range of services such as business process improvement, change management planning and execution, risk management considerations, workforce scoping, human capital analytics and reporting, and effective supply chain architecture. That’s why most of the industry’s most successful MSPs are offered through staffing companies. It’s a natural extension of a focus on total talent strategies; and employers benefit significantly from working with a provider that possesses exceptional subject matter expertise and resources.

The MSP model continues to evolve as a solution that includes forward-thinking advice on industry trends, talent landscapes, risk mitigation, regulatory management and creative variable workforce approaches. By moving businesses beyond function to inspiration, an MSP can facilitate a next generation model that provides better integration and alignment between suppliers and resources. It is important that the industry positions MSP properly, as a significant means of supporting strategic relationships between businesses and their partners that fosters sustainable talent success.

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For many years, I’ve been using a very simple technique to train new sales personnel about the necessity of perseverance and positivity in the sales process. I’ve been told that it is original and worth passing along so here it is.

I hand the trainee a pair of dice and tell them to roll an 11. I tell them  each 11 they roll represents closing a sale. Sometimes they roll an 11 on the first or second roll. Sometimes it takes more than 30 rolls and quite a bit of time. Regardless, they are all happy to have rolled the 11.

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Then I have them do it again… and again. Of course, I always point out the simple fact that for a salesperson to continue to make sales he or she has to keep rolling the dice. In fact, the only way a salesperson can be a total failure at sales is to stop rolling the dice. If a salesperson gets to work every morning and starts rolling the dice, sales will be made, at least eventually. If you stop rolling the dice, you will never roll the 11. Pretty simple, eh?

I’ve found that those who get frustrated by this process tend to get frustrated with the sales process and eventually drop out. Those who can keep rolling the dice until the next “sale” is made and maintain their positive, smiling attitude often have what it takes to be successful at sales. (This is NOT a validated method of selecting personnel, just a subjective observation.)

If you don’t have any dice handy you can go to www.random.org/dice where you will find a virtual dice roller that works well. But I prefer to have a nice pair of dice to give the trainee something to hold and remember.

After every sales call, via phone or in person, you need to roll the dice, again and again. You will eventually roll an eleven. I promise.

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PREMIUM RESEARCH: Oil & Gas Market Assessment

Staffing firms entering the oil and gas industry need to identify a niche where the company can be competitive. Often, this means specializing in specific types of job roles such as software engineers or plant Operators. Successful firms must understand there are many different ways staffing providers are vetted and engaged including a competitive bidding process, via reverse auction, or through a vendor management system. Each of these can result in a different pricing model as well as other unique requirements to that process that must be satisfied, such as having proper industry insurance and client specific health & safety Programs in place.

Here are some specific challenges in staffing the industry:

Diversity of Personnel. The unique nature of operating environments in the oil and gas industry (onshore, offshore, pipeline, plant, and refinery) requires an equally diverse workforce to support it, and staffing providers cannot be a one size fits all, but rather need to build expertise in a specific area.

1099 Compliance. The industry relies heavily on the use of independent contractors (ICs). Staffing firms must ensure that all ICs they supply are compliant with state and federal requirements. A determination of misclassification can be costly to the client company, including fines, penalties, back tax assessments, interest and retroactive employee benefits. Staffing firms must develop expertise and a vetting process to mitigate such risk for its clients.

Health, Safety & Environment (HSE). A culture of safety within the industry is mandatory without exception, and is the responsibility of all parties, including operators, contractors and subcontractors. Staffing providers must verify that contractors have the safety training and certifications required based on their job role and work location. As an example, U.S. federal law requires contractors working in the Outer Continental Shelf to be compliant with a safety and environmental management system.

Capitalization. Serving the industry requires significant payroll funding. Market demand and ultra-specialization has dramatically driven up pay rates. It is not uncommon for a contractor to command pay of $900.00 to $1,500.00 per day. In addition, large oil and gas companies can have multiple buying channels within the same client, resulting in Days Sales Outstanding to be anywhere from 45 to 60 days.

Absent Job Catalog. There is a lack of standardization with respect to roles and job titles in the industry. Staffing firms must be able to recognize differences between client requirements across a common body of skills, competencies and experience.

Staffing firms that fully comprehend the nature of doing business within the oil and gas industry can be richly rewarded, if they can meet these challenges. Those that cannot meet the rigorous requirements on their own can still meet some level of success by partnering with firm(s) that can meet these requirements and are already serving the oil and gas industry.

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