The CareerXroads Annex

What Should Staffing Leaders Be Doing Now to Plan for the Hiring of Recruiters During Recovery?

Gerry Crispin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:15:52 -0500

A future ERE Corporate Leadership Journal (not yet out) will include an article about what HR leaders should be doing NOW to plan for the hiring of recruiters during the recovery.

John Zappe, the article's author, asked several members of our industry to respond to a series of questions (and then extracted contrasting points of view). I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

I was among those asked to contribute and, here is the unabridged answer I provided to one of the questions (which will, of course, be edited and combined with others in the final article):

Q: (John) What should employers look for in recruiting and in hiring recruiters? (In economic recoveries of the past, many employers simply hired entry-level HR staff and assigned them to jobs that needed doing, including recruiting. Or they reassigned generalists to the task. Is this likely to happen again? Should it? And if not, then what traits, skills, and knowledge, specifically, should HR leaders seek in their recruiter candidates?

A: (Gerry) The basic functions of recruiting: sourcing leads, finding prospects, screening candidates, selecting from a final slate and closing the chosen candidate can be taught.

The challenges are time to practice, clarity of the process, discipline to repeat, feedback loops and appropriate rewards.

Recruiting leaders ramping up their hiring on the other side of the recession need to decide on the balance of "functional" expertise (knowledge, skill and experience) they'll need and then clearly describe it.

The critical difference today versus 5, 10, 20 years ago is that the "design" elements of recruiting- the form that follows the function is now front and center.

It is the in-depth knowledge of how your firm's employment "brand" is embedded in every conversation, online and off that will make one recruiter so much more successful than another.

It is how today's recruiter handles each of the silver medalists to maximize their future utility or ensures that each and every candidate who applies gets a respectful response at every stage of the opening.

It is the attention to the experience of every stakeholder- the employee who made a referral, the hiring manager who is networked but stressed out, the recruiting leader who has to do more with less and that jobseeker that differentiates a mechanistic technician from an innovative professional.

This shift in emphasis is essential even though we seldom spent the time and effort to dig out and assess the quality of the experience in the past.

If anyone thinks entry-level HR professionals (who are typically undecided about the recruiting function) are going to replace dedicated staffing pros and succeed in driving a hiring process aligned to the company's business...then I've got a bridge you'll want to buy.

Take a look at ERE's Journal. I find it offers interesting value

Déjà Vu All Over Again: The 2009 Social Media Conversation is But an Echo of the Internet Past

Gerry Crispin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:45:09 -0500

If Social Media is keeping you up at night, relax-- You've just been there before.

(As we approach ERE's SM summit for what I'm sure will be an valuable day of conversation, I thought this commentary from our November CareerXroads Update might be interesting.)

In 1996, just 13 years ago, the Internet was at a tipping point - not so new that we couldn't see its promise but also not so accepted that we couldn't imagine its dangers.

As the debate raged on, the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) and the Society of Human Resource Development (SHRM) conducted a broad-based survey of several thousand firms to give the hype a dose of reality with a few facts by asking how firms were developing "policy" to guide their employee's use of it.

The report, published in BNA's January 2, 1997, Bulletin to Management, concluded that "Internet access is typically confined to a small proportion of the workforce."

• 41% of the respondents allowed only a "few" of their employee's use of email

• 54% gave a "few" employees access to other applications

• Only 10% allowed ALL employees full access to email and the Internet. "Many of these organizations require(d) employees to demonstrate a legitimate business need before they [were] granted Internet access"

• Formal written policies were rare with just 5% of the surveyed organizations reporting that they had developed written policies to govern employees' Internet activities.

• Access to the Internet differed significantly depending on what Industry you were in. While 90% of educational institutions had established internet access, only 25% of the banks and 17% of Utilities had done so in 1996.

• The recognition of the Internet as a business communication tool was not yet accepted. 60% of those with email (i.e. 24% of total respondents) used it to communicate with colleagues. Nearly half of those with email (i.e. 20% of respondents) used it for promotion and advertising.

• Websites were not yet the critical window they are today. Only 24% of the respondents had a website. For firms with 1000 or more workers, the figure rose to 60%. The sites were mostly ads, jobs and profiles of the organization.)

Thirteen years later, Social Media, rather than the Internet as a whole, are now at the center of the debate. But, the questions and answers are more than vaguely familiar.

(In fact, Mark dug out the report quoted above because the data we were analyzing last week seemed so much like what we had seen before.)

We conducted a quick, informal survey of large, highly-competitive firms (5000 or more employees) in the last two weeks at the request of a Colloquium member to specifically benchmark sm policy development and we were not surprised to see that nearly 100% of the firms invited to respond did so -- in just 72 hours.

We are reviewed the results with those contributing to them today and will likely publish some of our findings in future whitepapers.

However, there are a couple interesting notes (or side-notes) worth mentioning:

• 44% of current respondents do NOT have any policy governing Social Media usage

• 58.5% of those with policies first wrote or revised them in the last 6 months

• Policies were most likely written by Legal (35%), violations handled by HR (43.9%) or legal (39.4%), audits are mostly performed by Legal (41.9%); employees are informed about SM by Communications (39.7) rather than HR (8.1%).

• Less than half the firms surveyed (47.8%) have even attempted to put together Corporate, multi- discipline task forces to oversee Social Media policies but even those who have them aren't sure who is leading

• 6% have developed a "Community Manager" role to engage the firm in developing a deeper business understanding for how SM could contribute In the end we'll work it out.

As SM is shown to contribute to business solutions, and we are sure it will, the defensiveness will tail off and the challenges around who is its champion will resolve themselves. For the moment though, the half full crowd is still trying to convince the half-empty crowd.

Speed bumps and time warps

Gerry Crispin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:26 -0500

8am on a dreary, rainy grey Wedenesday in a small corner of northern New Jersey.

Lots of trees past their peak as I look outside from a brightly lit Panera Bread breakfast nook. I'm sitting by a very fake but still enjoyable fireplace. The fog and drizzle cloak whatever is left of the trees' color.

I just backtracked 6 miles from the One Stop in the city of Dover, NJ to connect to Panera's wifi. Soon I'll spend a couple hours in conversation with 60 plus out of work professionals this morning.

Dover is in a time warp- less than hour and a half drive from where I live in central NJ (exit 9).

In stark contrast to the tacky, but cutting edge buildings, people and firms in the business and development corridors found around most of America's biggest cities, Dover is a speed bump in the twilight zone of progress.

The buildings here aren't new and they are definitely not "quaint". I mean they weren't new in 1960! I know that when I go into the industrial warehouse that encloses the local [un]employment office at 9am, I will see rotary phones. (I've been here before). A corner "Smoke Shop" with a large sign pointing to its check cashing services is busy down the block.

This is my third pro bono gig this month and it keeps me grounded..but no, not depressed at all. The people are bright, articulate and hungry. They soak up whatever you can offer and amazingly I learn more than I ever can give back simply by listening to their stories.

You can blog about Twitter, SM, Linkedin Google Wave, and Video interviews for hours but here these solid real life citizens haven't gotten around to reading any of those useful tomes because they really don't know where to look or how to make sense of what they read. They have questions the online community thinks were answered a decade ago.

They are seeking honest opinions and facts (without the sales pitch) about 21st century job hunting tactics. You won't find them on Twitter and their Linkedin profile leaves much to be desired... unless you first educate them on how to use them to be more competitive.

I'll bet there are speed bumps within an hour of most recruiters with folks just waiting for a helping hand.

#EREExpo2009- Conference Season Opener Tough Act to Follow

Gerry Crispin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:32:30 -0500

The 19th ERE Expo held last week in Hollywood, FL was well done.

Included among the many images I took home Friday was:

- A Little Giveback.

Kudos to about 4 dozen players and a bevy of sponsors who stepped up to support another great poker tournament managed by last Wednesday by Jeremy Langhans on behalf of the ERE Foundation.

The charity raised $10,000 for its global children's educational initiatives.

Unfortunately,Jason (Slouch) Davis and I were taken out early by one of the Atlanta Sourcing Mafia, Eric Jaquith,...in the same hand. There will be a rematch.

The best hand of the night however, with three remaining at the final table, was set up when Chris (All in) Hoyt's A-2 was called by Elaine (crush'em) Orler's A-3 after the flop of A-4-J. The excitement began when a 2 on the turn made Chris a two pair and an 85% shoo-in to win. However, Elaine made a miracle 5 on the river for a straight and that was all she wrote.

Dan Cooke (WSJ) outlasted even Elaine to take the top prize- (a doll that sings Kenny Rogers "You gotta know when to hold'em..." which mysteriously disappeared.)

It is all about paying forward.

- A Lot of Community.

Over the last decade ERE has created an extraordinary online community that has spilled over to its two conferences. Perhaps even more valuable than its content are the connections made here. A strong balance of recruiters, vendors, consultants and even a few "owners" attended sessions, conversed and engaged.

Everyone was accessible and inclusive. You could sense an upbeat atmosphere (which I'm indebted to Russ Moon for pointing out along with his interesting analysis.)

It is all about the conversation.

- A Lot of Learning.

I attended quite a few sessions including a solid group of passionate practitioners representing Adidas, American Cancer, ADP, Davita, Fifth Third Bank, Intel, Microsoft, Fluor, Agilent, Sodexho and Walmart.

Listening to them speak reminded me about how far we've come in this space. And, yes, there is still a long way to go but the folks who are openly sharing their challenges and mis-steps as well as their accomplishments with their colleagues have a greater chance of success and will raise all boats.

It is all about transparency.

- A Trend or two.

I noted in both the discussions I had as well as the self-descriptions provided by vendors I spoke with that an "end-to-end, trusted advisory service" seemed to be the brand play of the day.

This image of an independent but totally pure advisory service was highlighted (and currently contradicted in my mind) by the extra-ordinary number of presenters who mentioned not one but a dozen partners helping them in their efforts. These were "partners" that the practitioners had personally gone out to check, benchmarked with other firms and had pulled together in a suite of services. Not long ago it would have been one "trusted advisor".

Today, it is clear (IMHO) that few external firms (agencies, recruiting specialists, etc. etc.) have either sufficient capability or a best of breed approach (versus their own suite of products, or their representative agreements to support certain products) to truly Broker the tools and services that have exploded in the space. This vacuum won't last long.

Much hype will unfortunately precede the convergence of new "Talent Acquisition Advisory Services" firms.

It is all about disclosure.

I'm looking forward to the next 5 weeks on the road.

Sources of Talent -09: The View Down Under

Gerry Crispin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:31:58 -0500

Source of Talent, 09 is an extraordinary (free) report published the last week by two Australian staffing experts ‐ Phillip Tusing, Destination Talent and Michael Specht, Inspecht.

I admit to being somewhat biased about the study because Philip and Michael surveyed an area CareerXroads has long been passionate about‐ Sources of Hire.

Mark and I were given an advanced copy and our initial analysis of the report is included, although in a slightly different form, as a Forward to their report.

The study provides for the first time International comparative data - and it is a delightful contrast to the US mindset. If only because it opens a small but fascinating new window into how cultural differences drive staffing around the world.

On the surface, the Australian study includes information about 92,136 hires reported by 409 “organisations” and is easily compared to several similar US reports, including CareerXroads’ annual Sources of Hire.

But, there is much more than a surface comparison here because the authors approached their data collection and analysis with an “eyes wide open” attitude ‐ willingly offering a transparent look at their methodology and the challenges they faced as they swam through the sometimes conflicting currents of information.

Beneath the surface is a deep pool of data differences that should encourage serious conversation about the role culture plays in recruiting.

Here are a few “quick takes” comparing our US study with Australian sources. (I’m sure much more will surface over time - and would encourage others to take a deep dive looking for even more).

- The Australian SOT-09 lists the results for 18 sources. The top 6 (which account for 3 out of every 4 hires ) are as follows: - Job Boards- 29.6%, Internal Recruiters- 16.8%, Corporate Website- 10.6%, Referrals- 7.6%, Recruiting Firms- 6.8% and Internal Promotion- 6.3%.

Our first reaction was to note that the US market typically separates internal moves and promotions from all “external” sources. The Australian approach incorporates the two.

- By contrast, we adjusted our US study of 14 sources to compare to the Australian SOT-09 results (by combining both internal and external sources into one list). Our 5 top results (which also account for about 3 of 4 hires): - Internal Movement (including promotion)- 38.8%, Employee Referrals- 16.7%, Corporate Web site- 12.3%, Job Boards- 7.5%, and Direct Sourcing- 4.8%.

If Internal promotion and movement (US) are defined similarly in Australia then Internally filled positions are 6x greater in the US than in Australia! Not a minor difference no matter how you define this category.

- Job boards are considered a source for Australian hires nearly 4 times as often as in the US.

- In Australia referrals lead to hires half as often as in the US.

This gap becomes even wider when breaking out employee referrals for employers alone.

- It is not surprising that company web sites are attributed nearly as often as a major “source” in both Australia and the US.

We are still of the opinion that a company careers site is a destination. Attributing hires to the Career Site as a "source" dilutes the impact of other channels that influence visitors to go to the site.

- A quick comparison of adjusted agency hires shows the US at 1.7% versus 6.8% in Australia (really 9.9% if you compare only the employer hires).

Some of the difference is explained simply by the differences in the sizes of the firms participating in the respective studies but – not all. We would have thought Agency/Third Party hires in Australia would have tracked much higher.

- In both the US and Australian data, the attribution of social network sites in staffing is still quite small.

The reasons for this result require a much longer conversation than this quick take but both collection methods and investor hype are part of the answer.

While it is easy to assume (and is often noted by both US and Australian authors) that Australia lags the US market and eventually all these various sources will shift or converge toward US numbers, we do not subscribe to that conclusion. instead, we believe we are beginning to see basic differences in our respective approaches to hiring…country by country.

The evolution of a more sophisticated way to examine the staffing supply chain even on a national level is still out of our reach but eventually we may discover that combinations of sources that interact to brand, confirm and eventually influence job seekers to make better career decisions. These influence clusters may be as related to the culture of the country as they are to technology choices, economics and other business factors.

As more countries collect and share data similar to Source of Talent, 09, the standards for defining and comparing sources will continue to develop and this conversation is going to move to a new level. Michael Specht and Philip Tusing have taken an excellent first step. Kudos

Evidence Print Must Be Getting Desperate.

Gerry Crispin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:05:21 -0500

I get quoted often. Most recently in Tuesday's WSJ. It was one line. No biggee (unless it is the first time- and then of course I would bring it to mom and frame it). It wasn't my first, so I eventually post the link in a specific area of my website.

Then, this morning's first email arrived:

Great news can drive business - and there's no better way to promote your business than with a custom reprint from Dow Jones Reprint Solutions!

In case you missed it, below is the link to the article:

Keeping Skills Sharp Through a Long Layoff August 18, 2009

What can a reprint do for you? - Promote your products or services - Serve as part of a marketing campaign, whether in print or electronic - Reinforce purchase decisions and assist in client retention - Build awareness among prospects, clients, investors and other stakeholders - Burnish your firm's brand image and credentials - Recognize key colleagues for their accomplishments.....

At the bottom of the email was a name and phone number for Chad and there was also an order form in the attachments.

I got to thinking about how many names might actually have been mentioned in a single issue of the Wall Street Journal. Gotta be a lot.

I tried to imagine doing this job and I figured whoever was doing this had either been banished to the Siberian equivalent of Dow Jones or had just joined the company and hadn't been told about the hazing.

Still, the email and the timing suggested the pitch was being done responsibly and quickly.

So I called Chad. Yes, I did. And I interviewed him for about 10 minutes.

A Broadcast Journalism major, Chad has been working for Dow Jones for two years and every day he finds and sends these email packets to about 50 people that seem the most likely prospects i.e. not too famous or with big firms. I learned that you can even pay Dow Jones (a little) for the link from your website to theirs and (more) if you want to post the entire article on your website. (Hmmm. I may be skirting the law here.)

Chad has aspirations to move up and is very dilligent at his assignment. He is personable and can chuckle at his basic roles and responsibilities without demeaning them in the least. He appears to think through how he crafts his pitch and does alter it- probably more for job enrichment than in the results but he does get results and apparently enough to cover what he does. He tried to close me twice and thanked me for the call.

I advised him to work even harder for that promotion as I've no doubt several young grads in other countries would be more than willing to do the same work for much less. I'm happy to share Chad's number as I've no doubt he could be successful as a TPR.

Chad, if you are reading this, you have my permission to link to it for free and use me as a satisifed WSJ customer in referencing your accomplishments i.e. being willing to start wherever and do whatever well to get ahead.

When was the last time you needed a mailing address to hire?

Gerry Crispin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:39:25 -0500

(From CareerXroads' August Update)

The last bastion of the digital divide has fallen

He has accounts on Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

He runs an Internet Forum on Yahoo and keeps in touch with the rest of his friends via email.

He is 37 and homeless.

He lives under a bridge in NY City.

Mr. Pitts may lack a mailing address according to a Wall Street Journal feature by Phred Dvorak but you can certainly find him virtually.

Roughly half of some 200 shelters in the city run by various non-profits offer online access.

When was the last time you needed a mailing address to hire someone? Answer: If they can connect and perform (and you can direct deposit), it isn't relevant so no one should care.

Your boss may be interested in what you do after hours - maybe too interested.

Gerry Crispin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:36:27 -0500

(from the August Colloquium newsletter - Bellwether)

Social Networking, Reputational Risk and the Workplace

Deloitte's 2009 Ethics & Workplace Survey suggests that many corporate leaders believe that there is a "great reputational risk associated with social networking."

Apparently 74 percent of those surveyed believe: "it is easy to damage a brand's reputation via sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube."

As a result, "60 percent of business executives say they have the "right to know" how employees portray themselves and their organizations online."

Maybe they do have a right to know how their organization is portrayed but we believe a growing % of employees do not agree with them - particularly about the personal side of that portrait.

Insights Into Global Health Care: Extraordinary Data Mining Tools

Gerry Crispin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:54:10 -0500

from the August CareerXroads Update - musings on staffing written monthly since 1996

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Data geeks will love this TedTalks [Ted.com] video. I've never seen information presented visually the way Hans Rosling, a Swedish professor of global health, does it using an application he developed.

I was amazed by a deep data mining dive into global health care. The video (to which we were pointed by Jeremy Shapiro, a fellow data junkie who is leading one of the Staffing Standards Task Force groups) opens with a story by Professor Rosling trying to benchmark just how smart his students are at the beginning of his graduate class.

He asked them to take a 1-question pre-test: "Which country of each pair (below) has the highest child mortality?"(One member of each pair has twice the mortality of the other)

• Sri Lanka or Turkey • Poland or South Korea

• Malaysia or Russia

• Pakistan or Vietnam

• Thailand or South Africa

He discovered that the students consistently did worse than a control group of chimpanzees! (A group of peers -professors at his University, managed only to match the chimps.)

The professor surmised that it wasn't ignorance but preconceived ideas about the distribution of wealth and other variables that contributed to the result.

As we integrate staffing globally, I'm willing to bet that similar preconceived ideas we have about the employment process will also hinder our ability to devise effective protocols.

Here's hoping we do better than the chimps.

Mission For Recruiters: Stepping Up to Support Returning Troops

Gerry Crispin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:56:53 -0500

Last month 2800 NJ National Guard and Reserve troops returned home to NJ from Afghanistan and Iraq after a 9 month deployment.

Families in NJ were especially grateful because the mission was carried off without a fatality. The troops were greeted with applause, parades and many thanks.

Missing in the equation however was the fact that the troops were gone during an economic meltdown and many returned without a job.

Not fully knowing what career assistance was needed or, whether any help was needed at all, Sherrill Curtis, a volunteer leader on the SHRM NJ State Council ( responsible for Workforce Readiness initiatives) got involved.

The timing was right and the needs turned out to be extensive.

Partnering with a NJ military transition firm, Tip of the Arrow Foundation, Sherrill pulled together volunteers, resources and support in record time. The result is a 2-day event planned for July 29 and 30 at NJ's largest military base, Ft. Dix.

More than 900 military men and women have already registered and 1200 are expected by the time the event takes place. Hundreds of career coaches, recruiters and HR professionals in NJ voluntered with just a few calls and emails to individually counsel each attendee on the first day.

Workshops and employer panels are also scheduled to focus on tactics for networking and using technology in the job search.

The second day is a job fair (free to NJ employers with jobs) that is totally booked.

We're now developing a Linkedin group as a follow-on to the event where troops can share their job hunting experiences, support one another and "out" the firms they have targeted who are slow to offer an interview. (This way recruiter volunteers can help break down a few doors-as appropriate to help folks get up to bat if they are qualified).

I know Sherrill and her new found military friends are planning to document the event and its value so others hopefully can use it as a template and develop thier own initiative.

If you get a chance, thank Sherrill.

I appreciate her work and the efforts of the many volunteers in HR, Staffing and Career Services communities. It is a pleasure to support them.

My son, a newly commissioned second Lt in the NJ National Guard who was in active service during the first Iraq war and who will likely be again deployed next year is also a fan.

We need to give more PR to the outstanding work that is being done by individual firms like Sodexho, Lockheed Martin, and many many more who reach out to military in transition. What is also needed however is the local and regional programming support for returning vets who are targeting firms that may not have gotten the word but with a nudge will give vets a chance to get to bat..

Building a Brand: Picking the Right Demographic

Gerry Crispin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:37:56 -0500

John Zappe's excellent article today (July 14) about how a jobboard has built its brand has many lessons.

I originally saw these ads on a New Zealand Recruitiment social network (Recruitment 2.0 Asia Pacific built by Paul Jacobs) a couple months ago and howled but didn't see the relevance until now.

First, check out a Youtube snippet of Chef Ramsey from popular restaurant reality show in the UK humiliating a local cook. I can only bear to watch part of it.

Then, contrast what you just saw with a typical but similar scenario (#2) of Little Gordon.

Finally, if you can get over the schock of hearing what looks like an 8-year old swear like a...pompous chef, you are ready to read John Zappe's article and how these ads have catapulted one job board to another level.

Now if we can just link to some employer results. sigh

Supreme Court Ricci Decision: Cliff Notes Version

Gerry Crispin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:35:05 -0500

My eyelids droop when I hear lawyers or Phds explaining anything. And when they explain something legal, my head hurts. And when they explain the legality of testing, my head droops, hits the desk and I hurt even more.

(There are exceptions and among them I happen to love Charles Handler who recently wrote an ERE article on this subject)

However, while I think staffing leaders want to understand what is going on in all relevant corners of their world the recent Supreme Court decision on the Ricci case (which may eventually have some bearing on testing) is confusing.

The problem is that it is a complex finding and, while it will certainly be dissected for the next few months offering lawyers, EEO experts and psychologists extra exposure on webinars, my simplified [and arguable biased] take in a few somewhat declarative sentences follows:

- The City of New Haven uses a written test to determine whether to promote firefighters to a "command" position.

- The test adversely affects minorities i.e. they do significantly poorer.

- The City refused to accept the results of their own test because the results were "discriminatory". (The guys and gals who took the test and came out on top were upset and cried foul.

- The Supreme Court refused to accept the city's argument. The results stand.

- In sustaining the original results, the Supreme Court said that the City gave the test and now they need to live with the results.

-The Supreme Court also said that the City poorly argued that the test wasn't valid in the first place and so they had to assume it was valid until it was proven that it wasn't. (Lots of experts support the notion that the written test in question aka the "book learning" approach lacks any connection to the reality of what it takes to lead firefighters. Unfortunately, the [so called] experts argue among themselves about the best way to measure validity and ended up confusing the court.)

- Bottom line, the Supreme Court supports scientific selection which on its face cannot be ignored simply because a specifc group does poorly. The Supreme Court however is not saying that you can get away with a test that discriminates if it is NOT truly valid.

- However, the ruling was close and a minority [no pun intended] decision by Ginsburg championed a new notion- that "diversity" is a "primary objective in staffing". This has a lot of folks up in arms who think (as most of us do) that hiring candidates who will perform well is the primary objective..and that doing it fairly to ensure the successful candidates are, in fact, diverse is what we are talking about.

In the short run, if you validate against performance, you will have fewer problems. If you recruit against criteria you've validated, simply make sure your diverse candidates all meet the same bar. Tom Janz sent me this link to SIOP content and a few notes which prompted my blog. Thanks Tom (another PhD I can understand)

N'awlins: Settling in

Gerry Crispin — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:44:02 -0500

Saturday, June 27 #SHRM09-BoB

7:30AM
Cafe Du Monde. Hot coffee w chicory and Beignets. It's a ritual. Unfortunately, by 8:00AM it appears to be the place every one wants to be this mornig and it is hot enough that I may be the only person drinking coffe hot.

Joined by LV and afterward we amble over to the Marriott for 8 hours of panel discussions surrounding the Society's assessment/re-assessment of its strategy, technology issues, legislative challenges, etc., etc. Finished up with 5 of us prioritizing technology trends impacting the profession. Most, but not all, were to be expected but some interesting twists. We'll see whether other groups concur.

The find of the day however was at 5PM after registering at the convention center and walking back along Tchopitoulas. A self-serve wine bar with over 190 wines...and cheese. We left for dinner 2 hours later. This will definitely not be part of speaker expenses.

Ended the evening with Elaine Orler at a very loose holdem table. We rocked. Nuff said. Looking forward to tomorrow's opening session and the vendor show. Expecting paid attendance around 7,000 and 10k total. At least those are the numbers floating.

N'awlins: You can feel the difference.

Gerry Crispin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:28:02 -0500

Friday, June 26 #SHRM09-BoB

8:00AM
Headed down to N'awlins this morning. First time in nearly a year. This has been the longest time between trips to my favorite city since 2004, a year before Katrina.

10:45AM
The plane included a few HR consultants (MJ Sinclair among them) and Academics (Mark Hueslid) whose company I enjoy. All of us have full agendas at the conference but in totally different spaces. In between the special expertise panels, vendor meetings, and presenting on candidate experience at a concurrent session Tuesday there's food, drink and the sheer pleasure of N'awlins- a city totally without peer.

Conversations the past few weeks have led half a dozen folks to agree to tweet under #SHRM-BoB (Band of Bloggers) and the group will likely grow as more of the community pour into the city on Sunday. A Tweetup is planned for Tuesday but BoB may find a way to check out all the Monday night parties as well.

Good conversation on the plane with MH around the standards initiative SHRM is supporting under ANSI/ISO protocols. Discussion helped me to articualte responses to some concerns expressed by the academic community.

1:00PM
Arrive at Montoleone in the French Quarter and, after settling in I take a 2-hour walk-about taking stock of the recovery by first winding through the French Quarter, American and Warehouse districts and ending at the Convention Center (stopping at a brewery for a local ale and a [small] taste of gumbo).

You can feel the difference. There are lots more people in the streets and our convention hasn't yet arrived. If you know what to look for there are still gaps. Later next week I'll tour the outer rings where I know the problems are still major but downtown you can see the hotels are back in business, new construction and especially the change along Tchopitoulas just opposite the Convention Center is significant- where btw a wine store offering 190 different wines by the ounce and glass is definitely calling to me.

It's hot here. There is a reason for wearing straw hats and loose clothes and walking very, very slowly.

The Convention Center in N'awlins is 1 mile long. The SHRM areas are quickly being built. Several 4 and 8 hour workshop sessions will be conducted tomorrow. The speaker's room wasn't open. Returned to the hotel via the stores strung out along River Walk. Cooler and pleasing to see the crowds there as well. A year ago it was half the size and many stores were still closed.

6:00 PM
Stopped by the Westin to see if NW needed any additional members to network with the large contingent of HR students from around the country attending the conference. Fortunately, not needed and quickly head out to my newest food adventure with Scott Elliott, a fellow foodie from NJ, and a couple of his friends from Pensacola who have raved about a restaurant...Uptown.

This is really Uptown. We reached Jacque-IMOs after an hour on the Charles St Trolley, well past the Garden District and very near the end of the line. Incredibly the restaurant can best described as a beach shack. The street in front is totally demolished. Walking into the bar in the front of the "no reservations" restaurant reminded me of rush hour trains in Tokyo. To say the place was packed was an understatement and, amidst the chaos, shoving and shuffling the [very casually dressed] GenY maitre de offered us, after a moment of mental calculation, a potential time for being seated as "maybe in an hour". I thought "maybe" I had opted into the wrong choice but we retired to a bar nearby with far fewer patrons and an unusual ceiling fan. The fabulous local brew and stimulating conversation helped the time pass quickly. The restaurant staff came and found us and soon we discovered why this place was worth all the wait and much more.

To say the food was moaning good doesn't do it justice. And who could describe an appetizer like Alligator cheesecake anyway let alone help someone taste it like I did. Everything was sauced, subtle but complex and intensely flavored. Even a cornbread dipped in honey and seasoned with garlic and tyme was extraordinary in its details. We shared several appetizers but a stuffed eggplant was so good I begged them for the recipe. The blackened redfish was even better than promised. I've eaten in nearly 100 restaurants in N'awlins. For local color, down to earth good eats and a truly different experience, Jacque-IMOs is a great adventure.

11:45
Returned to the downtown, checked to see if EO was at the Casino as she intimated she might be. Yup, she was there and we played some 3-6 holdem but nothing happening with my hands so time to call it a night.

2nd National Standards Task Force Launched: Performance Management

Gerry Crispin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:32:57 -0500

This week SHRM launched the second National Standards Development Task Force (Performance Management) since being named a Standards Development Organization (SDO) in February by the American National Standards Institute (the ISO member for the US).

In May, the first Standards Task force, Staffing and Workforce Planning, was launched to initially address three standards in the area of metrics, job description and WP as a way of jump starting its longer term of work. 170 professionals within the staffing community- academics, research and consulting professionals, suppliers and vendors, etc. responded to the call for interest by the closing date of June 5. (As these standards get addressed and are offered for public comment there will be more opportunities to participate in new staffing standards- for those of us who like this sort of thing).

I'm leading the Staffing & WP Standards Task Force and expect announcements regarding the colleagues I've appointed for each of the staffing and WP standards initiatives will be in place this week. After discussions with them during next week's SHRM conference we hope the full task force meetings will begin in July.

If performance management is a part of your firm's or your function's DNA, you might want to consider (or share with a colleague that they should consider) getting involved. Unfortunately, SHRM's PR announcements could use more "call to action" language and resource links. So, just send a note to lee.webster@shrm.org and mention Performance Management Standards as your interest. He'll send you info on how to register.

Is Turnabout Fair Play? SEM for the Job Seeker

Gerry Crispin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:15:00 -0500

This blog (PRSquared) is an eye-opener.

The writer is a Principal in a PR firm, SHIFT. He was "targeted" on his Facebook page with an ad that said "SHIFT should hire me" and then went on to explain how the ad's author could help the firm.

Several other members of the firm also saw the ad on their Facebook pages.

You gotta love it. I'm adding it to my list of "disruptive" suggestions for job seekers.

This interesting note was passed on to me by Joe Shaker, Jr. Thanks Joe.

A Standing Ovation: Are You Ready for an MBA OATH!?

Gerry Crispin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:34:37 -0500

"As a manager my purpose is to serve the greater good by.... I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term...therefore , I promise..."

The idea of a Hippocratic Oath for the Business Grad is going to be ignored by many, scoffed at by nearly every GenXer and, perhaps even made the butt of a few jokes in the National Review but, most Boomers will not only get it, we'll applaud. (Personally, anyone who signs on to this and attempts to walk the talk in the next few years will get my complete support - not that any of them need it.)

Take a moment to look at the MBA OATH site and read the initial names signing the oath.

First of all, the names you'll see are individuals who represent half of Harvard's 2009 MBA Class (the daughter of my business partner, Mark Mehler, was among those who walked a week or so ago).

Second, most of these grads are not "fresh outs" but successful young business people and entrepreneurs with several years experience. Their idealism, while tempered by their experience, seems undiminished in what they are aspiring to achieve. (You can be sure that the back story on this movement will be interesting).

Finally, if these folks walk the talk, they will be mainstreaming a values driven approach in (principally) a For-Profit environment that in the past, only a small percentage of their colleagues would have even considered.

If you listen carefully you'll hear the sound of my hands clapping as I rise to congratulate them.

Collusive Restraint: I'm betting someone is going to jail.

Gerry Crispin — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:45:18 -0500

Cecilia Kang, writing in the Washington Post this past Wednesday, June 3, announced a Federal Antitrust Probe that is targeting Google, Apple, Yahoo, Genentech and more. Much more.

It might by you.

Remember how proud you were when you snagged that top performer from your company's biggest competitor? (And this was the third top pro your team won over from them this year.) They obviously were having retention problems as their new product pipeline emptied out.

Remember how worried your boss was? She kept asking if you were sure there were no legal non-compete contracts signed by the candidate (or other problems that the company's lawyers were going to have to deal with despite your assurances to the contrary). You knew you did your due diligence.

It wasn't long after that when word filtered down that we were going to "stop considering" candidates from three of our fiercest competitors...including the company you recently did all that sourcing work..."just for now", she said. There was no notice in writing. Word was quietly shared with the team. No mention was made about where the "decision" came from either but, it sure couldn't have been at your pay grade because...we were in a war for talent...right?

Did someone declare a truce?

Remember how ticked you and your team were, especially since you had been loading the CRM with prospects from all three firms. Several of them were ready to come over after nearly a year of building relationships via events, conferences and the like.

No you don't. You remember nooothiiiing! This scenario must have been a figment of your addled brain.

The concern expressed by the Justice Department is that the "practice" is industry wide. According to the article, "By agreeing not to hire away top talent, the companies could be stifling competition and trying to maintain their market power unfairly."

I don't think that is it at all. I think that as unemployment tops 10%, the public perception about firms that purposely hold their recruiters back from considering qualified candidates is going to play very well...and someone is going to go to jail.

I also don't think we are talking about "Industry Wide" here as code for IT Industry. This probe might rapidly escalate to the entire "Staffing Industry". And you can bet that if they really get serious and bring some heat to bear on the conversations that take place with third party firms, it will get ugly.

Not for anything but next you are told not to consider qualified folks from a firm where you have a "Nice" relationship, tell them to #%!@ off...in a "nice" way.

In business [in the US anyway] you cannot negotiate a truce with your competitors for talent any more than you can negotiate your product pricing.

National Task Force for Staffing Standards: Final Interest- June 5

Gerry Crispin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:41:14 -0500

June 5 [Friday] ends the initial call for volunteers interested in participating in the development of Staffing Standards that I wrote about a few weeks ago.

100+ professionals from nearly every segment of Staffing indicated an interest so far. Still, we are a bit short of academics among the category termed "developers" (not surprising) and few are "customers" i.e. hiring managers, job seekers etc.

If you know someone interested, the invitation that needs to be completed with RSVP form can be found here.

The Last Bastion of the Digital Divide May Have Fallen

Gerry Crispin — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:13:21 -0500

He has accounts on Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. He runs an Internet Forum on Yahoo and keeps in touch with the rest of his friends via email.

He is 37 and homeless. He lives under a bridge in NY City.

"Mr Pitts may lack a mailing address" according to a May 30/31 Wall Street Journal feature by Phred Dvorak but you can certainly find him virtually.

Roughly half of some 200 shelters in the city (run by various non-profits and the city itself) offer online access.

When was the last time you required a mailing address to make a hire? Gotta love it.