More information on this job can be found here.

More information on this job can be found here.

Kristy Terry, Recruitment & Marketing Assistant, Milestone Operations

There are several issues in modern day that affect the way we recruit. Here, we look at five most common problems and how to tackle them the 21st century way.

1. Building a dynamic workforce

The old saying goes that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always had. If you’re looking to grow your staff to fit an expanding business you’ll need to alter the way you recruit them by building your own network first.

By creating a Facebook page for your business the opportunity exists to connect not only with active job seekers, but also consumers. Brand advocates statistically become better employees, so if you approach recruiting with the long-game in mind, by getting your brand out there you’ll increase your chances of finding staff who really get behind what you stand for.

Failing that, somebody who loves your company might just be the one to recommend a great employee, even if it isn’t them.

2. Find people with the exact skill set you need

If you know exactly what your next recruit looks like, hit up LinkedIn. Handily, you can search across all users using certain key terms. You can seek out candidates through experience, special skill sets, who they’ve worked for… whatever specific you want to look for, you can find.

By approaching individuals rather than waiting for them to approach you you’ll have a far more targeted pool from which to recruit, and employees will feel both flattered and – should they end up getting the job – loyal to your effort in hiring them.

3. Getting to know the real interviewee

It’s one thing to think you’re hiring the dream employee, but the reality could be something entirely different.

The online social media profiles of your new recruit can reveal much about their true colors. It’s wise to Google prospective workers before hiring them – it’s surprising what you can learn. From drunken Facebook pictures to bitter Tweets, make sure you know all the faces of the person you’re thinking of hiring via the bottomless well of revelation that is the Internet.

4. Using your network

Most of your offline network will, like you, have an online presence. In the same way that when you’re recruiting you put the feelers out to your network at a business lunch, do the same on the Internet. From a simple Tweet that requests people RT, to “tagging” people into status updates and posts, don’t be shy about using the names of others to help in your recruitment drive.

A word of warning, though – social media isn’t designed for “takers.” You have to be prepared to help people in the same way that you need them to help you. So get RT-ing yourself!

5. Staff retention

Once you’ve gone through the laborious process of staff recruitment, you’ll want to keep them. There are a couple of ways to utilize new social media in order to do this.

Firstly: anonymous feedback. Through various, and normally free, online survey providers it’s entirely possible to email employees questionnaires and quizzes about the company, how it fulfills their expectations, ways to improve, things the business does well. By emailing it participants can fill it in from anywhere, if they want extra privacy they can do it at home. Ensuring your staff feels listened to and heard is instrumental to a happy workforce.

Secondly: use the company website to promote employees – if they do well, post it online, or profile a different employee about their job role every week or month and link to it a company bulletin. In the age of Twitter and Facebook it’s surprising how excited staff can be about something shareable, a URL they can send to family and friends.

09 May 2013, London – CRM productivity specialist Ebsta has developed and launched a dedicated tool for Bullhorn, the global leader in recruiting software. The move is in response to high demand from Bullhorn users for a dedicated Ebsta add-on that can follow them around the web and increase their productivity while they work outside of the Bullhorn CRM/ATS.

The new tool is a huge success and Ebsta has already signed up more than 50 recruitment agencies in the last six weeks including leading energy recruiter, Spencer Ogden.

Ebsta founder and CEO Guy Rubin comments: “Bullhorn is fast becoming the standard in recruitment software and entire businesses are being built on the back of its open API. If you’re not working with the best then you’ll be left behind – the rule applies to software developers and recruiters alike! Bullhorn is now a global brand and that means that its partners have access to a global market.

“Bullhorn’s API maturity means we can offer customers a better, deeper integrated experience, which has actually seen the price per user drop.”

Early Ebsta for Bullhorn sales are not just concentrated in the UK, with activity also seen in America, Australia and other territories around the world.

Peter Linas (left), Bullhorn’s international MD notes: “Recent Bullhorn research shows that recruiters are spending more time on social networks than ever before as they search for the best candidates. Now a recruiter can remain in LinkedIn or Twitter while accessing core Bullhorn functionality at the click of a button. Information can be added to distribution lists, tearsheets or task lists for example, without a recruiter ever leaving the social network in question. This results in time savings, which equals cost savings.”

Rubin concludes: “At this early stage we’re already seeing a 70 per cent win rate amongst Bullhorn users that have undertaken the free trial. Feedback has centred around the return on investment primarily resulting from a reduction in ‘cut and paste’ administrative work – not what any recruiter wants to spend their day doing!”

The Ebsta for Bullhorn free trial can be accessed by clicking here.

-ENDS-

For more information, comment or interview opportunities, please contact:

TopLine Communications
bullhorn@toplinecomms.com
+44 (0)207 580 6502

About Bullhorn

Bullhorn creates software and services that help recruiters put the world to work. For over ten years our innovations have powered the recruiting and staffing operations of fast-growing start-ups up through the world’s largest employment brands. Headquartered in Boston, with offices in St. Louis, Vancouver, London and Sydney, Bullhorn’s recruiting CRM and social recruiting products serve more than 10,000 clients representing nearly 200,000 users across 150 countries.

For more information on the Bullhorn Marketplace, please click here, and click here for more information on Bullhorn Reach.

For more information on Bullhorn’s core ATS and CRM platform, please visit: www.bullhorn.co.uk

About Ebsta

Ebsta consists of a small team of developers, designers, dabblers and doers hell bent on building cool sales productivity apps for the front line.

Ebsta provides apps for sales people and account managers that ensure they never have to stop what they’re doing to reference or update a CRM.

For more information on Ebsta, please visit: www.ebsta.com

Challenger Job Market Analysis
While Millions Remain Jobless, Labor Shortages Threaten to Derail Economy

CHICAGO, May 16, 2013 – Rising quit rates and fewer job seekers vying for open positions could signal a return to the types of labor shortages that plagued employers during the dot.com boom. While widespread talent shortages are probably five to ten years away, some regions and industries already may be feeling the pinch, according to the workplace authorities at global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

“With 11.6 million Americans still unemployed as of April, it may be difficult for most to contemplate labor shortages. However, it is important that not all of the unemployed reside where jobs are being created at the fastest rate and many lack the skills required to fill the openings that exist. These two factors alone make skill shortages a reality right now for some employers,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“As the economy continues to improve and more people find employment, labor shortages will only worsen; accelerated by an aging workforce that may not necessarily enter traditional retirement, but will alter their career path to the extent that it will prove disruptive to the companies that have employed them,” he added.

Challenger pointed to the latest jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as evidence that it will become increasingly difficult for employers to attract and keep the best talent. The April employment situation report showed that payrolls experienced a net increase of 165,000. However, that figure from the BLS merely shows the difference between the total number of jobs added and the total number lost as a result of layoffs, terminations, retirements, people quitting, etc. For the number of Americans actually hired in a given month, Challenger turns to the BLS job openings and labor turnover survey.

In March, the latest month for which data is available, the nation’s employers hired 4,259,000 new workers. That was down from the previous month, when 4,451,000 Americans were hired. However, the hiring levels tracked by the survey typically fluctuate significantly from month to month. Overall, hiring levels have steadily risen since falling to a recession low in June 2009, when only 3,626,000 workers were hired during the month.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Over the past year, employers have hired an average of 4,320,000 workers per month. While that remains well below the 5,257,000 hires per month averaged during the pre-recession years of 2005 through 2007, hiring may not need to reach the pre-recession level for employers to begin experiencing labor shortages.

The difficulty filling positions that some employers are already experiencing can be seen in the rising number unfilled job openings at the end of each month. The latest BLS survey reveals that there were 3,844,000 job openings at the end of March, virtually unchanged from the 3,899,000 openings still available at the end April. Again, significant monthly fluctuations notwithstanding, the number of job openings at the end of each month has been steadily increasing since mid-2009. 

Barbara Bruno, President, Good as Gold Training, HRSearch

It is a candidate-driven market and candidates are accepting counteroffers in record numbers. There are things you can do to reduce this situation from happening to you.

This article will help you:

• Identify the real reason someone will change their job
• Address counteroffers during an interview
• Reduce counteroffers, starting immediately

Put yourself in the place of the employer, who has just received a two-week notice from a key employee. They are surprised by the decision of this employee to leave. In addition, they need to know the answer to the question, why?

Once the employer gets over the shock of the resignation, panic sets in. “How am I going to replace this person?” Some employers will immediately respond, “What would it take for you to change your mind?” Usually, they are willing to meet the demands of their employee. Others actually conduct a search, and when they realize how difficult it will be to replace this person, they revert to the counteroffer.

This employer knows your candidate better than you do. After working together for a period of time this employer knows how to get to this person. For those of you who are married, does your spouse know how to instantly make you angry? Do they know how to instantly make you happy? It is basically the same concept in an employer/employee relationship. Another trend that has become prevalent is extending the counteroffer on the thirteenth day of a fourteen-day notice.

After a period of time your candidate forgets their real reasons for considering a change in the first place, and succumbs to the pressure.

How Do You Identify the Real Reason Someone Will Change Jobs

Understand the real reasons currently employed job seekers will go through the trauma of a change. If their only reasons are advancement and money, chances are they will accept a counteroffer. The best way to surface their hot buttons is to ask them, “If you were your boss, what changes would you make at your current company to improve your job/position?” This question will uncover their real reasons for considering a career move. They most likely have been mentally quitting for quite some time. Counteroffers can’t solve these issues.

What Do You Do in Your Interview to Address Counteroffers

Inform every candidate you interview that they will get a counteroffer and they should expect it.

• When you are discussing counteroffers with your candidates, you must bring up the fact, “Why did it take threatening to quit for you to receive the promotion and raise you deserved?”

• Discuss future raises and promotions. Now that your employer has basically been forced to give you a promotion and raise, when do you feel will be eligible for another increase? Will they give another promotion to someone who they knew was interviewing?

• When you are conducting your first interview draw a box on your application form. Inform your candidate, “You will be receiving a counteroffer from your current company, everyone does.” “What would you like me to say to you to bring you back to this exact moment in time, when you realize a career change is in your best interest?”

It is much more effective to use your candidate’s words than to come up with your own opinions why the counteroffer is not good for their career.

Why You Will Drastically Reduce Counteroffers Starting Today

Realize your job begins after the offer is extended. Never underestimate the pressure that will be placed on your candidate once they have handed in notice. You must walk them through their resignation, give them samples of resignation letters, and talk to them daily throughout the entire two-week notice. It is extremely important to bring them in to fill out tax papers and benefit information, take them to lunch or have their new supervisor or manager invite them to lunch and keep in touch. This will help to maintain their enthusiasm about their decision to accept your position.

Follow this advice and you will dramatically reduce counteroffers.

More information on this job can be found here.

JPMorgan Chase seeks to do business with suppliers who provide the best price, quality and capability to meet our business needs.  With 280 team members in 11 countries, our Sourcing and Procurement Services (SPS) organization works proactively with line of business colleagues to identify capable suppliers, lead the competitive sourcing process and negotiate and contract with the chosen suppliers.  Leveraging firm-wide buying power and controlling risk are consistent overarching goals. SPS then ensures that the contracted goods and services can be obtained by our employees in an efficient, cost-effective manner globally.

NEW YORK – May 15, 2013 – There is never a good time to offer or accept a counteroffer because they are generally a sign of a dysfunctional relationship, say experts at Harris Allied, an executive recruiting firm.

“Employees should know that their employer is going to start looking for their replacement soon after they accept their counteroffer because they know the loyalty has eroded,” says Kathy Harris, managing director of Harris Allied. “Additionally, employees will fare better if they accept the new job they were offered versus taking the counteroffer to stay at their current firm, because there were likely good reasons they embarked on their job search in the first place.”

Harris says that where employers are concerned, prevention is the best medicine. “Employees leave jobs most often for reasons other than compensation. An employer can retain key talent by offering their employees ample opportunities for career and professional development,” says Harris. “Tuition reimbursement, senior management mentoring, leadership training, as well as opportunities for internal and external recognition, can also play a role in keeping employees happy and preventing them from looking for a new job.”

According to the recent Harris Allied Tech Hiring and Retention Survey, 58.1% of senior executives, hiring managers and team leaders said that they offer opportunities for professional development and career advancement as their most valuable retention tool.

Just as important, when an employee accepts a counteroffer, it is based on the hope that their employer will make good on something or because the company is in a state of flux and can’t risk losing key talent at a pivotal time. “But hope is not a strategy,” says Harris.

Harris offers the following guidance to employees to preclude the need for a job search in the first place by encouraging them to take responsibility for carving out their own career paths:

• Before looking for a new job, look for opportunities within your current firm to take on additional responsibility that will allow you to advance your skills.
• Be proactive. Get in the loop on what the company is doing and what new initiatives are underway.
• Always learn and embrace new technologies.
• Look for opportunities internally that will allow you to work across divisional projects, on bigger teams, and that will afford you greater exposure to senior management.
• Talk to your team leader or HR department about what professional development opportunities exist. Look into their training programs or tuition reimbursement benefits.
• If you’re itching to look for a new job because you want to earn more money, ask for more responsibility that is commensurate with a higher salary.
• Communicate clearly about what your professional goals are to your team leader. This will allow them to better plot out your job responsibilities and assign projects that are aligned with your objectives.
• Lose the chip on your shoulder and have the conversation about what you need or any issues of concern. Don’t wait for the annual review period to have the tough conversation. It’s far easier than you think and certainly easier than looking for a new job.

“Our Harris Allied Tech Hiring and Retention Survey revealed that more than 40 percent of employers would not try to intervene to retain an employee if they learned that one of their people is being pursued, so employees should never bank on that counteroffer. Take the steps now, in advance, to ensure your own career success and consider a job change as only one option to that end,” notes Harris.

About Harris Allied
Harris Allied provides premier executive search, technology and quant analyst placement services to the financial services, professional services, consumer goods, digital media and tech industries. The firm represents clients who are at a variety of growth stages: from tech start-ups to established industry leaders. Harris Allied’s client-centric approach allows the firm to objectively assess the strengths of qualified candidates and thoughtfully match them with the right opportunities.For more information visit www.harrisallied.com. To view Harris Allied’s corporate video, “For Each of Us, It Starts with a Moment,” visit www.youtube.com/harrisallied.

Learn more here: http://www.therecruitingconference.com