The Hiring Site » Mary Lorenz

Giving Your Employees Thanks This Holiday

2009-11-25T03:01:25Z

With Thanksgiving T-minus 33 hours, 47 minutes and 12 seconds away just around the corner, it’s time to embrace your inner-Charlie Brown and let your employees know how much you appreciate them. After all, showing that you’re grateful to your employees isn’t just goodwill, it’s good business practice – especially now.

“In any turbulent time, it is more important than ever for managers to make use of the powerful tool of recognition,” say Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton in their best-selling management book, “The Carrot Principle.”

Based on a 10-year study of 200,000 managers and employees, “The Carrot Principle” discusses how the most successful managers have one thing in common: they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. Effective recognition, they found, leads to lower turnover rates and enhanced business results.

They also found that 79 percent of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving. This doesn’t bode well for employers who are hoping to hold on to their top talent as America pulls out of a recession and the job market starts to recover.

According to the authors’ Web site, recognition is most effective when it is positive (no discussion of how the job could have been done better or how far the employee has come); immediate (occurring right after an employee’s actions warrant it); close (presented to the employee among peers); specific (pointing out specific behaviors that reinforce company values); and shared (praise is given from peers as well as leadership).

The book also offers 125 ideas for motivating employees, including the following:

Give an award that keeps on giving all year long: a subscription to the person’s favorite magazine. If the magazine provides a message line on the address label, mention the employee’s achievement there, along with your thanks.
Send out one handwritten thank you note a day to someone who has helped you. You’ll be surprised to find that you never run out of people to thank.
The best awards align with employee interests. Whenever you visit your people, write down the things you learn about their interest.
Give a day pass to an employee’s favorite golf course, ski resort, or spa.
Hire a personal chef to prepare dinner for an employee and her family for a night.
While you are away on business, arrange recognition for the employees who stay behind. Prepay for lunch to be brought in by a local restaurant, or have the cafeteria deliver coffee and fresh pastries one day.
Bring in a masseuse and a massage chair and provide free massages. Employees will feel the benefits of recognition in their very shoulders, which carry such burdens for you.
Solicit an employee’s input on a current project. Trusting someone’s judgment and then acting on it is one of the greatest compliments you can give a person.
Post letters of praise from clients and colleagues on a bulletin board in a high-profile location.
Ask your company president to write a personal note to an employee who has made a remarkable contribution. Then have it sent to the employee’s home. A handwritten note from the president is thoughtful and will be treasured forever.
The next time one of your folks makes a mistake in an effort to move forward in unfamiliar territory, reward it. By rewarding the courage to try something new, you create a trusting environment where innovation can, and will, occur.

Also, check out even more recognition tips from around the Web:

HRWorld offers 25 Ways to Reward Your Employees, including offering them flex time, sending employees handwritten thank-you notes, giving out fake money that can later be redeemed for prizes, and sending out company-wide announcements of jobs well-done.
Five Tips for Effective Employee Recognition from About.com – including what NOT to do when recognizing employees.
10 No-Cost Ways to Recognize Employees, courtesy of The Recruiters Lounge, with 3 “bonus” ideas.

Last but not least, always remember that cash often comes second to genuine awards and recognition, a lesson perhaps best illustrated in the clip below (via The Target Group, Inc.):

How are you recognizing your employees this – or any – time of year? (Bonus: Tell us on our Facebook page for a chance to win a free T-shirt!)

Smores and Social Media: Food for Thought

2009-11-24T16:05:45Z

In the grand tradition of merging words to create portmanteaus (e.g. “chocoholic,” “truthiness,” “Brangelina,” and – most recently and unfortunately– “Speidi“), there now comes “smores.”

Smores, or “social media whores,” as explained by blogger Mark Allen Roberts in his article, Beware of Smores: Social Media Whores, are “self professed social media experts who take large retainers from unsuspecting clients, they over promise and under deliver.”

Michelle Spellerberg, Marketing Director of CareerBuilder’s consulting arm, Personified, passed the article on to me, summing it up this way:

How to spot a “smore” (social media whore):

If someone in the social media space tells you that social media is “free”…you may be dealing with a smore.
If you meet with someone in the social media space and they want to talk about “putting you out there” without discussing goals and some measurement of those goals…you may be dealing with a smore.
If you meet with someone in the social marketing space and they talk about putting you “everywhere” as opposed to strategically placing you in outposts based on your market and buyer persona’s…you may be dealing with a smore.
If you meet with someone in the social marketing space and they do not spend the time on the upfront to understand your brand and your brand promise….you may be dealing with a smore.
If you meet with someone in the social media space who says you can’t expect a return on your social marketing investment…you may be dealing with a smore.

Now, as you may or may not be aware, CareerBuilder offers employers a solution to help them create and build a social media presence for the purpose of recruitment and employment branding. Our consultants use their extensive knowledge in employment branding, data analysis, recruitment and the social networking space to assist clients as they navigate the world of social media recruiting. That said, we’re proud to say that, by Robert’s definition, we’re not just a bunch of smores (as delicious as it may sound to call ourselves that). Spellerberg explains:

CareerBuilder’s social media offerings help clients with their recruitment and employment branding goals. Our services deliver results, not just flair. We consult with clients on the best practices in social media and help them implement a social media strategy that is integrated with their current recruitment plan.

We discuss which sites meet their needs and tell them to start with one and then strategically select their next site, depending on their candidate or business needs. We work with them to set metrics, such as tracking traffic to their Web site or Careers page, tracking number of fans or followers, or setting up link shortening to track clicks on posts and tweets. We also work with them to develop a strategy that they can mange: not too big, not too small.

It takes time, content, and dedication to manage a successful social media presence. CareerBuilder doesn’t promote lots of bells and whistles to make social media work; we stick with the proven basics of driving fans/followers and creating engaging content that adds value to readers’ in their careers and daily lives.

Heavier Workloads + Longer Hours x Strained Resources = Low Employee Morale

2009-11-18T16:19:14Z

If the recession seems to have taken a toll on your workplace morale, you’re hardly alone…

A new CareerBuilder survey, released today, indicates that nearly a quarter of employers (23 percent) rate their organization’s current employee morale as low. According to Jason Ferrara, CareerBuilder’s Vice president of corporate marketing, low morale is an unfortunate side effect of this recession.

Additionally, 40 percent of workers report that they have had difficulty staying motivated at work in the last year, and 24 percent do not feel loyal to their current employer. These findings should alarm employers, who – if they don’t start working to engage and retain their current employees – could see some of their top talent leave for better opportunities as the job market recovers and more positions open up.

In order to proactively reduce feelings of low morale, organizations are stepping up their communication efforts, offering more employee recognition programs and providing more flexible work opportunities. (For more ways to increase morale, check out 8 Little Things that Make a Big Difference to Your Employees.)

In the survey, workers revealed the top factors that were contributing to low morale levels:

40 percent attributed their low morale to high stress levels at work is high
47 percent blamed an increased workload over the last six months
20 percent say that are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.

Another possible reason for the low morale levels? Nearly two-in-five workers (38 percent) felt there was departmental favoritism at work, and nearly 30 percent said they didn’t think their department was important to senior leadership. When asked what type of preferential treatment workers thought the favored department received, they said that they:

Tend to get higher pay
Receive more recognition by senior leaders
Have more flexibility in their work arrangements
Receive more funding/resources
Tend to have greater career advancement opportunities
Tend to have more training and leadership development opportunities
Are able to follow a more casual dress code
Are awarded with trips while other departments are not

Do you think there’s favoritism at your company? What steps are you taking to raise morale levels?

Leadership Development: Invest in the Best So They’ll Invest in You

2009-11-16T16:26:37Z

Last week, I listed the top traits recruiters and hiring managers look for when identifying their organization’s next leaders. Now, I’d like to follow up that post by discussing why now, more than ever, businesses need to put focus on developing their leaders (if they’re not already doing so) – and what areas they should concentrate on to get the best return on their investment.

Spending money on leadership development may seem like a lot to ask during a time when budgets are already tight, but it is critical that employers invest in ways to engage and retain their leaders right now, according to Elizabeth Craig, a research fellow at the Accenture Institute for High Performance in Boston, in a recent Business Insight podcast.

Unfortunately, businesses tend to see employee training and development programs as an expense, making these programs among the first to go when companies look for ways to cut costs. On the contrary, it is these very programs – these investments – that will better position companies’ competitive standing when the economy turns around. (Need a few more reasons to invest in leaders? We got five right here.)

Because executives have been shown to leave their companies when market conditions improve and more job opportunities open up, now is the time for companies to give them a reason to stay. The best way to retain these employees, Craig says, is to provide learning and development opportunities that will not only engage your best people and compel them to stay with you, but help you better attract new talent down the road.

Based on research Craig conducted with colleagues on executive satisfaction levels (which you can read about in more depth here) companies that offer the following opportunities for executives see a higher retention rate:

Opportunities to work on challenging tasks and to take on more responsibility.
Opportunities to broaden their skills by exposing them to operations outside their areas of expertise, and providing training to polish their business skills.
Opportunities to cultivate relationships with their peers, enabling them to learn from their peers and increase visibility. As a bonus for the company, it also enables them to increase their understanding and collaboration among various business units.

What steps are you taking to invest in your leaders?

Employment News for the Week of November 13

2009-11-13T16:35:53Z

While you were busy getting suspended for your “wild” Bengals haircut, threatening to walk off the set of “Larry King Live”, or making a case for “Bikini Fridays,” here’s what was happening in the world of hiring and recruiting this week…

Things are growing in Michigan, and we’re not just talking about jobs…
Should we expect a Facebook invite? President Obama is holding a jobs forum in December.
Twinterns are so eight months ago.
If you’re not among these 25 cities…well, there’s always Q2…
The Obama administration puts the veterans back into Veterans Day.
If workers could just not get sick, that would be greeeeeeaaat…Yeah…
Employers find temporary help to get over their fear of commitment.
Want to be a better boss? Reading this would be a good start…
When it comes to its sick leave policy, Wal-Mart’s got some ‘splainin’ to do. And finally…
Now 40 years young, Sesame Street’s lessons still relevant – even for managers. Here, lessons on how NOT to manage.

We Asked, You Answered: How Do You Identify a Leader? A Top 10 List

2009-11-25T03:02:25Z

(Actually, this list is one better than a “top 10” list, because it goes up to 11.)

Last week, readers, I challenged you to tell me what qualities you consider most important when identifying new leaders. I guess this question struck a chord, judging by the number of passionate responses I received in general, and the number of responses that referenced how a leader emerges during times of uncertainty in particular.

No doubt several of you were drawing on your own experiences from these past several months, as you witnessed those around you being forced to make tough management decisions, seeing who emerged as true leaders – keeping employees motivated, adapting to stay ahead in a difficult economy, thinking outside the box to keep business going – while perhaps witnessing others “falter and fail,” as one commenter put it.

While sorting through the over-200 comments, there were several words that emerged over and over again to describe leaders. Here, I give you the most frequently mentioned leadership characteristics - and a few of the reasons given for singling these traits out.

Readers’ Choice: Top 10 11 Leadership Characteristics

Vision “A leader is someone that has vision. Someone that sees what is possible, not what is expected. Someone that sees the good in staff and promotes it, not the faults and prays on them. Someone who sees leadership as an honor…not just a responsibility.” – Michael Asbill
Integrity “Integrity is the most important attribute. Leaders must have vision, passion, commitment, charisma, great communications skills, and on through the list. But without being true to their principles (even when they think nobody is watching) they send the wrong message and lose their follower’s trust.” – Ron Boatright
Communication “I look for a manager with outcome-focused communication skills that builds trust amongst their staff, shares their knowledge and seeks feedback from associates. This allows a good manager to connect with their staff and helps create an understanding, support and acceptance critical to an organization’s success.” – Shelley Drosts
Creative – “In this day and age, creativity and ingenuity are certainly stressed, as uncertain economic times and other variables increase the need for thinking outside the box and the ability to shake off old paradigms or ways of thinking in order to innovate, improve, and lead.”- Daniel Hewitt
Inspire – “Maya Angelou once said, ‘People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But they will never forget how you made them feel.’ I think this is a great template for a leader…I think a leader is one who nurtures and encourages and inspires an employee to not only do what he/she is supposed to do but to feel better about themselves as a person and feel better about themselves as an employee.” – Robert
Motivate “Leadership is the ability to steer the ship during good and bad times. To make unpopular decisions that are right for the business in good and bad economies. To keep people to motivated to want more when business is good or bad.” – Susan
Courage “We expect the most from our employees at all levels. We expect them to have the courage to take risks, be bold on behalf of our clients, own their actions and look fearlessly to the future and the possibilities it holds.” – Susan Leverentz
Confidence “We continue to find that the most effective leaders are the ones who realize and accept that they cannot have all the answers, cannot do all the work, and will rise with the overall success of their teams. The challenge is often to find leaders with less management experience who have attained this level of self-confidence.” – RDL
Integrity “A great leader is someone whom others seek to follow. What does that look like? The leader will ooze uncompromising integrity. Those around him are proud to be associated with him.” – Jill Smedley
Passionate “The best leaders are those who are passionate about their work, what they represent and their ability to spread that passion by leading and motivating others in the organization to increase productivity.” – Lori
Adaptable “Able leaders respond rather than react to uncertain times. Additionally, they are not easily shaken by setbacks. They find unique solution to unfamiliar problems and they look at challenges as an opportunity to learn and grow.” – Dominic Moore

Any further thoughts? You can read all comments from the previous post here…and stay tuned for my follow-up post on ways to retain your best leaders, and why now is the most critical time to do so.

Better, Faster, Stronger: Keys to Conducting a More Efficient Candidate Search

2009-11-11T19:10:44Z

Well aware that searching for quality job candidates can often be – to borrow a phrase from one of the best TV shows of all time – “about the most fun you can have without having any fun,” CareerBuilder recently released, “Better Recruitment Starts with Better Search: CareerBuilder’s Search Smart eBook.”

This quick and easy read – available for a free download below – is essentially a guide for making candidate searching as painless a process as possible.

As the economy makes its way to recovery, your organization may find itself with an urgent need to re-grow staff in order to keep up with increasing demand. “Search Smart” provides tips and tricks you can use to conduct an easier, faster and more effective resume database search – and find the perfect candidate when time is of the essence.

Searching for candidates doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming, but it can be if you’re not going about it the right way. ”Search Smart” explains what you need to know to get the most relevant results – in the shortest amount of time – when conducting a resume database search, including:

Why candidate search today requires a different approach than a decade ago, and how to rethink the way we search for talent.
How to understand and effectively use the technology within the resume database for faster and easier search.
The advantage of using search in a world that relies increasingly on social media recruitment tactics.
The difference between keyword and concept search, and how to use both techniques together and more efficiently.
How to avoid common mistakes to take the time and labor out of resume databse searches.

If you’ve ever been frustrated or disappointed when conducted resume database searches – whether you’re not getting the quality or quantity of results you need or find it too time-consuming – you should take a look at this eBook.

Click on the image below to view or download your free copy of CareerBuilder’s Search Smart eBook.

Employment News for the Week of November 6

2009-11-06T16:58:47Z

This week, while you were busy collecting your 27^th World Series title, debating whether or not to move your syndicated talk show to cable, or observing the anniversary of the invention of time travel, here’s what you may have missed in the world of hiring and recruiting…

Worker productivity, company profits surge in the third quarter. (So why aren’t we more excited?)
As office thermostats go down, so too does worker productivity.
Some people will do anything to get out of that 8 a.m. meeting….
Turns out, there IS a way to get your employees to work for free.
What’s almost as awkward as running into your colleagues at Burning Man?
And we wonder why H1N1 keeps spreading...
Help wanted. (Just not the help of any of the millions of available job seekers.)
At least there’s some good workplace-related news.

Bridging the Gap: Employment Branding Across Generations

2009-11-05T19:27:21Z

Your mama may not dance, and your daddy might not rock’n’roll…but that doesn’t mean they’re all that different from you – especially when it comes to evaluating prospective employers.

Despite the supposed “generation gap” that exists in the workforce, Gallup research has found that certain factors – such as management quality, compensation, quality team dynamics and career development – are valued equally across generations when it comes to prospective employers.

For those differences that still exist, however – both in what these groups want and in how they search for jobs – here’s a breakdown of what to keep in mind when branding yourself to these various age groups.

MILLENIALS
Generation Y, or “the Millennials,” are people born roughly between 1982 and 2004. The strongest defining characteristic of the Gen Y group is their technology-driven lives.

What to Emphasize When Recruiting These Workers
Millenials get a bad rap for their supposed attitudes of entitlement, but they just want what any other worker wants – to be challenged and to do work they’re proud of. But because they lack the professional experience of their older counterparts, they might find themselves easily frustrated when relegated to menial ‘entry-level’ tasks. For this reason, opportunities for rapid career advancement are very important for to generation, as well as good pay and benefits and great training programs, all characteristics shared by BusinessWeek’s Best Places to Launch a Career:

Great pay and benefits: Last year, Deloitte, which boasts the top spot on BusinessWeek’s list, offered hiring bonuses to 90 percent of their new hires, for an average bonus of $5,102. Additionally, it’s common practice for these ‘best places’ to offer tuition reimbursement, 401(k) options, flex time and paid time off.
Top-notch training programs. Cisco Sytems’ new hire training program includes a week-long orientation with various managers across 30 departments, enabling new employees to then select which managers they would like as their own as part of a “matching program.” Because of this system, new hires enjoy an immediate sense of ownership in their new roles. It’s also probably why a remarkable 98 percent of new hires are still with Cisco after two years.
Opportunities for rapid advancement: Every Ernst&Young employee participates in a formal mentoring program – perhaps helping to explain why most entry-level hires are eligible for a promotion and a raise within the first year.

Where to Find Them
Social networking is a part of this generation’s daily routine, so smart companies utilize various social networking sites to get in front of these candidates – using these platforms to post jobs, informational videos, podcasts and content, as well as interact with job seekers. (Learn about how Deloitte uses social media for both recruiting and retention purposes.)

Offline, these companies make use of their partnerships with college campuses. In 2008-2009, for example, Teach for America recruited on 471 undergrad campuses and made job offers on 379 of them.

GENERATION X
Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X tend to be skeptical, pragmatic and practical, self-reliant, independent and individualistic, according to PsychologyToday. Like Gen Y, they are well-versed in technology, but have a few years of professional experience behind them, as well.

What to Emphasize When Recruiting These Workers

Stability: This generation is attracted to companies with strong portfolios, plans for the future, and proven longevity.
Corporate culture: Gen X thrives on diversity, responsibility, honesty and creative input. They like a casual, friendly work environment, seek challenge, involvement and flexible learning arrangements.
Work-life balance and flexible work arrangements: Many are working parents, so they seek assistance from their employers to care for both growing children and aging parents.

Where to Find Them
Generation X is more likely to use job boards, professional or trade association Web sites or visit individual company Web sites to search for jobs than Gen Y, as well as tap into their networks of friends, family and former colleagues. That said, it’s important that you not only communicate the benefits of working at your company clearly, but that you do so continuously, in order to maintain brand awareness.

BABY BOOMERS
Born between 1946 and1964, the Baby Boomer work ethic is characterized by dedication, loyalty and a willingness to stay in the same job for a long time. They have a lot to offer businesses with their work and life experience, skills and knowledge that many younger people can’t offer. They tend to work longer hours – and respect is paramount when managing a Baby Boomer.

What to Emphasize When Recruiting These Workers
Money is not necessarily the most important factor for seniors. Raised with a strong work ethic, these workers enjoy recognition and support for their efforts. Because they’re also thinking toward the end of their career, retirement benefits and flexible work arrangements are important to them. Focus on the following aspects of your company when talking to these workers:

Recognition programs
Health and retirement benefits
Flexible work arrangements (such as flexible scheduling, job-sharing, and phased retirement)

Where to Find Them
Cornell University, AARP’s Best Employer for Workers Over 50, uses placement agencies for older job seekers to successfully target mature workers and retirees. In addition, Cornell recruits from within its own ranks of retirees through the Cornell Retiree Association and the Cornell Association of Professors Emeriti. First Horizon, another ‘Best Employer’ on AARP’s list, also uses placement agencies for older job seekers and draws on a relationship it has cultivated with Senior Services of Memphis to locate and attract mature workers and retirees.

Keep in mind that, as noted above, certain qualities will always be attractive to job seekers, no matter what age group, and that no matter what, a cross-channel recruiting campaign – one that utilizes both online and offline resources – will give you the best chance for reaching the greatest pool of candidates.

Missed ASA’s Staffing World 2009? That’s No Reason to Miss Out….

2009-11-04T18:19:16Z

Missed the American Staffing Association’s Staffing World 2009 conference in Orlando, Fla. last month? (Or perhaps you were just tardy for the party…) No worries…

CareerBuilder’s Recruiter Business Unit was at the conference, and in knowing that many of you have been unable to attend many conferences this year, we’ve posted recaps from this, the largest and most recent staffing conference this year, on our YouTube page. Check it out for highlights from the showroom floor and key takeaways, including:

Interviews with keynote speakers Steven B. Wiley, Founder of the Lincoln Leadership Institute, and Joe Calloway, President of Engage Consulting Group
Interviews with ASA Executives Richard Wahlquist, Ed Lenz and Steve Berchem as they discuss current ASA and industry trends
Daily conference recaps and insider information from CareerBuilder directors

Check out a preview here, and then visit CareerBuilder’s YouTube page for more:

If you were at the conference, what did you think? Leave your thoughts here, and stay tuned to The Hiring Site for more conference highlights.