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Archive for Recruiting

Whether Filling a Job or Finding a Job – Make Time to Assess Needs

One of the things that helps me in my coaching work is that I have experience working on both sides of the talent equation. I’ve worked in recruiting for large organizations and have consulted with business leaders about effective hiring strategies and processes during my entire career. I’ve also worked with individuals at all career levels to help them create a results-oriented job search plan and powerful personal marketing tools.

What I’ve noticed along the way is that there are several things that hiring managers and job seekers have in common. And when these things are not addressed early on, they can have a negative impact on bringing together the right person and the right job at the right time. I’ll be talking about these commonalities over the next couple of months and making suggestions on how you – as a hiring manager or as a job seeker – can avoid them.

The rush to fill a job

When someone leaves, especially when they’ve been in their role for a while, it creates a gap that the manager is understandably anxious to fill. The work needs to get done and remaining employees are already stretched and/or don’t have the appropriate skills to fill in. So, typically the first order of business is to dig out the old job description and get the opening posted as soon as possible.

But wait a minute. Jobs shift over time based on the needs of the team and organization, and often based on the person filling the role. Is what you needed when the job description was created what you need now and into the future to support company goals?

Before you rush to post, take the time to review the job description and conduct a needs assessment before you start the recruitment process. It will help ensure that you find the right talent for your needs.

The rush to find a job

It’s a similar situation for job seekers. Although it’s a best practice to keep your resume up to date, for many people it’s a last-minute scramble when the pressure is on to find a new job. So, they tack their latest job experience onto their resume and launch it into job seeker space hoping to attract something, anything. In today’s job market this is short-sighted and often has disappointing results.

Before you start your job search it’s important to gain clarity around what you want to do next, where you want to do it, and what that looks like, i.e., your work environment. I call this creating your Career Vision and it’s a critical first step for a successful job search.

If you need help creating your Career Vision or any other aspect of your job search, please consider my Career Coaching Services .

Whether you want to move up where you are, change employers or transition to a new career, I can help you navigate the process and achieve your goal.

Contact me today and schedule a meeting to learn how my services can help you. https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr. You can also reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Lead the Way to Diversity and Inclusion

Numerous studies have shown that organizations who are proactive about diversity and inclusion perform significantly better than those who are not. A Harvard Business Review study showed that companies with higher than average diversity had 19% higher revenues in innovation. A McKinsey & Company study found that organizations with gender-diverse executive teams are 21% more likely to outperform others in profitability. And 43% of companies with diverse boards of directors show higher profits.

In addition to better financial performance, companies with a culture of diversity and inclusion have higher employee engagement and attract more talent. According to Glassdoor, 67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities.

And yet, Silicon Valley is still struggling to diversify its workforce. Despite a variety of programs to increase diversity, data in a recent Morning Consult article indicated that at Facebook, Twitter and Google less than 6% of employees are Hispanic and less than 5% are African-American. Likewise, their executive teams and boards are made up predominantly of White men.

So, what does it take for companies to be more reflective of our increasingly diverse society and to create more opportunities for diverse candidates at the top? It takes leaders who show the way.

One such leader is Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, who announced recently that he’s stepping down from the Reddit board and urging Reddit to fill his seat with a Black candidate.  He said on his Instagram site, “I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now.” Ohanian also pledged $1M to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.  Hear more of what Ohanian has to say about leading the way to increased diversity and inclusion both in hi-tech and in venture funding in this Instagram video interview.

If you need help in incorporating diversity into your hiring practices and/or culture, please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Walk the Talk: Creating a Culture of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

DiverseHowTo-1As competition for attracting and keeping top talent heats up, companies who demonstrate that they have a culture of diversity and inclusion will have a significant advantage. Not only are these companies likely to perform better financially, as we discussed in my last blog, they are also more likely to engage and retain their high performing employees. And…attract new ones!

According to LinkedIn Talent Solutions’ 2018 Global Recruiting Trends report, “diversity is the biggest game-changer” among recruiting trends for 2018.  Seventy-eight percent of their survey respondents indicated that diversity is very or extremely important in shaping their recruiting and hiring efforts for 2018.  And it’s not just diversity – it’s diversity, inclusion, and belonging, all key elements in attracting, engaging and retaining employees.

Companies are focusing their efforts on a wide definition of diversity, including gender (71%), racial and ethnic (49%), age/generational (48%), educational (43%), disability (32%), religious (19%) and other (6%).

Yet despite this focus, companies still have a challenge in attracting diverse candidates. Here are some things to consider as you work on making your candidate pool more diverse, and your culture one of diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Demonstrate your commitment to diversity through the images on your website and in recruiting collateral. Show that you walk the talk.

Review job posting language through the lens of diversity and inclusion. Words matter. Terms such as “rockstar, “ninja” or “guru” may discourage some perfectly qualified people from applying. Use gender neutral language. Sometimes it’s as simple as changing “manage” to “develop.” A recent KQED article noted that “if you say manage a team, the applicants are primarily male. If you say develop a team, it tends to be female. And when you say lead a team, it tends to be neutral.”

Emphasize the impact of the role. Studies show that men will apply for jobs when they meet only 60% of the requirements, whereas women don’t feel confident to apply unless they meet 100% of the requirements. Consider only including the must-have requirements (versus adding all of the nice-to-haves) and focusing more on the impact the candidate would make in the position.

Be sure diversity is reflected in your culture.  Consider incorporating things like time off for important holidays for diverse religions, providing parental leave, and implementing LGBTQ-friendly policies. Identify and eliminate workplace practices and attitudes that are anti-diversity-inclusion-belonging.

Confirm your commitment to diversity and inclusion on a regular basis by ensuring that teams, projects, promotions and other opportunities are open to the broader definition of diverse individuals – gender, ethnicity, points of view, sexual orientation, etc.

If you need help in incorporating diversity into your hiring practices and/or culture, please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

 

 

Compensation Step One – Developing a Pay Philosophy

Philosophy-1For the past couple of blogs, I’ve been talking about various aspects of HR planning and the importance of being proactive vs. reactive around people-related activities. One of the most important activities to plan for is compensation. What have you budgeted for compensation, and how will you allocate it for merit increases and adjustments needed to attract and retain the skills identified in your workforce plan?

Step one is clarifying your pay philosophy. A pay philosophy is a set of guiding principles that identifies compensation priorities, and supports organizational values and goals. It explains why the company makes the decisions it does about employee pay, and creates a framework for consistency across the organization. Although a pay philosophy will differ from company to company, all are aligned in the goal of attracting, retaining and motivating the best talent.

Some factors to consider in creating your pay philosophy are company size, financial position, level of difficulty in finding needed talent, the industry, and market salary data. An example might be that you know you have to pay a starting salary slightly above the market in order to attract the right people. Or, your financial position is such that you have to pay slightly below market, but make up for it with a more generous vacation benefit.

As you define your pay philosophy, be sure to consider total compensation – base salary, incentive pay, and benefits. Examples of incentive pay are bonuses, commissions, and profit sharing. Benefits may include medical, dental, and vision insurance; life insurance; paid vacation; leave policies and 401(k) programs. Some companies choose to match 401(k) contributions up to a certain amount, which is an attractive benefit. Recognition is another factor to consider, especially from the perspective of motivating employees. Recognition can include cash awards, or non-cash awards such as sports event tickets, travel vouchers or other “thank you” gifts.

Once you’ve defined your philosophy, commit it to paper and review it periodically to assess how it’s working and identify any changes needed based on changing company circumstances, the market or the economy in general.

If you need more information or need a sounding board as you create your philosophy, please contact me.

 

5 Ways to Attract and Retain Millennials

millennials-1Millennials (those people born between 1980 and 2000) are now the nation’s largest living generation, surpassing Baby Boomers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, it’s projected that by 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce.  This means that finding ways to effectively attract and retain them will become essential in keeping the wheels of your business churning!

Here are some tips for recruiting and keeping employees from this now-dominant generation.

Use social media.  To attract Millennials, you need to go where they are. And that’s on social media.  A recent article in Inc. Magazine said 66.7% of first time job seekers use social media to look for work.  Make sure your recruiting messages present your brand well, and are mobile friendly.  Anyone with a family member in this age group knows that their smartphone is a key source of information and communication.  Use the latest tools available, such as LinkedIn’s recruiting tools and video interviewing.

Give them insight.  Millennials want to work somewhere that provides stability and financial security.  A collaborative environment is also important to them. They care about company culture. Be sure your website and your social media presence convey a sense of what it’s like to work at your company.  Think about the images and content on those sites – do they accurately tell the story of who you are?

Show you care. According to a Deloitte survey, 60% of Millennials say they chose to join their current employer in part because of the organization’s sense of purpose.  Do you give back to your local community? Include that on your website and in your recruiting materials and messages. Also, consider giving employees time off to volunteer or matching their monetary donations.

Develop and grow them. Millennials are motivated by a competitive compensation package, professional development, and opportunities for advancement. Give them a clear vision of their career path and how they can advance. Provide training and mentoring opportunities.  They also prefer leaders who empower their employees, and who give them frequent, constructive feedback.

Provide flexibility.  Millenials favor work/life balance.  They want to work hard and get ahead, but they also want to have enough time to pursue their personal interests. Consider offering flexible work schedules.

Matching your recruitment efforts to the needs of Millennials will help ensure that you keep your candidate pipeline active!

Please contact me if you need more ideas or help in implementing any of these.

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