Tag: recruitment strategy

The Benefits of Gender Balance in Workforce Planning Strategy

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

image_04Pursuing gender balance is one of those small hiring changes that translates into enormous benefits. Beyond the virtue of gender equality, companies that diversify show greater efficiency, innovation and cold hard profit. It’s not a lofty goal – it’s smart strategizing.

Deeper Talent Pool

No manager would consciously slash their talent pool in half. The instant you start leveling the playing field, you broaden options and have a better chance of securing top talent.

Improved Performance

Men and women bring different viewpoints and psychological strengths to the table, and those viewpoints working together will create different personal synergies. A study by the Kellogg School of Management found that heterogeneous workgroups consistently out-perform homogenous ones [1].

Diversifying Leadership Styles

Just as you improve your problem-solving styles, you will also improve your leadership choices. Women often form leadership techniques very different from that of men. Having more management options allows you to harness the perfect fit for different teams.

Widening Your Customer Base

In order to appeal to more potential customers, your product development needs to incorporate different perspectives. Having your development teams mirror your customer base only makes sense.

A Better Bottom Line

The proof is in the numbers. One Gallop study found that across two industries, gender-balanced businesses improve their revenue by 16.5 percent above average compared to just 4.91 percent for unbalanced businesses [2]. Another study by Pepperdine University found that Fortune 500 companies that promote more women to executive management are 18 percent to 69 percent more profitable than their counterparts [3].

Smart Execution

Remember that regardless of gender, performance and skill should remain your top priorities. After all, women that feel they were hired because they are women will not be happy. Cultivate a business culture that is gender-neutral, motivating men and women to form working relationships and pursue goals equally. Your hiring strategy should encourage gender balance without disregarding merit.

Gender balance does not mean putting any one gender at the forefront. You are looking to balance the scales, hiring, and encourage and promote both genders equally. It is a smart choice for both your business and society as a whole.

 

[1] http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/better_decisions_through_diversity

[2] http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/166220/business-benefits-gender-diversity.aspx

[3] http://www.psmag.com/navigation/business-economics/profit-thy-name-is-woman-3920/

Hiring Quality Staff in a Down Economy

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image_01A struggling economy may sound like the bane of businesses, but it changes hiring into a buyer’s market. Your hiring pool is swarming with top talent, frustrated by layoffs, looking to be scooped up by big corporations. Take advantage while you can and fill your empty positions with quality hires.

Hire Strategically

An abundance of options gives you the opportunity to be discerning. Take your time screening and interviewing potential hires, and only offer positions to people that are a perfect fit for your company. Down economies are also more forgiving when it comes to hiring mistakes. Dismiss poor fits swiftly to avoid buyer’s remorse when the economy starts up again.

Trade Salary for Perks

If your company is looking to keep salary costs down but your best candidates are expecting premium pay, consider offering them perks to make up the difference. Access to a company car, the ability to telecommute a few days a week or extra vacation days can be an even bigger draw than a high salary for some candidates.

Be Wary of Over-Qualification

Candidates that are too good to be true on paper can be a hiring trap. Over-qualified candidates are desperate for work now, but when bigger and better opportunities open up, they are likely to start looking elsewhere. Unless you are willing to promote these candidates into a higher position to keep them, avoid the temptation of those glowing resumes.

Do Not Neglect Retention

Unhappy employees will start looking for greener pastures the moment the economy turns around. Anticipate the inevitable end of the recession by cultivating a happy, loyal staff when the going is rough. Showing open appreciation for hard work will go a long way with your valuable new hires and established employees.

By stacking your ranks with quality hires, your company will be a step ahead of the rest when the recession comes to an end. Be picky, be strategic and harness your blessings in disguise.

Hiring Strategies for New Graduates

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image_24Smart businesses need new talent to remain competitive. Attracting new college graduates with fresh perspectives, enthusiasm and ambition requires Human Resources to develop effective strategies for tapping this pool of talent. Recruitment should include methods for fine tuning mutual fit between candidates’ skills and company needs as well.

Identifying Student Groups

There are four groups of students that HR should target:

  • Broad student populations when a large number of similar positions are available
  • Specific majors that meet knowledge requirements for particular departments
  • Post-graduates for specialized or upper-level positions
  • International students with unique skills

High-touch tactics to reach these groups include career fairs, on-campus presentations, faculty recommendations and engaging alumni who already work for your company. These methods are more effective when coupled with the use of social media to communicate unique benefits your company offers. Apply your strategies at the sophomore and junior levels for pre-recruitment activities too.

Evaluating the NCG’s Fit for Your Company

As an enticement to NCGs to sign up and to ensure a good fit for their skills and the needs of the company, job internships are an ideal way to accomplish both goals. Unlike candidates who arrive with years of experience, NCGs may have unrealistic expectations regarding job requirements and responsibilities, which can be adjusted as they cycle through temporary positions.

Even if they were introduced to the company through summer internships, placing them in a full-time rotating internship program over six months to a year provides them and the company a mutual evaluation of skills, expectations and motivating factors. When managed correctly, these programs lead to well-integrated, satisfied and efficient employees.

It Is Not All about the Money

Any college graduate is eager to receive his first paycheck, of course. Salary is not the only incentive for fresh graduates, however. They also consider the non-monetary benefits. Top among these are health insurance, vacation and opportunities for professional growth. Popular among new college graduates are companies that offer comprehensive training and both upward and lateral mobility. So, make sure your NCG hiring strategy is tuned to meet these expectations as well.

Workforce Planning in a Booming Economy

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image_23A fast-growing economy puts pressure on any company’s workforce planning. As the unemployment rate in the U.S. dips toward 6 percent and productivity gains taper, there are fewer qualified candidates to fill a swelling number of open positions. Many HR departments must adjust their efforts in order to fill a widening gap between the supply and demand of new talent.

Re-Assessing Your Current Workforce Plan

There are many signs that the U.S. is finally heading out of its long recession. Your workforce planning efforts must identify the areas most affected should the economy take off.

  • Company projections for growth in the workforce may no longer be realistic. Ask what it would take to meet a surge in open positions. Perhaps an increase of contingent staffing for the short-term is in order.
  • Increased demand for employees also increases pressure on your retention policies. Review current retention policies, especially for your most valued employees.
  • Scrutinize how your company’s compensation and benefits packages compare to those of competitors. Look for creative benefits improvements that appeal to a younger generation of workers.
  • Re-evaluate new college graduate acquisition programs. A larger internal talent pool of graduates could be tapped as the economy grows. Perhaps your company can improve its university presence and expand internship and training programs.


Leveraging Information Technology

Automation and increased use of information technology has been unquestionably effective at improving productivity in many industry sectors. The application of IT is not typically a key expertise of an HR department, but associates should collaborate with other company groups to advocate for employing such resources in order to reduce headcount needs.

Maintain High Standards

As the economy grows and qualified candidates become harder to identify, HR must avoid the temptation to lower hiring standards in order to fill seats. Acquiring and retaining talented employees pays huge dividends in the long term where the focus of workforce planning should be. Early adjustments to your company’s workforce planning should take priority over settling for less qualified workers.

Best Practices for Recruiting Millennial Workers

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image_26Every effective human resources professional is also an accomplished sociologist.  The best practices for recruiting and retaining top talent changes from generation to generation.  This is especially true when it comes to what is known as the millennial or Gen Y generation.

Millennial Generation

The millennial generation refers to anyone that was born between the years of 1982 and 2002.  Just like previous generations, most millennials exhibit unique characteristics when it comes to pursuing a professional career.  Although income and security are important, millennials seem to be more interested in developing meaningful relationships and finding purpose in their personal and professional lives.

It’s estimated that Gen Y workers will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025.  Unlike the preceding generation, millennials aren’t necessarily interested in job security or spending an entire career with one company.  According to Undercover Recruiter, millennial workers are idealistic, ambitious, digitally proficient and diverse[1].  Over 70 percent of existing millennial workers intend to leave their job once the economy improves.

Recruiting Millennials

HR professionals are finding that developing a relationship with Gen Y job prospects is more effective than selling the salary and perks of a professional position.  Many companies begin networking with future job prospects early on in college.  Millennial job applicants rely on social media to research and get to know prospective employers.  Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be assumed that social networking alone is the answer to attracting talented millennials.

Millennial workers want to identify with the company they work for and be part of a company culture that promotes camaraderie and high employee morale[2].  They want to make a difference and be involved in the decision making process.  Employers are encouraged to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit, provide lots of feedback and understand that millennial employees are seeking opportunities to grow and advance.

Gen Y Stereotypes

As with any set of assumptions, the stereotypes generally attributed to the millennial generation won’t apply to every job prospect.  There are many exceptions to every rule.  Understanding the world view of millennials is crucial in today’s workforce environment, but identifying the aspirations of individual job candidates is far more important.  Finally, a company should never cater to millennials at the expense of an achievement oriented workforce culture.

 

[1] http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/how-to-recruit-millennials-your-company-infographic/

[2] http://www.findly.com/blog/how-to-recruit-and-retain-millennial-applicants/

 

Take Control of Your Employer Brand With Buyer Advertising

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In the fight for talent, a strong Employer Brand is your best weapon – it differentiates you from competitors, and helps you attract the right candidates. A strong Employer Brand can lower your cost per hire by 50% and can reduce your employee turnover rate by 28%.

Our Employer Brand development services include:

  • Brand Audits
  • Leadership Interviews
  • Employee Surveys & Focus Groups
  • External Audience Research
  • Competitive Analysis

For more than 47 years we have been helping our clients take control of their employer brands! Learn more about Buyer’s employer brand development services by clicking here or by viewing the video below:


 

How to Hire Motivated Employees

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image_18Talented, skilled, dedicated and motivated employees generate an incalculable return on investment for your business. Motivating current employees is hard enough, but it is far easier when your HR department recruits candidates who already show passion and pride in their current work.

Key Traits of Motivated Candidates

Search for recruits who will become engaged with your company by looking for the following characteristics:

  • The correct candidate has a record of initiative and seeing assignments through to the desired result.
  • Their resume displays a tendency to lead, whether through projects, teams, products or industry initiatives. These leadership positions may be technical or managerial.
  • The best candidates intrinsically view problems as invitations to work harder rather than impediments to progress.
  • Even the best employees make mistakes or encounter insurmountable obstacles. In the face of these, motivated employees maintain an irrepressible enthusiasm. Furthermore, they draw useful, positive lessons from such situations.

Are They Looking for Change for the Right Reasons?

Employees can become discouraged with little or no effort on the part of management. Ignoring their efforts, leaving them out of decision-making, using fear to motivate or failing to challenge their creativity are well-known ways to sap employee vigor.

Employees engaged in the company’s business are constantly looking to do more, to take on new projects, learn new skills or find ways to do their current tasks more efficiently. They become dissatisfied when these desires are thwarted or they are not allowed flexibility in how and when results are delivered.

Keep in mind such circumstances when discussing their reasons for considering a change of employers. These provide clues to whether the person feels they cannot spread their wings or that they are simply bored or looking for a larger paycheck.

Start Off on the Right Footing

Once you have identified your motivated recruit and have discussed pay, benefits and working conditions, be sure to uphold your end of the deal. If the employee does not feel that he or she is receiving what was promised, performance may be negatively impacted from day one.

 

Best Time of Year to Hire Resources

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

image_27Hiring new workers can be tricky. Owners have to walk that fine line between hiring too many people who then run out of work and not hiring enough people to get all of the work done on time. However, even when it is clear that you need more workers, knowing when to look for them can be difficult. Is there a prime time of year to bring on extra help?

For seasonal businesses, the answer is clear: As demand goes up, more workers have to be brought in, and they then have to be let go as the demand falls. If you run a company that cleans pools in the Midwest, you are not going to need anyone for six months of the year, but you need to drastically increase your workforce in the spring, when people are opening their pools back up, and during the summer.

For non-seasonal businesses, the spring may also be the best time of year, however. That is when most colleges let out, and so the job market will be flooded with new graduates. They are all going to be looking for positions in May and June, with the best employees being swept up right away. You can still find workers in July, August and September, but you may miss out on the workers that you really want. The ones who are left are those who were turned down at other places. There is also a minor surge in workers in early December due to students who graduate after the fall semester, but it is not as drastic.

It is worth noting that many students will start sending out resumes and applications in March and April, before they really graduate, to make sure that jobs are waiting for them. Hiring at this time can work; it all depends on your goals. If you are looking for the very best employees, finding them in advance is worth it, as you could offer them a position before they take one elsewhere. If you need employees who can start immediately, though, this may not work as well, seeing as how the people you hire may not actually be able to start for a few months.

Recruitment as a Form of Business Development & Sales

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image_13The single most important thing that a company can do when it comes to development over time is to focus heavily on recruitment. Whether building the company from the ground up or expanding it, having top talent in the industry is the best way to hit realistic goals and improve. This can help the company develop and react to the market so that it stays relevant and gives consumers what they want.

Recruitment can be aimed directly at development mainly by targeting the ways in which the company falls short and then focusing on addressing those needs when bringing in new employees. For example, a company looking to expand into a new market with a new demographic of potential buyers needs to have people with experience who understand that demographic. Trying to shift in the direction of selling to an older age group, for instance, means bringing in recruits who have worked with people in that age group before. They can then direct the company’s actions and help the business connect with these people so that the potential pool of buyers is truly increased.

However, expansion and development may not always be so clear-cut, and this is when companies need to search for visionary recruits who can help see what needs to be done to take things to the next level. Often, internal employees will be accustomed to doing things in one fashion that may have worked in the past, and so it will be hard for them see new opportunities. Creative new recruits can think outside of that box, meaning development is a constant process. The company can always be shifting and looking for new ways to adapt.

As new markets are opened up and new ideas are tested out, recruits who understand those markets and those buyers need to be brought in to work on the sales end of the operation. They will better understand the people they are selling to, so they will have more success than workers who have never focused on those areas. A company should always be recruiting in a way that fits the direction that the company itself is moving.

Staying Competitive While Retaining the Best Staff

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image_12In order to focus on retaining your best workers and staying competitive in the industry, you first need to look at why these employees tend to leave. When you understand what types of issues are forcing them out the door, you can concentrate on countering these concerns, so that employees stay with your company for the foreseeable future. While the myth is employees usually leave for more money, the truth is typically more complex.

To begin with, many employees switch companies simply because they are not receiving the treatment they desire. This might come down to supervisors with poor people skills. If employees feel like their supervisors are always bossing them around, being short and angry with their instructions, and generally adding to their level of stress, they may want to leave that environment even if it means taking a pay cut. In fact, Susan M. Heathfield reported on About.com that “a bad boss is also the number one reason why employees quit their job.[1]” In a case like this, your retention rates could go up simply by replacing that supervisor or instituting new policies that create a more positive working environment.

Similarly, employees sometimes leave because of conflict with other employees. Heathfield also pointed out that “second only to an employee’s manager, the coworkers with whom he sits, interacts, and serves with on teams are critical components of an employee’s work environment[2].” If other employees are aggressive and consistently mean to them, they could leave a job that they actually love because they cannot stand working with that person. The best way to put an end to this is to address it upfront. Look for small conflicts and have management and the HR department work to defuse them before they get serious.

Finally, some employees leave because of a lack of advancement opportunities. This can be tied to money, but it’s not always connected. An employee may take a lower-paying job somewhere else if they feel the job they currently have is just a dead end. People grow bored and frustrated when they do not feel like they are working toward a goal, and Heathfield advises employers, saying that “if you have an employee who acts as if they are [bored], you need to help her find her passion[3].” Make sure that employees always have room to grow and move up in the organization.

Of course, money always has to be considered. If your pay levels are not competitive in the market, you are going to lose workers. However, concentrating on the three keys above can help you retain many employees in the years to come.

 

 

[1] http://humanresources.about.com/od/resigning-from-your-job/a/top-10-reasons-employees-quit-their-job.htm

[2] http://humanresources.about.com/od/resigning-from-your-job/a/top-10-reasons-employees-quit-their-job.htm

[3] http://humanresources.about.com/od/resigning-from-your-job/a/top-10-reasons-employees-quit-their-job.htm