Archive for Recruitment

| October 23, 2012
One comment

Hiring Is Everything!

A Guest Post by Ben Eubanks

 

Recently I ran across a very interesting employee handbook for Valve, a small software company. The handbook talks about the culture and what it’s like working there in intricate detail, but one section really blew my mind.

At Valve, they don’t hire managers or have any supervisors. They simply have people working in different teams who manage themselves as they see fit.

 

If you’re anything like me, you probably said, “Wait a minute, that’s crazy!” or “It wouldn’t work at my company.”

And you’re right, because it wouldn’t. (This brings up another point that we don’t all want/need a building full of innovative thinkers with no limits, but that’s a post for another day!)

 

But at Valve, this system of self-management has worked for over 10 years.

 

How is that possible?  At Valve, “hiring is everything,” in their words.

 

They focus more energy on hiring people, and then they have to spend virtually no time managing or retaining them, because they’ve created a culture that employees love. Imagine for a second that there is a direct connection between time spent recruiting and time spent managing problem staff.

 

Would you rather spend eight hours now recruiting people who are a great fit for your organization or eight hours in the future managing the problems associated with poor hires?

 

You can pay now, or you can pay later, but either way you’ll pay.

 

I’m not sure about you, but I’d pick recruiting any day. It’s a great trade, because even if it doesn’t give you more time in the day, it still adds some stability to your workforce. It also helps to develop the strong ties necessary for a solid employment relationship.

 

On the flip side, spending that time on employee relations problems is sure to cause friction with your managers and work teams. Murphy’s Law (whatever can go wrong, will) says that a person will start having performance issues right when it’s time for a big project that depends on their efforts. If you are focusing your effort on recruiting it’s a timeline that you can manage with significant returns on the time invested.

 

Want to learn more about these concepts? Click here for the Valve employee handbook in PDF format. The hiring section starts on page 43.

 

Hiring is everything, according to Valve.
What about your company?
Could you say the same about your organization?

 

 

About the Author

Ben Eubanks is an HR pro, speaker, and writer. I met Ben this past summer in Atlanta, GA and I quickly became a big fan! His personable, honest and direct approach to his career is similar to my own and, because he’s about 10Xs nicer than me, I quickly realized I needed him in my network!  :-)

Ben works as a one-man HR team at Pinnacle Solutions during the day, and at night he writes at upstartHR.  This is an HR blog with a little humor, humility, and how-to. Check it out to learn more about entry level HR jobs, talent management, and other “in the trenches” HR topics.

Category: Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , , ,
| September 16, 2012
4 comments

Four Questions

A lot of attention has been given lately to the recruitment and selection process and ensuring a good fit for the organization.  Indeed, if this process breaks down, you’ll have an employee churn problem and who wants that?

 

Recruitment is all about determining where, when and how you’re going to fish for qualified applicants.

 

 

 

 

Selection is about determining if applicants meet your qualifications and, if so, how they are going to “fit” into your organization.

 

 

I’m always interested in learning about organization’s selection activities, but I’m saddened when I learn that hiring managers often limit their chances of success when they fail to get creative or intentional in the interview process.

 

I have never been a huge advocate of “time in grade” questions; I don’t believe time spent doing something is a reflection of how well the person did it.  Many who share this belief resort to competency based interviews.  However, if you’re not a skilled interviewer and if your questions aren’t intentionally created to solicit specific competencies, these interviews can fall short as well.  That being said, I do a thorough job analysis to identify what specific competencies, both technical and behavioral, are needed for ultimate success in position and develop my questions accordingly.

 

But I don’t stop there!  If my ultimate goal is to find someone who can be an extension of me, who can represent my organization well, who can maintain, if not improve, my organization’s reputation with the community, I turn it up a notch and dig a little deeper!

 

The following questions help me get the insight I need.

 

“When it comes to your professional life, what are you passionate about?”

This question helps me understand what the individual is working towards, what drives/motivates him, what he would strive for and/or not compromise, etc.  The answer also helps me better understand the individuals’ interests and how he may/may not align with that of my company.  The individual’s answer may reveal there is no passion behind his work; this may/may not be a bad thing but gives me valuable insight either way!

 

“When it comes to your professional life, what accomplishment are you most proud of?”

The answer to this question tells me to what type of standards the individual holds herself.  The answer may also reveal whether or not she is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, which would be very helpful to know should she be hired.  The answer may give me some insight into how difficult the employee’s past positions were and/or how shiny she had to be in order to stand out as special.

 

 

“If you could change any past decision or action you have taken in your professional life, what would it be and why?”

The answer to this question gives me tons of information about the person, both in the way he answers it and in the story itself.  I look for sincerity, humbleness and self-reflection but I also dig deeper into the answer so I can ascertain his critical and logical thinking skills, determination and willingness to change, ability to learn from one’s mistakes, objectivity, etc.

 

“If you you ran this business, what would you look for when building your team and why?”

This question doesn’t always get me what I need…but when it does, it SINGS and therefore, I keep it in my arsenal.

The answer to this question highlights whether or not the individual understands my vision and the culture I am trying to create.  It demonstrates whether or not she has paid attention to me over the “courting” process.  It highlights if she is a creative thinker and if it’s probable she will bring some new and innovative ideas to my business.  It gives me insight on whether or not she is a “yes sir” type of employee or if she is willing to step out and give valuable feedback, whether it’s negative or positive.

 

Whether you are a recruiter or supervisor, small business owner or CEO, I’m sure you want your employees to be a good match for your company, to be well aligned with your vision and mission, to fit well within your culture, etc.  I’m willing to bet you want your employees to take your business as seriously as you do and you want them to have a high probability of improving upon it!

 

Your interview process should have a good balance of technical and behavioral competencies and, in my opinion, should dig a bit more into how the applicant thinks…as this is the only way you’ll figure out if they are a good fit!

 

The questions I share above are the ones I use to get there.  However, don’t limit yourself to my perspective – take the ideas offered here and run with them!

 

Good luck!
Category: Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , ,
| August 26, 2012
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Holding Out

How often do we refuse our fate under the guise of holding out for the right thing? 

 

There is an old story of a young man in Alaska traveling to Florida.  He’s hitchhiking in freezing temperatures and he’s so cold, he can barely hold his sign.  A friendly trucker comes along and offers the weary traveler a ride but says, “I’m only going as far as Georgia.”

Disappointed, the young man rejects the offer.

 

I thought of this story the other day when checking in with a client regarding her decision on a recent recruitment effort.  Long gone are the days when they had plenty of applicants to choose from…when we were blessed with the curse of wanting more than one.  Regardless, the top three candidates, while none could hit the ground running, were willing, able and had the capacity to do the work.  Moreover, a thorough selection process helped us determine they would probably “fit” the organization’s culture!

 

At first I thought the indecision and the delay were caused by cold feet on behalf of the new manager.  But as the days wore on, I realized she was waiting for the perfect candidate.

 

She needed a gentle reminder that her wait could result in the loss of three viable candidates.

 

Please don’t mistake my perspective as wanting her to simply fill the seat.  I don’t believe in settling for a pulse and I would never encourage a manager to do so!

 

I understand her reluctance to make a job offer.

 

We all want someone who will hit the ground running.

 

We all want someone who won’t need the heavy training and one-on-one attention. 

 

We all want someone who immediately knows the jargon, understands the processes and “gets” it.

 

But when a ride to Florida isn’t available, perhaps we should accept a ride to Georgia as a gift!

 

Consider this: would you like to have a new employee who:

 

  • Is bright, self-disciplined, and takes accountability for his own development;
  • Is ready and capable of being an extension of you in his/her delivery of services;
  • Is resourceful and demonstrates sound judgment;
  • Fits into the organization’s culture; and
  • May have a steep learning curve but also the determination to face it head on.

It is true you or others may have to spend a lot of time with this person.  Who cares?  You are spending a lot of time doing the work yourselves anyway.  And hello, you should be spending significant time with any new employee, regardless of his/her knowledge, skills and abilities!

 

Alas, this person may have a lot to learn.  Be thankful…think of him/her as a blank slate and decorate accordingly.

 

Indeed, a “newbie” isn’t going to know the jargon, the processes and the politics.  Consider that a gift in itself!  Capitalize on the ignorance and use him/her as a catalyst to help rid your program of sacred cows, inefficient processes, closed minds and political nonsense.

I know Georgia is not Florida…but it’s damn close!

 

Additional thoughts for the HR Professional

How many vacancies does your organization have today?

How many of them are vacant because the Hiring Manager is holding out for a perfect candidate?

How can you help him/her come to a decision before he/she misses out on the opportunity that is waiting in the wings?

 

By the way, I’m in Florida at the moment so the story was fitting! :-)   Attending the 2012 HR Florida Conference & Expo – fun times!

Category: Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , , ,
| July 7, 2012
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Culture Shock

Ever heard the phrase, “Pay now or pay later…either way you’ll pay”?

As an HR Professional, this saying comes into play for numerous things.  Whether it be for investing resources in your staff’s development, creating and maintaining adequate documentation regarding performance, or, in the case of this post, investing in the recruitment and selection process.

 

Pay now or pay later…either way you’ll pay.

 

I believe corporations need to spend some time ensuring their recruitment strategies align with their corporate culture and, likewise, ensure their selection processes are consistent with their culture.  I believe this results in a high probability of the selected candidate fitting into their culture.

 

If you are a Recruiter, HR professional, Supervisor or Leader who simply wants to fill the vacancy as quickly as easily as possible, there is no need to read more of this post.  Good luck to you!

 

However, if you want to find someone and have that employee stick, read on.

 

Corporate Culture can be described as the “norms” shared by employees in an organization that control the way they interact with each other, with other stakeholders and with customers.

 

I believe corporate culture is made up of the following:

 

Vision & Mission

Where your organization is going and how it plans to get there are important to the majority of people who live and work on this planet.  Take the time to educate yourself in these subjects and make sure you are communicating them to your candidates.  Better yet, have your candidates tell you why and how they believe they “fit” within your plans.

 

Organizational Values

The principles your organization holds itself to will speak volumes to potential candidates. Likewise, candidate values and behaviors should speak volumes to you.  If you see behaviors that are at odds with your corporate values, it’s a good chance the individual will have a hard time fitting in.

 

Work Environment

Work environment can include things like dress code, office spaces, group/staff spaces, etc.  It could also include things like ability to telecommute, group thinking sessions, meeting protocols, etc.  Whenever possible, walk the candidate around, allow him/her to talk with staff during the screening process, encourage questions about the work environment so there are no surprises (and misfits) later.

 

Leadership Style

Leadership styles are a critical part of an organization’s culture and sub-cultures.  Consider what types of leadership styles are being utilized most of the time.  Don’t make it difficult; generalize into the basic three: autocratic, democratic and laissez faire.  Engage with the candidate about these issues.  Tell stories, offer examples, etc.  Trust me, if you throw a perfectly capable and competent person into a team where the leader is predominantly autocratic, you’ll be re-recruiting within six months.

 

Organizational Structure

Organizational structure is how your departments, programs or offices are organized, what type of power/authority is delegated to them, etc.  This has a huge impact on corporate culture as it strongly affects communication, efficiencies, effectiveness and sanity.  Engaging with candidates about their comfort level with autonomy, or lack thereof or talking with them about what they see as the pros/cons of your structure may give you some insight into how they will fit into the “lines” and how they will manage to work “in the white space.”  (More on managing the lines and the white space in a future post)

 

Personal Qualities of Workforce

The qualities of the current workforce play a big part in the culture because they are the ones living and breathing it. I didn’t use the word “personalities” but to be honest, personalities are a part of this.  Is the staff a group of high performers or entitlement whiners?  Are they competitive or complacent?  Are they welcoming or do they live in their cliques?  Are they social butterflies or hermits?  These are the realities of the workforce and your new hire will need to compliment them, not work against them.

 

In summary, corporate culture isn’t something the CEO defines and gets “blessed” and implemented.  It is the norm that is created over time by leadership and the workforce.

Culture shock is a waste of time for everyone involved!

 

 

I suggest you invest your resources to recruit and select a good cultural fit now. 

 

 

 

I can assure you that if you don’t, you’ll pay later.

 

 

Category: Employee Relations, Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| May 29, 2012
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The Dating Game & Selection Processes

My mom didn’t let me watch a lot of TV when I was younger and she certainly drew the line at anything “risque.”  The popular game show, The Dating Game, was among the many shows that were “off limits”!

 

However, my friend’s mom had no such reservations!  That being said, one would often find a bunch of silly school girls on their couch drooling over bachelors on the show and willing the bachelorette to choose who we thought was best!

 

Little did I know then that my career in Human Resources would find me doing similar things.

 

Selection processes are like The Dating Game! 

Of course, there are not as many great looking participants but trust me, there are about as many onlookers hoping and willing the Hiring Manager to choose the best one!

 

For those of you old enough to have watched the game show prime time (or desperate enough to have watched it in syndication), you’ll remember that typically, a bachelorette would question three bachelors in an attempt to find someone who was “compatible” or “interesting enough” to date.  The game show would then pay for the date.

 

In The Dating Game, the bachelors were hidden from the bachelorette so she didn’t make her decision on looks alone.

 

HR professionals facilitate similar “blind” selection processes. 

We strive to ensure only job related and relevant information is given to the Hiring Manager in an effort to make the playing field “fair.”

 

In The Dating Game, the bachelorette asked the bachelors a series of questions to determine what the men were like “on the inside.”

While I do remember a few bachelorettes asking about the number of women the bachelor may have kissed, the number of girlfriends they may have had, etc., most of the interviews were absent “time in grade” or “technical competency” questions.  Instead, the lighthearted interview focused on behaviors, interests and values.

 

These interviews are not unlike the behavioral ones we use to identify valuable and relevant information about our applicants! 

We often tell Hiring Managers that “time in grade” is not proof of adding value or quality. We train and encourage them to explore the candidate’s behaviors and thinking processes. We encourage them to identify the candidates’ values to ensure alignment with our company’s guiding principles.

 

In The Dating Game, the audience played a major role in the selection process. 

The audience, who knew what the bachelors looked like, how they dressed, how they interacted with others, etc. willed the bachelorette to choose a particular bachelor by clapping loud, cheering, booing, etc.

 

HR professionals are influential too.

Hiring Managers often seek our advice on candidate selection.  And, like The Dating Game’s audience, HR has some advantages.  We are the first to meet the candidate, we may have had the opportunity to see him/her in person, we may have some knowledge about how he/she interacts with others, etc. 

Certainly our expertise and insight should give us the right to heavily influence the Hiring Manager!

 

Right?                Tell me I’m right!             I love being right!
Alas, I’m not always right!

 

You may remember that The Dating Game offered some “where are they now?” shows highlighting certain couples – those that were still dating, those whose relationships had fizzled out, those that were disastrous.  I loved these episodes and was always surprised when I learned that one of my “matches” was in the disastrous bucket!

 

Could it be that the person’s looks and nonverbal communication had too much influence on my decisions?

 

Could it be that I did not know what the bachelorette wanted in an “ideal mate”?

Dare I ask if I allowed my own perception of what was ideal cloud my advice to the inquisitive bachelorette?

 

Could it be that a few lighthearted questions are simply not good enough to determine longevity in the relationship?

 

HR Professionals could learn a little something from this.

 

Perhaps we put too much emphasis on looks and interactions the candidate has with us.

 

Perhaps we fail to fully understand what the Hiring Manager’s objectives are and therefore, fall short in finding and promoting a candidate that is a good fit!

 

Perhaps we put our own opinions and objectives ahead of those of the Hiring Manager!

 

Say it isn’t so!

 

I’ll leave you with this…take some time to produce your own “where are they now?” episodes with the last year of new hires.  Which ones are still going strong, which fizzled out and which ones were disastrous?

 

What if anything, can you learn?

 

 

About the Series

I declared May, “the month of fun”!  I’ve always enjoyed watching game shows and I know there are lessons to be learned while watching some healthy competition!  That being said, I asked some trusted colleagues to write a guest post about a game show and their lessons learned as it pertains to their career.

Bert Doerhoff wrote Jeopardy and Business.

Kalani Parnell wrote A Minute To Win It and Leadership.

Buzz Roonery wrote Password and Leadership.

Steve Browne wrote Let’s Make a Deal and HR.

And, of course, I wrote this piece on The Dating Game.

I hope you have enjoyed them!

 

 

Category: Recruitment | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| March 31, 2012
5 comments

Onboarding

I recently traveled to San Diego for the ERE Expo; I presented a pre-conference workshop and was afforded the opportunity to attend the full conference (thanks to ERE for both!).

 

I’ve traveled alot for work but this was the first time attending a conference alone; I’m typically with or meeting someone upon arrival.

 

I AM NOT bashful but nonetheless, traveling alone to this conference was intimidating.

 

As I sat alone outside a coffee shop on the first day, I thought about an employer’s Onboarding practices.

 

Onboarding is socialization for the new employee.

The word Onboarding shouldn’t be used synonymously with orientation nor should it be considered something as simple as making some introductions and ensuring the new employee has a lunch date.

 

Onboarding is a combination of processes and activities that can demonstrate you care about employee contentment, commitment and performance.

In addition to things like paperwork, formalized orientation, training, etc., Onboarding includes things such as:

 

1) Intentional introduction of roles and responsibilities

Consider:

  • One-on-one review of and discussion about the job description
  • Discussion about a typical day and frank exchange of typical hurdles
  • Meeting with whole team about performance standards and allowing current employees to talk about the “why” and the “how”
  • Exchange of ideas re: what the employee can do immediately, when the employee might need some “hand holding,” and when he/she might need some formalized planning/preparation

 

2) Introduction to staff, colleagues, customers, etc.

Perhaps you can ask the new employee how he/she would like to meet everyone.  He/she may want to:

  • Walk around (do in small bits)
  • Go to lunch with colleague or groups, share a coffee break, etc.
  • Have a meeting in which you help facilitate the mutual exchange of roles, ideas and competencies
  • Shadow you or others at a sales call, meeting or event
  • Attend other program “meetings” wherein you introduce and empower him/her

 

3) Creation of workspace

Nothing says “you’re not that important” like a cubby or office that hasn’t been prepared.  In my opinion, discounting office environment issues demonstrates an ignorance and/or complacency re: communication.  (Physical environment acts as nonverbal communication and, as such, carries over 50% of the message communicated to the new employee.)

A messy workstation, one that doesn’t have basic resources stocked, or one that still looks as if it belongs to someone else will counteract any verbal affirmation you give an employee on his/her first day.

 

4) Communication of culture, sub culture, “unwritten” rules, etc.

Hopefully, your recruiter helped pave the way in this regard but you need to take it from there.  You can:

  • Exchange information about policies and procedures that are different or more specific to your team than what would have been covered in orientation
  • Offer information about any idiosyncrasies, office politics, etc.  (Please note, I recommend you tread carefully here – any subjective opinions can easily manipulate or taint the message.  It’s important to let the new employee think for his/herself.)
  • Tell stories

 

 

In addition to the above activities, may I suggest that you…

 

1) Don’t let the new employee be a stranger on the first day.

It’s so much easier to officially meet someone when you have already “unofficially” met.  Take a brief moment to:

  • Send an email introduction to the new employee with a cc: to your staff a few days prior to the first day.
  • Let the front desk person know about the new employee to ensure “who are you?” doesn’t happen.
  • Use social media to introduce and connect the new employee to your team, your vendors, etc.  (Nothing says “Welcome” like a Shout Out or Wave on Twitter!)

 

2) Think beyond the first day or first week.

Socialization takes time…demonstrate a commitment to your employee by scheduling time the first week, the second week, and beyond.  You’ll know when the employee no longer needs you to check in but don’t stop until such time.

 

3) Seek input.

Ask the employee how the Onboarding process is going.

Invite feedback about your and your team’s efforts and do something with this information!

 

 

4) Delegate effectively.

You may not be the best person to engage in some Onboarding activities so delegate! (Don’t delegate to the person who has the most time on his/her hands…there may be a good reason for that! The last thing you need is a mediocre or substandard employee mentoring, training, or engaging with a new employee.)

Challenge the best of the best and delegate some of these activities to them.

 

I believe Onboarding should be personal and intentional. 

Many Onboarding activities can be standardized and streamlined but keep this in mind: personalized activities scream, “you’re worth it” – and that’s a good message to send to a new employee.

 

Sincere thanks to Smart Recruiters, LinkUp, Wowzer, SelectMinds
and especially Talent Technology for saving me from the
awkwardness of being alone.
If the representatives’ kindness and generosity of spirit
are any reflection of their Onboarding processes, their new
employees are lucky!

 

 

Category: Leadership, Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
| January 22, 2012
3 comments

They’re not talking…so now what?

I ran into a colleague the other day who had been interviewing for one of his vacancies.  Upon asking about the selection, I learned he had identified his top candidate but then changed his mind because he couldn’t get a reference.

WHAT?  His assumption was that if the candidate’s ex-employers weren’t offering references, the candidate had something to hide.

I offered to get him a refill on his coffee so we could have a little chat.  It went a little like this.

Dude, there are lots of reasons why people won’t give references on past or current employees; some of them are valid and some are not.

  • Some employers prohibit reference sharing.
    This phenomenon befuddles me as much as people who pass on dessert!  Somewhere, in the deep dark belly of the organization is a Human Resources practitioner (and perhaps one too many attorneys) who has spent numerous hours developing a policy to prohibit the act of sharing information.  Lord knows why…perhaps the employer had a rogue supervisor who spread vicious lies about an ex-employee and now all supervisors are gagged.  Perhaps corporate counsel believes the risk of defamation is “scarier” than the risk of negligent hiring.  Perhaps the HR Director went to some crazy conference and learned that a “don’t tell” policy was popular and, since everyone wants to be popular, he/she hopped on that bandwagon.
  • Supervisors may be ignorant.
    Mind you, I’m sure they are geniuses in their craft but it’s likely their genius label stops there; most don’t make a habit of keeping abreast of HR best practices.  And honestly, most of them forward reference inquiries straight to the HR office anyway (they probably just read the new policy noted above…egads!)
  • The candidate may be “to blame” for the lack of information sharing.
    Maybe he/she failed to contact/prepare the reference about the ongoing job search.  Maybe he/she didn’t provide a written release to the ex-employer.  Maybe he/she didn’t realize there was this crazy “don’t tell” policy floating around.

I suppose it’s possible the candidate is as bad as a poorly made oatmeal cookie on a cold and snowy Sunday but, as the above suggests, there could be valid reasons to explain why information wasn’t shared.

I digress…I suggested to my colleague to 1) try some Biscotti, as it is divine, and 2) try some of the tactics below before he rejected the candidate.

  • Put some ownership on the candidate.
    Communicate that you cannot/will not consider an offer without gaining previous employment information.  Offer ideas on how he can arrange for relevant, factual information to be shared.
  • Be respectful of the Reference’s time
    Arrange a time to call him/her.  Some people like sending questions via email but it’s my experience that this doesn’t work well for getting the information back.  It does, however, help to get the person “prepared” for your phone call.
  • Be a good interviewer when calling the reference.
    Start with sharing information about the job (what the responsibilities are and what types of competencies the candidate would need to have in order to be successful).Continue with what you learned about the candidate.  Then share what information needs to be validated, and then offer that the candidate suggested the Reference would be a good person with whom to talk.
  • Be persistent without being annoying.
    Give some gentle reminders, solicit some empathy, etc. to make it clear to the candidate or the Reference that you cannot pursue an employment offer until you do your “due diligence” in gathering information.
  • Stop the madness!  If you work for an employer that prohibits factual information sharing, do something about it!  How hypocritical is it of you to seek information but yet refuse to give information?
  • Do some research so you can inform others or be better informed yourself.  We are all concerned about negligent hiring/negligent retention legislation – that’s why we need to get employment references.  In addition, many states have laws protecting individuals who, in good faith, disclose information about the job performance of an employee or former employee to a prospective employer.  They are typically called “immunity from good faith disclosure” laws.  As my mom used to say, “Look it up and learn something!” :-)

I’ve since learned that the candidate was contacted…and that two successful references resulted in an employment offer.  SWEET!  One down, let’s keep it going folks!

Category: Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , , ,