We read countless articles, sat through webinars and attended endless events about how the availability of Big Data would be like “drinking from a fire hose,” giving us more than enough information to improve outcomes and capture more accurate metrics. 

Fast forward: the recruiting industry, 2022. There are now six billion people with internet access. Instagram changes its feed with such frequency that it’s become one long stream of ads, rendering it useless for social recruiting (if that was ever really a thing).

Today’s LinkedIn hacks are about hacking the algorithm to increase visibility amid career experts, resume writers and influencers espousing their latest thoughts about “quiet quitting” and other buzzwords. The mobile debate is moot, with smartphone usage outranking other devices. The Candidate Experience Awards are still trucking. And everyone’s trying to figure out how to be “data-driven” and make all the information they’re capturing usable without the help of a full-time analyst. 

It’s striking how much the more things change, the more they stay the same, particularly in recruiting data. Hiring trends come and go (look at you, Great Resignation-cession). Recruiters get laid off and hired back en masse. Told to do more with less. And keep coming back for more. With that said, there *is* a lot of data available these days, and some of it is actually helpful – if you know what to do with it. Here are a few things to note: 

If You Don’t Know What It Means, Don’t Try and Measure It

Some metrics are relatively straightforward. Time to fill = how many days it took, from the req getting approved and posted to the day you received an accepted offer. Time to hire = how many days it took from when the candidate entered your pipeline to the day you received an accepted offer.

On the other hand, quality of hire is a bit more nebulous. How can one determine the value a new hire brings to a company? How long do you give that person to demonstrate value? How does your probably subpar onboarding experience impact their ability to show value? Define your metrics before you start to measure. 

You Don’t Need to Measure Everything

If it were up to most executive teams, every aspect of recruiting would be quantifiable, but it’s not. We’re talking about a human-based function – far too many variables are at play. Rather than measure everything, determine what matters to your organization and stick with a few key metrics.

Are you involved in high-volume hiring? Seasonal? College recruiting? Executive search? You wouldn’t try the same recruiting strategy to fill these different types of positions. Likewise, you cannot, nor should you, try to fit all of these into the same boxes. Pick a few metrics to focus on. 

You Don’t Have to Be an Analyst to Analyze

Seems obvious, right? But not everyone in recruiting is comfortable with numbers. If you were, you might have picked another profession. Luckily in today’s world, there are technologies that can do most of the recruiting data computations for you without needing to build out a complicated formula in excel or stand around like the confused math lady meme.

You don’t even need a huge budget; you just need to know how to make your solutions work for you – and trust me, most of what you’ve got already does more than you realize. So, call up your friendly customer success rep and ask them to walk you through your analytics functions. I’m sure they will love to hear from you. 

Here’s the thing: whether it’s big data or regular data, it’s only useful if you can use it. If it’s just there, with no one looking, or too messy to navigate, it’s not helping your cause. Few organizations outside the enterprise have the option to bring on analysts, which means the vast majority of employers have a slew of numbers collecting dust in the recesses of their tech stack.

Stop trying to do everything, start trying to do something and slow down the fire hose. No one asked for that terrible idiom, anyway.  

The post Unf*cking the Fire Hose, a.k.a. Making Recruiting Data Usable appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

While nearly three quarters of the employers surveyed have increased their investment in internal mobility this year, Only 22% plan to maintain the same investment going into next year, according to a study by Lever and Aptitude Research. About 84% of these companies are incorporating internal mobility in their talent acquisition strategy moving forward. One in two companies have higher turnover this year than last year.  

Salesforce and Slack introduced Salesforce Platform for Slack, a toolkit that helps developers build custom Slack apps that pull key functionalities – like actions, automations and business insights – directly from Salesforce into Slack. The platform’s toolkit enables developers to easily build Slack apps that connect people across the business.

HiBob launched a one-on-one meeting feature that’s designed to allow mid-sized, multinational companies to consolidate manager-employee meetings into their Bob HR platform. The company said the platform will help companies to encourage more meaningful relationships. The feature contains five out-of-the box meeting templates for onboarding, goal setting, performance review, career growth and regular check-ins. Other templates can be created and customized or talking points can be added manually to a meeting.  

Salary.com introduced the Plunkett Pay Equity Framework, which prescribes a six-step methodology for attaining and sustaining pay equity. This holistic view of pay equity facilitates a shift from pure market pricing to a broader pay equity approach to compensation. It also emphasizes how to achieve the transparent communication necessary to integrate pay equity into the corporate culture.

Employee screening technology startup Veremark partnered with Ferretly to offer AI-powered social media background screening. Ferretly analyzes posts and images across to flag social media posts for specific risk factors including bullying, self-harm, narcotics, violence, violent images and hate speech. Its social media checks are now available alongside Veremark’s range of employee checks.

Talroo and JobSync announced an integration that allows candidates to complete an entire application directly inside Talroo’s environment, which will save time by having completed applications delivered inside the ATS, and by increasing conversions.

The post HCM Talent Technology Roundup May 6, 2022 appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

But most times, in retrospect, we fear, we adapt, we embrace and we love these new technologies. Before we know it, we can’t imagine our lives without them. 

Soon Enough, It’s the Norm

Back in 2006, fast food chains like Subway, McDonald’s and Arby’s were beginning to experiment with in-restaurant kiosks.  At first, many restaurant runners were worried about changing the dining experience so drastically. Others raised the alarm that automating the customer experience would edge out human workers and shrink the number of available jobs.

However, restaurants and other establishments that took the leap found that customers enjoyed their experience and tended to spend more money than they would with a human taking their order.

Fast forward to today, and customers generally report a better experience when using self-service kiosks compared to placing orders with cashiers. The once-controversial technology is quickly becoming a staple of the fast-food experience. And fast-food workers aren’t losing their jobs because of it—on the contrary, fast food is notoriously understaffed and the kiosks simply help make up for the labor shortage.

But this is an article about recruiting, right? So why do I keep talking about fast food? 

Well, the case of self-serve kiosks are a helpful way to illustrate a change taking place in the recruiting field right now. HR tech is getting more advanced than ever, and sometimes that might seem intimidating. But overall, these changes are positive.

The Future of Recruiting is Already Here

As AI talent sourcing and other recruiting tools gain traction, it might feel like the future is arriving faster than you’re ready for. These tools can seem a little scary, because they fundamentally change the way talent sourcing and engagement has always been done. 

However, much like in the case of fast-food workers, recruiters’ jobs are also more difficult and high-pressure than ever. You’re working with a more competitive talent market that requires a much larger variety of strategies and considerations to navigate.

When one hiring team needs to worry about marketing, company branding, reworking job definitions and more in addition to interviewing, screening and onboarding, allowing a machine to take on some of the workload doesn’t seem so crazy.

Unfortunately, traditional manual searches and manual engagement campaigns can take an unprecedented amount of time and energy. That energy would surely be better used on the parts of recruitment that require real human judgement, like understanding the exact needs of a position, assessing soft skills or whether an individual would fit your team.

When it comes to the search and engagement process, AI that automates the whole affair is ultimately beneficial. And that automation already exists, so why not embrace it?

Staying Up-to-Date Will Keep You Ahead of the Game

Considering that AI and automation in recruiting are quickly becoming an accepted and even expected solution, being one of the first to take advantage of them will keep you a step ahead of your colleagues and competition in the search for talent.

It’s important to educate yourself and to stay up-to-date with current technologies and trends—that way when a solution appears that will save you time or improve your results, you can adopt it right away and get the most out of it possible.

Yes, things are changing in the recruitment industry, but really, things are changing everywhere as new technologies change how we order food, commute, share experiences and connect with clients.

In your life, you’ve probably embraced lots of new stuff from smartphones to GPS. Now it’s time to embrace talent sourcing automation.

The post Recruiting With AI: How to Prepare appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

And the sooner your HR recruiting team is aware of a problem, the easier and faster it will be to rectify the situation with minimal damage caused. If you’re considering implementing this into your organization, here are a few of the key recruiting and talent acquisition benefits of incorporating a whistleblower hotline for your company. 

It Help Protects Your Company 

If there is illegal or inappropriate behavior at work, whether it’s theft, fraud or discrimination, a whistleblower hotline can give employees the ability to speak up. With a safe and discreet method to tip-off management, your team won’t have to fear repercussions for reporting any misconduct they witness.

This can help safeguard your entire company from corruption while giving employees the means to report potential threats such as harassment, fraud or cybersecurity risks. 

An Effective Way to Assess and Manage Risks 

When misconduct or illegal activity occurs for an extended period of time, it can do more damage to a company and cost a lot more to resolve. Whether it’s minor discrepancies like cybersecurity issues or something major, like bribing an official, whistleblower hotlines reduce the amount of risk that companies are exposed to regularly.

Aside from enabling staff to come forward, whistleblower tools provide a simple and effective way to assess reports that are made. This lets your HR and management teams manage those risks accordingly to save your company time and money while keeping your reputation unblemished. 

It Promotes a Stronger Workplace Culture 

Your team is the backbone of your business. And having employees feel valued, respected and engaged in their work is fundamental for any business to succeed today. But retaining top talent can be challenging, especially when you’re competing with other companies who are continuously striving to evolve and attract in-demand workers.

That’s why having a strong workplace culture that fosters respect, better communication and trust is crucial. Beyond promoting a workplace that cares, encouraging internal reporting through a whistleblower hotline just makes sense for businesses that want to stay competitive while minimizing risks. 

Fewer Legal Repercussions 

The sooner your HR and management teams know about a problem that’s happening, the fewer repercussions your company will likely have to face. This includes lawsuits, negative press, a scarred reputation and smaller settlements if your company ever faces litigation. 

It Deters Wrongdoing 

When your team knows there is a simple and safe way to be called out for inappropriate behavior, it will deter them from doing it in the first place. They’ll be far less inclined to indulge in risky activity if they know your company takes allegations seriously and will thoroughly investigate reports to uncover the truth, which could result in legal action. 

Prevents Unwanted Attention 

Businesses are constantly landing in hot water due to allegations of fraud, misconduct and other wrongdoings. And the media loves to get their hands on flashy headlines that feature a CEO, or a company caught up in a scandal. However, as an effective, internal tool, whistleblowing gives your company the power to identify issues quickly and subtly to avoid unwanted attention that could jeopardize your position with stakeholders, customers and future employees. 

Promotes a Safer Work Environment 

Implementing procedures that aim to reduce illegal and unsafe actions at work promotes a safer environment for everyone. This also enables companies to be proactive instead of reactive, taking necessary steps to improve situations that could potentially escalate into something hazardous. 

Demonstrates Accountability 

Today, prospective employees can easily hop online to get an idea of what a company has to offer before applying for a position, which is why good corporate governance can’t be emphasized enough. By implementing a whistleblower hotline, your talent acquisition or recruiting department can demonstrate your company’s commitment and accountability instantly. 

Uncover Relevant Details 

Even if your HR and management teams are aware of something illegal that’s happening at work, they may not have all the details needed to understand or present evidence for legal action. Anonymous reporting tools like a whistleblower hotline can help gather as many details as possible to piece together. This can help management teams understand the full scope of the situation and respond in a manner that is appropriate. 

It’s Ethical 

Protecting employees by offering the support they need to feel safe at work should be every company’s ethical obligation and priority. Whistleblower tools provide a win-win scenario by protecting them and your company’s bottom line. 

The post 10 HR Recruiting Benefits of Incorporating a Whistleblower Hotline for Your Company appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Applicant Tracking

The most common type of recruitment automation is having a system that keeps track of all applicants in a hiring database from the moment they apply throughout their journey in the hiring process.

This allows you to keep track of all applicants without human error and keeps you organised.

Candidate Pre-Screening

One of the worst parts of trying to hire is sifting through thousands of CVs with large numbers being completely unqualified for the role. Over 40% of resumes sent to hiring managers tend to be from people without the required skills. With intelligent resume screeners, you can quickly clear out the chaff and get a reduced number of resumes sent to the hiring manager.

It might be worth also looking at adding a chatbot to your jobsite to gather some basic information about the candidate to give you some extra oversight into their suitability which means you spend more time actually focussing on genuine candidates.

Pre-Employment Assessments

Any university graduate will tell you that one of the things they need to look into when applying for graduate positions is the pre-employment assessment, tests that check if you actually have the skills needed and will make a good fit for the company as a whole.

Common assessments tend to be typing tests, cultural fit assessments, situational judgement and cognitive ability testing. This can easily remove candidates who may have the skills needed on paper, but would be a bad fit for your company.

Interview Scheduling and Candidate Communication

An invaluable streamlining and time-saving tool is creating an automated scheduler for interviews that checks availability on your calendar and can even allow the candidate to self-schedule their interview.

While you want to take a more personal approach with candidates at final hiring stages, automating responses to applications and assessments allows you to make sure everyone gets some form of feedback, even if it’s not detailed. A large number of applicants may feel reluctant to apply to your company again when they have not gotten any response that the application was received or that they had been disqualified.

Talent Pools

One of the worst things that can happen is you have an excellent candidate for your company but this job is just not for them. Keeping up with them and letting them know about other opportunities can be difficult and are easily missed due to human error. Automation allows you to create talent pool databases that keep the information of these potential future hires and you can even automate communication to them for appropriate positions.

You can widen this database by having automated referral requests that allows your current employees to recommend potential employees for the company as well as keeping track of agency referrals. This reduces human error again and gives employees a feeling of being a key part of the company.

Background Checks

Once you have a candidate that you want to hire you need to run background checks to make sure there’s nothing hiding in their background that means you shouldn’t hire them. The good news is that this can be automated as well by using things like name-matching technology to quickly find red flags and quickly remove false hits. Just remember, AI isn’t completely infallible and it’s worth still having a human eye look over a check if red flags are raised.

Hiring automation is all about working smarter and keeping all applicant details organized. It allows you to give all applicants some form of feedback and reduce the number of candidates your hiring team will deal with directly.

This actually provides a fantastic benefit that it allows you to take the time to focus on those candidates that look like they’ll make a good fit and lets your hiring team spend their time building up personal relationship with them.

There is just one last warning about automating your process: don’t forget human oversight. Make sure to test your system on a regular basis to check the system’s inputs are correct and all information is up-to-date. 

If you do this, then the amount of time saved will be invaluable and you may even find that candidates feel better about your company as they’ve had a positive application experience.

The post Automating Your Hiring Process appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

A transformational leader is someone who enhances motivation and morale among followers. In terms of the workspace, they are someone who is able to inspire each employee to work for a collective good, and not just for their own self-interest.

As it positively impacts innovation, transformational leadership has a high payout. The effects of this style of leadership are desirable for both the organization and the followers.

It increases job performance and satisfaction, as well as organizational performance. When compared to transactional leadership, the transformational kind can easily be seen as the holy grail of leadership.

The 4 I’s of Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership has 4 components. We often refer to these as the 4 I’s. All the secrets to transformational leadership revolve around these 4 elements.

Intellectual Stimulation

A transformational leader is someone who is able to stimulate creativity and innovation among their employees.

They can do this by empowering team members in decision-making processes, encouraging bottom-up and upward feedback, driving employees’ share of voice, and allowing mistakes.

Individualized Consideration

Offering encouragement and support to individual followers is also a key component of transformational leadership.

Personal attention to employees’ needs helps drive better relationships in the organization, enhance employees’ development and growth and develop trust among the organization’s members.

Inspirational Motivation

A transformational leader has a clear vision for their organization and is able to communicate it to their team. Moreover, they can help employees’ experience the same passion and motivation for bringing this vision to life.

Idealized Influence

Team members emulate their leader and internalize their ideals when they trust and respect their leader.

A transformational leader knows how to serve as a role model for the members of their team. They know how to embody the qualities they want to see in their followers. For instance, they will always put their followers’ needs above their own.

Coaching for Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership skills can be developed through executive coaching. But an organization needs to work with an executive coach who is also a transformational leadership expert.

Many companies rely on executive coaching and believe in its benefits. Most of these organizations think that executive coaching should focus on helping key leaders achieve high performance. But what they really need is a coaching culture that enables everyone to perform at their peak.

By working with an executive coach who can leverage their skills to create a transformational leadership style, instead of just coaching a leader to improve their own performance, an organization will achieve a greater return on their investment.

In a sense, the goal should be for the coachee to become a coach. As mentioned, taking an individual approach to followers’ growth and development is a key element of transformational leadership.

As personalization is crucial for employees’ success, every leader should also be a coach to their followers. When a leader is helping employees find their own solutions, they are strengthening their employees’ trust in them as well as creating a skilled team.

Creating an Ethical Climate

A good transformational leader is someone who shapes the ethical climate in their company. Transformational leaders are responsible for achieving organizational alignment with the core company values. They can achieve this through consistent workplace communication.

One of the biggest prerequisites for organizational success is to have everyone on the same page. And transformational leaders are the ones who know how to link their followers’ personal values with their organizational values.

Moreover, great leaders continually work with their employees to uphold high moral standards. Oftentimes, they pay more attention to employees’ moral standards than their performance.

Allowing Freedom of Choice for Employees

Communication still flows one way in many organizations. Meaning, there isn’t a way for the employees to share their own opinions and engage in daily, company-wide, conversations. 

Transformational leaders should encourage employees to share their voices and empower them to make their own decisions. Followers of transformational leaders feel free to speak up, express their needs, raise their concerns and come up with their own ideas.

Using Persuasive Appeals Based on Reason

Many leaders don’t have the ability to reach their employees with the right messages. Some leaders don’t even know why a certain change is happening.

Transformational leaders should drive acceptance among team members during times of change, as most people are resistant to change. Transformational leaders are good at articulating the reasoning behind specific actions taken by their company.

A good transformational leader is someone who can clearly explain why the change is happening, through proper corporate communication, and how the change will benefit them as individuals and the company as a whole.

Promoting Cooperation and Harmony

Many employees don’t have clear guidance on how to achieve goals. Moreover, many employees don’t even understand what their specific goals are.

To be successful and articulate in explaining these goals, and showing their employees how to achieve them, transformational leaders need to have a solid understanding of the necessary goals.

Workplace harmony and cooperation are impossible to achieve without consistent, frequent and transparent interpersonal and organizational communication.

A transformational leader is responsible for building harmony in the workplace. It is their job to create a culture in which everyone strives towards achieving the same goals.

They have the ability to create the passion and energy that help fuel cohesion among team members and peers.

Transparency

A leader should be completely transparent with their followers. Otherwise, employees might lose trust in their leader and their company. Leaders should always keep their team informed about how the organization is doing and where it is heading.

According to a study by Slack, 80% of employees want to know more about how decisions are made in their company. Keeping employees in the loop is key to building trust among employees.

Emphasizing Positive Development and Intrinsic Motivation

A transformational leader who empowers their followers to keep investing in themselves throughout their careers clearly understands their own role in driving business success.

They treat each member of the team as a valued individual and take the time to learn what motivates them, rather than just patting them on the back for a job well done.

When used appropriately, the transformational style of leadership is highly effective. Assessing your current leadership style is one way to improve your own leadership skills. You will be better able to play to your strengths and improve your weaknesses by evaluating your own skills.

The post The Secret to Transformational Leadership appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

From there, we can help you uncover why you’re feeling the way you are and of course, what to do about it.

Are you dreading the commute? Are you anxious about being in the office all day?

What it could mean:

For many of us, remote work has become something we have come to love and thrive in.

It is possible this new way of living is just up your alley, and that’s okay!

What to do about it:

Consider if you’d be happy doing a hybrid of in-person and remote work (and what balance you’re okay with), or if you’d prefer to work fully remotely. (which is okay!)

Then, explore whether it is feasible to bring this up to your manager. The time is NOW to voice opinions and concerns about this to see what is feasible as things are changing.

It is possible your company has already put up a new rigid policy and/or won’t budge on your preferences, in which case, you want to consider how strong this feeling and desire is for remote work, and consider finding a purely remote role.

Are you dreading seeing your colleagues? Are you dreading revisiting the company culture?

What it could mean:

The environment and culture of a team or company are an underrated element in our overall job fulfillment.

Aligning with the values and personality of the company and those around you can make or break how you feel day-to-day.

What to do about it:

Decide if your team is the killer here, or if it is the company at large. If it’s just the team or manager, is there another team/manager with a better culture you would be happy joining?

Unfortunately, culture is a really difficult thing to change. So if you’re not vibing or thriving in your company’s environment, it may be time to explore finding a new company and culture fit where you can be yourself.

Are you dreading the work you need to be doing? Are you feeling generally unfulfilled?

What it could mean:

Consider three separate parts to any work experience: role, industry, and environment.

Ask yourself: is it the day-to-day responsibilities that I’m not aligned with and/or is it the company mission that doesn’t intrigue me?

You want to find a role where you align with the style of the work, feel challenged, and care about the work’s impact. With the company, you want to believe in the mission, purpose, and output of what that company does, who it helps, and why.

Either the role, industry, and/or environment, could be levers for you to uncover which area needs room for improvement.

What to do about it:

If you need some clarity on the best fit role or industry for you, pursue career exploration. Career exploration is a process that is distinct from and a precursor to the job search, including a series of steps of practical learning and self-reflection in order to compare, contrast, and clarify which career path you are confident in pursuing (role, industry, and environment).

Then, you can determine if you can make a move internally or if you want to job search to find a new role elsewhere. Give yourself the opportunity to uncover what path is a great fit for you, and find support to ease the search.  

Recognize that it is feasible to find a path that aligns and challenges you. 30% of U.S. employees are engaged at work, so let’s look to them to figure out how they found and pursued a path that aligned so well with them.

Listen to yourself.

The important thing to realize is to always listen to yourself. If you’re having any feelings, understand where they are really coming from, how strong that feeling is, and if it’s having an effect on you, explore potential solutions. You deserve nothing less.

Often, in careers, we brush aside our feelings or delay acting on them, only to realize weeks, months, or years later that we’re miserable.

Remember that you can explore support from peers, mentors, or coaches to at least sort through how you feel and consider ideas or next steps you’d feel confident and comfortable with, before taking any action.

The post Anxious about going into the office? Here’s what it could mean… appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Total quality management (TQM) was in vogue during my undergraduate years and early career in industrial engineering. The U.S. was catching up to the Japanese in manufacturing production as their Toyotas outperformed our Fords.

Your company couldn’t deliver a competitive product without an optimized manufacturing process. Strategy followed suit as companies invested in new capabilities. The race to data-driven everything was on.

My career began at Raytheon’s Waltham plant, where I supported manufacturing lines for U.S. Navy radar and communications systems. Remember the aircraft carrier in the original production of Top Gun? Can you see the radars moving to track the action?

My production line manufactured the wiring harnesses to power those systems. After Raytheon, I supported F-16 fighter aircraft production. That mile-long factory was a sight to behold.

Industrial engineering has its roots in process design, and correspondingly, quality control. Years of problem-solving and an MBA prepared me for strategy consulting. Essentially, strategic analysis is a lot like sleuthing a production line issue. The goal to build quality into strategy design so production runs seamlessly.

We often point to strategy execution as the point of failure when the design process requires an overhaul. It is, after all, in design when we test assumptions, grab our tried-and-true analysis tools, and make the big decisions, data-driven, of course.  

I’ve spent the last twenty years leading empathy-based and data-driven strategy engagements for organizations driven by purpose. The research and analysis have been rigorous, from demographic profiles to population projections and customer journey maps.

Our goal? To build alignment and vouchsafe the decisions to be made.

Turning the Sweet Spot Inside Out

As a strategist, my job is to master the most effective tools. Strategy isn’t a race for efficiency; instead, it requires a focus on effectiveness and “doing things right.” After using various tools, I landed on The Strategic Sweet Spot in Harvard Business Review’s Can You Say What Your Strategy Is? by David Collis and Michael G. Rukstad.

The Strategic Sweet Spot positions a company to answer this question, “How can we meet customer’s needs in ways that rivals can’t or don’t?” That question is the jumping-off point to discover a competitive advantage rooted in the customer value proposition.

The Strategic Sweet Spot uses a classic Venn Diagram to point the user to the sliver of overlap between your company and your customer, the section your competitor can’t touch. The assumption? Your vantage point matters most. And then, unexpectedly, a discovery in 2018.

That assumption was wrong. Mastery of The Strategic Sweet Spot led me to turn it inside out. The catalyst? A customer mindset, the holistic appreciation for your customer, their head, and their heart.

Embracing a Customer Mindset

When setting strategy, we typically prioritize quantitative data analysis and undervalue the human perspective. Often, executives delegate ownership of the customer to the marketing department, emphasizing journey maps and experiences to drive brand engagement.

What if the assumptions behind that decision are irrelevant? What if our beliefs and opinions—as executives, boards, and employees—are less important than we’d assumed all along? What if our customer belongs at the center of our strategy, their voice the one that matters most?

My eureka led me to this realization. Your strategy process needs to reflect the latest thinking. Just as TQM evolved, so too strategy must evolve for a future relevance. Two inputs culminated in my eureka experience in 2018.

First, I’d mastered the Strategic Sweet Spot. Second, I was open to seeing beyond the Venn Diagram to imagine what might be. I realized the following.

• Your company’s view of the competitive landscape isn’t nearly as important as your customer’s view of the choices available to them.
• Customers care about what matters to them and what matters the most.
• Customers search for options constantly, especially in the post-pandemic world.  

Your customer seeks an emotional connection. They expect to connect with a differentiated brand, product, and service that speaks to them. They crave unique and unexpected offerings.

Let’s bring empathy, understanding, and data together to identify what matters the most. The result? A composite customer persona derived from robust qualitative and quantitative data. An iterative process tests and confirms the insights.  

An effective strategy process is rooted in a customer mindset. That perspective brings together two crucial strategy concepts—customer value proposition and competitive advantage—attuned to the realities of today.

You understand what matters to your customer and what matters most. You are also clear about what makes you distinctive, your competitive advantage. That unique nexus is the source of differentiation and the cornerstone of your differentiation strategy.

Delivering a Differentiation Advantage

Without a compelling uniqueness, your company risks being essentially equivalent, or worse, misunderstood, by savvy customers. Confused or disinterested customers will pursue other options.

It’s easier than ever to lose a customer to an unknown competitor that is a scroll, click, or keyword search away, thanks to the power of smartphones.  

I leave you with these suggestions to accelerate strategic success.

• Build quality into strategy design through an iterative, human-centered process. That approach allows you to test and retest assumptions as you gauge interest in the big ideas.
• Elevate the voice of your customer when setting strategy. Embrace a customer mindset to reveal what matters most, and use those crucial insights to connect value proposition to differentiation advantage.
• Creativity, passion, and energy during strategy setting will carry you through to execution. The more you can rally your team around customer mindset and the opportunities for differentiation, the better. After all, your team wants to engage with exciting and unique work, a sense of purpose their goal.

Let me close with this final suggestion. Connect your company’s purpose and differentiation strategy to create sought-after alignment.

Your customers and team will thank you for it. Let me know how it goes. I’m rooting for you.

The post Pushing past the Strategic Sweet Spot: Incorporating Your Customer’s Perspective appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

“Two or three months’ vacation after the hard and nervous strain to which one is subjected…are necessary in order to enable one to continue his work…with energy and effectiveness.”  -President William Taft, 1910.

Apparently, Americans weren’t keen on the idea of a nice, long vacation and no law was passed. Other industrialized countries took notice of this “memo” and instituted guaranteed paid vacation time, such as Sweden and Germany, mandating seven weeks of paid vacation per year.

Now, 111 years later, we still have no guaranteed paid vacation days. Nor any federally mandated paid parental or sick leave.

That’s abysmal compared to all other developed countries.

That’s why the data science team at Resume-Now asked 950+ Americans about how much leave they took and if they were aware of the paid leave available in other countries.

Here’s a quick overview of the disturbing findings from the study:

• 27% of working mothers had only 5-6 weeks maternity leave
• 59% of women avoided calling in sick when having pregnancy symptoms
• 26% of employees had just 2-5 days of paid sick leave
• 18% of survey-takers had 6-9 days of vacation
• 61% of respondents didn’t know the average parental leave in Europe is 26 weeks

Vacation Leaves Something to be Desired

Sunbathing with family, taking a solo museum tour, or hiking with a buddy in the woods…no matter what’s your pleasure, we all need a respite from the grind.

But, are we getting enough time for these pleasurable activities?

It’s typical to get more than 20 days of vacation in Europe.

The average number of paid vacation days for those working in the private sector for at least a year is 10 days, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We wanted to find out if our respondents had the same.

And, it turns out, our sampling reflected those stats. A whopping 45% had between 10-15 days of vacation. Shockingly, 15% had just 1-5 days. This shows that we’re seriously overworked.

Time to relax for fun is one thing, but time to relax in order to recuperate is quite another. We wanted to find out if our survey takers had enough time to tend to themselves when feeling under the weather.

A Lack-of-Vacation Loophole

Those who are vacation-deprived have a clever solution: calling in sick when feeling peachy.

If you have enough paid sick leave in the bank, it stands to reason that employees who are running out of vacation days milk their sick leave. Those in the study reflected this stealthy solution.

An impressive 41% reported falsely calling in sick between 1-5 times per year. And who can blame them?

When it comes to vacation leave, the United States falls far behind many other developed nations, and a work-life balance really doesn’t exist.

Wellness is not a top priority, which is also reflected in the shortfall of sick leave time.

Sickening Amount of Sick Leave

It’s an unfortunate fact that at least 20 million Americans go to work sick because they do not have any paid sick leave. This approach is not popular in other parts of the world. At least 145 countries provide paid sick days for short- or long-term illnesses, with 127 providing a week or more annually.

In the United States, on the other hand, there are currently no federal legal requirements that require employers to provide paid sick leave for their staff.

In the study, it was clear that the respondents were severely lacking in sick time.

A sickening reality: 26% had only 2-5 days of paid sick leave available. A quarter had just 6-10 days. And, sadly, 2 out of 10 had no paid sick leave at all. 

It stands to reason that many American workers are going to work sick to avoid losing pay.  Not a good look during a pandemic.

They’re faced with the unfortunate choice of working sick or not getting paid, with 33% of them agreeing that the amount of sick time they had was adequate.

It’s obvious that we’re not getting enough time to recuperate when feeling under the weather.

No Paid Maternity Leave

It’s frankly an embarrassment. Other industrialized countries often have up to a year of paid maternity leave. The United States has none.

Although the Family Medical Leave Act ensures that employers with 50 or more workers must allow parents 12 weeks of job-protected leave per year to care for a newborn, that leave is unpaid. And many moms have to take off sick and vacation days to take advantage of this.

Only 56 percent of employees are eligible for FMLA based on an FMLA survey. Too many moms—and dads—do not have enough time to bond and care for their little bundles of joy.

The results from the Resume-Now survey confirmed the disturbing truth: Moms and dads had very limited time to spend with their newborn.

Nearly 3 out of 10 dads were only able to take 2 weeks or less of leave.  

Of the moms, 27% took 5-6 weeks off. A shocking 20% took only 3-4 weeks. It shouldn’t be possible that a mom was not able to take any time off after giving birth, but 3% of moms reported taking no maternity leave.

The amount of time off these parents were able to take is minuscule as compared with most developed nations.

A devastating reality is that many moms simply didn’t have enough sick and/or vacation time left to take as much time as they needed. A full 32% of moms said they couldn’t take that time because they had no time left and needed the money.

And 19% were afraid of losing their job. As one mom said,

“I was supposed to be grateful that my company wouldn’t fire me for taking 12 weeks of unpaid leave. It’s a joke.”

Ignorance is Not Bliss

The satisfaction levels of survey-takers were baffling. Americans seem to be satisfied with the amount of sick leave, vacation, and parental leave they have. Nearly 7 out of 10 said their vacation days were adequate, 33% were satisfied with their sick leave, and 42% felt their parental leave time was enough.

And perhaps it comes back to that not-getting-the-memo idea.  

Perhaps if U.S. workers were made more aware of the leave available in other industrialized countries, they’d be a little less…satisfied.

In response to several “Did you know?” questions, most respondents were unaware of the policies of other developed nations.

“Did you know that the average amount of parental leave in Europe is twenty-six weeks?” 

61% said no.

“Did you know that there is no federal minimum for paid vacation or paid public holidays in the U.S.?” 

47% said no.

“Did you know that most countries in Europe give their employees 20 or more paid vacation days?” 

54% said no.

“Did you know that the U.S., Suriname, Papua New Guinea, and a handful of island nations in the Pacific Ocean are the only countries that don’t require employers to provide paid time off for new mothers?” 

63% said no.

It’s not that all Americans feel that the situation is fine and dandy. There were voices among respondents saying that the situation regarding vacation, maternity leave and sick leave should improve and be brought into line with European standards:

“I think that America is a live-to-work and not a work-to-live society and this is reflected in the low number of paid days off most workers receive.”

“I think the US should offer time equivalent to European nations.”

Work to Live or Live to Work?

Although we are a world leader in many areas, America lags well behind other countries when it comes to paid leave.

Not only is there a lack of paid leave, but Americans are kept in the dark about how common it is to have plentiful leave in other countries.

Maybe it’s high time for the United States to also become a leader in terms of social satisfaction and innovation in the field of work-life balance and institute paid leave policies that support the hardworking people who make this a great country?  

So far, these only seem to be illusory dreams—dreams of a President over 100 years ago that failed to take hold.

The post Americans Left Out with Lack of Leave appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Luckily, through my years of career coaching, I’m here to tell you how your job rejections can actually be a source of learning so you can strengthen your job search strategy and outcomes.

Think of job searching like a funnel. Depending on the point in the process where you’re seeing less optimal results, it can actually tell you a lot about how to improve.

Are you uncovering enough open opportunities?

Your first “job” in job searching is to uncover active, open roles. If you’re not finding out about any open roles, it is possible you’re relying too heavily on the online job boards.

Don’t sleep on the fact that 70-80% of jobs are landed through networking and that a large portion of open roles are not always posted online.

Be sure to find the right guidance, coaching or mentorship to understand how to network effectively and strategically to identify open roles.

Are you struggling to land first-round interviews? 

It is possible that either:

You are relying too heavily on the online job boards.

Networking can be a way to ‘get your foot in the door’ whereby an informational chat can lead to an internal referral and a first-round interview.

This allows you to be recognized as a candidate and not just an online application.

You may be applying to roles that are not the best fit for you.

If you’re applying online and your resume is being referred internally but you still don’t see any first-round bites, reflect on the level of role, the type of role, whether you need some upskilling, and how well your materials and personal branding aligns with your direction.

Are you landing interviews but not final rounds? 

Usually, these early screening rounds are a core assessment for your fit for the role. This could be a telltale sign that you’re applying to too great a variety of roles and that you’re not sure which is the best fit for you.

Or that you’re not clear enough in your explanation as to why they should be sure you would excel in that role. Consider pursuing career exploration to clarify your best fit role.

Are you landing final round interviews but not landing offers? 

Succeeding in Interview Projects & Presentations:

If you’re being given case studies, projects, challenges, presentations, etc. and you aren’t moving past these, consider whether the role you’re applying for is something you’re naturally aligned with and feel strong at doing.

• Do you have a strong understanding of what the role requires and entails?
• Can you present how you would handle this work in a way that proves that either you have handled similar challenges in prior roles or that your strengths, tendencies and inclinations make you a natural candidate who would excel at handling those specific types of challenges?
• Do you need to pursue a course or certification to strengthen and develop relevant skills? Or are you pursuing a path that isn’t the best fit for you?

Interview Practice:

Another consideration at this stage could be how you show up in interviews, i.e. answering questions in a way that is succinct and structured, choosing relevant stories to tell, having an energized tone and demeanor, having professional body language, building rapport with the interviewer, and more.

Interview practice is extremely underrated as a beneficial tool to help you succeed once you show up for that interview.

Find Culture Fit:

Remember that interviews are about assessing your skills and potential but also your culture fit. Try to proactively identify companies that align with your values and personality.

Try to make your interview as comfortable, natural, enjoyable, conversational, and fun as possible.

Prove your genuine interest in the role and company through your energy, but also let them get to know you as a person. Smile!

Do you believe you?:

At every stage, consider whether your story makes sense for why you want this role and why you genuinely believe you would excel and thrive in the role.

If you don’t understand the role’s expectations or genuinely believe that you would excel in it, why should anyone else?  Career exploration can clarify the right direction.

What feedback are you hearing or feeling?

You should always ask for feedback from interviewers but even if they don’t share it with you, your self-awareness and reflections are more than sufficient for you to know what you can do better next time.

After every interview, allow yourself to reflect on what you did well and what you can improve (i.e. how you target roles and companies, how you prepare, how you communicate, etc).

Know that things are sometimes outside of your control. 

If you’re genuinely applying to the right types of roles and companies, you have the skills to thrive in that role, the companies are a culture fit for you, and you are clearly and convincingly articulating why you are the best fit — Then just know that as long as you genuinely believe you are on the right path, you will find the right fit in a matter of time.

But if any of these pieces feel out of place, remember to reflect and act on whichever area of your approach can be improved in order to more efficiently land a fitting role.

The post How Can Job Rejections Strengthen Your Job Search? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Here are a few things you can reflect on to ensure you strengthen your approach:

Are you applying to a role that is too junior or too senior for your tenure and level of experience?

Jumping up a level sometimes can be more easily done internally within a company. While the number of years of experience on a job posting can sometimes be misleading, do your best to apply for role titles that feel commensurate with your tenure, experience level, and skillset.

Are you applying to a role that you’re not sure is the best fit for you? 

If so, consider pursuing career exploration to clarify the best fit for role, industry and environment. Having confidence in your ideal direction will create efficiency and effectiveness in uncovering networking connections, targeting the right companies, and easily proving you are a strong fit in interviews.

Ask yourself, from 1-10, how clear are you that you’re pursuing a [role/company/industry] that is a fit for you? Are you applying to various options for roles and industries?

This is a key trigger to take a step back and ensure you learn enough about each path to prioritize the best possible fit for you.

Career exploration is an impactful process to pursue before you begin your job search journey.

Are you searching for companies in the wrong industry?

If you already have proven experience in a certain role, it’s great to apply for companies within industries that you have a genuine interest in, so they see that you are genuinely interested and invested in contributing to their mission.

Are you applying for companies at the wrong size or stage? 

Consider whether you are the best fit in a smaller, scrappier organization, a large corporate organization, or somewhere in the middle.

Are you applying “everywhere and anywhere”? 

If you are applying exhaustively for too many hours a day, to numerous roles per day, not only will you feel burnout, but you will start to reduce the quality of your efforts in finding the right applications.

It’s best to choose your top 10 target companies and focus on only a few at a time, so that way you intentionally focus your efforts on pursuing companies you know would be a great fit.

Could you benefit from some upskilling to prove your interest and fill any skill gaps required for your ideal direction?

Consider which course or certification would be most interesting and most relevant to push you towards your ideal direction.

Could your branding be improved? 

Your materials should clearly align your background and strengths with your ideal direction. Your branding should be consistent, clean, simple, and clearly prove your fit. (Think: resume, LinkedIn, professional summary, video pitch, cover letter)

Could you improve the clarity and impact of your communication during interviews? 

Interview practice is massively underrated as a helpful tool. Seek out coaches, mentors, or peers to listen and give you feedback.

Are you avoiding pursuing certain elements of the job search that feel unnatural or uncomfortable? 

(Like networking, interview practice, etc)? Are there other “mindset” areas or hesitations you could use coaching on to ensure you feel ready, willing, open and confident to pursue a strategic job search?

Could you benefit from some guidance on job search strategy and best practices? 

If you’re not sure where to spend time, how to approach networking, how to target companies, etc, there are best practices and career coaching experts out there who can help teach you what to do so you’re not left guessing. Once you know what to do properly, consider #11 below.

Are you in need of some structure and accountability? 

Using your time wisely in job search is the key to your success. Set goals, measure outcomes, and learn from those metrics to determine where you can improve.

Consistent effort and networking volume is key, so create accountability systems that will work well for you.

Are you being creative?

Don’t forget to use LinkedIn as a means of engaging in a relevant professional conversation, prove your thought leadership,

Are you taking care of yourself holistically to ensure your mindset remains confident and positive? 

Pursuing a creative project or learning/skill development opportunity can really help during a time of searching so that you don’t forget your value.

Are you being transactional or strategic?

Try to avoid feeling like you’re “checking the box” with any job search activity. Remember that both networking calls and interviews are conversations that serve as a mirror into the work you may be doing, so consider:

• Who do I want to talk to?
• About what types of topics or problems?
• Why do I care about these topics or problems?
• How will I efficiently target these particular people or companies?

Are you pursuing the same efforts over and over again?

in a “heads down” manner, or are you iterating your approaches based on outcomes? Remember to reflect on your job search strategy, where your time is going, the approaches you’re using, and the outcomes you’re seeing, to be sure you pivot and improve the areas that aren’t serving you.

And by the way, these areas for improvement could relate to your practical strategies, your sense of accountability, or even your mindset.

Don’t forget to “interview them back.”

It’s possible you’re showing up to interviews telling the interviewers what they want to hear without truly reflecting on whether that was the right fit company or environment for you. If it wasn’t the right fit after all, reflect on what elements of a company environment are important to you and then be creative in terms of how you can find more companies that fit the culture you align with.

Depending on your answers, consider whether career coaching, peer support, or any other form of mentorship and accountability could serve as both emotional and practical support to help you succeed in your job search.

The post 15 Key Considerations to Improve your Job Search Outcomes appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Six months ago, more than 45% of employees – essential and remote workers – reported suffering from burnout.

Why could churn be higher this year? As the U.S. slowly emerges from the pandemic, people feel their lives are becoming more predictable and under control again, creating the mental bandwidth to consider a job change.

There’s also more freedom. Geographic location is no longer a driving factor during a job search, thanks to the virtual work trend that is here to stay in many industries. Talent pools have truly become nationwide, if not global.

It’s vital for organizations to consider that while everybody is in this same storm, we are not all in the same boat.

To reduce burnout for high-performing employees and get acceptance on job offers, organizations need to find new ways to relate to employees and candidates that demonstrate genuine empathy.

Recharge to renew motivation

Supporting employees in overcoming burnout is important for everyone in the organization. Try these strategies to help reduce stress and elevate outlook in your workforce:

Help employees stay challenged intellectually. For some, taking on new responsibilities and having the opportunity to learn will recharge them and keep them motivated. Find ways to focus less on the minutiae of a job description and more on enabling employees to use their skills and passion to help move your organization forward.

At Modern Hire, we encourage our team members to consider internal mobility options to shift into other areas of the company that interest them or take on projects that get them excited. Taking on different job responsibilities, even on a short-term project basis, can break up the routine.

It also contributes to professional development.

Encourage employees to disconnect and recharge. Because people were unable to travel for vacations last year, many opted to not take time off. Even if not traveling, PTO is essential to unplug from work, recharge, and avoid burnout. At Modern Hire, for instance, we regularly encourage our employees to take time away from work and truly disconnect.

Organizations must foster a culture that respects and values time away from work, so employees get that mental break.

Support work/life flexibility. One of our company values – Invest in People – centers on providing employees with the flexibility to focus on what is important when it is most important. Sometimes the most important thing is finishing a big work project with a looming deadline.

Other times, the most important thing is cheering on your kid at their soccer game, taking care of your ailing parent, or dealing with any of life’s other demands. Trust your people.

Give them the flexibility they need to attend to all the things – work and personal – that are important to them.

Consider office reopening plans from your employees’ view. It’s not easy to maintain your culture when everyone is virtual, but you’ll do damage if you require people to come back when they say they aren’t ready. Many people don’t want to give up the flexibility they’ve built into their lives.

Some organizations are asking for volunteers to begin the return to work; others are giving hybrid work schedules a test.  

Make it easy for candidates to accept your offer

As organizations rebuild for the future, they need to translate their concern for employees into the hiring experience for candidates.

Here are a few hiring strategies that will show candidates you care about eliminating burnout and ensure you’re extending offers to the right candidates:

Be clear on your reopening plan. Solid communication on this will highlight your attention to employee burnout. It also helps ensure candidates who are hired during an all-virtual mode aren’t caught off guard by a mandatory return to the workplace. Your entire interview team should be consistent with this message.

Understand why candidates are looking. Are they running away from the same factors that will cause job fatigue with your organization? Are they settling for you because they just need to leave a current employer? You want to make sure they are joining your team for the right reasons.

Offer candidate-centered hiring experiences. Give candidates a window into your organization and treat them fairly, with dignity and respect, in your hiring process.

A science-based virtual hiring platform can provide the tools your team needs to create the right job-relevant experience by:

• Streamlining and building on the candidate’s journey, so they are not asked the same questions in every step and have more opportunities to use their own words rather than answer multiple-choice questions.
• Enabling efficient and easy hiring team collaboration, so interviewers are well-prepared not only about the role but about each candidate’s background.  
• Inviting candidates into your process with an honest look at the role and your organization during pre-hire assessments, so they can make informed decisions about their fit if you decide to extend an offer based on the assessment data.

This pandemic forever changed how people and organizations think about where, how, and when work is done.

Successful companies won’t try to turn back the clock, especially when there are new opportunities for organizational and personal growth, and different challenges to solve with employee burnout.

They will continue to evolve their culture, their messaging, and hiring processes. Employer-employee relationships of the future will be more human-centric than ever.  

The post How To Overcome Burnout In The Hiring Process appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Dutch insurance giant Achmea for example gives their applicants the opportunity to decide on the method of communication. The candidate gets to decide if the recruiter should call, WhatsApp, or e-mail.

Turns out 80% never changed the default status of phone.

Of course, this wasn’t tested in an A/B test, so maybe people like to be called. But we see this everywhere and there are actually a lot of good psychological constructs for this behavior.

1. The default sets the norm and most people don’t like deviating from the norm.
2. A conscious choice costs mental energy. If a choice is already made for us, that’s easy.

GDPR compliance

So do we see this on other aspects of the careers website as well? Yes. For example, GDPR compliance checks in Europe. Most companies have a “check the box” but some offer the candidate the choice of when to have their data removed—between 28 days or 1 year—after the application process is finished.

No matter whether it’s 28 days or 1 year, the default option gets selected about 70% across the board according to Dutch ATS Hirevserve.

Not just online 

In case you’re now wondering: maybe people just don’t care enough about these things. Let’s take a choice that could decide between life and death: organ donation. That’s an important one, and one you would think people care deeply about right?

Well, Germany and Austria have pretty similar cultural norms, yet the number of organ donors in Austria is twice as high as in Germany. Why?

The default option at registration in Austria is yes and in Germany is no. In Austria, you have to make a conscious decision to unregister. In Germany, you have to make it to register.

What defaults do you have? 

So what defaults do you have on your careers website? Do you have a range in your search bar? If so, what made you decide that is the right default?

Do you send job alerts at different time intervals? If so what’s the default interval?

And in case you think you don’t have a default because they always need to select something, you forget that the first option you offer is the one selected most often.

The effect isn’t as strong as a pre-filled default, but it’s still there.

Defaults matter

There is no wrong or right with defaults. But never forget you have the power to nudge people. Or actually, by definition, you will nudge people.

So whatever choice you make, make a conscious one, as your choice unconsciously affects those of many.

The post Consider Your Default Settings appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

According to CNBC, there were an estimated 35 million working mothers at the end of 2019. In 2020, 78.2% of families had at least one parent working. These statistics help to prove the point that parents are hard workers.

Some studies have even shown that parents are better workers. Yet, despite these statistics that point towards a growing workforce that is increasingly family-based, many employers still don’t seem to understand or believe parents can be good workers.

Some employers are even holding fast to stereotypes and stigmas. Some believe that parents are less productive at work because they’re distracted. Or, assume parents need more time off or have to leave unexpectedly for family emergencies.

Why do these biases still exist? Furthermore, how can employers move past them and create working environments for parents that help them to succeed instead of hindering their progress?

Why Parents are Productive

Letting go of the stigma that working parents are a hindrance is crucial for your business’s success. You could be missing out on some of the best possible employees for your company by not hiring people with children at home.

Multiple studies have showcased the value of working parents. Some of these studies show that parents are typically:

• More productive
• Great multi-taskers
• Empathetic
• Have better time management skills
• More likely to be in touch with the world and willing to research things

By supporting working parents, you’ll create a happier, less stressful work environment.

Your current employees won’t have to worry about what might happen to them if they decide to start a family. You’ll also retain better talent when your business builds a reputation for supporting all of your employees, no matter what their situations may be.

When you choose to let go of the stigma surrounding working parents, your business will benefit.

Letting Go of the Stigma

In most cases, the bias against parents is unintentional. You may not even realize that you’re letting your antiquated feelings steer your thought process. That’s why it’s so important to bring this stigma to light.

One study published in the Journal of Social Issues found that when people were told an employee was also a mother, they viewed her as less competent. Those in hiring positions had less interest in bringing her on or promoting her.

Another study from the American Sociological Review found that women can lose 7% of their earnings when they become mothers.

Some insist the discrepancies exist due to a decline in employee work ethic. They usually point towards a parent’s need to adjust their schedules when they become parents. They might need to cut back on their hours or ask for more flexibility when it comes to their job.

Although parents may do these things, it doesn’t invalidate their work ethic. Having children doesn’t lower anyone’s ability to do things the right way. It certainly doesn’t impact anyone’s competence.

Ultimately, it’s up to employers to fight back against these strange stigmas that suggest parenthood causes employees to somehow lose their skills. You can do that by supporting working parents, rather than buying into stereotypes.

How You Can Support Working Parents

One way to fight against these stereotypes is to offer appealing incentives to parents that can keep them on as loyal employees for years to come.

Oftentimes, the biggest incentive is offering support. Parents want equality along with every other employee, and that starts with supporting them and their needs. Talk to them. Have an open discussion about what they feel is important. It might include things like:

• Paid parental leave
• A family-friendly company culture
• A safe space for working parents

Those needs might look different for every parent, so creating a “parent policy” that includes flexibility. Oftentimes, this is a great place to start. Consider letting parents work remotely at least a few days a week. If they have the right equipment and home office essentials, they can be just as productive at home without having to leave their children.

It’s also important to understand the value of a working parent’s time. Everyone has a busy schedule, but parents have to deal with multiple schedules. Additionally, they can’t limit their children from doing things just because their working hours are rigid.

Make sure to hold meetings that have value, and don’t fall into the trap of putting a meeting together that could have been an email. Having brainstorming sessions, even via Zoom, is a great way to get everyone on the same page, be productive, and move forward with a new idea or project.

It allows everyone the opportunity to learn about their specific “jobs”, so they can then accomplish them independently.

Supporting parents at work is important for your business. Not only will it create more loyal employees, but you’ll build a positive and productive culture that will help to eliminate stigmas for years to come.

The post Working Parents Make Great Employees appeared first on RecruitingDaily.

Search for a definition of talent acquisition sourcing and you will find explanations like Wikipedia that note Sourcing to be the identification, assessment, and engagement of skilled workers.

I don’t disagree with that meaning. However, what needs defining are the behaviors and actions that make up a Sourcers daily workload.

I am a relationship Sourcer. While the hunt for leads is enjoyable, it is the long-term lure that excites me.

I would have made a great fisherman. Patiently waiting and tempting the fish till it bites.

Anglers know that there is bait fishing, fly fishing, bait casting, spinning, and trolling. There is no one-size-fits-all.

Like fishing, there are many ways to go about a passive candidate search.

Old School Conversations

Yep, we still need to pick up the phone. Honestly, I am right there with you. I can barely leave a voicemail anymore that doesn’t mirror the rambling of a preteen.

But practice makes perfect. Although the first few connections can be text or email or socials, the candidate will eventually want to speak to you “live” for the best experience. Try doing a “Talking Tuesday” where once a week you commit to the telephone.

Hit the Pavement

I hope you have your Covid vaccine. If you do, it’s time to get out there! We call these Community Sourcers. But you don’t have to be labeled a Community Sourcer to get out in the world with your actual legs.

In healthcare, we have dietary and environment services roles that are best filled being out in the community, shaking hands, and kissing babies.

Boolean

This is for those Sourcers that are fighting to learn or use Boolean and think “I’m doing fine without it”. You simply can’t uncover 100% of the labor pool without it.  If you have had a few bad teachers, shake it off and find another.

You need to understand the language of the internet to use the internet for sourcing.

Job Fairs

Don’t try to fight me on this. Let Recruiters take the handfuls of resumes back to the office for candidates who are an immediate fit. But the Sourcers must lay claim to all the candidates that refused to stop by the booth, declined, or just simply were unimpressed.

The Sourcer does the follow-up and works the magic with repetitive cadence and reach outs to win the person over. That takes the skill, attention, and commitment that a Sourcer can provide.

Content Marketing

Put ten Sourcers in a room and maybe one has a marketing background. It’s not our forte. However, I urge Sourcers to make the effort to get famous on at least one social media platform and grow followers organically.

Candidates are consumers. They will research you. And a “famous” Sourcer with a reputable social media presence gives candidates confidence. Not to mention it keeps you relevant to a candidate till they are ready to take on a job search.

Research

Shout out to Nancy Nelson, Sourcer at UT Southwestern who told me she was in pre-search on a role, waiting for a report to come back on trends for ideal candidates on a certain role. A Sourcer who looks for trends in schools, degrees, and competitors is to be celebrated.

If you don’t spend time knowing your competitors, you will never know what to leverage.

This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list. Whatever tactics you use—that are legal, moral, and ethical—to find potential passive leads can be called Sourcing.

Don’t try to fit the mold. Carve out your own space. It’s not stupid if it works.

Happy Hunting!

The post What Do You Call Sourcing? appeared first on RecruitingDaily.