HR's time for reflection

Lately I've been very cerebral. Stuck in my thoughts for hours. In fact, as a recruiter you move so fast and speak with so many people - that you very rarely get those moments of deep reflection. It's also that time of year when HR gets a tad hairy. We have open enrollment, budgeting, workforce planning and it's also Q4! The business is trying to finish off strong, but it is HR's time for measuring and planning. Naturally I am knee deep!

I don't know about you, but all this planning requires some deep reflection. Thinking about what worked, what didn't... what improvements are needed? What does next year look like and how will we drive those results? What resources are needed and what resources have had a low ROI? Then there is: data, data, data. Hopefully you have the data to substantiate your opinions and decisions - right? Well, for front line recruiters... maybe not as much. They just know what they know... because they experience it first hand.  However, if you are going to make a business case... data sure would be the icing on the cake now wouldn't it!?

Frankly, my head is spinning with all of these thoughts and ideas!


The thing that I've been pondering most is Branding.... it's a hot topic and has been for years. It affects the recruiter and hr practitioners world in so many ways. If I were to take a holistic look at my day-to-day; the employment brand impacts my ability to recruit, retain and engage the workforce. Sure I could be pondering big data... I could be pondering better engagement strategies (which I think is next on the list), but I keep coming back to branding. I think because to me.... it's foundational. It's grass roots. I've also realized how easily social media gets confused as branding; instead of the vehicle for branding. So, I set out to get a refresher on employment branding and found myself with a plethora of content out there. Sweet!

Some shout outs:

Great post this week in Talent Management Magazine

LinkedIn's - State of Employer Branding

Wise Branding Advice: Your Employment Brand must be genuine!!!
If you brand the company and then can't get your organization to live up to the brand.... essentially it is false advertising. Let me tell you... people do not take kindly to that sort of thing!

Have you come across any good content or stats on employment branding?
Please respond and share..

The Job Hopper

Countless times this has been the road block for many talented individuals. Frankly, I've always wondered if this is a blessing or a curse. You are probably thinking... Blessing? How can she define it as such? Well the reality is you would have had to be hired for several jobs in order to be defined as a job hopper and that means you were chosen by the employer and embraced as part of their team. They saw potential and had hope in you. The fact is, there are many people out there that are not as interview savvy and did not get that frequent of opportunity to join. Isn't that sort of a blessing to have that type of skill? You also have to wonder if that skill translates to the important skills needed in this job!

Yeah, yeah US employers don't want to invest in a person's training and ramp to productivity, only to have to restart that process a year later. However, I have to wonder if they are leaving for a reason and don't actually have the intention of being a job hopper, but are instead being held back from their ambition, micro-managed to death, or avoided a lay-off (jumped ship).

So, how long is long enough? Say you were under the circumstances above, would you stay for the sake of longevity on your resume? A lot of people would... in fact I've heard that before so many times, "I at least have to hit the (#) mark before I consider leaving... I don't want to be perceived as a job hopper".

Don't get me wrong, I don't pick sides on this debate. I just think it is food for thought. So many employers disqualify a candidate based on resume alone because the candidate is perceived as a job hopper, but the reality is if you don't know their situation... how can you truly classify them as such and maybe, just maybe this person just had some bad luck?! The employer should use precaution for sure, but a flat out no seems rigid to me.

Maybe what we should be delving into is why they have made such poor employment decisions repeatedly and make them think hard about what they liked, didn't like and how your environment, managerial style and culture fit affect them in the role? Do they want the same things you are providing? Do their behaviors in past situations point to favorable future circumstances with you? AND... most importantly - Can you keep them?

Some risks are worth taking.... but you should also take the right precaution. Balance is key.

What sort of feelings do you have on the job hopper topic? Ever interviewed and hired someone who shocked you because they made the cut long-term?

Never Super-Glue, Always Engagement

Employee Engagement - big words in the HR world. 

What are the benefits? Oh, let me count the ways...

• Cut recruiting costs
• Cut long term training costs
• Increase productivity
• Healthier workforce
• Strong company culture
• Pipeline for succession planning
• Better customer experiences

You can see why these two words hold such importance in a company, however promoting, developing and enhancing engagement is not a simple thing and there are so many variables.

• Compensation
• Benefits
• Management and Leadership
• Corporate Culture
• Learning and Development
• Career Paths
• Work/Life Balance Programs

and so on...

I personally feel that management is one of the more important variables in employee engagement strategy. I've worked for organizations that automatically look at recruiting as the culprit of poor retention. As if recruiting can influence an employees dissatisfaction in their job a year after hire... 

Yes, onboarding is a recruitment function that is vital to retention, but people quit and stay for a multitude of reasons. Some argue that quality of hire is where the buck stops. I find this funny, because in a past position I was hired to upgrade talent, so I did just that. A year later, I was refilling the same positions due to attrition. I can distinctively remember saying, "I can bring them in, but I can't manage and retain them too". 

In the exit interviews we would get a ton of feedback on why people decided to leave. 8 out of 10 times it was because of their manager. Now, I realize every organization is not one-size-fits-all and each organization experiences different struggles. I think in this particular company there was a clear arrow pointing to management style and corporate culture. Incidentally, this particular organization did not have a management development program which is an opportunity sorely missed in my opinion.

There is a great book by Kevin Sheridan called, " Building a Magnetic Culture"  . It's a quick read and covers the idea that engaged employees attract customers. I also read a recent Gallup report "Employee Engagement Insights for US Business Leaders", where they also indicate that engaged workforces attract and retain customers, thus improving the bottom line. 

Now I ask my readers - what do YOU think are the key items to effective employee engagement? Do you agree that engaged employees improve business bottom lines by attracting and retaining customers?

Now wouldn't life just be easier for us HR practitioners to use super-glue instead of  engagement strategy...Ha!