KeenHire Blog by Margaret Graziano

3rd Party Recruiting- You Don’t Want to Do The Heavy Lifting, Let Us Do it For You!

Some say the great thing about being a third-party recruiter is that there are no firm rules on how to recruit. Well, this is just not true. If there wasn’t a right and wrong way to recruit it would simply fall apart. Every client differs, every position differs, and every candidate differs: this is a fact, however, the way that you recruit your candidates and make your clients happy is all the same.

Third party recruiters provide a service to their customers, not a function to their employers. If a recruiter can ensure successful hiring process that results in less waste and an increased return on investment, they must have a system set in place. A proven process that allows any company to close-the-door on expensive mis-hires and unwanted employee turnover is the engine that drives 3^rd party recruiting.

A process must ensure one thing; the right person in the right role, for them and for the company. This is the only way to ensure employee retention. While sales professionals only have to deal with customers’ emotions, recruiters have to deal with both customer and candidate emotions. The candidate’s motivational drivers, methods of interacting, ways of acting and reacting, thinking strategies, and leadership behaviors are all brought into context by the recruiter. It’s not just the traits of someone that predict their performance; it’s how traits interact with each other that calculates success.

Along with each client, each job must be addressed differently while apply a solid hiring process. Great companies spend time isolating what great performance is in the role they are searching to fill. Invest more time in defining what the candidate needs to do to achieve great performance, and even more time proactively assessing and defining the right behaviors, values, and motivators of that the right candidate should have.

No matter what the job is, if a recruiter has a process that involves assessing who the employee needs to be to do the job, they will come out successful. A strong hiring process includes selecting behaviors, talents, traits, willingness, “want,” power, skills, experience, and even education- the whole nine yards!

Check out KeenHire’s conscious hiring process for an example of great third party recruiting with a process in place for success!

By: Emily Eastman

The Retention Issue: How To Assess Candidates, Perfect Selection and Retain Top Talent

According To Noah Webster, retention is the act or power of keeping or retaining, but Corporately, retention is the power to keep employees actively engaged and committed to being an integral part of the organization. So what is retention like in this day in age? Are employers on the same page as their employees when it comes to effective performance and talent management?

According to the SHRM Workplace Forecast of 2011, our workplace trends are directly related to talent acquisition, selection & retention. All of these being consecutive to one another and going hand in hand with creating a successful business.

A recent survey on employee performance and retention conducted by Express Employment Professionals, one of the nation's largest privately held staffing companies, found that employers are more disconnected than ever from their workforce. Express' survey revealed that 77 percent of leaders say retention was not a problem or only a slight problem in 2011, while 91 percent of employees said they are willing to switch jobs. These extreme figures should be waking up the employers of our nation, and creating a call to action that something’s not right.

With Employee turn over in the US at 16.4 percent what is there to do? How do you shift your talent management, selection and retention in a way that that increases your profit, your employee satisfaction and turnover?

First of all strong leadership is imperative right now in order to enhance your management operating style, implementing accountability systems, while building and developing high-performance teams.

Talent acquisition can only be beat one way: putting the right people in the right roles. How do we do that? By perfecting selection. Selection can be managed with internally, with a 3^rd party recruiter or using both. Whichever your company decides to go with you must ensure that their skills, personality, and values align with the job and the company. Developing Interview strategies that include pre-established critical screening questions, an in-depth career history review and custom built behavioral interview models prevent the unhealthy corporate impact as well as the high cost of a mis-hire.

Over all the corporate response must be to link employee performance and its impact on the organization’s business goals. Doing this will keep employees goals align with the company’s, creating increasing accomplishment and happier on track employees.

So try something different, create a new hiring process, change the way you interview and beef up your leadership training and finally retain the talent you need. 

To learn more about retention, talent management and see how to create a conscious hiring process, visit us at keenhire.com. We equip companies with systems, processes and people to hire & retain with clarity and insight.

By: Emily Eastman

Solyndra. Any Business Is Only As Strong As The People Inside.

Solyndra. Once one of the greatest solar companies just a few years ago, today is dead, and sending over 1,100 employees home. “As the manufacture of solar panels in the USA has fallen from 40% of the market a few years ago to around 5% today, the fossil-fuel-lobby is quick to suggest that the whole idea of the government supporting a dying solar energy industry is misguided” (Forbes). 

They have said that the “global economic and solar industry market conditions have forced the Company to suspend its manufacturing operations.” How is this possible when the National Lab report shows that, the solar power industry is the fastest growing industry in America and we are delivering strong economic returns? Something must be up. 

Can this down fall be traced back to a hiring process? Could it be not the economy, or the jobs available but those who are doing them? A company is only as strong as the people inside; no matter how fast the industry is growing or how many jobs they are creating for the American people.

Secretary Chu of Solyndra told FORBES, “On Thursday, President Obama spoke about the need to continue creating the jobs of the future,” said Secretary Chu. “And that’s exactly what today’s investment does—putting Americans to work right away and helping position us to win the global race for the clean energy industries of tomorrow.” Although job creation is important and a significantly high priority in this country, the benefit of creating these jobs goes out the window when the candidates applying and the new employees holding them are mediocre at best.         

With the right type of hiring process all of these mishaps could be avoided and steer clear of. With a Conscious Hiring process management is enabled to learn how to identify the right people for the right roles, which directly impacts the ability to achieve corporate sales objectives and leads to success.

By engaging in a Conscious Hiring process you hone in on the key elements it takes to produce consistent sales results in your sales organization and you learn to identify the core sales behaviors, values and competencies needed to achieve those results reliably over time.

The impact of mis-hires can result in unwanted unhappiness. It produces unhappy clients, it damages a reputable company’s reputation, and it will affect all salary and benefits outlays, and in Solyndra’s case- destroy the company from the inside out.

Great companies invest more time, and ever more time. Companies must spend the time isolating what great performance is in the role, define what the employee needs to do to achieve great performance, and proactively assess & define the right behaviors, values, motives, of the right person. Only then can a business flourish to the top.

Hiring decisions make or break your business; what you don’t know COSTS YOU.

 

By: Emily Eastman

Conscious Hiring: An Operationally Efficient Sales Hiring Process That Gleans World-Class Results

As business leaders of scaling organizations you know that the success of your organization  depends on the quality of the people inside. KeenHire Talent Management’s Conscious-Hiring webinar enables you to learn how to identify the right people for the right roles directly impacting your ability to achieve corporate sales objectives.

Registration for Conscious Hiring Webinar is FREE

Date: August 2, 2011

Time: 10:30 - 12:00 PST

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

During this high-powered webinar you change the way you think about your employees' impact on your business while raising your level of expertise and control in choosing your sales team wisely.

By engaging in this Conscious Hiring process you hone in on the key elements it takes to produce consistent sales results in your sales organization and you learn to identify the core sales behaviors, values and competencies needed to achieve those results reliably over time.

You walk away with:
1. A blueprint for creating a highly effective Conscious-Hiring process
2. Insight into Role Analysis, and why it is the key to effective sales hiring
4. Understand how & why to use psychometric assessment tools
5. Review Behavioral Interviewing techniques; the when, why and how

 

The Expert

Margaret Graziano is a torch bearer in the Staffing and Recruitment industry. Her visionary ability, astute knowledge of full life cycle Talent Management and her tenure in the field, positions her far ahead of the Human Capital innovation curve. In the early 2000's Graziano shifted her mindset from recruiter working to make a placements to consultant committed to building extraordinary workforces. She added a talent management division to her staffing operation, adopted a world-class conscious hiring and placement process and significantly invested in her own personal and professional development. She utilizes her certifications in Organizational Development, Behavioral Interviewing, Psychometric Assessment usage, Role Analysis and Employee Retention to create curriculum and programs that elevate KeenHire's customers' ability to hire and retain the right people.

REGISTER NOW!

Can't make the webinar, visit the KeenHire on line store and purchase tools, workbooks, scripts, manuals, assessments, CD's, DVD's, books and more!

Recruitment: Why Change is Good

Global employment is changing rapidly. Within the last 20 years, we've witnessed highs and lows that have redefined the way talent is acquired, assessed, and implemented into the various business environments of the modern world. This change has been a result of global events, government regulations, and a changing economic climate that has demanded efficiency. Not only is this change revolutionizing the recruitment and hiring process, but is benefiting both recruiters and growing companies alike.

Market Manager -Chicago

Market Manager

You enjoy selling and business development, creating strategic solutions that meet your customers’ needs as well as becoming an integral part of your customers strategic advisory counsel.  An ideal opportunity for you is one that affords you an opportunity to sell a unique service offering, provides residual income, a sales process that knocks out the competition and gives you the freedom to uncap your income.

You are looking for a high impact business-to-business sales and market manager role. You are inspired about selling customer centric, high value, customizable HR and Talent Management solutions. You pride yourself on your ability to establish and build long-term business relationships, open up new accounts, cross sell multiple service lines and continually grow your customer base. You are looking for the right company to join forces with, one that rewards your tenacity and drive and that affords you the opportunity for growth, development, advancement and a potential equity stake. 

Recruiting As A Career

You are considering employment in one of the fastest growing industries in business today. The Recruitment and HR Consulting industry is challenging and rewarding and solves real business issues such as workforce scalability, organizational effectiveness, operational efficiency, corporate profitability and market expansion. 

You are considering employment in an extremely competitive industry, one where only the strong, ethical and top tier Recruitment and HR consultants thrive.

Successful consultants have a driving force of internal motivation.  They come in early and stay late.  The first five years in the Recruitment and HR consulting industry requires intense learning. Effective HR and Recruitment consultants bring mastery in learning, focus and intensity.  Focus and intensity is determining what actions you need to take and what there is to do and then actively doing it.  Winning HR and Recruitment consultants produce the results they promise in the time frame they promise. 

Most importantly, triumphant HR and Recruitment consultants have a strong sense of urgency and serve customers in the time frame allotted.  Robust Recruitment and HR consultants have an innate ability to read people, to listen intently and facilitate a quality match between the right candidate, the right role and the right company.

Exceptional recruitment and HR consultants are known as honest, forthright business people who have a strong code of ethics. Self-assured Recruitment and HR consultants realize that mistakes happen and they learn the lesson the 1^st time, fail forward and quickly turn the problem into a solution.

Every successful expert in any field from professional athlete and musician to computer inventor and sales person invests a minimum of 10,000 hours perfecting their area of discipline and recruiting is no different. A flourishing Recruitment and HR consultant is constantly evaluating their performance, they celebrate and diagnose their success and autopsy their failures as well as use their lessons learned as grist for the mill. Any recruitment consultant that is effective, successful and fulfilled after their two first years in the business typically chooses Recruitment and HR Consulting as their life’s work.

Welcome you to the best industry on the planet!  Expect to make an impact every day. Expect to earn a salary commensurate with the results you produce. Expect to change lives, businesses and expect to be thoroughly engaged and fulfilled every day!

 

Margaret Graziano

Founder, KeenHire Talent Management

KeenHire Recruiter Certification Training - November 11, 2010

Performance Based Hiring Model Certification Training Agenda 11.11.10-11.13.10

THURSDAY AFTERNOON – Margaret Graziano

1:00-1:40         Montage, KeenHire Story, Charter  

1:40-2:10         Business Case

2:10-3:15         KeenHire Business Model Presentation

3:15-4:30         Conscious Hiring Presentation

4:30-5:00         Download 26step Conscious Hiring Process

5:00-6:00         Keen Case Studies (Duncan, Discovery, Clark, Les Mills)

6:00                  Social

7:00                  Dinner – Thea, San Jose  

FRIDAY MORNING – Margaret Graziano

8:00-9:30          Benchmarking/Role Analysis Overview

9:45-10:45        KPI Role Play

10:45-11:15      Task Analysis

11:15-11:45      Cluster Tasks

11:45-12:30      Selection Criteria (working lunch)

FRIDAY AFTERNOON -  Dr. Stephanie Marberry

1:00-2:15         Assessments & Behavioral Interviews - Why are they keys to hiring success?

2:30-4:00         Assessment Presentation

4:00-6:00         Introduction to Behavioral Interviewing Presentation and Software

6:00                  Social

7:00                  Dinner – Maggianos, San Jose  

SATURDAY MORNING – Dr. Stephanie Marberry

8:00-9:30         Behavioral Movies

9:30-10:00       Matrix Ranking

10:00-10:30     Pick Questions & Overview of Keentip and scoring (recruiter)

10:30-11:00     Mock Interview Role Play I

11:00-11:30     Mock Interview Role Play II

11:30-12:00     Rapid Recall

MANUALS & RESOURCE MATERIAL

• 26 Step Process
• Behavioral Interview

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

• 26 step overview (in manual)
• Sample Assessments (KeenClues, TriMetrix, Achiever)
• Behavioral Scan
• Training documents for sending and pulling assessments

 

 

Improve Your Bottom Line. Hire Smarter.

The fundamental goal of the KeenHire 5 Pillar Conscious Hiring™ and candidate selection process is to hire the right candidate for the right job in a company that values a candidates’ unique contribution.  An effective hiring process takes into consideration the strategic reason for the positions existence as well as the candidate’s individual work style, behaviors, motivation, and core competencies. The end result is a solid hire that performs in the role and produces the key performance metrics. 

While employee training and development are mandatory facets of a solid Talent Management Strategy, the results of such programs are almost always insufficient when created outside of an effective and efficient hiring process.  Any company committed to long term organizational success must build a hiring process that closes the performance management gap. We have all heard Jim Collin’s mantra, “Hire the right people, give them the right tools, get out of their way and let them perform”.  Creating, implementing & systematically utilizing a Conscious Hiring process for your business that hones in on the key elements to your organization’s long-term success is a critical element of your human resources strategy.

Our 5 Pillar Conscious Hiring and Selection Process™ defines and quantifies your company’s corporate culture and work environment, the role’s key performance indicators, the ideal candidate’s work style, attitudes, behaviors, competencies, motivations and values.  KeenHire’s Conscious Hiring process begins with strategic organizational workforce planning and company discovery and results in improved return on hiring investment, corporate profitability, workforce productivity and overall organizational effectiveness.

Keen’s recruitment, selection and hiring program takes the recruiting process and breaks it down into five specific pillars, each focusing on different element of the recruitment function; beginning with organizational workforce planning, then key contributor benchmarking and role analysis, then candidate sourcing, then selecting, and finally on-boarding. Creating a Conscious Hiring and Recruitment process is essential to the health and organizational effectiveness of any organization committed to serving and retaining customers.

Performance Management - Make Your Management Impact Wisely.

All great Managers and Leaders want to run a high performing group, develop and inspire their people and take their team to the next level.

A Key elements in developing people is to ensure as a Manager you are focusing on those areas you can change and impact. Too many Managers focus on areas that they wish they could change in their employees and spend all too many hours beating their heads into the wall to make the necessary changes. 

The following list serves as a guide for ambitious Managers in developing (or not) their people.

You can Influence your workforce's Behaviors, Competencies and Capacities.

Risk Taking
Leading Edge
Education
Experience
Organization/Planning
Self-Awareness
Communications – Oral & Written
First Impression
Customer Focus
Political Savvy
Selecting A Players
Removing C Players
Coaching/Training
Goal Setting
Empowerment
Performance Management
Running Meetings
Compatibility of Needs
Presentation Skills

Competencies, Behaviors and Capacities that are harder to change but doable and if achieved raise Performance Management results. It is important to ask yourself if developing your employees in the following areas makes sense. Do you have the time to spend changing these behaviors? Do your employees want to make the needed changes? Are the employees you are developing as committed to performance management as you are?

Judgment
Strategic Skills
Pragmatism
“Track Record”
Initiative
Excellence Standards
Independence
Stress Management
Adaptability
Likeability
Listening
Team Player
Negotiation Skills
Persuasiveness
Team Builder
Change Leadership Style
Conflict Management
Credible Vision
Balance in Life

The following Competencies, Behaviors and Capacities are Very Difficult to change and we strongly encourage a Manager who is interested in leading a high performance work team does not hire people who do not show up with the following needed traits, competencies and behaviors.

Intelligence
Analysis Skills
Creativity
Conceptual Ability
Integrity
Assertiveness
Inspiring Leadership
Energy
Enthusiasm
Ambition
Tenacity
Competitiveness
Courage
Resilience
Authenticity

Using this list will enable you to choose your employees wisely, manage performance with ease and spend your time in employee development in areas you can impact.