KeenHire Blog by Margaret Graziano

How Can You Improve Performance Metrics and Employee Productivity?

A study of the Corporate Executive Board found that since the recession began, managers have become less effective at defining employees roles and accountability. Before the recession, only 60% of employees said their managers did an okay job of effectively communicating expectations, since the recession that number has dropped to 45%, which considering is quite low.  Before, Front Line and HR Managers told employees how they fit in to the overall strategy and market share objectives, now they tell employees to get to work and be grateful they have a job.  Ouch…….that is pretty short sighted thinking.

The highly interesting part of this is that when employees understand how what they do fits into the overall strategy of the business and the achievement of their corporate objectives productivity can increase by 10% at a minimum. Ten percent of ten employees equates to an additional headcount.

When I lead my Maximize Your People ROI workshop and keynotes I speak a great deal about Jim Collins’ call to action, “Put the right people on the Bus”.  Five years ago I learned two provocative processes for assessing, evaluating & validating job specifications, at Keen we call these Benchmarking and Role Analysis.  Both of these tie Organizational Development and Recruitment processes together and drastically improve hiring metrics and recruiting success rates.

If you want to attract more of the best, you first have to truly understand why some of your employees are high performers. Is it coincidence, dumb luck or a lot of hard work when a key manager assembles a team of high performers?  Or is it a calculated and well-executed strategy?

Experts say that building a high performance work-group does not happen by anything other than a well defined, executed recruitment plan and selection hiring process. High performing teams are not created by accident.  There is always a plan of attack that attracts people with solid competencies, required behaviors, complimentary traits, and shared values.  Companies like HP create programs for this by assessing their top performers and understanding what drives their performance; aspects like competencies, motivators, behaviors, values, work style, and emotional intelligence.  They then build a hiring model that vets candidates with similar winning formulas.

This is what KeenHire refers to as benchmarking.  The Keen team has assessed over 1000 high performers conducted over 200 corporate benchmarks since our launch.  In one company alone, we saved the employer over $1,000,000.00 in poor hiring costs  Download Keenhireclarknatcasestudy because they stopped hiring people who they thought would fit and they started hiring people they knew would fit.  This new age Talent Management stuff really works!

Conducting a Role Analysis on positions that you are filling whether through an internal promotion or a new hire impacts not only your ability to put the right person on the bus, it effects your companies ability to improve workforce production and engagement. When your employees know that you chose them because they had the natural ability to do the job in a way that amplifies the companies mission and vision and they know what is expected as well as how these accomplishments impact the big picture; they are awake and aware to exactly what you are counting on them to achieve on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis they are much more likely to achieve it. 

The Bottom Line is if you want a more productive, engaged workforce hire the right people for jobs they are well equipped to do, make sure they know what you expect from them and then encourage them to use their natural talents and abilities to get the job done.

If you have professional HR Management, Contract Recruitment staff or In Sourced Recruitment consultants on your team make sure they are trained in these critical hiring selection programs and strategies; if you do not and you need to go outside to Recruiting services require these service providers to offer solutions that enable you to hit your hiring and retention metrics. 

Recruiting: Filling The Talent Pipeline

Filling the Recruiting Pipeline  

Sourcing and Selection are two very different worlds. One puts as many applicants in the pool as possible and the other sorts and selects the best fit for the fulfillment of the positions’ key objectives.  Given there is a War for Talent many companies fear that they can not afford to be highly selective in their recruitment efforts. The reality is while there is a war, there is also a recession which means certain industries are dying and with that is the emergence of talent from hidden sectors. 

If you strategize effectively you will easily attract solid ‘core’ talent from industries that are highly compatible to yours. Yes, you may have to train the candidate to your company, products and services. However if you conduct the hiring process with thoroughness and integrity you hire ONLY the best suitable talent - rather hiring the best suitable experience (which we all know backfires when it’s the wrong ‘fit’). Either way you have to train a newcomer to your firm, so it is your choice whether you want to train and fix bad behaviors or invest in up front industry, product and service training.  

To attract, hire and retain the “right” talent Keep in mind there are now a multitude of cost effective options and alternatives.  If you are choosing to pay a fee, or hire a contract recruiter ensure your recruiter is highly skilled in both search and selection, or consider outsourcing pieces of the processes to firms or people who are highly skilled in a specific area, or make certain that your internal resources have all the tools & training  they need to improve their hiring batting average.

Options for Generating Candidates at the top of the funnel:

A. Hire a Contract Recruiter, a full scale Search Firm or a local Employment Agency

Interviewing & Hiring A Recruitment firm or Professional Recruitment Contractor:
Questions you may want to ask.
1) How many placements have you made in our field/niche/industry/position level?
2) What is your passive candidate strategy? Please outline it.
3) What system are you utilizing to evaluate your candidates strengths, behaviors,and competencies as they compare to our immediate and long term needs for the role?
4) What is your due diligence process? Who pays for that?
5) What is the average tenure of your placements?
6) Will you consider a fee arrangement with a percentage weighted on retention
7) How many customers have you retained for 5+ years?

B. Sourcing Candidates through the Boards & Internet

1) If you using the boards to source candidates – hiring a 3rd party sourcing company might be a prudent option; these companies have armies of people who scour the job boards while we in America are sleeping. The average cost of this service is $1500.00 per search to $2500.00 per month.  Different companies charge based on the deliverable. This emerging industry is rapidly taking their stake in the talent acquisition sector.
           
2) Resume Search Aggregation and Filtering – these are software as a service subscriptions that take your job specifications and pull appropriate resumes from a multitude of job boards. This type of software can save your internal Sourcers or Recruiters hundreds of hours.

3) Posting technology - There is job board and social media posting technology that takes your single job posting and delivers it to hundreds of specialty sites in seconds. Pretty cool!

C. Passive Candidate Acquisition: Social Networking 

1) If you chose this route make sure you are hiring/contracting with a person who has no fear of rejection, is willing and able to make an abundant of outbound calls on a regular basis and who has strong talent in navigating around the internet.

2) Linked in and Face Book are by far two of the most effective ways to find passive talent. 

D. New Fashioned Head hunting

How is your recruiter planning on building the list of who to call? Do they have the resources for list building; will they outsource this function; if so how much will that cost?  There are excellent technology solutions that your recruiters need be using to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness. 

E. Create an EVP and promote the hell out of it

Find out why people work for your company, find out why they stay. Create an Employee Value proposition and promote it on social media, industry sites, internally, to customers, to local colleges and vocational schools, etc. 

F. Pay Referral Bonuses

G. Build Your Internal Recruitment Team to Maximize Your People ROI

Consider implementing B-F with a carefully selected and trained internal recruitment team. The internal team must be evaluated based on hiring metrics, retention, efficiency and value they provide.

The bottom line is make sure you are investing in the right solution for your unique situation.

Talent Strategy 3.0 - Vail Colorado December 14 & 15

About the Program

With a rocky economy, hot new emerging industries on the rise, three generations in the workforce, Sr. level leaders on the verge of retirement/re alignment and a sea of recruiting alternatives knocking at our clients’ doors, it is time to start thinking about how we as an industry are going to align ourselves as strategic business partners rather than as transactional service providers. As the economy begins to recover it is imperative that you brand your firm as the human capital provider of choice.

The Society of Human Resource Management reports that 6 of the top 10 Workplace Trends are directly related to talent acquisition, selection & retention.

The number 1 trend to most likely have a major impact on the workplace is workforce retention, and the most critical HR function effecting business strategy is Staffing/Employment and Recruiting.

The above issues are not separate -they are looked at as Talent Management and there is no other group of people on the planet better equipped to empower corporations to solve these problems than people like us, top tier staffing & search professionals who work on the front lines of talent acquisition, every day.

The KeenHire™ Human Capital Strategic Consulting Series empowers search & staffing professionals to take a new look at search and staffing - a look from the shoes of an employer. Strategically speaking, retention begins with selection and effective workforce planning and we as an industry have everything to do with ensuring that the placements we make that need to, have a place in the succession plan.

Join us for this provocative, insightful and fun program that delves into the corporate strategic talent issues and highlights innovative solutions you can provide to solve them. Let’s face it, now more than ever your clients have recruiting alternatives. There is off shoring, in-sourcing, RPO and on line systems that streamline the work of recruiting. Even large global HR consulting firms are trying to cash in by getting into the recruiting game. Your ability to grow is directly contingent on your ability to adapt to the changing market as well as on your ability to meet and exceed your clients increasing needs.

Astute recruiters and search professionals are looking down the path for what they can do to offer a deeper level of service and provide holistic solutions to their clients human capital needs and therefore differentiate themselves from the sea of recruiting options available to their clients. In the past you had to be good on a daily basis to keep your clients coming back for more, NOW…..you have to be great and you have to commit to their end game, or someone else will.

Course Outcomes

Empower yourself in understanding and responding to corporate retention issues, dispel the myths and uncover critical issues affecting your customers’ ability to attract and keep the right people.

You gain hands on experience in uncovering the real Cost of unwanted Employee Turnover and the impact that it has on your customers’ companies ability to achieve its strategic objectives.

You gain competence and capacity to impact your customers’ recruiting and hiring efficacy.

You learn a strategic approach to assessing your customers’ REAL human capital needs, proactive workforce planning and a comprehensive approach for implementing a 3 –step top grading approach that positions you to build your customers’ organization with high performers in key roles.

You leave the workshop with an array of bolt on and augmented talent management strategies that meet the needs of leaders, managers and the multitude of front line customer facing and operational impact staff in your clients’ workforce.

You walk away with the power and prowess to influence the Talent Mindset throughout your entire customer base.

To register call 1-888-533-6447

$1299.00 per person

What They’re Saying

"This course was by far well worth more than the cost I paid to be here". Karen Richards-Fidelis Bio Pharma, Dallas Texas.

“I am pleased to recommend Margaret Graziano as a foremost authority in personnel recruitment, assessment, selection, and retention. I have paid to attend training and certification events with Margaret as the leader, and feel that the value was exceptional. Beyond her incredible knowledge of the aforementioned subjects, she brings a sincere passion to the training, and presents useable information in such a way that it is actually useful in a real-life setting. She cares about the people she works with and truly wants to advance our industry by helping others thrive as “true professionals”. Her training has helped me in my professional development, and the development of my organization. I believe that even if you are a “master” in this business, you can certainly increase your personal productivity and profits from her training, speaking, and the products offered by her company, KeenHire.

Ed Keil, CPC, CERS, Owner, Reliance Recruiting
hired Margaret as a Consultant/Coach/Trainer in 2006 , and hired Margaret more than once

“Margaret Graziano has proven to be one of the torchbearers of progressive Human Resource/Human Capital initiatives. Her insight to what Corporate America wants and needs in order to help their company grow and prosper is truly leading edge and spot on. She has wowed her contemporaries with her "Keen" insight to the marketplace and has produced products and services which will revolutionize our industry. If anyone has any questions about Margaret's ability, just let me know. There is no one better equipped to assist you with Talent Acquisition and Talent Management issues for your firm. Do yourself a favor and get her involved with identifying and helping you solve these HR issues.” October 21, 2008
Jeff Wilson, CERS, CPC , Managing Partner/Owner , Key Corporate Services, LLC

Hard Won Staffing Lessons And Where We Go from Here

 

Although staffing employment traditionally is a leading indicator of recovery, professional recruiters today look forward with caution. This recession feels different -- not just a slowdown, but a disruption of the way business has been done.   As you formulate a strategic plan for 2010, ask yourself: "Can I afford a return to business-as-usual?"  Monster spoke to leaders in staffing whose hard-won wisdom points to a better future.

Staffing Solutions that Innovate

Dan Boersma of Laguna Source in Laguna Beach, CA specializes in finding talent for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device makers. He's managed the downturn with a three-part strategy of client service, industry knowledge and old-fashioned hustle.

"In this recession, you're working twice as hard to make three quarters as much money," Dan asserts. "The big positive is you have a little bit of free time, to say, 'Hey, we have some time on our hands, what can we do that's going to help us long-term?'"

Talent shortages in his niche have helped, but as even successful companies try to do more with less, Dan finds he has to narrow his focus to develop deeper relationships with clients. This is the time to listen, to learn more about coming technologies and the skills needed to harness them, and to build trust.

Dan and his team watch for announcements on venture funding and company earnings that signal staffing opportunities. Press releases and news articles are obvious conversation-starters with potential clients. Less obvious is Dan's observation that his best currently-employed candidates are more reluctant to move to a new employer. They need reassurance that a medical technology firm, for example, will have staying power. Whether positive or negative, industry developments point to hidden corners where top talent and new prospects on both sides of the recruitment equation are open to change. Dan says, "If a company's doing layoffs, I want to be the first to talk to their people."

And then there's plain old bearing down in tough times. "In a downturn, recruiters tend to get down on themselves and the business," Dan says. "It's easy to blame things on a bad economy, but we get here early, stay late, work on weekends…staying aggressive like this has just kept us going."

Service, research, and hard work deliver. It's a simple plan, and it works for Laguna Source.

Rethinking Staffing Services

Margaret (Margo) Graziano of KeenHire in San Jose is taking the reinvention route; she believes that the fundamentals of staffing have shifted, and the future belongs to those who broaden their services.

Margo has moved her Talent Management Division from "getting people into chairs" to a form of human capital management consulting. KeenHire's clients, also caught in the disruptions of the Great Recession, face many hiring complications that boil down to doing more with less. They profit from expertise she's developed across the entire talent acquisition timeline, such as:



Risk Mitigation
"Clients are asking us to help them not hire the wrong people, because they can't afford to make mistakes," says Margo. Staffing can't just supply candidates and hope it works out (or blame a bad hire on a client's managers). Risk mitigation means helping a client design teams. What's the right mix of talents for a new initiative or product? How should the team work? Can the company adapt, and how?

It also means retention. "We see a lot more effort and money being spent on keeping the good people," observes Margo.

Hiring Improvements
Job descriptions can be a vise, squeezing the wrong person into a job because she happens to have the right skills. Margo counters this problem by assessing people well beyond skills. "I look carefully at the people who are already doing well in the job and build what we call a 'DNA thumbprint' of what the ideal candidate looks like -- not their resume but their values, beliefs, competencies and behaviors. We actually find and staff organizational development professionals, industrial psychologists, training and development people, HR, talent management people, talent acquisition, full-time and contract recruiters."

Human Resource Management
Human capital consulting from staffing companies can add value to processes like onboarding, top-grading and retention strategies. Once the staffing company has supplied great talent, it can help the client hold onto those people. This is more service, and while it reduces churn (and -- let's admit it here -- churn can make short-term profits for staffing companies) it deepens customer attachment and creates new services to sell.

"It goes beyond the hiring moment," Margo concludes. "We work with companies to help them develop coaching programs and training and development programs for their high potential people."

Where Staffing Goes from Here

As you plan for 2010, consider these likelihoods:

1) Staffing will see a resurgence but not a return to business as usual. The collapse of whole business areas and re-alignment of money (think automotive and health care, for two examples) means that client needs will change.

2) The super-candidate syndrome will continue. Margo Graziano suggests that staffing lead the conversation away from "Super Resume" to "Super Candidate" by finding greater alignment in values and capabilities than single skills.

3) There is no substitute for persistence and hard work, especially with your most creative employees. Open your business to their suggestions. Experiment. Be aggressive. Learn and change.

Great practitioners of staffing recognize a tectonic shift brought by such a brutal recession. Companies big and small will have to do more with less. Even as business picks up, the opportunity to lead change -- for your clients and your business -- is too exciting to miss.

By Doug Hardy: Monster Staff Writer