Workforce Management Archives

Grow Employer Brand Loyalty, Engage Employees in Continual Improvement

Taking concepts of brand management and applying them to employee management is an effective strategy for attracting, hiring, and retaining talent. Previously, we’ve covered the concept of “employer brand” and how it relates to “consumer brand”. Today, we’ll look at the concept of “employer brand loyalty” and how an organization can strengthen it by implementing a continual improvement plan that engages employees.

Consumer Brand Loyalty Vs. Employer Brand Loyalty

Simply put, “consumer brand loyalty” is the phenomena wherein consumers choose to exclusively purchase a product or service from one business, or brand , over a long period of time. Sometimes this is because the quality of the product or service is perceived to be better, sometimes it’s because the brand provides an intangible benefit, such as prestige, fashion, righteousness, or a sense of belonging. The bottom line is that the consumer’s purchasing decision is based on factors that are not limited to price ($$$).

Similarly, “employer brand loyalty” describes an employee’s choice to exclusively contract with an employer over a long period of time for reasons beyond salary ($$$). Employee perceptions of the employer also play a significant role in the development of employer brand loyalty. In fact, many of the intangible benefits that convince a consumer to remain loyal to a brand, can be the same reasons why an employee remains loyal to an employer brand–prestige, fashion, righteousness, a sense of belonging.

…the big difference between consumer and employer brand loyalty??

Consumer brand loyalty is based on how the brand treats the consumer. Employees are, themselves, the employer brand, so their loyalty is based on how they treat one another. This means that in addition to gathering feedback from consumers on products or services, businesses must provide opportunities for employees to provide feedback on their experience. The continual improvement process is a perfect chance to do both.

Continual Improvement

Continual improvement is a concept that is understood by most of today’s successful businesses. These businesses know that operating at optimal levels on Day 1 is nearly impossible, and so smart owners plan for continual improvements that will ensure sustained growth and profitability. In improving a consumer brand, this can be illustrated by adding features to a product in order to address customer complaints. For an employer brand, an example could be investing in new technologies to automate tedious tasks and increase process efficiency.

Making informed changes to existing processes in order to increase efficiency in operations is at the heart of continual improvement. But, often times, decision-makers are blind to process inefficiencies that plague daily operations because they are not close enough to the processes. And although process inefficiency may seem of little importance in regard to consumers, it will take a toll on employees. From there, it’s only a matter of time before the low morale of employees begins to impact customers and the consumer brand.

Therefore, it is vital to understand that the strength of employer brand loyalty and consumer brand loyalty are connected; in order to achieve high levels of both, a business must engage customers, as well as employees, in the improvement process. Again, no one expects all operations to hum in the early days of a business. Mistakes are made, unexpected challenges occur, and resources are often limited; however, if lessons are not learned and shared, then those mistakes and setbacks can begin to define an organization and its employer brand–“The people are nice, the product is good, but the place is dysfunctional.”

Gaining The Employee Perspective and Buy-in

It is important to have a plan in place that provides employees with a formal channel through which they can suggest improvements. This can be as simple as a drop box (real or virtual), or it can be a standing topic at department meetings. Regardless of the chosen channel, it must be easy to submit and receive suggestions, and each suggestion should receive a genuine response.

Engaging employees in the improvement of processes is just one way to strengthen employer brand loyalty. Employees can also contribute ideas for improvements to other areas of your business such as workspace, marketing collateral, customer support, communications, and even janitorial service. This is not to say that every decision for improvement must go through the entire organization, but empowered employees who are given a voice, and whose voice is listened to, will be your brand’s most loyal advocates.

5 Steps to Improve Employment Brand Loyalty

Develop a continual improvement plan that engages your employees
Provide a quick and easy way for employees to suggest improvements at anytime and to provide feedback on specific issues
Respond to all suggestions and feedback for improvement with next-steps and a time frame for completion
Upon implementing improvements, recognize the source of the idea and its benefit
Maintain a running log of improvements that can be celebrated at year-end

ExactHire provides hiring technology for small to medium-sized organizations. Our SaaS solutions include HireCentric ATS and OnboardCentric which can streamline your hiring and onboarding processes, while providing an exceptional experience for new employees. To learn more about how you can enhance your hiring process through the use of our software, contact us today!

5 Steps To Assess Employer Brand For Small Biz Owners

in Workforce Management/by Tom Branson

As a leader of a small business, you are likely familiar with the importance of brand as it relates to your business’s profitability and growth. Your consumer brand represents who you are as a business to your customers and prospective customers; this includes how you stand apart from similar businesses, and what your goals are in delivering your product or service. A bad brand is a bad business; where one goes, the other will quickly follow–most business owners understand this.

But what about your employer brand? What is this, and how does it affect the health of your business?

Your employer brand is essentially the same as your consumer brand; however, an employer brand represents who you are as a business to your employees and prospective employees. In other words, your consumer brand makes and fulfills (hopefully) a promise to individuals with the goal of gaining their continued business, and an employer brand makes and fulfills (hopefully) a promise to individuals with the goal of gaining and keeping their talent through employment.

Your Employer Brand Right Now

Though the word “brand” is sometimes cast in a negative light, building a brand is a universal practice for businesses–even if it’s not realized by the business itself. Negative connotations associated with brand likely come to mind when we confuse it with the marketing strategies and tactics used to promote the brand. So putting aside marketing strategies and tactics–logos, slogans, messaging, materials, advertisements, et al.– consider these three questions as a quick and dirty way to assess your employer brand:

(Note: These can be used to assess your consumer brand, too, with a few tweaks.)

What is the purpose of our business?
How is working at our business different than other businesses with similar purposes?
How do people feel about our business before, during, and after working here?

By answering these questions and, more importantly, asking your employees to answer these questions, you will have the building blocks of your employer brand. It is vital that you complete this before creating a strategy to strengthen and grow your brand. If your brand (what you are) is not in alignment with your brand marketing (what you are promising to be), then you will be misleading your job applicants and laying the groundwork for a bad brand image–that means low sales for your business, and low morale/high turnover for your employees.

5 Steps to Assess Your Employer Brand

Develop a brief survey to determine the essence of your current brand using the three questions above
Distribute the survey to all employees and business stakeholders in a way that allows for anonymous responses
Collect and compile the responses to identify common brand perceptions
Identify perceptions that are negative or threatening to your business
Incorporate the assessment insights into a prioritized continual improvement plan

ExactHire provides hiring technology for small to medium-sized organizations. Our SaaS solutions include HireCentric ATS and OnboardCentric which can streamline your hiring and onboarding processes, while providing an exceptional experience for new employees. To learn more about how you can enhance your hiring process through the use of our software, contact us today!

Engaging Applicants – New Economy New Rules

in Hiring Process, Workforce Management/by Tom Branson

It’s March in Indianapolis, Indiana. That means two things: wildly fluctuating temperatures (March 6: 2℉…March 11: 65 ℉); and basketball (this year will mark the 7th time since 1940 that Indy has hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four). It’s through hosting events like the Final Four–and that spectacle in Speedway–that Indianapolis earned the nickname “Amateur Sports Capital of the World.” However, increasingly, the word “amateur” is becoming unnecessary.

Last week, I had the privilege of listening to three leaders in the Indianapolis professional sports scene. Rob Laycock of the Indiana Pacers, Dan Plumlee of the Indianapolis Colts, and Tom Dunmore of the Indy Eleven spoke at New Economy New Rules–a monthly event organized by TechPoint. The event seeks to introduce new ideas about how business is done today and how it will be done tomorrow, often with an emphasis on technology as a catalyst for change. Accordingly, the discussion topics at this event were less about on-field action and more about evolving technologies that enhance the fan experience and fill seats.

The talk was exciting for me in my career as a digital marketer–these guys have metrics on everything–and eye-opening from my perspective as a sports fan–who knew they could track bathroom traffic at stadiums in real-time?! But how can Human Resources departments–large and small–incorporate technology into their operations?

Start With A Clear Destination

Before adopting new technology, an organization should first have a clear understanding of its business objectives and goals. From there, it’s a matter of exploring and selecting technologies that will provide employees with value-added assistance in meeting important objectives–those that will directly impact business goals. In varying degrees and ways, each sports organization uses technology to meet important business objectives. However, all three emphasized the importance of using technology to engage the community, with the goal of cultivating passionate, loyal fans to fill their seats.

In the world of Human Resources, our organizations can use technology to engage job applicants and fill our “open seats” with passionate, loyal new hires too. Let’s explore how this can be done by taking a look at how these sports organizations engage and cultivate fans.

Engaging Applicants-More Than Filling Seats

A common theme throughout the conversation was that, yes, the goal is to fill the seats, but focusing on gross tickets sales as the sole indicator of success is a mistake. For these organizations, it’s more about building relationships with fans for the long haul. In fact, Mr. Laycock likened it to dating, wherein a team gradually develops a closer, stronger relationship with a fan; the end-goal is to gain and maintain a fan’s lifelong loyalty, which is hopefully expressed through annual ticket purchases.

For HR Departments, we are looking to find the right match for our organization too–although this is speed dating, and we have many significant others, and…well let’s just stop the metaphor there. The point is: we want to attract talented people to our organization who stay and become passionate brand ambassadors. These individuals will value both our organization and the relationship they have with it.

Does your hiring process seek to find, hire, and onboard individuals who will be passionate, loyal fans of your organization? If not, you’ll be looking to refill your seats real soon, and your organization will suffer for it. To avoid this, consider investing in an Applicant Tracking System that streamlines the hiring process and increases applicant engagement through automated job postings to multiple job boards, integrated social media sharing, and timely, personalized applicant status updates and follow-up requests. By utilizing this technology, you’ll provide a more welcoming hiring process for the applicant and have more time to meaningful interact with job candidates–your future fans.

Engaging Applicants-Highlight Star Players

With the right perspective on what your hiring goal is (hiring passionate, loyal fans of your organization) and a strong foundation of hiring technology in place (a robust Applicant Tracking System), you will be ready to attract top talent to your team. To do this, you must impress job seekers with how awesome it is to be a part of your team. It’s important that you do this in a way that is–and is perceived to be–authentic. There’s no better way to do this than to highlight your star players.

Pat McAfee of the Indianapolis Colts has over 300,000 followers on Twitter. His tweets inform, entertain, and ultimately galvanize the Colts fan-base. The content isn’t always about his place of employment, but this works to the Colts’ advantage as it helps in reaching new fans–especially younger ones. Do members of your team have a platform from which to tell their story?

McAfee engages fans through Twitter.

Job seekers need to experience it to believe it. If your organization is only providing a list of “Why ‘ABC Corp.’ Is A Great Place To Work”, then you’re missing out on an opportunity to engage job seekers who are looking to bring their talents to a special place. Highlight your current employees via your website and social media to illustrate not just what your organization is about, but who it’s about. If you already employ passionate, loyal fans of your organization, then you’ll likely attract the same.

Engaging Applicants-A FANtastic Experience

: This is FANtastic!; Courtesy of totalprosports.com

We know that an Applicant Tracking System can provide an HR Department with the time and features needed to make a positive impression on job applicants. But what happens after you’ve hired and filled the open seat? What is the new hire’s experience?

Onboarding a new hire is equivalent to welcoming a new fan to their first game. The Pacers, Colts, and Indy Eleven don’t stop engaging fans once the ticket is sold. They continue strengthening their fan relationships with the goal of cultivating life-long fans. These organizations use technology to accomplish this where it makes sense, but these are simply tools to convey a sentiment: you belong and you are appreciated.

How does your organization provide a fantastic experience for new hires? This question, of course, is part of the larger topics of “work culture” and “employer brand”. But a simple way to create a pleasant experience for your new employees is to provide them with a highly organized and personalized onboarding experience. And again, this can be accomplished with the help of technology…Onboarding Software.

Just as a new fan’s first-game experience should not be marred by long waits at the gate, concession stand, and restroom; a new hire’s first day should not be marked by completion of forms, redundant tasks, and an office supply scavenger hunt. Onboarding Software can streamline the common tasks associated with the onboarding process and eliminate the need for new hires to fill out stacks and stacks of forms.

When your organization’s new employees are not swamped with an endless number of mind-numbing tasks or confused about what form is needed next, they are free to interact with new colleagues and begin building a relationship with your organization. This also provides the organization with the opportunity to be creative with how it welcomes and orientates new employees. An onboarding like this will show appreciation for new hires, and it contributes to their sense of belonging.

New Economy New Rules

In today’s competitive economy, finding and hiring talented individuals to fill your open seats (and stay in them) is vital for an organization’s continued growth and profitability. Successful organizations like the Colts, Indy Eleven, and Pacers invest in technology to efficiently reach business objectives, HR departments can do the same by embracing technology as a tool to improve the hiring and onboarding processes. It’s important to know that an investment in hiring technology will certainly create efficiencies in operations; however, more importantly, it will support a powerfully engaging experience for applicants and new hires–one that will cultivate passionate, loyal employees–and fans–of your organization.

ExactHire offers hiring technology that helps small to medium sized organizations scale for growth. Our HireCentric Applicant Tracking System features social media and job board integration to maximize an organization’s recruitment operations. Additionally, our Onboarding Software helps ensure that new hires enjoy a FANtastic experience with your organization. Learn more by contacting a member of our team today!

Image credit: Game Over by Andrew Malone (contact)

How Long Should the Employee Onboarding Process Last? – Whiteboard [VIDEO]

in Workforce Management/by Harlan Schafir

Keepin’ a Line in the Water for Unemployed Passive Job Seekers: Part 3

in Workforce Management/by Tom Branson

This is the final part of a three-part series on how your organization can attract and hire top talent by targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers as part of your overall talent recruitment strategy. Warning: The fishing references are thick.

Even if you write the most motivating, enticing job description and job seekers are excited about an opportunity with your organization, there’s no guarantee that they will take action–especially if they are the elusive Unemployed Passive Job Seekers. This doesn’t mean that they won’t return to you on their own some day, but you can increase the chances that they do by staying connected. In today’s digital world, there are countless ways to do this. Here are three effective ones:

Employee Referrals

You’re probably familiar with the good ol’ fashioned Employee Referral. It goes something like this:

Management representatives decide to hire for a new position
They send an email out or drop by your desk to say: “Hey, we’re hiring for a new Office Paper Coordinator. If you know anyone who’d be a good fit, let us know, or tell them to apply.”
You likely forget to share the news, or you overlook a great candidate.

Obviously, you can see the flaws inherent in this ol’ fashioned method…Enter Digital Employee Referrals.

Some of the more sophisticated Applicant Tracking Systems offer a feature that greatly simplifies and enhances the process of Employee Referrals by taking the process digital. And let’s face it, even Sig Hansen of The Deadliest Catch and the rest of the Alaskan crab fleet use fishing technology these days.

Digital Employee Referrals work by providing each employee with a custom URL to the open position (For example: http://exacthire.hirecentric.com/jobs/20138-11900-Bob-The-Builder). They can create this link by visiting the organization’s career portal. Then, from that same location, they can instantly share the position to their networks via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and email. Now, when any applicant applies via an employee’s unique link, the application is automatically populated with that employee’s name as the referrer.

And when an employee incentive program is built around this feature, employees are further encouraged to reach out to their network. The results are impressive!

Learn the concept by checking out how ExactHire’s HireCentric ATS handles it!

Job Notifications

Many job boards provide this feature for organizations. The idea is that an interested job seeker creates a profile with the job board, and then the job board pushes out an email or text with links to new job opportunities based on criteria the job seeker sets. This is a nice feature that gets the job done, but there’s one issue: it’s “junky”.

By junky, I mean that many times these notifications only contain one or two listings among twenty that actually appeal to the job seeker, and it requires effort to parse through the murky waters and find them. You can’t afford to rely on this approach alone with an Unemployed Passive Job Seeker. You need to grab their attention.

Fortunately, some applicant tracking systems–like ExactHire’s HireCentric platform–provide job seekers the opportunity to sign up for job notifications from your specific organization. In fact, the notifications sent regarding your company’s jobs can even be filtered by job category and state, according to the job seeker’s preferences. This is important because it ensures that your passive job seekers need only filter through your jobs that are most likely to bait their interest…not ALL of your jobs. No junk here.

Social Media

As you know, Social Networking Sites have transformed the way the world communicates. Information has never traveled so fast–a good thing as it relates to facts, a bad thing, often, as it relates to opinions…but I digress. The point is, that through social media, organizations have the ability to update followers and friends in real-time. They even have the ability to interrupt…if they do the work to build trust with their followers. What do I mean?

You, as a Twitter user, can follow 5,000 businesses. You can check your feed once a day and scroll through all their updates; it’s an open relationship that doesn’t require anything from either side–an “all you care to eat” buffet. Now, let’s say that from the very beginning an organization promised you something in exchange for following them. For example:

“Connect with us on LinkedIn to be the first to learn of new job opportunities with ExactHire!”

“Follow us @goExactHire for your chance to win 1 of 52 prizes that we’ll be rewarding to our most active followers each week this year.”

“Like the Exacthire page and earn the chance to receive exclusive promo codes for the purchase of your favorite beer.”

With a simple promise–it doesn’t have to be beer discounts–an organization can increase their chances of earning a crucial thing: followers who enable notifications for your account. This means that the followers value your content so much, that they want to be interrupted by it. This is the holy grail for social media marketing, and it can be nicely leveraged for recruiting through the use of an applicant tracking system, as well.

Imagine the unemployed passive job seeker who’s having lunch when a notification flashes on her phone via Twitter:

“Can’t Miss #JobOpp. Family Friendly Company Offers Flex Hrs. Benefits. Part or Full Time. Students, New Grads, Unemployed–All should apply btly.exacthire”

You’ve interrupted and intrigued her. She’s back on the hook. Now reel ‘er in!

Heading Back To Port

Competition for top talent is fierce. Everyday there are countless organizations looking to land the big catch. As hiring professionals, we must be willing to go to new places and try new techniques to hire top talent. This includes: going after individuals who are not actively seeking a job; leveraging technology to cultivate interest in your organization; and staying connected with job seekers who express interest in your organization.

By expanding your view of where talent exists, and then using creative tactics to go get them, you will outsmart your competition and position yourself to land the big catch–along with all the rewards that come with that. And that’s no fish tale!

How to Lure Unemployed Passive Job Seekers: Part 2

in Workforce Management/by Tom Branson

This is the second part of a three-part series on how your organization can attract and hire top talent by targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers as part of your overall talent recruitment strategy. Warning: There are still a lot of fishing references.

Setting Sail For New Waters

Imagine a passive job seeker–employed or unemployed–who one day, on a whim, visits a job aggregator like Indeed. He might search for a certain type of position, or one in a particular industry, or one with a particular salary range. Perhaps he discovers some exciting results. Maybe he clicks on one and begins reading about a particular company’s work culture and gets excited. He might think “Wow! This sounds like an awesome place to work!”

But the timing is not right, any number of different factors may steer him off course: he is still enrolled in school; he is committed to a few short-term projects; he is not physically able to meet the job requirements at that time; he’s unsure about childcare arrangements. What happens to this opportunity? Does it close when the browser is closed? Does that excitement die with the job seeker as he returns to “passive job seeker mode”?

It doesn’t have to.

An organization can continue to interact with once-interested job seekers–even passive job seekers–by providing these individuals with a way to stay connected, and then making sure to use hiring software to proactively communicate with them. Organizations can also get creative with their job descriptions to increase the likelihood that these passive job seekers are motivated to act immediately and apply for an open position that excites them–right when they see it.

Get ’em While They’re On The Hook

Try tweaking your job descriptions so that job seekers are motivated to apply right then and there. This might be as simple as using your applicant tracking system to allow individuals to begin the application on the same page as the job description, or offering job seekers the chance to apply with Indeed or LinkedIn. Fishermen call this setting the hook.

Don’t let them think they’ll be wasting their time if they apply. If you wish to actively source Unemployed Passive Job Seekers for certain positions, then job descriptions should be written in a way that is not only inclusive of applicants with diverse experience, but that provides those applicants with confidence that they are qualified for the job.

Put yourself in the unemployed passive job seekers’ shoes and tell them what they need to hear. Let’s revisit their motivations mentioned in part one of this series as a guide:

They hold a part-time job.

Perhaps the position can be “part-time to full-time” for the “right candidate”. Or emphasize benefits for full-time employees. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: One can keep both jobs or go full-time and gain benefits–he/she has options worth exploring.

They do small contract jobs/projects.

Again stress the benefits of a full-time position. Depending on the type of position, it may make sense to include language such as “weekly/bi-weekly pay checks”, “consistent hours”, “flexible work schedule”. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: A job seeker that works on a project basis may face inconsistent work or unpredictable pay. She may also want to keep a few projects alongside full-time work, so mentioning flexible hours keeps that option open.

They are stay-at-home parents.

As with the others, you really need to stress benefits–especially family health care and flex-spending accounts for childcare. “Flexible work schedule” or “work from home” are also terms that might encourage a stay-at-home parent to consider working full-time. Of course, salary will also be important if the cost of childcare threatens to exceed earnings. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: The cost of childcare is a big item for families considering dual employment, as is time with children and time needed to maintain a household in general. Yes, a parent could earn enough to cover childcare expenses, but if he misses out on attending after-school activities or ends up spending all his free time on household chores, maybe a full-time job isn’t the right choice. You need to address those needs–offer attractive wages and flexible hours.

They have specialized experience in an industry that is not hiring/growing.

This individual has looked and looked, but her job is just not out there. Again, get creative with your job description. If your position is for an oil rig mechanic, but you’ve had great luck hiring former airline mechanics, then write a job description with a heading like: Need Experienced Airline Mechanics For Growing Industry. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: Some individuals have a decade of experience, a flawless attendance record, and glowing recommendations, but they’re trained for a job in an industry that is not growing. You need to open their eyes to new opportunities that require their unique skill set and experience.

They are in school or training.

For these job seekers, post far ahead of your anticipated start-date. Offer part-time to full-time transitions or internships. Tuition reimbursement is a great incentive too. Just be sure to specifically target your message to individuals who have returned to school too–not just your 20 year-old college student. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: Whether the job seeker is in her early twenties with minimal work experience or is an experienced worker seeking to re-train or make a career change, it’s important to provide comfortable, attractive transitions for students. Their investment in education will be an investment in your organization.

They are discouraged.

Job descriptions or career pages that tell the story of current employees–their path to success at your organization– can encourage the discouraged and light a path for the job seeker to follow. But reaching these individuals is difficult, so it’s especially important to use social media as a channel to promote your open positions to these job seekers. Imagine the out-of-work teacher who wistfully explores #ClassroomInnovations, when suddenly an exciting job opportunity drops into her feed and encourages her to act. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: This is probably the most difficult passive job seeker to attract. One has tried and tried, and now he or she has become disillusioned with even the idea of searching for, let alone finding, the right job. You have to interrupt this person with your exciting opportunity, and this is best done via social media.

They are ill or disabled.

Post your open positions early and, of course, include the start date. Specifically message to the ill or disabled, reassuring them that this opportunity will be available and applying now does not necessarily mean working now. Or, if it is an immediate opening, mention that assistive technology is available to help disabled individuals do their jobs. Offer flexible hours or begin with part-time, transitioning to full-time. Top talent is top talent, regardless of whether they’ve been on the sideline for a bit. How it meets the job seeker’s needs: Those who are genuinely ill or disabled may find it hard to focus on a job search when they are focused on getting healthy. But if you have flexibility in your start date, and are in a position to offer part-time hours initially, attracting these individuals can be fulfilling in more ways than one.

Hopefully these tips spark some creative ideas of your own. The key is to put yourself in the job seekers’ shoes and write with their motivations and needs in mind. And as with any type of communication: the more personal, the better.

But…what if they still don’t bite?

Check back next Wednesday to learn how you can land the big catch by keeping a line in the water and trying out a few new fishing holes.

Landing The Elusive, Unemployed Passive Job Seeker: Part 1

in Workforce Management/by Tom Branson

This is the first part of a three-part blog series on how your organization can attract and hire top talent by targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers as part of your overall talent recruitment strategy. Warning: There are a lot of fishing references.

The Deadliest Catch is a documentary series on The Discovery Channel. The show chronicles the lives of fishermen in the treacherous Bering Sea. They are on the hunt for one of the most coveted seafoods in the world–the Alaskan King Crab. The work is perilous, but the rewards for a big catch are impressive.

Finding and hiring top talent to fill your organization’s open positions is not a deadly job, but the rewards for catching the right candidate can be every bit as impressive. To make that happen, human resources departments need a talented crew, the right equipment, and–most importantly–a captain who knows where to fish.

And sometimes the biggest catch can be made in places you least expect.

A Check of The Weather Before We Set Sail

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Labor released its latest jobs report. It indicated that the unemployment rate had risen by .1% to 5.7%. This was widely celebrated as a good thing. Why is an increase in the unemployment rate a good thing?

To answer that, we need to first look at the definition of the unemployment rate according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Unemployment Rate: The number of unemployed (people who are jobless, actively seeking work, and available to take a job) as a percentage of the labor force (the sum of the employed and unemployed).

Nice. So this means that if you are unemployed, but not looking for a job, then you are not factored into the unemployment rate; therefore, an increase in the unemployment rate can mean one of two things:

More people have lost their job AND they are currently looking for a new one
More people–who were unemployed and not looking for a job– are still unemployed, BUT they are now looking for a job.

The experts are cheering because they believe #2 describes the nation’s current unemployment situation. So the weather seems to be improving, and the fish are ready to bite. But what if there was a way to catch these fish even before they were ready?

It’s possible. But to do that, we have to leave the safety and comfort of our job board shores, chart a course for new waters, and go fishing for an exotic species of job seeker.

Employed Passive Job Seekers

A Common Species

Individuals who have a job, but who are open to other job opportunities, are commonly referred to as Passive Job Seekers. These individuals may keep an updated resume on LinkedIn or maintain an active job board profile on Glassdoor. They are prepared to leave their current company if a better opportunity comes along, but they are not heavily motivated to go look for that opportunity.

Think of these as healthy fish that just aren’t hungry. They’re a protected species too, so let’s leave them alone. Poaching isn’t nice. We’re fishermen, not pirates. Well, not today at least…not until we have to fly the skull and crossbones in search of our next unicorn.

Unemployed Passive Job Seekers

An Exotic Species

Now for the sake of this discussion, let’s label another set of individuals as Passive Job Seekers. Let’s include individuals who do not have a full-time job and are not actively looking for one, but who are open to full-time job opportunities. These individuals are similar to Employed Passive Job Seekers in terms of their motivation to actively search for a job opportunity; however, they are facing conditions that preclude them from holding a full-time job. These are the Unemployed (or Underemployed in some cases) Passive Job Seekers.

Let’s think of these as healthy fish that aren’t looking for food because the waters are too turbulent. Now, that doesn’t mean they’re not hungry. It’s just that the waters are all muddied up and they’re not going to bite unless you catch their eye with a flashy lure–your employment brand.

Identify An Unemployed Passive Job Seeker

Skilled fishermen know every detail about the fish they seek. They know where the big catch will be and what motivates them to bite. A skilled recruiter must be the same way when it comes to sourcing candidates for jobs.

Here are several reasons why Unemployed Passive Job Seekers cannot actively look for a full-time job:

They hold a part-time job
They do small contract jobs/projects
They are stay-at-home parents
They have specialized experience in an industry that is not hiring/growing
They are in school for further training
They are ill or disabled
They are discouraged

As you can see, none of these reasons is “just plain lazy” or “unemployable”–though that may be the case in some instances. The thing is, many talented workers are “unemployed and not looking” for good reason, or for reasons outside of their control; and while they may not be looking for a job right now, they could be interested in a position with a shiny organization that catches their eye.

Start Your Fishing Trip

If your organization is looking to hire additional employees–especially in an industry that has not been hiring for a while–targeting Unemployed Passive Job Seekers is a great way to increase your pool of quality applicants and land the big catch.

Now that you’ve identified this exotic species of job seeker, you’ll need tips on how to lure them in. Check back next Wednesday to learn how!

Tapping Your Untapped Audience – Social Media

in Workforce Management/by Nancy Meyer, SHRM-CP

Have you checked your Facebook page today? Tweeted? Updated your LinkedIn profile? Chances are you have completed one, two, or all three of those items today. Social media can have a huge influence on both our personal and professional lives, and it can be a great resource to effectively promote our organization as well.

Building a Social Media Presence

Social media offers individuals a way to instantly acquire information and “be in the know” about an organization–its events, news, and culture. If your organization does not have a Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn page, or if those pages are not updated often, it is time to change that. Here are a few eye opening statistics about social media users.

Facebook: Facebook currently has approximately 1.35 billion users monthly and is the most most active social media platform in the world. Over 23% of Internet traffic is from Facebook.

Twitter: There is approximately 284 million monthly active users, and 500 million tweets are sent daily. Interesting note: Eighty percent of Twitter’s active users are mobile users.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 332 million members in over 200 countries and territories. More than four million companies have LinkedIn company pages.

Looking at that data, clearly there are a lot of people in this world using social media. So it makes perfect sense for your organization to be there. But to have a meaningful presence, you must look beyond your immediate network. Do this by exploring who your followers follow, and then connect with them where it makes sense. However, know that once your organization is “liked”, “followed” or “connected”, you are not finished–this is where the road gets exciting!

Maintaining a Social Media Presence

Display your organization’s culture via social media so that viewers can get a solid feel for your work environment, along with learning your organization’s goals. Content updates should radiate excitement and invite curiosity. Regular, relevant updates will keep the Likers liking, the Followers following, and the Connected connected. Occasional or irrelevant updates, will result in an audience that stops listening or disconnects all together. Remember: there is always another organization ready to steal your audience’s attention, and your future talent may be among that audience.

Finding Time to Be Social

If you are concerned about the time it takes to post updates, work closely with your marketing team to see how tasks can be coordinated. Solicit content ideas from the organization as a whole, and of course, identify the types of content that your audience finds meaningful. If your organization is small and your team members wear many hats, look at identifying a team member to coordinate updates, but with the understanding that everyone is responsible for providing ideas, interesting facts and data, and overall enriching content that emphasizes your organization’s mission.

Promoting Social Media Offline

Effective promotion of your social media sites is essential for reaching new audiences. Actively promote your pages on your corporate site, but also share your social media sites within your professional and personal networks at conferences, events, meetings, or even volunteer activities–wherever you can reach people in-person and wherever it makes sense.

Promoting Social Media Through ExactHire’s HireCentric ATS

Users of Exacthire’s HireCentric ATS can promote their organization’s social media pages from within our system. When job applicants view the company’s job listings, they can also access social media sites to learn more about the organization and its latest news. If you are a HireCentric user and not currently using this feature, please contact the Support Team to discuss ways promote your social media pages.

Do not let your organization miss out on expanding your audience through the use of social media. Actively update your social media and share your news with the world. People want to hear what is going on within your organization!

And of course, we like to share what is going on at ExactHire, so let’s connect!

Like Us On Facebook

Connect With Us On LinkedIn

Follow Our Page On Google+

Image credit: Tapped by Mike (contact)

What is an Applicant Flow Log? – Whiteboard [VIDEO]

in Workforce Management/by Harlan Schafir

If your growing organization is accepting federal contracts or subcontracts for the first time and you are unsure about compliance regulations that may now be applicable to your business, then this Whiteboard Chat is for you. In this video, Jeff Hallam, explains the purpose of an applicant flow log report, and comments on which organizations must prepare one in order to be compliant with Affirmative Action regulations enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Video Transcript:

Hi today we’re going to talk about what is an applicant flow log. An applicant flow log is a report that’s generated annually, and it’s used by organizations that are required, from an Affirmative Action perspective, to make sure that they are not discriminating against candidates for any illegal reasons. And all of this is subject under the umbrella of Affirmative Action, which applies typically to organizations, either directly through contracts, or indirectly through subcontracts, of certain amounts that are doing business with the federal government. And when you look at what we’re going to talk about today, you’ll notice right away there’s quite an alphabet soup of acronyms that are going to be used when you talk about Affirmative Action.

But we’re trying to simplify this a little bit and understand this isn’t meant to be a full explanation on Affirmative Action, but at least a way to help you make sure that you understand whether your organization might be perhaps subject to this, and if so, what are some key things that you need to be made aware of.

So, some of the players when you talk about an applicant flow log and Affirmative Action…all of this is administered and governed under the auspices of the OFCCP, otherwise known as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. And this is an offshoot of the Department of Labor, so as you would expect, all of this falls ultimately under the Department of Labor as to whether organizations are being compliant. There are a couple of recent updates that have been passed along with Affirmative Action just as of the last year or so that expanded the pools of applicants through which discrimination has to be tested.

One of those, the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act, or VEVRAA, applies to people who have been in the service, making sure that organizations aren’t discriminating against them. Likewise, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act applies to organizations, or individuals rather, who may have certain types of disabilities. And again, making sure that those folks aren’t being discriminated against. So when you look at an applicant flow log, understanding some of these basics in simplest terms, these items in this box here are what an applicant flow log is designed to track during the course of a year. So they’re very specific requirements that from an Affirmative Action perspective must be met to make sure that, again that discrimination isn’t taking place.

So what an applicant flow log will track per job are these items here…so the name of each candidate, the date that they applied, their race, their gender, veteran status, disability status and then disposition. And there could be a couple of other things here and there that your administrator may request, but these are typically the core things that have to be there for any applicant flow log report. And when you talk about disposition sometimes that can be a little confusing to people. What disposition really looks at is what did we do with a candidate? And there are, again, some key components to that. So when we say what did we do with them, meaning what ultimately did we decide to do from a hiring perspective. Did we hire them? If not, why not? When did we make that determination? And then who was it within the organization who made that determination?

So there have to be very specific things that are tracked along the way so that when it comes time to provide this applicant flow log report for your Affirmative Action purposes, all of these given data elements are there. So, as to tracking these elements, there are a couple of core ways that most organizations may do this. So if you work with job boards, or you accept email resumes, then typically you are going to have to find a mechanism usually in the form of an online document, or something that you’re going to have to email candidates, that allows them to voluntarily provide this information because it does have to be requested of each candidate. They have the option as to whether they want to disclose any of this information, but you have to have a record of the fact that you made it available to them.

Likewise, the other option, where more organizations seem to be headed is, if they are using an applicant tracking tool that will automate much of this, that can simplify things dramatically. Now, as candidates apply or indicate interest in the job, that information is offered to them right up front, it can be escrowed and held separately from the rest of the application, so that when it does come time to produce this applicant flow log information at the end of the year, that information is already there, readily available, and can be reported on at a moment’s notice.

So, again, that is just a very quick update on what an applicant flow log is. If you do have questions about whether your organization is subject to Affirmative Action reporting, or whether you have to worry about an applicant flow log yourself, typically we would suggest that you check with a qualified labor and employment law attorney, so that they can review your particular business practices.