The Recruiting Front Lines

August 2009 Vermont JobReport

2009-08-19T10:22:00.008-04:00

(THE FOLLOWING IS COPY FROM A NEW PILOT FOR A MONTHLY JOB REPORT PRODUCED BY VERMONTTV.NET FOR JOBSINVT.COM)

The July job numbers showed positive signs that the worst of the economic downturn may be behind us. Let's start by looking at the statewide job posting numbers.

In July, the total number of openings posted on JobsInVT grew to 970, which is up nearly 12% over June. Year over year, however, job openings posted in July decreased by 36%.

161 Vermont Employers advertised job openings on JobsInVT in July, the same as in June, but up nearly 60% from January which had the lowest number for the year.

As you would expect, the number of job seeker visits to the website continues to be on the rise, increasing from 170,000 unique visits in June to 175,000 in July.

Now let's take a closer look at the job specific data. As usual, the largest number of job openings in July were in Chittenden County, which posted just over ONE THIRD of all job listings. Of interest, though is the sharp rise in jobs in Windham County, where nearly 25% of all job opportunities on JobsInVT.com were located. The steepest decline was seen in Lamoille County, which has dropped by nearly TWO THIRDS since May.

Strangely, both Salaried and Hourly positions saw slight declines in July, offset by an increase in Commission and Salary plus Commission openings increased nearly 40%. FULL TIME job openings continue to be strong, representing more than 55% of all postings, though down slightly from July. Part Time and Per Diem positions are on the rise, showing significant growth, doubling from June to July. These data points indicate that Vermont employers remain cautious.

The question on most peoples' minds, of course, is what jobs are out there? The trend over the past few months has continued, as job openings in Non Profits, Education, and Social Service sectors lead the pack. As Vermont businesses work to break out of the recession, it appears they are also investing into customer facing positiong as well, with many opportunities being posted in sales and customer service fields. On the decline in July, were Hospitality and Retail openings, down from their primary hiring season in the Spring.

A positive trend for July is the increase in Professional Services, Insurance, and finance postings. These are perhaps the strongest indicators that the tide may be turning, as they represent higher paying jobs that are dependent upon confidence in the market.

That's your JobsInVT.com JobReport for August 2009, I'm Jason Blais saying thanks for tuning in, and reminding everyone that while you're working for the things you want, to be grateful for the things you have.

2009-08-17T15:24:00.005-04:00

Job Sites and The San Francisco Gold Rush

2009-08-14T21:47:00.007-04:00

The final two months of 2008 resulted in a precipitous decline in job posting activity on our site as the economy began to tumble off the cliff, to paraphrase Warren Buffett's sentiments. Since the beginning of 2009, I've been focusing my attention on identifying and developing new programs and services that will add value to the users of our company's web service- namely HR professionals, small business owners and managers, recruiters, and job seekers- in order to stay relevant and viable.

Regardless of which rocks I look under, the hard fact is that anything which we develop will be related to a job market that is a shadow of what it was 2 years ago. Indeed, when the market was booming, it was easy street in the employment advertising sector- between 2004 and 2008 the number of online job boards increased from around 30,000 to over 100,000 due to the huge demand and growing value of web-based advertising platforms. Everyone with a dream of making it rich in e-commerce, it seemed, was staking a claim in this vast space, with our without strong business plans or depth of knowledge in this market.

It makes me think of the San Francisco Gold Rush of the 1850's. Back then, plain folk from all over the country (and even from overseas) packed up all their worldly belongings and set out to find gold and strike it rich. Very few of these "miners" had the knowledge or know-how to mine effectively; many, in fact, failed to even make the distinction between real gold and other, less precious minerals. At the time, though, the feeling was that it didn't matter what you knew- anyone could do it. All you had to do was dig around, sift through some riverbeds, and one day, your time and effort will pay off.

Today, anyone who can put together a little HTML and set up PayPal and Google Adsense accounts seems to have packed up their belongings and hitched their wagon to the job posting rush of the mid 2000's. And similar to the Gold Rush, very few possess the depth or breadth of knowledge that is vital to providing a lasting and reliable resource in this market.

Personally, it's sad to see all these new job posting sites popping up that simply scrape postings from other sites, ensure they are search engine optimized, and hope for some free money from the Google ad links that they paste all over the place. They're trying to get rich off the backs of real businesses who are working tirelessly to help employers find the best candidates available, and help job seekers access real, legitimate job opportunities.

Which takes me back to my focus of 2009, and some recent developments that may be coming down the line. In addition to an increased curriculum for our HRCI Certified webinars and seminars, we are working to find new ways to help the users of our site be more successful- whether that be by finding great candidates, or landing the job of their dreams. We've already added CareerTV, a very well produced service that provides tips and advice to help job seekers improve their resumes, interview success, and other career search activities. We've also partnered with Kennedy Information to deliver premier level services to job seekers willing to work with placement professionals.

Next on the horizon, we're looking at adding some punch to our Company Spotlights by perhaps adding some audio. The thinking here is that this will give employers a second dimension to engage job seekers, and really allow the personality of the company to shine. We're also exploring outlets to share the labor market data we accumulate in a format that will help job seekers better evaluate the employment landscape.

Now I'm beginning to feel like a blowhard. Really what I'm trying to convey is that good business is based on increasing the value you present, not on merely making a better package. I'm a firm believer that by doing good, we can all do well. In our industry, doing good means helping people and employers be successful.

When it comes down to it, the value of any business is most accurately measured by the trust of its customers. Sometimes I feel like an old fashioned fuddy-duddy, still clinging to basic business principles of a bygone era, while the youngin's wrap empty solutions in slick online marketing, and reap short term gains. Then, I remember that despite the speed of development and information sharing, long term business success must be viewed as a marathon, and not a sprint.

Internal Company Email Exposed

2009-06-25T20:49:00.005-04:00

Upon reading this internal communication, I realized just how much negative press has been devoted to exposing the dark underbelly of corporate greed through the acquisition of private and revealing emails. Rarely does one encounter a news bit that begins with, "Our station has acquired a copy of the internal email...", and is followed by a feel-good or uplifting story. Normally, this type of exposure ends in a story about some type of insidious and greedy business practice that serves only to put an ugly face on capitalism and corporate culture in America.

Not today. Today, I'm sharing an internal communication (used with permission), that shows the humanity behind a good business. I've acquired a company email that sheds light on the good people who are remaining positive and seeing the silver lining, despite significantly adverse business conditions and the depressed economy. Earlier this year, the leading recruitment resources in ME, NH, VT, and RI rolled out a free program to help employers who are forced to reduce staff this year. (I shared this in an earlier post, which you can view here.) While this program was created to assist those in transition, provide a valued service to employers, and keep the JobsInTheUS brands top of mind, it's clear through the following email that the program is truly a reflection of the people of this company.

The following email was written by Robert Ayers and sent to the entire company at JobsInTheUS. Ayers is responding to a communication highlighting the work performed by the company's outreach and education coordinators, which includes presenting workshops at private companies, state career centers, and trade associations to people who have been recently laid off, or are about to be. As you can imagine, the climate of these workshops can be quite somber, and the outreach and education coordinators do their best to build optimism while sharing real-world advice on how to launch a successful job search. Here's Ayers's email:

That’s great info for our sales talks once we get our contact on the line, just to find out they are laying off their employees and in some cases friends and family members. I mention this service daily, and in my conversation with my contacts, they will typically ask how the recession has changed my (JiUS) business. I remind them of this….although it looks bleak from an employer perspective, I myself have literally helped thousands of honest, hard working local people find jobs. This may not pay dividends in my commission check, but as always, it will open their hearts to the good that we do as a company in their community and state. Aside from all the negative publicity on the news today, we do a great service for our respective states. Let’s give a big shout out to Caleb and Steve, how depressing has their job been lately????? You guys ROCK! Thanks!

Robert Ayers

Senior Account Manager

JobsinME.com

Okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must acknowledge that this is the company I work for. And I am so proud. You see, in our industry, recruitment advertising, we sit on the front line of the economy. Months before the national news was ready to report that the economy fell off the table, we saw companies freeze their hiring, not fill open positions, and begin to contract. For our sales staff, this has truly been a difficult year, calling on long term clients who are holding off on their recruitment advertising for the first time in a decade. Imagine spending your days calling to ask companies about their recruitment needs, and listening to well-established businesses explain how they're facing layoffs for the first time in their 40 year history, or how they're closing their doors after five good years.

Despite this difficult climate, our business remains strong, which I attribute to our core mission of helping to connect qualified local job seekers with quality in-state jobs. In the face of severe adversity, we continue to keep our chins up and focus on the good effect our work has on our communities. Thanks to Robert Ayers for allowing me to share his comments.

Every company has a good story to tell, and there's never been a better time to share yours.

Have a good story to share? Please share your comments, we'd love to hear it!

A Two Billion Dollar Secret

2009-06-19T08:47:00.004-04:00

Why would you want to keep a two billion dollar industry a secret? I hope the answer is that no one would want to, but that sometimes these things happen. The aerospace and aviation industry represents a two billion dollar piece of the Vermont economy, and employs thousands of Vermont residents...who knew.

Part of my job as Director of Business Development with JobsInTheUS is to identify and develop strategic partnerships with key organizations to support our state-specific recruitment resources for employers and job seekers. The vast majority of hires that any company makes over the course of a year is from a local candidate. That is, businesses will only pay relocation costs for a very, very small percentage of hires made. With our business model focused on the local market, these partnerships are one way to ensure we're promoting great businesses to job seekers across the states we serve.

Recently, we reached out to the Vermont State Chamber of Commerce to find out if there would be an opportunity for a strategic partnership. Thanks in large part to the vision and drive of Chris Carrigan, VP of Business Development for chamber, we have created a powerful and engaging relationship to support specific industry sectors across Vermont. One of these is the newly formed Vermont Aerospace and Aviation Association. Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie developed this organization in partnership with the chamber with a mission to help build awareness of the amazing business and employment opportunities that Vermont has to offer. Dubie was raised outside of Burlington, earned is BS in Mechanical Engineering at UVM, was a fighter pilot in the Air Guard, and worked for Goodrich Aerospace in Vergennes, VT. Clearly, this is the right man with the right perspective to move this mission forward.

JobsInVT came in to the picture to support the workforce development side of this mission, and to provide the exposure for the great employment opportunities in this growing sector in the state. A customized job portal has been created for the VAAA, giving job seekers access to the job openings available within their membership. At the open house on June 18, I was asked to speak to the membership, and was slotted just after the general manager of Goodrich and the chief engineer from Sikorsky- not bad company. I felt compelled to drive home the importance of self promotion within the industry to help build awareness of the great businesses across the state. While most people are aware of Goodrich and Sikorsky, who know much about Aviatron, Mansfield Helifight, or Vibration Solutions? These are just a few of the high paying, dependable, forward thinking employers based in VT who support international aviation and aerospace giants.

Like the national economy, regional economies are dependant upon confidence in the market place. I urged these businesses to be bold in their self promotion, vocal in their small successes, and active in their community. I've spoken with numerous lifelong Vermont residents who had no idea how large or how viable this sector was in their state. A state that has deftly built a reputation as a dairy capital of the world, as a maple syrup mecca, and as a land of lush mountains for recreation. Through our work with the Vermont Aerospace and Aviation Association and the VT Chamber, we hope to help build the awareness of this sector, and promote the excellent high-paying, future-oriented careers that are a key to Vermont's future.

The Social Media Expert: Modern American Carpetbagger

2009-06-08T12:17:00.004-04:00

I have been bombarded over the past few months by email solicitations to attend presentations or webinars, buy books, and contract consulting services from "leading social media experts". As someone who regularly spends time in the Social Media world, I've learned just enough to know when people are selling me snake oil. I've also gained just enough insight to know which questions to ask, and to identify very questionable proclamations made by these s0-called experts.

With such a new resource, can there truly be any EXPERTS in this area? I would say the answer is absolutely not. There are many who have more experience than others, but even the most experienced "social media expert" has less than a decade under their belt, and for the first half of that time, the landscape was completely different. In truth, what we're seeing is people with expertise or experience in related fields quickly assigning themselves the title of Undisputed Heavyweight Social Media Champions of the World (boxing fans, you know how to read that aloud)!

At it's essence, this is the same model of carpetbaggers in America at the end of the 19th century. Before we move on, here's a quick definition from Wikipedia (bold and italics added by author for emphasis) :

The term carpetbaggers was used to describe the northern Republican politicians who came South, arriving with their travel carpetbags. Southerners considered them ready to loot and plunder the defeated South.^[1] Although the term is still an insult in common usage, in histories and reference works it is now used without derogatory intent.

In modern usage in the United States, the term is sometimes used derisively to refer to a politician who runs for public office in an area in which he or she is not originally from and/or has only lived for a very short time.

This seems to hit the nail on the head. As people move into the new social media space, particularly when they're focused on business development, they are coming from somewhere else, bringing their past expertise, morals, and life lessons with them. This is critical to understand, as you encounter or explore working with an outside vendor to help develop your social media strategy.

Where did they come from?

What preconceptions are they bringing with them?

What do they know about YOUR business environment/market?

Are they truly more qualified than your internal resources?

Before attending workshops, purchasing white papers, or paying a consultant with social media expertise, be sure to execute your due diligence. Here's a few ideas to consider BEFORE you enter a relationship with a "social media expert":

Identify your own 30,000 foot view of what a social media strategy should be.
Include a list of results of this activity you expect to realize- 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years out.
Define internally your WHY- why are you doing this, why is it worth your time and money?.
Determine who your internal auditors will be- who will be reviewing the strategy to ensure it's the right plan for your company.
What are 2 or 3 or 4 absolute MUST HAVE's for an outside consultant? (3 plus years industry experience, proven results of 3 or more successes with different businesses, 3 plus years experience with using a specific platform such as facebook, experience with online video, web design, etc, for example)
How much autonomy and control are you willing to give over to an outside consultant. That is, will they lead and you follow, or will you work collaboratively to build a strategy.

I've included these only as a starter to get your think tank juices flowing. The list of due diligence questions you'll assemble will be specific to your company, your internal resources, and your goals. By starting out with this self exploration, you'll be better equipped to wade through the bog of experts to find your Bacopa amplexicaulis!

To get an idea of just how overwhelmed the social media landscape has become with so called experts, I include the following link:
GOOGLE Search Results for "Social Media Networking Expert"

The HR/Recruiting Scourge of Blandness!

2009-06-04T10:44:00.003-04:00

Sent to me by Robert Ayers, Senior Acct Mgr for JobsInME, from Peter Weddle's recent newsletter:

The Scourge of Bureaucratic Correctness

There is today a scourge of bland communication oppressing the performance of corporate and staffing firm recruiting teams. While social media have captured their imagination, the vast majority of recruiters continue to rely on job postings-placed on commercial job boards and in the Career area on their own sites-to reach and reel in top talent. And the content of those postings is so dull it would put a brick to sleep.

Two Sentence Job Ads Online?!

2009-06-03T23:32:00.006-04:00

As a director with the leading online recruitment resources in New England, I've reviewed literally thousands of job postings over the past five years. While the use of internet resources, such as JobsInME, has become the norm across the country, both in urban areas and rural, many people writing the ads are still writing for print. That is, they are using abbreviations, are condensing their sentences, and (apparently) trying to conserve space.

The newspapers had been training advertisers toward this behavior for the past 100 years, rewarding them with cheaper advertising for taking up less space. As they say, old habits die hard. If your company is currently hiring, go online and take a look. If the ad is any shorter than 10 sentences (or the equivelant with bullet points), you need to rethink your strategy. Online resources give employers unlimited space and formatting options to put their best face forward in hopes of attracting the best possible candidate for every position. Regardless of what title or pay grade you're trying to fill, making better hiring decisions affects productivity and therefore your profitability.

When you take a look at your company's job postings, remember this one point: On AVERAGE, a job seeker will review 5-7 postings per visit to a job board, and spend less than one minute per posting. Just because you've posted your means neither that everyone looking will click on it, nor that those who do will care enough to apply. Here's a simple test to assess your posting's curb appeal:

Perform a search using the category you're hiring for, or similar key words.
Compare your job title to all the others. If you were to only open 5 postings, would you be compelled to open yours?
Next, print off 5-7 job postings for similar jobs and lay them down on your desk next to each other.
If you were a highly qualified candidate- very likely currently employed elsewhere and just looking to see what was out there- which job postings would you be most likely to apply to? (Read that as, "which job postings are you most likely to polish up your resume for, lie to your boss and use your paid time off to interview for?")

If your company's job postings don't jump off the table as the best opportunities available, you have room for improvement. There are lots of ways to make a job ad better, but the first step is to do away with the habits of the past. Spend the time to craft a job advertisement worthy of the time and attention of the best available talent. Remember, Talent Acquisition applies to every single job in your organization. Take the time to show your audience that you care about the quality of your next hire, and you'll see the quality of your candidates increase.

Tired of Staff Who Just Don't Care?

2009-06-01T17:19:00.002-04:00

Tired of Staff Who Just Don’t Care About Your Business?

The hospitality industry has historically seen one of the highest turnover rates of any industry. While a large part of this is due to the seasonality of many businesses, a lack of attention to the hiring process is also a major factor. The hard truth is that this turnover affects your bottom line- whether through cost of running job ads, overtime paid to cover the missing staff, or lost revenue caused by diminished quality. This last issue, quality, is perhaps the most important of all. From front desk, wait staff, and bellhops, to banquet managers, sales managers, and spa staff, every interaction your employees have with a customer or guest affects their view of your quality, and therefore your value. High turnover can sour your employee engagement company wide.

An employee’s attitude can have the single biggest affect on a patron’s decision to return or to recommend your business to others. Because of that, making good hiring decisions- employees who fit into your culture and care about your business- is a critical factor of your success. And it’s a factor that most often gets the least attention. The fact of the matter is that you really CAN make better hires with just a little effort and focus on specific details. Here are some very basic tips to help you make better hires for every position in your business:

Identify and Define Your Unique Workplace Culture. Are your staff all business, or are they like a family? Do your employees really appreciate any specific benefits or perks that are unique to you? Do you always try to hire from within? Are you a group of perfectionists? Do you have a competitive workplace, or are you supportive of each other?
Communicate Your Culture In Your Job Ads. Remember, every new hire will have to work within your current staff. Retention of new hires is directly impacted by how comfortable they feel in your workplace. To attract a better fit, include copy about your culture and work environment so that you’ll attract people who want to be part of your company, and aren’t just looking for a job.
Engage Candidates During the Interview. When interviewing candidates, paint a very vivid and real picture of your culture and your expectations. Clearly relate how this person’s position fits into the business, and the importance of having the right person in that role. Provide a brief history of the business- the good, the bad, and the ugly- to build the candidates understanding of who you are.
Focus on Soft Skills! It is much easier to identify hard skills than soft skills. Many hiring manager fall into the trap of hiring by matching hard skills to the needs of the job. That is, when hiring a dishwasher, the focus is on dishwashing or Hobart experience; when hiring a banquet coordinator, the emphasis has been on event experience. You will have greater success in your hiring by focusing on soft skills and fit. If you can hire people that are motivated to work for you, and will fit into your culture, training them on your processes is easy. Trying to train someone who has the right hard skills to fit into your culture and care about your business is much more difficult.

Using an online recruitment resource provides you with two major benefits over a sign in your window or print advertising. First, it delivers your message to a much larger audience of people who are actively searching for jobs in your area and industry. Second, you have much more space to write up your job ad to attract better candidates, and unlike print, there’s no additional cost for larger ads or more color. In fact, it really is up to you to raise the bar for candidates. Set your expectations higher, and promote why the best available talent should work for you.

Dealing with careless, thoughtless, or unmotivated employees is a headache. Thankfully, this is a headache that you have the power to heal. While it may not seem so, there ARE great candidates out there who will become your next great employees. Make an effort to attract a higher quality, and make that headache a thing of the past!

That's the view from the Recruiting Front Lines.

jason

HR Is In Charge! ...Now What?!

2009-05-26T11:27:00.002-04:00

What would happen if top VP or Director of HR became CEO?

TAKE THE POLL on LinkedIn

Staffing Up in a Down Economy

2009-05-18T11:11:00.018-04:00

Staffing Up in a Down Economy
The Auxiliary Workforce Plan
by Jason C. Blais

I believe the first step on the path toward success is to look within. That doesn't mean we need to set up meditation schedules and personal reflection time, though those aren't bad ideas, but rather that we need to figure out just what our companies are made of. Specifically, what skills our workforce is made of. I am willing to stake my reputation on the fact that there are employees working in all our organizations today who have valuable skills that we are completely unaware of. That is, our current employees may present us with the skills we need to operate lean and thrive while other businesses merely survive.

There are numerous studies available that provide statistics on the dollar-value of engaged employees, and the damages caused by bored ones. For access to a number of these reports, visit SHRM, and type "engaged employees" or "bored employees" in their search engine. You'll find volumes of surveys and articles to this point.

Figure 1 The Life Cycle of an Employee, Used With Permission from SHRM

Through careful and thoughtful analysis of the skills that are required to carry out your business functions and the ancillary or unused skills present in your workforce, you can begin to build engagement while operating more efficiently.

During staffing reductions, either by layoffs or attrition, there is often a work gap left behind by the departed employees. That is, when a company lays off one person, it is common that some portion of the work that person performed must still be completed. Customarily, this work is picked up by the remaining employees, adding a sense of increased burden to the insecurity they are already feeling. We have an alternative to this process, however, which can have a splendidly counter effect- increasing our employee engagement and sense of security. It's what we call the Auxiliary Workforce Plan (AWP).

Essentially, the AWP provides the roadmap to identify, develop, and utilize untapped skills and talents present within our current workforce. Through this mechanism, we can provide interdepartmental and cross-functional opportunities to our employees, which lead to stronger engagement, and better overall understanding of our business. For the employees, it manifests professional development, resume building, and increased variety in their day-to-day job activities. This is truly a win/win practice that will provide the greatest benefits when the economy is at its worst.

Fundamentally, the premise is rather simple. First, we identify skill sets associated with each job function within our company. Then, identify secondary and tertiary skills that our employees have, but do not use in their primary job description. When staff levels are reduced, we can now examine the work gap created, in terms of job functions, and identify which skills we need to complete those tasks. Next, we simply match up the necessary job functions with the right employees based on the skills sets needed and available. Okay, maybe it's not exactly SIMPLE. Here is a scenario that may provide a clearer picture:

While it has been a regular practice to follow this philosophy- in this example adding 12.5% of work to your surviving staff- without offering a pay increase, it has also proven to hurt employee morale and enagement. Through the AWP, a business can identify unused skills across the workforce, and match those skills with orphaned job functions. This process broadens employees' understanding of the business, and provides a greater variety in the day-to-day work- two key factors to increasing employee engagement. Additionally, you can avoide overburdening the remaining staff by simply adding more work for the same pay.

While developing an Auxiliary Workforce Plan can be time consuming, the short- and long-term benefits are significant. The process of surveying our workforce to uncover the auxiliary skills can, in itself, generate excitement and engagement from our workforce immediately. Over the long-term, a well-developed AWP provides our company with engaged, productive, and dynamic employees, which leads directly to increased profitability. The AWP also gives us an added dimension in our recruiting and hiring process, as we uncover those latent skills during the interview process, providing us with a better view of how a candidate can contribute to all facets of our business.

This information was collected, developed, and shared by Jason C. Blais, Director of Business Development, JobsInTheUS.com, at the 14th Annual Maine HR Convention, under the JobsInME University program.

The following excerpts are used by permission from the Society of Human Resource Management:

From "Bored Employees Found To Damage Organizations"
By Kathy Gurchiek, HR Magazine, March 2008

Bored employees are less satisfied with their jobs, finding them less challenging and poorer matches to suit their skills. In addition, they are less innovative and feel less valued, he stated.
Employees with more than 10 years’ tenure with the same employer reported being overworked or bored more often than those with zero to two years’ tenure with the same employer.
Moreover, they want and expect jobs to be more than just sources of income; they expect them to be stimulating and fulfilling. Yet this need is clashing in many cases with the relentless industrial pressure to drive down costs, which seems to involve controlling aspects of employee work with ever greater precision.

From "15 Ways To Train on the Job, In a down economy, trainers turn to homegrown help" By Kathryn Tyler, HR Magazine, September 2008

Instead of hiring external consultants, turn to the real experts: your own employees.
Highlight internal talent.
Implement job shadowing.Create or expand formal mentoring.
Develop teachers throughout the organization.
Cross-train. Employees who have more than one skill become more valuable and flexible.
Host interdepartmental conferences.
Give job rotation assignments.
Develop training projects. On-the-job training projects and “stretch assignments” give employees a chance to learn while doing real work, not just hypothetical classroom exercises.
Create an online bulletin board, e-mail discussion list, blog to share best practices & ask for help.

NH Human Resource Professionals Come Together!

2009-05-18T06:22:00.003-04:00

The Granite State Human Resource Conference's 2009 Human Capital Summit took place on Tuesday, May 12, in Manchester, NH, attracting nearly 300 professionals in HR, nearly 50 exhibitors, and a dozen or so sponsors. This year, the conference offered more HRCI credits than ever before- with a PHR or SPHR able to pick up 6.25 recertifications hours, and GPHR able to pick up 3.25. The day of professional development and networking was punctuated with a moving keynote speach by Bert Jacobs of Life is Good talking about the power of optimism.

After the 2008 conference, I was asked to join the volunteer board that organizes this event, and accepted a position as the Information Management Chair. Indeed, being part of the process this year has truly changed my perspective on the event. What I had seen as a one day event, which I really looked forward to, has become the culmination of so much work from my peers that it I now see the day of of the conference as a relief. Relief that it's finally here. Relief that our hard work paid off. Relief that I could take a month off from thinking about it... or almost a month. Beginning in a few weeks, we'll be working hard at putting together the pieces to execute the 2010 conference.

However, before we move ahead, it's good to take a moment to look back and appreciate the highlights of the 2009 Human Capital Summit. We were able to offer a very well-received variety of presentations, including:

'Managing your Talent out of the Gate; Trends and Best Practices'
‘What is a Green HR office?’
‘What is your Brand?’
‘Retaining and engaging the Older Worker’
‘Surviving a DOL Audit’
‘Workplace Whitewater’
‘20/20 Employment Branding’
‘How to Use Technology but not Feel used by Technology’
‘Strategic Development of Sustainable HR Policies’
‘The ABCs of Total Compensation’

Aside from the great sessions, there was a great amount of energy, enthusiasm, and camaraderie all around.

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Yahoo! News Story - Layoffs slow to 539K in April; jobless rate rises

2009-05-08T08:46:00.002-04:00

Layoffs slow to 539K in April; jobless rate rises

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090508/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

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Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/

Why HR Rarely Develops the Employment Brand

2009-05-07T11:03:00.004-04:00

(Reprinted from the Employment Branding Best Practice Exchange on LinkedIn)
After speaking with more than 100 HR professionals over the last year, I've found that very few develop or feel they control the employment brand. At first, this appears to illuminate a broken system. It seems logical and intuitive that the people who spend the most time dealing with the employees, and focused on the employee/employer relationship, would be the exact right folks to build and manage an employment brand. So why isn't this the norm?

I have come to believe that there are three very common realities that take place once a company makes a thoughtful decision engage in employment branding. Each of these three, in my opinion, creates less than ideal situations which negatively impact the value and return your EB realizes. I'd be interested in thoughts from this group on whether or not these seem to be accurate representations of reality, or if you can share ideas on how to avoid this pitfalls.

Here are the three most common scenarios I've seen first hand, and the obstacles created by each:

1) INTERLOPERS:
Once the idea for an employment brand initiative gains support and agreement, senior managers (particularly CEO's, GMs, and Marketing Directors) feel compelled to guide and direct the brand- to put their stamp on it, if you will. The power and control is taken away from the HR professional, and too much emphasis gets placed on how the company will market the brand. This emphasis leads to a contamination of the brand, as efforts are made to make the brand "look good" and fit into a pre-determined definition. Of course, we all know that brand loyalty and penetration is directly related to brand integrity. This practice most often leads to a rift between the brand you use to attract candidates and the reality of your workplace.

2) DETACHMENT:
The decision is made to outsource this work entirely to an advertising/marketing agency who promotes an employment branding specialty, but who's experience is truly in the consumer branding realm. This is common with companies who lack one or more of: internal resources (labor hours and/or creative/design competencies), understanding of the process to build the brand, and confidence in internal ability to do the job right. My company is an HR vendor, so I will not bad mouth this world or the enormous level of talent and expertise in it. However, creating this disconnect between HR and the outside agency can demotivate internal experts to engage in the process and offer their best effort in supporting the agency. The other drawback to this practice is often that the agencies are unable (not unwilling) to really get to the heart and soul of your true employment experience. It has become second nature to managers and employees to say nice things to outside vendors, either because of fear of being caught saying anything negative, or out of a sense of duty to put on the best face possible.

3) SHORT ATTENTION SPAN (I should have listed this one first, right?):
While buy-in and engagement are promised by the management team, it is quickly swept aside, and the resource support is never provided. This happens more often than any other. After a compelling presentation and proposal to the management team, GM, or CEO, you are able to generate widespread understanding of the value of employment branding, and support. Then, when you need to fill a position or hire an outside consultant for some creative work or analysis or SEO, there are no funds provided, and the req's are denied. The expectation becomes that you, and you alone, will somehow take care of this initiative... in addition to all the other work you already do. This unrealistic circumstance makes it nearly impossible to put the time and effort in initially, and even more difficult to sustain it through completion. What began as a great initiative which you proposed and presented, has become an unmanageable burden to you. Can you spell frustration?

JobsInVT.com Partners With the Vermont Chamber of Commerce

2009-04-30T16:00:00.003-04:00

JobsInVT.com Partners With the Vermont Chamber of Commerce
Vermont's #1 Recruitment Resource Forms Strategic Partnership With State's Largest Chamber of Commerce, Offering High Growth Industry Portals, Discounts and Webinars to Members

BURLINGTON, VT--(MARKET WIRE)--Apr 30, 2009 -- JobsInVT.com, Vermont's leading recruitment resource, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, giving the 1,300 member companies access to the best employment advertising resource in the state at a significant discount, plus high growth industry portal links to key industry sectors.

"In partnership with JobsInVT.com, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce is promoting jobs that exist in the high-growth sectors of Vermont's economy. As we look ahead, it will be important to grow and promote those sectors that will create the jobs of tomorrow," said Chris Carrigan, VP Business Development, Vermont Chamber of Commerce. "The tailored job portals with JobsInVT.com will help to accomplish this."

Vermont Chamber of Commerce members will have access to JobsInVT's monthly employment snapshots and industry leading online seminars on recruiting and employment branding.

"Local partnerships are key to our business as we continue to connect great Vermont businesses with the best local candidates," said JobsInVT's Director of Business Development, Jason C. Blais. "The Vermont Chamber is leading the way in promoting business opportunities within the state, and this will be a natural and mutually beneficial relationship."

The strategic partnership was developed under the JiVT Connects program, building local partnerships to reinforce JobsInVT's connection with Vermont's employment market. For more information about this program, please contact Jason C. Blais, at jblais@jobsinvt.com, or toll free at 877-374-1088 ext 2069.

JobsInVT.com, launched in 2002, hosts 160,000 unique visits monthly, generating more than 800,000 page views every month, and provides job seekers with access to more Vermont based career opportunities than any other resource.
Contact:

Contact:
Steve Dodge
Director of Marketing and Sales
JobsInVT.com
Email Contact
877-374-1274

Attracting the Best Candidates for Every Position Every Time.

2009-04-29T10:48:00.005-04:00

Winning the War for Talent
Employer career fair tips for attracting the very best candidates every time for every position in your company.

The following tips have been culled from literally thousands of conversations with job seekers at career events. If you are serious about attracting and engaging the very best candidates, be sure to discuss and promote the following items.

Information about the mission and history of the company

Provide job seekers with a short history of your organization, highlighting important dates, changes in ownership, and any plans for growth or expansion.
Share the mission statement of your organization, then provide examples of how that mission statement "lives" in your daily activities and culture.

Organizational Structure and Career Advancement

How is your department structured?
How many supervisors are there, how many managers?
How does your department fit into the organization as a whole?
What opportunities for advancement exist? (Be prepared to share an example of someone who has moved up within the company)

Detailed Job/Department Description

If you are able, share a brief "day in the life" schedule for your department to give candidates a better idea of what it will be like to work for you.

Summary of Traditional Benefits

Be prepared to share a list of traditional benefits that you offer (broken down by FT, PT, and Seasonal employment if relevant).
Be as specific as possible regarding amount of paid time off, enrollment periods, and employee costs of benefits.
This is best provided as a one-sheet take away, and the presenter should have a good knowledge of these issues if questioned.

Perks (non-traditional benefits)

Aside from traditional benefits, discuss the perks you offer such as free meal with 8-hour shift, uniform service, flexible scheduling, paid overtime, etc.

Training

How much training is provided?
How is it structured? (job shadowing, supervisor led, ongoing, etc.)

Structure for Performance Reviews and Pay Raises

If you have a formalized process for performance reviews and pay raises, be prepared to share this. You want to attract and hire the very best people available. The very best people want to work for a company that will recognize and reward them for their effort. This is a very important piece to discuss, and the most often overlooked.

Social Media Bucket #1: Social Networking

2009-04-26T21:24:00.004-04:00

In today's edition of the Recruiting Front Lines, I'm concluding my 3-part series on the three primary uses of the social media platforms. As I've previously written, I have found that all social media platforms and resources fall into one or more of three buckets: Social Networking, Professional Networking, and Information Sharing. I have already written about the latter two, and have heretofore been reluctant to complete my three part series. It's really no wonder, considering how little time and experience I have dealing with Bucket Number One, Social Networking. I feel compelled to acknowledge up front, that this is the area of social media that I know the least about. To provide a more thoughtful and complete analysis of this bucket, I've turned to a valued expert, Shawn McGowan, Social Media Marketing Coordinator for JobsInTheUS.com.

I believe it's safe to say that social media came into the world in the form of social networking sites which quickly gained popularity as a way to connect with other internet users across the world. Most internet users are now familiar with MySpace and Facebook, which have been the Coke and Pepsi of the social networking world, though there are truly many RC Cola's out there. Other platforms that perform primarily as social networking resources include Friendster, Xanga, and Classmates.

Before we go into the business value of social networking platforms, let's take a look at just how these sites work. In almost every case, a user is directed to creat a personal profile that will include some level of required personal information, such as zip code, name, and birth date. Users are encouraged to provide additional data such as favorite types of music, interests, education, etc. Once the profile is created, other users can performs searches, based on a number of criteria, to find like-minded profiles, and then request to connect. Often, networks start off small, by emailing friends and inviting them to join your network to stay in touch. For people who have moved often in their lives, or travel often, this is a great way to stay in touch. These networks encourage online chats, sharing of likes and dislikes, reviews of movies or music, and other similar types of exchange between "friends" to facilitate ongoing dialogue and communication. That's the gist of it, anyway. There can be much more to it, as much as you want to put into it, in fact, and these resources continue to grow quickly.

It's my assertion, however, that in the business community social networking sites have very little direct value. That being said, many feel that businesses should be very attentive to these networks, as McGowan expresses:

As far as services like Facebook and Myspace and their practical application in marketing and corporate branding, I feel that while LinkedIn may be a great outlet to meet business contacts and discuss relevant issues, this is where the real candid conversations about products and services take place between friends and loved ones. It is important for brands to be present in these conversations even if it's only to listen and react. More and more companies are taking the initiative and engaging their audience at this level to varying results.

While he makes an intriguing point for the value of social networking, businesses must tread carefully, as mis-steps in these arenas can be harmful to their brand. McGowan goes on to say:

Users can be hesitant to accept new contacts from outside their circles.
Unlike a business and marketing focused community where most information is positioned to be seen by the most users, social groups on networking services like Facebook are more often closed to the public with privacy settings making these clusters much smaller and exclusive. The reality of parents, grandparents, bosses, and community leaders having access to people's personal lives is bound to cause a shift in the way they conduct their online lives and to be more cautious of who they let into their networks.

In my opinion, there is no better place to see first hand the profound effect that the advent of social media "groundswell" has had in placing the power of consensus, power in numbers, in the hands of the general public. Instances where companies like Amazon, who recently stripped all LGBT books of their sales ranks on their site making them difficult to be searched, or Microsoft as they tried to collect a percentage of the severance packages they had paid to former employees, being forced to right the situation or at the very least just address it promptly are becoming more familiar. Causes, petitions, protests, boycotts of all types trend regularly on social networking services and proliferate in this fertile soil. The buzz of the online community is now too loud to ignore.

I understand McGowan's point of view on Social Media Bucket Number 3, though I have spent very little time engaged in these social networking platforms. I can see the power and perspective that can be gained by businesses who sell direct to consumers. For these companies, social networking platforms can offer tremendous market research and facilitate brand awareness.

Maybe it's my age, but I truly don't see myself engaging in social networking sites, other than to have a Facebook account so I can keep track of my daughter's network. And just to be up front- please don't bother trying to friend me, I pay no attention to those requests, and have no desire to build my network beyond my daughter. Indeed, I feel quite blessed to have a full life and wonderful family. Perhaps it's because of this that I have no desire to engage in social networking sites. As a professional who routinely works 50+ hour weeks and travels a few overnights every month, the time I have to spend with my family is far too valuable to spend it online trying to find internet "friends" or build my network.

But, hey, that's just, like, my opinion. ;)

Abstract from 20/20 Employment Branding

2009-04-21T20:27:00.001-04:00

Abstract from 20/20 Employment Branding:

Employment Brand Defined
In this session, we'll talk about creating and leveraging a "brand" to increase your recruiting success. We'll identify the strategies that are used in marketing and advertising to attract customers, and apply them to the goals of attracting the best possible candidates. So, instead of building a consumer brand focused on selling your products to customers, your goal is to develop an effective employment brand focused on promoting your business to attract the best possible candidates for your culture.

Effective Brands

WHAT Does a Body Good?
You're in Good Hands with WHICH COMPANY?
Like a Good Neighbor WHICH COMPANY is There?
WHAT are Forever?

Each of the examples above speaks to a simple and effective consumer brand. They have a distinct message that can be conveyed in very short statements, and through marketing, they have impacted the way we feel about their products. Milk is good for you. Allstate has great coverage. State Farm is your local insurance provider who is there when you need them. Want a gift that will last a lifetime... you guessed it- De Beers diamonds ARE forever.

When an employer can establish, communicate, and reinforce an effective employment brand, they will realize an increased stream of applicants better suited to their work environment, which in turn leads to an increase in employee retention. Many key factors that influence an employee's decision to stay with an employer.

A brand can generally be defined as the sum of all characteristics and distinguishable features associated with a good or service – its unique personality. Brands are comprised of logos, images, slogans, and features of the good or service, along with all the supporting communication and promotion of these items. Simply put, a consumer brand should be built around the customer experience; therefore, an employment brand needs to be built around your employee's experience.

Identifying Your Unique Employment Brand

Establishing an effective brand in the consumer market requires a company to understand what drives consumer behavior. Likewise, in order to establish an effective employment brand, a company must understand what drives employee behavior.

One essential and oft-ignored necessity of branding is identifying the current reality of your situation, not what you wish your situation was. If the branding is not absolutely true and consistent with your business today, it will not be effective and will not last. In fact, a false brand will have negative effects, and cause resentment among your current employees. For example, you can't promote excellent opportunities for advancement if you don't make a regular practice of promoting from within...

I will be presenting a full workshop on developing an employment brand at the 2009 Human Capital Summit- from creating the brand identity to measuring brand penetration. You can register for this workshop at the official website, here.

Resume 411 From Guest Blogger Debra Wheatman

2009-04-17T11:25:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Debra Wheatman for sharing this excellent article on the truly important issues to consider when creating your resume. Whether or not you're currently looking for work, this is definitely worth the read!

Drafting an effective résumé is key to contributing to a successful job search. Oftentimes, the résumé is the first thing a hiring manager reviews to determine your suitability for a potential opening. This first (and lasting) impression is critical; putting your best foot forward in creating a highly accomplishment-driven document will go a long way in ensuring that you are contacted. There are a number of things that should be considered to ensure your résumé works to your advantage:

Results - Everyone has responsibilities as part of their job. That does not engage or capture the reader though. It’s fairly boring to read ‘Responsible for…’ and whatever it is that you do on a daily basis. The key component is to provide the reader with an example of something you did that generated RESULTS for your employer. Consider the following acronym: SAR. This stands for Situation, Action, Result, and can help you define on paper what the situation was, the action you took, and the result that will demonstrate your ability to deliver. If you do this throughout your résumé, you will set a positive and proactive tone that you are a committed and productive individual who is able to serve as a change agent for a company.

It’s all in the Words - Using compelling verbs will serve to engage your reader. Try to come up with different verbs to lead the bullets or sections of your document. Avoid using the same words over and over again. The résumé is a marketing document. You need to take a step back and think “What would I think of this if I saw it for the first time?” Try to get inside the mind of the hiring manager. You want to impress and engage someone. Actionable word choices will help you do this. Some good résumé verbs: Spearheaded; championed; aligned; delivered; implemented. You get the idea – these words present a call to action.

Presentation -While ‘content is king,’ presentation plays a part in the recipe. People like to look at things that look nice – résumés are no exception to this rule. Your résumé should be presented in a consistent manner on the page. Ensure that the margins are aligned properly. Choose an appealing font like Book Antiqua in 10 pts. or something a bit stronger like Tahoma in 9.5 points. There are many fonts out there that hold more appeal than the totally boring Times New Roman. Once your résumé is complete, print it. Don’t just look at it on the screen. Printing it will give you a better sense of how you are presented overall.

Rules about Grammar and Spelling - If there are two things that will send your résumé straight to the circular file it is grammar and spelling mistakes. I recognize that we are not perfect – but, and there is always a but, your résumé must be perfect. If you know that this area is not your strong suit have someone else review it. It is also a good idea to have someone else look at it because the more you study it the less likely you are to catch small things that a fresh pair of eyes will capture. The Little Blue Book is a great resource to help with myriad grammar issues. Not sure how to spell something? Dictionary.com is there to help. Need another word for managed? No problem – check out Thesauras.com for synonyms. There are countless resources right at your fingertips. Gone are the days of heavy books; the online world allows access to the most inconceivable information, which you should use to your advantage.

The Downlow on Hobbies - Leave hobbies off the résumé unless a hobby for you is completing an Ironman Triathlon or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Simply stating that reading or running is a hobby is not very compelling. The hiring manager will learn about you in time. However, the aforementioned triathlon and climb is certainly of greater interest than reading books. In addition to being an icebreaker, which can set a personal tone to the meeting, those things also demonstrate a unique spirit and other traits that set you apart from your peers. The perseverance, commitment, and dedication needed for those things warrants referencing on the résumé. If not something really unique, leave it off.

=====================

Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is the founder and Chief Career Strategist of http://ResumesDoneWrite.com, a premier career services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries. Debra is also the CareerDoctor (www.ResumesDoneWrite.blogspot.com)

Debra can be reached at DWheatman@ResumesDoneWrite.com

Simple, Memorable, and Thought Provoking

2009-04-17T07:27:00.002-04:00

Simple, memorable, and thought provoking. Those should be the three keys to creating a tagline specific to your employment brand. Also, keep in mind that your employment brand will be viewed internally as well as externally. To this end, slogans will serve to remind your employees what they like about working for your company and therefore, will be effective and lasting. Work with a group within your organization to develop your logo and slogan or tagline. Remember, "good enough" truly isn't good enough. You'll want to take enough time that you are absolutely positive that you have the best copy, that it conveys the message you want, and that it is memorable. Once you make a decision to launch an employment brand, you'll have to be dedicated to sticking with it for a significant length of time without making any changes.

Changing Your Appreciation Progams? Be Careful!

2009-04-17T07:22:00.001-04:00

Over the years, I've worked for many companies who put on great employee appreciation events, and many more who offered referral bonuses when they were hiring.

Few, however tied these programs together to clearly communicate and reinforce their Employment Brand. If you're going to put in place an incentive for your employees to speak with their friends and family about working for your company, you should ensure that your core values and unique programs are top of mind, and clearly understood by all. Again, as I have written several times, your values must be in line with the reality of your environment to ensure brand integrity, and ultimately brand loyalty.

When we consider changing recognition or appreciation programs in our company, we always closely examine how it will affect our ability to hire great people. As an extension of that, we explore how it will affect the retention of our current staff, and what potential word of mouth "advertising" they will bring to their communities.

Aside from offering the highest compensation in the land, a company's REPUTATION is the most important element to attracting applicants. Our company has built a reputation for fast growth, casual atmosphere, engaged employees at every level, and flexibility to generate, develop, and execute new initiatives. Our perks are very much in line with this reputation, and serve to reinforce our employer brand. Some of our special perks include Bring A Dog to Work Fridays, employee driven All Star Awards with photos on the wall, and company outings the local Triple-A baseball game, or a harbor cruise.

Even when times are tight, as they certainly are now for most companies, we understand that any changes we would make to these unique and special perks would impact our ability to retain and attract great employees in the future.

What special perks does your company offer, and how well do you connect them to your Employment Brand both internally and externally?

My Blog Elevator Pitch (for a tall building)

2009-04-14T08:33:00.008-04:00

First, a word of thanks to the MaineHR Cafe for giving me this great idea. You can see the MaineHR Cafe elevator pitch by clicking here. As I read that recently, I was reminded that it's important to routinely share the motivation, purpose, and hopes associated with a blog to let help new visitors and subscribers understand the intended perspective.

Here's a go at why I write the Recruiting Front Lines, and why you might care to read it or subscribe:

For than a decade I have have worked in marketing, sales, and advertising for media companies. In January of 2004, I joined JobsInTheUS.com, the umbrella of state-specific recruitment resources which now includes the leading resources (most job postings, events, and in-state traffic) in ME, NH, VT, and RI, along with growing presence in AL, CT, LA, MA, MS, NY, and PA.

Starting in 2005, I was charged with building and managing a field marketing program that was focused on reinforcing our local focus by engaging job seekers and employers in the community. Through this activity, we have presented workshops at career centers and colleges, developed HRCI-accredited seminars and webinars for employers, promoted our brand at festivals, trade shows, and job fairs across our markets. Last year alone, we exhibited at more than 250 events in New England and the Gulf Coast.

While I captured a significant amount of market data for use in our sales and marketing, I had no outlet to share the qualitative information I was getting from front line managers, HR admins, job seekers, career counselors, and business owners. I started the Recruiting Front Lines as a way to record and share the stories, news, and trends that I was hearing first hand from both seekers and employers.

Over the past year, I have become much more involved in the HR community, and have found myself building a focus on employment branding, social media for HR, staffing management, and other recruiting/hr focused issues. I still attend many events, and continue to broaden my awareness and knowledge of the labor market from those most closely and directly affected by it every day.

Okay, so I've never been one to be pithy or short on words. I hope this provides a good view of why I write and why I do what I do. Please feel free to visit often or subscribe to my feeds. If you know of someone who would be interested in following along, please share the link.

Best Regards,

Jason

Mobile Thoughts on Employment Branding

2009-04-12T21:19:00.001-04:00

It crossed my mind recently that employers should pay very close attention to which companies are hiring employees away from them. These companies represent your market competition. Two things you should be asking yourself:

1. If you are losing top talent to one specific competitor, why and what can you do about it?

2. Are you also hiring away top talent from you competitor, or is this a one way street?

There's really no way around this simple truth: Great companies are built by great employees.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

RFL: Building Your Bench from Unused Parts

2009-04-09T08:43:00.006-04:00

(Continued from an article posted on April 8, 2009. Click here to see Part 1.)

Through careful and thoughtful analysis of the skills that are required to carry out your business functions, and the ancillary or unused skills present in your workforce, you can begin to build engagement while operating more efficiently.

During staffing reductions, either by layoffs or attrition, there is often a work gap left behind by the departed employees. That is, when a company lays off one person, it is common that some portion of the work that person performed must still be completed. Customarily, this work is picked up by the remaining employees (see scenario below), adding a sense of increased burden to the insecurity they are already feeling.

Consider this theoretical scenario, and please share your thoughts on how common, or uncommon, this practice is within your company.

10 people can do 100% of the work for a department.
On average, each person is responsible for 10% of the work.
Staff is reduced by 20%, while production is rolled back by only 10%.

80% of the original staff must now complete 90% of the original work.
Each person is now responsible for 11.25% of the work- a 12.5% increase.
Normally, there is no bump in pay provided to the remaining workforce.

There is an alternative to this process, however, which can have a splendidly opposite- increasing our employee engagement and sense of security. It's what we call the Auxiliary Workforce Plan (AWP).

Essentially, the AWP provides the roadmap to identify, develop, and utilize untapped skills and talents present within our current workforce. Through this mechanism, we can provide interdepartmental and cross-functional opportunities to our employees, which lead to stronger engagement, and better overall understanding of our business. For the employees, it manifests as professional development, resume building, and increased variety in their day-to-day job activities. This is truly a win/win practice that will provide the greatest benefits when the economy is at its worst.

To be Contnued...

RFL: Developing Your Bench

2009-04-08T16:01:00.008-04:00

We are all on the same path...finding ways to do more with less. It is widely known that workforces are becoming leaner and leaner, while most are still faced with maintaining and even growing market share and productivity. It seems like an impossible task: reduce the number of people working for you, and increase your revenue. Unfortunately, as markets have become more crowded and competitive over time, most businesses have routinely been increasing expectations and output of their workforces to drive profits. Because of this well-established culture, economic belt-tightening has proven to be even more difficult than in times past. We ALL ran lean operations BEFORE the economy started its decline.
So where exactly do we go from here?

The first step on the path toward success is to look within. That doesn't mean we need to set up meditation schedules and personal reflection time, though those aren't bad ideas, but rather that we need to figure out just what our companies are made of. Specifically, what skills our workforce is made of. I am willing to stake my reputation on the fact that there are employees working in all our organizations today who have valuable skills that we are completely unaware of. That is, our current employees may present us with the skills we need to operate lean and thrive while other businesses merely survive.

There are numerous studies available that provide statistics on the dollar-value of engaged employees, and the damages caused by bored ones. For access to a number of these reports, visit SHRM, and type "engaged employees" or "bored employees" in their search engine. You'll find volumes of surveys and articles to this point.

The Life Cycle of an Employee, Used With Permission from SHRM

To be continued....

RFL Question of the Moment: Recruitment Advertising When You're Not Hiring

2009-04-07T08:00:00.005-04:00

With so many people hopping on the optimism bandwagon that we all hope is taking us to the river of economic recovery later this year, I'm hearing more and more staffing and personnel professionals wanting to develop candidate pools before there are any jobs available. It got me thinking about the ethics and best practices around this issue.

What do you think?

Does your company advertise job openings even when they're not available? If so, why?

What do you think of this practice?

Press Release: Indicators Show Positive Employment Numbers

2009-04-03T12:55:00.004-04:00

Just getting out ahead of the curve a bit on this one. My firm will be releasing the following press release shortly. Amazingly, while job seeker traffic is at record highs, there has also been growth in online job postings for two consecutive months

New England’s #1 Recruitment Resource shows record growth in monthly traffic and job postings.

Westbrook, ME. April, 3 2009— For 10 years the JobsinTheUS.com (JiUS) network of state specific, online recruitment resources has helped hundreds of thousands of local jobseekers find the best local jobs. With its latest trend numbers just released, New England’s recruiting experts are beginning to see some very positive signs.

With the largest applicant pool in years, and jobseekers aggressively looking for the best local employment opportunities, the JiUS network recorded nearly 1.8 million visits in March. This represents a 13% growth over February 2009 and, is one of the single largest months in the company’s history.

Job losses may still be on the rise but local employers posted nearly 8,000 open positions on the JiUS network in March. This marks a 10% increase over February and is the second consecutive month of growth in this very important statistic.

“We only allow job postings from legitimate, in-state employers, so the increase in postings is truly reflective of the increase in actual employment opportunities.” said Jason C. Blais, Director of Business Development.

He added, “What this tells us is that the confidence among employers is growing. For the past few months, many businesses were holding their breath. Two consecutive months of growth in online postings indicates that employers are beginning to collectively exhale and get back to the business of doing business”

Blais advises businesses regularly on the importance of staying out in front of jobseekers.

“During this transition, businesses that have operated conscientiously and have remained focused on their brand will have a significant advantage in attracting top talent. In fact, from the job seekers perspective, companies that are hiring during this transition period must be doing something right.” He said.

JiUS has been operating state specific job internet sites since 1999 and remains at the forefront of the industry through innovation, solid sales, distinguished marketing techniques and there-when-you-need-us customer service.

The JiUS network of state specific resources includes JobsinME.com, JobsinNH.com, JobsinVT.com and JobsinRI.com

Contact:

Steve Dodge,

Director of Marketing and Sales

JobsintheUS.com

207-591-6259

sdodge@jobsintheus.com

RFL: JobsInTheUS and JobAngels on Fox News

2009-03-30T22:16:00.006-04:00

The segment I participated in on Fox News this past weekend is now available on their website. My thanks goes out to Julie Banderas for facilitating such a comfortable interview and to Eldad Yaron for setting this up and getting the video link to me.

As a result of my participation in the JobAngels movement, and the subsequent Wall Street Journal article, I was fortunate to get a little air time on the America's News HQ program on Fox News Sunday. While I was a bit disappointed by the lack of discussion regarding JobAngels, I was pleasantly surprised by the plug for JobsInTheUS that Julie gave us.

Here's the video from this past Sunday:

RFL: Off topic and On the Twitter Mosaic

2009-03-30T07:05:00.003-04:00

Okay... I've officially become a TwitterGeek! While I originally found this app to be a complete waste of time and silly creation, I've certainly come to admire it. There really are many ways in which Twitter can be of value, both personally and professionally. Yes, it can seem a bit odd. But if you give it a try, and be thoughtful about why you're in this space, I think you'll find it to be more than you expected. Sorry, enough of the plug...

Check out this app that I just learned about called Twitter Mosaic. It's not all that exciting, but it does give a visual of your individual Twitter network. Here's mine:

Get your twitter mosaic here.

RFL: National Exposure on FoxNews

2009-03-29T13:13:00.003-04:00

This afternoon, I'm booked to participate in a live broadcast on FoxNews's weekend American News HQ with Julie Banderas. I was contacted by the station after the article on JobAngels ran in the Wall Street Journal this week. Apparently, feel good stories are in fashion! JobAngels started as a single "tweet" on Twitter, and has really gained momentum as people all across the country are volunteering to lend a helping hand. The premise was simple- what a difference it could make if we all could help just one person find a job.

Now, I have to admit, FoxNews might be my last choice of a network to get the word out. In fact, even as they were inviting me on, they gave me this word of support:

Don't worry, you won't be on with Bill O'Reilly. No one will be attacking you.

I just thought that was HILARIOUS! Anyhow, it is tremendous exposure for the movement, and of course for JobsInTheUS and JobsInNH. This attention came my way by virtue of JobsInNH having a good relationship with a healthcare network in NH. You can read a bit more about my first engagement with JobAngels in a post I wrote the day it hit me.

At any rate, if you're interested in learning more about jobangels, or just interested in a good, old fashioned, feel good story, tune in to foxnews (this may be the only time I utter those words) at 4 this afernoon!

RFL: Social Media Bucket #2: Professional Networking

2009-03-25T21:37:00.009-04:00

As previously stated in my post about Social Media Bucket #3: Information Sharing, I feel strongly that all social media resources fall into one or more of three distinct buckets: Social Networking, Professional Networking, and Information Sharing. In this edition, I'll share my thoughts on bucket #2, Professional Networking. Again, here's my disclaimer:

Please note that these are my own thoughts and biases, so I willingly accept all criticism, skepticism, and responsibility surrounding the following assertions.

There is often confusion to new comers to the social media scene about the differences among all the various resources available. In particular, there is often frustration in understanding the nuances between social networking and professional networking platforms. Professional networking sites include TalentBar, EngineeringExchange, HRMToday, PPMNG, and of course the industry leader, LinkedIn. The major distinguishing feature of Professional Networking platforms is that they are focused solely on connecting people for the purpose of doing business. While profile pages on social networking sites often include information about your likes, dislikes, pets, favorite music, etc., the profiles on most Professional Networking sites read more like resumes and work histories. As an unabashed fan of LinkedIn and other professional networking sites, I find tremendous value in them, but also understand the limitations.

I see three main areas of benefit for these platforms- Business Development, Career Transition, and Access to Expertise. Professionals looking to do business can join networks where potential customers, vendors, or partners are coming together. For example, if you're interested in selling to recruiters, you may find Recruitingblogs to be a valuable social media to participate in. If you do business with engineers, you'll be well-served to join the EngineeringExchange. By participating in these resources, which I'll discuss further below, you can build an online reputation for you and your company, and identify who key influencers and decision makers are. Most resources work hard to build the core of the membership as actual professionals with expertise in one area, but understand the value of having vendors and partners involved in the dialogue as well.

For Career Transition, Professional Networking sites allow individuals to make and develop connections to people that can be leveraged to gain access to interviews. For example, if you're looking for work in HR, you may want to join HRMToday, and connect with other HR professionals who may either be hiring for their department, or willing to share tips on job openings they know of. You also may want to join other groups, and connect with hiring managers or employees at other levels in the company. The connections can be developed and leveraged to help you gain access to the right hiring decision makers. Through active and thoughtful participation, you can actually build quite a personal brand and strong network to help you find your next great job. Sites such as LinkedIn can help you keep what is essentially an online resume updated, and you can add to it and share with others as needed.

The last main benefit is Access to Expertise. This is the benefit that I find to be of most value. Through these platforms, you can easily find industry experts, thought leaders, and trend influencers. Through forums and Q&A formats within these platforms, you can share and gain knowledge from professionals around the world. The amount of information that members are willing to share is closely tied to how much you're willing to contribute. You have to remember that these organizations are very similar to a chamber of commerce or a local trade association, in that you need to establish yourself, and show that you're interested in being an involved member.

As I've stated, the value of these professional networking resources is determined by your level of thoughtful participation. Nearly all of these types of platforms allow you to ask questions, begin and comment on discussions, add blog posts, or join chats. If you wish to be taken seriously, you need to choose which networks to join, and commit to being an active member. Not only should you start a discussion from time to time, but you should look through discussions posted by others, and share comments. It's important to remember that every time you add any piece of content, you're affecting your online reputation. Long term success is always based on trust and respect.

Before adding content, always ask yourself this simple question: How will this content affect my reputation?

As with any social media resource, there are also important drawbacks to consider. By being an online resource, people have the chance to create false fronts. Be sure to check on the profiles of people you network with, see who they are connected with, and follow their content as you try to determine whether or not to connect. You also have to be careful to remember that your information becomes public within that forum, opening you up to spammers.

Overall, for professionals who are looking to build their knowledge base, or for businesses looking to build brand awareness, professional networking sites offer significant value. These are not the resources to push your personal ideologies or share information about your pets or hobbies. Be sure that as you engage, you remain disciplined in how you participate, and remember that online professional networking sites require patience and dedication just like live networking groups and associations.

I hope this helps a little. Coming soon- Social Networking Bucket #1: Social Networking.

RFL: Musings on eExternal Employment Branding

2009-03-20T08:09:00.003-04:00

As a follow up to my previous posts, Don't Just Sit On Your Hands and 4 Keys to INTERNAL Employment Branding During a Recession, the following bullets are laid out to provide some direction to employers, recruiters, marketing directors, personnel managers, and HR professionals on EXTERNAL Employment Branding. (remember, Consumer Branding is meant to build up your consumer base, Employment Branding is meant to build your employment base... and I'm not exactly sure how the term Employer Branding fits.)

During a recession, you'll likely be making fewer hires- potentially only replacing key positions. Employment Branding is absolutely necessary to ensure your attracting the very best candidates that will help you company survive the downturn and thrive in the upswing. Here are some of the most important things I'd ask everyone to consider when developing or reviewing your external employment brand:

If you asked every applicant to share what they know about your company culture during your first phone call, what would the result be? Ask this question to every applicant you phone screen, and track the results
When you do an online search for "Careers at (YOUR COMPANY NAME HERE)" what would you find? Make sure you have pages on your website dedicated to your employment brand.
If you aren't hiring, how could someone find out what it's like to work for you? Be sure to keep your employment brand visible all year long and drive a consistent message.
How many GREAT applicants do you get when you're not actively hiring? Companies with well developed employment brands will receive applicants from great candidates all year long, because they want to be part of your organization.
If you went for a recruiting day at a campus right now, would there be a line of students waiting to speak with you? Utilize social media and online resources to generate a buzz about your company- and yes, even YOUR company is buzzworthy!
What would your current employees say if they read your employment branding promotional materials? Remember, brand integrity directly affects your ability to retain new hires and existing employees- so be sure that you're brand is true.

Consider this: With all the bad news about layoffs and unemployment, any news or PR you can generate about your positive employment brand will catch people's attention. In fact, it is much easier now to grow your employment brand awareness and brand penetration! While others are shying away from the spotlight, you can take center stage.

If you aren't currently hiring, investing time and energy in your employment brand now will lead to significant payouts when you're back in growth mode. Develop brand loyalty now, and when you're ready to hire, great people- and maybe more importantly, the right people- will be banging down your door.

EMPLOYMENT BRANDING STORY FROM THIS WEEK:
When we work with job seekers, we push the idea that employers are looking for the "right fit" for their company. We guide job seekers to begin their search by doing a self assessment- what are their own core values, strengths, motivations, talents, desires, and comfort zones. Once you know what makes you happy, and what you want from life, then you can target companies who's culture and mission fit your own. This is the key to long term employee satisfaction, increased retention, and ultimately profitability.

Here's a quick story to illustrate (verbally) how employment branding can affect the type of candidates you receive. A soon to be graduate at Smith College is looking to start her career with BET, and has asked for some advice on her cover letter and resume. She has already interned with the Media Education Foundation and with MTV, so has relevant experience in this industry. Additionally, working in media is a passion of hers, and she has the experience to support that. However, it's likely that BET will collect hundreds of resumes for this position, so it's important to make sure she conveys her alignment with their culture and philosophy.

We went on the web to research more about the career environment of BET, their culture, professional development programs, etc. And found nothing. The job she was applying for was written up in three sentences, part of a pdf that included a dozen or so other job descriptions. There was nothing about their culture, nothing about the types of employees they're looking for, nothing about the benefits they offer to top talent. There was simply no information that would shed light on who they are and what kind of environment a new hire is walking into. While I can't find statistics published on this, I have a pretty high confidence that they struggle with significant employee turnover. If you don't specifiy the type of culture you have and the type of people you're looking for, you're far less likely to attract the right ones.

I told this student that she continue to reach out through social media and other online resources to explore the culture and environment further. A key to getting the interview is presenting yourself as the "right" person for the job because of your unique combination of skills, talents, motivation, drive, values, and passion that align with the company.

RFL: Social Media Bucket #3: Information Sharing

2009-03-16T21:41:00.007-04:00

As you may have heard me say, or read in previous posts or in response to questions on LinkedIn, I believe that all social media falls into one or more of three buckets: Social Networking, Professional Networking, and Information Sharing. I thought it was about time I went into more depth on these three buckets, starting with Social Media Bucket #3, Information Sharing. (Please note that these are my own thoughts and biases, so I willingly accept all criticism, skepticism, and responsibility surrounding the following assertions)

While some social media outlets provide excellent platforms to connect and build networking relationships with like-minded people, either for social or professional engagement, Information Sharing social media outlets are designed to do just that- share information. These resources include StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, YouTube, NewsVine, and others. Essentially, you're able to add or recommend information/content to these resources, then share it with your network, and by extension, the world. Most of these resources do allow for comments to be added by other members of the service, but really aren't designed for ongoing discourse. This, as with all the Social Media Buckets, has it's benefits and it's drawbacks.

The benefits to Information Sharing sites can be broken down to two parts- disseminating information and accessing information. First, let's talk about the benefits for disseminating information. For businesses, and people looking to grow their presence in the social media world, these outlets are a terrific free resource to promote your knowledge, skill, ideas, thoughts, and interests. Whether you want to promote your silly lip syncing to 80's love songs on YouTube, or promote an article about your company on Newsvine, Information Sharing sites help you get your message out. As a result, these sites are very appealing to businesses looking to build brand awareness and reputation, and advertisers looking for consumer eyeballs. You can share press release information, provide recommendations for services, review books you've read, create web videos, and so much more. And, of course, all these platforms are highly indexed on search engines, further increasing your visibility and reach. Truly, information sharing sites are a tremendous benefit to building your online presence and reputation.

The benefits for accessing information are just as significant. Once you become a member of these resources, you'll be able to see information shared by people, and more importantly, will begin to develop a level of trust for certain content providers and information disseminators. By seeing ongoing commentary of users, you'll find experts that you agree with or respect, and can then continue to follow or view the information they share. These sites allow us to catch news clips that we may have missed when they aired live, they give our network of friends and associates avenues to send us links to news stories we may care about, and they allow us to search and find virtually any perspective on any subject we wish. Never before have there been so may opportunities to access information- fact, opinion, rumor, innuendo, data, industry experts, analysis, etc- so quickly and with some form of connection to the people disseminating that information.

Of course, there are also very substantial drawbacks to these service. Primarily, in my book, is the fact that very little, if any, of this content is regulated. And, by virtue of the free access, there is no fact-checking or oversight being done. Some may say that there is no accountability, but I would say there is very little. The accountability comes in the form of loyalty and trust of those who access the information. If it's found that the information you provide (attached to you by your username) is fraudulent or completely reckless, people will stop paying attention to you and your information/recommendations.

One of my favorite resources is Twitter. Many people still have difficulty understanding the value of this "microblogging" service that only allows you to post 140 characters at a time. I believe this confusion is based on many people's limited understanding of social networking. In fact, many people misconceive Twitter as a social networking (Bucket #1) or professional networking (Bucket #2) resource. While it certainly does connect people with others, the limits of this platform really relegate it's value to Information Sharing. As you'd see if you followed people, there are a great many links to information and recommendations provided. By following people, you can get a feel for their perspective. Many also don't understand how to jump into Twitter to begin accessing information. Here's a quick example:

Please see the RSS Feed below post. What you're looking at is a feed from a search done on Search.Twitter.Com. I performed the search for "#EFCA", one of my areas of interest recently. What is returned in this feed is every post on Twitter that includes #EFCA. I can then view the profiles of the people "tweeting" about this topic, and decide for myself if I should follow them or not. By following them, I'll have access to see all their posts. This search feature is a great way to find people who are posting information and comments about things you are intereseted in. To make this easier, many people on twitter include what are called hash tags. A hash tag is when you put a # sign next to a term. This makes searching easier. If I post something that has to do with the Employee Free Choice Act, I'll add #EFCA to the post so that people can find it easily.

As you'll see in the RSS feed below, you can find many links to information and opinions about the EFCA. This is a great example of how you can access information through this site. I hope this was helpful to those still treading lightly in the social media ecosystem. Please share your thoughts, questions, and comments.

jason

RFL: Not just another day in the office.

2009-03-12T17:57:00.005-04:00

A few weeks back, my company agreed to a proposal I put forth to offer free job hunting workshops on-site at companies that are forced to lay people off this year. We've been offering this content at state agencies and college career centers across New England for almost 5 years now.

With the economy affecting so many businesses, we thought it would be a good opportunity to do good, and offer assistance to those in need. Additionally, we've seen a real lack of quality, informed, and up-to-date information being provided by other programs. Of course, there's no doubt it provides our business with good PR and an opportunity to stay visible despite a sluggish job market.

Within the first couple days of sending out the offer to businesses, I received nearly two dozen requests for more information. To date, we now have 4 on-site workshops scheduled in the next couple weeks. Today, I presented the first at a local insurance company. This company had decided to close it's Maine site, to consolidate operations on the west coast. As a result, around 100 experienced insurance employees are now looking for new work... and there just aren't so many insurance jobs to be had. So what now?

I am very grateful for the opportunity to utilize my skills in an effort to help people find success during such a difficult transition. There seemed to be good enthusiasm, considering the circumstances, and a general attitude of moving forward. I spoke to three groups, totaling around 75 employees, and most were considering seeking out completely new opportunities in new areas. One of the keys to my presentation is to establish a good rapport with the group, and do my best to steer them toward being open to new opportunities. When faced with such a disruptive force as a layoff, it can be terribly difficult to remain positive and open to opportunities. But, of course, without a good frame of mind, it's difficult to move forward.

I go out of my way to reinforce that the first step to finding a great new job is self analysis. From my experience and perspective, I believe that success in the job hunt is related to the amount of time and effort put in to identifying exactly what you want and focusing your search on the best potential career matches, based on core values, mission, vision, and skills required. While some people advise that it's best to send out 50 resumes a week every week, I try to steer people toward narrowing down their search, and customizing their effort for each company they apply to. In fact, I advised that no one should ever send out the exact same version of their resume twice!

The idea that hr professionals and recruiters are focused more than ever on fit and culture can be news to job seekers. I spend a great deal of time during the workshop to beat folks over the head with this idea. As a hiring manager, I want to know that you want to be part of my company, and that you'll be a good fit. Fit leads to retention, reducing turnover costs, and increasing productivity and profitability over the long term. With that understanding, it's vital that you seek out opportunities that you believe will be a good fit between the core values, mission, and vision of you and the company you're seeking employment with.

Overall, I believe it was a very good day, and hope that some piece of information I shared today will help these good people as they head out on their next exciting adventure.

RFL: Job Seekers Scammed NBC30

2009-03-10T08:14:00.002-04:00

Job Seekers Scammed

By LAUREN PETTY

Updated 10:30 PM EDT, Mon, Mar 9, 2009

Online jobs database have seen a rise in sham jobs.

Many people looking for work head online, but there's a growing trend that some of the listings aren't legitimate.

"I actually got a call this morning from a friend. She had applied for a job and had followed up with a phone call and was told that she had to put up $100 up front to be considered for the job. Clearly that's not a legitimate job opportunity," said Jason Blais, director of business development for jobsinct.com.

Blais says that many online jobs databases have seen a rise in sham jobs.

"They realize that people are desperate to find work and so they are putting out their bait to try to attract them," Blais said.

You should never be asked to give out personal information while you're in the application process, according to Blais.

"People are also reporting being asked for Social Security Numbers and other private information that jobs seekers should never give out before they are offered a job."

He also recommends jobs seekers do their homework. Just because a company has a website, doesn't mean it's real.

'It's critical to make sure you are researching the company," Blais said. "On our job board we make sure that every company has a company profile, that there's contact information."

Blais recommends looking for an in-state address and telephone number and contacting the Department of Labor for more information, before you apply.

"It sounds simple, but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Blais said

Find this article at:
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Job-Seekers-Scammed.html

RFL: The Skinny on EFCA- Unbiased Facts and Biased Opinions

2009-03-09T21:27:00.004-04:00

I sat through a 90 minute presentation by a labor attorney speaking to HR folks about the issues associated with the Employee Free Choice Act, EFCA. While there was a significant undertone of fear-mongering and scare tactics employed to generate calls to his firm, the speaker did offer a good general overview of the facts associated with EFCA, as well as a nice history unions and the National Labor Relations Board.

I've done my best to provide some unbiased facts along with some biased opinions on the issue. Please feel free to agree, disagree, or not care.

Here's how the current secret ballot election process works:

Union organizers obtain authorization cards signed by at least 30% of Bargaining Unit. These cards grant permission for unions to represent the employee in a collective bargaining agreement or to hold seek a representation election.
Union filed petition with National Labor Relation Board (NLRB)
NLRB sends written notice to employer, who is then responsible to post notice in workplace, and provide employee roster to NLRB to verify 30%
Normally within 45 days of petition for election, NLRB schedules Representation Election.
Employer required to post election notice in workplace, election is then typically held in neutral site on employer premises, and is supervised by NLRB rep.
Ballots counted in presence of observers.
Outcome of election is basd on the majority of ballots cast. If there are 50 eligible voters, but only 20 vote, 11 votes constitute a majority which would then represent all 50 employees.
In the current system, employeers have an opportunity to educate employees within reasonable guidelines- no promises, threats, solicitation of grievances, change in work conditions, interrogation, etc. Employees also have an opportunity to discuss among themselves.
Currently Unions lose a majority of elections. Unions also fear that employer commit unfair labor practices to influence employees.

So that's today. Why do we need an EFCA, and what are the issues? That's up to interpretation and perspective. Anti-EFCA pundits would say that the objectives are to avoid educational campaigns by employers and avoid giving voice to dissenting employees. In reality, the election process is really eliminated, and employers would be required to enter collective bargaining with a bargaining unit based solely on signed authorization cards by a majority. NLRB then resolves all bargaining unit issues. Here's some bullets on the concerns by employers:

NLRB counts authorization cards, if there's majority support, the Union is certified and obligation to bargain begins.
There is no requirement to notify employers of the distribution or collection of authorization cards until they are signed, avoiding any opportunity for employers to open dialogue with employees.
There is no requirement for a general notice to employees regardign the organizing activity, meaning union organizers can pick and choose who they give cards to. The fear is that influencers against organizing would be kept in the dark.
Removal of the secret ballot creates the opportunity for coercion and intimidation in the solicitation of authorization cards.
Bargaining MUST commence within 10 days of written request from Union. The anti-EFCA argument is that no company can get a bargaining position together within 10 days, particularly if they don't know it's coming.
If there's no agreement within 90 days from beginning of negotiation, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is assigned, and then the sides have just 30 days to reach agreement. After that, an arbitration panel shall render a settlement decision which is binding for 2 years. Ultimately, this could incentivize the union to make outlandish requests in the negotiation and refuse settlement, believing that an arbiter will meet both sides halfway.

Okay, so that's not so brief. I'm willing to admit that I am pro-union, and feel that there must be institutions in place to protect employees rights, particularly as capitalism spirals out of control and the wage gap between executives and employees widens. BUT THIS ISN'T THE BEST LEGISLATION WE CAN COME UP WITH.

Have thoughts? Please share!

NH's 2009 Human Capital Summit Update

2009-03-08T11:46:00.006-04:00

I absolutely cannot believe that it's been 10 months since the Granite State HR Conference hosted it's 2008 event! Even more scary to me, is that our 2009 event is now just 2 months away!!! Actually, since joining the board for the conference back in May of last year, I've been pleasantly surprised by just how smooth this process has gone. This year, we're expecting a record turnout as participants due to three important factors:

The 2009 program has been filled with business critical sessions that will help companies survive and thrive in the current economy.
Attendees will have access to receive five HRCI credits, including 2 sessions certified for Strategic credits!
Keynoter Bert Jacobs, CEO of Life Is Good, Inc., is a dynamic speaker who's talks combine humor, passion, and personality with strategic business messages to offer a powerful and unique experience for the audience.

Check out the list of certified sessions at the Grante State HR Conference Blog! Just a click away at http://gshrcblog.blogspot.com. Go NOW!

In addition, as we move closer to the event, speakers from the 2009 Human Capital Summit will be contributing to the blog space! To stay up to date and informed, sign up for email updates when you get there!

RFL: Job Postings INCREASED in February!

2009-03-06T09:44:00.007-05:00

I spent some time this morning pulling some data and analyzing our metrics from February. Though expecting to see a reflection of the economic status, I was very surprised to see actual growth in the number of job postings from Jan to Feb 2009. Trust me, I didn't believe it at first either. I went back and forth, looking over the numbers in various ways from various reports, but it's true. That being said, it doesn't mean the job search will now be easy.

New and recent college grads will need to re-evaluate their career plans. After looking at the data, my suggestion is to find work with a small business or non-profit where you can gain experience quickly, and see tangible results of your work. This market is up, and it makes for a great foundation for the rest of your career. Here are some more highlights from the job data in New England from the leading recruiting resources of JobsInTheUS...

While there's no doubt that this year's wave of college grads will have greater difficulty landing their dream jobs, the current economic situation is providing a new avenue of opportunity for them. In fact, the February data for New England has been very positive, with the number of job postings actually increasing by 30% from January. As has been widely reported, job growth in health care continues, particularly in nursing and medical practice, accounting for nearly 10% of all job postings in January and February 2009.

But what if you don't have a health care related degree? The best companies realize that during such economic times, it's absolutely critical to maintain positive client-facing activities. As such, there will continue to be strength in sales, marketing, and customer support positions. Unfortunately for new college grads, there is heavy competition for these positions, and experience in this sector is generally very important. One exception to that is social media marketing. Because of the nature of social media services, and the lack of costs normally associated with them, businesses are focusing more on developing a presence in this space. There is, and will continue to be, a market for the technically savvy and business oriented. If you're graduating with a marketing degree now, our advice is to read up on an explore the business value of social media. Every business sees the need, but very few have the in-house talent to develop these channels.

Another important trend to notice is the boom in job postings for non-profits. The number of postings for non-profits jumped an amazing 35% since January, representing over 5% of all jobs posted. These jobs, along with social and human services sector opportunities, provide an interesting view of the economy. With the rates of foreclosure and unemployment so high, the need for these services has grown. For new college grads, this may be an excellent opportunity to launch a career...in any field. With non-profits operating normally very thinly, employees often have opportunities to work in various aspects of the organization, providing a unique hands-on experience that is hard to find elsewhere. Additionally, with the federal support coming, the growth and impact of these organizations should be significant, providing great bullet points for your resume and talking points for future interviews.

Here are some of the numbers...

Nonprofit job postings increased 35% from Jan to Feb

Sales, mkt, c/s, social services, medical, nursing represent about 25% of all job postings in new england

Decline in large companies hiring

75% of job postings for companies with fewer than 500 ee's

2/3 of job postings for fewer than 250 ee's

In Feb 74% of jobs were for full time openings

However the number of part time postings increased 25% from Jan to Feb

Nearly 35% more job openings posted in Feb than in Jan

RFL: Joys of Laryngitis And Other Oddities

2009-03-05T20:09:00.002-05:00

After complete laryngitis a couple weeks ago, I've been battling with a raspy halfway voice for two weeks now. That's right, I haven't been able to use my normal voice for just over three weeks now... and YES, IT'S KILLING ME! Finally, confronted with the fear of losing my voice permanently, I visited a doctor. Thankfully no complications. I just have to got two days without talking... simple, right?

Well, I've certainly learned a lesson about communication today, my first complete no talking day. It's true what they say- when you feel that you can't communicate, frustration sets in quickly. As I stepped out for lunch today with my pencil and paper to communicate, I realized quickly how much talking I really do. It was a pleasant surprise to see just how friendly and helpful strangers are, and make me think just how innate our desire to help is.

But I've made my way through one day, hoping to ease into the end of the week by completing some training presentations. Finally going to be delivering a structured LinkedIn training internally, should be fun.

Quick thanks to J. William Tincup, of Starr Tincup, for highlighting me on his blog. Here's a quick excerpt below, click here for the full version:

4 Questions With… Jason Blais
March 5th, 2009

Jason Blais

Twitter || LinkedIn || HRM Today

What’s your personal favorite blog post and why?

“I just found this through Twitter. Every time I start to question the value of microblogging services like this, I am smacked in the face with a truly valuable link to important and relevant info. This blog post goes above and beyond in providing volumes of knowledge in a very clear, well laid out, and quick to scan format.

Either that or a much more personal one that I posted recently. Sometimes it just feels good to put yourself out there and share some pride you work.”

What’s your favorite personal online brand and why?

“Without sounding like a suckup to the host, I think William Tincup has this hands down. I had thought of this before I met him in person recently, and our face to face on served to reinforce my feelings. The cigar-smoking photo he uses consistently, along with the images used on his blog really represent the man. Additionally, I’m always happy to see people with enough self-awareness and internal confidence to be who they are. Great job with your personal brand consistency Mr. Tincup!

Out of all the folks online, who would youl ike to meet in person and why?... continued at jpie.com.

RFL: 4 Keys to Internal Employment Branding In A Recession

2009-03-02T07:58:00.005-05:00

Following up to my previous post, here are 4 keys to success for promoting your employment brand during hiring freezes or staffing reductions. Remember, in consumer markets, the effort you put into advertising and marketing during a downturn will directly affect your ability to capture market share when the economy turns.

The same applies to the labor market. If you want to sustain organizational excellence, you must be able to attract top talent in all positions in your company. You can greatly increase your ability to make good future hires by continuing to develop your employment brand during this recession. Here are 4 simple keys to remember as you go forward:

Whether your business is top-down, bottom-up, or organizationally flat, EMPLOYMENT BRANDING develops from the inside out. During these hard times, it may seem attractive to reduce spending on training, company events, and recognition programs. It will be up to HR professionals to fight to keep these activities in the budget. Further, if you are in a position to do so, now is the time to increase these types of activities.
Communicate, communicate, communicate! There is a great deal of anxiety in virtually every workplace in America right now. Be sure to over-communicate to your managers and to your employees. Go the extra mile to reinforce that communication is a two way street, and arm your front line supervisors with the knowledge and skill to handle employee concerns and questions constructively.
Remember The Law of Seven when announcing layoffs or salary freezes. This law, taught to me by a VC and former VP of National Advertising for BF Goodrich, states that a customer who experiences a negative interaction with your company will tell 7 people about it. Conversely, only one in 7 people will share a positive interaction with others. What does it mean? You have to put in extra effort to generate positive internal messaging even when delivering bad news. If people feel treated fairly, they may pass on just how well you handled things. If they feel treated poorly, they will yell it from the mountaintops.
Utilize Press Release distribution services to reinforce positive employment related events. Consider announcing long-term anniversaries, promotions, completion of trainings, employee events, and internal employee survey results. This is a low cost way to keep your employment brand alive even when you have no job ads to post. It also reinforces the value of your work internally, provided you follow key number two above.

All of these keys are directly related to positive word of mouth campaigns developed by you and carried out by your employees. Remember, the reality of your employment brand is what your workforce says it is, regardless of what you want it to be. The more focus you can put into guiding that internal dialogue, the more long-term brand integrity and brand penetration you'll have.

That's all from now from the Recruiting Front Lines! Next time, I'll share a few keys about external branding during a recession. Please share any thoughts or comments, and remember, if you like what you read here, please pass it on!

Jason

The Recruiting Front Lines: RFL: We're Moving in the Right Direction!

2009-02-27T16:17:00.000-05:00

The Recruiting Front Lines: RFL: We're Moving in the Right Direction!

RFL: Down Economy? Don't Just Sit On Your Hands!

2009-02-27T06:33:00.005-05:00

Word of caution to all HR and staffing professionals. NOW is certainly NOT the time to ignore your recruiting strategies. I've spoken with a few companies recently who have expressed that due to the economy, and their hiring freeze or reductions, they aren't giving any attention to the employment brand or recruiting strategies at all. That line of thinking will only serve to position you to lose out on the best talent when the economy shifts or you simply need to fill a key position. Let me explain.

THE BEST COMPANIES INCREASE EXPOSURE IN DOWN ECONOMY
In a down economy, the strongest companies maintain or increase their advertising and marketing. You'll often see big name brands advertising during a downturn that you don't see during strong economic times. This is done to gain market share and reinforce brand awareness that will be leveraged when the economy does turnaround. Despite slowing or declining revenues, businesses promote the unique value of their products/services to remain top of mind with consumers. At the same time, some companies opt for cutting their advertising and marketing budgets and efforts, resulting in loss of market share and brand awareness, and negatively affecting their ability to rebound when the pendulum swings. They simply lose out to the companies with greatet TOMA- Top Of Mind Awareness.

CONSUMER BRANDING PRINCIPLES APPLY TO THE LABOR MARKET
This very same dynamic exists in the labor market. To be positioned to attract the best talent when you are hiring requires, businesses must apply the strategies of consumer branding to their employment branding practices. That's to say, a business looking to outperform others in the acquisition of key talent, must continue to promote and reinforce their employment brand despite hiring freezes or cutbacks. This is critical to your business's long term success. A business that fails to acquire key talent will fail to be as productive as those who do capture the best candidates, over the long term. Failing to pay attention to your employment brand is only slightly less detrimental to you business than failing to pay your electricity bill.

In my next post, I'll discuss 4 keys to promoting your employment brand during a recession.

That's how it looks today from the Recruiting Front Lines! Please feel free to share your comments, or shoot me an email if you have questions about any topics at jayblais@yahoo.com, or read more from me in the Recruiting Review Newsletter!

RFL: We're Moving in the Right Direction!

2009-02-25T13:14:00.004-05:00

Set sail even though your friends stay in harbour. Know the route, know the soundness of your ship and the favour of the day
-Miyamoto Musashi, A Book Of Five Rings.

I'm happy to report that here at JobsInTheUS, we are moving in the right direction.... at least, I think so. I recently accepted a new role, or a slightly modified version of my previous roles, as the Director of Business Development. -that's not why I think we're moving in the right direction, though, of course, promoting me is the sign of a very intelligent business ;0).

In this new capacity, I'll be focusing on developing our brand and identifying new revenue streams. While many in our industry have taken the easy step for short term revenue gain- charging job seekers in some fashion or another-, we have remained focused on our long term prosperity and stability.

(Believe it or not, my writing this is truly just a strange coincidence of timing with the philosophy and message put forth by President Obama in his Address to Congress, which is really just sound business practice.)

We believe that counsel, confidence, and content are the most important things we can give to both job seekers and employers right now, and that through those efforts, we will maintain and grow our brand loyalty and remain the premier recruiting resource in the markets we serve.

My new role is one example of how we're backing up our brand promise with actual business practices. I have been a member of SHRM for 5 years now, am an active member of the Greater Monadnock SHRM chapter that meets in Keene, NH, and the HR Management Association of Central Massachusetts, and currently sit on the board for the Granite State HR Conference as the Information Management Chair. Over the past 4 years I have written and delivered numerous HR Certified internet recruiting seminars to employers in person across New England and New York, and via webinar to HR professionals across North America and Europe. During the past couple years, my focus has been on our Outreach and Education programs, providing PR, Marketing, and Sales support to our company, through experiential campaigns. These include exhibition at over 200 career oriented events in 2008, participation in B2B expos, and partnership development with trade associations and chambers of commerce. In addition, through this program, we presented dozens of Internet Job Hunting workshops directly to groups of job seekers through college career centers and state agencies.

As a company, my appointment as the Dir. of Business Development shows our commitment to growing our business through increased connection to our local markets, as opposed to selling more meaningless content on our web space or merely finding ways to capture revenue from job seekers. We have thoughtfully determined that our long term value and stability is based squarely on our ability to provide the best service to our customers, both employers and job seekers, and continue to establish our presence as thought-leaders in the world of recruiting and staffing management.

While we will continue to grow our base, developing our platform to connect the best in-state candidates with real in-state job opportunities, we will also expand to offer greater support to both job seekers and employers. Since 2004, we have hosted more real, in-state jobs in Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire than any other resource available, generating real content that attracts large numbers of the local job seekers. We have also successfully launched new markets in NY, CT, PA, LA, MS, and AL.

I'm proud of the brand loyalty and integrity we've established, but am even more proud of our continued decision to build on our success in thoughtful and valuable ways. I recently attended an HR meeting presented by the Central RI Chamber of Commerce which we sponsored. One of our long standing clients went out of her way to share with me that while they'll be cutting many of their recruitment advertising methods, they will continue to use JobsInRI. She continued to explain that they realize the best value from our site, and that the support that we give through our participation in the community and the expertise given by our Recruitment Specialists is unparalleled.

We take the responsibility of providing value to the employers that advertise with us very seriously- and will continue to develop the counsel, confidence, and content we provide to help businesses make great hires. We also take great care in our engagement with the job seekers who rely on our service to find career opportunities, and will continue to develop the counsel, confidence, and content they need to find their next great career.

Because of this dedication to provide value, knowledge, and positive experiences in our markets, we believe the future is bright.

Set sail even though your friends stay in harbour. Know the route, know the soundness of your ship and the favour of the day.

Thanks to all of those who have utilized our resource over the years. We hope we can continue to meet your expectations and provide you with valuable counsel, confidence, and content.

Best Regards,

Jason C. Blais

RFL: Forget Corporate Social Responsibility

2009-02-23T23:13:00.002-05:00

Forget Corporate Social Responsibility, What About CONSUMER Social Responsibility!

I believe it's time for us all to take a step back, and remember the value of human interaction both in life and in business. Businesses shouldn't simply depend on automation solutions or online applications or e-commerce strategies to grow and build market share. Unfortunately, it's up to consumers to demand more, and it seems that the majority are just too busy with their mobile devices listening to music, watching videos, texting, and calling, or going online to see how popular they can be on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or a Ning network. If, as a country, we've already given away our status as a producer of goods, then the burden of our domestic value and economic strength falls on the shoulders of our consumers. That being the case, we must all become smarter and more thoughtful as we consume.

Somehow, online businesses have succeeded in convincing the masses that avoiding human interaction and local contact is a GOOD thing. And that we're better off not having a local insurance carrier or bank or anything else for that matter. For a few dollar savings, we've allowed ourselves to accept that it's in our best interest to pay less and receive less service.

In the world I operate in, recruitment advertising, this issue is growing out of control. Some larger employers have become to time-sensitive, they've removed human contact from parts of the recruiting process, relying solely on applicant screening applications. Try speaking with a hiring manager at a Borders, Sears, or other multi-national giant. It's likely that you can't even hand in a paper resume any more, let alone speak with someone about the job opening to find out more. Not too long ago I asked the store manager at a Sears who looked at the applications once they were completed at the in-store kiosk. Surprise! She had no idea. If the applicant was cleared by someone "at the home office", the store would get a call to let them know when the applicant would be coming in for an interview.

Ever have a question about the validity of job postings on an internet job board? Who did you ask to get more information or confirm that the job was legitimate? I didn't think so. While I am truly proud of the success of the job boards I work with, I am most proud of our focus on the local markets we serve. I'm almost embarrassed to share this, but once I was told that the only reason an employer used our site, was that when she called, she spoke with a live person who was familiar with her account, and that we gave her assistance over the phone to help ensure her recruiting success. Since when did answering the phone and giving advice to your customers become a unique sales proposition?!

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Today I just wanted to ask everyone to be thoughtful about how you consume.

Is it good or bad to pay $10 more for a running shoe that's made in the USA (yes, there's still one company making shoes on US soil- keep up the good work New Balance!)?

It it better to physically go to the bank that employs 20 or so of your neighbors who, in turn, buy from the local grocers, attend local theater, and pay taxes to support the local schools, than it is to get an extra tenth of a % on your savings account and enjoy the convenience of using an online bank?

The decisions we make do matter, in life and in business. Whether you're buying goods, or recruiting staff, remember this: There are always unintended consequences for every action. Will your actions more likely produces positive unintended consequences, or negative?

Slide Show for New England Job Seekers

2009-02-23T12:06:00.004-05:00

With our focus on providing higher level resources for job seekers, we've updated our job hunting workshop to include content on identifying and promoting your transferable skills. For many who have been laid off, you may need to branch out to find new types of career opportunities. Take a look at the presentation below this post. Feel free to share feedback via the comment link below.

Hope this helps!

Jason

RFL:Guest Author Julie Poland Discusses Staff Development Pt.2

2009-02-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

Part two of guest author Julie Poland's "The Down-Market Case for Staff Development", in which she discusses Retention of Talent and Quantifying the Value of Training, Coaching, and Development. In part one of this two-part series, Julie discussed Retention of Talent and Managing When One Shoe Has Already Dropped. Click here to view part one.

The Down-Market Case for Staff Development

Part 2 of 2

By Julie Poland, Certified Business Coach

The Impact of Attitudes

Attitudes can be defined as assumptions and habits of thought. They are extremely important in any market condition because they determine the extent to which skills and knowledge are applied effectively, or at all. In a down market the role of attitudes can be compounded. For instance, if an employee assumes he or she is going to be downsized no matter how well they perform they are not likely to be at their productive and innovative best. If defeatist attitudes get the best of them they’re likely to create the very performance that makes them the best choice not to survive the next downsizing.

Compounding this issue is the stream of conversation and media attention heaping bad news on top of bad. It’s not exactly an environment that breeds a “can-do” way of thinking or a willingness to take risks in order to progress. Employees can really benefit in the attitude department when their development process includes information on how attitudes are formed, how they change, and what steps to take to maintain one that’s beneficial to peace of mind and productivity.

Quantifying the Value of Training, Coaching, and Development

Lack of an evident return on investment is one of the reasons why training efforts are considered by many to be an expense rather than an investment. When an outside provider is involved and hard dollar investment is needed the potential ROI becomes a more consistent part of the conversation.

If you want to be able to better quantify the value of proposed training, coaching, or other development you should be working with your in-house customers (usually line managers) and finding out:

· What are the specific outcomes (in terms of results and behaviors) that you want to see?

· What will be the benefits of those outcomes?

· What will be the ramifications if you don’t get the results you want and/or need?

· How will you measure success?

Decision makers who don’t have the answers to these questions will often decide not to do training because they won’t be conscious about looking at the return. This is not the time when they will want to involve people in training because it’s “nice to do.” They will have to be able to see a business case for doing so.

Last, there has to be a link between training and the “real world” of the job. Implementation of skills and knowledge is necessary. This usually means involving the manager overseeing the participants to “double team” with the trainer, coach or facilitator to ensure on-the-job implementation of content learned and to measure actual results.

Julie Poland, CBC, is a business and personal coach with 19 years of experience working with all levels of leaders and employees, from Mom and/or Pop firms to international corporations. Find more information at www.summithrd.com.

Julie Poland

www.summithrd.com

subscribe FREE to Julie's blog at http://www.thesummitblog.blogspot.com

If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.
- Michael Jordan

RFL: SHRM, Employment Branding, and Trade Mixer

2009-02-11T14:58:00.006-05:00

In the last 24 hours, I participated in a board meeting for the Granite State HR Conference, Exhibited at the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association mixer, attended the monthly Monadnock SHRM meeting, and met with the Director of Organizational Development and Training at The Main Street America Group in Keene, NH, to learn about their employment brand practices. While exhausting, it's great to get out to so many events in a short time because it truly gives me a vivid snapshot of what's going on at the Recruiting Front Lines and JobsInNH. Here's what I've learned in the last day:

GSHRC Board Meeting
We have been tirelessly focused on building the value within the annual state conference for 2009. The programs we've chosen will help all business managers, not just HR professionals, become more valuable to their businesses. We have programs on developing sustainability practices, efficient use of technology, recruiting more effectively, and many more. Having attended these conferences in ME and NH for the past 5 years, I find it very disappointing that many businesses still don't understand the value of professional development in regard to human capital. During this meeting, however, I was happy to hear we're off to a tremendous start, and believe the continued buzz we're creating will lead to a record attendance. I'm very glad to be part of this.

NHLRA Member Mixer
JobsInNH was one of 5 or 6 companies on display at the February member mixer held at the Radisson in Nashua. A good turnout of around 60 or so folks, mostly vendors for restaurants and hotels. It was great to connect with the director of NH Businesses for Social Responsibility, and hear how they're getting their message out.

As an aside, there are some that say that socially responsible companies have an upper hand in recruiting top talent. People are more and more focused on the culture of their environment. The bottom line is this: If you're not developing socially or environmentally responsible programs at your workplace, start. If you are, be sure to scream it from the top of the mountains to leverage your work into attracting great talent.

It also became apparent through discussions with members and with our JobsInNH Outreach Consultant Caleb Wolfe, that one business segment seems to be doing very well in this economy... at least for now. As all businesses are looking to "do more with less", they are looking for ways to cut their overhead. This is leading to business for smaller vendors that operate in larger markets. Telecommunications, Internet Service Providers, Insurance Providers, Computer Networking, Consulting, Credit Unions and other businesses that normally compete for the scraps left by large corporations, are beginning to see an increase in business as people bargain hunt and look for local stability.

Monadnock SHRM
I attended the monthly meeting and heard a great deal about the oddly named Employee Free Choice Act that has passed through the House in Washington DC, and is being looked at by the Senate. It was an interesting presentation from Mark Broth, and attorney with Devine Millimet. He was outlining the concerns and issues that are built into this act that would do away with private ballots in the process to organize a labor union. I'll write an entirely separate post on the EFCA, so will refrain from getting too far into it. The meeting was fairly well attended, by the usual group, and provided a great opportunity to connect with HR friends. The Chapter President, Priscilla Brisson (also Director of Human Resources for Monadnock Developmental Services), was gracious enough to let me plug the HR Conference and solicit nominations for the HR Hero Award. No one indicated any hiring or growth from this group.

Meeting with Deb Jansen at Main Street America
Deb Jansen volunteered her lunch to meet with me and Caleb to talk about the employment brand that MSA has developed. We are exploring the world of Employment Branding, and Deb happily agreed to share what works for them and give feedback about what we're promoting. They have a turnover rate below the industry average, have an amazing average tenure, and make concerted efforts to bring people in and make them feel part of something. We discussed the value of presenting your business as a career move, right from the first interview, instead of a place to work. They have done an excellent job in ongoing development and training programs, and regularly review their practices. One thing that really stood out was that their CEO makes an effort to regularly and formally solicit input/feedback/suggestions from employees in a collegial setting. They are doing a great job if internal branding, and are having success spreading their message through word of mouth. Keene is a very small town, after all.

I've accepted a new role with JobsInTheUS | JobsInME | JobsInNH | JobsInVT | JobsInRI, as Director of Business Development. As we seek out new programs and initiatives to reinforce our service to job seekers and employers, these types of activities help me understand the needs and wants that are out there. I'm glad to be part of a business that believes in the "feet on the street" philosophy, and supports efforts to build knowledge and expand expertise. In these troubled economic times, a focus on building and growign, even if only in our intelligence and understanding, helps to keep focus and sustain optimism.

That's how it looks today from the Recruiting Front Lines!

RFL: Letter of Support for Employers and Job Seekers

2009-02-09T20:17:00.011-05:00

Twenty thousand business leaders and managers in ME, NH, VT, and RI will arrive to work on Tuesday to find a letter of support from the leading recruiting resource in those states: JobsInME, JobsInNH, JobsInVT, and JobsInRI.

I am proud of the initiative that we have taken to support employers and employees who will be among the workforce reductions in 2009. I am proud that JobsInTheUS is willing to support such an endeavor, and our willingness to accept short term costs to provide a free service to the communities in which we operate. As the old saying goes, we believe we will do well by doing good.

Here's an early look at the letter hitting email inboxes on Tuesday morning:

Dear Business Leaders and Managers,

While I am hopeful this note finds you all well - happy, healthy, and prosperous - I understand that our current economic condition has many of you ill at ease. In the past few months, the state and national economies have seen a drastic decline. It seems clear now that the ripple effect of the global financial crisis is reaching all corners of our lives.

In times like these, as business leaders we must evaluate ourselves and our organizations. While we are all wondering what we can do to help, many are facing the solemn reality of staffing reductions and layoffs. We understand the difficulty and burden that these decisions bring, and today we offer our support to those facing this hardship.

If you are forced to reduce your staff this year, JobsInME.com will provide a free workshop to your employees that have been laid off. These workshops will present internet job hunting skills and education about creating effective e-resumes. The staff at JobsInME.com has worked with thousands of job seekers, and presented this workshop at numerous state and college career centers over the years.

We feel confident that we understand the world of internet job-hunting here in Maine better than anyone else, and we believe we can help.

For more information, please contact me at jblais@JobsInME.com or
toll-free at 877-374-1088 x2069.

Respectfully Yours,
Jason C. Blais
Director of Business Development

JobsInME.com
Your Recruiting Partner
8jbl77-374-1088 x 2069
jblais@JobsInME.com

RFL: Guest Author Julie Poland Discusses Professional Development

2009-02-09T10:43:00.006-05:00

Today on the Recruiting Front Lines, another terrific guest author! Follow this two part article from Julie Poland of Summit HRD, discussing professional development in a down economy!

The Down-Market Case for Staff Development

Part 1 of 2

By Julie Poland, Certified Business Coach

Right now in some organizations training is viewed as a luxury, one of the first things to be cut out of the budget out of a view toward cutting costs. That, however, is a shortsighted approach. Now, more than ever, is the time to be investing in developing leaders and employees.

Retention of Talent

Everyone feels a bit insecure during down markets – vendors get a little bit worried about whether order levels will stay at last year’s levels, and when things get really ugly employees at every level wonder whether they will be able to keep their jobs.

The challenge to your company is that your best and brightest employees and leaders have the best opportunities to jump out of what they fear is a threatened role and into a new one in a different company. They might be thinking about it right now, when you need their contributions to keep your ship on the right course. If you choose to develop them during times of challenge you’re not only helping to keep them interested and growing, you’re demonstrating to them that they are a valued player on the team.

Even mid-level performers and fence-sitters have a new motivation to perform at a higher level when outside opportunities may be scarce. While fear is not an effective motivator over the long term, it may provide just the level of openness needed for them to learn new skills or new habits of behavior.

Managing When One Shoe Has Already Dropped

Perhaps your company has already downsized somewhat due to current market conditions. The people who are remaining are feeling the fear mentioned above, and are also most likely feeling some survivor guilt. Both factors can interfere with productivity. Keeping training, coaching, and development functions active can help your employees stay focused and ultimately help the organization accomplish more with fewer resources.

Stay Tuned for Part II which will post later this week, including "The Impact of Attitudes" and "Quantifying the Value of Training, Coaching, and Development"

Subscribe FREE to Julie's blog at http://www.thesummitblog.blogspot.com

RFL: Guest Author Margaret Hansen - Reducing Anxiety!

2009-01-30T09:13:00.003-05:00

Another great read from guest poster, and RecruitingReview author for JobsInTheUS, Margaret Hansen! This is a reprint from the January 29 RecruitingReview:

How To Reduce Employee Anxiety In A Downward Economy

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By Margaret Hansen, JobsInME.com

Calming The Storm

With nearly 3 million jobs lost in 2008 and more to come, a new bag of management tricks is needed in today's workplace to calm the storm.

According to the American Psychological Association, today's employees face obstacles that increase stress and bog down productivity, including:

Shifting to unfamiliar tasks within their companies
The uncertainty of how much longer they will be employed
New bosses
Computer surveillance of production
Fewer health and retirement benefits
The feeling they have to work longer and harder just to maintain their current economic status

Tension and uncertainty are affecting workers at all levels, and most are updating their resumes.

Whether these conditions are real or perceived in your workplace, there are some ways you can change your work environment to keep stress at bay and improve productivity in a recession.

Keep lines of communication open with your staff

Know what's bugging them on the job and take steps to remove those roadblocks and other stressors.

Create written job descriptions for every employee

A specific, written job description creates clear, agreed-upon expectations and provides a sense of pride and respect in one's work. Reviews and raises should be tied to this.

Provide self-help opportunities

According to Forbes magazine, forecasts predict that the self-help industry will experience a 6.2% annual growth rate through 2012. Why? They offer hope. Securing a few dollars to provide financial counseling, career counseling, ways to budget, or weight loss strategies can offer solutions that reduce stress. If your budget is dry, try seeking out volunteers within the company who'll offer helpful sessions to your team.

Use empathetic responses when talking about problems

Just a few words of empathy can take the pressure off of someone whose spouse has been laid off, or who is going through a financial crisis.

Encourage staff to use their vacation time

According to Mel Borins, M.D. and author of Go Away Just for the Health of It, taking a vacation can improve physical ailments and, in turn, improve self-motivation, job interest and job efficiency while lowering absenteeism.

Recruit for keeps

Effective recruiting and retention means ensuring employees are the right "fit" for the job and the work environment. Job hunting can be stressful, particularly in times of high unemployment, but being ground down day after day by work is far worse, says Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D. and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D., authors of The Stress Solution.

Make sure you don't have any square pegs in round holes on staff. Hiring superstars may seem like a good idea in a downward economy, but retaining them on the way up may prove to be more difficult than originally thought.

Deal with Trauma

Post-layoff workplaces are vulnerable to more stress. Be sure to give those remaining time to grieve and digest the news, perhaps in an off-site meeting/luncheon to come together for support and some time off.

Remember, everyone in your organization will go through the same stages of loss, but since management will undoubtedly know about disruptive events in advance, they may be beyond denial, and anger before the news hits the floor.

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Recruiting Review Newsletter

RFL: Staffing Strategies for a Recession

2009-01-30T09:11:00.003-05:00

Another reprint from the RecruitingReview and from an earlier RFL post...

Staffing Strategies for a Recession

By Jason Blais, JobsInMA.com

Battling The Storm

Provide Key Strategic Input

April 2008 saw total employment reach its highest level ever in many areas. In the second half of 2008, everything changed. It's no surprise that the instability of the economy will continue to have dramatic affects on the labor market for the next several months as businesses tighten their belts.

Take a slow, deep breath in, and let out a long, collective sigh of relief. That's right, relief. We can stop hiding from the issue and begin to tackle it head on, together. After all, it's not just your business experiencing hard times.

As an HR professional, you're truly on the front lines of this battle, balancing productivity, quality control and consumer confidence with slashed overheads, reduced staff and increasing costs of employee benefits.

Don't be discouraged. You can unveil the true power and business acumen hidden within Human Resource Management. Use your knowledge and experience to provide key strategic input to the rest of the management team and you'll navigate your business successfully through these dangerous waters.

Adaptive Staffing

In the months to come, employee productivity and personnel decisions will weigh heavily on bottom lines. Through better recruiting and staffing techniques, businesses can significantly reduce turnover costs, resulting in increased quality of work, productivity, and, ultimately, profitability.

Get Creative

You can survive the recession while positioning your company for tremendous success when the economy rebounds. Analyze and organize your labor force to increase quality, productivity, and flexibility. Install processes to increase your employee retention, engagement, and job satisfaction through new and innovative methods.

Do More with Less

With a potentially shrinking workforce and tightening budget, it's more important than ever to make sure you have the right people to keep your company thriving. In most cases, that will mean expanding job descriptions, increasing responsibilities, and cashing in on a greater variety of skill sets required to fulfill those needs.

It's easy to see the negative ramifications of the situation: over-burdened staff with no potential increase in compensation, resulting in a lack of employee engagement. But there is another perspective.

Give Employees What They Want

As the many colors of a kaleidoscope mix to create beautiful combinations of light, a variety of job functions can create a fulfilling and rewarding combination of experiences to keep your employees engaged and growing.
Don't just heap the workload left behind by reduced staff onto department survivors. Consider exploring opportunities for cross-departmental and cross-functional solutions and roles.
Take a skills inventory of your entire labor force and uncover latent talents. Identify occasions to distribute job functions across the company, beyond the traditional departmental structure.
There are countless reports and studies that indicate job satisfaction and employee engagement are directly affected by boredom, variety of job function, and interdepartmental involvement.
By applying your own knowledge, talent, and experience in an innovative way, you'll develop organizational excellence despite the economy.
Talk with peers at local HR Association chapter meetings, find social networking sites for like-minded professionals, and use the research and case studies provided by The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) to increase your knowledge base.
Now is not the time to give up - now is the time to step up.

Staffing Expertise

JobsInMA.com assists local businesses in leveraging their workforce and identifying internal solutions to seize these opportunities, by offering educational webinars and seminars through JobsInMA.com University.

For several years, JobsInMA.com has presented internet recruiting and employment advertising workshops across the state. Accredited by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), these programs help businesses to better understand the recruiting market, providing timely content and pragmatic approaches to identify, attract, and retain the best employees.

In 2009, employers will have access to several new accredited programs developed and presented exclusively by JobsInMA.com University. From understanding social media's impact on the workforce, to developing strategies to optimize staffing during a recession, employers can choose from an array of educational content.

One session, Employment Branding 20/20, was recently presented. It provided HR professionals with techniques to decrease recruiting costs while increasing employee retention by creating best in class employment branding. All of the programs presented by JobsInMA.com University will give employers the specific tools and guidance they need to achieve results using their own in-house resources.

Employers can find more detailed information about these programs, and register for upcoming sessions at JobsInMA.com.

Recruitment Review Newsletter

RFL: Recruiting Metrics- Beyond Cost Per Hire

2009-01-30T09:06:00.002-05:00

Reprinted from an article in the RecruitingReview and an earlier post in RFL... (but it's much prettier now!)

Recruiting Metrics:
Beyond Cost Per Hire

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By Jason Blais, JobsInNH.com

Cost Per Hire

It's no surprise that a recent JobsInNH.com poll showed Cost Per Hire as the most commonly analyzed recruiting metric. It's easy to count the number of applicants and hires per advertising source. It's also a relatively easy process to calculate how many advertising dollars were spent to fill a position.

But these are second-level metrics, focused on the actual process itself. And they can often be short-sighted.

Measuring Value

A better recruiting analysis question is: how valuable are the hires to the business? To answer this, you have to look at how long it takes for each hire to become productive and how long they stay with your company. Employee retention affects quality of the work being done by your company and your turnover costs.

Example

Let's assume that an entry level position at your company earns $25,000 in wages, and has an average annual turnover of 30%. While the costs related to turnover vary greatly, a conservative estimate is approximately 1.5 times the employee’s salary. Therefore, each time you have to fill that entry level job, it costs the company $37,500.

If you can reduce your turnover to 15% annually by attracting better candidates, then the potential value of your recruitment advertising is significant. In a department of 10 (of these entry level positions), you're reducing your average annual turnover costs from $112,500 to $56,250.

Improving Your Bottom Line

Defining the success of recruitment advertising is an important first step to developing more effective strategies for talent acquisition. Ensuring that you're attracting the best person for your company for all of your job openings is absolutely critical to your long term success, particularly when employers are forced to do more with less.

In 2009, I fear that more employers will be too focused on bottom line or second level metrics, such as Cost Per Hire. Through this strategy, businesses will end up sacrificing future growth opportunities as they focus on costs only. The most successful companies, however, will refuse to compromise their long term goals for short term gains, and will continue to analyze and invest in their recruitment advertising, adhering to the principles that great businesses are built by great people.

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Recruiting Review Newsletter

JobAngels on Twitter

2009-01-29T18:52:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Mark Stelzner for passing this on and for everyone else with the RT's for this noble effort. For those who haven't joined the initiative yet, there's a new profile on Twitter, called JobAngels. By joining them, you're joining a "movement where we ask you to simply help one person find a job."

I'm all in, and started today to make a difference. Here's my story of how I'm trying to be a JobAngel:

After seeing the tweet from Mark this morning, and the following retweets, I really began to feel the value and power of this type of initiative. I decided to throw my cards on the table and see if I could help one person find a job. This may sound like a strange goal for someone who works for the largest job boards in Northern New England. Indeed, we attract hundreds of thousands of job seekers to our sites, and help thousands of people find work every month. But this movement is different. It's about people. It's about connecting with one person at a time to build a better community.

I had recently joined a few new LinkedIn Groups, and throught that, the opportunity to do something actually found me. Just after reading the twitter message, I saw an email update of discussions for the STC-NNE group. Coincidentally enough, there was a new discussion to post job openings to help group members find work. I immediately went to the job boards I work for and searched for matching posts. I identified and posted 4 links to jobs that would be relevant to members of this group. A few minutes later, I recieved an emial with a resume specific to one of the jobs.

I'd actually done business with that employer before, so was pretty familiar with them. I decided to go ahead and call the HR director. I told her about the initiative, and what I was doing, and asked how I could send along this resume to ensure someone would take a good look at it. She agreed to take a look, and gave me her direct email. I forwarded on the email to her, and replied to the contact in LinkedIn.

The total amount of time that this took me was less than 15 minutes. I have asked my contact at LI to let me know what happens next. Best case scenario: I helped one person find a job today. Worst case scenario: I let someone out there know I was trying to help.

Thanks to JobAngels for the push.

RFL: The Recruiter / HR Relationship

2009-01-27T17:42:00.002-05:00

Let's go everyone. The current is against us, and it's time to make sure we're all paddling in the same direction. No more name calling. No more insidious comments behind each others' backs. No more jokes at the other's expense. Now more than ever, HR Professionals and Recruiters must get along for the betterment of our businesses and our economy. If, as a whole, business in the United States cannot become proficient at doing more with less, we are all in grave danger. This starts with our people.

Attracting the right people. Hiring the right people. Managing the right people the right way. This is how we become adaptive, flexible, and powerful. This is how we build sustainable businesses. Your sheet-fed, 2 color printing press is not going to adapt and become a digital laser printer. Your gravel sorter is not going to adapt and become a concrete mixer. Your blood pressure monitors aren't going to adapt and become CT scanners. However, your press operator can become a graphic designer; your gravel sorter mechanic can become a concrete mixer tech; your CNA can become a Radiology Technician. The ability for businesses to grow and survive is dependent upon their ability to evolve and adapt to the changing environment. Change is a human aptitude.

As we embark in the most difficult labor environment of this generation, we must have cohesion between Recruiters and HR Professionals. While both sides must work a little harder to come together, I believe the first big step must be taken by the Human Resources side. While I work in recruitment advertising, I somehow feel more closely aligned with HR Pro's than Recruiters, so I hope this doesn't come across as HR-bashing. HR must take responsibility for educating recruiters on our businesses and our needs. It's important to understand and remember that recruiters inherently want to deliver the best candidates to us. Often, failure on their end to do so can be traced back to vague, porous, or simply false information provided by HR. This can sometimes be attributed to our view of what we want our business to be, instead of what it truly is. We must take a hard look at the ugly truth of our business, with all our foibles and all our hidden treasures. Only when we face the hard reality of who we are, can we hope to identify and attract the best long-term candidates for our business.

Now, HR friends, please don't vilify me yet. Recruiters also have a very big part to play in this paradigm. Recruiters must be willing to put themselves in the seat of the student, asking questions, and constantly increasing their knowledge. This can be done by pushing further with your clients, and working a little harder to uncover the essence of their business and culture. Meanwhile it's also important to delve further into the core of your candidates- what makes them tick, which environment are they better suited to work in, where do they derive pleasure and satisfaction from? Delivering the right candidates for a company, as I know you all know, requires more than simply matching sets of required skills. When you dig further into an employee's long term value, you invariably run into employee retention and engagement. Two immensely important factors that are connected to SOFT skills. For those who are Dale Carnegie Training graduates, you may be familiar with the concept of the Innerview, in place of the Interview. While I don't exactly drink the Carnegie Coolaid, my experience has shown me that this practice reaps substantial rewards.

Together, HR Professionals and Recruiters can and must take steps to build stronger relationships for the betterment of our employers, our workforce, and our economy.

HR Professionals, are you willing to make a promise to yourself to engage more deeply with recruiters? If so, read this out loud:

I, (state your name here), will make a good faith effort to educate both internal corporate recruiters and third party recruiters about the reality of our business and our needs. I acknowledge and will remember that these recruiters have my best interests in mind, and that their goals are aligned with my goals. Starting today, I will see them as partners and as peers, working toward connecting the right people with the right career opportunities.

(now doesn't that feel better?)

Recruiters, that's right. It's your turn. Are you willing to make a promise to yourself to engage more deeply with the HR Professionals you work with? If so, read this out loud:

I, (state your name here), will make a good faith effort to learn more about the businesses and candidates that I work for. I acknowledge that the businesses that I work with are looking for the best people for their company and that their hiring decisions are made with great care. Starting today, I will see them as partners and as peers, working toward connecting the right people with the right career opportunities.

Now, let's do our part to get America working.

RFL: Which Recruiting Metrics Matter?

2009-01-26T11:48:00.009-05:00

With employers across the United States tightening their belts, more and more HR and Recruiting professionals are focused on the value of their talent acquisition practices. Recently, the largest job boards in New England posted a micropoll for employers, asking them which recruiting metrics they were analyzing...

The following poll results were aggregated from JobsInMA, JobsInME, JobsInNH, JobsInRI, and JobsInVT. This poll and other information can be found in their monthly newsletters, which you can view by clicking the following links:
MA Recruiting Review | ME Recruiting Review | NH Recruiting Review | RI Recruiting Review | VT Recruiting Review

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that Cost Per Hire is the most commonly analyzed recruiting metric. What we see from this graph, in my opinion, is that most people are looking at the metrics which are most easily measured. It's very easy to count the number of applicants and hires you get per advertising source. It's also a relatively easy process to calculate how many advertising dollars were spent to fill a position.

Unfortunately, those are second level metrics, focused on the actual process itself, which don't actually reflect the value of your recruitment advertising. First level metrics, which measure the results of the processes, provide a much more accurate analysis. As is the case in many situations, the more valuable information is generally the harder to capture. When the success or failure of recruitment advertising is boiled down to a dollar amount or a number of hires, you are left with a very short-sighted analysis.

A truer indicator of the value of recruitment advertising is how valuable the hires are to the business, given their prospective roles. To understand this value, you have to look at how long it takes for this person to become productive, and how long they stay with your company. Employee retention affects quality of the work being done by your company and your turnover costs.

For example, let's assume that an entry level position at your company earns $25,000 in wages, and has an average annual turnover of 30%. While the costs related to turnover vary greatly, a conservative estimate is approximately 1.5 times the employees salary. Therefore, each time you have to fill that entry level job, it costs the company $37,500, when all is said and done. If you can reduce your turnover to 15% annually by attracting better candidates, then the potential value of your recruitment advertising is significant. In a department of ten of these entry level positions, you're reducing your average annual turnover costs from $112,500 to $56,250.

I include this example as an illustration of the importance of recruitment advertising to your bottom line. Defining the success of recruitment advertising is an important first step to developing more effective strategies for talent acquisition. Ensuring that you're attracting the best person for your company for all your job openings is absolutely critical to your long term success, particularly when employers are forced to do more with less.

In 2009, I fear that more employers will be too focused on bottom line or second level metrics. Through this strategy, businesses will end up sacrificing future growth opportunities as they focus on costs only. The most successful companies, however, will refuse to compromise their long term goals for short term gains, and will continue to analyze and invest in their recruitment advertising, adhering to the principles that great businesses are built by great people.

RFL: Your Recruitment Advertising is Failing If...

2009-01-23T22:20:00.007-05:00

I just can't hold it in any longer. Through dealing with hundreds of employers over the last few years, providing guidance and education on recruitment advertising and employment branding, I have become a rather tough critic of the job ads that I see. I've developed and presented programs on these topics to employers, providing very specific steps to build more effective postings and sharing data we capture from surveying job seeker. I can't tell you how many times the audience members have come up to me and told he how much they've learned and how they're looking forward to rewriting their postings, then a week or two later I see one of their ads online somewhere and it looks like this:

Mech engineer. 5 yrs exp. req'd, project management a plus. Competitive benefits and salary. Send resume to Human Resources, XYZ Company, 123 Commercial St, whoville, USA, or email to hr @ xyzcompany.com.

So, what's so wrong this ad? Here's just a cursory summary: abbreviations, "competitive benefits and salary", no contact person, a lack of key words, no discussion of perks, no content for culture or environment, no salary info, and no promotion of the company itself. I've come to understand that while creating a compelling and effective recruitment ad doesn't require any special talent or skill, it DOES take a little extra time, focus, and effort. So, in the midst of a busy day, it's natural for humans to neglect this activity.

So, after reviewing another swath of poor attempts that I have no doubt will fail to generate any quality candidates, I couldn't help but to jot down the following list. If you're not certain how successful your recruitment advertising is, here are some of indicators that your online recruitment advertising is FAILING.

1/3 or more of the applicants you receive are completely unqualified for the job you're trying to fill.
More than half of the applicants you contact fail to return your call.
Your ads are being opened fewer than 200 times in a week (no matter what the job is!).
More than half of the people you invite for interviews are unwilling to work for the salary you're willing to offer.
More than 1/3 of the people you make job offers to decline them.
On average, your hires stay with the company less than 2 years.
The onboarding process is getting longer and/or more expensive.
No applicants come in when you aren't posting job openings.
Your turnover rate is not decreasing over time.

That's where I'll draw the line for now. Poor recruitment advertising affects virtually every aspect of your business. Despite the advances and maturation of technology in our business processes, the foundation of sound businesses will always be your people. More time, care, and focus needs to be placed on identifying and attracting the right people, than choosing which equipment to buy, which vendors to work with, 0r even which property to buy. If you have better people than your competition, your company will be successful.

That's how it looks today from the Recruiting Front Lines!

Think some of those indicators are wrong? Did I miss any indicators that you feel are results of bad recruitment advertising? Share your comments here!

RFL: Guest Poster Steve Balzac

2009-01-21T08:00:00.002-05:00

I recently posted a question about the business case of cutting management training budgets during economic downturns. A number of excellent responses came back from experienced professionals across the country. Through this discussion, I decided to invite a few guest posters from the training region of the Human Capital ecosystem. Enjoy this read from Steve Balzac, "Business Sensei" and President of 7 Steps Ahead, LLC in Stow, MA, as he discusses how well trained staff can ensure that your business can take advantage of lucky situations...

Just Lucky I Guess...

A great deal has already been said about the plane landing in the Hudson River last Thursday. What's amazing to me is how many people have ascribed to luck the happy ending to what could have been a major disaster.

Was luck involved? Certainly!

It was lucky that the plane went down at a time of day when there was very little commercial shipping on the river.

It was lucky that the ferries were out at the time the plane went down.

It was lucky that the particular pilot just happened to have the necessary and appropriate training to recognize what had happened and not panic. Instead, he remained calm and relied on his training to glide a passenger jet down to the river.

As the old saying goes, luck is when 10,000 hours of preparation meets a moment of opportunity.

The lack of shipping and the presence of ferries wouldn't have helped much if the pilot had lacked the skill to bring the plane down safely. It's doubtful that he ever really believed that all that time he spent training, flying, and in a simulator would matter, other than for his own growth and development. What are the odds of a double-bird strike? What are the odds that just the right person was in the right place at the right time? Who could have known what would happen?

No one.

And this is the lesson for businesses. It's easy to see what skills and knowledge are useful today. No one knows what skills or knowledge will prove useful tomorrow. Trends can change in a metaphorical heartbeat. When businesses cut training and development, or restrict the courses an employee can take (refusing to pay for a course unless a "clear" business need exists), that business is focusing entirely on the problems of today. It is not creating a workforce that is ready for the problems of tomorrow. Ready, in other words, to face unpredictable situations, unexpected problems, and unplanned for or unlikely circumstances.

On the other hand, those who have had the opportunity train and develop their skills, who have the freedom to explore their interests and learn the things that may or may not be obviously useful, are the most likely to come up with a good solution to an unexpected problem.

In the end, luck really does favor the prepared mind.

"The Business Sensei"

URL: http://www.7stepsahead.com
Blog: http://blog.7stepsahead.com
RSS: http://www.7stepsahead.com/7saarticles.xml

RFL: 2009 Human Capital Summit, Building Awareness through Social Media

2009-01-20T17:49:00.005-05:00

As Social Media and Social Networking resources grow and mature, they are becoming more valuable to Non-Profit organizations. These services provide them with the ability to connect with the community to promote activities, share information, and build awareness.

As a first-year volunteer on the Board of the Granite State HR Conference, I hold the Information Management chair. I have been focused on finding ways to provide the community with access to information about the 2009 Human Capital Summit, which is the name of our conference for '09. Thanks to tremendous support and encouragement from the rest of the board, we've developed the first conference blog space, and are continuing to build awareness through the internet-based networking resources.

I believe that online social media and social networking platforms can generally fit into one of three buckets: Information Sharing, Professional Networking, and Personal Networking. While the greatest volume of content on the web is currently in the Personal Networking bucket (see myspace and facebook), the other two are growing rapidly. As a professional working in an ecosystem that includes recruitment advertising, marketing, public relations, and partnership development, I have been putting in my time to really understand the potential value of all these platforms for professional gains. While I was originally hesitant about the idea of pushing networking and promotion to web-based platforms, fearful of the potential decline in interpersonal relationships that are the real key to business, I've found that the opposite is actually true. When used with careful consideration and a focused philosophy, these platforms greatly increase an organization's ability to build meaningful connections within their local communities.

Enter the 2009 Human Capital Summit. Through our blog, we can share the work being done by the board with professionals around the state and the surrounding areas. We will also be sharing guest posts by many of the 2009 presenters. This will help them build an audience in the state, help our conference generate interest and engagement, and help the human capital professionals decide on which sessions to attend and have access to more shared industry knowledge.

We'll also be promoting the event through various networking sites, such as HRM Today and TalentBar, which connect human capital professionals. Through partners with other bloggers who are working in human capital, we'll also increase our reach and awareness. Ultimately, by utilizing these resources we can disperse more information, faster, to larger audiences of interested professionals than ever before. Additionally, the community accessing this information also has the ability to provide feedback and input, sharing in the value and excitement we're generating.

We'd love to hear your feedback on how well we're doing integrating our event into the social media ecosystem! Click here to share comments on our Granite State HR Conference Blog today!

Thanks for checking out the view from the Recruiting Front Lines!

Jason

Transcript of Obama's Inaugural Address

2009-01-20T13:04:00.003-05:00

For those that were unable to watch the entire Presidential Inauguration Ceremony today, here's a link to the full transcript of Obama's Inauguration Speech.

OBAMA INGAUGURAL ADDRESS

RFL: Strategic HR: Calgary: Marcus Buckingham!

2009-01-20T08:40:00.006-05:00

Check out this AMAZING Strategic Human Resources Event featuring Marcus Buckingham!

I've agreed to post content to help build awareness and generate interest for an amazing HR event being held in June in Calgary, Alberta. A Fresh Approach will feature presentations by Marcus Buckingham, best selling author of First, Break All The Rules, Ann Rhoades, former VP of HR at Southwest Airlines, and Cameron Herald, former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

I am truly very excited about this event and appreciate the opportunity to help promote it. The following is an excerpt of a blog post from the Fresh Approach website. It's a very good read, please enjoy:

6 Secrets Everyone Knows but Always Forgets

Published

roger

on January 19, 2009

in Human Resources

. 1 Comment

The world is in a state of flux. That’s a given.

Business is driving this change. That’s news to some people, old hat to others. And while the Harvard MBAs drone on about business models and healthy bottom lines, the savvy business owner knows one thing for certain.

Business is about people.

And the most important people in any business are the ones who collect a paycheck from your HR department every month.

Your employees.

So how do you find good ones? How do you keep them? Simple questions, but if the answers were easy, every business would have energized worker bees, competent managers and brilliant leaders. Success would be all but assured.

But that doesn’t happen. Here’s six reasons why, and what to do about it.

Not-so-secret #1 – Employees are little gold nuggets

Employers love to pan for gold, to look for the next Warren Buffet for sixty grand a year, but what they consistently forget is that their pans are already loaded with nuggets. Stop looking at the rocks in the riverbed and check what you have in-house.

There was a reason why you hired your staff. Most of the time, it was a pretty good reason. They were qualified. Still are. And when they started, there was a deep desire to find real value in their job. To connect.

So what happened? Did they build a solid foundation in your company? With other staff, managers, and clients? How were they motivated to accomplish this? By command and control, or by encouragement and team-building. Big difference.

Cherish those little nuggets. They truly are gold.

Not-so-secret #2 – Knowledge breeds knowledge

Your employees are all experts at something inside your business. That has come with tenure on the job. The key is to have them share what they know. The result is a workforce with a greater understanding of the big picture. Once they see that every position is an important cog in an ever-moving wheel, trust and appreciation are not far off. And that appreciation isn’t confined to other employees – it extends to the company itself. The giant becomes a benevolent one.

The greater their respect for the place they work and the purpose it serves in society, the more they want to share what they know. And learn what the person in the next office is up to. Sometimes, chatting at work can be a really good thing.

Not-so-secret #3 – The well is bottomless

Continued here...

MicroPoll : How are your staffing projections in 2009 different from 2008?

2009-01-19T11:08:00.001-05:00

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2009-01-19T11:02:00.001-05:00

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MicroPoll : As a result of the economy, are you more or less likely to take a job that you feel you are overqualified for?

2009-01-19T10:35:00.001-05:00

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RFL: Long Term Recruitment Strategy Video

2009-01-18T14:54:00.006-05:00

I'm glad to announce that with this post, I am taking the first step in completing one New Year's Resolution: Begin posting video in this blog space. At JobsInTheUS, the company that I work for which hosts JobsInME, JobsInNH, JobsInVT, and JobsInRI- the leading job posting resource in each state, we've been working on developing a video program that will run regularly and will have two focuses- Recruitment Advertising Tips for Employers and Job Hunting Tips for Seekers. Through this process, I have been capturing Gigs of video and playing around with various video editing programs.

In the video below, I am discussing my view of long-term employment branding initiatives. I feel that most employers see recruiting and employment branding (by the way, I'm tired of people using "employer" branding as a term- if consumer branding is focused on branding to attract consumers, what does employer branding mean? Anyway, that's a rant for another day... where was I... oh yes) in the same light as copier repair and fuel expenses. Yes, all these things do affect the expense budget, they all affect the operation of the business, and they are all necessary to keep the company growing.

However, Recruiting, and specifically Employment Branding, has the potential to dramatically affect your business's ability to compete in the marketplace, develop new revenue streams, build and maintain long term customer relationships, to name just a few of the short and long term strategic benefits. Business is really all about people, regardless of what you read in the WSJ or Michael Crichton novels (a tremendous artist who made a huge impact on media of his time). Whether it's Jim Collins' identification of the "First Who, Then What" concept in Good to Great, or the Dale Carnegie principles of human relations in business, you can find numerous resources to support this idea. That is, until you are sitting down with the controller working on the recruiting budget. This area is often cut early when faced with slow economic conditions.

I'm off on a bit of a tangent, so allow me to pull back. If any business continually makes terrible hires over a long period of time, I think it's clear that the business would suffer greatly, if not close down all together. I don't believe there's any question to that assertion. Therefore, in the video below, and in the coming segments, I'll be exploring the other side of that statement- if any business continually makes terrific hires over a long period, their success (spelled p-r-o-f-i-t-s) will increase greatly.

As this is my first ever video, I would LOVE any feedback!

Thanks,

jason

RFL: 2009 Human Capital Summit Registration Open

2009-01-13T11:55:00.002-05:00

Registration is now OPEN!

The Granite State HR Conference presents the 2009 Human Capital Summit! On May 12, join professionals working in human resources from across the state for this annual conference focused on professional development. Check out the official conference website at www.gshrconference.org.

Just like every year, this is a great opportunity to learn best practices from industry leaders... Continued at the Granite State HR BLOG!!!

RFL: The Skinny on the E-Verify Issue

2009-01-10T10:40:00.002-05:00

Here is a lay person's take on the E-Verify issues currently at hand. As reported on January 9, the US Department of Justice has delayed the effective date for regulations requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify. The delay effectively pushes back the effective date from Jan 15 to Feb 2o. If it's just a 6 week delay, what's all the noise about?

In truth, the business groups that mounted legal resistance to the new regulation are seeking more than just a simple delay. They are seeking a summary judgment to rescind the rule entirely, based on their premise that it causes undue burden on employers. This group of co-plaintiffs is comprised of significant Capital Hill heavy weights: the US Chamber of Commerce, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the American Council on International Personnel, and the HR Policy Association.

I just need to go off on a brief tangent here. During the US Presidential election campaign, the word Lobbyist took on a very negative connotation, a four letter word of US politics, if you will. At no time did either candidate, or any of the reporter covering the race, stand up and remind us that lobbyists are CRITICAL to a democratic process. Lobbying groups, such as those mentioned above, give voice and action to thousands and thousands of individuals who have neither the resources nor the access to drive change in the government. Lobbyists are groups that represent the needs and wants of differents groups of American citizens, to bring the voice of those citizens to the government that is supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. We can't brush all Lobbyists or Lobbying groups with the same brush. Let's try to remember that. Okay, back to E-Verify-

So what is this regulation and why are they trying to rescind it anyway?

Essentially, the regulations place much more responsibility on some employers to verify citizenship and legal identities of the people they hire. That doesn't sound like a bad thing, right? The regulations only affect employers who hold any government contracts, and would amend the government’s acquisition processes by requiring federal contracts to stipulate that businesses must use E-Verify to determine if all new hires and existing employees performing work on federal contracts are authorized to work in the United States. Businesses contracting with the federal government would be required to enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of the contract award date.

Let me just say, in my opinion E-Verify is a generally good thing. It replaced outdated paperwork systems, and has been developed to a point now where about 94% of all verifications completed INSTANTLY, and, based on recent labor statistics 1 in 8 new hires in the US are now checked through the system. This process was developed, however, to be voluntary for organizations, and was designed to ASSIST in HELPING companies avoid hiring illegal workers using false identifications. Our ability to protect US jobs and US companies from illegal workers is important because it leads to our nation's tax base. This isn't an opinion on immigration laws or work visas, merely a statement that we must make sure that we know who is working in the US, and are taking our income tax fairly from all.

The problem arose when the Bush administration, by executive order, bypassed existing immigration law provisions, and mandated this E-Verify process for all federal contractors. Further, it states that the verification process is not only for new hires, but that any current employees that will work on the federally contracted projects would also need to be re-verified through the system. Additionally, while 94% instant verification is very good, the amount of work and time created by the other 6% is creating an undue burden on the employers. Look at it this way, IF this goes into effect, every company that is covered under this regulation would essentially need to hire AT LEAST one extra body to simply handle the extra work created. Think about that. The government is mandating that all these businesses ad $50k to their overhead. (yes, the salary for these folks won't be $50k, but when you account for benefits, insurance, and cost of regular turnover, the cost for a $30 salary can be over $50 annually.)

So, here we are. Employers don't want to take on this additional expense, and feel that the US government has unfairly pushed off the enforcement and oversight of immigration labor laws to the private sector. The US Government is trying to cut back on the volume of illegal workers in the US unidentified. Everybody wants what's best for the country. The question on the table is how to do it fairly without hurting the now fragile economy. Good luck to those making these types of decisions.

E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule postponed until February 20, 2009

2009-01-10T09:48:00.001-05:00

E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule postponed until February 20, 2009

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RFL: Tired of Informercials @ Trade Association Meetings!

2009-01-08T17:49:00.002-05:00

I attended an HR association meeting today at a chapter that I think is well run and well attended. In the 4 months that I've attended, around 40 Human Resources Professional attend, and the structure and organization seem to be top flight. But after sitting through 2 sales pitches for the last two meetings I attended, decided it's time to complain about it formally! As I began to think about this post, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, the world of social networking and social media is impacting the way we act in real life.

In the two meetings I attended, the monthly topics were to be diversity training and managing workplace conflict. Both good topics for a professional association meeting. However, in each presentation, the speakers spent nearly 10 percent of their time discussing their extensive background- who they've worked with, what services they provide, how they serve their clients needs, etc. After the 10 minute "personal branding" segment, we were lead into an infomercial that tied the core training ideas to the solutions that these presenters sell. It makes me feel bad for the monthly meeting "sponsors" who have to pay a couple hundred bucks for the opportunity to promote their goods and services, but only get 5 minutes.

As a professional who has spoken at many hr and trade association events, I know how alluring the sales potential of this activity is. I realize that the opportunity to speak to 40-100 potential customers for 90 minutes is rare, at best. And, as with any consultants, there's the business 101 voice in the back of your head telling you that you have to promote yourself to keep you business running. Really, though, don't you understand the professional courtesy here and the role you have been brought in to play? If you had asked to present to the group and told the programming committee that you had a great 90 minute sales pitch for employer services, do you think you'd get the gig? And once you're in, do you think the audience somehow doesn't realize that they're being sold to?

I am always turned off by this brazen salesmanship. I physically become uncomfortable and agitated. When I speak to the HR groups, I always feel that the best way that I can build long term career success is by building trust and confidence. I believe that's done through providing educational and informational content that people can use, when you're brought in to educate and inform. That you don't only provide solutions that meet your own needs, but provide your audience with a range of options and ideas and opportunities. Okay... it's true. I'm a New Englander, and I'm an old-school sort of a guy. I do have faith in the Universe, and do believe that if I maintain my personal integrity and professional courtesy, success will find me.

My company, JobsInTheUS, which hosts JobsInME, JobsInNH, JobsInVT, JobsInMA, and JobsInRI, will be providing numerous educational webinars and seminars in 2009, and while I am often defending myself against the sales and marketing folks, I will continue to make sure each event is educational in nature, and certified by the HRCI. Our goal is simple, do our best to make sure that every webinar and seminar attendee leaves our events feeling not only that they've learned something, but that they now have more tools to implement that knowledge.

That's how it looks on the Recruiting Front Lines from the HR Association of Central MA from one stodgy curmudgeon!

RFL: Life Imitating Social Media, or the Other Way Around?

2009-01-08T17:25:00.004-05:00

Life Imitating Social Media or Social Media Imitating Life?

OR: Social Networking and Real Life: Which is the Dog and Which is the Tail?

It has occurred to me recently that life may indeed actually be imitating social media and social networking in many ways. It may sound ridiculous, but have we actually created and fed a resource that is controlling the our behavior and personal development- making us dumber in the process? Here's some examples:

In general, more people have less regard for spelling, grammar, or professional communication than a decade ago.
Consumer Branding strategies are now being implemented by individuals in what's called "personal branding".
People are generating greater numbers of shallow relationships and fewer deep and meaningful relationships.
What is written on MySpace Facebook LinkedIn etc, is being quoted in reputable news channels.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I have noticed a growing commercial footprint within the social media. People are becoming willing to exaggerate themselves and the products, services, or companies they are connected to. There are more "FRIENDS" trying to sell each other services than in real life. It reminds me of the movie GROUNDHOG DAY with Bill Murray. OR, more specifically, the insurance sales person on the street trying to sell Bill Murray insurance. Yes, they once knew each other vaguely, and now the insurance rep feels like it's perfectly okay to leverage that relationship to his benefit. In fact, this is a caricature of insurance sales people that has been lampooned for decades. This dynamic has become the norm in the social media outlets, and appears to be spilling back out into the real world.

See my next post on informercials for a good description of what I mean.

I'm interested on what others think about this premise- does the online social world reflect the behaviors of the real world? Or has the real world changed it's behavior based on the success of online worlds?

Is Your Recruiting Plan Recession-Proof?

2009-01-08T09:36:00.003-05:00

Reprinted from the Recruiting Review for JobsInMA, and can also be found in the newsletters for JobsInME, JobsInNH, JobsInVT, and JobsInRI:

Is Your Recruiting Plan
Recession-Proof?

By Margaret Hansen, JobsInMA.com

Bonuses are off the table. Salaries are flat. Staff resources are thin. People are lucky to have a job. You've heard all of this before, but how do you plan to address these shortfalls in '09? Here are 3 questions to ask yourself.

Question #1: Are you prepared for long-term vacancies?

First, make sure your current employees aren't left in the lurch. Even though your budget is tighter, you need to recognize and reassure them. After all, they are your most precious resources.

Process improvement should be the flavor of the day. Does your team really need to spend 80 hours per month on administrative tasks? Consider hiring an intern. It will free up some team time for strategic meetings and follow up work, plus buy you some insurance for future staffing needs.

By the time you have ironed out a leaner plan, your intern will be trained and interested, just in time for graduation and a post-recession promotion.

Question #2: Are you maintaining a trusted presence?

As the unemployed, or "active," job seeker pool grows, your image as a trusted employer should be keeping pace.

Many job seekers are feeling anxious about the future. People are nervous about layoffs. How do you address those fears? How do you instill confidence and attract top performers to your positions?

Be sure to answer these unasked questions at every step of the recruiting process from initial advertising to interview and beyond. It's on everyone's mind, even if they don't ask.

Come up with a "Top 10" list of why it's great to work for your company. Ask your most dedicated top performers what they like about working there. Make it diverse - choose at least one person from each division at varying levels: an IT employee is likely to have an entirely different perspective and experience from an HR employee.

Once this list is created, include it - in part or in its entirety - with all of your employment advertising. It's part of your Employment Brand and there's never been a better time to let it be known.

Question #3: Are you getting the best value for your employment advertising dollar?

Now that you have a Top 10 list of great reasons to work for your company, make sure that you're getting it out in front of the right audience.

Advertising online poses the least amount of risk while offering fantastic return on investment. Web stats track the number of job views, referrals, and online applications.

Sprinkle your Top 10 around: in your online banner ads, job postings, company profile, website, press releases and even in your employee manual. It will soon become a big part of your recruiting strategy.

Find an all-inclusive online subscription that offers unlimited jobs, unlimited changes and tools to help you recruit, such as a resume database. You'll be able to make changes at any time of day, recruit faster and cheaper and reach more people than any other method.

Your budget is likely to be tighter for next year. Be sure to maximize your recruiting dollars.

Recruiting Review Newsletter

Poll Results: Work/Life Balance over Salary!

2009-01-08T09:31:00.002-05:00

Okay. So I'm a little biased. I like this article from our last newsletter the best.... and maybe it's because I'm quoted in it... maybe. Another good read brought to you by Margaret Hansen!

Poll: Salary Competes with Perks

By Margaret Hansen, JobsInMA.com

Thinking about your earnings lately? How about controlling your own schedule? Given the current state of the economy, a surprising majority are more concerned with the latter.

In a recent JobsInTheUS.com poll, we asked which was most important:

Salary
A flexible schedule
The ability to telecommute

Salary

Nearly half of the group chose Salary (47%) as #1. A not-so-surprising answer, but with the economy grinding to a halt lately, it seems to be packed with a little more emotion.

"Salary is just as important to me as is having work in which I can add value and fully use my skills and experience," said Suanne Williams Lindgren a professional HR consultant from Freeport, Maine. "I frequently meet intelligent, skilled people who are underpaid, underemployed, and working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. I think this is a terrible waste of human energy that we can ill afford at a time when there is such tremendous need in our world."

Flexible Schedule

Coming in at #2: a flexible schedule with a whopping 42% of the group choosing this answer.

The U.S. Department of Labor defines a flexible schedule as an alternative to the traditional 9 to 5, 40-hour work week.

Some situations allow flexibility with arrival/departure times with a prescribed number of hours, including daily presence during a "core time." Others may offer a compressed work week with longer days but more time off. Still others allow the flexibility to attend family events, meetings and other commitments during the work day as needed.

Life is unpredictable. Parenting, family issues, dealing with illness and maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle are just a few of the things that are competing with work. Increasingly, people need - and are demanding - a more flexible work schedule.

Telecommuting

Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" lists Telecommuting as one of its top six best benefits - and 84 of its 100 winning companies in 2008 offer it.

"It's true that financial concerns are leading people to consider compensation more heavily than, say, two years ago," Jason Blais, Field Operations Manager for JobsInTheUS.com, said. Blais meets with both job seekers and employers at career events across New England. He sees a new trend with uncommon work arrangements.

Blais points out that a more interesting trend is that the majority of poll takers chose perks over salary.

"53% of our poll respondents would prefer accommodations to fit their lifestyles (flexible schedule, ability to telecommute), compared to 47% who feel that salary is more important," Blais said. "I think employers need to take heed of this reality."

Some common telecommuting jobs include: medical transcription, IT-related work, sales, customer service and any job that relies on the Internet.

Career Connection Newsletter
Recruiting Review Newsletter

Healthier Resumes by M Hansen, JobsInMA

2009-01-08T09:27:00.001-05:00

Great article written by Margaret Hansen of JobsInMA / JobsInTheUS for our Career Connection newsletter- thanks Margaret!

3 Easy Steps to a Healthier Resume

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | All

By Margaret Hansen, JobsInMA.com

With the unemployment rate continuing to climb, it only makes sense to keep up with the competition (your fellow job seekers). Giving your resume a fresh update is a practical move. Old standards still apply, but today’s resume “kit” also includes an online search-friendly version. Follow these steps to improve your résumé’s health for today’s job market.

Step #1: Proofread

Reading your resume aloud is a great way to catch typos, inconsistent tense and unclear language. You can do this yourself or enlist a friend. But don't forget to do it.

Although your resume is more of a list than an essay, someone still has to read it and understand it. Give yourself a day or two after updating it for a fresh perspective. The employer will notice if you have skipped the proofread.

Pick a tense and stick with it. Under each job, stay consistent with tense, using past tense for past jobs and present tense for your current situation.

Keep items in a series parallel. Don’t say "Managed 12 associates, created new employee manual, company recognized my work with awards and chaired cross-functional team." Instead, move the 3rd item out of the series to its own sentence and get specific: “Recipient of Leadership Teamwork Award, 2007.” The past tense verbs of "managed," "created," and "chaired" are parallel.

Consistency allows your resume to speak for itself without distracting the reader. Let them remember your skills, not your resume blunders.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | All

Career Connection Newsletter

RFL: Strategy for 2009- Adaptive Staffing

2009-01-06T14:34:00.006-05:00

Recruiting may seem like a low priority for businesses today facing hiring freezes, or worse. But a recession requires a different way of thinking. Employers who take advantage of this market will come out stronger and more diverse when the economy finally turns around. In an environment where companies are forced to do more with less, it is critical that employers leverage the skills and talents of their existing workforce, and make sound hiring decisions based on this new climate.

Economic Turns
When JobsInNH.com entered the market six years ago as a small start-up selling employment advertising, the unemployment rate was at its highest since 1994, coming in at 4.7%. Total employment was just over 680,000 statewide. In the years that followed, a strong economy prevailed with job growth expanding both nationally and state-wide.

What drove job growth across New Hampshire? Strong business development initiatives, coupled with a growing national economy. As a result, unemployment declined, bottoming out at 3.3% during the 4th quarter of 2007, the lowest quarterly rate since early 2001. This blossomed into an attractive environment for professionals willing to relocate, and April 2008 saw total employment reach its highest level ever, with 717,625 persons on NH payrolls.

In the second half of 2008, everything changed. While final numbers had not been released at the time of this printing, forecasts suggested that total employment in November would end at approximately 713,000 persons. It’s no surprise that the instability of the economy will continue to have dramatic affects on the labor market for the next several months as businesses tighten their belts.

Adaptive Staffing
In the months to come, employee productivity and personnel decisions will weigh heavily on bottom lines. Through better recruiting and staffing techniques, businesses can significantly reduce turnover costs, resulting in increased quality of work, productivity, and, ultimately, profitability.

Staffing Expertise
JobsInNH assists local businesses in leveraging their workforce and identifying internal solutions to seize these opportunities, by offering educational webinars and seminars through JobsInNH University. For the past four years, JobsInNH has presented internet recruiting and employment advertising workshops across the state. Accredited by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), these programs help businesses to better understand the recruiting market, providing timely content and pragmatic approaches to identify, attract, and retain the best employees.

In 2009, employers will have access to several new accredited programs developed and presented exclusively by JobsInNH University. From understanding social media's impact on the workforce, to developing strategies to optimize staffing during a recession, employers can choose from an array of educational content.

One session, Employment Branding 20/20, was recently presented to the Seacoast Human Resource Association. This program provided HR professionals with techniques to decrease recruiting costs while increasing employee retention by creating best in class employment branding. All of the programs presented by JobsInNH University will give employers the specific tools and guidance they need to achieve results using their own in-house resources.

Employers can find more detailed information about these programs, and register for upcoming sessions at www.jobsinnh.com.

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN FOR AND ORIGINALLY PRINTED IN THE DECEMBER 19, 2008 ISSUE OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW. THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY JASON BLAIS, THOUGH THE NHBR ARTICLE PUBLISHED A TYPO IN THE BYLINE.

RFL: Building Strong Relationships

2009-01-02T10:39:00.009-05:00

The New England territories of JobsInTheUS, JobsInME, JobsInNH, JobsInRI, JobsInMA, and JobsInVT, will continue to expand our network of business and trade association partners in 2009.

Through the successful JiUS Connects pilot program, affinity partnerships were formed with the NH Lodging and Restaurant Association, RI Hospitality Association, and the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce in 2008. Through these partnerships, JobsInRI and JobsInNH were able to provide outreach and training to local businesses across the region, reinforce their commitment to the local labor markets, and sponsor many local events. Through the affinity programs, the Education Foundations of both the NHLRA and the RIHA, rec'd generous funding to continue their operations and provide continued support within the industry.

In 2009, we are hoping to expand our partnerships programs into Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, with the goal of having two affinity programs supporting businesses and associations in each state. For more information, please contact Jason Blais (that's me!), emailto: jblais@jobsintheus.com.

RFL: The month that just won't end!

2008-12-30T08:52:00.003-05:00

An associate in the office yesterday mentioned that this was the Month That Won't End. Boy was she right! For many of us who's work calendars are tied to corporate 5-4-4 calendars, you know what I mean. For us, the year end was effectively last Friday, the 26th. This means that during one of the busiest family times of the year, we were all scrambling around to wrap up our month end and year end reports, and laying out the new table cloth as we set the table for 2009. Not the best week for the increased focus necessary to hit all our deadlines and make sure all i's are dotted and t's are crossed. But, as we do, we did it.

And somehow, we all managed to enjoy the holidays with friends and/or family. Success! And a weekend to relax and soak in the spirit of the season. Then, for those of who returned to work yesterday, we found the month wasn't ACTUALLY over yet! There was talk of New Year's Eve celebrations, more PTO, which managers were on duty, and when, whether or not the office will be open all day.... Hadn't we crossed the threshold? Were n0t the holidays behind us?

Not yet. Though, we do just have this one more stretch of New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and the unproductive Friday between the holiday and the weekend. Then back to business as usual... right? Isn't that the hope? Or is that just a fool's goal? Up here in the northeast snow blizzards and ice storms are coming, RI is leading the country with the highest unemployment rate, the ski mountains in ME, NH, and VT are all projecting smaller workforces and already offering discounted packages to attract recreational tourists. Huge employers, from developers of circuitboards to paper mills, are closing down operations for weeks or even a month, non-profit public television and radio stations are laying off AND giving pay cuts to the survivors.

I sure hope this isn't "business as usual", at least not for long anyway. As a thirty something, I have to admit my mild shock at the widespread effects of the recession. I hadn't thought about the hotels which are selling fewer conference packages, the job fairs that are having fewer real employment opportunities forcing the organizers to cancel them, the hospitals that are freezing hiring as fewer people have health insurance which means fewer are going in for healthcare, the independent delivery drivers that subcontract for cabinet manufacturers that have nothing to deliver as fewer people remodel their kitchens. It's been quite eye opening for me to see how fragile the system is.

And yet, we all maintain hope and faith. Hope that we truly are smart enough, as a country, to find a way out of this recession, and faith that we'll be able to keep the heads of our citizens above water until we do.

I was at a bookstore yesterday, and found a book of WWII posters. It was amazing how much responsibility the government was putting on the people back then- how willing we were to ask our citizens to change their behavior to save our way of life. Walk instead of drive, carpool to save gas, use less resources as the military needed them, turn in your recyclable metals... amazing.

I hope our government is ready, and mature enough, to reach out and provide this type of direction to the American people once more. And if they do, I have faith that we will answer the call.

Keep your spirits up, keep one eye open for those who need your help, and keep one hand free to lend to those who need it.

Jason

RFL: Guest Posting on Punk Rock HR

2008-12-29T10:29:00.003-05:00

Check out my guest post on Punk Rock HR: CLICK HERE TO VIEW

If you haven't been there before, Punk Rock HR is a tremendous blog, hosted by Laurie Ruettimann, the creator of Human Resource Management Today at HRMToday.com, another terrific place for HR professionals to network, learn, and share!

Season's Greetings and Happy New Year!

-Jason C. Blais

RFL: The Relationsip of Social Media & Recruiting

2008-12-17T09:23:00.004-05:00

As I was entering the title for this blog, it occurred to me that this will likely be the first in an ongoing posting stream on this matter. As I deepen my research into social media and its value to employers, I will continue to share what I learn, dispell myths, and promote best practices. There is a great deal of time, money, and energy being applied to marketing these services, and a scarcity of reputable research, data, or objective oversight to be found.

Source: http://www.fredcavazza.net/2008/06/09/social-media-landscape/

I had originally posted the following comments as a reply to a LinkedIn question about this topic. If you are LinkedIn, you can see that question here, and comment for yourself. Though I'd also prefer comments to this post, here.

It's clear that the number of advertisers paying to post jobs online is declining, that trend is directly related to the number of jobs open, meaning that the social media and other outlets will also be declining in the world of recruitment.

I'm very wary of those who try to scare HR professionals into thinking that the value of internet job boards has vanished. In fact, the value continues to grow, which is whey every year, including this year, a the ratio of jobs posted on internet job boards to jobs posted in print grows. I do agree that aggregator sites have muddied the waters, and we'll see how long it takes with copyright laws to catch up to the internet. It would be silly to allow magazines to copy the entire content from other magazines, and then put their own brand on it and sell advertising. It would be a clear violation of infringement, if there was no permission granted. This will become a very hot issue as the economy weakens, and those on top (monster, CB, HJ, Dice,etc) must take steps to protect there assets- which in any publishing platform, is content.

I've been a zealous social media supporter, and am working to bring a better understanding of this ecosystem to HR professionals. The truth is that while there may be some very good candidates found through social media, most organizations don't currently have the resources to wade through the enormous volumes of those disinterested in job opportunities and those who have created completely bogus profiles. Ultimately, it comes down to a question of return on investment.

If an employer can find 20 candidates with 85% of the profile they're looking for within a week of posting a job online (which only takes a small amount of time), is that activity more or less valuable than spending dozens if not more than a hundred hours filtering through social media and finding 2 candidates that have 95% of the profile you're looking for?

I believe that all three types of social media- Social Networking, Professional Networking, and Information Sharing- have tremendous value to HR professionals, and should be researched and utilized to build stronger employment brands and increased employee engagement. But these benefits must be presented with realistic expectations. Building employee networks, feedback loop venues, professional research interchanges, and customer engagement can all be taken to a new level with social media. When working with HR folks, I do my best to provide a very thorough analysis of the functionality of the various social media outlets, including benefits and drawbacks, and present them with scenarios in which they can leverage these services to their benefit.

That being said, specialization continues to offer significant advantages in the business to business community. I fear that by pushing businesspeople onto the social media to aggressively is akin to the superstore approach to consumer goods. Soon, people forget the quality of the goods they used to get at specialty stores, and replace the desire for quality with the convenience of cheap prices and one stop shopping- the dumbing of the consumer market. The same goes with trying to do too much through social media platforms that aren't truly designed to deliver the results businesses need.

Not Enough Candidates? WHO SAID THAT?!

2008-12-16T17:27:00.004-05:00

Steve Porter, who is an Outreach Consultant with JobsInRI, has been working closely with the Workforce Development Specialist, Amy Driscoll, at the RI Hospitality Association (RIHA) to help connect employers and job seekers in that industry. Amy's role is part of the RI Hospitality Education Foundation. Together, they've developed and delivered presentations at netWORKri offices across the state to job seekers focused on Transferring Skills to new careers.

The reports I'm getting back have been eye opening, and provide tremendous insight into the struggles of both job seekers and employers. As you may already be aware, RI is now tied for the highest unemployment rate in the US. The presentation has been very helpful in showing candidates how to do their own skills inventory, and identify the soft skills they have that can transfer into new jobs. The target is really the recently unemployed, and those who have been out of the market for so long, they're out of the loop in the new job hunting world.

Great work and congratulations goes to the folks at the RI Hospitality Education Foundation (RIHEF) who have spearheaded this charge, and are out there making a difference!

In addition, the RIHEF lead a seminar to analyze how to find and train soft skills for the next generation workforce- high school students and teens. The idea here is to help develop the real world skills that are necessary to fill positions in the hospitality industry. (I have to say, focusing on this younger group is both forward thinking and creatively strategic. If more business leaders, association leaders, and community organizations were similarly focused, we could see a significant rise in apprenticeship style education, which I'm all for)

Any way, here are some bullets of the issues facing this one industry in this one state, as reported by the JobsInRI Outreach Consultant:

-- Many of the RIHA member restaurants and hotels have openings, but can't find good people.

-- In the business of hospitality, budgets will be cut and expenses reduced, but layoffs are usually the last option.

-- The RIHA doesn't feel the recession has affected the RI industry too deeply. Business at most restaurants and hotels are still down slightly, though.

-- The Newport business climate has not been hit badly at all, which is where the center of the tourism universe resides in RI.

-- The universal belief is that next year's tourist season will be excellent. Optimism is high.

-- The RIHA specialist maintains a folder of job openings from hotels and restaurants that she is personally trying to fill. Following the seminars, she speaks one-on-one with candidates searching for the right kind of people.

-- Many are frustrated with employment advertising options. The paper is expensive and online job boards result in too many desperate, inexperienced candidates.

-- In addition, while resume databases are exceptional for finding employees with specific hard skills (certifications, degrees, years of experience) they fail profoundly in finding candidates with strong soft skills (team player, customer service, friendliness, communication, etc.).

-- They are desperate for candidates with exceptional soft skills which is what fuels their industry.

Great work Steve, thanks for those insights!

Well, that's how it looks from the recruiting front lines at the intersection of Rhode Island and Hospitality!

Why I Blog

2008-12-16T16:21:00.004-05:00

There's a tremendous blog out there hosted by J. William Tincup called www.jpie.com. During the month of December, he has been profiling recruiting bloggers of the world, and today was my lucky day to be featured. It's a brief segment about why I started the blog, why I keep doing it, and what's coming in the future.

Have a look at: THE JASON BLAIS BLOG STORY on JPIE

Gratuitous Self Promotion

2008-12-09T07:12:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: For those that may be offended by scenes of gratuitous self promotion: please read no further as you may be exposed to content that you find offensive.

If you have a few minutes please help promote this blog by following these steps:

1. Please find an article/post in this blog that you really enjoyed.
2. Scroll to the end of the post.
3. Click on the Email this Post image (envelope w/arrow)
4. Send it to a friend or colleague that would be interested, and let them know they can subscribe either for email updates or RSS feeds.

Okay, so I've been writing a few posts monthly for the last 9 months or so. My goal is to average 2 posts a week, but sometimes time, energy, or inspiration get in my way. I'd be very open to hearing feedback from readers to hear what you think so far... the good, the bad, and the ugly- bring it on, i've got thick skin.

Have a great day all!

The Recruiting Front Lines

August 2009 Vermont JobReport

Job Sites and The San Francisco Gold Rush

Internal Company Email Exposed

A Two Billion Dollar Secret

The Social Media Expert: Modern American Carpetbagger

The HR/Recruiting Scourge of Blandness!

Two Sentence Job Ads Online?!

Tired of Staff Who Just Don't Care?

HR Is In Charge! ...Now What?!

What would happen if top VP or Director of HR became CEO?

Staffing Up in a Down Economy

NH Human Resource Professionals Come Together!

Yahoo! News Story - Layoffs slow to 539K in April; jobless rate rises

Why HR Rarely Develops the Employment Brand

JobsInVT.com Partners With the Vermont Chamber of Commerce

Attracting the Best Candidates for Every Position Every Time.

Social Media Bucket #1: Social Networking

Abstract from 20/20 Employment Branding

Resume 411 From Guest Blogger Debra Wheatman

Simple, Memorable, and Thought Provoking

Changing Your Appreciation Progams? Be Careful!

My Blog Elevator Pitch (for a tall building)

Mobile Thoughts on Employment Branding

RFL: Building Your Bench from Unused Parts

RFL: Developing Your Bench

RFL Question of the Moment: Recruitment Advertising When You're Not Hiring

Press Release: Indicators Show Positive Employment Numbers

RFL: JobsInTheUS and JobAngels on Fox News

RFL: Off topic and On the Twitter Mosaic

RFL: National Exposure on FoxNews

RFL: Social Media Bucket #2: Professional Networking

RFL: Musings on eExternal Employment Branding

RFL: Social Media Bucket #3: Information Sharing

RFL: Not just another day in the office.

RFL: Job Seekers Scammed NBC30

Job Seekers Scammed

RFL: The Skinny on EFCA- Unbiased Facts and Biased Opinions

NH's 2009 Human Capital Summit Update

RFL: Job Postings INCREASED in February!

RFL: Joys of Laryngitis And Other Oddities

RFL: 4 Keys to Internal Employment Branding In A Recession

The Recruiting Front Lines: RFL: We're Moving in the Right Direction!

RFL: Down Economy? Don't Just Sit On Your Hands!

RFL: We're Moving in the Right Direction!

RFL: Forget Corporate Social Responsibility

Slide Show for New England Job Seekers

RFL:Guest Author Julie Poland Discusses Staff Development Pt.2

RFL: SHRM, Employment Branding, and Trade Mixer

RFL: Letter of Support for Employers and Job Seekers

RFL: Guest Author Julie Poland Discusses Professional Development

RFL: Guest Author Margaret Hansen - Reducing Anxiety!

How To Reduce Employee Anxiety In A Downward Economy

Calming The Storm

Keep lines of communication open with your staff

Create written job descriptions for every employee

Provide self-help opportunities

Use empathetic responses when talking about problems

Encourage staff to use their vacation time

Recruit for keeps

Deal with Trauma

RFL: Staffing Strategies for a Recession

Battling The Storm

Provide Key Strategic Input

Adaptive Staffing

Get Creative

Do More with Less

Give Employees What They Want

Staffing Expertise

RFL: Recruiting Metrics- Beyond Cost Per Hire

Recruiting Metrics: Beyond Cost Per Hire

Cost Per Hire

Measuring Value

Example

Improving Your Bottom Line

JobAngels on Twitter

RFL: The Recruiter / HR Relationship

RFL: Which Recruiting Metrics Matter?

RFL: Your Recruitment Advertising is Failing If...

RFL: Guest Poster Steve Balzac

Recruiting Metrics:
Beyond Cost Per Hire

Is Your Recruiting Plan
Recession-Proof?