KeenHire Blog by Margaret Graziano

Recruitment Differentiation-Being Extraordinary Is A Choice

With the impending employment crisis budding, barrier to entry being virtually null, margin erosion, and a new and provocative competitor around each and every corner (better job board sites, RPO, Off Shore, ATS that screen and assess candidates), now more than ever, staffing industry sales people need to differentiate ourselves against the sea of competition.

We already knew there was a sea of competition. Now that sea is turning into a very vast ocean, and that ocean has inlet water streams that flow to many other industries, as well as many other countries. Not to mention, last time this country faced a people shortage, every shoddy sales person who loved making a quick buck penetrated our market and pummeled our industry’s reputation, so that even in some circles the word “RECRUITER” has some people react as if what they just heard was a sound not that different from nails on a chalk board.

If you thought you had to be good on a daily basis to keep your clients coming back, NOW you have to be great. And you have to be different. Saying you’re different and actually being different begins with your unique selling proposition. What is yours?

Do you provide the BEST qualified and matched candidates in the least amount of time, for the best price? Many RPOs actually say the same thing and are delivering on their promises by adding services such as assessment and behavioral interviewing to their staffing offerings so they can validate hires against the predetermined benchmarks created specifically for their client.  Many of these RPO clients also employ Organizational Development professionals and utilize these credentials in their selling process.

Is your firm the one that really does head hunting? Are all your candidates passive and employed? Are you more connected than the rest on the social networks? 

Did you know many large companies are building their own executive search operations internally? There are even seminars and workshops provided by firms specifically for the purpose of eliminating search fees from their clients’ budget. 

Did you know the job boards; specifically Monster.com is establishing social networks in every industry with the purpose of connecting with candidates for the life of their career rather than just during search time.  When Monster accomplishes this feat, Yahoo HotJob, Career Builder and the Ladders won’t be far behind. As boards know if they are not continuing to innovate they too will evaporate.

Does hiring your candidates come with a risk free guarantee? Did you know when a customer hires someone through SearchPath they get a 12 month guarantee? 

Do you provide on-boarding and new hire integration? Does your firm aid your clients in developing the candidates once they are placed?  Did you know Manpower, Spherion, Apple One and Korn Ferry all have the systems, power and resources to offer these types of promises? Over the past four years all of these companies have added Human capital consulting to their service offerings, either through an acquisition or through grass roots home grown efforts.

Do you remember when it was value add to background check candidates?  Now it is no longer a unique value add, it is standard operating procedure and it’s expected.   It is my belief that the more talent astute CEOs and Business Leaders become, the more they  expect from us.

We can no longer operate as business as usual, we need to get into our customers’ world, see what they see, feel what they feel and offer what they need, and the way they need it. And it all starts with finding out what that is and assessing if and how we can provide it. 

Once that happens and you come up with your core differentiator and unique selling proposition it’s time to evaluate your selling strategy and determine if it is sufficient in the present day world with present day conditions.

If your selling system isn’t effective, I’d recommend registering yourself in a course and committing to getting better. Sell the way differentiated value service providers sell, not the way transaction based vendors sell.  

The time to lay the seeds for tomorrow is today, while everyone else is resting, sleeping, coasting, or freaking – this is your time to stealth forward.

He Who Owns The Talent Pool Owns The Market

10 Lessons Learned at the Florida Staffing Association Owners Conference

1.       The future competition is not just the newest recruitment / staffing firm offering better, smarter and more holistic talent solutions, it is also Monster.com and their NEW career portal as well as other specialty niche sites that aim to own the talent pool through various career pathing and career targeting technology.

As many of you know Keen embarked on creating a new kind of talent management firm 14 months ago and while we are having a great go of it and are making excellent margins, there is certainly something new to learn every time I turn around.

The most recent conference I led a key note for had a woman from Monster.com, Marica Biggar speak on the reality of the future for staffing and recruitment firms. She showed us demographics that were so evident of predicting our future the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. Obviously Monster.com has their hands on statistics that we only wish we had, and the good news is they are ready, willing and able to share it.  She showed us a chart of supply and demand, I think I first learned about supply and demand in 4^th grade, and the picture shown on the overhead was a caveman and a wheel. Looking back it was Economics for Dummies.

What was quite stimulating about this Monster chart was the linkage to Thomas Freidman’s predictions in “The World Is Flat”.  The jobs  and skill sets in America are changing, the talent pool is changing and is more diverse than ever; to attract and retain the best people will take skills and tools most of us have not even begun to think about.  We in Recruitment and Staffing need to shift as well.

2.       When there is a need and limited supply, they will pay; when there is no need and a surplus of people, they don’t need to.  As our speaker continued to blow us away with facts and figures that have everything to do with the amount of money we have in our bank accounts; we learned exactly where we need to focus our efforts, now and in the future.

 

3.       If you want to own the candidate market – you first must operate in a niche specific enough to do so and capitalize on the economies of scale both in your recruitment processes and in your business development processes.

 

4.       I believe that the hardest pill for recruitment and staffing owners, staffers and business development leaders to swallow is that they are going to have to reinvent who they are for their candidate pool and therefore reinvent who they are for their customer base. What worked in the past is not working now and wont in the future. Technology is advancing faster than humans are, and technology does not have get over the fact that times have changed, it just does. People on the other hand are so busy fighting the trends that in many cases they miss the boat.

 

5.       When you own the candidate market you are no longer spending your recruitment efforts on filling jobs, you are working on attracting and capturing candidates for their career life cycle. Imagine how much more profitable we’d all be if we focused on retaining relationships with candidates before during and after the placement, and whenever our niche candidates needed something having to do with their career (advise, coaching, training, internal progression marketing, a new job outside the company, development in their new leadership role) they could get served by your team. Imagine the power if people were tied to you and your firm first and foremost before they began their search.

 

6.       When you own the talent pool – you own the market. If you are the name to know for Talent Management in Clinical Research, if your company is the one sponsoring Career Progression workshops, Leadership Development programs, Campus Recruitment events, then your company becomes the “Go To” for that Brand of Talent.

 

7.       Monster.com says they are No longer in the job posting business, they are rolling our an immensely powerful tool that uses algorithms to manage their relationship with candidates and keeps them coming back to their site, even when they are not in ‘search’ mode.

 

8.       Vocational training is HOT, and needed. If you ‘Re-Train’ people with the right skill and talent and get them ready for the new emerging hottest roles, you become part of the Obama Stimulus Plan and win in more ways than one.

 

9.       When you host a meet-up, gathering, advisory council or web site that acts as a social connectivity point you own not only the candidate talent pool, you own those that want access to the information.

 

10.    The time for reframing who you are as a staffing and recruitment firm is while everyone else is waiting and wondering when the economy will turn around. The time to build your plan and plant the seeds is NOW.

 

After all who you were coming into the recession is no longer relevant. It’s who you are coming out that matters.

 

 

Creating An Internal Hiring Process And Maximize Hiring ROI

WHAT IS AN INTERNAL HIRING PROCESS AND HOW DO WE CREATE ONE?

If you hire someone you don’t really know, for a position you have not thoroughly defined, chances are that neither the person nor the position will deliver. Hiring the right people requires implementation of a comprehensive internal hiring process that selects the best and eliminates the rest. And it all starts with benchmarking. Whether you are benchmarking the role, the top performers in that role, or key traits of the best performers in the company as a whole, the first step is creating the model of what right looks like. Companies that take the time to do so fully understand not only who they need, but also why they need them. These are the companies that excel in the employee-selection process and the capacity to build a “dream team.” 

WHAT RIGHT LOOKS LIKE

Before you evaluate your immediate needs, evaluate the company and team. This is called the Internal Human Capital Inventory and Assessment, and it
involves:

1. Evaluating your core culture:

• Acknowledge and prorate your core values.
• Assess the character quotient of your company.
• Identify the non-negotiable character traits or core values for your company.

2. Evaluating your current team:

• Identify your key players and what innate abilities and traits make them
successful.
• Identify what’s working on the team and what isn’t.
• Identify what elements are missing on the team that would make a positive difference.

3. Implementing a system for evaluating and selecting new hires and internal
promotions:

• Establish and cross-train to hiring protocol. 
• Create companywide candidate-screening ground rules.
• Create a Comprehensive Position Requirement (CPR) for every role.
• Validate, select and utilize the right assessment tools. 
• Create behavioral-based interview models for each role in the company.  
• Establish a decision-making matrix. 

SPECIFIC HOLISTIC HIRING TECHNIQUES THAT SAVE MONEY

With a treetop look at your company and a foundation in place to grow
from, it’s time to look at each role on a tree-trunk level. Focus on the needs of
the business and how each role is attached to the key performance indicators of the company as a whole. When you are clear on the performance objectives for each role in the company and how those affect the big picture of service, sales, retention and profitability, it is much easier to determine who the best person is for each role. Here are some specific holistic hiring techniques:

1. Hire right the first time:

• Thoroughly define each role in your company.
• Define specific success outcomes that are expected in the role.
• Isolate the CAN DO (Intellectual Quotient). 
• Isolate the WILL DO (Emotional Quotient).
• Isolate the FIT IN (Character Quotient). 

2. Follow the hiring protocol:

• Train each hiring manager on the CPR for his/her positions.
• Conduct a preplanned behavioral-based telephone screening.
• Employ a cursory pre-interview assessment.
• Formulate a position-specific interviewing guide for managers to follow.
• Make hiring decisions according to the predetermined hiring matrix.

3. Set up an effective ramp-up process that validates your hiring choice out of
the gate:

• Socialization – on-boarding.
• Manager – new employee meeting.
• Game Plan – expectations, communication, work style.

With established hiring procedures adhered to consistently, your company will
jump over and past dangerous hiring traps, turn the tables on the mishaps of
poor hiring, and reap the benefits that come with having the right people in
the right roles.

Choose Wisely-Now Is The Time For Strategic Hiring

Poor hiring decisions are costly mistakes that can range from 150% to 300% of an employee’s base salary. Financial losses include expenses associated with hiring and training, low employee morale and decreased productivity. Plus, poor hiring choices frequently lead to damaged client relationships, loss of new business and business in general, unemployment and more. The bottom line is that bad hiring decisions can make or break a business. 

The two most common hiring traps are hiring in a hurry and hiring the résumé
rather than the person. Companies that don’t have succession plans or fail to practice cross-training often rush to relieve the pain of the empty chair. Businesses that ignore the hiring process in the interest of expediting it are far more susceptible to missing important clues that could prevent a poor hiring decision. For example, studies on the behaviors of job applicants report that more than 65% of all candidates do not prepare their own résumés. Even more unsettling for prospective employers is that more than 45% misrepresent their credentials with one or more “tall tales.” From reporting academic degrees never achieved and embellishing roles to listing completely fictitious positions, many of today’s job seekers will do whatever they can to appear qualified. 

A third and very common trap is to hire on the basis of job descriptions. 

These typically list a subjective interpretation of required skills and experience.

By highlighting only hard skills, they leave out the most critical elements such as key performance objectives, behaviors, values, emotional intelligence, character traits and soft competencies — the defining criteria that lead to effective performance.

With the war on talent in full force, there is tremendous pressure on hiring
managers to keep their organizations fully staffed and productive.

But how does one meet these demands without falling into hiring traps?

After more than two decades as a recruiter, staffing agency owner, and leader of the KeenHire™ strategic hiring and retention initiative, I’ve developed an arsenal of practical tips and “insider” tools that empower business owners and HR executives alike with the ability to make informed decisions about their most important resource — their people.

The True Value Of Talent Management

“Everything, then, must be assessed in money; for this enables men always to exchange their services, and so makes society possible.” – Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Even though Aristotle made this point over 2000 years ago, it couldn’t ring more true today. Almost everything involved in transactions today are based on a price and assessed in money.

What about Talent Management?

Beyond salary and sales, there are many important aspects of talent management that are often not tied to the bottom line. Yet, “dollarizing” the value of talent management initiatives is vital to bottom-line analysis. Whether you are placing a value or cost on your current status, or calculating the ROI of your next talent management strategy, metrics that assess the monetary value will help you see the true effect on the bottom-line.  

Bottom Line Statistics

Knowing the bottom line results of talent challenges will help you implement strategies with a proven ROI that you can see on your balance sheet. Find out how much you already know by asking yourself questions like:

    * What is disengagement costing the bottom line?

    * What was the ROI on your last training? What can be expected of future training?

    * How are your team-building initiatives impacting your bottom line?

    * What was the cost of your last bad hire?

    * What is your overall turnover percentage? How is it related to tenure?

In a study on over three million employees, Gallup found that over 70% of Americans who go to work are not engaged. This means businesses may be operating at significantly less than full capacity, a loss that could cost millions a year.

    * What is employee disengagement costing your company?
                     Several thousands, millions, more?

    * How can you calculate this cost?

    * How does it compare to the investment of a proactive approach to increasing engagement?

With tightening budgets and a focus on cost-saving strategies, businesses worldwide are making drastic labor cuts. But is that always the right move? A recent study analyzed the savings resulting from changes in general and administrative functions and found that 75% of the savings came from strategies focused on restructuring and redesigning, while only 25% was from reducing.

    * Would you, too, save three times as much on your bottom line by investing in your       
        people and processes?

    * Is the slash and burn approach actually costing you more?

    * What would the ROI be if you restructured and redesigned your workforce?

As business associates who want to make a difference in the bottom line, we might find advice in Aristotle’s quote by remembering to assess, in money, the value of talent management initiatives so we know its true worth.

How else can we place fair value on the investment in people?

After all, they are a company’s biggest asset.  Aren't they?

Originally published by Target Training International

National Association Of Personnel Services Teams Up with California

As you may already be aware, NAPS is offering the Certified Employee Retention Specialist (CERS) credential program at the upcoming CSP conference in a few weeks.  I thought you might like to know that I’ve added my name to the list of people who are signed up to take this program, and I really wanted to share with you why I’m making a point of coming to CSP to earn my CERS credential.

First a little bit of background.  I’ve been in the search industry for almost 30 years and have been both CPC and CTS for many years.  I’ve always felt that Certification has given me a competitive advantage over other recruiters with whom I compete in my marketplace.  Additionally, I’ve always seen the value-add to my clients that my certification knowledge has enabled me to provide in the way of additional information and services to them.  There is no question that Certification HAS made me money through the years.

However, when I learned that NAPS was going to be offering the CERS credential, I couldn’t wait to find time in my schedule to sign up to take the class.  There is no doubt in my mind that my clients consider employee retention to be one of the biggest issues on their plates.  With over 70MM baby boomers retiring and only 28MM Gen-Y’ers coming up to take their place, there’s no question our clients are going to be facing a talent shortage of epidemic proportions.  Current economic conditions not withstanding, we’re about to face the most exciting boom time for recruiters! The need for experienced talent will approach “feeding frenzy” and recruiters will be moving experienced talent from one company to another in record numbers. Consequently, our clients will be frantically looking for advice and input about how to keep the experienced talent that they’ve spend hundreds of thousands of corporate dollars to train. 

A CERS-credentialed recruiter will have the “keys to the kingdom”  in terms of providing this critical value-added service.  And who can deny the attractiveness (whether now or in the near future) of an additional LARGE revenue stream that the CERS credential will bring to you?

Join me at CSP for the CERS credential class! I look forward to seeing you there!

Carol Wenom CPC/CTS
NAPS Chairman of the Board

My Dog Ate My Cell Phone & Other Nifty Excuses Why Not To Be Powerful

With all the talk of recession, depression, and obsession with how 'bad it is' it is tough for most people to keep their thoughts positive.  Personal Empowerment begins with making a choice to be grateful, optimistic and committed to the present and the future as a possibility. Happiness is a choice and it's a choice we all must make daily, if not hourly.

Last March with recession looming in the background I chose to forge forward with launching Keenhire and it was the best choice I have made in my career.  I won't hide the matter that when I was in the 'decision making' process it was ugly, stressful and overwhelming. I relied on my long term goals, my masterful coach and my gut instinct to guide me.

When I review my life and the choices I have made; what to study, where to work, with whom to share my friendship - I am satisfied for the pathways that I have walked and the lessons I have learned. For they have brought me to where I am today and I have never been happier -personally and professionally. 

In my keynote, The 5% Factor I open up my life's journey from struggling single mom to corporate difference maker, to audiences and what I find each and every time is that as they wake up to their own possibility in life; I get re-inspired. There is no other feeling on the planet for me as powerful as giving someone the gift of possibility.

The 5% Factor is about making powerful choices in life that alter the quality and experience of life itself.  In my own life, many times the moments before choosing are truly painful yet once the choice is made, I experience freedom, power and ease. I have learned to trust my heart, and to listen to my gut.

There are 6 Key Elements of the 5% Factor.

• Being an Eternal Student of Life
• Accepting 100% Responsibility, for what is and what isn't
• Choosing Powerfully in the Moment
• Taking Risks, letting go
• Being Coachable
• YOU to the 5th power

We all have something we are striving for -what is it for you?

When I completed the Advanced Breakthrough to Success program by Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles I walked away with several tools for my KeenCoaching business. One of them is the 100/100. Before we begin a new person in the Keen Leadership Development program they are given a pre coaching assignment.

The assignment is to create a list of 100 Successes in their life and to create a list of 100 Goals for their life. (kind of like the 'bucket list') 

Once a person is aware and awake to what they have achieved thus far in life and ignited by the possibilities of what they can create for their future a solid foundation for a coaching relationship exists.

Inside the The 5% Factor are key elements that goal attainment hinge on -
I look forward to sharing more indepth about the 5% Factor distinctions in upcoming blog posts.

Time...Use It Wisely

One of the most critical Success Principles is using your time wisely.  While squandered money can sometimes be replaced, wasted time is gone forever.

The pace at which the world is moving seems to be increasing exponentially:  we now have the tools to monitor a universe of information continuously – companies buying and selling; changes of ownership; economic ups and downs; the war on terrorism; the war for talent; the war on drugs; natural disasters; racial tension; campus massacres, and at home my kids growing by inches every time I turn around – things are different now and downtime is diminishing. With the current state of the world, the new issue is getting more done with less.

So, how do you muster enough power to accomplish everything you need to get done in a frenetic world where information overload is the norm, and stay committed to being the best you can be at work and home?

My personal breakthrough in time management has to do with gaining mastery on three levels: leveraging my power, choosing my opportunities wisely, and becoming a power user in Outlook. Each level took me time to grasp, master, and implement. 

The breakthrough into power, freedom, and peace of mind I experienced came from a course I attended years ago when I was a Landmark Seminar Leader called Mission Control.  That course certainly continues to have an impact on me; it showed me that I was spending a considerable amount of time doing things that either did not “light me up,” that I was not particularly adept at, or that were simply distractions on the path to achieving my goals.

That course made me realize that there were a many things I need to delegate, outsource, or simply stop doing.  Over time I built a system in which anything that I am not any good at, or does not add value to me personally, or does not bring forth new opportunities for KeenHire, is delegated.  Using the power of talented people and resources has enabled me to essentially clone myself 25 times – through the use of full-time, part-time, “virtual” employees, or off-site consultancy capacities. 

Now I have much more time to take care of the important things, like watch my sons’ basketball games, run, bike, make dinners, see friends and loved ones and to be a part of life – and all because I do not try to do everything myself. 

This is a continual learning process because discovery takes place each time as I ask, “Is this the best use of my time and, if not, who can I find to take care of this and how can I structure it so it works for everyone?”

The second level that requires me to gain mastery of was attracting and choosing my customers and business opportunities wisely. 

Who are the people you find pleasurable to work with?  Who are the people who respect and appreciate my 25 years in the recruiting and selection industry as a top performer ranked for quality and integrity? 

Who will pay me to save their time?  Who has a compelling mission that people can wrap their hands around and to which they want to contribute? 

Who offers a well-managed work environment that fosters excellence in employee performance as well as in development? 

The more specific I am on what type of customers and opportunities I want to represent, the easier it is to spend my time on things that have a pay off or make a difference, and which use my best skills and talents. 

When I compromise any of the above for the sake of ‘getting a deal,’ I always wind up spinning my wheels, becoming frustrated and exhausted. 

The technique of choosing your clients wisely can also be applied to attracting and choosing your perfect mate and/or employee and is based on a process called the “law of attraction,” a process detailed in the book, Attracting Perfect Customers (Stacey Hall: Jan Brogniez).

The last level that requires me to become powerful with was using a tool like Microsoft Outlook to foster mastery in productivity and eliminate time bandits.  I learned about every function that Outlook offers and how to use those elements of the software to impact the way in which I spend my time as well as to create efficiencies in my work day.

The message is clear:  time – there is a limit on it; we only have so much of it; and, as the song says, ‘You only got 100 years to live.’ (if your lucky)

Best in Success
Margo

Talent Strategy 2015 -It Starts NOW!

Every time the right person walks out of your door and the wrong person walks in, the cost to your bottom line is immense.  With a rocky economy, emerging global competitors on the rise, three generations in the workforce, Sr. level leaders on the verge of retirement and a future of opportunities knocking at your high potential workforces’ door, it is time to start thinking about how you are going to incorporate the ‘talent mindset’ in your company. The Society of Human Resource Management reports that 6 of the top 10 Workplace Trends are directly related to talent acquisition, selection & retention. The number 1 trend to most likely have a major impact on the workplace is workforce retention, and the most critical HR function effecting business strategy is Staffing/Employment and Recruiting. The above issues are not separate -they are looked at as Talent Management and there is no better time than right now to master the distinctions of Top Grading and Employer of choice.

The KeenHire™ Corporate Talent Strategy Series empowers hiring managers, business leaders and strategic HR partners to leverage the power of their human capital. Given Workforce retention is on everyone’s mind, it is only fair to share that 65% of all retention issues are caused in the selection process.  In this 16 hour program you will learn strategies for choosing your talent wisely, creating an engaged multigenerational workforce, and on-boarding, as well as strategies for effective succession planning, performance management and retention.

Join us for this provocative, insightful and fun program that delves into the corporate strategic talent issues and highlights innovative solutions you can initiate to solve them.

Course Outcomes

We will delve into corporate retention issues, dispel the myths and uncover critical issues that affect your ability to attract and keep good people.

You will learn a strategic approach to assessing your real human capital needs and how to implement the top grading approach to building an organization of high performers.

You will gain hands on experience in uncovering the Real Cost of Employee Turnover and the impact that it has on your company’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives. You will gain competence and capacity to choose your talent wisely.

You will walk away with the power and prowess to create the Talent Mindset within your company.

You will leave the workshop with a myriad array of retention strategies that meet the needs of a multitude of people in your workforce.

Course Overview

Corporate Retention issues
•    Understand the difference between Talent equity and Tenure equity
•    Review the generational parameters and influencers effecting retention

Corporate Assessment
•    Learn the organizational development approach to uncovering your human capital challenges
•    Benchmarking and Top Grading and how it can help you help your company

The Talent Mindset
•    Understand how the change in mindsets is imperative to your ability to attract and retain the right people in the right roles
•    Learn solid retention strategies that you can immediately implement

The Real Cost of Employee Turnover
•    Work through a hands on deep digging exercise and uncover the painful impact of hiring the wrong person or keeping the wrong person in a key role

Empowering your Management team to Choose Wisely
•    Implement hiring process and systems that bring forth only top tier talent

What They’re Saying

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

Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert

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

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

 

Video testimonials are available

Choose Wisely- Building Your Sales "A" Team

Have you ever thought you hired the workplace version of John Wayne, only
to find out you’ve been duped and ended up with a Woody Allen? Poor
hiring decisions are costly mistakes that can range from 150% to 300% of an employee’s base salary. Financial losses include expenses associated with hiring and training, low employee morale and decreased productivity. Plus, poor hiring choices frequently lead to damaged client relationships, loss of new business and business in general, unemployment and more. The bottom line is that bad hiring decisions can make or break a business. 

 

The two most common hiring traps are hiring in a hurry and hiring the résumé
rather than the person. Companies that don’t have succession plans or fail to practice cross-training often rush to relieve the pain of the empty chair. Businesses that ignore the hiring process in the interest of expediting it are far more susceptible to missing important clues that could prevent a poor hiring decision. For example, studies on the behaviors of job applicants report that more than 65% of all candidates do not prepare their own résumés. Even more unsettling for prospective employers is that more than 45% misrepresent their credentials with one or more “tall tales.” From reporting academic degrees never achieved and embellishing roles to listing completely fictitious positions, many of today’s job seekers will do whatever they can to appear qualified. 

A third and very common trap is to hire on the basis of job descriptions.
These typically list a subjective interpretation of required skills and
experience. By highlighting only hard skills, they leave out the most critical
elements such as key performance objectives, behaviors, values, character
traits and soft competencies — the defining criteria that lead to effective
performance.

With the war on talent in full force, there is tremendous pressure on hiring
managers to keep their organizations fully staffed and productive. But how
does one meet these demands without falling into hiring traps? After more than two decades as a recruiter, staffing agency owner, and leader of the KeenHire™ strategic hiring and retention initiative, I’ve developed an arsenal of practical tips and “insider” tools that empower business leaders with the ability to make informed decisions about their most important resource — their people. Today, I share these with you in a simple step-by-step format. 

WHAT IS AN INTERNAL HIRING PROCESS AND HOW DO WE CREATE ONE?

If you hire someone you don’t really know, for a position you have not thoroughly defined, chances are that neither the person nor the position will deliver. Hiring the right people requires implementation of a comprehensive internal hiring process that selects the best and eliminates the rest. And it all starts with benchmarking. Whether you are benchmarking the role, the top performers in that role, or key traits of the best performers in the company as a whole, the first step is creating the model of what right looks like. Companies that take the time to do so fully understand not only who they need; they also why they need them. These are the companies that excel in the employee-selection process and the capacity to build a “dream team.” 

WHAT RIGHT LOOKS LIKE

Before you evaluate your immediate needs, evaluate the company and team. This is called the Internal Human Capital Inventory and Assessment, and it
involves:

1. Evaluate your core culture:

• Acknowledge and prioritize your firms’ core values.
• Assess the character quotient of your company.
• Identify the non-negotiable character traits or core values for your company.

2. Evaluate your current team:

• Identify your key players and what innate abilities and traits make them
successful.
• Identify what’s working on the team and what isn’t.
• Identify what elements are missing on the team that would make a positive difference.

3. Implement a system for evaluating and selecting new hires and internal
promotions:

• Establish and cross-train team to new hiring protocol. 
• Create companywide candidate-screening ground rules.
• Create a Comprehensive Position Requirement (CPR) for every role.
• Validate, select and utilize the right assessment tools. 
• Create behavioral/competency based interview models for each role in the company.  
• Establish a decision-making matrix. 

Calling All Human Capital Talent - We Need Your Help !

TO BETTER OUR SERVE OUR CLIENTS

We as the Human Capital Industry MUST improve our internal human capital processes. We need to better define our roles, select the right people the first time, give them the training and tools they need to succeed and reward and engage them the way they want to be rewarded and engaged.

 

Never has walking our own talk been more critical than now, between  SHRM and WorkForce research studies, the bureau of labor statistics and CNN; everyone is concerned for the future highly skilled talent shortage. The time to build your infrastructure is BEFORE the perfect Talent Storm hits.  

To better serve our Human Capital Customer Base, Keenhire is building industry wide hiring benchmarks for several Human Capital roles and we need your help.

If you provide us the data, we will provide you with the analytics.  We will sign an NDA and  No Recruit Policy and keep your performers information completely confidential.

We are hiring building benchmarks for the following roles

Branch Manager

Business Development / Hunter
Talent Acquisition – Direct Candidate Sourcing (headhunting)
Talent Acquisition – Social Networking
Researcher – Resume Sourcer
Staffing Manager (temporary)
Hybrid Desk – Sales  & Recruiting Direct Hire
Account Manager /Farmer

Specific Industries we are looking to benchmark within are

Engineering
Energy
Management Search
Medical
Pharma
Natural Resources

Corporate
Talent Acquisition Director
Corporate Human Resource Generalist
Corporate Recruiter/ Sourcer
Training and Development
Retention Specialist

All individual assessment results of your staff will be forwarded to ONLY you and PhD in Industrial Psychology will compile the Results in an over allstudy which will be given to participating companies upon competition.

Please email smarberry@keenhire.com the email address of up to 5 people on your team who ARE consistently performing in their ROLE.  Please have the candidate NOT put their full name on the assessment and have them put the title closest to the matching title on the list.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL OF PARTICIPANTS IS APRIL 15TH

We look forward to sharing the results with you by June 1, 2009.
 

Calling Keen Women Leaders!

American Companies are in Need of A New Kind Of Leadership

 

Pave the way by participating in KWL’s -         

4 Book Club Telephone Series on Achieving Financial Freedom.

Is Financial Freedom within Touch?

Do You Like To Read?

Do You Need Some Reading Accountability?

Do You Enjoy Gaining Mastery in a Subject By Total Immersion?

Book 1 – April - The Total Money Makeover,
Dave Ramsey

Book 2 – May – Think and Grow Rich,
Napolean Hill

Book 3 –June – Rich Dad Poor Dad,
Robert Kawasaki

Book 4- July – The Aladdin Factor,
Hansen/Canfield

Join Keen Consulting’s Margaret Graziano for a journey into Financial Freedom beginning Sunday April 5 at 7:01 p.m.  To Register email
SMarberry@keenhire.com and put
REGISTER ME IN KWL TELE-BOOK CLUB

Shifting The People Responsibility To The CFO

For years I have been speaking to HR Professionals and Recruiters about the need to partner with their end users in aiding them in choosing their talent wisely. Now more than ever, a companies ability to attract and retain the RIGHT talent is imperative to their ability to survive and thrive. More and more companies are leaning on the Chief Financial Officer to manage the expense and analyze returns as well as implement profit driven talent management solutions.

In a market that is flooded with candidates, it is all about being able to discern who to hire, and who to take a pass on. 

When you open a job requisition for a “difference maker,” are you completely aware of the impact that this role is expected to make in your company within the first 60, 90, 180 days? When you ask yourself the tough performance questions, what do you hear yourself saying? Are you listening?

What nuggets of information surface when you assess and analyze the reasons why the incumbent failed to achieve results in the role? When on the hunt for that key difference maker in your organization, how aligned are you with where your firm is heading and how your difference maker is expected to help you get there? When you compare your final candidate with other top performers at your company, how does he stack up? Does he complement the company’s already high-performing team, does she fill a competency or talent gap, or is he simply the best candidate you can locate within the tight timeline parameters?

After all, in the war for talent, beggars can’t be choosers, right? Actually, statistics being generated in mass quantity by the Harvard Business Review as well as the major human resources consulting firms indicate that 60% to 85% of the retention problem is caused by defects in the hiring process.   

If these statistics are true, the writing is on the wall that it’s critical for companies to improve their ability to put the right person in the right role the first time.                                                                                                                                                

It is also critical for corporations to view their needs from a global organizational analysis perspective, including role benchmarking, behavioral interviewing and talent assessment.         Even before you facilitate a conversation with other key stakeholders to refresh and realign your big-picture human capital needs, your ability to discern and articulate key behaviors indicative of corporate difference makers immediately positions you as a “good to great” leader.

A difference maker is someone who leaves the company in a better position when his or her time is complete.

A difference maker in many cases shakes things up, brings forth change, takes a tough stand for performance, and is at times not the most popular person on the team.  In today’s competitive business market, difference makers typically directly impact a company’s ability to hit its targets — whether those are sales, effectiveness, innovation, market share, talent management or service.

True difference makers have highly developed competency at leveraging their behaviors and values for the betterment of their company. These people know what motivates them, and they position themselves in roles where they can shine. Often but not always, difference makers are the leaders in their organization, even if they do not have the title.

Difference makers almost always possess core values that position them as winners in their organization’s eyes.   Difference makers tell the truth, they don’t cover up mistakes — they learn from them, and they are completely accountable for what works and what doesn’t. 

They are fundamentally motivated by a strong sense of responsibility, and that impulse governs their desire and willingness to get things done. Additionally, most difference makers have an innate need to achieve personal significance and meaning in their work, and this is something that really has an impact on those around them. Furthermore, most of them make the case that they are never done learning and that mastery, or being excellence focused, is their way to stay ahead of the curve and bring innovative solutions to their company and the marketplace.

Difference makers are proactive and solution oriented; they are the type of people who act and don’t wait to be acted upon, and they don’t shift responsibility and blame others for their or their company’s shortcomings. Difference makers do whatever they must to get the job done, whether that means coming in two hours early or working until the wee hours of the morning. At times they could be accused of being workaholics, yet these people don’t work out of an addiction, but because of a passion and commitment to their mission.

A leader who is also a difference maker is a great coach. She typically demonstrates concern for her employees’ professional development and often gives subordinates opportunities to take on new, stimulating challenges that stretch their abilities and advance their careers. Another leadership competency that difference makers possess is the ability to consider the results of the group as a whole, make changes and improvements where necessary, and increase the level of productivity and performance at all levels of the team. Some difference makers are highly accomplished trendsetters; their innovative ideas, understanding of the marketplace, creativity, and willingness to take risks pave new paths for their company, their products and their services.

Difference makers are typically highly astute in their ability to assess themselves. They know which areas they excel in as well as the areas where they need to delegate to others more competent in that skill set. 

As the war for talent and the economy continue to drive home new corporate challenges and your company is facing the grim reality of a problem called the leadership deficit, there will be a major push to identify, engage and develop difference makers. 

So the question is...what are you going to do about it?

Call For Coaches - Emerging Leaders

Keen Coaching, a Keenhire.com company is growing!                                                                                                  

We need a few contract coaches who specialize in emerging leader development.
                                                                                                                                               Requirements: 10 years recent Senior Leadership role in quality minded, profitable, service organization.                                                            

Landmark Education's Curriculum For Living or similar ontological leadership development and CTI coaching certification.

Chicago and San Jose

Know someone who might be interested?

Please have them leave me a voice mail answering the following 3 questions 408-679-4122

What difference will you make for our emerging leaders within the first 90 days?

What is your strongest natural talent?

What are you up to?

Keenhire

Human Capital Executive Forum - For Consultants & Practioners Only

KeenHire.com held their first Human Capital Executive Forum in Silicon Valley  today and it was amazing. With very little marketing and promotion we had a full room!

Keenhire and our affiliate partners are moving forward with events like this in key geographic areas close to you!

WE hosted VP's of HR and various executives of Human Capital Solution firms, the conversation was amazing, open and fruitful.

I am crystal clear that being the trainer for the accreditation in retention is one of the best moves I have made in my career. This is a no brainer when you see things like Korn Ferry and Heidrick offering similar services and stating future revenue growth on these talent management service lines. After all it is selling a new service to the same contact, and with the eons of information gathered in the staffing process, the management strengths and weaknesses, who better to consult the firm on it's human capital issues.  There are currently about 35 certified retention specialists through NAPS since the inception 18 months ago. We are moving full steam ahead and have a goal to certify 100 recruiters and staffing professions in 2009.  If we as an industry want to expand our capacity for growth and profitablity in good times and in slow, we need to step it up and master the whole human capital picture.

Put your future in your hands and learn about these powerful Human Capital Strategies that impact retention, from Top Grading and Benchmarking to Engagement and Succession Planning. The time to alter YOUR future is NOW.

One more tidbit.

If you are someone concerned for your customers' end game, and committed to producing ROI solutions join my linked in group -KeenHire Talent Solution Providers - you will receive special invitations to free and key events, webinars and seminars.