In response to Andy Porter’s article So You’re Thinking About Using an RP….No? in Fistful of Talent:

Well done Andy—Well done.

Over here at People Science the crowd is going crazy. So much so they had to pull me out of a meeting to show me your post.

Here ’s the thing-RPO has a lot of different definitions that are very dependent on who you speak to, and, there are a lot of different models of RPO..see the varying degrees of RPO. As such the buyer really needs to beware and be aware.

The dilemma we run into is how do we as a third generation RPO (see varying degrees)—meaning a  partner whose services include what you outlined in 1, 2 and 3-differentiate ourselves. And to that end, we can tell you by personal experience not all companies are looking for an advanced solution.  Some just want more resumes or more candidates-many are just not ready to believe or adjust to a more sophisticated solution.  On the other hand, we often come in when a company has been in an RPO partnership that has provided 1st and 2nd generation services but is now ready for more.

As far as the preaching of cost and turnover reduction-not to make excuses but our industry struggles in getting our messages out and heard.  Additionally, these two metrics are not only attention getters, but in most cases completely true.  The right solution almost always provides a less expensive cost per hire and should always increase retention.  Hell even the first and second generations providers typically supply them.  The question then becomes, what would you or any buyer really be looking to gain from and RPO? Once you know look for it and don’t settle for anything else.  The right provider is out there you just have to look under the tag line—or you could just call me.

You are what you measure.

Christine Nichlos
CEO
888-924-1004

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In the following video, Dan Pink, author of Drive, examines and explains the strange (negative) correlation between monetary compensation and innovative thinking.

Dan Pink makes the point that the more creative and innovative a task, the less likely a monetary or “extrinsic motivator” will cause a positive effect.  When you tie compensation to performance “it dulls thinking and blocks creativity. A larger reward led to poorer performance”

For innovative, right-brain, creative, conceptual work what positively affects motivation is “intrinsic motivators” such as Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. The employee is better motivated when the work interests them and they have self-direction.

What creative or unique rewards has your company experimented with? We’d love to hear your feedback, leave a comment below.

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This month Google’s new CEO, Larry Page, changed the bonus structure to focus on the success of their social strategy. It was announced in an annual memo entitled “2011 Bonus Multiplier.” One of the employees leaked an image of the memo to Business Insider. Soon after, everyone from media giants to personal bloggers jumped to condemn Page’s move with Larry Page’s First Blunder: Spam Grandma For Cash, Dear Google: You Can’t Threaten People Into Being Social, so on and so on. What had started as a simple internal memo on compensation was elevated to the news of the day because of one employee’s misconduct.

Unfortunately, this type of action is becoming more and more prevalent. Information has become so easy to share with the world.  The web provides us with a hood of anonymity and barriers like source checking are rare in online media. It’s always report first, fact check and retract later. We recently wrote a post detailing the importance of transparency in recruiting and retaining talent. Even the best companies have little control over the information that is available to the general public.

Why is this memo such news? Page is aligning bonuses to Google’s current goal: social. Why is that bad? He wants everyone, even those not specifically working on their social initiatives, to try the products out and encourage family and friends to do the same.

“This is a joint effort so it’s important that we all get behind it,” “When we release products, try them and encourage your family and friends to do the same.” said Page in the memo.

If each of Google’s 25,000 employees asked 5 friends to check it out, that multiplies to 150,000 people. Chances are if the product is at all useful, this action will make it catch on a little quicker. If there is an issue, one of those 150K will probably have an idea of how to fix it. It’s a smart move that will most likely pan out.

If Larry Page announced his intent to have all employees test their social efforts would this story be getting the same attention? The media has been searching for any action of Page’s which could signal a failure. Would they have treated the news with equal hostility or is the fact that a disappointed employee leaked the story what started the attack? Would that employee rather his bonus be tied to the success of Google’s self driving car? Transparency seems to be obligatory in our digital world. If you were in Page’s place, would you have handled this differently?

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Each recruitment initiative has different challenges and requires a unique solution. One size does not fit all. As Recruitment Process Outsourcing is coming of age we see many varying degrees, many different models, suppliers, expectations and proclamations of success and failure.

With so many variables in play, perhaps a good starting point of understanding Recruitment Process Outsourcing is to look at some commonly held misconceptions:

If you have any questions regarding this list or if you would like to discuss your recruitment needs, call us at 1-888-924-1004.

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With your cell phone, without the need to speak a word, you can donate to disaster relief in Japan, get directions to the nearest pizza place, get the answer to any trivia question and now you can receive job openings and apply with your phone.

An increasing number of recruitment initiatives are using mobile-friendly technology. Potential candidates can subscribe to receive SMS alerts to receive updates on job opportunities and other related information.

UPS attributes 600 hires (out of 7,919 people creating applications) from their mobile-friendly careers page from a mobile device. They attribute 84 hires from text-messaging (out of 1,004 who created applications). That mobile-friendly site had about 510,000 page views in the last 4-5 months of 2010, with people averaging about a minute and a half each on the site. *

AT&T developed a new strategy to create mobile web pages and SMS (text messaging) campaigns to support recruitment events. It also developed a first of its kind iPhone application that links job seekers to career opportunities, events, multimedia, and mobile opt-in programs for alerts related to job categories of choice. This iPhone application has been downloaded 29,000+ times and has consistently ranked in the Top 40 most popular free business applications on iTunes. (ERE)*

With a reach of 3.6 billion users, ignoring the development of a mobile recruitment strategy could be costing you more than a few applicants.

Are you using text messaging in your recruitment efforts?

Do you have a mobile career site?

Do you plan to use these technologies in the future?

Leave a comment.

*From ERE.net here and here.

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Circa 1992 when I was heading up a national staffing Franchise organization, I met with some enterprising advertising representatives who introduced me to what they called, the Monster Board. Keep in mind that in 1992 most of us, including Al Gore, had not heard much about the Internet. There was no Google or Bing, and AOL wasn’t even a household name at the time.

This innovative group explained to me that they were creating a giant computer board which would house all US job seekers.

Employers could purchase job postings and they expected within the year that all candidates would be utilizing the Monster Board to find a job. I admit it sounded way outside of the box to me but it wasn’t too expensive – just $1500.00 for unlimited postings on Monster for approximately 40 offices for 10 years. At the time I remember trying to sell the concept to our purchasing group and my VP explaining that new technology was going to make a difference – in order to be in front of the pack we needed to stay ahead of them.

We had no idea how big that Monster would be.

In the course of a few years, the subscription became very valuable and the Monster Board grew to become simply Monster. Since then recruiting technologies have evolved considerably leaving Monster and job boards in general, a part of recruitment but a smaller part of many vehicles.

In the days of Facebook, LinkedIn, Indeed, and Charlie Sheen—-technology is spreading information everywhere, information that tells a story about who we are as a person and what we are as an organization. Case in point, Glassdoor and Indeed not only supply open job postings but also allow job seekers to discuss companies and their policies. There are discussion boards about interview practices, company culture, their salary bonus and benefits, and overall reviews which are generally a critique of management practices. (If you haven’t checked your company out—we strongly suggest you do.) Whether we are prepared for it or not, technology is forcing transparency.

Candidates with talent are in high demand and the next generation of workers is focused on choosing their next position based on the persona of the hiring company. This is why well known companies such as Google, Microsoft and Intel, who have a well branded persona, have large candidate pools. Today, company culture and branding is vital when attracting and retaining talent. Before a candidate even looks for their next position they already have a relationship with these companies. They can feel and see what the company is about—transparency equals comfort and comfort equals interest and opportunity.

Thinking back to those enterprising Monster Board ad reps, I admire how they used their forward thinking of technology to build the recruiting icon of Monster. And as a recruitment process outsourcing partner, we have learned firsthand that solving tough recruitment challenges requires us to stay as far in front of technology as possible – in essence, always keeping us on the lookout for those Monster ideas.

We’d like to know what you think. Feel free to tell us: How do you see technology affecting talent acquisition moving forward? What will be Your Monster idea for 2015?

You are what you measure.

- Christine

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Takes a minute, costs nothing, and makes everyone feel good.

Take a second look at validation through this entertaining clip. We thought it was a great follow up to last month’s article Employee Engagement=Retention. Validation works for everyone, every time. Employees who are acknowledged as valuable are engaged. By our measurements employee engagement has a direct link to an employee’s length of tenure.

Do you remember the last time you were validated professionally?

After this clip, we think you’ll find yourself instantly validating others—we did.

Let us know by leaving a comment—we love to be validated.

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As the economy rebounds, more and more buzz surrounds the topic of the currently employed seeking new positions. Some have asserted that the ‘buzz’ is actually causing the statistic to inflate. Whether the statistics are accurate or not, employee retention should not be ignored. The first step is ensuring that employee’s concerns, complaints, and requests are heard.

In our experience, regular feedback, dialogue and praise from superiors is the most important factor contributing to employee engagement. This includes:

Clarity of job expectations- If an employee is never taught how to handle the responsibilities of their job, what is expected of them, or if the policies change frequently, the employee can’t focus and succeed. They see their role as ‘surviving’ in their role as opposed to helping the organization succeed.

Career advancement/improvement opportunities- Supervisors should be aware of their employee’s goals and seek to help them achieve those goals: identifying training, internal promotions, or special projects.

Company Culture- The perception of the values of the organization and commitment to ethical contributions to society: diversity, volunteering, charity, environmentalism, and education.

The responsibility of employee engagement cannot end at the direct supervisor. Most surprisingly, studies have shown that senior management plays a much larger role in engagement: “Half of employees who trust senior leaders are engaged compared to 40 percent of those who trust their direct boss and 33 percent of the North American workforce overall.” (BlessingWhite)

An engaged employee is motivated by their work, by what they can contribute to the company. A disengaged employee is motivated by what they ‘get’ from the company: raises, bonuses, vacation, etc. Rewards for high performance are important to both engaged employees and their counterparts. Without regular feedback, employees will focus more and more on the tangible rewards which can be found in any organization.

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As hiring increases, companies are steadily bringing in additional contract and temporary workers. Fully understanding the guidelines of co-employment can be instrumental in safeguarding your organization from liabilities. Following is the list of factors most utilized by the IRS in determining the status as an employee.

• Is the individual reimbursed for expenses?
• Does the individual have the right to terminate the relationship with the employer?
• Does the employer have the right to discharge the individual?
• Does the employee hire, fire, and pay assistants?
• Is the individual paid by time rather than projects?
• Does the individual make his services available to the general public?
• Does the individual work at more than one firm at a time?
• Is the individual required to follow instructions?
• Are the services rendered personally?
• Is there an established set amount of work hours?
• Does the individual work on the employer’s premises?

People Science is certified in co-employment. If you have any questions regarding this list or if you would like to discuss your recruitment needs, call us at 1-888-924-1004.

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In recruiting more so than most business processes, you must focus heavily on the controllable factors Because recruiting results have a high dependency on the uncontrollable—People, it is very important to fully comprehend the necessity to perform the controllable portions of recruitment with high proficiency.

In other words, focus realistically on the factors you can control as compared to the ones you can’t. In recruiting, you must focus heavily on the controllable factors. Frequently, recruiting results can become dependent upon uncontrollable factors. People are unpredictable by nature. As a result, it is necessary to use optimize the controllable portions of the process.

The Recruiting Continuum

Successful Talent Acquisition leaders are fully aware of the varying aspects of the recruiting continuum. They understand the inter-reliance of each part and manage each at high efficiencies. These leaders acknowledge that recruitment is dependent on the pool of talent from which it pulls. Having a clear understanding of this pool and its capabilities to produce quality and quantity of hires is crucial. The best leaders know when their talent pool will be exhausted and are able to create solutions to match the market’s needs:

• Redistributing work to different geographies with stronger candidates.
• Lowering the candidate qualifications as well as increasing the company’s training methods.
• Assuring there is an accurate workforce plan in effect at all times.

Most importantly, the best leaders have strong communication and trust with their hiring managers.

Have you assessed the efficiency of your recruiting efforts? Contact People Science today at 1.888.924.1004 to schedule a complimentary session to assess your recruitment needs.

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