Earlier this week, employees everywhere helped bosses celebrate National Boss’s Day. Some gave flowers, or left a handwritten card on their boss’s desk. Others took their bosses out to lunch at their favorite little bistro, or treated them to that pedicure their toes had been screaming for. Still others just wished their boss a heartfelt “Happy Boss’s Day.”

Right about now, bosses everywhere may still be basking in the afterglow of well-wishes, or high on endorphins from that chocolate cupcake display designed to spell out “B-O-S-S.” And they may be thinking to themselves, as they wipe cupcake crumbs off their suits, “Yep — they love me. So much that they wish they had my job.”  Truth? Probably not.

“I don’t want… your job”

Though it may be natural to think your employees would take your job in a heartbeat if they could, it’s not necessarily true. New research from OfficeTeam signifies that few workers today are fighting over the boss’s job. In fact, more than three-quarters (76 percent) of employees polled in the OfficeTeam survey of 431 office workers said they have zero interest in having their manager’s position. Could it be out of a mindset that they’re not equipped for the position? Possibly — after all, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of those workers surveyed believe they couldn’t do a better job than their boss. On the flip side, of course, that means that 35 percent believe they can do a better job than their boss — so what’s really going on here?

These findings remind me of a survey CareerBuilder conducted on how workers really feel about their bosses. What much of the “I can do my boss’s job better” thinking in that survey came down to was a feeling of disconnectedness and a lack of communication. Many workers reported being disenchanted with their boss’s leadership style, believing the boss wasn’t adequately focused on career development, feedback, or support.

So, maybe it’s not so important that workers don’t want their boss’s job, but why they don’t. Workers may never want their boss’s job, and that’s OK — but negative survey results like these should be a caution sign for employers to examine their relationship with their employees. If employees believe career advancement is hopeless — and don’t think their boss cares — they will start looking elsewhere. By opening up the lines of communication and working harder to give employees what they need when it comes to their careers, bosses can begin to repair that frayed relationship and show employees they have value, worth, and room to grow.

In regard to why many employees don’t want their boss’s job, Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, points to the fact that many managers aren’t really fit for a role as a leader. ”Many aspects of management involve making difficult, sometimes unpopular decisions, and not everyone is comfortable in this role.” Being a strong individual contributor does not necessarily equate to being an effective leader. The most successful bosses excel at motivating others to achieve great results.”

OfficeTeam identified seven traits potential leaders must have:

1. Integrity. The best managers foster trust among employees by placing ethics first.
2. Sound judgment. Top supervisors can be counted on to make tough decisions based on logic and rationale.
3. Diplomacy. Handling challenging situations with tact and discretion is a must. Effective managers don’t take all the credit for results — they consistently acknowledge individual and team contributions.
4. Adaptability. It’s essential that leaders be able to think on their feet. They should be innovative while also encouraging team members to develop creative solutions.
5. Strong communication. To motivate and guide employees, influential managers freely share their vision with others.
6. Good listening skills. Successful bosses realize they don’t have all the answers and seek input from colleagues.
7. Influence. Great managers build strong networks within the organization to gain support for their ideas.

What do you all think? As a leader, have you found the above to be true — that employees, more than most other factors in the boss/employee relationship, seek career guidance and support? Let me know in the comments. And wipe that cupcake frosting off your chin!

What do employees want? Oh, that’s such a loaded question! I’m sure many of us could make lists the length of the office hallway detailing our opinions on what we believe makes employees happy. One thing do we know for sure is that employee morale isn’t a trend, but an ongoing effort. Within that ongoing effort, though, how do we know what’s on our employees’ own wish lists?

Well, a Staples.com survey released in observance of  “Improve Your Office Day” has come along, peeled ink-stained paper out of the Trapper Keeper (where I have just decided all employee wish lists are stored), and shared their M.A.S.H. results survey findings with the world. Let’s take a look.

The survey, which asked employees about their likes/dislikes at work, as well as their suggestions for improving the office environment, found many employees aren’t too pleased with their technology – or their humble surroundings: More than half (52 percent) of the more than 300 workers surveyed gave their office furniture and office décor a “C” grade or lower, and 41 percent gave their office technology the same grade. Also on their lists? Politics, the right to work at home (or lack thereof), and privacy.

What is on employees’  office-improvement wish lists?

• Eliminating office politics (44 percent)
• Allowing or encouraging telecommuting (41 percent)
•  Upgrading computers and other office technology (37 percent)
• Getting nicer or more comfortable office furniture (35 percent)
• Providing more private work areas and more flexible work hours (tied at 34 percent each).

Though it’s true that some employees do think they can do a better job than their boss, employees seem happy overall with their superiors. Nearly half (47 percent) of respondents gave their boss a solid “A” grade, with a combined 78 percent rating their boss an “A” or “B.”

The snack dilemma

I know I’m not alone in saying that sometimes you spend what seems like days just staring at the office vending machine (or wall space where you imagine one should be), dreaming of that perfect snack you know won’t magically appear, no matter how many times you try your best Samantha Stevens nose twitch. And then, in utter despair, you don your heavy coat and slumber out into the crowded streets to hunt down the perfect piece of fruit or freshly made salad, all the while thinking of that big assignment you need to finish. But your stomach is winning the battle…

Wait a minute. Wouldn’t more snack and beverage options at work help save you a whole lot of time? According to survey results, yes: 57 percent of office workers have to buy their own snacks and beverages at work, and one in two respondents reported leaving the office on coffee or snack runs at least once a day, with some making as many as five trips per day. That’s a lot of lost productivity and unnecessary interruption. Now, I know what you’re thinking — employees can bring their own snacks. While this is true, it’s easy to forget those little things sometimes in the bustle of everyday life. As a wise man once said, sometimes, a bowl of bananas can make all the difference.*

*A wise man probably never said that… but still…

Happy employees don’t have to break the bank

Many businesses have taken measures to cut costs, and with that cost-cutting, those extras that employees enjoy so much are often the first to go. But doing little things to make employees smile or get through that extra-tough meeting don’t have to cost employers much at all — and they can make a big difference in the minds and hearts of the people so important to the business.

Staples offers these quick tips for improving the office in ways both employees and employers will appreciate:

1. Stock the kitchen or break room with coffee and snacks that will energize the staff and keep them going. Providing nutritious snacks keeps employees healthy and productive.
2. Take inventory of your technology, and replace outdated equipment that may be impeding productivity. In the last few years, technologies like wireless networks and all-in-one printers have advanced dramatically, while prices have actually fallen.
3. Consider office décor and furniture upgrades that don’t require a complete overhaul. Simply replacing old, worn desk chairs and/or redecorating conference rooms can be easy, low-cost ways to make the office more attractive and comfortable.
4. Arm employees with technology that makes it easy for them to telecommute. Tablet and notebook computers give employees the ability to take their work with them wherever they go, whether it’s on the road, at a client site, in a conference room or working from home.
5.  Take employee privacy concerns into consideration when expanding or redesigning the office. Many newer office furniture systems, such as Staples’ environmentally preferable e3 panel system, offer creative ways to preserve privacy while maintaining an open, collaborative environment.

Again, changes don’t always have to come with a parade and fireworks to be effective. Even slight (and free) touches like adding more natural light in the office or changing up the same old meeting routine can help employees — and your business — be more successful, stimulate creativity, efficiency and communication. And if you want to know more specifics about your employees really want, don’t forget to ask them.

What changes has your workplace made recently to give employee morale a little lift?

Image courtesy of theogeo on Flickr

Anne Loehr is a nationally recognized management coach and author of the award-winning book, A Manager’s Guide to Coaching: Simple and Effective Ways to Get the Best of Your Employees. I recently spoke with Loehr about her new book, Managing the Unmanageable: How to Motivate Even the Most Unruly Employee, a collaboration with workplace communications expert Jezra Kaye. She discussed some key takeaways from the book, including how to identify when an employee is worth holding on to and when it’s time to walk away.

How do you define an “unmanageable employee”?
We call an unmanageable employee (UE) an employee who exhibits constant, repeated, unproductive behavior. Everyone has a bad day, a bad week, sometimes even a bad month, depending on what’s going on in their life. But we’re talking about someone who’s constantly, repeatedly – on a fairly long-term basis – unproductive. This book is about helping managers uncover what they need to put UEs back on track.

The majority of organizational challenges are because the goals, the roles, and the processes are not clear. So people will say, for example, “Gosh, Mary’s driving me crazy, do something about Mary.” And I’ll go in, and I’ll do some work and then I’ll say, “Well, you know what? It’s not actually Mary – it’s never Mary – it’s Mary’s behavior that’s not working, for one. Two, she’s doing this because she actually thinks it’s her job, and you think that’s your job, and that’s the problem there.”

Do you find this happening a lot more now, with the economy and people taking on bigger workloads now, or is that always how it’s been?
I think that’s always how it’s been. You’re right – we have a lot of downsizing, a lot of reorganizing. Also what’s contributing to this is you’ve got a lot more virtual teams. So you’ve kind of lost that face-to-face feeling, which I’m not saying is a bad thing at all, but it’s just harder to have those kind of conversations to say, “What’s going on?” and it’s harder for a manager to spot a challenging, unmanageable employee until maybe it’s too late.

What makes managing the unmanageable different from other management books?
My work in general is very practical. I call it the one third/two thirds rule: One third, I’ll explain the model and two thirds is practical examples, practical exercises, and practical tips that people can walk away with. In my opinion, a lot of books right now are academic theory. Who’s got the time to read that right now? One third of my book is about understanding the [five C] model (detailed below), and the rest is, “Here’s how you do it, here’s how you have that conversation, here are the questions to ask.” That type of thing.

Does an employee ever pass the point of no return?
One question I get asked on interviews a lot is, “Why not just fire someone? There are so many unemployed people out there, why not just hire someone else?” But there are a couple of reasons. The Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) have done a study: to replace the average employee costs two and half times that employee’s salary. For someone who’s more specialized, it can be up to four times their salary. I don’t know of any company that can afford that right now.

The other thing is, you can bring someone off the street, but it’s not going to guarantee you’re going to find someone any better, especially if you haven’t done any of the internal organizational work to prevent you from hiring the same type of person. And you’re still going to have the onboarding costs even if you bring in someone new.

And sometimes it’s not worth it, to be honest; Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Sometimes organizations just grow so fast, they change so much, and sometimes a person who was good fit two years ago isn’t a fit anymore, and it’s through nobody’s fault. However, if you can hold on for five more months, and practice some of the things in this book, you might be pleasantly surprised, [and your UE] is going to be thrilled that someone is helping him or her grow, and you’re going to save a bundle of money.

Managing the Unmanageable: The Five-C Framework
When asked to contribute some tips managers can use to manage UEs, Loehr provided the following Five-C Framework, which she discusses further throughout Managing the Unmanageable. “Once people understand this framework and model, it will help them with not only the unmanageable side, but it will also help them help people get better,” Loehr says.

Commit or Quit: “What that means is, “Look, you’ve got to commit or quit.’ This step is about figuring out, monetarily – as well as with the soft tangibles – if it’s worth six months (which is usually how long it takes to salvage a UE) to spend on this person,” Loehr says.  Those intangibles to which Loehr refers are costs associated with decreased morale and lost productivity.

Communicate: Many managers try hard to avoid this step, “a frank and open conversation with the person who’s been making their life hell,” according to Loehr. Ongoing, honest communication, however, is a necessary and beneficial step to understanding the source of the problem and then overcoming it.

Clarify Goals and Roles: “The majority of organizational challenges are because the goals, the roles, and the processes are not clear,” Loehr says.  Oftentimes, employees aren’t consciously trying to be difficult; they are simply unclear on their roles and expectations. Making the effort to clarify these elements will eliminate a lot of challenges before they begin.

Coach: While the first two steps will help most UEs correct their own problems, some may still need a little help. This is where the manager comes in to assist the UE as he or she examines the attitude or mindset that is giving rise to the problem.

Create Accountability: In order to ensure UEs don’t revert to old habits, it is imperative to create a process that will help them maintain – and build on – the progress they’ve made up to this point.

Do you realize…

…one in two job seekers want to find and engage with companies in social?
…80 percent of companies use social media to recruit?
…12 percent of job searches are done via mobile devices?
…54 percent of job seekers are more likely to apply to your job at your company after they follow you on social media?

Yesterday, CareerBuilder’s Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Branding, Jamie Womack, along with CareerBuilder Area Vice President Andrew Streiter discussed these very findings in the featured webcast, Going Social: How to Leverage Social Media In Your Recruitment Strategy. 

In addition to these findings, they also gave practical tips for employers on the best ways to leverage emerging media to strengthen employment branding and recruiting efforts, including…

…the latest tools, trends and techniques for attracting top talent
…what emerging media are and what they mean for your business
…how to integrate emerging media into your current recruitment strategy

Missed the webcast? Download it now at www.careerbuilder.com/GoingSocial.

Keep the conversation going – use #CBGoSocial on Twitter…

During the webcast, participants were urged to join in the conversation by following and posting the hashtag #cbgosocial on Twitter! Visit Twitter and search #cbgosocial and put in your own two cents!

Related articles:

• Think Like a Marketer to Capture Top Talent
• Emerging Media: The Best Ideas You Aren’t Taking Advantage Of
• Why Video? 6 Benefits of Making Video Part of Your Recruitment Mix

“Diversity is included in everything we do – it’s a critical part of our mission. It’s so ingrained in what we do that we don’t even really see it.”

These were some of the words spoken by Cmdr. Brent Mitchell, Director of Marketing and Advertising for the Navy Recruiting Command, on day two of the recent ERE Expo in Hollywood, FL. During his “The Navy’s Record Year” keynote, Cmdr. Mitchell discussed many facets of the Navy’s recruitment successes and challenges — many of which translate not only to the entire military, but to employers in general. Below are some highlights about the Navy’s specific recruiting challenges, growth/success metrics, and tips that may inspire other employers or recruiters:

What’s it like to work for the Navy? A workplace snapshot

• 284 ships in commission
• 3700+ operational aircraft
• Personnel deployed: 52, 585
• Then (1992): 550,000 active duty; 406 ships
• Now (2011): 328,266 active duty, 203,796 Navy civilians, 102,080 reserves
• Navy recruiting command: Hiring 45,000 people a year, consisting of 42,079 enlisted, 3,989 officers, and 4,220 NROTC applications
• Hiring 45,000 people/year

Should be easy to reach their goals with such a great brand, right? Not so fast. “Lots of people have reservations about recruiting for the Navy,” said Mitchell. The reasons are widespread, but many stem from either physical concerns, fear (war and high-risk situations often pop into people’s minds) and cultural elements. Some of the most common concerns include those offered from the audience: “I hate push-ups; “I can’t swim” (the point, as Mitchell jokes, is to stay on the ship, not to fall off of it); “I’m going to have to cut my hair”; and “Where will I work, geographically? I have to leave home.”

Some of these are real concerns, and Mitchell acknowledges that they are a barrier the Navy deals with all the time. He went on to address other challenges the Navy faces both internally and externally.

Some of the Navy’s current recruitment challenges:

• Complex Mission: The Navy has what they call a “FIT” standard for talent — they need the right person, doing the right job, at the right time. In the old days, Mitchell said, you took a test to determine that you were morally and physically qualified, and then you were “in,” your job was chosen, and you were sent to it.Now, they have “gotten away from sending a general product downrange,” as he calls it, and it’s top-notch quality being sent off to boot camp. When you go to boot camp, you know what you will be doing after, and you’ve had all the security, financial, and background checks already done and the physical screenings taken care of.But this FIT element, Mitchell added, is like finding a blade of grass in a haystack, it results in frustration on part of applicants and recruiters, and it can be a strain on the most valuable resource — time.
• A shrinking population of qualified and interested youth: Mitchell asked audience members for a show of hands as to how many of their family members were in the military. Overall, he got about 50 percent raised hands; fewer, he said, than he would have gotten years ago. It used to be that entire families would consider the military as line of work — that 70 percent in that same audience would have raised their hands. Interest and military participation as a family tradition has dwindled, and with it a portion of the Navy’s target market.In addition, the skill sets for which the Navy is recruiting are intense; 98 percent of nuclear power plants, for instance, are run by Navy-trained officers — and this requires finding a very technically astute individual. Not easy to find, especially when two-thirds of the market (17- to 24-year-old males) isn’t even qualified to join the Navy.
• Navy Awareness lags all other services: In many ways, Mitchell said, the Navy is invisible to America. You can’t get on naval bases without an escort in most cases, if there’s even one near you — which makes it difficult for people to penetrate the barriers and get to know what the organization is really like. In addition, they have their own language of sorts — they use particular words for things that the general public isn’t necessarily familiar with, and they’re an insular, close-knit community. Kind of like an exclusive club, really — but this rep doesn’t do much for raising awareness.
• Resource reductions and the changing economy pose a moderate risk in the near term: Marketing for complex jobs is difficult, Mitchell pointed out. The Department of Defense has taken a $26 billion reduction, so trying to make decisions on whether to spend money on recruiting or equipment needs can prove to be quite challenging.
• There’s a high demand for professional skill sets in the private sector: The Navy also struggles with people relatively immune to unemployment — people with very specific skill sets and an advanced level of education, like doctors, chaplains, and dentists. With a shortage of Roman Catholic priests in the U.S. and many parishes in need of them, for example, it’s hard for the Navy to justify taking them away — and it can cause quite a dilemma.
• A sense of identity and awareness among the public: The Navy has suffered from the lack of a clear identity and awareness among the broader American public. News reporters and the public at large believe the Navy is manned by generals and soldiers, and they don’t know what service actually entails or what kind of impact the Navy has on their daily lives. Without this foundation, it’s difficult for the general public to support Naval efforts.This hurts when it comes to getting the right people in the door. There is currently a 7 percent female interest in the Navy, compared to an 18 percent male interest in the Navy. There’s a steady decline for female interest, though the Navy has more and more jobs opening for females — it’s a problem of perception versus reality. Not only does the Navy want more female recruits — it needs them. They’re about to onboard their first female submariners, which is huge.

How the Navy has overcome some of its biggest challenges:

As Mitchell shed light on how the Navy has tackled some of these challenges and achieved a record year for recruiting, it struck me that many employers face the same types of recruiting challenges — and that the solutions were often ones that translate outside the military environment.

• A supportive work environment: Mitchell talks about his early days of being a recruiter, when employment was only 3.8 percent in Phoenix. The district missed their recruitment goals by a huge margin, and he says the one thing that helped turn things around was visiting the sailors in their stations and examining their work environment, and listening to what bothered them. Many things were in disrepair, and it bugged them; they didn’t feel the pride and professionalism they had felt before. After a year of this, the district started to make its recruitment goals again.
• Ensuring quality of talent: Putting great talent in your open positions does, as we all know, make a huge difference in the business. Measure enlisted quality by 1) high school diploma graduates and 2) how they score on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) — Mitchell describes the latter as the SATs for the military. Eighty-eight percent score on the upper tier for this test, and 98 percent of enlistees have a high school diploma (77 percent is the minimum). Their recruiters must be doing something right: Their new hire program is holding at 11 percent attrition — as Mitchell said, “that takes a lot of time and attention and effort.

• Recruiters who get it: The Navy dubs their recruiters “Sailors on recruiting duty” — and for good reason. Although the brand image of the military recruiter isn’t that great (Mitchell mentioned the common perceptions being someone who’s stressed, running toward a quota and will tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to sign the bottom line), “It’s anything but.”

  Their recruiters are actually high-performing sailors in the fleet who have done very well and qualified to become recruiters. They do three years of recruiting duty, then go back to the fleet to work alongside the people they brought into the Navy. In other words, if they recruit bad people, they’re stuck working with bad people. The Navy is a small community, Mitchell stressed that “we can get tough with each other with one phone call and one email, and we do. If you send a bad product (recruit), the fleet’s going to tell you. We’re picking our own team.”

• Better communication efforts: The Navy has adopted a multi-channel approach to fuel awareness. When it comes to the Navy’s communication efforts, Mitchell tells his colleagues, “It’s not one thing; it’s everything.”

  1. A simpler website. Whereas before, their website was full of internal language and buzzwords (sound familiar?), they realized potential candidates didn’t understand much of the language and fancy job titles and terms they were using — only internal employees did. This was hurting recruitment efforts. Now, the website is written from the point of view of someone who’s never been in the Navy. Users of the site want to understand what they would be doing in simple, straightforward terms, as complicated job titles no one understands causes many to lose interest.“Do you like solving puzzles” makes much more sense to a potential recruit than “Cryptologist.” “We have to put it in the language of our target market. Try to navigate your own website from someone who doesn’t speak your internal language,” said Mitchell. And he made a great point — once these candidates come into your organization, they’re going to learn to speak your language.

  2. Branding. As the Navy realized they suffered from a lack of identity and awareness, not only from the general public, but within their own organization, they decided to go down the pathway of branding.Prior to 2009, Navy’s communication efforts focused exclusively on short-term goals. i.e. recruiting prospects. The organization has had four different recruiting slogans since the inception of an all-volunteer force, all targeted to prospects ages 18-24 focused on a “what’s in it for me” proposal (do you remember the “Navy. It’s not just a job. It’s an adventure” or “Accelerate your life” campaigns?) They realized that these campaigns were very inward-focused, but they weren’t cohesive with what the Navy was about as a whole. They didn’t speak to older workers, Navy family, or retirees — and that’s a big part of the organization. Now, their mission statement is, “America’s Navy is the global force that protects the world by whatever means necessary 24/7.” This has been adapted into many different campaigns, but the message is true to their mission across the board.

• Diversity-focused engagement: Mitchell says they view diversity as a strategic imperative — and that it’s not just about race or ethnicity. “Your Navy forces should look like the population and the people it serves.” The Navy has initiated many diversity-focused efforts — but as Mitchell said, when asked what portion of his budget was reserved for diversity recruiting, he answered: “All of it.” “Diversity is included in everything we do – it’s a critical part of our mission. It’s so ingrained in what we do that we don’t even really see it.”But how did they get to this point — a point in which diversity just happens?The truth is, it takes a lot of outreach. They partner with various affinity groups like the National Society of Black Engineers, groups which are primarily student-focused and engineering-based, and they engage with them on a national, regional, and local level. This way, they start putting the Navy into students’ consideration process early on. The Navy also lets some of these students explore Navy jobs actually experiencing time with the Navy on the ships. They’re able to talk to people and ask them anything — and they tend to get honest answers about what they do and don’t like about their job, and to get the inside scoop from employees who are really proud of what they do. After all, is there a better way to get a real sense of an organization and its people than by talking to them?The Navy has also created focused diversity marketing and advertising campaigns. Mitchell recognizes that building trust takes time. As he put it, “you can’t ‘surge’ trust.’” They start early and often. “As we’re out there in the community, building trust is continual. With that, I have to make investment decisions that may not give me an immediate return on my investment. You have to start the investment early — that’s how you get top quality people.”

• Evolving technology: The military’s IT is the largest Intranet in the world, Mitchell said, but it’s built for security, not designed to be mobile or have 4G connectivity. “It’s designed around our primary business lines, but it doesn’t fit recruiting.” Yet, the recruiting command has made huge improvements. “We just armed our recruiters with laptops and mobile connectivity, and a biometric thumb device. Now, when signing paperwork, candidates sign with a thumbprint rather than a signature. This allows us to get to near real-time processing.” Sometimes, it’s the small process adjustments and simplifications that can make a huge difference in your recruiting (on both sides of the interview chair).
• Social media engagement: “We had a great plan. Be ready to change your plan. We have a saying that ‘no plan survives first contact with the enemy,’” Mitchell said, laughing. Initially, they had created 15 Facebook pages focusing on different elements of the Navy. Recruiters were already connected and wired, so Mitchell had them respond to inquiries and comments. The problem? Some did, but some also left — and when they did leave without anyone to take their place, that hurt engagement on the pages. They had to retool their plan, and “Now, I have 50 core recruiters at headquarters who respond to social media. Now, questions don’t go unanswered and engagement happens.” Of course, there’s good engagement (Recruiter to candidate: Here’s where you go to find out info, and if you have more questions, get in contact with me) and bad (Go to the website), and encouraging the good engagement is an ongoing process. NavyforMoms.comis one of their most successful social media efforts, with 1,222 new members per month,  more than 10,000 discussions on site, and a true sense of community and Navy mothers helping each other — it’s taken on a life of its own.

Mitchell included a great quote from Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, part of which stated, “Many of our organizations have focused on leaders as communicators. Now, we have the chance to be leaders of communicators.” In social media, this couldn’t be more true — and organizations that get this are way ahead of those that don’t.

Times continue to change, and, from what Cmdr. Mitchell said at the ERE Expo, the Navy is learning to change along with them.

How do you think your organization could adapt some of their success strategies in your own organization — or how have you?

This morning, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings issued an apology on the company’s blog for failing to show “respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes.”

For those who haven’t heard, Netflix recently announced it was going to start charging its streaming and DVD-by-mail services separately (now, the latter service will be named Qwikster). Now, Netflix customers who want only DVDs or only streaming can pay less for the one service, but will end up paying more if they want to keep both.

Not surprisingly, the veiled attempt to charge customers more while pretending that they’re charging them less made for some unhappy customers.  To add insult to injury, most customers didn’t even get the news directly from Netflix itself, but through stories leaked on various blogs and news sites. (I myself didn’t get so much as an email to make me aware of this change, and had to find out through Twitter.) To say the company lacked respect and humility is an understatement: Netflix had no regard for their customers whatsoever in this situation. As a result, the company will – and already has – lost a great deal of customers and business from the ordeal.

Now, as Hastings desperately attempts damage control, not only do businesses have the opportunity to learn from about what not to do when it comes to customer service, but leaders could also apply these lessons to handling bad news- and correcting mistakes – with their employees.

5 Do’s and Don’ts for Communicating Bad News – and Righting Wrongs

• DO: Own up to Your Mistakes. “I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation,” begins Captain Obvious’ Hastings’ blog post. Well done: straight and to the point. Some leaders frown on admitting wrong, but in Netflix’s case, the admission was necessary. So overwhelming was the backlash from customers, that for Hastings to do anything less than apologize would be an even bigger insult – and more fuel for unhappy customers’ fire. Sometimes, all customers want is to know they’re being heard, and Netflix finally took the time to acknowledge their customers’ feelings. And while many will see Hastings’ post as too little, too late, it’s at least start in a long way to winning back customers.
• DO: Utilize video. Realizing that people have shorter attention spans today – and that angry people have even shorter attention spans -  Hastings also issued a 3-minute video apology for the many customers who likely will not take the time read through the lengthy apology and want to see and hear for themselves that Netflix is sincere in its efforts to appease customers (at least, we hope that’s the case). Video is the next best thing to apologizing in person, and it’s a quick, easy way to reach your audience – be they customers, employees or candidates.
• DON’T: Try to make bad news sound like good news. Netflix keeps insisting that what is really a price hike is really a better deal for its customers. C’mon, Netflix. Give us a little credit. As NPR’s Linda Holmes puts it, Netflix’s attempts to sell the price change as a bargain is “like a shoe company deciding to sell right shoes and left shoes for 12 dollars each where pairs of shoes used to be 20 dollars and thinking that consumers will notice the lower 12-dollar price but not the fact that it buys only one shoe.” Tell your customers/employees the truth from the start; otherwise, they will notice that you’re hiding something from them, and they will lose trust in and respect for you.
• DO: Listen to what people are saying about you on social media. Netflix customers used the greatest weapon at their disposal to fight the price hike – by taking to Facebook, Twitter and blogs in droves to voice their disgust. Finally, it got to the point where Netflix could no longer ignore the overwhelming criticism on social media – try as the company might have (which brings me to my next point…).
• DON’T: Wait two $&@%ing months to make an ‘official’ announcement. Two months? That’s decades in social media time, y’all! By the time Netflix customers got the ‘apology’ from the CEO this morning, the story had already been circulating the Internet for weeks, and Netflix was way past the “My bad! Forgive us?” stage of admitting wrongdoing. This, in my opinion, was the company’s biggest offense of all. Hastings was wrong to not alert customers about the price changes in the first place, but he should have owned up to that mistake far earlier than he actually did. Customers deserve better than that, and so do employees. The more you try to ignore a problem, the worse it will get, and it’s going to take one helluva a team bonding outing to undo that drop in morale. (Good luck!)

As we’ve discussed before on The Hiring Site, your employees are your customers, and if Netflix has taught us anything, it is how imperative it is that you treat this group with respect – especially when it comes to handling bad news – otherwise, you risk losing the loyalty and respect of your employees – if not employees themselves.

Do you think Netflix was right to apologize the way it did?  Were this a company CEO addressing his employees about a leadership wrongdoing, how would you have handled the situation?

More than two decades and countless discussions after the term “work-life balance” entered the workforce lexicon, we don’t seem to be any closer to figuring out how to achieve it. Author Matthew Kelly believes he knows why.

“The question has always been framed in the wrong way,” Kelly told me in a phone interview last week. “The term itself is fatally flawed.”

He says the term implies that work and life should be separate, when in reality, they are intertwined. “Most people spend the majority of their lives working. So when you tell them their work isn’t a part of their life, they don’t respond very well to that.”

In fact, prior to the early 1990s, when Fortune 500 companies started addressing the topic in their employee surveys, Kelly believes employees didn’t give much thought to having a work-life balance at all.  After interviewing more than 3,000 people as research for the book, Kelly and his colleagues found the same holds true today: workers don’t truly care about balance at all. What they want is satisfaction in both areas of their lives – personal and professional – at the same time.

An internationally renowned speaker and business consultant, Kelly has built a career around a core principle he developed as a first-year business school student: “becoming the best versions of ourselves.” Today, as president of Floyd Consulting, Kelly helps organizations and people become the best versions of themselves on a daily basis.

In his new book, Off Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction, Kelly refocuses this core principle to help others become the most satisfied versions of themselves. When I spoke to Kelly last week, he discussed how employers could use the insights from his book to tap into their employees’ needs and create a more satisfied – and more productive – workforce.

Employers need to take ownership of employee satisfaction
While no one is more responsible for their satisfaction levels than themselves, Kelly says, companies do have a responsibility to help their employees achieve satisfaction.  And a large part of that responsibility lies in defining its culture. “A lot of company cultures are passive aggressive, saying, ‘We care about our people, and we want them to have a work-life balance and satisfying personal and professional lives,’ but there’s an underlying pressure to work a 60- to 70-hour week,” Kelly says.

Companies have an obligation to be honest and open with their employees about what is expected of them. He uses Microsoft as an example of a company that takes on this responsibility well. “At the start up of Microsoft, all these guys were working an 80-hour work week, but they knew what they were signing up for.”

At the same time, however, companies also need to be aware of the higher workloads their people are taking on and extra hours they are putting in, especially in light of the recent “macroeconomic meltdown.” Employees simply can’t withstand that kind of pressure over a sustained amount of time. “It’s okay if we know the fourth quarter is the busiest quarter, but every quarter shouldn’t be like that,” Kelly says.

In addition to defining one’s culture, Kelly says it is of vital importance for a company to have a compelling, clearly defined vision – “something people can work toward” – in order to keep them engaged.

“Highly engaged people tend to have a vision for their life, and there are dreams that they are working toward,” Kelly says. Therefore, in order to increase engagement, employers should find ways to let employees pursue their passions at work – in any way possible, no matter how small.

“If we can nudge people closer to their core strengths so they’re spending a little more time doing something they’re really impassioned about…even if big changes aren’t made in that area, if employees are seeing their employers are interested in that, I think it makes a seismic shift in the culture.”

Help Your Employees Increase Their Level of Satisfaction with One Simple Exercise
In Off Balance, Kelly outlines various ways to increase one’s level of satisfaction. Here’s one you can suggest your employees try today: Suggest they carve out a half hour each week – say, on a Friday afternoon or a Monday morning – and take out a notepad. Then, on a scale of one to ten, rate their level of professional satisfaction and rate their level of personal satisfaction. (Professional satisfaction, after all, can influence personal satisfaction and vice versa.) This exercise will do two things: First, it helps people identify the source of their dissatisfaction. Once they’ve identified this source, they can then begin to work toward changing it for the better. This step is where you come in. Be open to discussing ways your employees can increase their satisfaction at work – whether that means taking on a new challenge or perhaps scaling back in other areas.

Matthew Kelly is the New York Times bestselling author of The Rhythm of Life and The Dream Manager. His newest book, Off Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth, comes out today.

It’s Your Turn
What do you think? Is it your responsibility to support a climate of work-life balance, or is is the right focus employee satisfaction?

Well, September’s arrived, in all its changing leaves and apple picking and perky back to school-ness. But while we’re eyeing fall hayrides, relationships, report cards, or menu overhauls, let’s savor the last of the warm summer breezes, sit on the porch swing with a cool drink, and take a moment to enjoy August’s workplace news, trends, and gossip. After all, quite a lot happened in the last month — let’s take a look:

Klout is getting more and more buzz — but when it comes to your recruitment, what kind of impact should Klout have on your decisions (if any)? We took a closer look at the pros and cons. While you trying to improve your real-life clout by rubbing elbows with Michael J. Fox or Tony Hsieh at 2011′s SHRM conference, you just might have missed SHRM’s best presentations. Don’t worry, we’ve got some of them for you here. And hopefully you didn’t miss our monthly #cbjobchat, but if you did, you missed a lot of great exchanges about tough interview questions — not to worry, though, you can catch the next one on Monday, Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m. CST. Join us!

Speaking of interviewing, we went ahead and created an entire ebook dedicated to the subject, From Q&A to Z: The Hiring Manager’s Complete Interviewing Guide (PDF). It’s free, it’s all for you, it’s all about interviewing... go nuts. And while interview questions can run the gamet from great to horror-inducing, resumes have their fair share of memorable moments, too, from statements about the Moonwalk to deadly animal bites.

While we’re on the subject of deadly things, have you thought about your personal brand as a recruiter — and how not having one may actually be really damaging for your business? If not, it’s a good time to start — there are some really easy ways to get your name out and legitimize you with interested candidates.

As an employer or recruiter, finding new ways to brand your company is essential — and many companies are turning to online video. Did you know it’s the fastest-growing medium for consuming content? All types of companies are investing in video to help them attract better candidates, brand themselves as an employer of choice, and more — you can download our free video, Streaming Talent, (just by answering a few questions) to find out how it can improve your own recruiting.

Shortly before July’s BLS numbers came out, CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box to discuss job expectations versus job creation; the industry with the biggest skill shortage right now; the area hottest in wage growth, and more. When we did see the BLS numbers, we cringed a little. But then we realized the sky probably isn’t falling, so we hid that Chicken Little costume in the depths of our closets (you know, just in case). With finding quality workers a challenge for many employers, and unemployment still such a big issue, there are two worker groups that bring unique skills to the workplace and shouldn’t be overlooked: veteran employees and older workers.

We found out that while employers do value IQ, many are listening to their hearts (cue Roxette) and favoring emotional intelligence more strongly. But where does emotional intelligence matter most?

Many workers are also listening to their wallets — and finding them filled with empty promises (INFOGRAPHIC). Though the financial situation is improving for many, many workers are still living paycheck to paycheck — but there are still some things (cough Internet cough) they’re hesitant to give up.

 What did we miss? What was your favorite (or most cringe-worthy) August workplace news moment?

“Ask your neighbor what they do,” said Peter Cappelli to the room full of us in the Managing the Older Worker session at 2011′s SHRM conference. Most people in the room complied. “Then,” he continued, “ask them how old they are.” People laughed nervously; no one moved.

That was how Cappelli, the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and co-author of Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order, started his discussion on older workers — and as he went on, he explained the current surge in older workers we’re seeing, shared his thoughts on ways in which older workers are better hires than their younger counterparts, discussed how employers can best engage the older generation, and more.

Why the big workplace shift?

The workforce is getting older — and it’s causing a lot of age-related changes in the workplace that many companies are ill-equipped to deal with. Why? Well, first of all, said Cappelli, we’re living longer — babies born in 2010 will live 10 years longer than those born in 1950. If your parents are 65, he added, there is a 50 percent chance that at least one of them will live to the age of 90.

Second of all, we’re also living healthier, and the percentage of older workers who need to work (to support living longer) is growing. And even they don’t have to work, many older people are healthy and want to keep busy; 84 percent say they would work even if they were set for life — not to work for the money, but to stay active.

As more people are increasingly working full-time and baby boomers are getting older, the workforce is also getting older. Basically, Cappelli said, longer life, baby boomers, and people working longer are the three main factors driving an older workforce.

What do older workers want?

Learning how to work with all the generations in the workplace is important for employers, but with a growing older workforce, it’s even more important that we examine what older workers actually want (hint: as mentioned above, it’s not really about the money).

• A friendly environment — 94%
• The chance to use their skills — 94%
• The chance to do something worthwhile — 91%
• To feel respected by coworkers — 90%
• The opportunity to learn something new — 88%
• The ability to help others — 86%
• Adequate paid time off — 86%
• Health care and insurance benefits — 84%
• A flexible schedule — 76%
• To do something they’ve always wanted to do — 75%

The problem? They’re not getting it — because they can’t find work

A whopping 75 percent of those workers approaching typical retirement age want to keep working — but of those workers, only about one-half actually do. Of those who do find new jobs, only one-quarter can actually get hired by somebody else. Many older workers become self-employed because they have a hard time getting anyone to hire them.

Why can’t older individuals find work?

After all, employers complain of not being able to find quality workers, but compared to their younger colleagues, older workers:

• Quit less, are absent less, and have fewer accidents (even car accidents)
• Have more knowledge and better social skills
• Have better job performance
• Are happier, as it’s shown that people get happier as they get older (you want happy workers, right?)

The only thing older workers are generally poorer at, said Cappelli, is solving novel problems under time pressure without aids (advice, calculators, or other help); for example, taking SAT tests — yep, that’s it.

What do employers say they want?

• A just-in-time workforce that doesn’t need training and can “hit the ground running.”
• Flexible workforce that isn’t expecting long-term commitments
• Better interpersonal skills
• Better “knowledge management” of tacit information

Older workers are a perfect fit for what employers say they want – more flexibility, better interpersonal skills and workers who can hit the ground running.

Do older workers cost more?

Quite simply, no. Though there’s a general misconception that this is the case, there’s no premium in the labor market for age – only for experience. Yes, older workers’ health care use is greater, Cappelli said, but they don’t have dependents to pay for (no pregnancies or little kids). In fact, doubling your percentage of 55-year-old workers raises your business’s total compensation costs by a mere 1 percent.

So why aren’t more older workers being hired?

To sum it up in a phrase, age discrimination. I was surprised when Cappellis said that age discrimination becomes apparent for 36.5 percent of older workers at the age of 50. As Cappelli pointed out, we as a society think certain topics or demographics are off-limits when it comes to comedy, yet the one topic deemed not offensive is making fun of older people, which suggests how common it is to hear, see, and accept people being disparaging about age. Age discrimination appears to be more common than gender or race discrimination, Cappelli added, and 67 percent say they’ve experienced or seen it on the job. In addition, 25 percent of employers say their organization is reluctant to hire older workers (and that’s only the percentage that admit it).

It’s even worse when it comes to the IT field: The majority of IT employers said they wouldn’t hire anyone over 40.

Older workers — and younger supervisors

As the workforce ages, executives are actually getting younger, and the percentage of supervisors who are younger than their subordinates is growing. It’s no secret that older workers and younger supervisors don’t exactly mesh all of the time — and as Cappelli said, this conflict is compounding the issue of older workers having trouble getting work.

We’re seeing retired workers coming back into the workforce and take lower jobs, because younger supervisors are acting as gatekeepers to keep many older workers out. But why?

• 88 percent of employers worry about hiring older workers because of conflicts with younger workers (talk about a never-ending cycle), among them the fact that younger supervisors are less likely to give older workers feedback or hold them accountable.
• Younger supervisors are also more likely to believe that performance problems with older subordinates can’t be fixed.
•  Younger supervisors, many of whom rely on a “carrots and sticks” mentality that encourages a promotion for doing well and a demotion/getting fired for not doing well, are afraid of managing more experienced subordinates, because these things  don’t matter as much or go over well with older workers later in their careers. Older workers are less motivated by pay, and less afraid of being fired. The formal  “because I said so” or “because I know best”type of authority doesn’t work with them.
• Younger supervisors are uncomfortable managing older workers — traditionally, it’s been flipped, and they just can’t shake their feeling that they shouldn’t be in a position of power.

Can we fix this?
The short answer? Yes. The solution, according to Cappelli, involves a different model of leadership and management practices, and in his presentation, he mentioned a few ways for organizations to better work with older workers in their organization:

• Tailor your rewards and benefits to their lifestyle and interests: The promotion, bonus or stock options don’t matter as much to older workers, as mentioned above. Instead, provide motivation through meaningful work and social relationships; these factors are a bigger priority for older workers than financial- or career advancement-motivated rewards.

• Consult and empower them: Older workers want to be consulted, so ask them to participate in the decision process on a project or challenge a bit more. They have experience behind them and wisdom to solve many workplace problems, so ask them to get involved.
  
• Don’t ignore them: Older workers don’t want to be ignored, and they still need to be managed. Remember that managing someone older doesn’t mean you’re giving up authority; older workers must be held accountable, too.
  
• Initiate mentoring/onboarding: Companies like Deloitte have taken advantage of older workers’ unique talents by asking them to share problems they see in the organization that they’d like to work on and fix. Their attitude is, “If you think it’s a good idea, we will too, almost without exception. We trust you.”

Sometimes, Cappelli said, older workers have to help younger supervisors understand how to best manage them — and to engage younger supervisors in different types of relationships by taking initiative and speaking up for things like what motivates them, the type of environment they want to be in, or their strengths.

How has your workplace found ways to better integrate older and younger generations?

As many of us keep a close watch on the latest stock market news, CareerBuilder’s just-released survey on worker finances (PDF) shows the financial situation for some workers is actually improving (albeit slowly). Forty-two percent of workers in the survey of more than 5,200 workers say they usually or always live paycheck to paycheck, an improvement from 43 percent in 2010 and in line with levels seen back in 2007, pre-recession.

Signs that workers’ finances are improving:

• The number of workers who have missed a bill payment has decreased since 2010: 20 percent say they have missed payments on bills in the last year, a slight improvement from 22 percent at this time last year.
• 14 percent of workers making six figures say they live paycheck to paycheck, down from 17 percent in 2010.
• 6 percent of these six-figure earners said they can’t make ends meet every month — but that’s an improvement from the 8 percent who said the same last year.

Gender wars

It appears that, though both genders have their share of financial issues, female workers continue to struggle more with their personal finances than their male counterparts:

• 46 percent of female workers say they live paycheck to paycheck, compared to 38 percent of male workers.
• 24 percent of female workers say they have missed a bill payment over the last 12 months, higher than male workers at 17 percent.

 They work hard for the money (so don’t mess with their cable TV)

“The majority of U.S. workers (72 percent) reported they are more fiscally responsible since the recession and have made a variety of changes to their living and spending habits,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.

And while being more fiscally responsible may mean giving up some material comforts, workers said they would absolutely not give up the following regardless of their financial concerns:

• Internet connection – 56 percent
• Driving – 46 percent
• Mobile phone – 42 percent
• Cable TV – 27 percent
• Going out to eat – 11 percent

The future is now later

Although as shown above, workers may be loath to give up a night out at the newest restaurant in town, giving up money that’s not in hand yet is sometimes a little easier — so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that some workers are making ends meet by dipping into their long-term savings.

• 21 percent of workers say they have reduced their 401(k) contributions and/or personal savings in the last year to get by.
• Others aren’t contributing to long-term savings at all: One-third (34 percent) say they don’t participate in any 401(k), IRAs or retirement plan programs.
• Nearly two in ten workers who make six figures have reduced their contributions to savings and 401(k) programs each month (17%) — and 9 percent don’t participate in a 401(k) program or other personal savings plan at all.

Consider the following tips to pass on to your employees (or to use yourself) to ride out the economic downturn and prepare for the future:

• Channel your inner Sherlock Holmes – Look at your expenses under a microscope. Takeout coffee, restaurant lunches and other everyday expenses can make a dent in your checking account. Create a spreadsheet to analyze what you spend each month. Once you see where your money goes, you can more easily determine where to cut back.
• Be like the squirrel – Put an amount away, even if it is small. Regardless of the amount, set aside money each month for your short and long-term savings. If you have trouble fitting savings into your budget (or remembering to do it at all), set up an automatic deposit into a savings account.
• Show off your flair for the frugal – Savings may be right under your nose. Talk to your HR department about how you can make the most of your organization’s benefits. Find out if your company offers discounts for vendors like banks, gyms, or car rental services, and ask for additional resources to help you select the right benefits plans for your budget.

Need a recap? Get a snapshot of workers’ current financial situations.

“What words come to mind when I say “Gen Y”? Aaron Kesher asked the many SHRM 2011 attendees packed into the room.  “Entitled!” shouted one person. “Job hoppers,” chimed in another. Soon, many in the room (many of them non-Gen Yers, with some Gen Y members sprinkled in) were shouting things like “smart,” “resume builders,” “technically savvy,” “stereotype,” “comfortable with change,” and “creative.”

Obviously, we all have specific words and phrases and ideas that match how we perceive Gen Y to think and behave in the workplace. Gen Y, made up of those born between 1980 and 2000, has their own notions of themselves, too. In Aaron Kesher’s “Why Y? Plugging Into a Generational Powerhouse” session at SHRM 2011, Kesher encouraged all of us in the room to rethink our notions of what we think Gen Y is all about, to consider the strengths they bring to today’s dynamic workplace, and to use this knowledge and understanding to more successfully recruit and retain Gen Y workers.

“Do not doubt that this generation will change the face of the American workplace as their parents did,” Kesher said. “In the next five to 10 years, Kesher said, the number of Gen Yers in the workforce will increase dramatically.”

As the number of Gen Y workers is only getting larger, it’s about time we as a collective workplace learn more about Gen Y so that we can understand them, appreciate their unique strengths, and more successfully integrate them with other generations in the workplace.

What is work from a Gen Y Perspective?

• Work ethic: Job loyalty, for a long time, was shown by how long you stuck around and paid your dues — and older generations still think in line with this. Gen Y, on the other hand, says, “I show you love by how hard I work, not how long I stick around.”
• Tech savvy: It’s not so much that Gen Yers are tech savvy, Kesher pointed out – they’re tech dependent.They’re the generation that’s come of age with the explosion of technology, so it’s natural that they would be comfortable with it.
• Communication and teamwork: Gen Y is not necessarily entitled; they just feel comfortable asking for what they want. When it comes to communication, you can often count on Gen Yers to spread out the message fast and often. We need to realize, Kesher said, that throughout Gen Y’s public education, the majority of the work was done in groups, and that their role wasn’t usually as the leader of a group – instead, many were “equal” team members. Therefore, many Gen Y members function fairly well as a group and as “team players,” but some struggle in standing out as individual, assertive leaders.
• Money:  Employers, listen up: Gen Y is talking to each other about the money they are (or aren’t) making at your organization. They are comparing how competitive your salary is with your competitors — and they’re not afraid to share their findings. One audience member mentioned recently hearing Gen Yers discussing openly the job offers and bonuses they were getting — and she was shocked.  After all, discussing how much money you make is one of the last great American taboos — yet Gen Y seems more comfortable with discussing this sort of information.
• Recognition: Gen Y is a generation of the “there are no losers – everyone’s a winner” mentality. “But they didn’t make that up (boomer parents),” Kesher pointed out, to a round of laughter. Gen Yers don’t care how it gets done – they just want to get it done. And they want to be told they did a good job once they do it; recognition is very important.
• Diversity: “Why do only white people work here?” might be something a Gen Y worker thinks while viewing a company site or sitting in the lobby while waiting to be interviewed and noticing the lack of diverse employees. Gen Y doesn’t embrace diversity – they expect it — and if your company says you believe in diversity, but then a Gen Y worker shows up and all workers look the same – they will think you’re not living up to your diversity message. This generation has grown up with a greater awareness of and comfort with diversity of all kinds. From home lives, to school experiences, to messages absorbed from pop culture, they often don’t see what all the fuss is. This can manifest as difficulty in understanding why others struggle with issues around differences. A question of whether gay marriage should be legalized, for example, is a non-issue for many Gen Y individuals — and this shift ties into a larger cultural shift in general.
• Work versus life: “I love my job, but I love my life more” — that’s something you may hear a lot of Gen Yers say. One of the critical issues that will need to be ironed out at work in the future, Kesher said, will revolve around workplace flexibility. We’re increasingly seeing workplace flexibility issues evolving in the workplace, and Gen Y workers in particular (though they’re not alone) want to know how they can maintain their relationship with work while still having the flexibility to live the life they envision. As mentioned above, Gen Y has no problem with work, or with the idea of working hard — it’s just that their job will never be the whole of their identity. They raised with the imperative to “follow your dreams!”, and their job and life may intersect in new ways than we’ve seen in past generations. “Gen Y,” Kesher stressed, “doesn’t want a job – they want a life that hopefully includes a job.”
• Being green: This is the generation that’s leading the green movement – so give them the power to build, make changes, and become leaders in your organization’s (existing or non-existing) green movement.

Why worry about Gen Y?

Ensuring that the different generations working together under one roof actually work well together is a big concern for many employers. After all, if knowledge isn’t able to be sufficiently shared from generation to generation, older generations will eventually retire — taking with them decades of experience. In addition, workers who work well together are likely to be happier, more productive, and better brand ambassadors for your company.

To effectively work with Gen Y workers, Kesher said, you don’t need to change who you are – just your approach. In a great reverse example of this, an audience member told the story of her (as a Gen Y worker) learning to compromise with a Silent Generation worker. The older worker, she said, took a long time to respond to emails, but whenever she had a printed piece for him to look at, he worked much more quickly. After figuring this out, she started printing out  her emails to him and putting them on his desk – and now his turnaround time on feedback to her is much faster. It’s small steps like this that can make a big difference between two generations that don’t always see eye to eye — or medium to medium.

By learning the “why” behind this generation’s interests, ideas, and behaviors, you will understand how Gen Y workers function best in the workplace, and you will be better prepared to recruit and retain them. Here are some ideas to get you started, courtesy of Kesher:

6 ways to more successfully recruit Gen Y:

1. Have fun. Use the media to get your company message out there. Gen Y is all over social networks, and as mentioned above, they are very comfortable with technology, so get in front of them on various mediums — and get creative in your efforts. Speak their language; what have you learned about the things that matter to them that you as an employer are able to provide? Connect work to their lives; how do the two successfully intersect in your work environment? Are you able to offer workers a great work/life balance and opportunities for them to enrich their lives outside of the office walls? Show them.
2. Challenge them. Gen Y workers are attracted to a challenge, so by providing your employees with interesting work that asks them to get outside their comfort zone and take risks, and lets them make mistakes and fail, you are likely to get these workers’ attention.
3. Give them opportunities. Do you give your employees multiple paths to explore when taking on a project, or find ways for their work to have an impact on the organization as a whole? Demonstrate to job seekers that you encourage employees to do work that is meaningful and and makes a difference outside of your organization. Do you give employees opportunities to further their training, brush up on their skills, or learn new disciplines outside of their current role to help them grow both inside and out of work?
4. Support their lifestyle. Recognize the importance their life outside of work has to them, and understand that they have often strong, close connections with their families (Kesher gave the example of parents calling to ask why their son or daughter got a bad review example, or dropping off a resume for their child — it happens more than you might think). Offer flexibility in your benefits, and realize that for many Gen Y workers, the line between work and personal life has blurred. Work happens at home, and vice versa — does your organization support a flexible workplace?
5. Embody diversity. Show it, don’t just talk about it! Demonstrate to potential employees how diversity integrates with your organization’s mission – but be authentic. Job seekers can see right through empty words; be true to your values by actually being a diverse workplace.
6. Reinforce your mission. Show job seekers the “why” – why is the work your organization does important to the rest of world? What is the larger context of the projects you take on, or of your core business? Reinforce your mission constantly, and help workers find connections to others in the organization through social media, your website, or in-person interactions.

… And 5 ways to retain them:

1. Make them feel at home the first day. This does not mean simply showing them the employee handbook, their cubicle, bathroom code, and then leaving them alone. Plan on a longer orientation duration than in the past. Establish personal connections with employees — and continue building those relationships throughout your employees’ tenure.
2. Give them feedback. They want more rather than less, and they want it sooner rather than later. Recognize everything employees are doing, and give them honest and open feedback. Waiting five years to get to the next step in an organization isn’t realistic anymore, Kesher pointed out — so provide them with the tools they need for success and career advancement. Give employees more chances for lateral development by helping them learn new skills, get new certifications, and expand their knowledge base.
3. Allow them to fail! Define clear expectations for tasks and projects, give them incremental goals along the way, and find ways to connect the work they’re doing to their personal values and goals. Let them stretch their boundaries, make mistakes, and learn from them — and most of all, listen to your employees. They want to give you input, so make it easier on them by asking for it where you can, and being available as a resource and mentor.
4. Again, listen. Pay attention to them (they’re going to talk to you a lot), be aware of their personal goals, and lead horizontally. They’re living in a world of connectedness and entitled communication; hierarchy isn’t as built into their mindset as it is in generations past. Try to be their leader without looking down on them.
5. Connect with them. Get to know them and what they’re all about (and hey, maybe even their helicopter parents, too). If you want respect from Gen Y workers, you have to give it. Many Gen Y workers feel misunderstood by their peers or their leaders; by working to connect with them and encouraging other employees to do the same, you will begin to chip away at the negative Gen Y stereotypes that are actually hindering generational progress in the workplace.

 Moving forward, together

During the session, a Gen Y professional raised her hand and pointed out that as an HR professional, she’s noticed a lot of overly negative critiques of Gen Y workers. She wondered why we couldn’t focus on the positive traits of Gen Y to hook into as a great resource — a great point, and one that Kesher drove home in his presentation.

After all, every time we think another generation doesn’t have something we have, Kesher said, we’re stereotyping. Every generation has boundaries and a work ethic — they may just happen to be different than ours.

But isn’t the fact that such a multitude of perspectives, ideas, backgrounds and behaviors exist what makes the workplace so great?

There’s good news (Justin Timberlake may save MySpace!), disappointing news (we’ll probably never get Friendster back), and news that makes us want to hug a stranger on the street: Despite ongoing concerns over threats to economic growth, CareerBuilder’s 2011 Mid-Year Job Forecast shows that employers remain positive in their hiring expectations for the remainder of the year. (It’s OK, you can hug that stranger on the street; we won’t judge.)

Just how positive are employers about the future of hiring, you ask?

Well, nearly half of employers (47 percent) plan to hire new employees from July through December of this year, up from 41 percent in 2010, according to the survey conducted by Harris Interactive© of more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals. (See the infographic here.)

Things are looking pretty good in other areas, too: The percentage of companies hiring is also higher than last year in some instances:

• Companies hiring full-time, permanent employees –  35 percent this year, up from 28 percent in 2010
• Companies hiring part-time employees – 15 percent this year, the same as 2010
• Companies hiring contract or temporary employees – 12 percent this year, up from 9 percent in 2010

Which jobs are hottest for hiring?

The top three job areas in which businesses plan to hire first are those that involve being on the front lines with customers, and those that drive innovation. Customer service still claims the No. 1 spot for recruitment, with information technology slightly edging out sales this year for the No. 2 ranking on the list:

1. Customer Service  |  23 percent
2. Information Technology  |  21 percent
3. Sales  |  20 percent
4. Administrative  |  15 percent
5. Business Development  |  11 percent
6. Accounting/Finance  |  10 percent
7. Marketing  |  9 percent

As CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson stressed, the U.S. is seeing job creation across the board, and though some factors may prevent a huge acceleration in hires, hiring activity doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon:

“Last year, certain sectors or departments in companies were producing jobs.  This year, the U.S. is seeing job creation in all industries, functions and company sizes,” said Ferguson.  “Our survey, listings on CareerBuilder.com, and conversations we have with employers on a daily basis all indicate that hiring activity will sustain and improve in the months to come with a diverse mix of jobs.  While higher energy prices, debt, inflation and other factors may deter a significant acceleration in hiring, employers have encouraging news for the millions of Americans who are looking for jobs.”

Hiring by region: Where are employers hiring the most employees?

There’s more news to make us look forward to the year progressing: All regions are trending above 2010 in hiring prospects for the second half of 2011, with the South leading the way in optimism:

• South: 38 percent are planning to hire full-time, permanent employees, up from 27 percent last year
• West: 35 percent, up from 28 percent last year
• Northeast: 34 percent, up from 29 percent last year
• Midwest: 32 percent, up from 28 percent last year

Two trends to watch for in the second half of 2011:

1. Employee Turnover:
   • The competition for specialized talent is expected to intensify as employers recruit and try to retain top performers for hard-to-fill, in-high-demand positions in areas like health care and technology.
   • More than one-third (35 percent) of employers are concerned that key talent will leave their organizations as the economy improves, a trend that has become increasingly evident over the last six months.
   • Eighteen percent of employers reported top workers left their organization in the second quarter, up from 14 percent in the first quarter. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as CareerBuilder’s 2010 forecast revealed that 25 percent of all workers planned to leave their organizations within a year.
2. Shortage of Skilled Workers:
   • Fifty percent of employers reported there is a shortage of skills within their organization, up from 48 percent last year.
   • The biggest shortages were reported in the areas of Information Technology, Customer Service and Communications.
   • More than one-third (36 percent) of human resource managers reported they have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates, up from 32 percent last year.

What happened in Q2 2011?
This past quarter, 29 percent of employers added full-time, permanent headcount, up from 24 percent last year. Eleven percent decreased headcount (same as Q2 2010), while 59 percent made no change in staff levels (compared to 64 percent in Q2 2010) and 1 percent were unsure.

What will happen in Q3 2011?

• For eight consecutive quarters, actual hiring exceeded what was originally anticipated, indicating that employers tend to be more conservative in their hiring projections than in their hiring behavior. Looking forward, 26 percent of employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in the third quarter (only 21 percent planned to do so in Q3 2010), but if trends persist, the actual hiring number may come in higher at quarter end.
• Eight percent expect to downsize staffs.  Sixty-one percent anticipate no change, while 5 percent are undecided.

To get in-depth survey results and further predictions for the second half of 2011, download the full forecast, or for a quick snapshot, check out our handy-dandy infographic.

Have you ever compared the experience job seekers go through when searching for a job to the experience you go through when, say, buying a car? Believe it or not, the two experiences are more closely linked than you may realize. We have specific reasons for deciding to go through with a car purchase — or walk away from it — and the same is true for job seekers considering your company as a future employer in their job search process.

The experience you provide job seekers through your recruitment process is something they will evaluate, engage with, and accept or reject, ultimately deciding whether or not to “make a purchase.” A new CareerBuilder and Inavero study of more than 4,500 workers demonstrates that that decision can happen at any point in the job search process, from the time they first start thinking about searching for a new job to the moment they have your offer letter in front of them — and everywhere in between.

The job seeker/employer relationship: It’s complicated

Today’s job search experience looks drastically different from several years or even several months ago, and it continues to evolve. Now, although job boards still have a prominent place in the job search, the job search experience has become much more complex. When job seekers embark on a job search, they are actively using five specific methods to find their next job: Search engines; vertical sites (job boards and aggregators); social media; corporate and career sites; and user-generated content sites. They are using these five platforms in different ways and with varied intensity as they move through four distinct phases of the job search — Orientation, Consideration, Action, and Engagement.

To effectively build and manage your company’s employment brand, reach a large segment of the many job seekers you’re missing out on, and continue to position yourself as a visible and desirable place to work in today’s rapidly changing world, you must have a diversified recruitment strategy that incorporates these five platforms — and you must understand the mindset and behavior of job seekers as they move through the four stages of the job search process.

Job seekers have changed — have you?

The CareerBuilder and Inavero study takes you through a job seeker’s typical job search experience as it happens in today’s recruitment environment, a time in which job seekers are hungry for information and have a wealth of online resources at their fingertips. Long gone are the days of faxing or mailing a resume and simply waiting passively to hear back from an employer — today’s job seeker is much more hands-on.

By learning what job seekers are thinking and doing as they move through four distinct job search phases (Orientation, Consideration, Action, and Engagement) and crafting your strategy to align with those thoughts and behaviors, you’ll be equipped to reach the best candidates for your open jobs, position yourself as a strong and desirable brand, and ensure your approach is consistent from phase to phase.

The Four Phases of the Job Search

Phase I: Orientation — This phase consists of a job seeker’s self-evaluation and evaluation of the market. Ninety-seven percent of job seekers reported self-evaluation as one of the first five things they did when starting a search.

Phase II: Consideration – During this phase, the job search moves from a solitary to an interactive, social experience. Job seekers are seeking to validate the brands in their consideration set by posting on social media platforms and user-generated content sites, and collecting opinions from members of their online social and professional networks in order to narrow their focus to a handful of jobs.

Phase III: In this phase, a job seeker is going through the action of applying to jobs.

Phase IV: In this last phase, job seekers are interacting with employers and actively interviewing. Although the majority of research on a company is completed pre-interview, job seekers are conducting social research in this last phase by having personal conversations with employees of your company or close family and friends.

(Learn about the job seekers’ mindset and behavior during each of the four job search phases here.)

The importance of a great recruitment experience

Job seekers today are largely dissatisfied with the current hiring process offered by companies. Only 10 percent of respondents said companies they have reached out to have been responsive. The impact of this is immense: Nearly half (40 percent) of job seekers strongly agree that a poor application experience impacts their job decision. In fact, it might surprise you to find out that more than one in 10 people turn down a job at least once a month.

Bad experiences during and after the application process can easily negate the work and strategic investment in media you’ve made to bring the best talent onto your team.

Begin to create a more candidate-centric recruitment process by adding a human touch:

• Communicate with candidates when at all possible, and let them know where they stand as the process moves from phase to phase.
• Unplug cumbersome technology and flawed screening filters, and provide feedback and coaching.
• View all candidates as a customer or potential future customer, client or employee.
• Get the most out of the resources you’re investing by being responsive — in the long run, you will get better quality talent, protect your employment brand, and maintain a better reputation with clients (who once may have been your candidates).

Getting them to say “yes”

Job seekers are using a wide range of methods to find the right jobs, and by gaining a large presence through these methods, you will deepen your talent pool, engage and create trust with candidates early on, find more diverse candidates for your open positions, and, ultimately, improve your bottom line. Start thinking of your recruitment experience as a consumer product — and start
getting more job seekers to consider your brand, like what they see, and say “Yes.”

For details on job seeker behavior and mindset within the four job search phases and our recommended strategies for best connecting with job seekers at each point in the process, download the full report or learn more about adding the right platforms to your recruitment mix.

You probably remember them from high school: The dreaded (or anticipated) “Most likely to/Best” lists. Best eyes: Sandy K. Funniest: Alex S. (you totally thought you had that one in the bag). Most likely to forget their kids at the grocery store: Lauren D. (yes, this one actually exists). Most likely to succeed: ??? This one, as many other results looking back, may not have panned out the way everyone thought it might. From the time we were filling these “popularity”-type lists out (or ducking from the paper airplane printouts of them being hurled at us), the way many of us define success, or perceive those most likely to achieve personal or professional success, has changed — and over time, so has the world around us.

Much is different since high school (including, hopefully, your hair style and taste for greasy squares of cafeteria pizza). And in the workplace, over the past few decades or even the past few years — the path to success, at least professionally, has become more open to diverse workers. The makeup of the U.S. civilian labor force has changed significantly, with women accounting for half of all workers and companies becoming both racially and ethnically diverse.

CareerBuilder’s 2011 Diversity in the Workplace Study surveyed more than 2,500 diverse workers to get a better grasp of how their work experience has evolved as their numbers in the U.S. workforce have grown. Much of what we found may surprise you. The study targeted the top 20 markets in the U.S. based on population, and the results for six diverse segments — African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women, workers with disabilities, and Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) workers.

The survey findings point to continued inequalities between diverse and non-diverse segments in pay, career advancement and feelings of discrimination. At the same time, certain diverse segments ranked higher than non-diverse workers in compensation, reflecting a movement toward better equality in the workplace.

So, with that said, here’s a “Most likely to” list that hopefully won’t cause those high school-esque butterflies, but will instead make us all take a hard look at how far we’ve come toward workplace equality — and where we’re still falling short.

Compensation

Most likely to earn $100,000 or more:

LGBT workers, who lead the pack at 18 percent, outpacing non-diverse workers by 1 percentage point. Women were the least likely to report making $100,000 or more at only 6 percent, along with African Americans and Hispanic workers at 8 percent.

Most likely to earn less than $50,000:

Disabled workers. Among all segments, workers with disabilities were the most likely to report earning less than $50,000 at 58 percent, followed by women at 52 percent and Hispanics close behind them at 51 percent.

Discrimination

Least likely to feel discriminated against in their current job?

Asian workers, at 11 percent, were least likely to feel discriminated against in the workplace — and trended below non-diverse workers who were asked this question, 14 percent of whom said they felt discriminated against.

Most likely to feel discriminated against in their current job?

African American workers. When asked about their experience as a diverse worker, 25 percent of African American workers said they felt discriminated against in their current job — the highest of all segments asked. The next-highest group was disabled workers, 22 percent of whom reported feeling discriminated against, followed by women (19 percent) and LGBT workers (18 percent).

Career Advancement

Least likely to hold a management position?

Asian workers. Higher salaries don’t always mean higher titles, as survey results reinforced. Because while Asian workers were among the highest segment as far as earning six figures, they were the least likely to report holding a management position (only 11 percent did). Women and African Americans were right behind, with only 15 percent from each group reporting that they held a management position.

Conversely, 26 percent of non-diverse workers reported holding management titles, the highest percentage of all segments, followed by 22 percent of LGBT workers.

Plans to change jobs

Most likely to change jobs once the economy improves?

Asian workers (47 percent), African American workers (43 percent) and disabled workers (42 percent) are the highest segments to report a plan to change jobs once the economy improves. Nearly two in five of all diverse workers (38 percent) plan to make a move with an improving economy. Despite ranking lower in pay and title, women and Hispanic workers are the least likely diverse workers to pursue new positions, at 31 percent and 35 percent respectively.

What does the report tell us?

Well, while old high school lists may be good for a laugh, CareerBuilder’s 2011 Diversity in the Workplace Study results give us a landmark that we can use to consider how we’re educating about and treating all types of workers in our own workplaces, and gain new perspective on the larger diversity picture as it stands. And much like Debbie N.’s feathered mullet Best Hair award, it’s promising to think that we will look back on this several years from now and marvel at how different things “used to be” — and how much better they are now.

As Dr. Sanja Licina, Senior Director of Talent Intelligence & Consulting at CareerBuilder, says, “While companies have made strides in creating an inclusive workplace for all workers, there is still work to be done, especially n the areas of hiring, compensation and career advancement.”

Read the full report for other interesting details about discrimination, pay, and why some diverse workers don’t market themselves as such when looking for a position — or check out the infographic for a snapshot.

What are your thoughts on the report findings?

The woman in the grey sweatshirt stood up in front of roughly 100 others at Borders Books’ Chicago State St. location and tearfully told Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, that she’d closed her store and driven all night from her store in Ohio to see him speak in person. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be in front of you today,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion.

She, like many of us, was at Borders to see a Q&A discussion between Schultz and CBS2’s Bill Kurtis on Schultz’s new leadership memoir, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul (and perhaps get a book signed or a photo taken with the man who has changed the way many people think about coffee). After the woman thanked Schultz for all that he’d done for her and her employees, Kurtis asked her why it was that she drove so far to see him – why Schultz? “He’s an inspiration, and he’s honest,” she replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

It’s hard to argue with the fact that Schultz and the Starbucks brand have a die-hard following – and as I sat listening in awe to the woman who traveled all night from my beloved home state of Ohio to see Schultz and express her gratitude and devotion to Schultz and Starbucks in such a personal way, I realized I was seeing the power of the Starbucks brand in action. Here was a company that, more than most any others, had built up nearly impenetrable company and employment brands, gained a legion of loyal fans, customers and employees, and grown to a massive 16,000-store, “there’s a Starbucks on nearly every corner” giant. But, as Schultz would point out, things weren’t so rosy just a few years earlier.

Flashback to 2007

“I could sense, or small, that something wasn’t quite right,” Schultz said as he addressed the overflowing crowd of fans and curious onlookers before him. He was referring to February 2007, a time when, he said, he became concerned about what was happening at Starbucks – or rather, what wasn’t happening. Little by little, Starbucks had been losing some of the signature traits it had been founded on.

In 2000, Schultz had stepped down as CEO (or, as a Starbucks employee would write it, “ceo”– they have used lowercase job titles since their early days) and became chairman, moving away from day-to-day operations to focus on global strategy and expansion. In the years that followed, store growth accelerated and stock prices soared as sales and profits increased every single quarter – until they suddenly didn’t. By 2007, things were taking a turn for the worse. “Starbucks had begun to fail itself,” Schultz said.

Bitter times

Over time, the company had been expanding the brand beyond its core into various media like music, books, and film. In addition, every quarter, there was more intense pressure to maintain annual revenue and profit increases of at least 20 percent – an ambitious goal that Schultz admits he was complicit in promoting. Amidst battle cries of “More growth!” the team had lost sight of what the Starbucks experience was really all about. Starbucks, he pointed out in his book, has always been about so much more than coffee. “But without great coffee,” he wrote, “we have no reason to exist.”

So, on Valentine’s Day 2007, Schultz sent an email to Jim Donald, the CEO of Starbucks at that time, warning of the commoditization of Starbucks (the email was aptly titled The Commoditization of the Starbucks Experience ), hoping to unleash an honest conversation that would prompt everyone to reexamine the path they were traveling. He stressed a need to get back to Starbucks’ core and make the changes necessary to evoke “ the tradition, heritage and passion they all had for the true Starbucks experience.” Unfortunately, he said, the email leaked, and the next thing he knew it was all over the Internet – and the public was in a furor. Starbucks – and Schultz himself — received a lot of criticism for his opinions, even from Starbucks’ own employees, and as he says, it undermined what he was trying to accomplish.

Online conversations took on a life of their own, and while the company was struggling to figure out how to create balance between growth and a need to preserve what the company was really about, Schultz realized that they could no longer use their stores and website to communicate and control the conversations – the public was really in control of what was being said.  Coincidentally, soon before Schultz’s email went out, three big communication changes had occurred: a week earlier, Apple had introduced the iPhone; four months earlier, Google had bought YouTube; and five months earlier, Facebook had opened up to the public.

Times were changing, and Starbucks was forced to either change with them or get left behind.

Back to the grind(s)?

Toward the end of 2007, as the situation reached a breaking point, the board decided Schultz needed to return as CEO. So, in January 2008, he did. It wasn’t his original intention, and it wasn’t an easy decision. In addition to having to tell Donald he was taking over, he was re-immersing himself in a company that was increasingly becoming viewed as one of the poster children of the recession (i.e. “save money, don’t drink at Starbucks”); people were being encouraged to look elsewhere for coffee easier on the pocket.

As he jumped back into his role as CEO, Schultz said, he realized that the issues he’d brought up in that now-infamous email back in 2007 were even larger and deeper than he had then thought. This was through no fault of people working there, he said — it was due to the fact that Starbucks was rewarding the wrong things. Factors like speed of service were praised, rather than keeping focus on the customer and the quality of the product.

Schultz’s reaction?

On February 23, 2008, “I closed every store to retrain 115,000 people – I said we were going back to the roots of the company.” Of course, the media frenzy that ensued from this decision brought many to believe that the end of Starbucks was near – that they were no longer relevant. Schultz admits it was a bold decision to retrain every single employee. His explanation? “It was honest, it was authentic, and it was necessary.” The company lost $6 million that day. And as he said, Starbucks still had a long, long way to go in solving their mounting problems – but this was a start.

Starting over, he said, involved metaphorically asking the question of employees, What does it mean not to be a bystander? “From this point, we had to create, attract and create new customers.” Gone, he says, was the time that Starbucks could do no wrong — that the company was on a “magic carpet ride” – and that profitability and likeability would happen automatically with every move the company made. Gone was the time that Starbucks was leading the conversation — now, they had to find a way to take part in the larger conversations that were happening.

Later in 2008, one month after Wall Street’s meltdown and a few weeks before Starbucks would announce significantly reduced profits for the fourth quarter, Schultz decided to get all of the store managers together — all 11,000 of them — for a leadership conference. They’d always done the conference in Seattle, and even though nearly every major city wanted to host them, Schultz said they chose a place very much in need of assistance: New Orleans. Despite the odds, Schultz knew it had to be done, to start rebuilding trust between Starbucks and its employees and invest in Starbucks’ continuing transformation — and New Orleans was the right place to do it.  Not only did they have a week-long meeting with interactive galleries, roundtables, and panels, but they also did service in the 9th Ward and helped to rebuild some of the city’s most devastated neighborhoods.

“I’ve always loved this company,” Schultz said in Onward. “Love is why I had some back as ceo and why I feel so personally responsible for its failure and success. Yet somewhere along our journey, the love our people had for Starbucks had blurred. New Orleans had brought it back into focus, and once again our values stood in stark relief… because of everything we experienced in New Orleans, it was apparent to all of us what it meant to love something — and the responsibility that goes with it.”

Moving forward

What’s happened since Schultz and the Starbucks team took major risks to turn the Starbucks experience around? Well, instant coffee (Via), for one. And Starbucks’ performance in the Q3 of fiscal 2009 marked its first earnings growth since Q1 2008 — the company earned $152 million, compared to its loss of nearly $7 million just a year earlier. As Schultz remarked in Onward, “for the first time in a long time, I felt as if we were winning.”

In July 2009, after riding out the December 2008 choice to make 401(k) retirement plans discretionary instead of automatic in light of a weak economy, Starbucks was again able to match the 401(k) contributions of eligible employees, which, to Schultz, “would not make headlines or mean much to shareholders, but for me… was as important as anything we were able to accomplish all year.”

In fiscal 2010, Starbucks revenues increased to a record $10.7 billion, and its operating income increased to $1.4 billion, up from $562 million in fiscal 2009. What’s next for Starbucks is anyone’s guess, but as Schultz says that every company must push for self-renewal and reinvention, constantly pushing the status quo, it appears he will continue to do just that.

Q&A with Howard Schultz & Bill Kurtis

After Schultz gave his initial thoughts on Starbucks’ journey over the past few years, Schultz sat down with Kurtis to answer some questions about what the Starbucks brand really means, his ideal employee, and more.

Q:  How do you define success to your employees?

A: “’Howard Schultz is not going to serve any customers — it’s you,’ is what I tell employees.” Schultz tells store managers they are responsible for what takes place in their stores, and that “The essence of what they do every day is the difference between success and failure.”

The greatest reason for the enduring relationship Starbucks has with its people and its customers is due to the values of the company, Schultz said. “We’re not perfect; we’ve made mistakes, and we’ll make some more.” “The last 12 months has been the most successful in Starbucks’ history,” Schultz said. “However, we did not leave people behind.” Part of that decision not to leave employees behind while striving to be financially successful involved keeping 401(k), cash bonuses, and benefits. Starbucks was, after all, the first U.S. company to offer both comprehensive health care coverage as well as stock options to part-time workers.

Which leads us into another question…

Q: Why are you not willing to cut the price of coffee?

A: “We will never – and I mean never – turn our backs on our employees,” Schultz replied.  The company wasn’t willing, he added, to get cheaper coffee or cut health care benefits for each of Starbucks’ employees to cut coffee prices. The premium price is tied into having the best quality beans and treating their employees well.

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Q: What will be the future role of businesses on a macro level?

A: As social services continue to lessen in government, Schultz said businesses will have to do more to provide a safety net for people, as well as provide a safety net for people to serve their communities. Social requirements of the business world are changing, and people expect more from the businesses they patronize. People have become more cost conscious, environmentally aware, health-minded and ethically driven — and are holding businesses to higher standards. Seismic changes with social and digital media, he added, are changing the way businesses must communicate with their customers; people are making buying decisions based on companies they trust and those that align with their values.

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Q: What is the Starbucks brand?

A: Schultz admitted this was a tough question to answer, as the brand really means so many different things. Instead of spitting out a textbook definition, Schultz said he wanted to explain by telling the story of Courtney, an employee in the Queen Anne, WA store. The story goes like this: Schultz walked into a Seattle store one day, and an employee there told him he was in the wrong place, and that he really needed to get to the Queen Anne store as soon as possible. When Schultz asked him why, the employee said, “You’ll know why when you get there.”

So, Schultz got in his car and drove to the Queen Anne store – a store where a long-time employee with special needs and past behavioral issues, Courtney, worked. When he walked in, customers were laughing and chatting, and he noticed that they had thrown a birthday party for Courtney. Schultz says this was such a testament for him as to the emotional relationship between the staff and customers at Starbucks. “You can’t invent or describe it,” he said –“you just know it’s real.”

Starbucks, he added, is defined by those who wear the green apron and what they stand for.” In corporate America, there’s been such a fracturing of trust; for whatever reason, there’s a lot of cynicism and unwillingness to believe.” Consequently, people are hungry to work for a company that’s larger than themselves, he said, a company in which they can find their unique place. Many people go from job to job with bad experiences, becoming increasingly cynical, and when they start working at Starbucks, expect the experience to be the same and are in disbelief that it’s actually different – that the employees and the experience is actually for real.

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Q: Who is your ideal employee?

A: “We want people to join Starbucks who have like-minded values. We need happy people – we’re a people company that serves coffee, not the other way around,” Schultz said. He added that while Starbucks is creating organic, fair trade coffee, people come into the store for a different reason. “The human, emotional experience our people create is why customers come in – it’s more than just for a cup of coffee.”

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Q: What leadership qualities do you look for?

A: Again, Schultz stressed that like-minded values are key. He said that when he returned as CEO, he had 11 direct reports, and he asked them all the same question: “If you don’t believe we can do this, or you don’t believe in me, this isn’t going to work – we’re going to have to have a private conversation.” In the next six months, he said, nine of the 11 people left the company. He needed people who believed in the dream; who believed in the business – and that candor left him with those who did.

Schultz said that as far as employee qualities, it’s important to have:

• People who trust one another
• Those who leave their egos at the door.
• Those who understand that success needs to be shared.

And to not have: People who do a great job of managing up but not managing down.

——————————–

Q: What is Starbucks’ biggest win in the last couple of years since you came back on board?

“Instant coffee,” Schultz said without hesitation. Why? “Because we were able to bring quality to instant. Great companies and entrepreneurs have to continue to push for innovation. People thought when we added instant coffee, it was the beginning of the end. But really, we did it to prove to themselves that they could replicate the taste of brewed coffee – and we did.”

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Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a leap of faith to pursue his or her dream?

A: In addition to getting a mentor, Schultz advised, “Dream big, then dream bigger. You have to put yourself in a position to win, and surround yourself with people who’ve done it before — with those with experience and the skill set to complement you.”

And from the look of things, Schultz isn’t done dreaming quite yet.

Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kick-off to summer, is upon us. Grills will be dusted off and fired up; burgers, brats and corn on the cob will be prepared; bikes will be ridden down ridiculously long paths; swimming pools will be cannonballed into; bathers will be sunned; time with family and friends will be had; and… work will be done?

A new CareerBuilder study of more than 5,600 workers shows that many employees are excitedly taking the fishing rods out of storage, only to sadly put them back hours later in an Arrested Development George Michael-type moment. Due to financial constraints and demanding work schedules, many workers are giving up their vacation plans this year by either choice or necessity (see a snapshot here). Twenty-four percent of full-time workers, in fact, reported they can’t afford to take a vacation this year, up from 21 percent in 2010.  Another 12 percent reported they can afford a vacation, but don’t have plans to take one this year.

Despite these sour numbers, the majority of workers are still planning to take some time away from work — the physical “work,” at least. Three in ten workers plan to take work with them on vacation. Thirty percent said they will contact work while on vacation, up from 25 percent last year.

On the flip side…

While some workers are stuck pretending their vacuum is a jet-ski this year, more than one-third (36 percent) of workers reported feeling more comfortable taking a vacation than they did in 2010. The economy is healing in various ways, and some people’s wallets are also healing enough that vacation is now an option. Twenty-six percent of workers are planning a vacation of 7 to 10 days, while 11 percent expect to be gone 2 weeks or longer. On the more conservative side, 24 percent are planning for a 3 to 5 days for vacation or a weekend getaway. And many (including CareerBuilder’s own VP of HR), say traveling across the world or just setting up camp in your house — and away from your office — is good for your health and may translate to better work while in the office:

“Taking advantage of vacation or paid-time-off benefits is critical not only to your well-being, but to your overall job performance,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.  “Workers who set aside time for R&R tend to have less burnout, more creative energy and higher quality output.  While financial challenges and heavy workloads may make vacation planning difficult, it’s important to find time to recharge away or at home.  It can ultimately translate into a more gratifying work experience that benefits you, your family and your employer.”

So, how can employers turn the vacation outlook from bleak to beachy? Here are Haefner’s tips for helping your employees — and you — take better advantage of time off:

1)  Encourage them to give plenty of notice. Twenty-four percent of workers reported they have had to work while their family went on vacation without them — which is the furthest thing from “fun.” Let your employees know it’s helpful if they coordinate schedules with family, friends and co-workers as early in advance as possible, to more effectively plan vacations before/after big projects and events. Advance notice also gives the vacationing employee, as well as his or her colleagues, plenty of time to prepare and adjust work loads accordingly. Set expectations as far as whether employees want or need to be contacted while on vacation, stick to what you both agree upon, and communicate that to the team as well.
2)  Don’t take them on a guilt trip. Twelve percent of workers reported they feel guilty that they’re not at work while they’re on vacation. Your organization’s vacation benefits are there for a reason — and by setting a positive tone and stressing that vacation is time for employees to enjoy themselves and forget about work as much as possible (and following through by not emailing and calling them while they’re away), you can ease that sense of guilt and show employees that they can, and should, feel good about taking time off work to relax and spend time with family and friends. The work can wait, and if you help them prepare effectively, their time out of the office will be virtually obstacle-free.
3)  Consider discounts — and if you have them, spread the word. Many employers offer discounts on personal entertainment and travel for employees that may make vacation plans more affordable — do you? If not, it’s worth looking into options for business-wide discounts; your employees will appreciate the perk and get better use out of their travel time, and you will be providing a valuable benefit that will not only make current employees happy, but will also help attract future employees to your organization.
4)  Make sure they’re covered. Don’t punish your employees who have scheduled a vacation by abandoning them — instead, give them a hand. Buddy them up with other co-workers to cross-train on responsibilities and keep track of upcoming deadlines, key contacts, and placement of important information to help everyone function more efficiently when someone is out of the office. Think broadly and evaluate how one person’s absence affects other employees who work with them; ensure that any involved parties are kept abreast of project shifts.
5)  Use ‘em or lose ‘em. Sixteen percent of workers reported they gave up vacation days in 2010 because they didn’t have time to use them. Remind employees that vacations don’t have to be an around-the-world trip; even a day off here and there can be a refreshing break from the office grind — and is better than no vacation time at all.

I would also add: Be realistic. If an employee misses 40 hours of work while on vacation, it’s not practical to expect them to make up that entire 40 hours of work once they return. Help employees prioritize what needs to get done before and after they’re gone, so they don’t feel so overloaded (and can actually enjoy their time off). Consult with them on what work is most important, and what can be eliminated or put off until they return and catch up. Some projects or tasks may be able to be jump-started early in anticipation of a vacation; others may be able to wait.

If you’re communicating with your employees and setting up expectations upfront that both parties agree upon, there won’t be surprises later — and employees won’t have to spend all year turning their cubicle into a beach resort and wishing the water cooler into a daiquiri machine.

Do you ever wonder how companies like Google, Best Buy, P&G, Harrah’s, Dell, Starbucks and Sysco – to name just a few – consistently rank on Best Places to Work and Most Desirable Employers lists? It’s not just the fancy perks like free gourmet meals, stock options, on-site fitness facilities and flex schedules. (Well, not just that, anyway.)

The secret to their success is data.

These companies are able to position themselves as best places to work because they rely on data to inform all of their recruitment decisions. They gather data on everything from job seeker and employee perceptions, behaviors and desires (including even the above-mentioned ‘fancy perks’ employees want most) to industry trends and talent supply and demand. They then analyze this data to understand where to focus their recruitment efforts to get the best return on their investment.

Harrah’s, for example, used metrics to evaluate the effects of its health and wellness programs on employee engagement and the bottom line. Starbucks and Best Buy have established metrics that can precisely identify the value of a 0.1 percent increase in engagement among employees at a particular store. Sysco implemented analytics to identify which workforce factors influence employee satisfaction and how they correlated to higher revenue, lower costs, higher retention and stronger customer loyalty. The company then applied these findings to identify what actions by management will have the greatest impact on the business. Similarly, Google used talent intelligence to identify eight effective leadership behaviors, which the company now uses as criteria when considering performance reviews and staffing decisions.

Six Habits of Highly Successful Employers
The above are just a few examples of how companies rely on data to understand both current and potential employees and use this intelligence to position themselves as desirable places to work. So how can you create a similar experience with data to see bottom-line results? Consider the following key concepts that companies who successfully recruit with data get right.

1. They accept data as a crucial element of their business strategy. Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., attributes the success of Harrah’s marketing efforts to collection and analysis of data, an effort that has permitted Harrah’s to go from “what we think to what we know.”  As my colleague Jason Lovelace noted in his post last week, companies have long used data as the basis for their marketing efforts to build their consumer brand and increase customer engagement and loyalty. Now, today’s best employers are applying the same efforts to their recruitment processes.
2. They understand that talent intelligence is an investment. Unfortunately, the data employers and recruiters need to support their hiring and recruitment decision making is often inconsistent, redundant and of poor quality. More than 75 percent of companies who participated in Taleo and Human Capital Institute’s recent Talent Intelligence Study revealed that they did not have access to the talent data they need to make important business decisions. Smart employers understand that the time and money they invest in data up front will result in a greater return and save them time and money associated with recruitment over the long haul.
3. They understand that having the right data is only half the equation. Knowing how to apply that data is the other (crucial) half. Not only do the aforementioned companies gather data on job seekers, employees and the industry overall, they go the extra mile to ensure they implement it. They understand that no matter how good their data is, if they do not use it and apply it to their recruitment efforts, it’s utterly useless.
4. They set measurable goals. As with any business strategy, you need to start with a solid goal in mind. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or confused by the sheer abundance of data out there, so having a focused goal is crucial to help you narrow your efforts and stay focused. Again, data is an investment. Part of that investment should include finding a trustworthy data expert who can help you decide which data points to focus on to meet your goals, and later help you evaluate and create a strategy around this intelligence.
5. They know that data is not one-size-fits-all. All businesses are unique and have unique needs. Again, there are data experts who specialize in helping employers understand which types of data will help them meet their own unique goals, taking into account the various factors that affect their organization and its recruitment efforts.
6. They accept that there’s always room for improvement. No matter how efficient your current process is, there is always room for improvement or enhancement. Oftentimes, employers turn a blind eye to data because they do not want to face the possibility there are challenges to their recruitment process. While ignorance may be bliss, it comes at a price. Smart employers believe there’s no such thing as “negative” data: Every piece of information data reveals an opportunity to enhance their strategy and make them even stronger as an organization.

Bottom line: Data without context is meaningless.
Perhaps Jonathan Rosenberg, Google’s very own SVP product manager, said it best when he wrote, “Data is the sword of the 21^st century. Those who wield it well, the Samurai.”  Getting the competitive advantage in today’s market isn’t just about having the strongest data (or the sharpest sword, if you will), but knowing how to use it as well. After all, data is only as strong as what you do with it. And those employers who understand this concept will have a competitive advantage – both now and in the longer term – when it comes to attracting and retaining their greatest business asset: their employees.

Will Emmons is an Area Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where he is responsible for sales strategies and revenue growth within CareerBuilder’s Enterprise Sales, Strategic Accounts Group, and Integral Accounts Group.

Exclusive webcast: Join CareerBuilder’s Area Vice Presidents Will Emmons and Jason Lovelace on Thursday, June 23 for Data Not Just for Data’s Sake, wherein they discuss adapting to the ever-changing recruitment landscape.  Learn more or register here.

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY: See how you can get a free copy of one of two best-selling leadership books! See contest details below!

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Authored by Lisa Orrell. Orrell is known globally as The Generation Relations Expert. She is the author of the top-selling books Millennials Incorporated and Millennials into Leadership. In the final part of this three-part series, Orrell further explains the importance of training your Millennial employees for leadership roles – and shares practical tips for teaching your employees that crucial leadership skill: problem-solving.

As a consultant, I often hear employers tell me that one of their main challenges – and one they feel their Millennials struggle with – is problem solving. With that in mind, I’d like to share the following tips for problem solving, which you can share with your Millennial team members as you continue to groom them for leadership.

12 Problem-Solving Tips to Teach Your Gen Y Future Leaders:

1. Leaders First Envision Success: Leaders know that every problem has an answer; it just needs to be found. Worrying about the problem gets you nowhere, while working towards the answer will get you everywhere. Leaders control their attitude and focus on results.
2. Leaders Clarify the Problem: Leaders determine what’s wrong by cutting through clutter and noise, and by focusing on the issues that are at the core of the problem.
3. Leaders Get the Facts: Leaders collect all the facts about the problem because they know that some problems are not as big as they seem. Fact-finding is an analytical, rather than an emotional task, so it is useful in other ways, too. When a follower comes to a leader with a problem, a good leader will start asking questions and gather the facts, rather than engage in an emotional discussion.  Fact-finding is a process and you may have to dig deep to get to the real problem. Leaders are great at asking the right fact-finding questions. They’re also adept at listening to the answers and “hearing” any sub-text that could illuminate the situation.
4. Leaders Start By Looking to Themselves for Possible Solutions: If the problem does need attention quickly, leaders first look to themselves for answers. They ponder what actions they might take personally that could resolve the problem. They brainstorm all ideas and write them down. If the problem was developed by someone else, they ask that person how they think it should be resolved. And if the issue is significant, the leader will go to their team, or trusted advisors, for idea sharing. Being able to get a variety of solutions to choose from, from people with different perspectives and experience, is powerful.
5. Leaders Continually Self-Evaluate: Leaders constantly assess whether the process is going well, if the solutions being discussed make sense, and if they are doing everything they can to solve the issue.
6. Leaders Do Research: Leaders consider what research would be valuable to their problem-solving efforts (like searching the Internet, asking other people, reading books, etc.). Leaders do not think of themselves as all-knowing and understand that the first instinct for an answer is not necessarily the best. Sometimes when you are too knowledgeable about a subject, you can overlook something obvious.
7. Leaders Make Decisions: Leaders pick a solution and implement it. They may start with a quick-fix solution and follow up with a more long-lasting fix, but they decide what needs to be done…and they do it.
8. Leaders Follow Through: Effective leaders don’t just implement the solution and turn away. They follow through with making sure necessary team members are also doing their part (if required). And they ask everyone involved how they think the “solution” is working out now that it’s actually being used.
9. Leaders Create Achievable Markers: Leaders break the problem-solving process into small steps, and then focus on the most immediate steps. They know how to break problems down into their component tasks and then track the progress of each one over measure.
10. Leaders Aren’t Too Proud to Say “I’m Wrong”: Be ready to undo whatever (ineffective) solution you implemented without shame. A respected leader is never embarrassed to correct mistakes. Without mistakes no progress would ever be made!
11. Leaders Don’t Just Know How to Solve Problems; They Know How to Find Them: Great leaders can detect smoke, rather than simply trying to fight raging fires. That’s the type of leader you should groom your Millennials to be. And it’s critical they have a good rapport with their team to encourage them to share bad news, red flags, or concerns with them quickly!
12. Leaders Take Ownership: Ineffective leaders try to pass-the-buck by placing the blame on their peers or employees. They act like small children on a playground when confronted by an adult after a toy is broken; all of them point fingers at each other. But when you’re a boss and something in your department or team is “broken,” and your supervisor asks you how or why it happened, you must own it as the team leader.

Finally, if nothing else, remember that great leaders view problems as opportunities. They recognize that problems happen, even in very successful organizations, despite the best leadership talent and most sophisticated management techniques. They actually embrace problems, because they see them as opportunities to learn and improve. Therefore, they seek out problems rather than sweep them under the rug. Tell your Millennials not be sweepers!

If you missed the first two parts of this series on preparing your Millennial employees for leadership, you can read about “6 Ways to Retain Your Gen Y Future Leaders” and “9 Ways to Teach Gen Y Employees a Leadership Mindset” now.

Want to win a free copy of Millennials into Leadership or Millennials Incorporated?

WHAT TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR WORKING WITH MILLENNIALS? Whether you work with Millennials, or are one yourself, chances are you have some nuggets of wisdom to offer. Give us your thoughts, and you could win one of Lisa Orrell’s best-selling leadership books.

HOW TO ENTER:
In the comments section below, simply submit a one- or two-sentence answer to this question: “What advice do you have for working with Millennials?” Ten (10) lucky winners will be drawn at random to receive a copy of one of the books of their choosing: Millennials into Leadership or Millennials Incorporated. See contest rules for details.

Choosy moms choose — work? Or family? That’s the struggle many working moms are facing, as many working moms say they’re having trouble finding the time to both support their families financially and be home with their families.

Although the economy has made significant improvements since we talked with CareerBuilder’s Mary Delaney about working moms one year ago, many families are still surviving on just one working parent; more than one-third (35 percent) of working moms and 44 percent of working dads surveyed by CareerBuilder said they are the sole financial provider for their household.

In addition to the fact that one parent is often trying to be the sole provider financially while also being physically and emotionally there for their family, the burden may be even heavier for women, more of whom reported they earned a low salary than did male respondents.

Just how much lower of a salary?

Comparing these two groups, working moms who were the sole provider were three times as likely to earn less than $35,000 (45 percent of moms compared to 15 percent of dads), while working dads were more than twice as likely to earn $50,000 or more (63 percent of dads versus 28 percent of moms) and nearly three times as likely to earn six figures (18 percent of dads compared to 7 percent of moms), according to the 2011 CareerBuilder Mother’s Day survey. The survey was conducted among 484 working moms and 836 working dads, employed full-time, with children 18 and under living in the household.

Quality — but not quantity

Working moms are still facing less quality time at home due to financial challenges, heavier workloads and longer hours in the office — and despite an improving economy, this reality has actually worsened. One quarter of all working moms said they spend two hours or less with their children each work day, up from 18 percent in 2010.  Twenty-four percent take work home at least once a week.

Workers want employer support

Many workers are on the search to find that perfect work/life balance — and for working parents, it’s top priority. Despite any existing financial struggles, 31 percent of all working moms said they would take a job with less pay if it meant they could spend more time with their children.

For employers, that’s a statistic worth paying attention to. Working moms want flexible options to help them spend more time with their families — and in an environment when many of them are working with less pay, longer hours and extremely heavy workloads, consider the benefits to both them and your organization that more balance in their lives could bring. Happier employees who feel that their needs are valued in an organization are more likely to want to stay with your company and contribute in the long run.

“While all indications point to economic recovery, working moms are still waiting to feel the effects,” said Hope Gurion, Chief Development Officer at CareerBuilder and mother of two. “However, these moms possess a great deal of resourcefulness and resilience and continue to provide for their families.  While moms say they would give up things, including pay, to spend more time with their children, they are making the most of the time they do have and getting creative in work arrangements.”

Gurion recommends the following tips for working moms who are overworked:

1. Talk to other moms – Many families are in the same boat as you, and having a support network is essential to your personal and professional sanity. Get tips from other working moms on how they juggle personal and professional commitments, how they’ve managed through difficult financial situations and how they’ve moved ahead in their careers.
2. Keep an “I’m Fabulous” file – Keep track of all of your accomplishments within the organization, quantifying results whenever possible, and list out the additional responsibilities you have taken on in the last year.  It helps you to build your case when negotiating for a better salary or consideration for promotion with your employer.
3. Go in with a game plan – The vast majority of working moms who have taken advantage of flexible work arrangements said it hasn’t negatively impacted their careers, so talk to your supervisor or HR department and explore options. Make sure to come to that conversation with a game plan on how you can manage workload and cover responsibilities.
4. Get organized – Structure in your life will save you time, stress and mental energy. Keep one calendar for business and family commitments to avoid double-booking. Set up a schedule for chores, homework, family activities, playtime, and other family commitments.
5. Remember quality over quantity – Make the most of your personal time. When you’re home, it’s all about them. Wait until after the children go to bed before checking email or finishing up that presentation.
6. Schedule “me time” – Working moms need to take care of themselves too. Put actual time on the calendar for an hour or more of doing something you enjoy like going to the gym, taking a walk, or reading.

Don’t worry, working dads — though this survey focused on working moms, we’ve got you covered. Check out our five tips to help fathers better balance their work and family lives for some great ideas on de-stressing and re-focusing. And, really, many of the tips above apply to working parents in general, not just mothers — so they may also help you formulate the game plan you need moving forward.

Employers, have you been helping working parents achieve more of a work/life balance? If so, how?

Content strategist Mike Loukides recently wrote, “The future belongs to the companies who figure out how to collect and use data successfully.”

While he may have been referring to marketing data, he could easily have been referring to recruitment. After all, recruitment essentially is just another form of marketing. Why do advertisers create focus groups? Administer surveys? Study consumers? They take the time to gather information on their consumers, analyze it, and use it to inform their marketing strategy and ultimately keep them ahead of the competition in the eyes of their target audience.

When it comes to recruiting, the importance of data to inform key decisions is no different. It is crucial that hiring managers and recruiters understand their target audience – who they are, what they value, how they approach their job search – in order to ensure they are reaching this audience with the right messages, at the right times and through the right channels.

Gone are the days when recruiters and hiring managers could get away with simply putting a job ad in a local paper, hoping people apply. Today, recruitment – that is, the efforts that attract, engage and retain the highest quality of employees – requires a strategy, and the key to that strategy is data.

And with more job seeker and employee data available than ever, employers today have no good reason not to use data to inform their recruiting efforts. In fact, ignoring this data is downright detrimental to their organizations, considering that the competition for attracting and retaining the best talent is more intense than ever.  Today’s savviest employers are already using data as part of their recruitment strategy, and the trend is only increasing; those who are not quick to embrace data will simply fall behind.

Data 101
Perhaps I should back up a bit, though. When I refer to ‘data,’ I’m referring to the years of research gathered from various job seeker, employee and employer surveys and tracking tools – all of which enable employers to make the most informed decisions around how to best grow their organization.

Still skeptical about the power and importance of data? Try me. No matter how baffling, how complicated or how seemingly obscure, there is almost no question regarding your recruitment process data cannot help you answer.  Even questions you didn’t know you had may be answered through data analysis. Take the following:

• Employment brand: What are the messages I’m sending to candidates? Does the way I perceive my corporate culture differ from the way others perceive it? How can I change this? What messages do I need to send to attract the candidates I want? Data can inform the way you communicate your message about your employer brand and prove yourself as an employer of choice – enabling you to better attract and retain top talent.
• Talent drain: Which companies do my employees typically leave to come work for me? Where do they go when they leave? Is there a pattern here? Am I targeting the right candidates? Who am I competing with for candidates? What do they offer that I don’t, and can I change this?
• Supply and demand: Where are my ideal candidates located? Which area of the country? Do I need to consider non-local candidates and offer relocation services? How can I convince qualified local talent to stay and work for me?
• Relocation: Are job seekers willing to relocate? Are workers of a certain age or education level more likely to relocate than others? Are certain areas of the country more attractive to job seekers than others?
• Compensation: Is the salary I offer competitive? Does it prevent candidates from applying to my organization? How does it compare to current trends in terms of industry, location and company size?
• Diversity: How can I attract a diverse set of workers? What do job seekers with various skills, experience and educational backgrounds seek in a potential employer? What are the messages I need to communicate to attract these different groups? What can I offer at my organization to promote and implement diversity?
• Applicant drop-off: Am I attracting the right candidates, but losing them during the application process? Is there a way I can simplify the application process to ensure candidates complete the application process? What prevents people from applying to my positions?

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface…

There is so much power in recruitment data as far as what you can find out about job seekers, employees, and, ultimately, your own organization, it’s nearly impossible to justify not using it as part of your recruitment process. While the idea of implementing data into your recruitment strategy may seem overwhelming, it will ultimately save more time and money than ever once you see all the possibilities data intelligence opens up for you. Even better: you will continue to reap the rewards long after you’ve put your strategy in place.

If it helps, think of it this way: In the simplest of terms, the question you’re ultimately answering is, “How can I most efficiently attract and retain the talent who will help my organization grow?”

Otherwise, if you’re not using data, it’s all just guesswork.

Jason Lovelace is an Area Vice President at CareerBuilder, LLC, where he is responsible for sales strategies and revenue growth for companies ranging from Fortune 1,000 companies to midsized businesses throughout the U.S.

Join CareerBuilder’s Area Vice Presidents Jason Lovelace and Will Emmons on Thursday, June 23 for Data Not Just for Data’s Sake, an exclusive webcast about adapting to the ever-changing recruitment landscape. More information about the webcast and details on how to register will be posted soon.

Say what you will about reality TV: there are quality programs out there that are not only entertaining, but that truly enrich people’s lives. Just ask Shelly Sun, CEO and co-founder of BrightStar Care, one of the nation’s fastest growing private healthcare companies. Last week, Sun, along with her husband, JD, appeared on the CBS hit reality show Undercover Boss, which follows different bosses each week as they go incognito to learn more about the inner workings of their companies.

Asked if she would do it all over again, she doesn’t need to think twice: “Absolutely,” she told me in a recent phone interview, going on to describe the experience as “really impactful.”

Shelly Sun had the itch to go undercover as a boss long before her episode ever aired.  A fan of the show since its premiere in 2010, Sun recalls watching the episode featuring 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto and thinking, “What a great opportunity to really see what goes on the front lines.”

So it’s not surprising that when Undercover Boss producers approached Sun about appearing on the show last year, she jumped at the opportunity.  “It was a no-brainer,” Sun says about her decision to go undercover.  Before Shelly and her husband appeared on the show, “they hadn’t featured a woman, they’d never had a minority…no one who’d ever started actually put their money on the line and risked it all to have a business.” Shelly and her husband started BrightStar Care in 2002 after they couldn’t find quality and reliable home healthcare for her husband’s grandmother.  So she was excited by the opportunity to help make that happen and represent a new face of the CEO.

More than anything, however, Sun was eager to witness and pay tribute to the dedication of her caregivers and hard work of her franchisees.

“I had every confidence in the world that my franchisees were doing a great job and I have the most amazing caregivers in the country. When you believe in your product, you believe in your service, going behind the scenes didn’t seem like a scary adventure at all, but one that would be a lot of fun and that would highlight and recognize those that make more possible in our brand every day.”

Sun was hardly disappointed. Her experience working on the frontlines with her employees surpassed her expectations.  She says she had “moments of surprise” by getting to witness firsthand just how much of a difference her workers were making in the lives of their patients and customers.

Asked if she was afraid the employees featured on the show would feel betrayed or fooled, Sun says the thought never crossed her mind. Instead, she was focusing on “the opportunity to impact their life, like they’d impacted mine and impact our clients every day” by offering them such rewards as a free vacation, tuition reimbursement, and money to start a franchise.

The experience has given her a laundry list of ideas for ways to improve her employees’ professional and personal lives. For instance, she has begun looking into ways to extend the company’s new interactive communications tool, care-together.com, to help active duty workers and their families stay connected, as well as resources for helping families that have been affected by autism.

Sun also plans to create more opportunities for corporate staff members to visit and spend time with franchisees and caregivers. She wants to enable them the opportunity to “see the care these workers provide, how special they are and the risks these franchisees are taking every day to make more possible and to build and strengthen our business…I think that could strengthen our DNA and deepen our commitment across our corporate team that’s enabling so much on the front lines, behind the scenes.”

Another positive outcome of the show? The opportunity to send the message that BrightStar is a great place to work, one that takes care of its employees, and one where employees truly take pride in their work. Sun was delighted to see the pride her employees took in “working for a company where we push it to that higher standard of quality.”

So does she have any advice for other CEOs after going through this experience? “I would encourage every CEO to do this, regardless of whether you’re part of a televised event or not,” Sun told me.

“There’s only so much you can do from the corner office. I made so many more improvements to my business model by getting out there and rolling up my sleeves. Don’t wait for the TV show. Make your own undercover boss event happen.”

Related Content: “What Working on ‘Undercover Boss’ Has Taught Me”: An Interview with ‘Boss’ Creator Eli Holzman

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY: See how you can get a free copy of one of two best-selling leadership books! See contest details below!

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Authored by Lisa Orrell. Orrell is known globally as The Generation Relations Expert. She is the author of the top-selling books Millennials Incorporated and Millennials into Leadership. In the second part of this series, Orrell shares nine ways to teach your Millennial employees how to adopt a leadership mindset now – regardless of their current position within your organization.

In the leadership workshops I conduct for Millennials, one of the key points I emphasize is that even an entry-level management position IS a leadership role. I also explain to them the need to understand the difference between a leadership mindset and a manager mindset from Day One of their first professional job. After all, they are judged on everything they do and say – and everything they don’t do and don’t say – from the very beginning of their career.

As their supervisor or employer, your goal should be to help your employees understand this concept; however, I know many upper managers who still struggle with it themselves, so it’s important to remember the following (which you can then pass on to your employees):

Even if you just manage one person, you are also a leader. Yes, you may be considered a “manager” on paper, but you are leading, too. And even though your current position may not be one that “sets direction for the entire company or a department,” you are still a leader. Furthermore, even if you currently don’t manage anyone, you can take on leadership roles (e.g. heading up a project, volunteering to plan a company event, etc.).

Regardless of the type of management roles your Millennials assume, cultivating a leadership mindset is critical to their success early on. Successful managers are also successful leaders, and successful leaders experience employee retention and loyalty.

I realize not every Millennial in your company wants to be a senior executive or “lead” the whole business. But to not embrace some fundamental, effective leadership qualities – which will make their employees happier and more productive – is to BE LAZY, in my opinion.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “People don’t leave companies; they leave managers.” Be sure to share that with your Millennial employees and emphasize that your goal is to help them avoid being a young leader employees choose to leave.

To further illustrate this point, consider the following key differences between a manager mindset and a leader mindset. Share these with your Millennial employees as well, as you work with them to adopt leadership into their personal management styles:

1.       Leaders seek employee commitment – Managers seek employee compliance

2.       Leaders are proactive – Managers are reactive

3.       Leaders create change – Managers maintain the status quo

4.       Leaders take risks – Managers are risk-averse

5.       Leaders are passionate – Managers are controlling

6.       Leaders create loyal followers – Managers have subordinates

7.       Leaders use personal charisma – Managers rely on bestowed authority

8.       Leaders give credit – Managers take credit

9.       Leaders understand what motivates each employee – Managers stick to a one-size-fits-all approach

Managers who choose not to embody important leadership qualities suffer – as do their employees and their companies as a whole. Shortsighted managers tend to focus on process and procedures, not people and vision, whereas leaders focus on the latter first.

Groom your Millennial employees to blend solid management skills with strong leadership qualities, and they will have a much better chance of succeeding in any role, at any level, within your organization.

If you missed the first part of this three-part series on preparing your Millennial employees for leadership, you can read about 6 Ways to Retain Your Gen Y Future Leaders now.  Soon to come: “12 Problem Solving Tips to Teach Your Gen Y Future Leaders,” ths final part of this series.

Want to win a free copy of Millennials into Leadership or Millennials Incorporated?

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LEADER AND A MANAGER?  Answer this question for the chance to win one of Lisa Orrell’s best-selling leadership books.

HOW TO ENTER: In the comments section below, simply submit a one- or two-sentence answer to this question: “What’s the difference between a leader and manager?” Ten (10) lucky winners will be drawn at random to receive a copy of one of the books of their choosing: Millennials into Leadership or Millennials Incorporated.

Update: The time period for this giveaway has expired.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Authored by Lisa Orrell. Orrell is known globally as The Generation Relations Expert. She is the author of the top-selling books Millennials Incorporated and Millennials into Leadership. In the first of a three-part series, Orrell discusses not only how to better manage and retain your Millennial talent, but also how to groom them to be effective leaders.

Why do companies – large and small – spend so much time worrying about how to retain Millennials (a.k.a. Gen Y)?  It’s basically a matter of math.

According to the Employment Policy Foundation (EPF), our country is at the beginning of a labor shortage of approximately 35 million skilled and educated workers, which is estimated to continue over the next two decades – especially now that Baby Boomers are starting to retire at an estimated rate of 1 every 8 seconds.

Out of necessity, Millennials – many of whom may only have one to three years of career experience – are moving into management roles much sooner (and younger!) than the generations before them did – and are expected to perform in these roles successfully.

While it’s entirely possible to groom this next generation of professionals to be effective leaders, you must first be able to retain them (otherwise, grooming them for leadership won’t even matter!). For the first of this three-part series, I’d like to share six effective tips to help employers and managers effectively retain Millennial talent.

6 Ways to Retain Your Gen Y Employees:

1. Constant Contact: A recent survey of over 1,000 Millennials showed that over 60 percent of them want to hear from their managers at least once a day. That message is pretty clear: They want to communicate with you often so make it happen or they will leave! Unfortunately many older generations tend to operate differently. Oftentimes, they have a hands-off approach to management, but this style clearly does not work well with Millennials.
2. Praise Culture: We all need praise from our employers, but Millennials tend to need it more often than older generations. If they are not feeling “valued” on a regular basis, they will leave. So many well-known companies are shifting to a “praise culture” to retain them…and it improves retention of their older employees, too! Get creative and have fun with this. I know of one company that actually appointed a “celebrations assistant” in their office and one of her tasks is to throw confetti on employees (in their cubes or offices) whenever a manager tells her an employee had done something exceptional. I realize this strategy may sound a bit extreme to you, but this company is obviously seeing an ROI (or the confetti wouldn’t be happening).
3. Rapid Advancement Alternatives: Millennials feel that “paying their dues” is just occupying space for no good reason. So if a Millennial employee is truly qualified for a promotion, many companies now offer it to them versus giving the position to someone who has simply been at the company longer. But what if they’re not qualified to move up the ladder yet and getting antsy? Find creative ways to give them more responsibility, such as letting them do one or more of the following:
   1. Start, or write for, the company blog
   2. Set-up, or participate in, your company Fan Page on Facebook or other social media presence
   3. Contribute to the company e-newsletter
   4. Research and set-up a new software solution that improves productivity for your company (or department).

   You don’t always have to give them a raise or promotion to keep them happy; being creative with increased responsibility can work great! Millennials have fast minds and get bored quickly, but it’s your job as their employer to help eliminate the “boredom” factor.

4. Cubicle Shackles: Millennials have a very hard time understanding why they need to sit in a cubicle 8-10 hours a day. They want the flexibility to work anytime, from anywhere, and many companies are revamping their policies to provide more flexibility, using flex time as a “perk” to attract Millennials to their workforce. The upside? Employees from all generations respond favorably to this flexibility and employers actually find that most employees become more productive…and tend to put in longer hours!
5. Mentor Programs: This is key! Millennials have grown up with a lot of guidance from their parents, society and teachers. Now, they expect this type of handholding at work. So, heed this advice! If your company, large or small, doesn’t offer a formal (or informal) mentorship program, create one. I recently spoke with three Millennials who actually quit their jobs within one year because their employers had promised mentorship, but never delivered. Mentorship truly means that much to them.
6. Leadership Training: There is a resurgence of Leadership & Management training programs happening because the Millennials want it, need it and are demanding it. In the past year, my Millennial Business Boot Camp and Get a Grip on Leadership workshops have become, hands down, my most requested presentations – that’s how important leadership training has become. Unfortunately, MANY companies still do not offer these types of programs, much to their own detriment. It’s only a matter of time before their Millennial employees leave to pursue organizations that do offer these programs.

Finally, it’s important to remember that Millennials’ wants and needs aren’t much different from those of older generations; they just have a lower tolerance threshold than generations before them. A Boomer may put up with a job for five years even if he or she is bored or doesn’t feel valued, but a Millennial may only tolerate it for five months…or until the current job market improves.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be posting parts two and three of this series, to address tips and best practices for preparing Millennials to be successful leaders in your organization.

For more information about Lisa Orrell, visit: www.TheOrrellGroup.com.

As we just discussed here on The Hiring Site, the hiring outlook for this past month was the strongest it’s been in three years — which is great news. But, while in some industries employers also have plenty of candidates to choose from, in the health care field, the demand for services is rising so quickly that there aren’t enough health care workers to fulfill the growing demand. And this year alone, the first wave of more than 70 million baby boomers will turn 65 and 30 million more Americans will be will be insured, adding to the need for jobs like nurse practitioners. So, how are companies dealing with this challenge? A newly released CareerBuilder study of more than 1,000 health care workers gives us some insight into the job challenges these workers are facing, and includes advice to help organizations continue to retain top talent. You can also download the survey report in its entirety.

What did health care workers tell us?

1. A lack of career advancement opportunities is the top challenge health care workers face in their current positions.

What’s most challenging for health care workers — a) the sometimes-stressful environment? b) The lack of time for lunch breaks? c) The scrubs they must wear? No — it’s d) none of the above. In reality, more than half (51 percent) of health care workers cited a lack of advancement opportunities as the top challenge they faced in their current job. As patients are workers’ first priority, and as work overload was second in line as far as challenges cited, with 40 percent saying it was their biggest challenge, workers need management to help them make career advancement a priority as well. With so many balls for health care workers to juggle,  it’s important for health care organizations to provide career advancement programs and opportunities, to make those opportunities known, and to support workers’ efforts to take advantage of them by making it easier for them to do so.

3.    Tenure rates for nurses are low across various health care organizations.

Analysis of CareerBuilder databases revealed that registered nurses have a median tenure of 1.4 years. This is much lower than the 4.4 years that wage and salary workers had had with their current employer (according to a 2010 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study). Offices of physicians see the lowest nurse turnover, with a median job tenure of 1.57 years, while nursing care facilities have the highest ,at .97 years tenure. Falling in the middle were kidney dialysis centers (1.23) and home health care services (1.17). Operators of certain health care facilities may have a harder time retaining employees because of the difficult nature of the work.

3. Nurses are more concerned with doing their job well in a good environment than with the amount of money they make.

Nurses are the segment of the workforce hardest to recruit and retain — and with a median 1.4-year tenure, what factors are nurses struggling with, that, if resolved, might make a difference in workplace satisfaction? When nurses were asked about their biggest workplace challenge, salary was not at the top of the heap — they put salary as fifth (35 percent) on their list of biggest workplace challenges. Topping their list, though, was a shortage of needed staff (49 percent) and, as many health care workers across the board stated, a lack of advancement opportunities (49 percent). It’s not a surprise, then, to hear about nurses going on strike just last month over staff shortages.

4.    A wide disconnect exists between benefits offered by employers and what employees say their organizations provide.

In the CareerBuilder survey, health care professionals were asked if their current or most recent employer offered a number of different programs to their health care employees. Of the 10 programs listed, in-house skills training was the only program said to be offered by more than 50 percent of the survey-takers. Below are the full results:

• In-house skills training (57 percent)
• Education reimbursement (43 percent)
• Technology training (43 percent)
• Flexible work schedules (42 percent)
• Cross-training (40 percent)
• Opportunity to mentor others (37 percent)
• Autonomy in position (33 percent)
• Opportunity for innovation (24 percent)
• Performance-based incentives (22 percent)
• Sign-on bonus (8 percent)

In addition to the somewhat alarming statistic that nine of the 10 factors were said to be offered by fewer than half of the respondents’ workplaces, there also appears to be a disconnect between what employers are offering and what employees believe they offer. For instance, more than half (57 percent) of health care employees said that in-house skill trainings were offered by their employer; however, an even higher number of employers (68 percent) indicate that they provided this type of perk — meaning a lot of employees left in the dark about the trainings their employer provides. This disconnect illustrates that while health care organizations may be offering valuable perks, these programs are not always being messaged effectively to employees.

5.    Patient to staff ratio is strained, leaving workers spread thin with little time for career development.

We’ve heard before about health care workers’ desire to be heard — and survey data supports that idea. However, because workers are so tied down in managing their daily duties, there’s often little to no time left to focus on professional development. Nearly six in ten (57 percent) of health care workers said that the health care professional-per-patient ratio is getting worse, allowing less time for professional development and career advancement and requiring more time on day-to-day duties.

How can employers better support their employees?

It’s clear that money is not the only thing on health care workers’ minds — just like workers in many other professions, they seek opportunities for advancement in their careers, professional recognition, and benefits. They also need both the support of management and a robust enough staff to make this more easily attainable.

Although salary and benefits are important, lower-cost factors such as mentoring, career-path planning, training and support also greatly influence health care employees to apply to and stay at a job. With health care organizations battling for top talent and facing high demand for positions, it’s important for employers to take the temperature of their staff to best meet their needs, as well as keep a finger on the pulse of job seekers.

There’s no overnight solution, but it’s important to develop and nurture an environment where your employees can thrive. Talk to your employees about their biggest needs and challenges, and create a plan to help them more effectively meet these challenges. Find ways to communicate to your employees about the career advancement, training  and benefits programs your organization offers, and find ways to make it easier for them to participate. And if your organization doesn’t offer these initiatives, keep in mind you’re likely missing out on a lot of talent willing to sign on with organizations that are. Giving your employees ways to continue to learn and advance in their careers will give you a distinct advantage over your competition, and your employees will have another reason to grow with your organization, rather than look for the nearest exit.

What do you see as a solution toward fixing the turnover issues that ail so many health care organizations?

If you’ve seen the recent reports that more employees are quitting their jobs as the economy improves, then hearing that employee loyalty nationwide is at a three-year low should be about as shocking as hearing that Charlie Sheen is getting a reality TV show.

I mean, we all saw this coming, right? (Well, maybe not all of us…See below.)

Today, MetLife released a new study indicating that, not only is employee loyalty at its lowest point since 2008, but some employers evidently aren’t aware of this fact. (Awkward!) According to the study, 47 percent of employees report feeling a very strong loyalty to their employers, while 51 percent of employers said they felt employees were very loyal.

You can read the details of the study here, but below are some of the larger implications that you as an employer need to consider:

Certain benefits matter more than you think:  While employers are generally correct in thinking that salary and wages are the biggest drivers of employee loyalty, many underestimate the role retirement benefits and non-medical benefits (such as dental, disability and life insurance) play in employee satisfaction, too.

Benefits are only as good as how well you communicate them: Maybe it’s not the lack of benefits that irks employees, but the lack of awareness.  Another finding was that more than half of all employees (55 percent) believe the communication they receive from their employers regarding benefits is either unclear or too infrequent.  If you’re doing a poor job of communicating your employee benefits and how employees can take advantage of them, you might as well not offer them at all.  

“Effective communications can make the difference between benefits that are understood and valued, and benefits that are overlooked and underutilized. Communicating effectively is related to improved benefits satisfaction, job satisfaction and loyalty,” said MetLife’s vice president of U.S. Business, Dr. Ronald S. Leopold, in the press release.

It’s time to get over your fear of social media: It’s your call whether you want to use social media or not (and the survey shows 70 percent of you are leaning towards the not end of this spectrum)…but know this: There’s a growing desire among Gen Y and Gen X employees to acquire benefits information through social networking sites – and a similar number want to get them through mobile devices, too.

Of course, none of this is to imply that your employees are dissatisfied (or among of the 74 percent of workers who already have one foot out the door)…But how do you know unless you ask?

If you take nothing else from this survey, let it serve as a reminder that you and your employees might not be on the same page in terms of what they want and what you’re giving them. So take the hint and start checking in with your employees again - conduct surveys, solicit feedback, ask for suggestions – and then actually USE THE INFORMATION.  

If you don’t start meeting your employees halfway, it’s only a matter of time before they find an employer who does.

For further reading on employee retention during times of economic uncertainty, check out Amy Chulik’s recent post on the subject, Employee Morale is Not a Trend – So Don’t Treat It Like One

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Authored by John Thedford. Thedford is CEO of La Familia Pawn and Jewelry, a chain of high-end pawnbroker shops with locations throughout Central and South Florida, and he is the author of Smart Moves Management: Cultivating World-Class People and Profits. For more information, visit www.lafamiliapawn.com.

A company without good employees is like a shark without teeth … very ineffective and bound for extinction. Here are some strategies that can help you hire and promote the best people for your business.

Being a business owner requires a strong commitment to success and attention to detail. Tasked with many responsibilities, entrepreneurs have to maintain a vigilant focus on the key processes that drive their operations. Based on my own experiences, I believe the trickiest part of running a company is the hiring process. Why? Because people are complex creatures with unique attributes, and hiring the right employees is imperative to the success of your endeavor. In other words, when it comes to hiring, the stakes are high.

The “right” people are the core of your strength. Inversely, the “wrong” people will make you weaker and less effective. In the end, you’ve worked hard to start your business, and you need to create an environment where everyone functions on the same page and works toward the same goals. How do you accomplish this? Take hiring — and the development of superior talent — very seriously, and have a process in place that gives you the best chance of hiring and retaining employees who will help you realize success.

A Strategic Path to Success

Through trial and error, I’ve learned that business success isn’t a model; it’s an equation of compatibility and chemistry among employees, customers and investors. Creating a strategic path based on this philosophy will pay major dividends because an engaged employee will provide exceptional customer service and make so much money for themselves and for the company that your shareholders will marvel at the outcome.

Ask yourself a simple question. Who do you want representing your business? Remember that you’re looking for specific attributes, and you need someone who fits comfortably into your company culture. An Ivy League graduate with the wrong skill sets for your particular venture brings little value to the table, no matter how well-educated that person might be. And a bad hire can be costly; the industry rule of thumb suggests that hiring the wrong person costs you three times his or her annual salary. A $50,000 employee costs you $150,000; a $150,000 employee costs $450,000. That’s for starters. There’s also lost opportunity cost … plus lost business, potential customers and momentum. And now you’re back to square one, looking for a replacement.

In order to avoid these setbacks, it’s important to understand that a successful hiring process begins with a clear understanding of the critical traits that are required to get the job done. Those who seek to complete the type of work required to operate your business possess a set of core competencies that define and highlight their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Once you determine which specific attributes best suit your needs, you need to learn how to identify them when selecting new hires or promotable candidates.

Identifying Core Competencies

Each business requires its own set of core competencies that management feels will help maximize growth and profitability. The key is that everyone involved in the hiring process understands the selected competences, asks the right questions to gain better insight into the thoughts and tendencies possessed by candidates (both new hire and promotable), and makes the right hiring decisions that will ultimately strengthen the overall staff.

At La Familia Pawn & Jewelry, we’ve developed our own set of core competencies that fall into the following categories: intellectual, personal, interpersonal, management and motivational. Based on a comprehensive interview and a temperament questionnaire that we require every candidate to complete, we feel confident determining if a person possesses the right mix of desired traits. When analyzing motivational competencies, for example, we want to consider the following factors:

• Energy — Exhibits energy, strong desire to achieve and appropriately high dedication level.
• Passion — Exhibits dynamism, charisma, excitement and positive “can-do” attitude.
• Tenacity — Demonstrates consistent reward of passionately striving to achieve results.

Specific interview questions we include to help determine if a candidate possesses these motivational competencies include:

Energy

1.     How many hours per day have you worked, on the average, in the past year?

2.     What motivates you?

Passion

1.     How would you rate yourself (and why) in enthusiasm and charisma?

2.     Describe the pace at which you work – fast, slow, moderate – and the circumstances under which it varies.

Tenacity

1.     What are the challenges you have faced and overcome?

2.     What will references say is your general level of urgency?

By developing your own set of core competencies, you can begin to incorporate hiring strategies that give you the best chance to hire the people you need in order to succeed. And once you get these individuals into the fold, you need to hold it all together with strong leadership and a positive, motivational work culture.

If you’re asking author, advertising CEO and performance coach Nigel Marsh, the answer would be an enthusiastic (and Aussie-accented) “No.” In Marsh’s TED talk (you can watch the video at bottom of this post), in which he shares his thoughts on work/life balance and asks the oft-raised question, “What does a life well-lived look like?”, he argues that it’s not up to corporations or outside interests to determine employees’ work/life balance — it’s up to the employees themselves.

Work/life balance (or whatever phrase you want to use to refer to the idea) is often on the minds of employers and employees alike, and it’s an idea that continues to evolve as technology seeps into more and more aspects of our existence and workplace/personal lines are getting even blurrier. Marsh tells the story of his own transformation from a “classic corporate warrior” who was eating, drinking, and working too much and neglecting his family, to someone who turned 40 and decided to turn his life around and spend a year at home with his family — to a man who has, for the seven years since, spent his time struggling with studying and writing about striking a balance between “work” and “life.”

Marsh’s observations during the last seven years have led him to make four observations about work/life balance:

1) If society is to make any progress on this issue, we need an honest debate. The problem, Marsh says, is that all of the discussions about work/life balance involve people complaining about the phrase itself. He also argues that discussions around perks like flex time and dress down Fridays only serve to mask the core issue: That certain career choices are fundamentally incompatible with being meaningfully engaged on a day-to-day basis with a young family. According to him, we need to start acknowledging the core issues and thinking about the issue on another level if we really want to see change.

2) We must be responsible for setting and enforcing the boundaries that we want in our lives. We have to take responsibility for the type of lives we want to lead, Marsh argues — not rely on others to do so. In his words, “If you don’t design your own life, someone might design it for you — and you might not like their idea of balance.” Translation for employers: it’s the job of your employees (and, in your own career, yours) to decide the boundaries needed to make work and personal lives work in harmony — and that formula is going to be different for everyone.

3) We have to be careful (read: realistic) with the time frame upon which we choose to judge the balance in our life. We need to elongate balance, Marsh says, without falling into the trap of, “I’ll have a life when I retire” – or of “I’ll do everything in a day.” It’s not realistic — we must find the middle road, Marsh says. We can’t necessarily achieve everything we want to in a day, but at the same time, we can’t wait until our personal lives have fallen apart because of work to find that perfect balance. And speaking of finding that perfect balance…

4) We need to approach balance in a balanced way. We must attend to various aspects of our lives, including the intellectual, emotional and physical. And the great thing is, Marsh points out, it doesn’t always take a major overhaul to strike more of a balance in our lives — small changes can radically transform the quality of our relationships and of our lives.

Which, Marsh hopes, will bring us to a more thoughtful, balanced definition of what a life well-lived looks like.

I want to know — what are your thoughts as an employer? Do you feel responsible for your employees’ work/life balance, and do you think you have the power to make changes in the workplace that will translate to powerful and lasting changes in their sense of balance? Or do you agree with Marsh — that it’s not the job of an employer to be concerned with an employee’s work/life balance, or that, even if it is, there are no changes you can make to workplace rules and perks that will carry enough weight?

Is work/life balance about changing the structure and fluidity of the workplace to more effectively fit into our personal lives, or more about finding ways to increase our dedication to our personal lives so that they work within our given workplace structures?

Is it really up to an employee to find his or her own way (home)?

Watch Nigel Marsh’s TED talk on work/life balance here:

“The way in which we understand great workplaces is based up on relationships in the workplace,” says Michael Burchell, corporate Vice President with The Great Place to Work® Institute . “So a great place to work is one that has a high degree of trust between employees and leaders, a great deal of pride between employees and their work, and a great deal of camaraderie between employees and other employees.”

Burchell would be the person to ask. Not only is The Great Place to Work Institute the company behind the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, but he – along with colleague Jennifer Robin, a Research Fellow at the institute – literally wrote the book on great workplaces.

Their recent collaboration, The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep It, and Why It Matters, draws on 25 years of case studies and testimonials from employees working at the best workplaces in the U.S. to answer the question, “What is the business value of creating a great workplace?” 

And with so many employers today struggling to both find qualified talent to fill open positions and retain their top performers, the timing for this book could hardly be better. 

Trust, Pride and Camaraderie: A Winning Formula
Looking at the over two decades worth of research on great workplaces, one thing is glaringly evident: Culture is king. “When we talk about a great workplace, we’re really talking about a culture – a culture of trust, pride and camaraderie,” Robin says. The Great Workplace aims to show leaders how they can create that culture by building relationship with employees based on those three elements – trust, pride and camaraderie. 

“Pride and camaraderie are a lot of fun to build, whereas trust is a bit harder. It takes a lot of persistence and it takes a lot of deliberate thought to try to develop relationships with people,” Robin says. And that’s where managers tend to run into trouble. “We often hear [from managers], ‘I’m a working manager. I have my own set of responsibilities, and I don’t have time to add anything to my plate.’”  

But what managers need to understand – and what the authors emphasize throughout the book – is that the extra time and effort they put into building those relationships now will have a huge payoff later on. One need only look at the list of companies highlighted in The Great Workplace – Google, General Mills, Microsoft, to name a few – to understand that, business-wise, creating a great place to work simply makes sense.

“The research we’ve done on the business benefits are pretty clear and compelling that great workplaces just do better financially,” Burchell points out. 

But there’s more than just the financial impact to consider, too. “I think there are two issues here – a head and a heart issue,” Burchell says. Certainly, there are many leaders who want to build a great place to work because it makes sense financially; however, for many other leaders, creating a great workplace is simply the right thing to do.  “Leaders have a huge opportunity to have a huge impact on a lot of people. And so the question there is, ‘What kind of legacy to you want to leave?’”  

Creating a Great Workplace: It’s About Knowing Who You Are
There’s a reason this book is called The Great Workplace and not The Best Workplace: There’s no such thing.  “There are companies on the [Best Places to Work] list I wouldn’t necessarily want to work for – and not because they’re not fantastic companies, but because they’re not a fit for me,” Robin says.  And that’s totally okay. What makes them great companies is that they have a clear grasp on who they are and what they value – and they actively seek out employees who share these values. 

“Great companies know who they are and they’re able to communicate it through their managers, their leaders, their employees, their new recruits – in a way that helps people decide ‘do I want to work there?’ first, and second, ‘here’s how I could contribute, and here’s how I could grow and thrive as well,’” says Robin. 

Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin are the authors of The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep It, and Why It Matters, now available on Amazon.com.

What do drive-in movie theater dates, Hypercolor t-shirts, and Justin Bieber-inspired haircuts have in common? They’re all trends that have passed through our lives over the years (or, in some cases, are still in our lives). New trends seep into our everyday existence all the time, and the world of hiring and the workplace is no exception. A new CareerBuilder and Harris Interactive survey of more than 2,400 hiring managers and 3,910 workers nationwide identified 10 key trends in business, hiring, work culture and job search to watch out for as we kick off a new year.

Let’s get right to it – here are the 10 top hiring and workplace trends to keep an eye on in 2011, according to survey results:

1) Shifting Business Directions: A whopping 42 percent of employers said their company has changed business directions as a result of the recession. The majority of these employers kept their core business, but added new revenue streams – although 27 percent of those who shifted direction said they changed their core business altogether or expanded into areas that will eventually become their core business.

2) Working Leaner: Thirty-five percent of employers said their current staffs are smaller than pre-recession levels. Of those employers, most don’t foresee adjustments to headcount in 2011, with 57 percent reporting that they have become used to handling the workload with less people.

3) Changing Jobs: Workers are becoming more optimistic about their job prospects in 2011. Fifteen percent of full-time, employed workers are actively seeking a new job, and 76 percent said that although they are not actively looking, they would change jobs in 2011 if the right opportunity came along.

The majority of workers aren’t necessarily focused on a bigger paycheck, either. Sixty-eight percent said affordable benefits are more important to them than salary.

4) Creating New Functions: Along with more traditional job opportunities, employers are adding new functions within their organizations in response to popular movements. Jobs centered around social media, green energy and health care reform are just a few of these “emerging” roles being added in 2011, and hiring managers reported that “cyber warriors,” whose roles are to protect Internet sites from security breaches or fraudulent activity, are in high demand as well.

5) Video Interviewing: With smaller recruiting staffs facing larger numbers of job applications, employers are turning to technology to help find the right candidates. Six percent reported they have conducted video interviews with potential job candidates, while 11 percent plan to do so this year.

6) Less Moonlighting: While making ends meet is still a challenge for many U.S. households, fewer workers are reporting the need to work more than one job. In addition, only 12 percent plan to take on second jobs in 2011, compared to 19 percent in 2010.

7) Taking a Global Perspective: Nearly one in five U.S. employers (18 percent) reported they will be hiring for their operations in other countries in 2011, while 5 percent stated they will likely recruit workers from other countries to work in U.S. locations.

8 ) Relocating Talent: Of workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and found new jobs, 23 percent relocated to a new city or state. For those workers looking to relocate this year, good news: 33 percent of employers said they would be willing to pick up the moving tab for select candidates this year.

9) Promoting Without Pay: Forty-one percent of employers are concerned about losing their top talent as the economy improves. While the majority of employers plan to increase salaries for existing staff in 2011, 39 percent will not be providing raises. As a gesture of recognition to employees without pay increases, however, 13 percent are offering higher titles.

10) Going Casual: Employers are becoming more relaxed about set schedules and dress codes as they work to enhance the typical work experience. Fifteen percent reported they will allow for a more casual dress code, and 33 percent expect to offer more flexible work arrangements like telecommuting and alternate schedules in 2011.

Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, offers his take on the trends:

“The recession produced fundamental shifts in how companies and workers view the market. “Businesses are becoming more agile and changing direction. They’re operating leaner and recruiting for opportunities in emerging areas. Workers are transitioning to new fields, are more open to relocation and are more apt to consider opportunities outside of their current employers.”

Which trends do you foresee most aligning with your business direction in 2011?

Are you one of those people addicted, not to love as Robert Palmer once claimed you were, but to work? Or worse yet, are your own employees stuck to their ergonomic yet stifling cubicle chairs, desperately looking for you to help them regain a sense of balance?

You might have caught my recent blog post about the increased usage of mobile devices, and how the technologically “on” mentality these devices spur is affecting the way many people work — even when they’re not actually at work. While access to mobile devices may add pressure for workers to be available at all times of the day or night, it’s just one of many reasons people are spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about, talking about, and even dreaming about Ryan Reynolds work these days. A new CareerBuilder study of more than 3,100 workers examines signs of work addiction, takes stock of how many workers are suffering from it, and explores ways workers can find a happy medium between work and personal time as we dive into 2011. 

Can you identify with any of the following signs of work addiction?

1. You spend most of your day – including your free time – thinking about work. (24 percent of workers surveyed reported that when they’re at home or out socially, they’re still thinking about work. Nineteen percent say they often dream about work.)
2. You’re more concerned about what your boss thinks than your own family.
3. You would rather be in your cubicle than in your home. (15 percent of workers surveyed said they feel this way.)

Longer Hours and Water Cooler-Themed Dinners

The leaner staffs and heftier workloads of 2010 encouraged (or forced) many employees to work longer hours than usual and take work home with them. One out of two workers said their workloads have increased over the last six months, and there’s no indication that trend is changing:

• More than half of workers (52 percent) reported they put in more than the standard 40 hours a week, while 14 percent said they work more than 50 hours a week.

• As far as taking work home, 31 percent bring home work at least once a week, while one in ten bring home work at least every other day.

• Some workers just can’t stop talking about work to family, co-workers, and friend, either. Sixteen percent of workers said most of their conversations – at work, home or out socially – always tend to focus on work.

A High Price to Pay

If you guessed that all this heightened focus and pressure on work, work, work is taking a toll on workers’ relationships with themselves and with their families, as well as increasing their stress levels and causing health issues — well, you’d be right on target.

• 22 percent of workers reported they don’t have time to pursue personal interests because they say they’re always working.
• 12 percent said the amount of time spent on work is causing friction with their family.
• 27 percent have not taken a personal or sick day in the last few years.
• 26 percent have experienced health issues tied to stress on the job.

“With increased demands at the office and greater accessibility through mobile devices, the workday literally never ends for some workers,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.  “While a strong work ethic is valued, a lack of balance with your personal life can ultimately work against you in the long run.  As the year wraps up, take inventory of your personal time and see where you need to make adjustments in 2011.”

Stop the Insanity

So what’s an overworked soul to do? Well, if you find you or your employees are hitting the Excel spreadsheets a little too hard, and neglecting the gym, the dinner table, or the kids’ soccer games, here are some tips, courtesy of Haefner, for achieving a more manageable schedule and a better work/life balance:

1)    Set aside personal time. You schedule business meetings and events successfully, so do the same for “me time” or “family time” and stick to the schedule you create.

2)    Let go. Learn to delegate work-related tasks and responsibilities to others.

3)   Take off the e-leash. In most cases, that e-mail or text can wait.  Turn off your electronic devices at a certain time.  Take care of personal commitments and put the kids to bed before turning it back on.

4)   Talk to others who understand your situation. Check out support groups such as Workaholics Anonymous and find out what others have done to achieve their recovery.

New Year, New “You” Time?

As we enter a shiny new year, unmarred by any mistakes we will inevitably make (and hopefully learn from), we are ambitious in our determination to make this year better than the last. Rather than solely focusing on revenue, productivity, and the “bottom line,” then, let’s pause and ask ourselves this question: Am I being mindful of balance in my own life — and in the lives of my employees?”

Only you (and your employees) know the answer.

If there’s one thing Americans love, it’s year-end,”top ten” lists.  

Not to discount the role family time, seasonal light displays, gift-giving and Charlie Brown all play in creating an overall sense of merriment this time of year, but I’d be willing to bet that top ten lists have a lot to do with what makes this season so merry and bright. Because for everything that divides this country throughout the year – religion, politics, the necessity of airport patdowns, Jacob versus Edward, etc. – December marks the one time of year we can all seem to agree that there’s nothing we, as a country, can’t – or won’t – categorize, list, judge, rank…and then blog about. 

So in the spirit of the season (and not wanting to miss out on one of America’s favorite pastimes), I’m proud to announce The Hiring Site’s very own year-end top ten list:

The Hiring Site’s Top 10 Most-Read Blog Posts of 2010:

1. How to Craft a Candidate Rejection Letter or E-mail (Yes, You Have Time To Do It) Time was not on the side many overworked hiring managers this year, but that’s no excuse to leave a candidate hanging. While you probably don’t want to write a candidate rejection letter any more than a candidate wants to receive one, there’s a good reason why you should. Fortunately, there’s also a way to do it that won’t eat up valuable work hours. We provide both.
2. Will the Real Candidate Please Stand Up? How to Spot a Fake Resume Thanks to a rise in websites like CareerExcuse.com and FakeResume.com, it became even easier for job seekers to falsify information on their resumes. Here we give tips for making sure you don’t fall victim to fakes.
3. Job Creation Up, Unemployment Rate Down (But There’s a Catch…) Little did we know at the time, but June 2010 – the topic of our monthly summary of the unemployment situation report – would later be identified by economists as the month the recession officially ended. 
4. Social Media Recruiting Made Easy: A New (Free) eBook If you haven’t visited this post since February (or at all) be sure to go back and download our popular eBook on social media recruitment, Will Tweet for Talent: A User’s Guide to Talent Recruitment through Social Media, which has since been updated with more current facts and figures.
5. The HIRE Act — What Does It Mean for Your Business? In March of this year, President Obama signed into law the HIRE Act, which allows businesses that hire unemployed workers certain tax credits. We broke down the basics of the law to show what the HIRE Act means for both you and your organization overall.
6. CareerBuilder Unveils Its New Big Game Commercial (With a Little Help from You) Adding a little levity to our usual fare, we asked you to vote on which CareerBuilder ad you wanted to see during the Big Game – the very ad that results in one of CareerBuilder’s biggest traffic surges of the year and – more importantly – increased exposure for CareerBuilder customers.
7. Perceived Risks Don’t Negate Proven Rewards of Social Media Recruiting While it’s fun to focus on the benefits of social media recruitment, in June we took a moment to address – and clarify – the realities and misconceptions of its potential risks.  
8. How Does Your Company Promote Employee Wellness?  Sure, it helped that we sweetened the deal by adding the chance to win an iPod nano – but it was refreshing to see the huge response from employers who actively promote their employees’ well-being.  Although only one person won the iPod, everyone who read both this post and our follow-up post walked away with some great ideas for promoting wellness at their own organizations.
9. BLS Employment Situation Report for July – Channeling “Groundhog Day”? July marked yet another month of slow but sure – but definitely slow – progress, when we did our monthly summary of the Labor Department’s Employment situation report. (Five months later, can we not say the exact same thing? Maybe we are living Groundhog Day.)
10. “What Happens if the Owner Dies?” True Tales of Interview Questions That Stumped Hiring Managers When we challenged readers to share the most difficult interview questions they’ve ever gotten – from job candidates, the only thing more surprising than the questions our readers submitted were the surprisingly insightful lessons they gleaned from their experiences.  

What’s Ahead for 2011?
But let’s not dwell too much on the past…Here’s a peek of the topics we have in store to cover for 2011:

• Building a talent pipeline for today and the future
• Using talent intelligence to make smarter decisions and strengthen business operations
• Emerging media and recruitment: Strategies and best practices
• Employment branding: Taking it to the next level
• The new rules for succession planning and retention
• New recruitment trends: Do they live up to the hype?

Anything we’re missing? What topics do you want us to cover in 2011? Tell us in the comments section below!

GUEST CONTIBUTOR: Co-Authored by Andrea Briggs, Project Manager, Talent Intelligence and Consulting for Personified, and Sanja Licina, Ph.D., Senior Director of Talent Intelligence and Consulting.

With many organizations claiming that workforce diversity is important in today’s business world, the mystery remains as to why diversity and diversity initiatives are still lacking in many of today’s workplaces.

The latest evidence of this comes in light of a recent study by Personified, which indicates that while many employers and workers agree on the positive impact diversity has on their organizations, many employers are unsuccessful in their diversity efforts.  For this study, conducted in September 2010, we surveyed nearly 500 hiring managers and 2,000 employees nationwide to find out how workers and employers perceive diversity and its effect on both organizations as a whole as well as day-to-day business.

Perception Versus Reality
One of the major findings of the survey was that respondents believe a diverse workforce  benefits  their day-to-day work and the organization overall. Yet, despite the perceived benefits of diversity, evidence suggests that diversity and a focus on diversity initiatives are still lacking at nearly half of all organizations.  Only 54 percent of survey respondents agreed that their organizations were diverse, and at least a quarter of hiring managers believe their organizations are unsuccessful in achieving the diversity efforts they set forth.

None of these findings are to suggest, however, that employers aren’t trying to diversify their workforces, because many are. But like any other business initiative, successfully achieving diversity requires a long-term investment of time and resources. Unfortunately, too few employers make this initiative a priority.  

One of the reasons for this oversight is that very few organizations have a definition of diversity that extends beyond race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation; however, diversity encompasses so many other factors. For the purpose of the survey, for example, we defined diversity as “the variety of differences between people in an organization, encompassing race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, sexual orientation, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more.” 

Creating a more meaningful definition of diversity is an important first step to targeting various groups and creating a strategy around recruiting a diverse set of qualified candidates.  Far too often, we see employers use a uniform advertisement, highlighting only one recruitment message; yet, the same message is not going to resonate with a wide variety of candidates.  By creating multiple messages to speak to many different people, employers can make a substantial impact on their ability to recruit diverse candidates.  For example, additional Personified  survey research shows that advancement opportunities are significantly more important for African-Americans and Hispanics over Caucasians, and for younger age groups over older ones. 

Another reason it is important for employers to keep diversity front of mind when creating their recruitment message: our survey found that 35 percent of job seekers have applied to an organization mainly because of its commitment to diversity.  Yet over half of hiring managers revealed that they rarely or never discuss diversity initiatives in their recruitment efforts.

These findings suggest that organizations miss an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competitors for an entire third of the job seeker population by failing to discuss their diversity initiatives in their recruitment efforts. 

Mean What You Say
When it comes to diversity, however, it’s not enough for organizations to simply say they value it; they must actually show it. Otherwise, they risk losing highly qualified talent.  According to the survey, a remarkable 30 percent of workers said they would leave an organization they did not feel was diverse enough.

This finding underscores the important role that a company’s commitment to its diversity initiatives plays in its ability to retain top talent. 

Even more disheartening is that over 10 percent of the hiring managers surveyed say their organization does not measure their success in achieving diversity initiatives at all. This finding represents one of the major roadblocks employers encounter when implementing diversity initiatives: they fail to assign objective measurement to these efforts and thus have a difficult time understanding whether their efforts are effective. 

Achieving Diversity: What Does Success Look Like?
So what does it mean when organizations successfully “achieve diversity”? 

When we speak with clients in terms of successful diversity efforts, we’re really referring to two things: not only providing equal opportunities for all groups, but also building a workforce that is truly representative of the clientele they serve. In other words, organizations shouldn’t just recruit people who fit certain standards of diversity, but focus on building a team of people who truly understand customers and clients across different groups, with various backgrounds and experiences. 

Especially now, as the economy recovers and businesses become more financially stable, it is crucial that organizations refocus on their diversity efforts. Not only does today’s qualified talent demand it, but people from different backgrounds, different education and skill sets have a lot to bring to the table in terms of innovative ideas and game-changing perspectives. They will be the drivers who help move these organizations forward.

The business world is as competitive as ever, and if employers plan to stay ahead of the curve, they need to realize that diversity is just like any other business initiative, wherein if they invest the right amount of time, energy and resources, they will see the impact of these efforts in their bottom lines. Otherwise, they will find that as society becomes more diverse, they simply won’t be able to keep up.

Andrea Briggs is Project Manager, Talent Intelligence and Consulting for Personified, a division of CareerBuilder. Briggs works with numerous clients to improve the efficiency of their recruitment strategies. With both a professional and personal commitment to diversity, Briggs completed her Master’s thesis on racioethnic diversity and how it affects team interaction, and has a publication in the Journal of Management examining team demographic diversity and its relationship to performance.

Sanja Licina, Ph.D. is Senior Director of Talent Intelligence and Consulting. Dr. Licina directs the talent management consulting efforts for Personified. Under Dr. Licina’s leadership, Personified has assisted thousands of organizations in leveraging business intelligence to make strategic cross departmental changes in their organizational initiatives. Dr. Licina is an employment expert who is often asked to discuss the state of the job market, hiring practices and workplace issues by trade groups and publications.

I recently attended a brunch linner lunch seminar hosted by the Business Marketing Association of Chicago which featured the findings of a study called Talent 3.0:  Solving the Digital Leadership Challenge — A Global Perspective. This seminar was particularly interesting to me, because while it’s common to hear about the importance of employees learning about new technologies to stay relevant in a changing workplace, it’s not as common to hear about how the efforts to do so are actually playing out in the real world. The clashes of technologically adept employees versus those who are having a difficult time embracing new technologies are real, and it’s vital that we talk about them now in order to figure out how to move forward.

So, Digital Walks Into a Workplace…

With more and more consumers and clients embracing new technologies, companies across the board are investing more in all things digital — including their platforms, media and employees. And this is great, right? After all, employees adapt to changes in the workplace all the time: that water cooler with 10 confusing options, the new guy who sings Scorpion tunes in his cubicle, the announcement about the new office and the new (huge) commute. So why should adapting to technology be any different?

Technology in the workplace isn’t just a change to adapt to — but a  potential ticking time bomb for many employees. While we all might not enjoy Scorpion tunes, we can easily ask said employee to stop singing them (or don our trusty headphones). We can’t, however, just ask technology to stop affecting the way we work. It’s making its way into more and more aspects of the workplace, it affects the way people do their jobs, and it complicates the already complicated blend of different generations trying to work together as a team. It also puts a spotlight on the fact that some employees are digitally savvy — and some aren’t. Some are willing to learn, and some are fighting it. Some have a wealth of experience in addition to stellar business skills, while others can work their way around digital media in their sleep. How can we all work together to achieve a common goal while juggling our differences in digital expertise?

A Multi-Generational Workplace Meets Technology

As Forrester Research found, the technology generation gap is widening, largely due to Gen X and Gen Y’s rapid integration of mobile and social behaviors. In almost every online behavior, Gen Y leads the adoption curve. Gen X isn’t far behind of Gen Y in terms of adoption rates, though they specialize in maximizing the functional benefits of technology. Both Gen X and Gen Y outpace baby boomers and mature workers in almost everything technology-related.

This can complicate a workplace situation in which many different generations are working together to reach the same goals. Workplaces are more multi-generational than ever, with Gen Y, Gen X, baby boomers, and mature workers all working under the same roof and struggling to make themselves heard. When it comes to technology, many younger workers don’t think their older counterparts can keep up with them, while many older workers think their younger co-workers lack the experience and work ethic they themselves have.

Organizations, meanwhile, are looking for their leaders who possess classic business management and leadership capabilities  to lead the business through cultural and structural shifts — but at the same time, they need to develop future leaders who will have the ability to operate in technology-driven environments. Add to this the need to bring in new employees who already have digital capabilities, and organizations can have a real challenge on their hands.

Real-Life Workplace Troubles

We’re already seeing these complications in real workplace situations. Recently, William K. Marimow, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, was demoted to a reporter position; he was told by the company’s new management that despite Marimow’s national reputation as an outstanding print journalist, he didn’t have the background in digital media necessary to continue to lead the paper.

Some companies, however, are wading through these changes more successfully. The authors of the Talent 3.0 study have created 10 suggestions to help organizations successfully build a digital  workplace and thrive in a digital world.  Below, I’ve touched on each of them:

1. Build a comprehensive digital strategy that is shared broadly and repeatedly across the organization.
As the authors say, “You will never reach your destination if you do not know where you are going, how you are getting there and who is on the bus.” A well-articulated strategy that supports the core strategic drivers of your business will help your organization identify and prioritize new business opportunities and anticipate emerging competitive threats. Make sure everyone’s on board — including the CEO and senior execs.

2. Embed digital literacy across the organization.
They’re not just talking marketing campaigns and flashy e-mails to employees, but about internal communications to employee groups and external communications to vendors, suppliers and shareholders. It’s about doing product and market research and initiating multi-regional, 24/7 real-time collaboration. Your organization needs to work to seamlessly integrate your chosen technologies across most all of your business activities and processes.

3. Renew focus on business fundamentals.
Technology and rapid innovation means competition coming at your organization from all sides, at any time. Technology also brings a demand for more transparency to your products and services, and it’s important to continue to focus on the quality of those. The best digital strategy won’t succeed if you suffer in other areas of your business.

4. Embrace the new rules of customer engagement.
Customers are now in control more than ever before, with multitudes of research at their fingertips. Marketing today is less about pushing your brand messages and more about brand intimacy and building relationships through dialogue with customers. Strive to listen and inspire and remember that even though some interactions may be through digital platforms, respect, relevance and responsiveness are still of the utmost importance.

5. Understand global differences in how people access and use the Internet.
People in different parts of the world access, adopt and consume technology very differently, and successful organizations will prioritize geographic opportunities when executing digital initiatives and building teams, and localize programs where needed to account for cultural and lifestyle differences.

Your leaders must be willing to dive into data and learn about the technology advances that enable these initiatives, as well as help to define the most meaningful issues for your business.

7. Focus on the customer experience.
Putting the customer at the center of your decision making enables you to break down those organizational silos and overcome operational and resource barriers that can hinder your technology-driven initiatives.

8. Develop leaders with skill-sets that bridge traditional and digital expertise.
People with both business savvy and digital expertise are in short supply and high demand. Your organization should, in the short term, focus on building a team with the right mix of skills and a diverse group of viewpoints and approaches who can help you think through your opportunities and challenges.

Experienced senior-level employees who didn’t grow up with digital technologies must be willing to take a leap of faith and invest time and energy into learning about them and the opportunities they bring to your organization, while up-and-coming digital leaders must learn to look outside of their digital comfort zones, collaborate with people across your organization in various functions, and build those classic business management capabilities.

9. Pay close attention to cultural fit when recruiting digital leaders.
Web-centric and Web-enhanced cultures, although similar in many respects, are still worlds apart. Your organization must find and empower leaders who can advance digital objectives, given the pace, values, intensity, structure, decision-making process and role of digital in the business.  “Start-up” workers, used to a free-flowing and highly intense culture, generally have trouble adjusting to a corporate environment with more formal processes and slower decision-making. The same can be said for employees from traditional backgrounds who get hired at a start-up; they often struggle to adjust to the intense pace and fast decision-making start-ups are known for.

As these examples highlight, it’s important to assess candidates’ cultural fit within your organization, which can depend on many factors, including the way your business is organized and the pace of activity and degree of senior-level support for digital initiatives. At the same time, your organization should take a look at itself and identify and address those elements of your culture that stand in the way of the collaboration necessary to drive digital initiatives. How is your organization holding itself back?

5. Understand the motivations of your top talent.
The best digital talent is in high demand, and they are often drawn to a certain type of company culture. To optimize your chances of attracting — and retaining — your best people, it’s important to have  a clear digital strategy, strong C-level sponsorship, and an entrepreneurial culture that values experimentation and creativity and encourages employees to contribute.

I’ve summarized these ten guidelines in this post, but you can read them in full, as well as the complete Talent 3.0 study, here (download the PDF).

What do you see as your organization’s biggest challenge right now in an increasingly digital and multi-generational workplace?

While it’s common to see film and television studios convert best-selling books to screen, rarely does it go the other way around. And yet, that’s exactly what Eli Holzman and Stephen Lambert, creators and executive producers of CBS’ hit show “Undercover Boss,” have done, with the release of their new book, Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere.

“It’s the story behind the story,” Holzman said of the book in a recent phone interview. An extension of the television show, Undercover Boss features new, in-depth interviews with the bosses featured in the first season of the show, offering greater detail about what went on behind the scenes, how they changed since the show and where their employees are now. 

But beyond the book’s entertainment value, readers will also be able to take away some valuable business lessons and management insights, as well. (The book even includes a “How to” guide for bosses who want to experience going undercover themselves.)

‘Boss’ as Business Book
If anyone can speak to the show’s value as a business tool, it is Holzman himself, who says that working on the show and witnessing what these CEOs experience first-hand has influenced the way he now runs his production company – and to which he attributes much of the success of the show.

“That message of appreciating people is a really powerful one, and it’s really good business,” he says. He has found that having people who work hard and dedicate themselves to their work and producing a quality product is a direct result of that message. 

Holzman just may be on to something, because he’s clearly doing something right: Undercover Boss became the most-watched premiere of a reality series in history when it premiered to an audience of 40 million viewers last February – a number that surprised even the producers.

“We loved the show and we were incredibly proud of it, but we didn’t dare to dream it would reach such a wide audience,” Holzman says.

Tapping Into Americans’ Desires for Recognition
So what accounts for the show’s popularity? Holzman believes the show gets such a large audience because so many people can relate to it. “I think every one of us has thought at one point, ‘Gosh, if they only knew what they’re asking of me, they’d appreciate me much better.’ I think we all have that longing. And we tapped into that.”

He recounts one visit to a White Castle frozen food packaging plant, when the CEO was giving him a tour of the facility prior to taping.  In the middle of the tour, the CEO stopped to introduce Holzman to a woman working on the line, pointing out that she had a perfect attendance record going back nine years.  Recalling the look of joy on the woman’s face upon being recognized for the distinction, Holzman says, “I think that’s what’s at the heart of Undercover Boss: We crave esteem, and we crave recognition for our hard work…and when someone appreciates us, it means the world to us.” So when audiences see it happening on television, he says, “it touches a nerve.”

Hitting Close to Home
But it’s not only his audience with whom these stories resonate: Simply working on the show has pushed Holzman to try to be a better boss himself.  “People tell me ‘you made me cry again. Well, we cry when we make the show,’” he says of witnessing the emotional impact this experience has on both bosses and the people who serve them.

He admits that, early in his career, he gave little thought to developing his skills as a manager, something he now realizes is as important to the success of his business as anything else.

“One of the things that is really challenging for bosses of big companies, they have so much going on that they can’t immerse themselves in the details… however, as important as [things like the bottom line and key growth areas] may be, they don’t trump the vital aspect of the quality of your workforce,” Holzman says, recalling how Harvey Firestone used to say, “We’re not in the tire business, we’re in the people business.”

“It’s an old adage,” he admits. “But it’s true.”

Listening to Holzman talk, it’s clear that with both the book and television show, he is setting out to provide more than just entertainment value. “I like to think that we [the people behind the show] help our world to the extent that we can make a show that helps people understand each other a little bit better, that helps people appreciate each other a little more,” he says. 

And while he admits that trying to make the world a better place is “a very lofty goal,” he also believes – after witnessing it firsthand – that it’s not an impossible one.  And with a new medium by which to spread that message, the co-author of Undercover Boss is that much closer to reaching this goal.

Eli Holzman is president and cofounder of Studio Lambert USA, where he launched and executive produced Undercover Boss. The second season of Undercover Boss airs Sunday nights on CBS at 9/8 CST.  Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere is available for $24.95 by Jossey-Bass.

“Employers are at an advantage in our current economy.”
“Candidates will take any offer you make because they need a job.”
“It’s an employer’s market — candidates can’t expect to make what they used to.”

Heard any of these statements lately? Think they’re true yourself and are abiding by this philosophy — or know a company that is? Well, companies with this mentality may be in for a rude awakening, as the idea that all unemployed workers in our current market will “take anything” just to get a paycheck is a misconception. Evidence of this is shown in the survey just released by Personified, CareerBuilder’s talent consulting arm, among 925 unemployed U.S. workers. The overwhelming majority of unemployed workers surveyed who have received a job offer since unemployment have rejected the offer because the offer was too low. In fact, 17 percent of unemployed workers surveyed have received at least one job offer since they’ve become unemployed, and of those people, a whopping 92 percent rejected the offer. More than half (54 percent) reported that they did so because the offer was more than 25 percent lower than the salary they had earned in their most recent position.

Many unemployed workers are looking for the right job

Although many unemployed workers are eager to start earning a paycheck, not all of them are willing to jump at the first thing they can get. And really, as an employer, would you want them to? I mean, sure, you may need to hire people quickly, but you still need to find quality employees who  truly want to work for your company and are going to stick around. Otherwise, you’re just getting warm bodies who are going to walk right back out that door once they find something better (or with better pay, or prestige, or opportunities, or — well, see below).

Job offers not paying off for other reasons, too

While insufficient pay was the number one reason unemployed workers turned down a job opportunity, workers had other things to say about the jobs they were being offered — and the companies offering them.

Other factors cited include:

• A long commute
• A lower title
• The position was outside of their field
• Little room for career advancement
• A poor hiring process.

“Rather than jumping on the first job offer that comes their way, workers are assessing which opportunities really make the most sense for them in terms of compensation and long-term potential,” said Mary Delaney, President of Personified.

While the above factors are not always in a company’s hands, there are certainly things employers can do to improve the hiring experience for candidates and enrich the opportunities of the job position in question. And while it may be true that a job is better than no job, and desperate times call for desperate measures, and (insert cliché phrase here), many unemployed workers are looking for not just a job, but a job that suits their lifestyle and long-term goals — and they’re willing to wait a bit to find it. And didn’t our parents always tell us, the best things come to those who wait?

How often are the hunters hunting?

Speaking of waiting, some unemployed workers aren’t spending much time looking for jobs; 18 percent reported they spend five hours or less per week searching for a job. While it’s true that some of those workers may also have inflated expectations of what’s out there in terms of jobs, thinking they can get the job of their dreams without much or any effort, this appears to be the exception rather than the rule.

Many are treating job searching like the full-time job it often is: Thirty percent of those surveyed allocate more than 20 hours a week, and 62 percent apply to an average of more than ten jobs per week. The amount of time unemployed workers are spending searching for jobs also trended by education and pay levels; see full details in the press release here.

If you mean it, they will come

Candidates and employees, whether in an up or a down economy, deserve to be treated with respect — and even in a down economy, they still need to know you fit into their goals and have their future in mind. If you’ve tried working the numbers every which way, made sure your compensation strategy is solid, and just can’t pay more than you’re offering, you’ve at least made the effort — and that’s when you can focus on making your company offerings shine in other ways. Start with your employees — the things they love about their job are likely the same things a potential employee will love about it, too. It’s not always about the money — and a candidate may really want to work for you because of the great career advancement you offer or your awesome company culture or your stellar reputation. Everyone is different, and that translates to different motivations. Our own readers on The Hiring Site shared the factors — both abstract and tangible — that make their company special and sell their ideal candidates on the job.

It’s the companies with the “candidates will take whatever they can get” mentality, the ones who take advantage of the situation unemployed workers are in by grossly undercutting what workers are worth, who need to adjust their way of thinking.  Otherwise, they’re going to be left with a lot of empty seats where employees briefly sat before moving on to that job they really wanted.

Thoughts? Completely disagree or see it from another angle?

So, we’ve slid into September. And what does that mean? Dusting off the ol’ Kate Gosselin Halloween costume from last year and spending the next two months making essential topical changes to it? No. Hmm — weaving homemade baskets out of beautiful golden autumn leaves? Um, no. So what, then?

I can’t believe you didn’t guess: It’s only a few months until companies all over the place hold the dreaded yearly performance review! Well, dreaded to many (most?) bosses and their subordinates. Over the years, the debate has continually resurfaced as to whether performance reviews are a good thing or not, and whether we should keep them.

Unhappier Employees

In the wake of our recession, 29 percent of employees are more unhappy with their employer than in the past, according to CareerBuilder’s 2010 Mid-Year Job Forecast (and many of them plan to look for new jobs once the economy improves). The New York Times points to a recent survey that showed employees are “unhappy about the design of their jobs, the health of their organizations and the quality of their managers.” Businesses will soon face a new challenge, says Jennifer Deal, a senior researcher at the Center for Creative Leadership: Maintaining employee engagement and retention as the job market slowly begins to improve.

Now is an important time to focus on improving the things within your control to keep your best employees happy — and keep them from leaving. Why not start by taking a look at performance reviews, to determine whether yours are working for everyone involved? Can you make them better? Should you eliminate them altogether? Let’s take a look at the views from both sides, and talk about ways to conduct performance reviews that work.

Why Do We Have Performance Reviews, Anyway?

Definition

Wikipedia defines a performance review or appraisal as a “structured formal interaction between a subordinate and supervisor, that usually takes the form of a periodic interview (annual or semi-annual), in which the work performance of the subordinate is examined and discussed, with a view to identifying weaknesses and strengths as well as opportunities for improvement and skills development.”

History

Performance reviews as a distinct and formal management procedure used in the evaluation of employee performance is said to date back to the time of WWII. According to Archer North & Associates, these reviews or appraisals were originally done strictly to figure out whether employees would be receiving a pay increase or a pay cut; employee development was not a factor in the equation. It was thought that pay was the only motivator for employees; the idea that employees are motivated in other ways wasn’t considered. Since then, of course, performance reviews have evolved to include evaluation of employee behaviors, motivation, values, development and more.

Reasoning

Many say since it’s human nature to judge others (and since being in a work environment is no exception), it’s essential to have a formal system in place in order to judge and measure performance of employees fairly, lawfully, and accurately — with the ability to document those judgments.

The judgments that result from performance reviews can have many different ramifications, either directly or indirectly:

• Merit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions (or lack thereof)
• Further training opportunities
• A change in responsibilities
• Feedback on performance improvement.
• In worst-case scenarios, performance reviews can be a means to reprimand an employee — or even terminate employment.

Pro-Performance Reviews

Many companies still conduct performance reviews, whether yearly or on a quarterly or other type of periodic basis, and those in the “pro-performance review” camp say they are necessary for companies’ success. As Scott Stallings, professional golfer, says: You always know you need to improve on something, but you always tend to rationalize your own shortcomings” — and he says performance reviews are a huge dose of reality, showing him how far or close he is to being as good as he knows he can be. He says they’ve improved his golf game.

When done right, performance reviews are meant to assess where an employee is on his or her career path, where they are showing weakness or strengths, and which path that employee needs to take next to improve and become more successful. This success, in turn, benefits the company as a whole.

Right?

Anti-Performance Reviews

Well, some people think these reviews aren’t working as they’re meant to work… or working at all. Those in the anti-review camp say performance reviews are often not being done well, and that they’re ineffective or even detrimental to all parties involved.

Here are some reasons that have been stated:

• According to UCLA business professor Samuel Culbert, who wrote Get Rid of the Performance Review!, The pay raise (or not) has already been determined — so the bosses “come up with a review that’s all backwards.”
• The boss is the one evaluating the employee, after all. Job security depends on what they think! Because of this, it’s easy for an employee to lose sight of what they really want to achieve and just tell the boss what he or she wants to hear in order to get a favorable review (particularly if income or a promotion is tied to the review).
• Forms can be cumbersome and inefficient. The process is such a pain that management hates reviews, and puts them off as long as possible, and the focus becomes about process rather than about improving performance and giving meaningful feedback to an employee.
• The methods of determining salary increases or bonuses isn’t fair — and is often done out of favoritism or arbitrarily. Employees have no insight into the matter, so they’re often left just accepting what their boss tells them as to why they are or are not getting a pay increase — with no clear explanation.
• There isn’t any follow up after the review about things discussed in the review, so it’s for naught. Progress isn’t made, and things continue as they were (or slide downhill because no check-ups or specific plan toward improvement or growth are in place).
• Reviews often only happen once a year (at least the ones that really count), and for the rest of the year, there’s no focus on attaining long-term goals.
• Reviews are counter-productive; according to a study by A. Kluger and A.Denisi in The Psychological Bulletin, 30 percent of the 607 performance reviews they examined ended up in decreased employee performance.
• They’re antiquated. Technology has advanced, and people have altered the way they work accordingly. Performance reviews are a thing of the past; in today’s collaborative environment, focus on individual employee performance in such a structured way no longer makes sense.
• They place too much importance on the quantifiable. Employees do many qualitative things that aren’t tracked specifically in the goals of a review, and that are harder to measure with specific numbers or a multiple choice answer. Without regular observations and coaching from management, these qualities are even harder to measure.
• Alternately, some say they don’t place enough importance on the quantifiable — and managers are measuring more abstract concepts without real knowledge of how an employee is performing in these areas.

What is the Worth of an Employee?

Wikipedia also includes in its definition of performance reviews this idea: “It is the process of obtaining, analyzing, and recording information about the relative worth of an employee to the organization.”

While this definition might be great in theory, the workplace has changed significantly over the years, and that change is only accelerating. Some question, whether we updating performance reviews to match this changing work environment. Do performance reviews in fact determine the true worth of an employee, as they currently stand? Do they accurately cover the ways in which an employee has contributed, and do they give employees a voice? Or do they consider arbitrary values and goals that, when the review has been read and filed away, don’t really mean anything — to the employee or the organization?

A better future for performance reviews

As Mark Goulston stated in a Fast Company article, “The biggest problem for both managers and subordinates when performance reviews are done poorly is that in the end, both people will nod agreeing to some course of action going forward that is not clear to either.”

The key word here seems to be poorly. Most people aren’t complaining that we have performance reviews, but that they’re not executed well and consequently, that problems or inefficiencies arise as a result of them. Aside from saying “we need an alternative” or nixing the reviews altogether, what’s a performance review-stricken employer to do?

What about revamping the performance review and making it better? These reviews should be helping move your company, as well as your employees, forward. Here’s a list of some things to keep in mind when evaluating your performance review process — but I really want to hear your ideas, as you’re the ones loathing (or loving) the use of performance reviews. What else would you add?

Don’t leave them in the dark. Tell employees what they need to do to get to that next step; define what “success” means as far as your expectations of them. If there are areas in which they need to improve (and there should be), give them specific and concrete examples of where they have fallen short in your expectations, and perhaps more importantly, how they can move forward to meet and surpass those expectations in the future.

Set goals together that you both agree upon. Make these goals specific, observable, measurable — and attainable. Find out what your employees are passionate about working on, and help them shape those passions into goals that work for their personal growth and your team and company’s as well. Sometimes, employees are afraid to voice what they want for fear of rejection or disapproval; make sure your employees know you’re open to new ideas. Often, what’s good for an employee is good for your company, too.

Reviews should not be rooted in fear. Employees, now more than ever, need to know their employer is on their side; that they want to support them. Yes, employees need to know what they’re doing that can be improved — but also what they’re doing that’s good. Make sure you tell them.

Communicate on an ongoing basis. Speaking of telling your employees what they’re doing well, be sure to tell them regularly if you notice strides they’re making in their goals for the quarter, the year, or even just that week. In order to do this, though, you have to be communicating with your employees often. That doesn’t mean breathing down their neck to check on the progress on a goal, but that does mean open communication, status checks, encouragement where needed, thoughts on how they can continue to improve or whether they need to go in a different direction as the goal progresses, and praise for what they’re doing right. Another word for this might be “coaching.”

Sound Off

Are we wasting our time with performance reviews and not moving ourselves and each other forward as we should be? Is there a better way, and if so, what do you suggest or what would you add to the list above? Or, do you think things working just fine the way they are?

CareerBuilder released the results of its most recent employee-focused survey today, in which American workers revealed how they really feel about their bosses.   

When asked to rate their bosses’ professional capabilities, nearly one-third (31 percent)  of the more than 4,400 workers surveyed said that they feel they can do their bosses’ jobs better than their bosses.  

Not only that, but 60 percent of workers said they don’t feel that their bosses were capable of doing their (the workers’) jobs, either.

The Worker/Boss Relationship Status: It’s Complicated
In the survey, some workers cited a lack of focus on career development, feedback and support as the main reason they felt disconnected from their bosses. Here’s the breakdown:

• 61 percent of workers said their bosses do not properly groom them to move up in the organization
• 45 percent said their bosses do a poor job of providing regular and consistent feedback
• 34 percent said their bosses could back them up better

On the upside, bosses earned higher marks from workers when it came to being open to different work arrangements, taking time to listen and providing resources:

• 72 percent of workers said their bosses did a good job offering flexibility
• 69 percent felt their bosses listened to their ideas and concerns
• 68 percent said their bosses provided them with the resources needed to do their job effectively   

So What Does It All Mean?
Despite the good news, these findings should be a wakeup call for employers to realize that they need to step up their efforts to provide support for their employees – especially considering that employees aren’t as afraid to quit their jobs as they previously were.  

The simple solution? Communication, says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.  “The workforce has been through a lot during this recession, so it’s important for workers and bosses to maintain a strong and communicative relationship,” Haefner said in a statement for the press release.  “As many companies recover from the challenges of the last 18 months, both parties need to listen to each other and be flexible, with a common goal of moving the organization forward.”

Are You an Oprah or a Simon?
As a frame of reference, CareerBuilder also asked the survey participants to name the TV bosses who reminded them the most of their bosses….So, if you’ve ever fashioned yourself a bit of a MacGyver, chances are that your employees have, too – he was named among the top of the list, due to his capability under extreme circumstances.  (‘Course, MacGyver’s spastic knock-off, MacGruber, also made the top 10, so it could go either way. Sorry.)

Check out who else made the list – and let the speculation begin!

• Jacob from “Lost” – Employees are never really sure where you are, what you want or what you have in store for them
• Judge Judy from “Judge Judy” – You’re no-nonsense and fair when making decisions
• MacGyver from “MacGyver” – You’re resourceful and can fix any situation
• Jack Donaghy from “30 Rock” – You’re likeable and corporate, through and through
• Oprah Winfrey from “Oprah” – You’re very influential and informative
• Simon Cowell from “American Idol” – You’re judgmental and insulting
• MacGruber from “Saturday Night Live” – You’re terrible with managing projects and deadlines, causing everything around you to blow up
• Michael Scott from “The Office” – You’re bumbling and idiotic
• Lesley Knope from “Parks and Recreation” – You believe your job is more important than it probably is
• Donald Trump from “The Apprentice” – You’re demanding and powerful

With multiple reports lately discussing how employers are having difficulty filling open positions – despite the high unemployment rate – now is the perfect time to invest in an employee referral program (ERP) – whether that entails creating one from scratch or enhancing your current one.

Referrals make up 26.7 percent of all external hires, making referrals the number one resource for them, according to the 2010 CareerXRoads Sources of Hire study. 

Not only are well-structured ERPs one of the best ways to generate new hires, but they’ve also been shown to increase retention, lower costs, boost morale, and essentially make your job easier. Take a look…

The Top 10 Reasons to Build Your Employee Referral Program:

1. More bang out of your budget – A robust employee referral program can help lower your cost per hire.  The 2006 DirectEmployers Recruiting Trends Survey showed that employee referrals produced the highest ROI of any other sourcing method. According to Staffing.org, companies spend an average of 16 cents for staffing for every dollar of compensation recruited, but a study of Lincoln Financial Group, whose employee referral program accounts for 55 percent of all external hires, revealed that the company boasts a much lower staffing cost ratio of 10.9 cents per dollar.
2. The possibility of actually getting through that “to do” list.  ERPs can cut down significantly on the time you spend sourcing and screening candidates, as they essentially outsource this job to your employees, whose own discretion helps ensure you don’t spend time sorting through irrelevant applicants (see #3).  And by holding on to the resumes that don’t turn into immediate hires, you won’t always have to start from scratch when new positions open up (see #4).
3. A better quality of candidates – Who better to recommend candidates who fit the culture of your company than the very people who live it every day? Because your employees already know what it takes to be successful at your company (and because no one in his right mind would refer a candidate who could reflect badly on him), employee referrals eliminate the need to weed out unqualified applicants.
4. Make that a steady supply of quality candidates – While not every employee referral will lead to a hire, a well-designed employee referral program will help you build a generous pool of qualified resumes from which to pull as more positions open up.   
5. Less turnover – Employers with robust ERPs tend to have a lower rate of turnover. One reason for this? Hires produced through ERPs tend to stay with the organization longer because they enter the organization with already established social connections and a better understanding of the culture. ERP hires are also 3.5 times less likely to be terminated than hires produced through other sources.
6. Your employees will have a new appreciation for their job - and yours – ERPs provide employees with a sense of ownership in – and deeper respect for – the hiring process. Employees value meaningful work and a sense of connection to their company even more than they do high salaries, according to the 2009 10th annual Deloitte Best Company to Work For survey. Giving them a chance to participate in the hiring process is a way to foster that sense of connection and the feeling that they are making a positive contribution to the company. 
7. A better-looking employment brand – ERPs turn your employees into brand advocates. If they’re telling friends about job openings at your organization, they are essentially sending the message, “This is a great place to work.” Not every referral will turn into a hire, but it does contribute to the notion that your organization is an employer of choice.   
8. A boost in competitive intelligence — A more indirect – but equally beneficial – result of implementing an employee referral program is that it gives your employees an excuse to proactively seek out and network with other professionals, who can be a resource for gaining knowledge, sharing best practices and, of course, generating more referrals.
9. You’ll stop resenting the time your employees spend on Facebook.  With the widespread use of social networking sites to connect with other industry professionals, your employees today have an even wider range of connections by which to source qualified, trusted candidates for you.
10. Your new employees will pay it forward – According to the American Journal of Sociology, referred workers tend to outperform their non-referral counterparts and are more likely to refer future employees.

What is with today…today?

By now, you’ve likely heard of Steven Slater, the (now former) Jetblue flight attendant who’s making headlines today for loudly storming (or sliding, if you will) off the job yesterday. Slater, if you don’t know the story, made a scene when, after a heated argument with a passenger, he opened the plane’s emergency door and slid down the chute in a dramatic exit – but not before grabbing a few beers from the galley first.

Meanwhile, geekostystem.com is reporting today that a woman named Jenny recently quit her personal assistant job by emailing her company photos of herself using a dry-erase board to out her boss for wasting company time playing Farmville.   

I’m sure that, to disgruntled employees everywhere, people like Steven and Jenny are heroes. But what I wonder is: Did they just seal their fate with future employers? In other words, will this behavior work against them when interviewing for their next position?

Presumably, these employees had their reasons for doing what they did – they evidently felt mistreated/undermined/unappreciated/etc. in their positions, driving them to behave the way they did; however, I can’t imagine the hiring manager interviewing them for their next position would be so quick to believe that their behavior was justified (or at that very least, that these were stand-alone incidents that would never ever happen again…). 

If anything, their behavior should be red flags for hiring managers – possible indications that these individuals could act out at any moment on their next job or, at the very least, are simply unprofessional.  But is that fair to assume? Or can you chalk it up to a one-time mistake (especially if, for the sake of argument, the rest of their work history/recommendations from previous employers is nearly impeccable…)?

What do you think, readers? Could you ever take a chance on an employee who left a previous employer on such hostile terms? Would you?

UPDATE: Turns out, Jenny’s story (reported on August 10,2010) was too good to be true, Mashable reports today (August 11, 2010).  Farmville-addicted bosses everywhere can relax…BUT the story is not without its lessons to treat your employees with respect (so, maybe a thank you to Samsung is in order?) And my earlier question of hiring Steven Slater (which by all accounts is still very true) still applies…

It’s happening. Retail stores everywhere are stocking the shelves, folding the clothes, straightening the shoes, organizing the Trapper-Keepers, and bracing themselves for restless, sun-streaked kids to come and clutter it all up. Back-to-school shopping is now in season. 

We’re not kids anymore, but as adults (employed or not), continuing to educate ourselves and hone our skills is one of the most important things we can do for our careers and ourselves. Aaaaand you’re in luck: August’s contest brings you a chance to give yourself (or your employees) the gift of education with a chance to win a CareerBuilder Institute class. We can’t promise your employees will express their immense thanks by bringing donuts in for breakfast, but we think there’s a strong possibility. Read on to find out how to win.

What’s CareerBuilder Institute?

CareerBuilder Institute, founded in 2008, offers e-learning content for businesses so that they can better assess, test, train, develop, and provide continued education to more effectively onboard and improve skills of existing talent. attract. CareerBuilder Institute has helped more than 1 million people reach their educational goals — and fill in current skill gaps. CareerBuilder Institute offers everything from computer and business skills, to language training, to licensing and certification, to sales training, to management and leadership skills.

Specifically? How about “Mastering Project Management,” “Operating Budgets for Non-Financial Managers,” “Understanding Personality Variables,” “Business Writing,” “Time Management,” “Exploring Adobe Creative Suite II,” “Real Estate Exchanges” or “Leadership Motivation”? CBI’s got you covered. Oh, and many of the courses, like 401(k), give a state-specific course option.

Expected versus teachable skills

In 2009, the average company investment in employee training was $1,200 per employee. It’s apparent that companies are investing a lot of time into their training — but on what, exactly? There are some skills that you expect candidates will have coming into a position — skills into which you’re not willing to invest time, money and resources. And then, there are others you expect to teach new employees on the job; either skills you don’t think can be taught outside of the position, or ones you’re willing to teach because a candidate is an otherwise great fit. You may be willing to teach project management skills, for instance, but expect a candidate to come into the job with superior people skills and ability to work within a team structure.

The August Contest Question

Sooo, we’re asking you: “In an interview situation, what skills do you expect candidates to have already, and what are you willing to teach on the job?” If you’re a current job seeker, just tell us what skills you expect employers expect you to have, and which skills you expect to be taught on the job.

By answering our question in the comments below, you will automatically be entered to win ONE online class (five winners; $50 value each) from CareerBuilder Institute.

Using CareerBuilder Institute can not only help employees improve skills in certain areas, but also lower turnover, decrease training and hiring costs, increase accessibility to training content, and increase overall productivity. The skills you’re spending time to teach on the job can likely be taught by a CareerBuilder Institute class — freeing up other employees’ time and resources — and saving you a significant amount on training expenses.

CareerBuilder Institute — Did you know? (Don’t worry, there won’t be a test):

• Learners can retake courses within the year at no additional cost.
• CBI has the largest learning library in the nation, with more than 12,000 titles including videos, assessments, tests and courses.
• More than 3,000 pre-license certification and continuing education courses are offered.
• CBI is the only e-learning service to offer Predictive Job Fit Assessments, Hard and Soft Skill Courses, Microsoft Courses, Learning Videos, and Professional Certification and Continuing Education Courses.
• Employee training has been shown to lead to greater employee productivity (26% higher revenue per employee) and reduced employee turnover (41% lower for high-performing employees; 17% overall).

HOW TO ENTER:
Simply answer this question in the comments section below: ““In an interview situation, what skills do you expect candidates to have already, and what are you willing to teach on the job?””– and you’ll automatically be entered to win one online class from CareerBuilder Institute (five winners will be chosen at random; $50 value per class).  Be sure to read the terms and conditions in full.

CONTEST DETAILS:
Entries will be accepted from 12:00 a.m. CST on Monday, August 9, 2010 until 11:59 p.m. CST on Friday, August 13, 2010.  Each account may only submit one answer for consideration; subsequent entries will not be considered. Spam responses will not be considered. The winner will be picked at random and notified via e-mail the week of August 18, 2010. Please read the full list of official contest rules and regulations.

Last week, I talked about the pros and cons of rehiring former employees, and mentioned that the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act is one of the major reasons employers should be looking at hiring unemployed workers (which could include former employees). But let’s explore further why the bill is so important — both for unemployed workers and the employers hiring them. After all, as a CFO, controller, business owner, vice president of human resources, hiring manager, accountant, or anyone else with a stake in your business’s bottom line, the HIRE Act could have a significant impact on your business.

What is the HIRE Act?

The $17.5 billion legislation, signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010, gives a potential tax exemption and credit to businesses that hire unemployed workers. Specifically, the HIRE Act grants businesses that hire workers unemployed 60 days or longer an exemption from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll taxes for each worker for the remainder of 2010. Additionally, if workers are retained for one year, participating businesses  get a tax credit of $1,000.

The maximum value of this incentive is $6,621 per qualified employee, which equals 6.2 percent of the Social Security FICA maximum wage cap of $106,800.

The goal:

The HIRE Act aims to provide hiring incentives to stimulate the economy, restore some of the jobs lost in the latest economic recession, and put Americans back to work. The average unemployed worker has been unemployed for ten months, so the Act is in effect targeting those job seekers who have been having difficulty finding work for quite some time.  The HIRE Act calls on employers like you to hire unemployed workers and work to retain them.

Keep in mind, recent graduates who are unemployed or working part-time can qualify — so if you’re seeking out new grads or are a start-up looking for fresh talent, you should also be looking into the HIRE Act.

The two major tax incentives of the HIRE Act

No. 1:

Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax exemption, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers between Mar. 19, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010.

• This reduced tax withholding will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits, and as an employer, you will still need to withhold the employee’s 6.2-percent share of Social Security taxes, as well as income taxes.
• The employer and employee’s shares of Medicare taxes would also still apply to these wages.

No. 2:

For each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional retention credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

Significant savings

Let’s say you hire an employee and pay them a $60,000 salary. Normally, you would have to pay 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax, or $3,720. With the HIRE Act, your business wouldn’t have to pay that $3,720, plus you have the potential of an additional $1,000 tax credit if that employee stays with your company for one year.

Finding the right employees with the HIRE Act

Not only are you helping stimulate the economy and employ people who need work, but you are also potentially saving a significant amount of money that will impact your bottom line. Instead of looking at hiring as an expense, the HIRE Act encourages employers to think of  hiring as an investment.

While the HIRE Act helps making hiring “cheaper,” the quality of your new hires is still paramount; you and I both know that cost savings plus a bad hire is actually more expensive in the long run. This is why CareerBuilder is focused on targeting the right people within that group who would be a good fit for your organization.

CareerBuilder currently attracts more than 9 million unique visitors each month who meet the qualifications as set by the HIRE Act. We go even further by helping you find the qualified workers who are the right fit for your particular culture and business needs. After all, you might need one employee or 100 — but it’s important that you find the right employees to stick around and grow with your business.

The Fine Print: Criteria needed for a business to receive benefits of the HIRE Act

• New employee/s must be hired between Feb. 4, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
• The payroll tax exemptions are effective for wages paid between Mar. 19, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010.
• The newly hired employees must have been unemployed during the 60 days prior to starting work, or worked fewer than 40 hours for someone else during that 60-day period (and the employer must get a statement from each eligible new hire certifying this fact).
• New hires filling positions qualify, but only if the workers they are replacing left voluntarily or for cause.
• Family members or relatives do not qualify.
• Businesses, agricultural employers, tax-exempt organizations and public colleges and universities DO qualify to claim the payroll tax — although household businesses and federal, state and local governments l do not.

HIRE Act — How are businesses reacting?

It’s a bit of a chicken versus egg argument; it’s hard to say at this point whether the HIRE Act is causing employers to hire more, or businesses are catching on to it after they have already hired. Regardless, any businesses are taking advantage of the new legislation. And although the HIRE Act expires Jan. 1, 2011, President Obama is working to extend it. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury:

• From Feb. to May 2010, an estimated 4.5 million workers who had been unemployed for eight weeks or longer were hired — meaning all of the employers who hired these workers are eligible for the HIRE Act payroll tax exemption.
• Newly hired workers whose employers are eligible for the exemption constitute 12.2 percent of all workers who were unemployed for eight weeks or longer since the law took effect.
• If the 4.5 million newly hired employees who are eligible for the exemption are employed for the rest of the year, their employers would be (collectively) eligible for an estimated $5.1 billion in payroll tax savings.

Find out more about the HIRE Act

While we’ve covered a lot of the basics here, you’ll still want to investigate further to find out how your business can qualify. Here are some additional resources:

• Find out more about the HIRE act and what it may mean for your business on the IRS’s website (VIDEO).
  
• Read up on the IRS’s questions and answers page for employers.
• Read the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent report on the HIRE Act’s progress thus far.
• Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Affidavit (PDF; to be signed by new employees who qualify)

Rejecting a candidate because they have too many credentials? On the surface, it seems absurd: Here, it seems you’ve been handed the opportunity to snag executive-level talent at an entry level price…and yet you know that doing so means you could soon be dealing with a very bitter employee who resents taking a job that is below them, or perhaps you fear they’ll leave the minute a better opportunity comes along…

That’s the dilemma employers face when it comes to hiring overqualified workers – and why so many just say no; however, while you certainly want to be wary of someone who “will just take anything” to make ends meet (not that you don’t sympathize), you could also be doing yourself a disservice by dismissing an overqualified worker outright – and miss the opportunity to score major talent for your organization.

So before you immediately dismiss an overqualified worker, just consider the following questions to help you assess why you’re really discounting them – and if you should reconsider…

How do I define “overqualified”?
Dismissing someone based only on a resume that is more extensive than what the hiring manager expected might be jumping the gun.  For one thing, having “too much” experience is relative.  Check with the hiring manager to see how much additional qualification is acceptable before ruling someone out entirely.  Not to mention that more experience and qualifications means less time spent training and developing the individual. And finally, just because the person may have more experience doesn’t mean he or she isn’t the best person for the job – it might be worth your time to let the candidate prove it to you. 

Are my biases getting in the way?
“Every organization has its own internal biases…Hiring managers and recruiters need to acknowledge these biases and realize that great candidates may not fit the typical mold,” one commenter reasoned in response to an earlier post I’d written about not writing off candidates too soon.

Echoing this sentiment, management expert F. John Reh writes that the biggest obstacle to hiring overqualified workers is dealing with underqualified managers who feel threatened by the idea of having someone on their team who is competing for their position or will do anything that might highlight their own shortcomings. What these managers fail to realize, however, is that something done well by their team will actually reflect well on them.

Also, judging from the comments generated by a recent TheWorkBuzz post asking workers to discuss how they felt about being overqualified for their jobs, it’s apparent that many job seekers are frustrated by the “overqualified” label – and many suspect that employers just use this term as an excuse for not hiring older workers. (If that’s true, it’s important to realize that mature workers “offer a wealth of knowledge and experience that has translated into a significant competitive advantage for employers,” according to Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.)

Am I assuming too much?
It’s understandable that you might suspect that a worker with more experience than the minimum qualifications will ask for too much pay; however, posting the salary or salary range for the position in the job ad will help to screen out these applicants.  While there’s still the risk that a more experienced worker may still push for a higher salary, that doesn’t mean they won’t ultimately – and happily – accept the salary you offer.

Perhaps you’re worried that a more experienced individual will be more difficult to manage than someone “greener,” but you shouldn’t screen based on this assumption: wait until the interview process, where you can find out about the person’s personality, work ethic and cultural fit within the organization.

It’s also common to assume that an overqualified worker will be bored in his or her “lesser” role, and is simply waiting for the job market to open up to pursue better opportunities, which is, of course, a valid concern – but it’s a concern that should apply to all of your employees.  A recent New York Times article addressed this topic, saying that while studies indicate that workers who perceive themselves as overqualified do tend to report lower job satisfaction and higher rates of turnover, various research shows that these workers tend to perform better – and that managers can mitigate many of the negatives that come with overqualified hires by giving their worker autonomy, treating them with respect, and making them feel valued.

Thoughts? Have you had experience hiring or managing what you’d consider overqualified workers?

This year, 54 percent of large U.S. businesses that laid off employees in the past year want to rebuild their work forces, but some will have trouble finding the skilled workers they are looking for, according to a recent study by Accenture. Because of this gap, many employers will likely consider an alternate option to gain skilled workers: rehiring former employees.

Employees may be rehired for very different reasons. Maybe they were laid off due to a company’s financial situation, but not because they weren’t a valued employee. Or perhaps they were let go unfairly and a company realized its mistake. Maybe, just maybe, they were fired but fixed whatever caused them to be fired in the first place. Regardless of the reason, the question remains: Is this a positive trend or a recipe for disaster? Let’s examine.

Firing — and rehiring

Firings and rehirings can have a major effect on the employees in question. Since George Steinbrenner’s passing last week, many have commented about his tendency as a coach to treat employees rudely and fire them, then reconsider and hire them back soon after. Most wouldn’t argue that  many of his firings were impulsive. Steinbrenner, who reportedly made 20 managerial hirings and firings in 23 seasons, even admitted he was often unreasonable in his employee dealings.

Other organizations, like the Red Cross,  recently rehired two fired employees who complained about the heat during a blood drive, amid union talks. And an ex-employee who worked for the City of Fort Worth for years alleges she was wrongly fired after whistleblowing — what would happen if she was hired back?

What about rehiring laid off employees?

While it’s true that the decision to lay off employees is generally not a hot-headed game time decision a la Steinbrenner, layoffs still create unrest with laid off employees as well as remaining staff — and can leave a lingering bitterness in both camps toward company leadership. So what happens when you rehire employees post-layoffs?

Pros of rehiring former employees

Aside from the obvious — that rehiring employees is giving someone a job who needs to support themselves or a family, rehiring employees can have many other benefits.

Employee morale – If employees see that their employer is actively working to bring back employees, it can have a positive effect on morale — and it can bring people back together who formerly worked well as a team.

Training – Rehired employees understand the company culture, and employers don’t have to retrain them. Even if company structure has changed somewhat since they left, you’re likely looking at a quick brush-up versus a training overhaul.

New perspective — Time may actually have not just healed all wounds — but may have enabled both the person or people who let an employee go, and that employee, get away from a negative situation, gain some perspective, and learn from mistakes made. Even if the situation ended on a neutral or positive note, time away in which a former employee has had a chance to pursue other interests, hobbies, and skills may benefit not only them and their place in the organization, but also their employer, once he or she is brought back into the fold.

The HIRE Act — What it Means to You

If you’re an employer rehiring currently unemployed former employees — or an employer hiring any unemployed worker in general — you could benefit from a new tax incentive. One of the major benefits to employers who hire unemployed workers comes in the form of two new tax benefits that are part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. The two major parts of the act state:

1. Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers after March 18, 2010.
2. For each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional general business tax credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

Find out more about the HIRE act and what it may mean for your business (video).

Cons of rehiring former employees

As much as rehiring a former employee can have positive effects, things can just as easily swing the other way — making a situation less than happy for rehired employees, employees who haven’t been let go, and company leadership.

Resentment – If things ended on a sour note, rehiring former employees can be complicated — and may not work out well in the long run. Even if an employer did everything they could to ease the stress of the situation, an employee may harbor resentment and bitter feelings, and those feelings may have grown stronger since they left the organization.

Current employee backlash — Employees who watched someone else leave and then come back may become jealous because a rehired employee is now getting work they were handling and returning “without paying their dues” as a new employee would. After all, remaining employees are often the ones left picking up the extra work when a company downsizes.

Short-term success – It’s important to keep in mind that even if an employee is willing to come back, they may only be accepting the job because they really need one (and are still looking for something better). This is where “onboarding” a rehired employee may help (see below).

If you’re going to rehire

If you do choose to rehire laid off employees, there are some things you can do to avoid the potential pitfalls listed above and ensure it’s as smooth a transition as possible.

Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, senior adviser at global executive search firm Egon Zehnder International, offers employers a few tips; namely, to clearly communicate to the rest of the company the reasons for hiring back a former employee; sufficiently brief a former employee about the company’s current situation and present very clear expectations; and to follow up, at least quarterly, with the returning employee to make sure he or she is adjusting well.

Would you rehire a former employee? What pros or cons would you add?

You also need to communicate those benefits, too.

That was the message Steven Williams, Director of E-Media Innovations and Business Development at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), had for his audience during his presentation, “Employee Benefits: Just How Competitive Is Your Company?” at SHRM’s annual conference in San Diego last month.

It should come as no surprise that benefits are crucial to attracting and retaining top talent (especially with employers complaining about how good talent is still so hard to come by these days)…but where “HR drops the ball,” as Williams put it, was in communicating these benefits. “It’s very important that you communicate your employer brand,” Williams told the audience of HR managers. After all, he said, you may have a great brand, and that’s great, but it has little impact if no one communicates it. 

Get the Word Out
“This is not the time to be modest,” Williams told the audience. If companies want to stay competitive, they have to get the best talent, and in order to do that, they have to really step up their recruitment marketing efforts. This means not only offering something unique and desirable to employees, but ensuring prospective employees are well aware of those offerings.

Williams suggested taking a cue from employers with strong brands like Google, Zappos and Southwest Airlines – all of which enjoy various “Best Companies to Work For” honors (and aren’t shy about boasting it). Not only do these companies offer unique benefits (like free gourmet meals for Google employees or getting offered $2,000 to quit at Zappos), but they also make ample use of their resources to advertise these facts – including their own websites, blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages, and, not least of all, their employees: Zappos employees, for example, blog and tweet frequently about life at Zappos, and Southwest employees keep an active blog about their work life. Google includes employee testimonials on its website.

Williams also urged his audience to look for any and every opportunity to communicate their employer brand, including (but certainly not limited to) the following:

• Company website (Side note: in addition to including info about your company’s mission and values, benefits, awards and recognition received, or job listings, think of ways you can incorporate various media, such as employee testimonial videos, virtual office tours, or photos from company events.)
• Print and online job ads
• Chat rooms/forums/blogs
• Visual branding on billboards, posters (Or take a cue from what the TSA recently did and deliver your job ads right to job seekers’ doors…)
• Job podcasting
• “Best Places to Work” lists (Don’t wait around, hoping to be recognized: Submit your company for local, regional and national awards.)
• Company lobby (You need a place to hang that “Best Place to Work” plaque, don’t you?
• Industry magazines
• Policy and procedures manual

Real-Life Benefits You Haven’t Tried
One final thing to note: Employee benefits don’t have to be of Oprah-taking-her-entire-staff-on-a-cruise proportions (although that is nice…), so long as they’re meaningful to the employees and they differentiate a company and its employer brand. 

Case in point: Throughout his presentation, Williams asked audience members to contribute the unique benefits their companies offered. Here are some of the ones they shared:

• Self-funded sabbaticals where employees bank part of their income
• Phased back-to-work for nursing moms following maternity leave
• Employee concierge service that aids in personal care
• Grocery services
• Symphony and theater tickets are reimbursed 50%
• Back up care hours for moms who must travel for business
• All employees are given their birthdays off
• A surprise all-expenses paid trip is organized for a long weekend every five years
• Employees are encouraged to purchase new outfits and expense them
• Free on-site yoga
• “Free latte Fridays”
• Free employee health screenings
• First Fridays, in which employees are treated to lunch out

These perks may seem small, but they’re also the kinds of things employees remember and appreciate (because it shows they are appreciated) and that differentiate them from other employers – so consider those things that make your company unique and don’t be shy about promoting them.

Sorting through all the fabulous feedback we received after asking readers to share what their companies are doing to promote employee wellness, we noticed a few shared characteristics among the various initiatives readers discussed.

Below are seven standout traits that a vast number of these wellness programs share, with examples of how – in our readers’ own words – companies’ employee wellness programs embody these traits.

1.       They Don’t Focus Solely on Weight Loss

• “Our approach to exercise is very ‘functional,’ meaning it’s not intended to help you ‘look’ a certain way but to help you feel better all the time and to do your job, at work or at home, with energy, full range of motion and injury-free.” – Dave Parmly
• “Pressley Ridge believes wellness goes beyond the typical medical and stress concerns, but also into mental and personal growth as well. That is why Pressley Ridge offers Employee an Assistance Program at no cost to employees. This is a confidential assistance to employees and dependents 24 hours/day on a toll-free number and face-to-face professional counseling sessions and access to their website with a wide range of tools, resources and information. “ – Phillip Novak
• “My organization promotes wellness through Farmer’s Markets, healthy competition (Like the Biggest Loser), smoking cessation programs which are no cost and they cover any cessation programs like the patch, gum and lozenge. Additionally, they promote a healthy mind through increased awareness and programs. There is an entire website through the company that is dedicated to healthy mind, body and habits.” – Raina

 2.       They Have Buy-In from Leadership

• “Our company gives a very generous discount on the cost of our benefits for employees who participate in the wellness program…But perhaps the most important thing our company does to promote the wellness program is that is it embraced by our CEO and senior leaders within the company. Wellness is not viewed as an ‘HR initiative’ but as a core part of who we are as a company.” - Noreen
• “We have partnered with a local gym and our Senior Leaders are on board. We are trying to get as much employee participation as possible, to let them know that we care about their healthy work environment!” – Tori Hinote
• “Our CEO understands the importance of weight loss and healthy weight maintenance to offset the costs associated with healthcare – both now and in the future.” – Donna Cornwell

3.       Employees Are Never Far From Resources

• “We have an onsite fitness center with a trainer that provides continuous fitness challenges, boot camps, etc. We also have a physician’s assistant who works on site full time so we have immediate access to the seasonal ailments and we have our prescriptions delivered to the office.” – Janet J.
• “Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider conducts voluntary annual blood draws onsite at our headquarters. They also arrange for branch associates to visit their local lab to have the screenings performed.” – Recruiter
• “Our company provides free access to on-site exercise facilities. We also provide access to education on exercise, diet, cooking, lifestyle and behavior modification (including a stop smoking program).” – Mark

4.       They Sweeten the Deal with Incentives

• “We offer a Creating Wellness Program to employees…Those who participate for 6 months then receive $25/month in wellness bucks (for gym memberships, yoga, Pilates, etc.) as a reward for continued involvement.” – Rick Thompson
• “Recently, we sponsored an 8 week fitness challenge and gave away an Ipod Touch for the winner… This year, our grand prize drawing will be for either a gym membership, Fitness equipment or a Nintendo WII with WII ACTIVE.” – Jenny
• “Each quarter employees are asked to set a Health Improvement Goal. We pay them $50/Qtr for meeting their goal…We have had tremendous success with this approach.” – Kimberly
• “Our company has a $300 wellness credit toward health insurance premiums for non-smokers and then provides programs for employees to quit smoking.” - Ally

5.     They’re Not Limited By Smaller Budgets

• “We have researched local ‘healthy’ vendors such as local gyms, Jamba Juice, Whole Foods, etc. and invited them to come onsite to talk about their products. It’s been working out great and it’s no cost to the company!” – Stefan
• “Although our wellness budget was reduced to ZERO this year, we continue to come up with new and interesting wellness initiatives… We are even offering cost-effective prizes, like jean days and premier parking!” – Holly
• “Our company just started our official ‘Steps to Wellness’ Program… The employees complete a “scorecard” with several tasks and turn the completed card in for a chance at a “Day Off With Pay”. The more staff who enter, the more days off we will raffle.” – Sue K
• “We have…raised funds to assist with our program by producing a cookbook that we sold.” – Mary Wicker
• “One really fun wellness initiative that my company implemented is building an employee vegetable garden…We just started the garden project this year and participation has been huge. This is a really fun project and is relatively inexpensive!” – Kathryn

 6.       They Assign Measurement to Gauge Success

• “We work with our insurance carrier to hold an annual health fair each year that consists of blood work for a variety of areas and each employee is given the results that day. The results are discussed with health coaches from our insurance carrier and given advice as to how to improve results in any areas that reflect a health issue. These statistics are used to determine where we need to concentrate our efforts to best improve the wellness of our employees…Since we have implemented the program our data from the health screenings have shown improvement each year which in turn helps to keep our health insurance cost down.” – Mary Wicker
• “In the year 2009 our corporate headquarters developed a 3 component program to get the employees premium costs down and in the long run, help them develop healthy life habits… This year the Myers Lawn and Garden site is conducting their 2nd annual health fair since the first one in August of 2009 was so successful…Employee participation is growing and the savings are too for both the employee and the company.” – Lee Herman
• “The goal is overall health of our employees. If we can prove that we have lowered healthcare costs and possibly insurance premiums for our employees, because of healthier lifestyles, we have been successful!” – Tori Hinote

7.      They Empower Employees

• “The company promoted wellness with the staff by also ‘promoting’ US…For example, I had always wanted to be a nutrition education writer, a secret desire of mine…The company decided to start putting out a monthly newsletter in the club for our members and not only was I asked to be a columnist, but I was asked to be the editor as well. Our whole staff took part in the newsletter, writing about their known specialty in the field. This tactic was most rewarding for me, as I had the chance to really reach a long time goal of mine. This made me feel like I was on top of the world, how do you get more ‘well’ than that?” – Renee S.
• “List Innovative Solutions is extremely active in the community…and encourages its employees to do the same by sponsoring the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training Program…this allows our employees to be active and also give back at the same time.” – Jennifer Bonner
• “We encourage all employees to offer ideas on the ‘Healthy Life’ bulletin board so everyone gets a chance to bring something to the table!” – Dustin Shay

As I stated in my earlier post on readers’ company wellness programs, it’s great to see how many organizations take an active interest in their employees’ health – not just for employees, but for the companies themselves, as wellness programs can help employers cut costs related to healthcare, turnover and lost production.

What do you think? Care to add an “8^th habit” that makes your own company’s wellness program successful?

Sorting through all the fabulous feedback we received after asking readers to share what their companies are doing to promote employee wellness, we noticed a few shared characteristics among the various initiatives readers discussed.

Below are seven standout traits that a vast number of these wellness programs share, with examples of how – in our readers’ own words – companies’ employee wellness programs embody these traits.

1.       They Don’t Focus Solely on Weight Loss

• “Our approach to exercise is very ‘functional,’ meaning it’s not intended to help you ‘look’ a certain way but to help you feel better all the time and to do your job, at work or at home, with energy, full range of motion and injury-free.” – Dave Parmly
• “Pressley Ridge believes wellness goes beyond the typical medical and stress concerns, but also into mental and personal growth as well. That is why Pressley Ridge offers Employee an Assistance Program at no cost to employees. This is a confidential assistance to employees and dependents 24 hours/day on a toll-free number and face-to-face professional counseling sessions and access to their website with a wide range of tools, resources and information. “ – Phillip Novak
• “My organization promotes wellness through Farmer’s Markets, healthy competition (Like the Biggest Loser), smoking cessation programs which are no cost and they cover any cessation programs like the patch, gum and lozenge. Additionally, they promote a healthy mind through increased awareness and programs. There is an entire website through the company that is dedicated to healthy mind, body and habits.” – Raina

 2.       They Have Buy-In from Leadership

• “Our company gives a very generous discount on the cost of our benefits for employees who participate in the wellness program…But perhaps the most important thing our company does to promote the wellness program is that is it embraced by our CEO and senior leaders within the company. Wellness is not viewed as an ‘HR initiative’ but as a core part of who we are as a company.” - Noreen
• “We have partnered with a local gym and our Senior Leaders are on board. We are trying to get as much employee participation as possible, to let them know that we care about their healthy work environment!” – Tori Hinote
• “Our CEO understands the importance of weight loss and healthy weight maintenance to offset the costs associated with healthcare – both now and in the future.” – Donna Cornwell

3.       Employees Are Never Far From Resources

• “We have an onsite fitness center with a trainer that provides continuous fitness challenges, boot camps, etc. We also have a physician’s assistant who works on site full time so we have immediate access to the seasonal ailments and we have our prescriptions delivered to the office.” – Janet J.
• “Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider conducts voluntary annual blood draws onsite at our headquarters. They also arrange for branch associates to visit their local lab to have the screenings performed.” – Recruiter
• “Our company provides free access to on-site exercise facilities. We also provide access to education on exercise, diet, cooking, lifestyle and behavior modification (including a stop smoking program).” – Mark

4.       They Sweeten the Deal with Incentives

• “We offer a Creating Wellness Program to employees…Those who participate for 6 months then receive $25/month in wellness bucks (for gym memberships, yoga, Pilates, etc.) as a reward for continued involvement.” – Rick Thompson
• “Recently, we sponsored an 8 week fitness challenge and gave away an Ipod Touch for the winner… This year, our grand prize drawing will be for either a gym membership, Fitness equipment or a Nintendo WII with WII ACTIVE.” – Jenny
• “Each quarter employees are asked to set a Health Improvement Goal. We pay them $50/Qtr for meeting their goal…We have had tremendous success with this approach.” – Kimberly
• “Our company has a $300 wellness credit toward health insurance premiums for non-smokers and then provides programs for employees to quit smoking.” - Ally

5.     They’re Not Limited By Smaller Budgets

• “We have researched local ‘healthy’ vendors such as local gyms, Jamba Juice, Whole Foods, etc. and invited them to come onsite to talk about their products. It’s been working out great and it’s no cost to the company!” – Stefan
• “Although our wellness budget was reduced to ZERO this year, we continue to come up with new and interesting wellness initiatives… We are even offering cost-effective prizes, like jean days and premier parking!” – Holly
• “Our company just started our official ‘Steps to Wellness’ Program… The employees complete a “scorecard” with several tasks and turn the completed card in for a chance at a “Day Off With Pay”. The more staff who enter, the more days off we will raffle.” – Sue K
• “We have…raised funds to assist with our program by producing a cookbook that we sold.” – Mary Wicker
• “One really fun wellness initiative that my company implemented is building an employee vegetable garden…We just started the garden project this year and participation has been huge. This is a really fun project and is relatively inexpensive!” – Kathryn

 6.       They Assign Measurement to Gauge Success

• “We work with our insurance carrier to hold an annual health fair each year that consists of blood work for a variety of areas and each employee is given the results that day. The results are discussed with health coaches from our insurance carrier and given advice as to how to improve results in any areas that reflect a health issue. These statistics are used to determine where we need to concentrate our efforts to best improve the wellness of our employees…Since we have implemented the program our data from the health screenings have shown improvement each year which in turn helps to keep our health insurance cost down.” – Mary Wicker
• “In the year 2009 our corporate headquarters developed a 3 component program to get the employees premium costs down and in the long run, help them develop healthy life habits… This year the Myers Lawn and Garden site is conducting their 2nd annual health fair since the first one in August of 2009 was so successful…Employee participation is growing and the savings are too for both the employee and the company.” – Lee Herman
• “The goal is overall health of our employees. If we can prove that we have lowered healthcare costs and possibly insurance premiums for our employees, because of healthier lifestyles, we have been successful!” – Tori Hinote

7.      They Empower Employees

• “The company promoted wellness with the staff by also ‘promoting’ US…For example, I had always wanted to be a nutrition education writer, a secret desire of mine…The company decided to start putting out a monthly newsletter in the club for our members and not only was I asked to be a columnist, but I was asked to be the editor as well. Our whole staff took part in the newsletter, writing about their known specialty in the field. This tactic was most rewarding for me, as I had the chance to really reach a long time goal of mine. This made me feel like I was on top of the world, how do you get more ‘well’ than that?” – Renee S.
• “List Innovative Solutions is extremely active in the community…and encourages its employees to do the same by sponsoring the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training Program…this allows our employees to be active and also give back at the same time.” – Jennifer Bonner
• “We encourage all employees to offer ideas on the ‘Healthy Life’ bulletin board so everyone gets a chance to bring something to the table!” – Dustin Shay

As I stated in my earlier post on readers’ company wellness programs, it’s great to see how many organizations take an active interest in their employees’ health – not just for employees, but for the companies themselves, as wellness programs can help employers cut costs related to healthcare, turnover and lost production.

What do you think? Care to add an “8^th habit” that makes your own company’s wellness program successful?

“How isn’t it?” Is more like it…Two weeks ago, we asked you to share with us if and how your organization promoted employee health and wellness.  Aside from giving you the chance to brag about how your organization could easily give Jillian Michaels a run for her money in the fitness coaching department, we also wanted to give you the chance to share with each other creative – and often cost-effective – ideas for promoting employee wellness.  

As it turns out, many of you have not just one or two, but several initiatives in place to help employees focus on improving their health – an effort that is as much a benefit to your company as it is to your workers: If implemented correctly, company-sponsored wellness programs effectively reduce company healthcare costs, employee turnover and incidences of employee absenteeism, according to Dr. Steven Williams, Director of E-Media Innovations and Business Development at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), who recently presented on this topic during the Annual SHRM Conference in San Diego last month. 

So what are you doing to promote employee wellness (and, in effect, cut costs)? Let’s take a look at the results…

READERS’ RESULTS: THE TOP 15 CORPORATE WELLNESS BENEFITS

With so much great feedback, it was nearly impossible to list all the initiatives individually, but several, listed below, were shared by a lot of you (see the full list of comments here):

1. Contests – most particularly, those inspired by TV’s “The Biggest Loser,” complete with some pretty lucrative awards (including iPods and hundreds of dollars in cash) – were among the most popular ways employers are motivating employees to get healthier.
2. In-house Weight Watchers programs offered for free or at a discount
3. Rewards systems where employees can exchange points earned through activity for “prizes” such as spa certificates, health club discounts, or gift cards toward sports apparel shops
4. Health living newsletters sent to employees on a weekly or monthly basis, complete with healthy living tips, exercises and recipes
5. Online tracking programs where employees can easily log and assess their progress toward a specified goal
6. Healthier snack alternatives to typical vending machine fare
7. On-site fitness facilities where employees can work out solo or participate in classes (often for free)
8. Organized sports teams or walking/running groups
9. Cash or discounts toward healthy purchases, including  fitness gear, weight loss programs, smoking cessation programs, or participation in community run/walks
10. On-site health fairs that include health assessments, massages and free, in-person consultations with community health professionals
11. Smoking cessation programs
12. Partial to full-paid health club membership fees
13. Free health screenings and assessments, accompanied by professional advice for understanding and improving the results
14. Employee assistance programs to help employees better their work/life balance, and providing help with everything from legal consultation to financial planning to stress management to childcare referrals.
15. Regular “lunch-and-learn” sessions where local wellness professionals present on healthy lifestyle topics

THE BEST OF THE REST – Here, in your own words, some other interesting perks that stood out:

• “We are getting rid of one of our coke machines and replacing it with a cooler that will hold 100% fruit juice.” - Sarah Benedum
• “We have onsite showers for those who go out for a run during the day or bike to work.” - Kathy
• “We’ve initiated walking groups, Weight Watchers, heart-healthy cooking demonstrations, team fitness challenges, and even a Salsa dancing class.” - Robert
• “For the month of July we have a ‘submit a healthy recipe’ contest planned. At the end of the [company’s summer-long] walking challenge, the recipes will be compiled into a book and distributed to our employees.” - Raelene Neumann
• “We have a Holiday Weigh In which runs from Thanksgiving week to the day after Super Bowl. The goal is to maintain or lose weight during the most challenging time of the year.” - Jane
• “Our agency sponsors an annual Wellness Day complete with…a spa corner featuring makeovers and massage and free organic vegetable plants for all participants.” – Rachel S.
• “One really fun wellness initiative that my company implemented is building an employee vegetable garden.” - Kathryn
• “The company promotes healthy living by providing health conscious snacks such as granola bars, fresh fruit, nuts and more. Water, protein shakes, fruit juice and sports drinks are also readily available at no cost to employees.” - Melissa
• “Our Fun Committee regularly organizes events for holidays, birthdays and, well, just for fun. Hat Day, High-Five Wednesday, Hula Hoop contests, Wii competitions - random, silly but fun and stress relieving.” - Carol
• “The company donates 40% of the fundraising amounts for [community] events that their employees choose to participate in, this allows our employees to be active and also give back at the same time.” – Jennifer Bonner
• “We…have drop-off and pick-up for our dry cleaning and a mechanic who comes on site to take care of things such as oil changes and other maintenance issues. Things like dry cleaning and auto care may not sound like a wellness issue, but when it keeps you from making additional errands with our already overloaded schedules, it reduces stress.” - Janet J.

Anything you want to add to the list? Feel free to do so in the comments section below. Otherwise, check out even more reader results in my follow-up: The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Corporate Wellness Programs.

Remember in Back to the Future II, when Marty travels to 2015 and sees that future Marty has the technology to video-conference in to his office from his very own living room and it was completely awesome?  Funny how that technology is actually a reality now.  (I can only hope this means good things for the hover board…) Sadly, video-conferencing is as far as Robert Zemeckis got in predicting what the workplace of the future would look like…

Fortunately, however, workplace experts Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd pick up where the movie director left off with their book, The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop & Keep Tomorrow’s Employees Today. While there’s no discussion of flying DeLoreans (tear), technology does play a major role in shaping what the workplace will look like 10 years from now – something the authors discussed in a recent MSN Careers article regarding how those changes will affect employees. 

We here at The Hiring Site, however, wanted to explore what impact those changes will have on the employer.  Read on, and then give us your thoughts below.

1. The Prediction: A More Diverse Workforce - “By 2020, the American workplace population will be more diverse: 63 percent white, 30 percent Latino, and 50 percent female. Four or even five generations, from Boomers to Generation 2020, will be working at once,” Meister and Willyerd say. What It Means for You: Certainly, a more diverse workforce means new challenges in recruiting and engaging these various groups, but if employers are up to the task, the payoffs will be significant. Employers can leverage the experiences and backgrounds of a diverse workforce for a broader exchange of ideas, knowledge and opportunities.
2. The Prediction: More Corporate Social Responsibility - “Companies that once only operated for profit will place new emphasis on the importance of its people, as well as the impact the company’s existence has on the planet. The new bottom line will incorporate profit, people and planet,” the authors say. What It Means for You: Not only will an increased focus on social responsibility benefit the community, but it will also help employers’ recruiting efforts: A recent Staffing Industry Review study found that job seekers gravitate to social responsible companies.
3. The Prediction: More Social Technology – “Vlogging, Twitter, intranet chat rooms, Skyping — even today, there’s a vast array of online communication tools, with more to come.” What It Means for You: More tools available by which to facilitate communication mean more ways to facilitate learning and collaboration – both within and across departments. Of course, there’s such a thing as too many choices, and companies that don’t take the time to find the social technology that fits within their culture may not fully realize these benefits.
4. The Prediction: Mobile Workplaces - “Increasingly powerful mobile phones are replacing laptops as the main work device.” What It Means for You: Ideally, a more mobile workforce means a more productive workforce – and more opportunities for flexible work arrangements; however, if employees feel as if they’re on call 24/7, it can blur the line between work and life altogether. In a recent CareerBuilder survey, 17 percent of workers said they feel like their work day never ends because of the technology connecting them to the office. As workplaces become increasingly mobile, employers will have to work that much harder to ensure their workers do not get burned out and allow themselves technology-free time when away from work.
5. The Prediction: More Work/Life Flexibility  - “For younger generations, work is a significant part of their life, but they don’t compartmentalize it like older generations tend to. It isn’t about work-life ‘balance;’ it’s about work/life integration.” What It Means for You: While advancements in technology make it increasingly easy for employers to offer flexible schedules, flexible schedules may not work for every company culture.  Employers who want to offer this benefit should take a good look at their company culture and see what may need to change first.
6. The Prediction: Serious Play as a Training Tool – “‘Sims’ (Simulated Games) is the new buzz word in training: online Sims allow employees to learn new jobs through low-risk direct practice.” What It Means for You: Some companies are already embracing “serious games” to train employees. As this type of technology becomes increasingly accessible to employers, virtual training programs could very well become standard. Employers would be wise to start looking into these types of training programs now to stay ahead of the curve.
7. The Prediction: A Different Kind of Mentoring – “One-on-one mentoring is still a powerful way to develop employees, but companies will also use reverse-, micro- and group-mentoring.” What It Means for You:  Mentoring will become increasingly important as employers deal with the impending talent shortage (see #10). Employers shouldn’t wait until then, however, to create opportunities for colleagues to collaborate and teach one another.
8. The Prediction: The Democratization of Information - “Digital record keeping makes company information accessible to all.” What It Means for You: More transparency means more accountability on leadership’s end to ensure they’re putting the organization’s stated mission and values into practice. Good news for employers who already do this. Bad news for those who don’t. Where do you fall?  
9. The Prediction: An Increase in Personal Branding – “Social technologies track personal ratings, referrals and reputations.” What It Means for You: Considering nearly half of employers already use social networking sites to recruit, it comes as little surprise that savvy candidates will also utilize these sites to build their personal brands. This could be a win/win.
10. The Prediction: Talent Shortage – “There’s a big gap between all the Boomers retiring and the number of Generation X’ers available to fill their shoes.” What It Means for You: Again, no surprises here as employers already complaining that, despite the plethora of job seekers out there, they still can’t find the right talent for their positions. This shortage places an even greater demand on employers to start providing training, development and mentoring programs now to build and retain their future leaders.  

What’s your take? What changes (or challenges) do you foresee the 2020 workplace?

SAS. Nordstrom. Google. Whole Foods. What do all these companies have in common beyond their brand recognition? They all made the 2010 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For. And this year at the 2010 SHRM Annual Convention in San Diego (#SHRM10), Michael Burchell, Ed. D., vice president for Global Business Development, Great Place to Work® Institute returned to talk about what exactly these 100 company’s do to make the list (last  year his talk focused on the 50 Best Small and Medium Companies to Work For in America).  He noted that any company has the potential to make one of these two lists, regardless of industry, employee demographics, location or work status.

Commonalities between companies that make the list
Burchell started his presentation asking, “What is the difference between a good place and a great place to work?” following that up with, “It’s not about what you do, but how you do it.” Through his company’s 20-plus years of research on this topic, Burchell found the one thing all these companies have in common: TRUST. These companies are all places where employees “trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with.”

The Three Components of Trust:

1. The relationship between employees and management.
2. The relationship between employees and their jobs/company (pride).
3. The relationship between employees and other employees (camaraderie).

Building this kind of trust enables companies to reap positive business benefits and increased productivity through increased caliber of employees, increased quality of products and increased levels of risk taking and innovation.  It’s an investment, but a worthwhile one.

Having this kind of trust also decreases costs by lowering turnover (best companies typically have a voluntary turnover of 9% or less) and lowering resistance to change.  Surprisingly, it also lowers health care costs: Employees who feel trusted – and trust their companies in return – tend to have healthier lives outside of work because they leave work at work, leaving them with more to give to their personal life (family and community). This also means that when they are at work, they show up because they want to and are ready to contribute because they have the perception the company offers a special and unique culture where “we are not like others.”

Building Trust
Trust between employee and company (and vice versa) begins during the pre-hire stage; although the treatment employees get on their first day of work really sets the stage for future trust. Employees who feel welcomed and appreciated generally foster a genuine level of trust much faster than those employees who are just shown to a desk to begin working right away. Makes sense, right? You’d be surprised how many companies overlook these little details. Burchell continued by saying that employees who have the opportunity to interact with senior leadership very close to their hire date are better informed and feel true value and connection immediately.

Best Companies to Work For also…

• Motivate
• Empower
• Listen
• Thank
• Develop
• Care
• Celebrate
• Share

Common Benefits that Best Companies to Work For Offer:

• Job sharing
• Telecommuting
• Compressed work weeks
• Flexible scheduling
• Phased retirement
• Paid sabbaticals
• Child services
• Dry cleaning
• On-site mailing
• Free beverages or snacks
• Personal travel experience

And while this list of perks is impressive in and of itself, what truly makes the difference is how the company communicates these employee benefits, supports them and enables employees to take advantage of them. One example given was Goggle’s TGI Fridays – and yes, it does revolve around food, but not exactly in the way you might think. Each and every Friday employees are invited into cafeterias for an agenda-less meeting where employees get to talk with Google’s CEO and senior leadership team about anything. And as you’d expect, not all questions hold the same weight but all questions are valid and go back to the idea of trust. This practice also shows employees that they are valued as a part of the business, not merely people who work for the company. This is also a time for the leadership to reinforce the company values and make everyone feel connected. Google’s success is unquestioned, but did you know they have also created a pool of quality applicants that is so extensive, they may never have to actively recruit ever again?

The Hidden Benefit to Being  a Best Place to Work
Earlier, I mentioned the benefits a company gains by striving to be a best place to work – such as higher productivity and profitability - but there’s also this other (kind of huge) perk: Once word gets out that your company is a great place to work, you’ll really start to see more qualified applicants applying to your open positions.  I’m talking about people who understand your company’s unique culture and want to be a part of it because they feel a connection to your values.

While much of this information may not seem new, it is wonderful to see so many companies really trying to step up their game to become a best place to work. Remember, employees are your greatest asset, and they leave every night. What are you doing to ensure they return? If you build around this model, everyone benefits. Hiring gets easier. Top talent is retained. Production increases. Profits grow. Build a best place to work and you build a foundation for ongoing success.

Explore our previous Building the Best Place to Work article series to gain insights on our five basic building blocks and other tips for creating the best working place. As always, we welcome your feedback in the comments section of this post. Tell us more about your own recruitment and employee engagement experiences as you try to build a company that your employees call a best place to work.

I recently spoke with Dean Gualco, human resources manager and author of The Good Manager:  A Guide for the Twenty-First Century Manager, a book that focuses on how managers have gone from being respected in society and trusted by their employees to the source of blame for many workplace problems today.

Gualco rallies against this new view of managers, and lays out six attributes that he thinks are essential to being a good manager: Like What You Do, Knowledgeable, Solid Organizational Skills, Work Hard, Make Work Fun, and Be a Good Person.

During our discussion, he also shared his thoughts on everything from why employees view managers’ jobs as less stressful than their own, to the growing tendency to blame managers when things go awry, to the role managers play in their employees’ development, to the one thing managers can start doing today to become better managers.

Below is the Q&A -- simply click the “Play” button within each to hear Gualco’s answer to my question.

Q: What is the most important aspect of being a manager?

Q: Do you think many managers today are unqualified?

Q: What do you think is the most commonly lacking managerial attribute?

Q: Do you have any suggestions for how managers could make work more fun?

Q: What’s one thing managers can start doing today to become better managers?

Q: Why do you think employees tend to view a manager’s job as less stressful than their own?

Q: How can employees and managers work together to understand each others’ roles?

Q: How can managers prevent themselves from becoming less effective due to boredom in their roles?

Q: You mention in your book that it baffles you that many people aren’t in jobs they love. People may argue that they can’t find a job they love in a tough market. What do you say to them?

Q: How can workers stay competitive in their jobs in such a competitive marketplace?

Q: How are managers responsible for their employees staying competitive and continuously learning in their roles?

Q: Have you seen a lot of change in the role of a manager over the last few years, with the recession and a changing market?

This Sunday is Father’s Day, and while it’s a great excuse to spoil dads everywhere with the latest gadgets, grill supplies, or bacon of the month club memberships, a little extra quality time with Dad might be in order this year, in light of results from CareerBuilder’s annual Father’s Day survey.

Survey results among 800 working fathers who are employed full-time showed that a still-struggling economy is causing many working dads to experience more stress, more work — and, not surprisingly, less time spent with their families.

Why the stress?

• One in ten working dads said their spouse or significant other has become unemployed in the last 12 months, with 50 percent of those dads indicating it’s causing stress at home.
• Forty-two percent of working dads said they are the sole providers in their household
• Nine percent of working fathers say they have taken on a second job in the last 12 months to provide for their family.

Office overtime on overdrive

As many of you know firsthand, leaner staffs have led to fewer people handling a higher volume of work. This has made it more difficult for working fathers to achieve a healthy work/life balance, as many are stuck at the office working longer hours — and less time with their kids.

But just how many hours?

• Sixty-three percent of working dads said they work more than 40 hours per week.
• Three in ten (31 percent) working dads who take work home reported they typically bring work home five days a week or more.
• Thirty percent bring work home on the weekends.

And how much less time with their kids?

• Close to four in ten (37 percent) of working dads said they spend two hours or less with their children each work day.
• More than three in ten (35 percent) reported they missed two or more significant events in their child’s life due to work in the last year.

How to be a better juggler

These are bleak statistics, but as Mary Delaney, one of CareerBuilder’s own busy working mothers, has said, there are things you can do to better balance work and family. and now, Jason Ferrara, VP Corporate Marketing at CareerBuilder and a father of two, shares his tips for working dads everywhere to better manage the delicate balancing act of providing for one’s family — and being there as a partner and a father.

“Especially in tough times, working dads have to be more creative and strategic to successfully juggle both work and family commitments,” said Jason Ferrara, VP Corporate Marketing at CareerBuilder and father of two.  “Employers understand the importance of working dads’ time away from the office and continue to place an emphasis on work/life balance through benefits that encourage employees to better manage their schedules. However, year over year, we find that nearly half of working dads do not take advantage of the flexible work arrangements offered to them.”

I’m not suggesting getting Dad a juggling set for Father’s Day (though I’m not not suggesting it, either), but the following tips are designed to help working Dads more effectively juggle their professional and personal lives. After all, although our multitudes of work and life commitments won’t necessarily go away, learning to prioritize them is a strong start.

Ferrara recommends the following tips for working dads navigating through difficult economic times:

1. Keep everyone in the mix. Remember that communication is a two-way street.  Besides just listening to what is going on in your family’s lives, talk about what is going on in your office, so everyone understands why you are away or have to do some work when you are home.
2. Learn to say no. In addition to actual work, sometimes activities associated with your job can take a toll on your free time. Determine what additional activities you can turn down and which are necessary so that you can free up more of your time outside of the office.
3. Develop a master family calendar. Add every family member’s schedule to one master calendar so there are no surprises.  Also, save vacation days for important events and talk to your supervisor about flexible work arrangements.
4. Play now, work later. Put down your Blackberry and avoid checking e-mails until after your children have gone to sleep.
5. Plan a family event in your office. Take advantage of the summer months when school is out and the office may be less hectic by scheduling a kid-friendly potluck or other event with co-workers and their families.

What’s worked for you?

Do you have a solution that’s helped you better manage your work and family lives to add? Let us know in comments — We’d love to hear about it!

Workplace Flexibility — It’s Not a Trend

More and more businesses are talking about the importance of workplace flexibility in today’s society – and the White House even dedicated a recent forum solely to the topic. As the forum stressed, we need a 21st century workplace to meet the demands of a 21st century work force. A report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors found that more flexibility in the workplace leads to happier employees, more family time, and higher employee retention and productivity – as well as more competitive and profitable workplaces.

One of the more interesting discussions in The Hiring Site’s contest history recently unfolded around the very idea of workplace flexibility, as we asked all of you the following question for our May contest (and gave away some cool stuff — congrats to our winners!):

“Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?”

You were all more than a bit divided on the subject; opinions ranged from “This would NOT be a good environment at ANY company!” to “Yes! Thinking outside the box is what keeps America growing.” I’ve rounded up some of the highlights below (you can read the full list of comments here).

“I think ROWE is a fantastic way of boosting employee morale and engagement, and it can be used as a “perk” for some employees (it works for me!)” –PJ

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“It’s a good concept for companies without strict production deadlines.” –Donna

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“I think that the staff on my team would enjoy this freedom. I even believe some of them may produce the results in order to have the freedom. I do also believe that I need some one here 8-5 to take care of clients who have that expectation of us. It’s a great concept, but I’m not sure how I can make the logistics work in my 5 man team.” –Stacy

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“While I think this would be a great concept in several work environments; the concept would not work in our setting; we are in the business of providing 24/7 care to our patients. The level of staffing that is needed depends on the number of patient we have to take care and the level of the care that each patient requires.” –Lara

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“I think the best part of a ROWE would be the work life balance that it creates. As a working mom I can imagine how helpful and ideal a ROWE would be.” –Bernadette

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“In the field of corrections, this is not possible. You cannot monitor an inmate population from the grocery store. There is also no quantitative way to measure remote job performance… Most people are not able to handle the organizational issues and self-motivating actions this would require.” –KCI

“We treat all our colleagues as adults and they all manage their own time. We have no handbook. We have no time clock. All but one of our people work from a home office or on client sites. We do not track how much time is spent in either place (except for billing purposes.) Our turnover is basically zero in the last several years – not just in HR District Office, but in Higbee Associates as a whole.” –Lynn

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“I love the concept! Unfortunately, I don’t think it would work in our business, which is retail. We might be able to use it for back-office/administrative functions, but I believe there has to be some face time in order to foster teamwork.” –Lise

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“On the surface this appears to be a creative way to bridge the gap between generations and work place expectations.” –Kim

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“It is pretty hard to mentor someone that is not around on a consistent basis. This will undermine the relationship and make it harder to give feedback.” –Denise

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“Working set amounts of hours is really not about results, but about doing something because it is supposed to be done this way. If people could be more tied to the outcome of their work then more people would be happier with their careers. Its a great idea whose time may come down the road.” –Noelle

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“It sounds fantastic and I would love to be able to do it! But, I think that we (Americans) are used to a certain mindset in the workplace and that is the harder (usually more hours) you work the better employee you are. It would be hard to change that mindset in all of your employees and this could in turn create some resentment.” –Jen

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“Unfortunately adopting such a paradigm shift in culture would possibly cripple an organization who still follows workflows and corporate driven goal setting they built decades ago. Many newcomers are all for it and working smarter is. Not looked at as valuable as sitting at your desk looking busy from 9-5. Anyone else’s company still in a time warp?” –Steve

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“The flexibility to manage your time as you need would create less stress in a job and in life. In turn this makes you more productive. More productive means more money, and money is always the bottom line.” –Brad

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“The ROWE concept is a great one but measures would have to be in place to ensure excellent service. Customers want/need (pay) to have access to their vendors so making sure the correct results are delivered would be a challenge. It really requires drilling down to the specific results the organization wants to achieve and being able to understand what your customers want/need/are willing to accept. Companies would also need to have technology and communication (practices) infrastructures that would support the diversity of schedules and patterns brought on by this approach.” –Charles

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“I think more companies need to expand their thinking and rewards structure, sometimes money isn’t really the bottom line and quality of life is much more appealing.” –Gytahnna

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Your Biggest Concerns

From what I gathered in your comments, many of the concerns or challenges you expressed in your comments regarding ROWE boil down to physical presence and time elements — the need for employees to be physically in the office and during certain times, whether for meetings, teamwork building, customers, last-minute projects, ongoing deadlines, the ability to mentor, the desire to keep an eye on employees’ progress, or something else. The founders of ROWE have detailed answers to many of the same questions and concerns you have all expressed — you can determine whether or not their answers satisfy you.

ROWE — Who’s Doing It?

Some of you also asked at which companies ROWE was currently in place. Companies like Best Buy, Gap Outlet, Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, and Fairview Health Services’ (their IT department) have adapted a results-only work environment. You can read about one employee’s ROWE experience here.

And as for the concern that with ROWE, employees won’t show up for meetings, answer calls, or meet deadlines, Eric Severson, VP of HR for Gap Inc., says, “That just doesn’t happen. People need feedback on projects and will come to meetings to get sign-offs. Some people still work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, and that’s fine. ROWE is your choice.”

ROWE or not, workplaces are constantly changing — and we enjoy discussing those changes with you. Any additional thoughts about ROWE?

Be the hero and surprise your team with three months of breakfast treats from Wolferman’s, or singlehandedly caffeinate your employees for all of Q3 2010 with a 3-month Dunkin’ Donuts coffee subscription. And even if you don’t win either of those, you have a chance to win your own copy of “Why Works Sucks and How to Fix It.”

Entering is Easy:

Simply answer the question, “Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?” in the comments below — and you’ll automatically be entered to win!

What’s ROWE all about? Read on to find out — and then enter to win for your chance at free swag!

What’s ROWE?

At a SXSW Interactive panel this past March, I listened to the founders of the ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) movement, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, speak. After hearing more about ROWE and the well-known companies who had successfully adapted a results-only work environment, I was intrigued — and like many others, I had a lot of questions.

The concept of ROWE is, at its face, simple. People should have control of their own time — not the companies for which they work. In a results-only environment, the only thing that matters is results – not how many hours you’re at the office.

• As an employee, you own your time 24/7.
• Unlimited PTO as long as the work gets done.
• Go to the grocery store on a Tuesday at 10 a.m. if you need to.
• No more mandatory meetings.
• No more permission-granting from your employer, but instead, performance guiding.
• Employees are trusted with their time.

As Ressler and Thompson say, “Work isn’t a place you go — it’s a thing you do.” They are quick to stress that ROWE is not the same as flex time, telecommuting, job sharing, or employees to work from home a couple of days per week — those options, they say, are not enough.

From www.gorowe.com:

In a results-only company or department, employees can do whatever they want whenever they want, as long as the work gets done.  You make the decisions about what you do and where you do it, every minute of every day.

Here’s a video explaining ROWE, featuring employers who have adapted it:

The CEO of Girl Scouts of San Gorgonia Council, who pioneered ROWE for the organization when she came on board as CEO, recently wrote an article about her take on ROWE and workplace flexibility.

The Benefits?

According to stats on Ressler and Thompson’s website:

• ROWE teams report an average increase of 35% in productivity by eliminating waste from systems and processes, which increases employee capacity.
• ROWE teams also experience up to a 90% decrease in voluntary turnover rates.

Other benefits:

• Talent retention and attraction — Ressler and Thompson argue that companies in a results-only environment have a competitive advantage, as many candidates willing to be paid less money and have more freedom rather than work in a company with a traditional structure and more money.
• Optimization of space — Employees are working remotely much of the time.
• Elimination of wasteful processes — Employees will not be wasting a company’s time, money, and resources.

Challenges?

This may all sound too good to be true — so in our follow-up post, we’ll address some of the challenges companies who choose this route face, as well as some of your proposed challenges.

As employees of companies of all sizes (or as candidates looking for your next job), we at The Hiring Site want to get your thoughts. If nothing else, with work/life lines blurring more and more and more workers demanding (or at least requesting) flexibility and freedom in the workplace, it’s an interesting concept to start discussing.

How to Enter:
Simply answer this question in the comments below: “Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?”

Once you submit your answer, you’ll automatically be entered to win.

What Can you Win?

• One of you will win a 3-month breakfast club subscription for your team
• Two of you will win a 3-month Dunkin’ Donuts coffee subscription (that’s 2 lbs./month of regular or decaf, whole bean or ground, however you want it!)
• Four of you will win a copy of “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It” by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson.

Contest Details:
Entries will be accepted from 12:00 a.m. CST on Monday, May 17, 2010 until 11:59 p.m. CST on Friday, May 21, 2010.  Each account may only submit one answer for consideration; subsequent entries will not be considered. Spam responses will not be considered. The winner will be picked at random and notified via e-mail the week of May 24, 2010. Please read the full list of official contest rules and regulations.

Just answer this question: “Do you think a results-only work environment would work at your company? Why or why not?”

Want to hear more about ROWE? Listen to Ressler and Thompson on NPR, in a three-part story about result-only work environments.

True story.  According to a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,700 employers and 4,800 workers nationwide, 33 percent of workers said they are likely to start looking for a new job when the economy picks up. 

(Could you imagine losing an entire third of your employee base? That would be like, say your staff was the Jonas Brothers, okay? And Joe Jonas suddenly up and leaves to join another band.  Consider the toll that would take on the quality of…Okay, maybe that’s not the world’s greatest analogy, but the point is, it would be bad.)

Anyway, in the same survey, nearly the same amount of employers (32 percent) say they are concerned about losing their high performing workers in the second quarter of this year (as, apparently, they should be). 

What Makes Good Employees Stray?
Dissatisfaction with pay (32 percent), career advancement opportunities (27 percent) and work/life balance (22 percent) were the top reasons employees gave for wanting to leave their current jobs, an increase from the 29 percent, 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively, who said the same in 2009.  

The increased levels of dissatisfaction could be attributed that increased workloads, longer hours and fewer resources related to the recession may be contributing to higher job dissatisfaction.

What Makes Good Employees Stay?
Understanding what you’re employees want is the first step to keeping them motivated and happy and retaining them.  After competitive pay and benefits, the following incentives topped hospitality workers’ “most wanted” list of employer offerings:

1. Good career advancement opportunities (60 percent)
2. A good work culture (57 percent)
3. Company’s financial stability and growth potential (52 percent)
4. Training and learning opportunities (47 percent)
5. Less stressful work environment (45 percent)
6. Flexible work arrangements (43 percent)
7. Sense of ownership in their position, that they can make a difference (42 percent)
8. Camaraderie, more family-like work environment (34 percent)

Asked what they were doing to hold on to top talent and reduce turnover, employers listed the following:

• Offering more flexible work arrangements
• Investing more in employee training
• Promising future raises or promotions
• Offering more performance-based incentives, such as trips and bonuses
• Providing a higher title without a higher salary

 What is your company doing to keep Joe Jonas in the band retain workers?

If you can tear yourself away from KFC’s Double Down sandwich or the latest episode of Glee long enough, take a few minutes to check out what you’ve missed this past month in the wonderful and sometimes wacky world of recruitment.

We found reason to be optimistic with CareerBuilder and USA Today’s Q2 2010 hiring forecast results, and BLS released March’s Employment Situation report, which revealed that the economy saw its largest job gain in three years. And hey! Things are even looking up for college graduates in terms of the job outlook.

While we’re talking about better news in hiring, I should probably mention that we just released our new how-to-hire e-book, CareerBuilder’s Ultimate Recruitment Guide. Download a copy for yourself — or your team — now.

What are workers spending their tax refunds on this year? Is it that trip to see grandma in Wyoming? A new lifetime supply of bathroom tissue? You may be surprised. On that note, a new CareerBuilder survey found that the majority of employers are doing something to become more environmentally friendly, or “green” –investing in bathroom tissue made from recycled tissue, perhaps?

Jim Greenwood, CEO of Concentra, Inc. shared his thoughts on being a CEO — a Chief Encouragement Officer, that is — and talked about Concentra’s workplace culture, the importance of giving colleagues an opt out, and much more.  Another leader, Martha O’Gorman, chief marketing officer at Liberty Tax Service, talked with us about why employees should be left to do their jobs, when humor’s appropriate in workplace culture, and why the company doesn’t believe in traditional national advertising.

Do you want colleagues — or ex-colleagues — rating you anonymously and gaining control over whether that next employer wants to hire you? A new social networking site, Unvarnished, thinks you do. Speaking of the power of employee referrals, we revealed how a personal phone call from George Lopez to Conan O’Brien helped Conan decide to sign on to Team TBS.

Lastly, we discussed AOL’s success in employment branding, and why you need to know who you are — and who you aren’t — as an employer.

Here’s some other employment news that’s been making us gasp, cringe, or smile this past month:

• Sooooo… did we mention our new recruitment e-book is out? We might have.
• Some companies send you back to school.  Other companies school you on social media best practices, university-style.
• Why the job hoppers who make you hesitate may actually make the best employees.
• You’d probably gasp if you got this kind of e-mail from a potential intern. Amirite?
• The best culture attracts the best talent — here’s 10 ways to get in on the action
• Top Employee, anyone? Five ways food and restaurants are mixing in an awesome culture.
• Sometimes, your employees need to feel empowered to get on that bike and fall off. And learn to get back up. And, you know, fall off again.
• Speaking of bikes, some of you may want to bike to a nearby establishment to see what a  “jobless recovery ale” is like. Taste the happy… ?
• Would you pay Donatella Versace to judge your skills and that skirtyougotforlike$10shhhh — for charity?

Anything we missed?

In yet another sign of a recovering job market, a new CareerBuilder survey released today shows that laid-off workers’ job searches are beginning to improve as well. According to the nationwide survey of 900 workers who were laid off in the past year, 51 percent of workers who were laid off in the last three months have found new full-time or part-time positions.

The percentage shows a marked increase from the 44 percent of workers who said the same in a November 2009 survey.

“As consumers and businesses grow more confident in the economic outlook in the U.S., hiring managers are beginning to add new staff at an improved, but cautious pace,” says Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America, in the press release.

Among the highlights of the survey:

• 40% of the newly employed workers surveyed reported they were able to negotiate comparable or higher pay for their new position, while 61% took a pay cut.
• 57% of workers laid off in the last six months have been re-hired by their former employer who laid them off from their jobs.
• 71% of workers who were laid off in the last six months and have not found jobs would be willing to work for their former employer, 22% of whom said they would only return if offered more money.
• 64% of workers who were laid off in the last six months and landed new jobs said they found work in a different field than where they were previously employed.
• 63% of workers who found new jobs in the last six months plan to stay with their current employers when the economy turns around
• 37% of workers who found new jobs in the last six months plan to look for new jobs as the economy improves.
• 46% of workers who were laid off in the last six months and found jobs relocated. Of those workers, 93% moved to another city versus another state.

What do these findings mean for you, the employer? A few thoughts…

• While many job seekers are willing to negotiate a lower salary, this may be temporary, as indicated by the nearly 4 in 10 workers who’ve indicated that they plan to look for new jobs as the economy improves, making it crucial that you start thinking about a talent compensation strategy to ensure you’re offering the salary that is not only fair to your organization, but also competitive enough to attract new employees and compel your current ones to stay.
• And while offering competitive compensation can go far in attracting and retaining talent, you also need to think about the intangible benefits employees crave, such as career growth opportunities and work/life balance.  Learn more about ways to retain your best talent.
• Perhaps you only want to consider local candidates, but if you’re having a tough time getting the right talent in your area, think about how 42 percent of workers report that they would consider relocating for a job opportunity, and consider expanding your geographic talent search.
• Finally, as the need for talent increases, don’t discount former employees as talent sources. (Even if your open positions differ from those the former employees occupied, consider the 64 percent of workers who made use of their transferrable skills by taking jobs in a different field).  After all, former employees are already familiar with the culture, have established relationships and may have an easier time making the transition to a new role in a familiar environment than someone completely new.

What are you taking away from these findings?

We at CareerBuilder have created this e-book for you, the employer.

• For the small bait and tackle shop owner, as well as the restaurant franchise owner.
• For the small tech firm, as well as the Fortune 500 corporation.

Because while your recruitment needs may be vastly different from every other business, you still do have recruitment needs. And whether you are concerned with getting less application drop-off, building a stronger employment brand, delving into the world of social media, providing more training opportunities for your employees, or a myriad of other challenges, CareerBuilder’s team of experts can help you isolate and tackle the specific areas of concern in your recruitment process and move forward to meet your next challenge with confidence and ease.

Use this e-book to discover our best tips around:

• Recruitment benchmarking
• Talent intelligence
• Compensation strategy
• Employment branding
• Social media recruitment/ social recruiting
• Employee engagement and retention
• Candidate attraction
• Recruitment process optimization
• Employee training
• Succession management
• Employee onboarding
• Interview questions
• …and more!

Download CareerBuilder’s Ultimate Recruitment Guide e-Book, our brand new how-to-hire guide stocked with the latest tips and advice – and designed to address your unique recruitment needs today.

What is your compensation strategy — or do you have one at all? In many workplaces, employers are often just throwing darts to ultimately decide upon the monetary figure which becomes an employee’s salary. Last week, we asked all of you to answer the following question for a chance to win a Talent Compensation Portal report for two job positions: “What do you think is the most important factor in determining compensation?”

We received some excellent and diverse answers from you, our readers, and here are a few:

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I believe work experience is the most important factor in determining compensation. Likewise, job performance should be the #1 determiner for raises and promotions. –Heather

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The most important factor is the value the employee brings to the company. It’s not an exact science because there are multiple things to consider but at the end of the day you don’t want to be paid more than the value you are giving to your company or else it will be a short-lived situation. –Joe

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I see experience along with certification/education as the biggest factors, but someone showing initiative and doing work beyond their job duties to better the company is deserving of a raise or promotion. –Stephanie

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A person’s earnings at his/her most recent employer. –Jaime

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A like position should not pay the same in NYC as it will in rural Nebraska since the cost of living are no where even close to the same. HR departments must know what their competition is offering for like positions “down the street” to be competitive and attract the best person for their company. A company that offers excellent benefits needs also to promote this to the candidates. –Lisa

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When determining compensation for a new hire – experience, drive, passion, and aptitude play a role in compensation. If I can tell the new hire is applying or interviewing because they are just looking for a paycheck, I will not compensate them at the same rate initially as someone who is coming to the position with the same experience but is thirsty to grow. –Allison

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The single most important factor in compensation is relevant job experience. Education is important, but someone with a degree and no relevant work experience, should not recieve as high a pay scale as someone who was working in their chosen field while getting their education, even if it was an internship. Attitude, drive, flexibility, vision, achievable goals all should be considered at the time of performance evaluation or promotion time. -_DG

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Results, ROI, Performance – whatever you want to call it. New hire or veteren – it’s the one with a proven track record that should get the greatest compensation. –Brenda

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There is a salary range for various “job titles w/descriptions/qualifications” in every industry area which is usually a boiler plate for compensation. Based on these salary ranges, employers will negotiate a compensation package within that range or sometimes higher to recruit and retain the best talent for all positions. –Sherry

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The mention of a “boiler plate” is interesting, as are the answers we received from many of our readers, precisely because the idea of what compensation strategy is, or should be, is so varied. As we’ve seen from the responses, many employers think of  compensation strategy in terms like  “experience,” “past performance,” or “recent salary.” While these are definitely important and part of what makes up a strategy, it’s also important to think beyond these factors to questions like:

• What are you measuring a candidate’s experience against to determine the right salary?
• What are your competitors doing?
• What is the most frequent salary for the position you are filling, in your geographic area and industry?
• Do you have any idea whether your number is on the low or high end of the scale?

Compensation strategy is essential for attraction and retention

Obviously, your company doesn’t just pull a number out of thin air (right?), but it is important to understand which factors are involved in deciding upon a fair salary – and how those factors are determined in the first place. Assigning weight to factors arbitrarily without research off which to base it and back it up can be a dangerous decision.

If you want to position yourself as a best-in-class organization, it is wise to start thinking now about which compensation factors are important to your company, then use the most current and accurate compensation statistics to develop a strategy around your company’s compensation decisions.

Compensation is not only a big expense to businesses of all sizes, but is also crucial in both attracting and retaining your best employees. If your company doesn’t know the right compensation for a particular position, it is difficult to compete for a stellar candidate. And if your current employees find out that your company doesn’t realize their true worth, they’re not going to be sticking around for long.

As the employment market is constantly changing, your company, too, must continue to evaluate and adjust your compensation strategy to ensure you’re remaining competitive and balanced. With the most fresh and comprehensive compensation data at your side, your company can start putting method behind your money – and reaping the rewards.

The time has come! Enter for a chance to get a report with the most accurate, fresh, and complete compensation data available today.

How to Enter:
Simply answer this question in the comments section below: “What do you think is the most important factor in determining compensation?”

Once you submit your answer, you’ll automatically be entered to win a report generated from CareerBuilder’s Talent Compensation Portal product for (2) job positions (a $300.00 value).

What will that get you, exactly? The most up-to-date compensation information available for two of your most pressing job positions. No joke. Check out the video demo of Talent Compensation Portal here.

What’s a star performer worth…

…And why should you care? Well, as it turns out, compensation is the single largest expense for companies of all sizes. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. corporations’ total employee compensation expense in 2007 was approximately $7.51 trillion. Staggering, isn’t it? Yet, few companies have a real strategy around their compensation. Have you thought about the factors influencing compensation? How much is a great new hire “worth”? How about a company’s best employees?

Having the most accurate, fresh, and complete compensation information enables a business to:

• Optimize its salary budget
• Attract and retain the best people at the right price
• Keep up with the latest compensation trends
• Manage compensation during times of change
• Reduce turnover

It’s smart to start thinking about the factors important to you in determining compensation — it’s not only a big expense to businesses of all sizes, but compensation is crucial in attracting and retaining your best employees. If employers don’t know the right compensation for a particular position, how can they compete for a star employee? And if employees aren’t aware of what they are worth, they could be missing the right opportunities. Alternately, if they find out that a company doesn’t realize their true worth, they’re not going to be sticking around for long.

Contest Details:
Entries will be accepted from 12:00 a.m. CST on Monday, March 15, 2010 until 11:59 p.m. CST on Friday, March 19, 2010.  Each account may only submit one answer for consideration; subsequent entries will not be considered. Spam responses will not be considered. The winner will be picked at random and notified via e-mail the week of March 24, 2010. Please read the full list of official contest rules and regulations.

As a former Super Nintendo addict enthusiast, I was both excited and surprised to come across this recent Go magazine article about the growing number of companies using interactive software and video games as employee training and development tools.

Excited, of course, because it seems like a cool, fun way to engage employees (and brought back fond memories of watching Mario hop around in a Frog suit)…But also surprised by just how many companies are embracing this trend: A reported 70 percent of major domestic employers used these ”serious games” to train employees in 2008, according to the Entertainment Software Association.  That figure is estimated to increase to 80 percent by 2013.

It’s encouraging to see employers move away from more traditional training methods like white papers, PowerPoint presentations and training calls - many of which seem as if they were designed to be tuned out (apologies if this is news to anyone) – and toward more engaging methods.  According to the article, those who use these training techniques say that video games help employees build business skills by putting them in situations that require critical thinking and decision making. 

Not to mention that being able to interact through computer simulation programs helps employees retain complicated information better than they would using other, more traditional training techniques.

Of course, the obvious downsides to using video gaming techniques to train is that the time and cost spent setting up and designing the customized software could be significant, depending on the complexity of the project.  And then there’s the not-so-minor fact that simulations can’t completely replace actual human interaction…But none of this is to say this technology doesn’t hold value (so long as its viewed as a supplement to, and not a replacement for, real world training) – and many will argue that the business benefits ultimately outweigh the costs.

No Longer Just a Training Tool…
In addition to helping companies develop employees’ business skills, more companies are utilizing video games in their recruiting and branding efforts as well. Here are a few examples:

• Candidate Attraction: The MITRE Corporation, for example, enables job seekers to download a 3D video game that gives players a better understanding of the company’s campus, how the interview process works, and view examples of company projects. Similarly, staffing firm Kelly Services has a virtual community in Second Life that gives job seekers an interactive experience to see what it’s like to work for Kelly, create buzz and differentiate Kelly from its competitors. In August 2009, the U.S. Army opened its Experience Center at a Philadelphia shopping mall, where potential recruits can play military videogames and learn about military bases and career options in an interactive way – helping the Army meet and exceed its recruiting and retention goals.
• Employee Engagement: Kansas City-based benefits provider Assurant launched the gaming suite, “It’s Your Business,” in 2007 with the goal of helping employees better understand the business in order to boost sales. What it ended up with was increased employee engagement and knowledge retention.  Today, employees are even more involved in the project, as they are the source of input for developing new training games.
• Employee Retention: In efforts to help employees relieve stress, refocus and (most importantly) avoid burnout, companies are increasingly relying on video games – turning their ordinary break rooms into game zones.  At the offices of the Chicago-based tee shirt company Threadless, taking a break to play a little Guitar Hero is an everyday occurrence for employees. And recently, Phoenix-based Multi-Systems, Inc. gave its employees a $10,000 budget to design a game room for them to unwind in, as a thank you for making various pay and benefits sacrifices the previous year. 

Where does your company fall among these other companies and their efforts? Does your company use interactive programs to engage current or potential employees? If so, feel free to share your experience in the comments section below…

Thanks to everyone who – in response to last week’s “We Ask, You Win” contest – shared their company’s biggest challenges in recruiting and retaining workers.  You gave us some great feedback, and I’d like to share some of those answers with the rest of our readers.

Challenge: “I have too many resumes to sort through.”  The influx of resumes recruiters and hiring managers are receiving right now can be both a blessing and a curse. As one reader puts it, “It’s great to have lots of choices [as far as resumes go], but the burden of time spent on this can be touch to manage.”  (Burden might be an understatement: One reader reported receiving as many as 800 resumes for a recently advertised job opening.)

Solution: “With the economy the way it is anyone and everyone applies for jobs regardless of title or description,” says reader Michelle, a source of frustration for many readers.  Michelle gets around this challenge by pre-screening applicants by asking them to answer detailed and specific questions.  Customized screening questions saves you time by enabling you to quickly distinguish between those applicants who actually meet the qualifications for the job and those who are simply “applying to anything and everything in hopes of the chance of just finding work,” as reader Shannon Crone put it.

(FYI, if you’re a CareerBuilder client, you should know that you can take advantage of free screeners – personalized questionnaires that job seekers fill out as part of the applciation process – to help weed out unqualified applicants.)  

Challenge: “We can’t offer competitive compensation to retain and attract valuable employees.” Due to tighter budgets and fewer monetary resources, many companies (understandably) are wondering how they’re going to attract and retain valuable workers unless they can offer competitive rates. 

Solution: First, make sure you’re aware of today’s going compensation rates. Many employers today are relying on old salary reports or historical data – which do not account for today’s economic situation and are therefore outdated.  Utilizing third-party talent compensation reports to pull real-time data from industry and area competitors will give you a clearer idea of what your competitors are offering – and the results may surprise you.

Second, think about what you can offer them that won’t cost as much.  Can you offer  relocation fees? A signing bonus?

Third, realize that salary isn’t everything for today’s job seekers. They also want a place that respects their need for a work/life balance.  Consider any unique benefits you offer – anything from flexible schedules to recognition programs to wellness benefits – and make sure you emphasize those anywhere you can – beginning with your job advertisement.

Kelly, a reader who says her company’s greatest challenge is competing to retain and attract employees at a time of reduced salaries and a frozen 401k match, says her company plans to stay competitive by communicating the value of the experience employees gain by working at the company and being part of a leading and growing company in its industry.

Not wanting to lose their top performers and well aware of the need to engage their employees, another reader, Angela, says her company recently implemented an employee recognition program to improve employee morale, engagement and retention.  

Good call, Angela: Employee recognition programs effectively lead to lower turnover rates, according to The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent and Accelerate Performance, based on 10 years worth of data on 200,000 managers and employees. According to studies cited in the book 79 percent of employees who quit their jobs give “a lack of appreciation” as a key reason for leaving. 

Challenge: “I can’t find the qualified candidates I need.”  For some of you, it’s not that you can’t offer candidate the right price, it’s that you can’t get the candidates in the first place. This is especially true for those recruiting for candidates with highly specialized skills, which is the predicament one reader has found himself in when looking for a particular type of health care professional. 

Solution: Frustrated by the current supply of candidates, he has started reviewing psychology industry publications to source candidates.  (A tactic that isn’t unlike what Seattle-based Tableau Software recently did when it needed a Web developer with extensive knowledge of Drupal:  the company’s recruiters began surfing niche social networking sites that catered to Drupal enthusiasts, where they eventually found their new hire.)

For reader Nick Tompkins, geographic location is an obstacle to finding qualified candidates, who are hesitant to consider relocating to his company’s rural location, where there is a limited availability housing market. To counter this challenge, Nick is working to change relocation benefits for professional hires, as well as partnering with the local chamber of commerce to build more affordable rental housing.  Last but not least, the company is focusing on its stability and “strong industry position in the current economy” to sell itself as a desirable place to work. 

Challenge: “We can’t respond to candidates the way we want to.” Reader Keil Werner says that, as a recruiter, his greatest challenge – bigger than sorting through the plethora of resumes he’s getting – is making the time to respond to these candidates in an effort to maintain good relationships with these candidates and build a network from which he can source qualified candidates in the future.  

Solution: Keil brings up a good point about the importance of not only fulfilling the immediate need to hire, but also working to grow your talent pool so you’ll have an easier time filling positions that open up later on. Not to mention that maintaining ties with candidates can be good for both your employment brand and your business.  One way to keep the lines of communication open with candidates is to set up automatic e-mail alerts that tell applicants that their resume has been received and where it is in the review process – either through your company’s internal careers site or with the help of a third party.  If you use CareerBuilder’s Resume Database, for example, you can use the free ”My Letters” tool to create and save up to 20 different automatic response letters to send to job seekers after they submit an application to your job.

Care to add your two cents? Got any advice of your own to share?

Oh, Patti Stanger, once again, your wisdom has unwittingly transferred over to the world of recruitment and talent management…I’m referring of course to TV’s Millionaire Matchmaker, who I’ve once likened to a talent recruiter in how she is often challenged with finding a happy medium between giving her clients what they want and what they need – even when the two don’t always align.

In Tuesday night’s episode, however, Patti exhibited the qualities of a manager who understands the value in providing opportunities for employees to develop the skills that will not only help them succeed in their endeavors, but ultimately reflect well on her abilities as a leader. 

During the episode, Patti coaxed her client, Michael, to take a class that would help the “painfully shy” bachelor to become more outgoing. While the scene already served as a great example of how managers should actively encourage their employees to improve their skill sets, Patti went one step further. She went the unconventional route by making Michael take an improv comedy class, which she recognized as a way to not only improve his confidence, his ability to engage his date in conversation, and ultimately his chances of closing the deal securing a second date…but also to help him have fun doing it.

What is improv comedy? If you’ve ever seen “Whose Line Is It, Anyway?” (or last night’s episode of Matchmaker) you’re already familiar with improv, or improvisational, comedy – that is, comedy that is made up on the spot by a group of actors, based on a suggestion from the audience. 

How improv works in the business world.  There’s a reason why companies like Pepsi, McDonald’s and United Way have utilized improv theaters like Second City and iO for their corporate training – and why several business schools include improv classes in their curriculum: The very skills that improv comedy teaches performers for use on stage (and, evidently, singles for use in the dating world), also transfer remarkably well to the business world. Among just a few of the business and presentation skills it helps students hone:

• Thinking on the spot
• Listening and communication
• Collaboration
• Innovative thinking
• Taking initiative
• Knowing one’s audience
• Presenting with confidence

Improv is also a great team-building tool – not least of all, because it’s a unique experience employees get to share. But with its “Group Mind” mentality, improv also teaches groups to work together and agree on a uniform idea, while recognizing every person’s individual input. In fact, the first lesson taught in improv is to say “Yes, and…,” an exercise that helps others get along, and learn to accept others’ unique ideas.

For these reasons, improv is also great for developing your own management skills, as the “Yes, and…” aspect forces you to listen and explore the possibilities contained in new ideas, rather than rejecting them off the bat. You’ll gain trust and respect from employees by learning how to listen to others in a way that shows they are being understood, and learning to stay open to new ideas. It also forces you to pick up on nonverbal cues, such as body language and eye contact, helping you better understand what your employees are telling you, even when they don’t say it aloud.

Why now? At a time when employers are struggling to keep workers engaged and retain them, investing in this type of training can not only raise morale, but it also sends a clear message to your employees that you’re committed to providing learning and development opportunities (a lack of which is a major reason employees leave companies) – and that you care about their engagement in the company. 

What about you? Have you ever used improv as a training tool at your organization? What was your experience?

What makes a company great to work for? Recently, we asked all of you what you think makes your company great — specifically, how you sell your company to your ideal candidates. Your answers covered everything from honesty in your candidate expectations to allowing dogs in the office, and now, FORTUNE has released its own list of 2010’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. For the companies that made the cut, what makes them so great?

The answers include on-site child care, unlimited sick days, an absence of layoffs (some companies on the list have never had a layoff), time given to focus on creative projects, stock options, surfing lessons, the “no asshole” rule, high priorities on diversity — and that’s just a fraction of the amazing things some companies are doing to keep their employees happy and attract their ideal candidates.

What company strengths mentioned on FORTUNE’s list would be most appealing to your candidates and employees? Which do you share — and which are on your wish list?

For most companies, the answer is “yes,” according to a recent story on NPR.org.  According to yesterday’s report, while diversity hiring practices have come a long way in recent years, most companies still have a long way to go with their diversity efforts, particularly when it comes to promoting minorities.  

Even companies that have a good reputation for having great diversity programs still have difficulty mentoring and creating opportunities for minorities to advance in their organizations, says Debbie Atterberry, president of the multicultural nonprofit RESOURCE, in a recent blog post about her organization’s own diversity efforts.  And even among the 60 organizations named as HispanicBusiness Magazine’s “Diversity Elite” this year, diversity in management positions lags far behind the makeup of the general population.

Why is Diversity So Hard for Organizations to Achieve?

A large part of the problem could be an unclear understanding of just what is meant by the term “workforce diversity.” According  to SHRM’s 2007 Workplace Diversity Management Report, while most organizations tend to believe that diversity in the workplace is important, only 30 percent of organizations have an agreed definition of diversity.

(In fact, according to the roughly 1400 human resource professionals and diversity practitioners who participated in the survey, failing to have a well-defined or understood diversity program was one of the major hurdles to diversity management.)

So then perhaps the first step to becoming a more diverse, or inclusive, organization, is to define both what worplace diversity means to your organization, and your goals for achieving a more diverse workforce.

The next important step is to then make sure you communicate that message to everyone – at every level – of the organization. (At RESOURCE, for instance, each staff person is evaluated annually on his or her understanding of the organization’s diversity efforts, and each manager is assessed on his or her ability to develop and manage a diverse staff.)

Evaluating Your Organization’s Diversity Programs: 5 Questions to Ask

At the same time, it’s important that you evaluate your current diversity program, so you know which areas you need to improve.  Start by asking yourself the following questions (based on the methodology Hispanic Business used to determine the Diversity Elite 2009):

• Is there minority representation on the board of directors and at the executive level?
• Does my organization have focused efforts to hire from minority groups? Do we participate in diversity job fairs? Or advertise on niche sites, newspapers or magazines geared toward minority groups?
• Does my organization make concerted efforts in place to support, retain, and promote minority employees? Do we offer incentives, employee support groups, executive training, and diversity awareness and sensitivity training?
• Does my organization do marketing and advertising to reach minority consumers? Are we involved in philanthropic or community services that benefit minority groups?
• Does my organization support or sponsor supplier-development programs, executives involved with supplier diversity, incentives tied to supplier diversity, and procurement goals?  

The answer to these questions will provide the first clue as to which workplace diverstiy effort (or efforts) needs the most attention. What about you? What steps is your organization taking to increase diversity?

Just in time for the job market to start stabilizing, employers are getting something all-new to worry about: How to retain the very talent that helped them survive the downturn.  

According to a new CareerBuilder survey on worker satisfaction, released today, nearly one-in-five workers (19 percent) plan to leave their current job this year to find a new one.   

This should come as little surprise to employers who were forced to make tough business decisions last year, which often meant asking workers to take on heavier workloads with fewer resources and less pay.  In fact, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s not unusual to see employees leave their companies following a downturn – when market conditions improve and more job opportunities open up. It seems all that cost-cutting eventually takes a  toll on satisfaction levels.  

The key to holding on to your most valuable employees, says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder, is constant and open communication. Haefner says, “Employers should take workers’ pulses early on in the new year. That way, they can be aware of the issues that may affect their staff’s performance, retention rates and overall happiness on the job in the coming months.”

The survey found that job satisfaction overall is down from last year.  Only 61 percent of employees reported satisfaction with their jobs in 2009, compared with 70 percent who said the same in 2008.

Among the survey’s other key findings:

Workers want more advancement and training opportunities…or else:

• 28 percent of workers say they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the career advancement opportunities provided by their current employers.
• 26 percent of workers are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with training and learning opportunities provided by their current employers.
• 90 percent of workers did not receive a promotion in 2009, and 23 percent felt they were overlooked.
• 27 percent of workers who did not receive a raise or promotion in 2009 said they would leave their current positions in less than a year if they did not receive either.
• Of the 20 percent of workers who plan to switch careers/fields in the next two years, 41 percent say it’s because they want more career advancement.

A work/life balance? What is that?

• More workers are dissatisfatisfied with their work/life balance this year than last year: 23 percent of workers say they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their work/life balance, an increase from the 18 percent who said the same last year.

Where have all the good leaders gone?

• Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of workers rate their corporate leaders as poor or very poor.
• 35 percent of workers cited an inability to address employee morale as a major concern with senior leadership
• 30 percent of workers said their senior leaders lacked transparency
• 28 percent of workers complained that senior leaders made major changes without warning

For more insight, read the full press release here.

While it’s true that many companies have been forced to make difficult business decisions this year, many employers still plan to reward their employees for hard work with holiday perks like bonuses, gifts and parties — even if these perks are scaled back a bit. These results are from CareerBuilder’s recent survey about workplace holiday giving among more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals. We’ve got the lowdown on what businesses are doing about bonuses, gifts, and the oft-infamous work holiday party.

Bonuses:

• Nearly three in ten (29 percent) employers plan to give their employees holiday bonuses this year.  Among that group, 16 percent are planning to give the same amount as in previous years, while 11 percent plan to give less.
• Twelve percent of employers say they will not be issuing holiday bonuses even though they have in previous years.

Gifts:

• More than a quarter (26 percent) of employers plan to give holiday gifts, with 15 percent planning to spend the same amount for workers as in previous years.  Eight percent plan to spend less.
• Another eight percent say they are not planning to give holidays gifts in 2009, even though they have in years past.

Parties:

• Almost half (49 percent) of employers are planning a holiday party for their employees this year.  Of that group, 30 percent plan to throw the same party as in previous years, while 18 percent are planning something on a smaller scale.
• Eleven percent of employers don’t plan to have a holiday party in 2009 even though they have in previous years.

“After a challenging year, some organizations are cutting back on the holiday perks that they may have offered in previous years,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder. “Even though holiday bonuses, gifts and parties may be trimmed back this season, employers are doing what they can to reward their workers and get their staffs in the holiday spirit.”

So with cutbacks more prevalent in the workplace,  how can you make your employees happy this holiday season? What do they really want?

Here are some alternative workplace gift-giving ideas:

• The gift of financial preparedness. Help employees be realistic in their holiday budgeting this holiday season. Workers often need to budget more carefully around the holidays, so let your employees know upfront and early whether or not they can expect a bonus this season. This way, they will be able to gauge whether they’ll have that extra money for a plane ticket — or whether they’ll have to stock up on canned soups for dinner this season. Give your employees the gift of preparedness; their pocketbooks will thank you.

• The gift of giving. Volunteering is a great workplace activity all year ’round, but if you’re looking for an alternative to the typical (and pricey) holiday bash, I can’t think of a better way than helping others in need by donating time to local charities.  Volunteering with your team or company still allows you to be out of the office in a social setting while fostering your holiday spirit, giving back to your local community, and making the holiday a bit nicer for someone else. Sites like VolunteerMatch let you search for volunteer opportunities in your local area. Read more tips about finding a charity here and here, find an extensive list of charities here, and check out the Better Business Bureau’s “Charities and Donors” section for more resources.

• The gift of fun. Even if your company holiday party is canceled, you can still  celebrate the season with your employees with some warm drinks and hot food. Office potlucks are a great and budget-friendly way to have a low-key celebration in the office with your employees. Even better, as commuting after work hours can sometimes present obstacles for employees, you can host a potluck breakfast or lunch during the work day. As an alternative, screen a movie of your employees’ choosing, pop some popcorn and provide sodas, and have a low-key but entertaining in-office party.
• The gift of appreciation. While material gifts are nice, sometimes nothing is better than getting a bit of recognition for work well done, whether it’s for a single project or an entire financial quarter’s worth of blood, sweat and tears. As we have learned, 79 of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving. Remember to say “thank you” to your employees this holiday season! Even small gestures, like a  card or letter with your sincere words of thanks can mean a lot to your employees. Spontaneity of gestures can also be a nice change in the work routine; grab your employees coffee and bagels unexpectedly one morning — or dream up your own creative way to say “thanks.”
  
  
• The gift of friends and family. While employees may enjoy coming to work, they may in fact be longing to spend more time with loved ones outside the office, especially around the holidays. Yes, businesses are busier than ever, often juggling fewer people and more work — but your employees will enjoy and appreciate even a small break from the grind. Consider letting them leave a bit early one afternoon, or offer a flexible work option for a week or two, like coming in early/leaving early, or working four 10-hour days so they can take a long weekend. Different options will work for different types of businesses — but employees will savor the gift of more time with loved ones — and they’ll likely come back more refreshed, relaxed, and focused post-holiday.
• The gift of choice. One final idea: Ask your employees what they want this holiday season! Let them know that budgets are tight, but that you want to celebrate with them and show them your gratitude for their work and dedication. Let them brainstorm ideas, and pick one or implement them all.

What are you giving your employees this holiday season?