Parallel HR » Health care

Recruiting By the Orange Book: Q&A with Concentra’s AVP of Recruiting

Mary Lorenz — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:56:25 +0000

“Every day, I hear stories from new hires about how happy they are to have found their home at Concentra.”

Tara Petty is the Assistant Vice President of Recruiting at Concentra, a national health care company where, she says, “employees are the company, and the ones who make a difference in the lives of our patients.” In the following Q&A, Petty details what it means to empower employees at Concentra, and how her team finds the talented individuals on whom Concentra’s success ultimately depends. Continue reading

Employers Plan to Bring Back Middle Management Positions

Mary Lorenz — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:19:21 +0000

First it was Arrested Development. Then it was Beavis and Butthead, followed by layaway and (presumably) pantyhose. Now, the latest comeback story of the season involves middle management. Middle management positions were a significant casualty of recession-era layoffs, but new research from CareerBuilder’s various industry sites indicate that many employers saw counterproductive consequences and are now rehiring for those positions. Employers surveyed in the retail, IT and healthcare industries indicated plans to bring back previously eliminated middle management jobs for the purpose of bringing structural gaps and addressing market demands. When assessing the impact of downsizing middle management, employers who made cuts in these industries cited both positive effects (cost-savings and more efficient operations) as well as negative ones (structural and emotional drawbacks). Don’t know what you got till it’s gone? According to industry experts, part of the reason for the resurgence in middle management jobs is that employers are now realizing just how essential middle management is to the organization.

“Middle management often gets a bad rap for adding bureaucratic layers to an organization, but these roles can be essential in maintaining team cohesion, retaining core talent and providing direction to workers,” says Bill Meidell, product director of WorkInRetail.com Jamie Carney, product director of Sologig.com, agrees. “When a department lacks leadership or direction, it is easier to see the value of middle management,” Carney says. “The data suggests that middle management plays an important role in making an employee’s work experience meaningful and productive.” “Middle management is essential to providing balance and direction within complex organizations,” adds Rob Morris, product director of MiracleWorkers.com. “They play important roles from onboarding new employees and tracking progress to building positive morale and maintaining chains of communication – all things that are difficult to do without.”

Check out details for each industry survey below…

Emotional Intelligence: Where Does It Matter Most?

Mary Lorenz — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:00:17 +0000

Last week, CareerBuilder released the results of a recent nationwide survey, which found that 34 percent of hiring managers are placing greater emphasis on emotional intelligence when it comes to hiring and promoting employees post-recession. The survey also revealed that 71 percent of hiring managers value emotional intelligence in an employee more than IQ; 59 percent would not hire someone with low emotional intelligence; and, for a remarkable 75 percent of hiring managers, emotional intelligence trumps IQ when it comes to deciding on employee promotions. But how do those numbers compare when broken down by certain industries? Let’s take a look: Government

34 percent of government employers said they are placing a greater emphasis on high EI for hiring and promotion decisions post-recession
70 percent value emotional intelligence in employees more than IQ
62 percent would not hire someone who has a high IQ but low EI
77 percent said they’re more likely to promote the high EI worker

Government employers also said they value emotional intelligence because employees who display this quality tend to resolve conflict effectively and are more likely to stay calm under pressure. In response to the findings, Chuck Loeher, area vice president for CareerBuilder, said:

“Government jobs aren’t just about producing information and ideas – there’s a lot of moving and organizing people, as well. A deep knowledge base is important no matter your position, but dynamic interpersonal skills are needed to successfully motivate groups made up of diverse personalities, ideologies and work ethics. All workers, at all levels of government, can benefit from deeper insights into their own emotional intelligence.”

Information Technology (IT)

Get CareerBuilder’s 2011 Mid-Year Job Forecast (And Maybe Even Hug a Stranger)

Amy Chulik — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:30:52 +0000

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:

Customer Service | 23 percent
Information Technology | 21 percent
Sales | 20 percent
Administrative | 15 percent
Business Development | 11 percent
Accounting/Finance | 10 percent
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?

Turnover RX: What’s Ailing Health Care Workers?

Sanja Licina — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:42:16 +0000

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.

Today’s Job Seeker: 10 Things You Should Know

Mary Lorenz — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:49:22 +0000

We may never have the technology that enables us to truly read job seekers’ minds (if only Steve Jobs would channel some of his energy into recruitment and human resources, right?), but darn it if we don’t keep trying…The latest attempt comes courtesy of job aggregator SimplyHired, which recently released a survey profiling today’s job [...]

5 Easy Ways to Lower Healthcare Costs: More Lessons from SHRM 2010

Mary Lorenz — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:48:09 +0000

Look at any “best places to work” list, and you’ll notice that most of the companies listed tend to share the same four employee benefit offerings, SHRM’s Steven Williams pointed out during his presentation on employee benefit programs for the organization’s annual conference in San Diego last month: 1) Health care; 2) Work/life balance; 3) Unique or [...]

Many Workers are Becoming More Fit — but Where Do Employers Fit In?

Amy Chulik — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:37:22 +0000

Okay, not every professional eats the healthiest things imaginable (or is free of legal troubles, for that matter) -- a la competitive hot dog eater Takeru Kobayashi. However, according to the results of a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 4,400 workers, many folks are reaching less for the potato chips and more for the straight-up potatoes; less for the cigarettes and more for the treadmill. What gives? The economy has trickled down into many areas of our lives, and our eating habits may be one of the biggest -- if somewhat overlooked -- of them. While the negative effects of our economy may be a bitter pill to swallow, it looks like our health is getting a boost. Largely because of tightened funds, workers are making more healthy choices -- including packing lunches, smoking less, and walking more. Let's break it down fast. (Get it? Breakfast?):

7 Habits of Highly Successful Corporate Wellness Programs

Mary Lorenz — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:41:44 +0000

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 [...]

7 Habits of Highly Successful Corporate Wellness Programs

Mary Lorenz — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:41:44 +0000