Perspectives from the Kinetix team on HR, Talent Acquisition & Management, life lessons and whatever else we want.
Energizing the Workplace
"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." -Mark Twain
Personal vs Work…you in or out?
I sit here on the plane, contemplating what is important in life and how so many things can get lost in the day-to-day. Conversely, there is so much to add to your life if you take the time to experience and appreciate as it happens. Platitudes, I know…..Yesterday a colleague and I got to spend time with some new friends, learn a tremendous amount, share experiences and begin to build a relationship. I am at once overwhelmed and energized by the trip. Further, the time and the learning have begun to give me a target, focus and framework for one of our main BHAGs this year. Since I am an incredibly goal oriented person, this has been cathartic as for me, not having clear direction on an objective is both agonizing and distracting for me. At the same time, I realize how much I miss my children and my husband and how special they are. It could be the great conversations we had about our host’s families and kids in addition to the work talk; it could be that I got to spend time this morning with a friend I have not seen in many years and rekindle our relationship, or as I learned yesterday, perhaps it is altitude sensitivity (?)……but think there is more at play here. Simply, this is a preferred way to do business. Or, this is the way that I want to do business, anyway.
My career began a very “traditional” model, climbing the corporate ladder, working hard, and playing hard too, but usually not too much together. That is to say that I, like most corporate denizens, had my work life and relationships, and for the most part – separately – my personal relationships and life. A great example of this early on was when a friend came to visit at my office and was chatting, congratulating me on being inducted to my University’s Athletic Hall of Fame (which completely floored and shocked my assistant). Now it could have been that she was the prototype Staten Island working girl and thus made a huge play of this news and how shocking it was to her……but the reality is, she never saw me that way because I did not think my historical or personal stuff is what they were paying me for. Now that is NOT to say that I did not foster personal relationships with work colleagues both inside and outside my firm, I simply did not believe my personal life and activities were important to my work life.
I never looked at these relationships as a holistic part of the right way to DO business. I always looked at it as who I was, and that building relationships as something I liked to do. I understand there has been tremendous dialog, certainly within social media on the need for “authenticity” and how the walls must and will be transparent or broken down between these distinct areas of our lives. What I am getting at is slightly different – not just that you need to do this to be “real” and successful in social media, but more that you should view this melding as a key part of how you will be successful in your job or business going forward.
I for one have a new year’s resolution to actively pay attention to these relationships – both traditional “home” type and business. I now believe that we can be tremendously more successful and importantly have more fun if we do this purposefully (thanks William for articulating this better, and how timely). You have so many more opportunities to help another, the more touch points you have – and vice versa. I could go on, but you get the point and my flight is landing.
So, what about you?
Tags: BHAGS, career, HR, human resources, life lessons, Social Media, truth
Here’s to 2010 and Beyond!
Thanks to Bill Boorman for sponsoring the HRCarnival video blog asking for quick comments on ourthoughts for the coming year. Bill is a great guy with a 
passion for the HR/recruiting world and seems to never sleep even with the time zone differences (he is in the UK). I also wanted to thank Bill because this forced me to do my first ever video blog post….from my home office mess in my weekend attire complete with baseball hat. Well – here’s to embracing all that is and moving forward even with things that terrify you….i am sharing my first with you.
Thanks for indulging me – and let me know if you think this is a decent way to deliver messages (snickering aside) and for which kinds of stories.
Shannon
Tags: career, career search, changing industry, HR, HR consulting, human resources, job search, LinkedIn, LinkedIn network, Social Media, Twitter
Talent Acquisition Triple Play
Congratulations to Sodexo on winning the 2009 Workforce Optimas Award for Vision
The company was able to improve hiring speed and quality even as it cut its annual recruiting advertising budget in North America by $300,000. The effort also has corresponded with better business outcomes. Customer satisfaction ratings have risen 0.3 points to 4.5 on a five-point scale since the strategy’s inception. The firm’s global revenue rose 7.9 percent for the year ended in August, and its net income increased 4.5 percent.
I am a fan of Sodexo’s talent acquisition approach from afar and I am excited to see their social media “investments” paying off so quickly. I also love the better business outcome proof. By thinking more broadly they are spending less on recruitment advertising, but gaining a broader reach while hiring apparently better candidates. Talk about a triple play! And I am impressed because they really seem to walk the talk (from what I can see). I truly believe that they are improving their company brand by the clearly improved employer brand they are building. To me they are proof of the shift happening away from traditional job boards and advertising as how the majority of companies find talent…..–toward social media as how smart companies will find their preferred talent pools. Now, you should know - I am biased as the hair on my neck is always raised when I hear the “post & wait” mantra of some of our clients – it makes me crazy!
Companies are missing the boat by not using their website to attract the best and brightest for their needs now and in the future. Sodexo is ahead of the curve regarding a focus on driving traffic to their website vs paying to improve the latest job board’s site . What doesn’t anyone get about the fact that at its best talent acquisition is a sales function? Meaning you want to pull in those that are a fit for your company: while (in the perfect world) helping those that are not a fit, see that early.
Just wondering if I am alone in being so passionate about focusing social media efforts on capturing passive job seekers - the future of our talent pipelines. Some cool : MLB triple plays
Tags: career, career search, FaceBook, HR, human resources, LinkedIn, LinkedIn network, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Social Media, Twitter
How not to get help….
I was getting gas for my truck the other night. A pretty simple activity today with pay at the pump and fast passes, and something that is relatively solitary – many times happily so. As I was about half way done, a young boy, about 10 or 11 years old, approached my car. I did not see him until he was standing about 3 feet from me along side my truck. I was surprised, but looked at him, smiled and said hi. He said hi and then took a step closer – he could have been in my kids’ grade school class – clean clothes, hooded sweatshirt, sneakers.
The next moment shocked me……”can I have some money?….my dad lost his job and we need help….” at which point I looked up to see his dad at the door of his truck, about 30 feet away, in the next bank of pumps. Dad did not wave, or smile, or indicate anything, except that he was paying attention.
I said no, uncomfortably…… and he turned and walked away. The dad went back to getting gas. I got back in my truck, started it up….my mind was racing. I was shook up from the event, not sure if I should be or not. I went thru a whole range of emotions – from anger, shock, frustration, fear, distress, concern (for the boy and the dad) and frustration (at them and me).
- Once I got my wits about me I realized I could have given him my card, since we do recruiting…duh – if he really needed a job….
- Anger over the dad doing that to the kid – irrespective of the true issue….
- Distress over not helping them or seeing what I could do……
- A bizarre frustration that he did not start the conversation with please or say thank you at the end….
- Sadness over the situation, but also a tinge of anger wondering if the requests was a lie…..
Am I alone here – I still am not sure if I would react differently if this happened again, but not sure if or what I should consider. Would love some input.
Shannon
Tags: background check, bio, career, HR, life lessons, truth, unemployed
Be Thankful for your Problems
In my “book” the holidays (and not simply the one we most recently 
celebrated) are a time for reflection and giving thanks in more ways than one. I try every year to take time alone and with my family (especially with my children) to reflect on how blessed we are. This can be challenging during the rush of the season and the many “priorities” imposed as a result of expectations we generally put on ourselves. Add to that my children, who essentially live in a lake wobegon world, and invariably we have conversations about why they cannot have everything they want, and why we are giving things to other children (‘why don’t their parents just get it for them….?”) etc.
As well its is time for my favorite Kinetix holiday tradition of sharing a special book that inspires us as a team of people to feel better and do better. The cornerstone of this tradition is the participation of our clients and friends in making suggestions for each year’s book. Today, I wanted to share it with you as well. After carefully considering a large number of special and intriguing books, we selected “Embrace the Struggle” as one most fitting in relationship to the challenging year that has been 2009 for so many. The Author and I are convinced that in the last year the overwhelming majority of people have struggled with some kind of concern – personal, family, business, health, job, relationships – you name it.
In “Embrace the Struggle, Living Life on Life’s Terms”by Zig Ziglar and Julie Ziglar Norman, Zig posits that “it seems that struggles just happen over the course of time…the [key] question is how do you handle them?” In it, Zig is moving in his willingness to be transparent and open about how he is embracing his struggles with a brain injury and positional vertigo, the results of a fall down the stairs in his home. The remainder is a collection of inspiring stories of others who faced struggles and not only survived, but amazingly live lives more 
fulfilling than they experienced before their struggles began. The book will challenge those who might be tempted to hide behind the frailties of their health or challenges of their circumstances to take positive steps toward living life fully and gracefully.
There are many good stories and messages, but my favorite was Fred Smith, for his attitude on life and this life view: “A problem is something you can do something about. If you can’t do anything about it, it’s a fact of life, and so we accept facts: we solve problems.” For me, this encapsulates the challenges and opportunities with living life on life’s terms: understanding what you cannot change and endeavouring to take something good out of every bad experience. If you are currently struggling, I hope you can take some solace and direction by accepting the “facts” of your circumstance, and focus instead on solving the problems. As hard as this may be, it will help you to move forward positively.
As hard as 2009 has been, I know that I have much to be thankful for: family and friends, including many new ones thanks to social media; the growth of our firm in such a difficult time, our clients and partners; my wonderful team and their daily contributions to name a few. I am grateful for the ability to help others and for the many people who help and support me. As we go into the holidays, this is a gentle reminder to accept the facts, solve the problems and live life with an expecation of what is to come. As Zig says: “where there is a struggle, there is life. For that we can be grateful!”
Tags: career, career search, Embrace the Struggle, HR, Inspiration, life lessons, Live life to the fullest, truth, Zig Ziglar
Make the most of your new Full time Job (getting a job)
This week I was talking with some of our Jumpstart my job search participants, and realized that there are some themes to the challenges and opportunities that they found, which are consistent whether they were just beginning their job search or had been at it for quite a while. So I decided to summarize 5 keys they found most impactful in getting their job search off the ground.
- Treat it like a full time job
- Organize yourself
- Be Accountable
- Network every day
- Pay it forward
If you have been at your job search for a little while, or longer than you would like – revisit these 5 key aspects and ask yourself if you are working hard on each – if you are not, take the Thanksgiving holiday to rest up and hit the ground running next week. I can assure you, not focusing on these is part of what is slowing you down.
- This is a full time job – In today’s environment, looking for a new opportunity takes a full 40-50 hours per week. Less than this will only extend your search. Look at this as a job, in as much as you know that it generally takes more work than the next guy to get ahead understand that this is no different and there are plenty of others competing with you right now. We even recommend getting up an hour earlier every day.
- Organize yourself – As with any project, it is key to be organized and have your work segmented to maximize efficiency. Take a certain amount of time each day for your research, working on your resume or networking plan, going to networking meetings or coffee and doing the significant amount of follow up required to keep yourself top of mind with the network you are building.
- Accountability – This is likely to be the most significant aspect between successfully shortening your job search and fumbling along thinking you are doing things right and not seeing progress. They say that what you want to monitor must be measured, the same could not be more true in job search. Everyone in career transition should have a job search accountability buddy or buddies that they meet with each week to review metrics related to successful job search: the number of calls, meetings and the like. In addition you should discuss what you are struggling with and what new goals you have set. By far this is the most critical requirement of a successful job search – if you are not doing this, change today!
- Network – This should become part of your daily routine, and
should not change even when you land. Besides meeting with new and current contacts in the networking sense, make sure you are open to new connections wherever they may be. After all, everyone is somebody’s somebody – so bring your cards with you everywhere and remember that the person serving you your latte, may have a contact that is important to you, get to know them. - Pay it forward – This can take many forms, but all have the same result – you will feel better about your self. Whether you contribute to a local food-bank, build a house with Habitat, or just share some of your newly discovered job search tips – this activity is important for a number of reasons. First, it takes the focus off you in this “all about me” time. Second, it helps you reaffirm your value and also helps you see in many cases how lucky you are. This is especially important in networking – I recommend that you attempt to give back to your community (networks) in equal or better proportion to what you get. So if you get 2 new contacts this week from your networking – make at least 2-3 introductions to those in your network in return.
For some these may seem basic, and they are, however – I have seen time and time again where job seekers only go part way, and fail to do all the work required to be successful. So be honest as you review these and make whatever small or large changes you need to get on track. Best of Luck & Happy Thanksgiving!
Tags: career, career search, FaceBook, HR, HR consulting, human resources, interview, job hunt, job search, Job Seeker, job seekers, Jumpstart, LinkedIn, LinkedIn network, Outplacement, Resume, Social Media, Twitter, unemployed
Welcome to the REAL World
Those of you in the biz – don’t laugh: I received this response to a LinkedIn referral request for a specific type of position that this gentleman would know (I had also attached the link to our RPO client’s career site listing) :
Thanks for reaching out to me. Don’t take this personally, but I generally do not work with recruiters because 95% of them do not deliver. I really have no respect for any organization/business who cannot come directly to me.
There is no need for a third party to get involved with Linked In now days. Besides, you guys are not interested in my best interests. . . You are only interested in your company’s best interest. I don’t see the point in getting all excited over absolutely nothing. Its generally a waste of my cell phone minutes and a waste of your time as well as my own. Best wishes to you and your organization.
Ok, after I stopped alternating being pissed off or snickering, I felt sorry for the guy. He clearly had both misunderstandings about how the recruiting world works, and may have been mislead as well. So for his sake I thought I would share some real world basics.
- NEWS FLASH: 3rd party recruiters work for COMPANIES!!!!!! If this is confusing to you,
note that in every business I know, generally the “customer” is the one who pays the bill. If this is not you, then clearly you are not the CLIENT, act accordingly. The only person the recruiter is delivering for is their client. - Also – smart companies today are outsourcing all their talent acquisition to RPO companies like us – so in that case, we are the company (2nd News flash!).
- Key: recruiters work to place the best, qualified and cultural fit candidates for positions their CLIENT has. If they do not pick you, it is likely because you either were not the most qualified, or the best fit.
- Also – you may be chosen by the recruiter as a viable candidate - but not by the client…..for no apparent reason – I cannot tell you why, sorry. [But the high quality firms will be honest with you even if this is the answer in this case or the prior]
- Finally – as in any business, there are good and ethical people and there are bad ones. Only work with businesses that deal with integrity and ask around to confirm. However, don’t generalize an entire industry for your bad choices in relationships, grow up people…..we could tell stories about bad, unethical candidates and clients.
- One more reminder that “she who pays the bill” is the client so if you are a candidate (and presumably not paying a bill) - realize your role and opportunity and the potentially important role the recruiter plays – treat them with the respect you would the hiring manager (this is a big mistake by many job seekers). Understand that the ONLY person whose job it is to find you that next great job….IS YOU.
- Finally – if you are a job seeker and you want to build a relationship with a few quality recruiting firms, a great way to do so is to send them your best referral candidates – you will be seen as a giver and one who is well connected. It will also keep you top of mind for them when that perfect fit opportunity opens up.
Welcome to the real world, sorry if I burst your bubble.
Tags: career search, employment verification, job search, Job Seeker, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, truth
HR Challenges: start with Accounting vs. Finance
After reading Mark’s great post and the others he references about the possible future of HR and it’s ability to change (or not) - I wanted to elaborate on the thoughts about the challenges in the function especially related to the tactical nature of much of the foundation work. An excerpt from Mark’s post:
“There has been an incredible amount of chatter lately regarding HR’s future/fate and it makes for a very good read. In the past few weeks alone HR was declared dead and then rose from the ashes. Maren Hogan wrote a nice post with the catchy title, “Slow dancing in a burning room“. And don’t forget when the smart folks at Harvard Business tackled an age-old missive by asking, “Do HR managers have the skills they need?“ The underlying assumption by each and every writer is the premise that HR must fundamentally change. That may be true, but my sense is that “do nothing” is not only an option, it’s a likely outcome.”
I agree with Mark’s view that “doing nothing” is a likely outcome precisely because it is tough (as a group) to enact change to the tenets that made the function up to now. The HR challenge I see has 3 broad components: the first, is one of functional and focus disparity – that is, the very skills and behaviors that make one successful in HR up to a certain level (and in many companies, the only level) – are the very things that hold these practitioners back and keep the business from respecting them. My career background is finance and I liken this to the fundemental difference between most accountants and finance types. Now, that is not to say that one cannot cross over from one function to another, however as a whole, most people will align and prefer one over the other to a significant extent. My definitions, while broad, outline the fundemental issues HR practitioners have in crossing over (and should easily describe the personality types). It easy to see that if you are successful in your career to a certain level in one of these columns, you are unlikely to change your stripes later on:
|
Accounting |
HR |
Finance |
| Uses historical data (e.g. fixed) to produce a defined set of statements, consistently every period | Transactional data: benefits & payroll info, low level ee relations prescribed | May use historical data, but work is generally forward focused or analyzing drivers of the business vs. tracking the data itself |
| Told how to view data (GAAP, FASB, etc) | Plan and Policy documents, also legal, IRS, etc views on what can be done and not. Even compensation usually prescribed from external consultants | Uses both external and internal data and analysis to form and “sell” opinions (valuations, trends, etc), strive to provide solutions |
| Use and rely on external “requirements” to dictate to the business their need and say “no” | Use and rely on external “requirements” to dictate to the business their need and say “no” | Transactions tend to dictate focus and often change, more often work is support to the business |
| Focus on compliance | Compliance focused | Business need focused, or transactional focus |
| High consistency of large volume of transactional work under set periods | Transactional requirements drive – plan periods and compliance reporting | Business agreements and market needs dictate work and focus |
| High degree of certainty in work/needs – significant creativity not appreciated | High degree of certainty in work/needs (ee relations aside) | High degree of uncertainty |
| Ticks and ties | Everything must fit the plan (no variations) | Variable analysis and 80% solutions are norm |
The second leg of the HR challenge stool I see is one of volume and significant changes in the landscape. HR will always have a challenge relative to strategies for
the business or be considered a partner of any sort if the benefits are not managed correctly, or the 5500 is not filed on time. Unfortunately, if HR cannot deliver on the significant amount of transactional tasks inherent in its mandate, it will never be considered for a seat at the table. Add to this the changes afoot with things like labor relations, pay reform, training and more – and you have a recipe for a very busy team just to keep up.
The last leg of my HR challenge has been discussed many times before. Those at the Top, for the most part, do not see a need to change. Add to this my view that many get or got to HR historically as a placeholder — someone that the boss did not know what to do with, and it is no wonder they don’t want to change. (I know I will get howls on this one, but can name you more than a handful that came this way and are at the top now).
My feeling given these 3 challenges is that the future of HR may truly lie in breaking the function apart and aligning the similar functions into groups that can support the business in new ways and attract the best talent which will allow the function to be seen as less of a backwater and more as function (or functions now) directly in support of the business. I will be interested in your thoughts.
Tags: Audit, compliance, HR, HR consulting, human resources
To Tweet or Not to Tweet?
If you’re like many, you’re standing by observing this social networking frenzy – nothing short of a blitz – and wondering, what IS this stuff?? And why would I want to “follow” my local TV station anyway? It’s a big waste of time, right? Not so fast…
The simple fact is, there may soon come a time when having a Twitter account will be as critical to a business person as having a Blackberry. No longer an option, but a necessity. So get past your disdain for that which you’re not informed about and just dig in! After all, there’s reason so many people are using it. Here’s the real bottom line: if you have anything to sell and you resist having a presence on Twitter, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to generate interest in your product or service. And if that “product” is YOU?….hello? Well, let’s just say if you’re looking for work today you need all the help you can get. This is about building your personal brand so others know who you are and what you do.
So just what is it, anyway? Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you answer the question, “What are you doing?” by sending short text messages 140 characters in length, called “tweets”, to your friends, or “followers.”
Think of twitter as a river of commentary that you can dip into as needed to either get or share information or thoughts. The unbounded nature of Twitter offers a myriad of opportunities and resources that can be effective if leveraged properly.
How do I get started? Answer: in 3 easy steps – plus a bonus
ONE: Begin by watching 2 videos here by Michael Long (also known as @theredrecruiter) these videos do an awesome job of patiently walking you thru getting your account and settings – in the first video, together with tips on how to use it and what the main aspects of getting around on twitter and tweeting in the second video.
TWO: Sign up. It’s free. Go to http://twitter.com. Choose a username. USE YOUR REAL NAME. It will lead to better connections with people and will keep you from any temptation you may have to use something “cute” or otherwise not appropriate for your job search. And this is part of your overall personal branding, so who do you want them to see?
THREE: Next, start following relevant people. Use search.twitter.com either to find people, recruiters and other career professionals, people who work in and around your industry or people who work at the companies you’re targeting. You can use this site to search by “hashtag” (you’ll learn more about that after you sign up!), any kind of terminology, or user name if you know it. If you are looking for a job opportunity, follow and connect with these people to learn what it’s like to work at your target companies and whether they may be hiring.
FOUR: Download Tweetdeck as well – to receive your tweets – it’s an invaluable tool to help you organize them and also to search for relevant people. Most important, it allows you to see when you are mentioned or someone is talking to you (easy to miss in the stream of Twitter). In addition it allows you to also filter the people you follow into “groups” – important if you follow those in divergent areas or for different needs. For example, you could have a group for your work/job interests, one for your hobby (scuba perhaps?) and one for your kids’ schools and extracurricular interests.
Twitter is just like anything else; you get back what you put into it…and maybe a little more! If you’re looking for a quick fix, Twitter isn’t it. If you truly embrace it, your Twitter community can introduce you to a whole new world of connections and opportunities. Build relationships. Add value. Be open to the possibilities…You just might be amazed by what happens.
PS – you can start by following @kinetixhr 
Tags: career search, job hunt, job search, Job Seeker, Twitter, unemployed
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jan | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | ||||||