Jason Blais: From the Recruiting Front Lines

Upon reading this internal communication, I realized just how much negative press has been devoted to exposing the dark underbelly of corporate greed through the acquisition of private and revealing emails. Rarely does one encounter a news bit that begins with, “Our station has acquired a copy of the internal email…”, and is followed by a feel-good or uplifting story. Normally, this type of exposure ends in a story about some type of insidious and greedy business practice that serves only to put an ugly face on capitalism and corporate culture in America.

Not today. Today, I’m sharing an internal communication (used with permission), that shows the humanity behind a good business. I’ve acquired a company email that sheds light on the good people who are remaining positive and seeing the silver lining, despite significantly adverse business conditions and the depressed economy. Earlier this year, the leading recruitment resources in ME, NH, VT, and RI rolled out a free program to help employers who are forced to reduce staff this year. (I shared this in an earlier post, which you can view here.) While this program was created to assist those in transition, provide a valued service to employers, and keep the JobsInTheUS brands top of mind, it’s clear through the following email that the program is truly a reflection of the people of this company.

The following email was written by Robert Ayers and sent to the entire company at JobsInTheUS. Ayers is responding to a communication highlighting the work performed by the company’s outreach and education coordinators, which includes presenting workshops at private companies, state career centers, and trade associations to people who have been recently laid off, or are about to be. As you can imagine, the climate of these workshops can be quite somber, and the outreach and education coordinators do their best to build optimism while sharing real-world advice on how to launch a successful job search. Here’s Ayers’s email:

That’s great info for our sales talks once we get our contact on the line, just to find out they are laying off their employees and in some cases friends and family members. I mention this service daily, and in my conversation with my contacts, they will typically ask how the recession has changed my (JiUS) business. I remind them of this….although it looks bleak from an employer perspective, I myself have literally helped thousands of honest, hard working local people find jobs. This may not pay dividends in my commission check, but as always, it will open their hearts to the good that we do as a company in their community and state. Aside from all the negative publicity on the news today, we do a great service for our respective states. Let’s give a big shout out to Caleb and Steve, how depressing has their job been lately????? You guys ROCK! Thanks!

Okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must acknowledge that this is the company I work for. And I am so proud. You see, in our industry, recruitment advertising, we sit on the front line of the economy. Months before the national news was ready to report that the economy fell off the table, we saw companies freeze their hiring, not fill open positions, and begin to contract. For our sales staff, this has truly been a difficult year, calling on long term clients who are holding off on their recruitment advertising for the first time in a decade. Imagine spending your days calling to ask companies about their recruitment needs, and listening to well-established businesses explain how they’re facing layoffs for the first time in their 40 year history, or how they’re closing their doors after five good years.

Despite this difficult climate, our business remains strong, which I attribute to our core mission of helping to connect qualified local job seekers with quality in-state jobs. In the face of severe adversity, we continue to keep our chins up and focus on the good effect our work has on our communities. Thanks to Robert Ayers for allowing me to share his comments.

Every company has a good story to tell, and there’s never been a better time to share yours.

Have a good story to share? Please share your comments, we’d love to hear it!

Why would you want to keep a two billion dollar industry a secret? I hope the answer is that no one would want to, but that sometimes these things happen. The aerospace and aviation industry represents a two billion dollar piece of the Vermont economy, and employs thousands of Vermont residents…who knew.

Part of my job as Director of Business Development with JobsInTheUS is to identify and develop strategic partnerships with key organizations to support our state-specific recruitment resources for employers and job seekers. The vast majority of hires that any company makes over the course of a year is from a local candidate. That is, businesses will only pay relocation costs for a very, very small percentage of hires made. With our business model focused on the local market, these partnerships are one way to ensure we’re promoting great businesses to job seekers across the states we serve.

Recently, we reached out to the Vermont State Chamber of Commerce to find out if there would be an opportunity for a strategic partnership. Thanks in large part to the vision and drive of Chris Carrigan, VP of Business Development for chamber, we have created a powerful and engaging relationship to support specific industry sectors across Vermont. One of these is the newly formed Vermont Aerospace and Aviation Association. Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie developed this organization in partnership with the chamber with a mission to help build awareness of the amazing business and employment opportunities that Vermont has to offer. Dubie was raised outside of Burlington, earned is BS in Mechanical Engineering at UVM, was a fighter pilot in the Air Guard, and worked for Goodrich Aerospace in Vergennes, VT. Clearly, this is the right man with the right perspective to move this mission forward.

JobsInVT came in to the picture to support the workforce development side of this mission, and to provide the exposure for the great employment opportunities in this growing sector in the state. A customized job portal has been created for the VAAA, giving job seekers access to the job openings available within their membership. At the open house on June 18, I was asked to speak to the membership, and was slotted just after the general manager of Goodrich and the chief engineer from Sikorsky- not bad company. I felt compelled to drive home the importance of self promotion within the industry to help build awareness of the great businesses across the state. While most people are aware of Goodrich and Sikorsky, who know much about Aviatron, Mansfield Helifight, or Vibration Solutions? These are just a few of the high paying, dependable, forward thinking employers based in VT who support international aviation and aerospace giants.

Like the national economy, regional economies are dependant upon confidence in the market place. I urged these businesses to be bold in their self promotion, vocal in their small successes, and active in their community. I’ve spoken with numerous lifelong Vermont residents who had no idea how large or how viable this sector was in their state. A state that has deftly built a reputation as a dairy capital of the world, as a maple syrup mecca, and as a land of lush mountains for recreation. Through our work with the Vermont Aerospace and Aviation Association and the VT Chamber, we hope to help build the awareness of this sector, and promote the excellent high-paying, future-oriented careers that are a key to Vermont’s future.

I have been bombarded over the past few months by email solicitations to attend presentations or webinars, buy books, and contract consulting services from “leading social media experts”. As someone who regularly spends time in the Social Media world, I’ve learned just enough to know when people are selling me snake oil. I’ve also gained just enough insight to know which questions to ask, and to identify very questionable proclamations made by these s0-called experts.

With such a new resource, can there truly be any EXPERTS in this area? I would say the answer is absolutely not. There are many who have more experience than others, but even the most experienced “social media expert” has less than a decade under their belt, and for the first half of that time, the landscape was completely different. In truth, what we’re seeing is people with expertise or experience in related fields quickly assigning themselves the title of Undisputed Heavyweight Social Media Champions of the World (boxing fans, you know how to read that aloud)!

At it’s essence, this is the same model of carpetbaggers in America at the end of the 19th century. Before we move on, here’s a quick definition from Wikipedia (bold and italics added by author for emphasis) :

The term carpetbaggers was used to describe the northern Republican politicians who came South, arriving with their travel carpetbags. Southerners considered them ready to loot and plunder the defeated South.^[1] Although the term is still an insult in common usage, in histories and reference works it is now used without derogatory intent.

In modern usage in the United States, the term is sometimes used derisively to refer to a politician who runs for public office in an area in which he or she is not originally from and/or has only lived for a very short time.

This seems to hit the nail on the head. As people move into the new social media space, particularly when they’re focused on business development, they are coming from somewhere else, bringing their past expertise, morals, and life lessons with them. This is critical to understand, as you encounter or explore working with an outside vendor to help develop your social media strategy.

Where did they come from?

What preconceptions are they bringing with them?

What do they know about YOUR business environment/market?

Are they truly more qualified than your internal resources?

Before attending workshops, purchasing white papers, or paying a consultant with social media expertise, be sure to execute your due diligence. Here’s a few ideas to consider BEFORE you enter a relationship with a “social media expert”:

1. Identify your own 30,000 foot view of what a social media strategy should be.
2. Include a list of results of this activity you expect to realize- 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years out.
3. Define internally your WHY- why are you doing this, why is it worth your time and money?.
4. Determine who your internal auditors will be- who will be reviewing the strategy to ensure it’s the right plan for your company.
5. What are 2 or 3 or 4 absolute MUST HAVE’s for an outside consultant? (3 plus years industry experience, proven results of 3 or more successes with different businesses, 3 plus years experience with using a specific platform such as facebook, experience with online video, web design, etc, for example)
6. How much autonomy and control are you willing to give over to an outside consultant. That is, will they lead and you follow, or will you work collaboratively to build a strategy.

I’ve included these only as a starter to get your think tank juices flowing. The list of due diligence questions you’ll assemble will be specific to your company, your internal resources, and your goals. By starting out with this self exploration, you’ll be better equipped to wade through the bog of experts to find your Bacopa amplexicaulis!

To get an idea of just how overwhelmed the social media landscape has become with so called experts, I include the following link:
GOOGLE Search Results for “Social Media Networking Expert”

Sent to me by Robert Ayers, Senior Acct Mgr for JobsInME, from Peter Weddle’s recent newsletter:

The Scourge of Bureaucratic Correctness

There is today a scourge of bland communication oppressing the performance of corporate and staffing firm recruiting teams. While social media have captured their imagination, the vast majority of recruiters continue to rely on job postings-placed on commercial job boards and in the Career area on their own sites-to reach and reel in top talent. And the content of those postings is so dull it would put a brick to sleep.

As a director with the leading online recruitment resources in New England, I’ve reviewed literally thousands of job postings over the past five years. While the use of internet resources, such as JobsInME, has become the norm across the country, both in urban areas and rural, many people writing the ads are still writing for print. That is, they are using abbreviations, are condensing their sentences, and (apparently) trying to conserve space.

The newspapers had been training advertisers toward this behavior for the past 100 years, rewarding them with cheaper advertising for taking up less space. As they say, old habits die hard. If your company is currently hiring, go online and take a look. If the ad is any shorter than 10 sentences (or the equivelant with bullet points), you need to rethink your strategy. Online resources give employers unlimited space and formatting options to put their best face forward in hopes of attracting the best possible candidate for every position. Regardless of what title or pay grade you’re trying to fill, making better hiring decisions affects productivity and therefore your profitability.

When you take a look at your company’s job postings, remember this one point: On AVERAGE, a job seeker will review 5-7 postings per visit to a job board, and spend less than one minute per posting. Just because you’ve posted your means neither that everyone looking will click on it, nor that those who do will care enough to apply. Here’s a simple test to assess your posting’s curb appeal:

• Perform a search using the category you’re hiring for, or similar key words.
• Compare your job title to all the others. If you were to only open 5 postings, would you be compelled to open yours?
• Next, print off 5-7 job postings for similar jobs and lay them down on your desk next to each other.
• If you were a highly qualified candidate- very likely currently employed elsewhere and just looking to see what was out there- which job postings would you be most likely to apply to? (Read that as, “which job postings are you most likely to polish up your resume for, lie to your boss and use your paid time off to interview for?”)

If your company’s job postings don’t jump off the table as the best opportunities available, you have room for improvement. There are lots of ways to make a job ad better, but the first step is to do away with the habits of the past. Spend the time to craft a job advertisement worthy of the time and attention of the best available talent. Remember, Talent Acquisition applies to every single job in your organization. Take the time to show your audience that you care about the quality of your next hire, and you’ll see the quality of your candidates increase.

The hospitality industry has historically seen one of the highest turnover rates of any industry. While a large part of this is due to the seasonality of many businesses, a lack of attention to the hiring process is also a major factor. The hard truth is that this turnover affects your bottom line- whether through cost of running job ads, overtime paid to cover the missing staff, or lost revenue caused by diminished quality. This last issue, quality, is perhaps the most important of all. From front desk, wait staff, and bellhops, to banquet managers, sales managers, and spa staff, every interaction your employees have with a customer or guest affects their view of your quality, and therefore your value. High turnover can sour your employee engagement company wide.

An employee’s attitude can have the single biggest affect on a patron’s decision to return or to recommend your business to others. Because of that, making good hiring decisions- employees who fit into your culture and care about your business- is a critical factor of your success. And it’s a factor that most often gets the least attention. The fact of the matter is that you really CAN make better hires with just a little effort and focus on specific details. Here are some very basic tips to help you make better hires for every position in your business:

1. Identify and Define Your Unique Workplace Culture. Are your staff all business, or are they like a family? Do your employees really appreciate any specific benefits or perks that are unique to you? Do you always try to hire from within? Are you a group of perfectionists? Do you have a competitive workplace, or are you supportive of each other?
2. Communicate Your Culture In Your Job Ads. Remember, every new hire will have to work within your current staff. Retention of new hires is directly impacted by how comfortable they feel in your workplace. To attract a better fit, include copy about your culture and work environment so that you’ll attract people who want to be part of your company, and aren’t just looking for a job.
3. Engage Candidates During the Interview. When interviewing candidates, paint a very vivid and real picture of your culture and your expectations. Clearly relate how this person’s position fits into the business, and the importance of having the right person in that role. Provide a brief history of the business- the good, the bad, and the ugly- to build the candidates understanding of who you are.
4. Focus on Soft Skills! It is much easier to identify hard skills than soft skills. Many hiring manager fall into the trap of hiring by matching hard skills to the needs of the job. That is, when hiring a dishwasher, the focus is on dishwashing or Hobart experience; when hiring a banquet coordinator, the emphasis has been on event experience. You will have greater success in your hiring by focusing on soft skills and fit. If you can hire people that are motivated to work for you, and will fit into your culture, training them on your processes is easy. Trying to train someone who has the right hard skills to fit into your culture and care about your business is much more difficult.

Using an online recruitment resource provides you with two major benefits over a sign in your window or print advertising. First, it delivers your message to a much larger audience of people who are actively searching for jobs in your area and industry. Second, you have much more space to write up your job ad to attract better candidates, and unlike print, there’s no additional cost for larger ads or more color. In fact, it really is up to you to raise the bar for candidates. Set your expectations higher, and promote why the best available talent should work for you.

Dealing with careless, thoughtless, or unmotivated employees is a headache. Thankfully, this is a headache that you have the power to heal. While it may not seem so, there ARE great candidates out there who will become your next great employees. Make an effort to attract a higher quality, and make that headache a thing of the past!

That’s the view from the Recruiting Front Lines.

jason