The Benefit of Stay Interviews

 

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Sometimes in the world of HR and recruiting we get bogged down in the process making things harder than they actually should be. Most Human Resources departments use the exit interviews to get the departing opinions of their experiences with the company, but why bother? Why not focus on what matters: Stay Interviews.

Stay interviews are designed to engage and work with the employee before they become an active job seeker outside your organization. At the 63rd Annual SHRM Conference, Richard Finnegan spoke on the importance of stay interviews. He stated that conducting stay interviews isn’t for the faint at heart. His reasoning behind this statement was that stay interviews allow HR to uncover employee and retention issues that might be hidden.

Stay Interviews are one of the hardest obstacles for a manager to overcome. Although simple in nature, they require a management staff that is fluent in the art of following up with their employees. Engagement and retention programs are only as strong as the leaders within your organization. The looming fear of an employee giving them the ultimatum of a pay raise vs. leaving the company is unfounded. No matter the situation a manager must be willing to field the hard questions. The limitations of each company can only bend so far. If there’s no money in the budget, the employee leaves. According to an interview conducted by Monster.com, they stated that few stay interviews come in with pay being the thing that makes them want to stay or leave.

The benefits of a stay interview are numerous. Not only do they give the employer a chance to fix a problem that a employee might be experiencing, but even in the event of an employee leaving, they gain valuable insights into the problems that might exist. On average one standard deviation improvement in engagement increases revenue $4,675 per year. This means that if one process can be fixed due to an employee leaving, that departure won’t be in total vain. Information gained in stay interviews are usually very real and truth telling. Most employees who are leaving a company are willing to speak out more because repercussions are very limited.

If stay interviews help fix and improve just one process per year, in the long run, it’s worth it. Most companies are afraid to invest in stay interviews because they’ve seen the long list of data and information out there surrounding other types of strategies to fix their company from within. In order to boost your bottom line and increase employee retention it’s important to invest in new strategies and techniques that encourage growth. If exit interviews and engagement surveys aren’t moving the needle on your organization’s employee attrition numbers, what do you have to lose?

Does your company participate in stay interviews? Why or why not?

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs. 


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3 Ways to Find Undervalued Talent on the Internet

 

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Finding those diamonds in the rough who are constantly moving onto greener pastures is the recruiter’s dream. Except that with the increased use in social media and online recruiting, the challenge has become greater as the overwhelming sense of networking sometimes seems to swallow us whole. Chances are that hidden talent won’t be hidden for long. Recruiters will soon be everywhere in every single nook and cranny around the Internet on the hunt for the perfect recruit.

Using places where recruiters haven’t saturated the market yet will give a company the competitive advantage when recruiting hidden talent. Not sure where to look? These hidden gems won’t be a secret for long, but using your network in unconventional ways is a good place to start. A good recruiter will have already built the foundation, but might not be using them to actively recruit. We’ve come up with a few avenues that recruiters need to be seeking out candidates. Top talent is hard to find in certain industries, so why not switch up your recruiting strategy?

LinkedIn & Facebook Groups. Tapping into the true power of Facebook and LinkedIn groups will allow recruiters to tap into unused talent and networks. Specifically, LinkedIn groups now have their own “Jobs” tab. While it looks like the one in the main menu, it’s completely different. Under this tab, recruiters are allowed to put jobs advertised to a specific group of people. These messages allow recruiters to micro-target meaning less competition and advantage to the job seeker participating. Facebook Groups are still in development, but allow recruiters to target the younger demographic and it’s fairly cheap advertising for jobs.

Evernote Hello. There’s no worse feeling then networking and forgetting a business card or even losing a card. Recruiters are constantly talking to people, taking mental notes, and on the search for a perfect candidate. With Evernote Hello recruiters are able to instantly scan a business card immediately after meeting a potential candidate and make notes on them. This tool is perfect for career fairs when recruiters see hundreds of students or professionals at one time. Best of all—the app is free!

Your Blog. Most companies don’t take advantage of their blog when it comes to recruiting. A smart job seeker will be apart of your community, which includes reading and commenting on topics from your blog. Putting themselves out there and making themselves known could be an entirely new blog topic. By providing specific resources and downloads for job seeker audiences and positions you want to hire and recruit is a great way to build relationships. From there you’ll be able to invite them to your talent network and gain better insights and information.

Where have you found recruitment to be the best? Give up your secrets!

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs. 


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Overcoming Video Interviewing Anxiety Disorder?

 

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Bigger companies are starting to adopt video interviewing as an alternative to face-to-face interviewing as volumes of candidates and costs all increase simultaneously. Thanks to new video interviewing technologies recruiters are able to setup virtual interviews and replay them when they get to work each morning, after lunch, or in bed right before they go to bed. 63% of interviews in 2012 were conducted via some form of interviewing technology. Many companies and business are looking to start are looking towards this technology as a way to interview potential candidates.

So what does this mean for candidates being interviewed with this type of technology? Not much, maybe; for the majority have anxiety no matter the type. Job seekers may have new questions, however.. We’ve come up with a few methods to overcome possible anxiety as it relates to video interviewing.

Prepare. This seems like the silliest pieces of advice we could give you, but when it comes to an interview you don’t ever want to be unprepared. Most times in video interviewing you’re giving just a minute or two to formulate a response. Rambling is the first sign of not knowing what you’re talking about and the easiest way to show that you’re confidence is shot. If you leave the gate not knowing what you’re talking about, the recruiter is likely to skip over your interview altogether. Research the company, prepare sample interview questions, and be confident in your presentation. If you have to, take notes and jot them down, but don’t be caught reading them.

Dress for Success. When it comes to video interviewing people don’t think that wearing appropriate attire will matter. After all, it’s likely you’re doing the interview from somewhere within your house, could even be your desk in your bedroom. What a backdrop? Be prepared for anything. Take the interview seriously and dress up. You also feel how you dress. So if you feel like you’re in an actual interview, you’re likely to have more confidence in your ability to perform well.

Don’t Rush the Question. 9/10 times we feel like since we’re being timed on our answer we have to talk fast and rush our response to make sure we get in all the information we want. On the same note, 9/10 times we will rush the question and have a lot of silence at the end or we will do the most regrettable thing ... ramble. Rambling isn’t pretty and avoiding it at all cost is the best when interviewing.

Participating in a video interview is, in most cases, the same as being interviewed in a face-to-face scenario. Relax, breathe, and by the time you know it, the interview will be conducted and you’ll either be moved onto the next step or start your job search process over again. Incidentally, over time, your style will improve. Just as in the real world. The more you interview, the better you become.

What are your video interviewing most unpleasant stories? What’s your experience with these types of interviewing?

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs. 


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Returnships. How to Proactively Recruit Candidates Pivoting in Their Careers

 

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Mid-level professionals have been heavily impacted by changes in the current economy. Professionals from a wide range of industries such as finance, IT, human resources, and engineering are looking for opportunities to change careers and even enter a new career field. These types of positions are usually filed by those who are already employed, but looking to take on a new set of challenges. Their qualifications speak for themselves and these employees are sometimes capable of taking on the responsibilities of two or three less qualified employees.

Returnships help candidates who are re-entering the workforce who have taken off work to have a child, take care of a family member, or are pivoting in their career. When companies struggle to find the qualified candidates they need, despite the high unemployment rate. Some employers have started thinking outside the box to solve this dilemma through what are commonly known as returnships. Recruiters are taking a different approach when it comes to recruiting more seasoned professionals. Creating a returnship program will give recruiters a set of defined barriers that’ll help enrich their recruiting efforts.

Question is where do you find these job seekers and how do you create a program that works and betters your company? We’ve come up with a few insights on how to successfully recruit within a returnships program.

Have a champion. This is one of the most important aspects of creating and recruiting within a successful returnships program. Without some type of champion of the program it won’t receive the support and dedication it needs. The champion should come from someone in a higher executive position that has the power to push ideas, candidates, and training through at a fairly successful rate. If your Director of Recruiting believes in returnships, that would be ideal.

Be willing to take a risk. Employers might be wary of candidates who are wanting to switch up their career field, have been out of a job for awhile, or are coming back from a pregnancy or extended leave of absence for medical reasons. Counting this group out entirely would be a great disservice to your company because these seasoned workers have a lot to offer an employer. Candidates in a returnship might not match a set of skills that you’re looking for, but they have experience in work style, great cultural fit, and soft skills that are hard to come by when recruiting directly out of college or someone early in their career.

Understand the learning curve. Similar to a new recruit fresh out of college, those participating in a returnship might have a bit of a learning curve. Their skills might be a little rusty when it comes to the corporate environment, but once they get in the groove of things, these skills will come back naturally. Assign a worker or a champion of this program who can guide them through the processes again and help expedite their success.

Returnships offer a company an entirely new workforce that has the skills and experience needed to elevate their company to the next level. Offering a second chance to workers in this class allow the company not only some good Public Relations, but the skills of workers who might have 10 or even 20 years of experience. So next time someone applies that might be a little older than your normal recruit, take a second look, they might be worth the risk.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs. 


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Pushing Diversity. 5 Ways to Win By Recruiting & Hiring a Diverse Workforce

 

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Diversity is more than just the color of our skin. It’s diversity of thought and even diversity of life experiences. We’ll go beyond your Affirmative Action Plan Initiatives to talk about how to push diversity and win by recruiting and retaining talent that drives results and change at your workplace. As our nation and workforce are both becoming more diverse it’s important to match this trend in the recruiting world.

It’s undeniable that the war on talent is a tough fight and no company is able to afford restricting its ability to attract and retain the very best employees available at any given time. A diverse workforce combines workers from all experiences and backgrounds that foster an environment of creativeness, innovation, and productivity. Boosting our bottom line will strengthen more naturally when we learn to draw upon our nation’s diversity. A key ingredient to growing a strong and inclusive economy is our ability to hire in a diverse nature.

We’ve come up with five ways your company can benefit from recruiting and hiring a diverse workforce.

Diversity helps foster a more innovative workplace. When companies use diversity to find and recruit workers from all different qualifications, backgrounds, and experience effective problem solving will come more natural. When a company is able to solve problems more effectively, their productivity will rise and they will be able to focus on more innovative ideas. A recent survey conducted by Forbes states that 85% of surveyed companies agreed or strongly agreed that diversity is crucial to fostering innovation in the workplace is done through being able to solve problems more effectively.

Diversity expands workplace knowledge of other cultures. This might sound quite simple, I work in a diverse workplace therefore I learn about other cultures. One benefit to hiring a diverse workplace creates an environment of openness and ongoing learning on how to deal with other cultures. As business moves in a more global direction it’s important to learn about how other cultures interact and handle business. This can easily be picked up from working with someone more diverse then yourself.

More qualified workforce. When companies recruit from a very diverse set of potential applicants, they are more likely to hire the best and the brightest. No longer is competition defined by one pool of applicants, but it’s spread over a diverse population of people. In order to succeed in the market, you must be willing and able to recruit from a very diverse set of applicants. Hiring the right talent is crucial.

Hiring diverse reduces turnover, increases bottom line. According to a recent study by American Progress, the economic cost of discrimination is over $1 trillion in cumulative spending power. A diverse workplace as stated earlier is more then just the color of our skin, but it’s also our sexual orientation. The cost of an hourly worker leaving a company can cost up to 5-10 thousand dollars to replace and an executive can cost upwards to $211,000. Hiring a more diverse workforce helps foster a warming and inviting atmosphere that provides companies not only good PR, but also lower turnover rates.

Escape legal woes. The last benefit to hiring a diverse workforce is escaping the cost of legal actions against your company. Workplace discrimination exposes business to potentially costly lawsuits that could cost upwards of 100K for every case brought against you. Especially in states that have outlawed gay and transgender discrimination.

There are numerous benefits to hiring a diverse workforce and all of these directly benefit the company you’re working for. There should be no reasons that a recruiter wouldn’t want to hire the best talent even if that talent comes from a diverse background. Recruiting looks good when it comes to turnover rates, a company’s bottom line, the talent within a company, and the company’s ability to be innovative.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs. 


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