Should You Panic When Staff Resign?
All this talk of talent wars, global talent mismatches and brain drains has created a kind of frenzied state in talent management with HR teams upgrading, repairing, and turbo boosting their talent retention initiatives for fear of their top talent walking away in droves. But, of course in the more circumspect moments, most professionals realize that staff turnover is a natural part of the...
Are 'Bottom-Level Workers' Undeserving of a Minimum Wage Increase?
Give America a raise. This was undeniably one of the most memorable (and talked about) lines in President Obama's State of the Union speech Jan. 28, 2014. And that's more than likely because of what the President said his actions will be soon afterward. To get the ball rolling, Obama plans to sign an executive order increasing minimum wage from the current $7.25/hr. to $10.10/hr. Although...
How Relevant Are Job Boards in 2014?
Human Resources software developer PeopleMatter has developed a webinar called "Naughty or Nice? Top 10 Workforce Trends and Whether They'll Be Good or Bad for Your Brand in 2014." Among other topics it discusses whether job boards will be relevant in 2014. In an article about the webinar, the Society for Human Resources Management reported, "The question is not whether job boards are...
iCIMS Updates Educational Site, First Time Offering Job Seeker Content
Leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) talent acquisition software solutions iCIMS recently enhanced its educational site, Hire Expectations Institute™ (HEI), which is dedicated to talent acquisition innovation. The updated site offers the latest information about industry trends, new technology tools, best practices for employers and job seeker-related content. "Information on...
Commuting Shortens Some Women's Life Expectancy?
Commuting from home to work, or even for shopping, can be very annoying and boring—especially when the trips are long. But, research outlined at the 2013 annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Los Angeles by social geographer Erika Sandow of Sweden's Umeå University reported that long commutes can also be deadly, as a health risk (and presumably not because of increased...
Remote Control of the Remote Worker: the Right and Wrong Way to Do It
Managing remote workers, e.g., teleworking IT staff, requires—by definition—"remote control" of them. But there's a potential, big problem with this process—a problem evident in merely thinking about what "remote control" means. Most conventionally and positively, it means "effectively controlling from a remote location". Most negatively, it means "disconnected control",...
Older Workers Can Get Hired but It Is Tougher
On paper, at least, age bias isn't allowed in the workplace but it can be difficult to hide the fact you're an older worker with wrinkles on your face combined with salt-and-pepper hair. Employers can make it tougher to get hired but it's not impossible if they know which employers are willing to hire them and what skills they need. "The elephant in the workplace is still age bias," said Tim...
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index Increases for Fifth Time in Six Months
December saw the fifth increase of The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) in the past six months standing at 115.76 last month; up from 115.72 in November. December's figure is 5.2 percent higher than December 2012. The increase came thanks to positive contributions from six of the eight labor market indicators measured in the ETI. These include, in descending order: number of...
TheLadders Enters Partnership to Release "Quit Your Job" iPhone App
Job-matching service, TheLadders, has teamed up with BreakupText creators Lauren Leto and Jake Levine to offer a humorous way for workers to resign. The new "Quit Your Job" iPhone app generates personalized resignation messages that workers can text to their bosses. "After helping thousands of people end relationships, we thought it only fitting to focus on the next most challenging...
PeopleStrategy and ThinkHR Partner to Deliver Real-time HR/Compliance Solutions
HCM solutions provider PeopleStrategy and ThinkHR, a cloud-based HR resource center, have announced a strategic partnership to deliver an integrated HR hotline and compliance resource center. Having recently launched PeopleStrategy eHCM, the company's enterprise human capital management solution for performing mission-critical and strategic processes, the partnership with ThinkHR will expand...
3 Ways to Stop Entrepreneurial Staff from Quitting
Entrepreneurial independence is on the rise. What we do mean by this? This means that in response to the continued labor market instability and lack of job security, a much more entrepreneurial mindset is taking hold where employees take care of their own careers by becoming self-employed and starting their own businesses. This is backed up by surveys which show increasing levels of self...
5 Preparation Steps for Video Interviewing Success
If you've been on a job search recently, you are probably aware of how drastically different the process is becoming from what it once was. As more companies are becoming comfortable with technology, job seekers are being forced to learn how to set themselves apart from the sea of applicants in a virtual setting. Often times, applications are only accepted online and rarely accepted in...
3 Types of Employees: How to Spot the Silent Killer
After polling more than 25 million Americans within hundreds of organizations, Gallup's 2013 State of the American Workplace Report has developed interesting findings regarding employee engagement. The results have led Gallup to determine three types of employee engagement levels—engaged, disengaged, and actively disengaged—but what does this all mean? Here's a quick breakdown of Gallup's...
Collegefeed for Employers Launches to Aid Businesses in Attracting, Hiring Millennials
Collegefeed, a service for placing top talent from the pool of recent college graduates, has announced the release of Collegefeed for Employers to help U.S. businesses connect with college talent. The service currently counts more than 500 companies as members and delivers curated feeds of matches to businesses of all sizes. "Since launching last May we've talked to hundreds of employers,...
How to Recruit Top Talent on a Small Budget [Interview]
What company doesn't want the talent attraction capabilities of powerhouses like Google and Facebook? But, unfortunately, the necessary resources required to draw in these types of workers aren't always available to small-and-medium sized businesses (SMBs), especially when it comes to technical talent. So, what are companies to do when facing talent challenges? Well, that's where Jon...
Simply Hired Adds New Capabilities to Self-service Ad Solution
Job-search technology firm Simply Hired has released an enhanced version of its job advertising solution Simply Post. The expanded re-release includes an online dashboard for viewing all job postings and applicants, making managing applicant pipelines more effective and simpler. Simply Post users also gain the capabilities to edit active job postings and repost previous listings. "We're...
Entelo Launches Hiring for Good, Partners with CodeEd to Sponsor Underserved Female Students
Recruiting software solutions provider Entelo, Inc. recently launched Hiring for Good, a new social impact program that is designed to improve communities and foster the next generation of tech talent. To jumpstart the new initiative, Entelo partnered with CodeEd, a Boston-based nonprofit that teaches computer science, programing and coding to underprivileged middle-school girls. As a part of...
Can Gamification Make Onboarding Cool Again?
HR Gamification is back, and although it hasn't exactly exploded back on to the scene, it has at least been beavering away in the background and quietly making mischief. What mischief you may ask? Well, it's been disrupting the HR process, and in particular, it's threatening to make onboarding cool again by presenting an irresistible suite of gamified onboarding technologies to get HR...
How (Not) to Ask for a Raise or a Date
It's hard to say which is harder: asking for a first date, or asking for a raise. Both can be very awkward, even scary. Notably, both can critically depend on the first thing that comes out of your mouth. Of course, timing is crucial: The move should be neither too soon nor too late, too cocky nor too wimpy, and most definitely not when the one being asked is least receptive or really busy...
6 Things Your Employees Wish You Knew About Engagement
Yes, it's another employee engagement post. With all of this heightened awareness about employee engagement and what it can do in organizations, you'd think the stat, 4 out of 10 workers are disengaged, would be a more promising number. In a Gallup poll on the State of the American Workplace, we also learn that 70 percent of workers do not enjoy their job. These shameful numbers mean that...
SilkRoad Releases State of Talent Management 2014 Report
SilkRoad, a leading global provider of cloud-based social talent management software, recently released its annual "State of Talent Management 2014" report, which sought to answer the question, "How well-positioned are HR professionals to tackle key challenges in 2014?" Based on a survey of more than 3,743 HR professionals, the report discovered four foundational challenges that HR and...
The Importance of Hunting When Sourcing Candidates
Successfully sourcing candidates takes skill and strategy – it goes beyond simply posting a job on several different job boards. Infusing hunting tactics into sourcing can launch the search for candidates in any field of work. Much like hunters study and follow their prey, recruiters need to research and keep track of candidates to ensure they don't lose sight of top prospects and follow only...
Find the True Job Description for the Best Fit
Author Jesse Sostrin is of the opinion that hiring managers, human resources professionals, and consultants aren't getting to the true core of job descriptions and that's hurting their ability to hire the best candidates. In an article at Forbes.com, Sostrin says, "When an individual with the necessary skills and competencies is actively committed to a role that is designed around their...
Many HR Pros are Job-hunting, but Where Will the Jobs Come From?
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that HR professionals are seeking new job opportunities in large numbers as the economy continues to expand. According to the organization, over one-third of HR pros will be looking for new jobs in the near future, with a number of those employees jumping ship out of a sense of insecurity in their current position. SHRM found that 39...
Simplilearn and MasterStreet Offer Business and IT Training Classes in Person and Live Online
MasterStreet, a free search engine and booking platform for technology, business, and design classes and conferences has announced a partnership with Simplilearn and its online training and certification platform. The partnership will make Simplilearn's business and IT training courses available through MasterStreet's search and booking platform. Simplilearn's professional certification...
Claims for Unemployment Benefits at Six-week Low
As reported by the U.S. Labor Department, applications for unemployment benefits remained at a six-week low for the week ending January 18. Unemployment claims rose by 1,000 to 326,000 during that week, below the 330,000 projected by 50 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Business and consumer spending continue to improve amidst a more optimistic growth outlook for the U.S. economy. Hiring gains...
Focus on Potential When Hyping Employer Brand
Which is most important when judging and deciding the likely success of job candidates: their past accomplishments or future potential? Of course, you might say, "It depends on the situation", and you are probably right. But you might still be interested in the findings of this study by Stanford University. The school looked at how people (potentially hiring managers and candidates), consider...
Defining Your Career Path on Your Own Terms
According to a 2012 Gallup poll, 65 is the average age American workers plan to retire. But can you imagine if someone set the bar 38 years lower? Well, that's exactly what entrepreneur Brenton Hayden did when he not only set a goal to retire by age 27, but he accomplished this. According to his bylined story on Yahoo! Finance, at age 21, Hayden set a retirement savings goal of $7 million...
Innovative Staffing Practices: 2014 Trends
A few years ago, if you had told some of the world's best and brightest recruiters and HR professionals that everything they were currently doing manually would soon see the advent of automation and may be put on auto-pilot, what do you think they would have said? Chances are, one would have heard a great deal of laughing and a few choice words. In fact, many of the things that made a recruiter...
Does Your Résumé Make the Grade?
According to a 2004 study by the National Commission on Writing, written communication skills are key to getting—and keeping—a job. Essentially, "writing is a ticket to professional opportunity, while poorly written job applications are a figurative kiss of death." In addition, the National Commission on Writing found that nearly one-third of companies surveyed spend billions of dollars...
Are we the Cobbler's Children when Recruiting Sales Talent?
Recruiters are no different than their clients when it comes to building or outsourcing a sales force. We preach "best practice" but often we find we don't follow our own advice. Let's consider at least three 'Hiring Ailments' we see our colleagues fall victim to. Ailment 1: Just-In-Time Recruiting – How many of our clients tell us that they are about to go into their...
Should Potential Workers be Allowed to "Test-Drive" a Company?
This question popped into my mind after reading a Yahoo! Homes story about an HGTV show called, "Sleep On It." The story talked about how potential home buyers on this show had the chance to stay the night in two homes before deciding which house to purchase. Like a sort of home test-drive, people were able to actually "test out" a house, which would help influence their buying...
Full-service, Flat-rate Recruiting Solution for SMBs Introduced by NextHire.biz
A new outsourced recruiting program from NextHire.biz offers a full-service solution for small- and medium-sized businesses. Aimed specifically at SMBs, the NextHire service uses digital hiring tools and dedicated account representatives to cut employer costs and required labor by more than 75 percent. For a fixed-rate, NextHire provides a complete outsourced recruiting solution for improved...
Global Severance Study Helps Critique Workplace Strategies to Attract, Retain, Transition Employees
In Severance Practices Around the World, ManpowerGroup's Right Management has recommended employers reassess severance practices in order to better attract, retain, and transition talent. The study includes input from over 1,800 senior executives and HR pros from 19 countries and 19 industries and sets benchmarks for termination and severance practices specific to country, region, industry, and...
HireVue Releases WorldVue Platform to Help with Non-Profit Staffing
Digital interviewing platform provider HireVue recently announced the launch of WorldVue, a full-service platform to help non-profits meet their volunteer and temporary staffing needs. The free service helps qualifying not-for-profit organizations and NGOs source, vet and interview volunteers. According to HireVue, the new staffing software is best suited for registered not-for-profit...
"Bosses from Hell" to Blame for Extremely Low Engagement, Reports Gallup
According to a Gallup report that reviewed thousands of responses from managers and employees over a period reaching back to the end of the recession, employee engagement has only marginally increased. Even as the economy has continued to expand and management best practices have evolved, 70 million of the 100 million full-time job holders in the U.S. are not engaged at work. Gallup found that 20...
How Can I Convince You to Relocate for This Role?
Having to convince a reluctant candidate to relocate to a new town, city or country for a role is perhaps one of the toughest negotiations that a recruiter may encounter. And at some point in your career, you will be required to negotiate with and encourage reluctant candidates to relocate themselves and possibly their families to take up a role with your business. It's the negotiation that no...
Eliminate the 'Human' in 'Human Resource'—Blame Hollywood If We Do That
"The human element in 'Human Resource' is our biggest vulnerability. We should start phasing it out immediately"—Iron Man 3 That line from Iron Man 3 was the most attention-grabbing thing in what otherwise seemed like a whiz-bang, dizzying combat video game for kids with ADD. It was delivered by Iron Man Robert Downey, Jr.'s trusty aide, Jon Favreau, in his role as think-tank...
4 Innovative Staffing Practices to Jumpstart 2014
With just a few weeks into the New Year, there's no better time for employers to ensure they have all the necessary tools for a more efficient recruitment process. It comes as no surprise that more and more companies are repelling top talent due to their hiring practices. Failure to offer receipt of job applications, the dreaded resume black hole, overwritten job descriptions and not having...
Recruitment Rocket – World's First Video Recruiting Agency
Recruitment Rocket is just like any other recruiting agency – with one major exception – recorded video interviews. As well as sourcing candidates, reviewing resumes, and providing notes to employers - similar to other employment agencies - Recruitment Rocket also instructs shortlisted candidates to answer a number of interview questions using their own computer and webcam. Responses are...
25 Movie Quotes to Inspire Your Recruiting Practices
There is ample time to talk about tech, culture and hiring practices. Take a break from whatever productive thing you're trying to accomplish, and check out how some of the greatest movie quotes of all time that will sink into your inner recruiter dialogue. Then, get back to work! Oh, and please leave your own movie quotes in the comments section below. Enjoy... 1. On getting creepy with a...
The NFL's Best Kept Secret
Super Bowl 48 is just days away, and while many will tune in to watch the Seahawks battle it out against the Broncos, a variety of funny commercials, and the Bruno Mars-Red Hot Chili Peppers halftime show combo, there's one thing the NFL won't be putting on full display—salary. And, more specifically, I mean what it pays fails to pay its cheerleaders. Yahoo recently published a story...
6 Reasons the Resume is Out and LinkedIn is In
The resume was great while it lasted, but LinkedIn (LI) is making it look pretty antiquated. LI simply offers so much more than a Word doc ever really could. And now that applicant tracking systems are onboard with LI, there's really no stopping it. 1) The Lies, Oh the Lies... Business Insider claims that 46 percent of resumes have some sort of false information and 70 percent of college...
CareerBuilder Study Details Challenges Faced by Long-Term Unemployed
According to a national CareerBuilder study on the challenges faced by the long-term unemployed, 30 percent of workers who were employed full time and who have been out of work for 12 months or longer reported that they haven't had one single job interview since becoming unemployed. This was just one of the myriad of obstacles the study discovered that America's long-term unemployed currently...
Quality Over Quantity: Sharpening Your Referral Program in 2014
It's no secret that employee referrals can be the resource you need to find great hires. They're not only the no. 1 source of hire, they're also linked to higher retention rates and can bring your organization better results. Referral hires work better than any other source of hire because members of your network understand what you're looking for, comprehend your values, and know who...
Unfiltered Recruiting
Should a recruiter be more like an unobstructed hose, or like one with a two-way filter? A recruiter who is like a filter-free hose is a pure transmission channel, one that transmits information from employer to applicant and in reverse, "as-is"—no editing, no embellishments, no vetting, no selective emphasis or de-emphasis and no "noise". That kind of recruiter probably doesn't...
The Art of the Stay Meeting
Stay meetings are a fantastic tool that managers can use to increase retention, productivity and job satisfaction. These meetings take place with those workers who are defined as key talent in the organization and a manager, to discuss openly those matters of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in both their position and the organization as a whole. While these meetings don't require formal...
Somewhere Between Vogue and a Robot: Video Interviewing Tips
Video interviews are becoming the norm, with 63 percent of HR managers conducting these types on interviews. Every job seeker knows the importance of preparing for a face-to-face interview, but how do you prepare for an interview when you can't shake the interviewer's hand or comment on the local weather? According to US News, Reuters, and Forbes, here are seven ways you can get ready for a...
