Guest Article: #WorkHuman 2017 Day 1: Bring Your Whole Self to Work by Jennifer Miller

It’s Day 1 of Globoforce’s WorkHuman 2017 conference. As I mentioned in this post, I’m covering several tracks as a “live blogger” for the Globforce team. So here’s how my time in Phoenix has shaped up so far . . .

My WorkHuman Experience actually started the day before the conference. Because it was my first time in Arizona, I flew in early to take advantage of the very gracious hospitality of  friends who live here full time.  (As it so happens, my tour guides are former work team leaders of mine; they were doing WorkHuman way before it was a thing. They are two of my most revered mentors. Thanks, Mary and Sarah.)

We did a day trip to Sedona.

 

My new boyfriend Smokey. Especially appropriate – there was a brush fire burning 30 miles east of this ranger’s station.

 

And then Tuesday dawned, bright and sunny. Forecast of a balmy 100 degrees. But no worries, we’re at WorkHuman! And all was well, as we checked in and started to peruse the many activities available to us. That’s the great thing about the WorkHuman events – it is SO much more than just fantastic learning sessions.

Check it out: there is a Gratitude Wall, a book store, the chance to get your own rock (more on that later), yoga and meditation sessions. I even created a customized WorkHuman tee shirt.

In the afternoon, I covered the “Your Whole Self” track, which feature three amazing speakers – two of whom I heard last year . . .and ASKED to see again this year. The third, well . . .she’s a force to be reckoned with and she rocked the room. Here are some quick reactions, just a mere minutes after their presentations. More (much more!) in depth blog posts to follow.

In order of appearance:

Christine Porath, “Mastering Civility: How it Benefits You and Your Organization”

On leadership and the connection to civility in the workforce: Porath says that “it’s the small interactions  of civility that set the table” and allows leaders to connect meaningfully with those they lead.  When leaders are civil with those around them, it builds goodwill. Porath also noted that these daily interactions create the basis for a relationship that can withstand the occasional tough discussion. This was an encore presentation from last year, and Porath’s savvy presentation of the materials was a intriguing the second time around as the first.

Favorite quote: “Incivility hijacks focus and limits recall. It robs people of their focus.”

Rasmus Hougaard, “Mindfulness and Compassion: Core Business Strategies for 21st Century Leaders”

Last year, Rasmus wowed us with his deep knowledge of mindfulness, which he has been teaching to corporate audiences for nearly a decade. This year, he kicked it up a notch, adding two more elements to his leadership presentation: selflessness and compassion. Together, these three traits (mindfulness, selflessness and compassion) form a triumvirate of leadership capability. These three elements, which Rasmus’s company The Potential Project has tested with hundreds of companies across North America (with research partner Harvard Business Review) has resulted in a new assessment that measures a leader’s skill in these three areas.

Favorite quote: “Leadership must start in the mind of the leader.”

Cy Wakeman, “Reality-Based Leadership: Ditching the Drama and Turning Excuses into Results”

You’d better fasten your seat belts when Cy Wakeman takes the stage. This dynamic, take-no prisoners presenter promised to blow our minds. And she delivered for this audience member. Wakeman is a former therapist and corporate manager who now works with leaders to help them bring “reality” into their workplaces. She shared real-life stories of how companies have bent over backwards in the name of “engaging” employees, only to have it back fire. She also had an intriguing take on change management initiatives. She asked us, “Is change hard? Or is it only hard for the unready?” Her point was that leaders are doing a disservice to employees if they hand-hold them through change initiatives. They should instead focus on building employees’ skills every day so they are change-ready.

Favorite quote: “Your circumstances aren’t why you can’t succeed. This is the reality in which you must learn to succeed.”

Check back each day for more of “live blogging” from the WorkHuman conference in Phoenix. Follow #WorkHuman on social media.

 

Article source:Jennifer Miller - #WorkHuman 2017 Day 1: Bring Your Whole Self to Work»

Guest Article: Lead By Example In Employer Brand Marketing by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

It's a tired phrase...lead by example...but one that hangs on so long because it is perhaps the most powerful leadership strategy available. When leaders match their actions to their words amazing things can happen.

As I think about the leaders I've worked with over the years, many have made strong statements, enacted big policy changes, or made bold organizational pronouncements. However, precious few have actually backed up their talk with the proverbial walk.

This same challenge is painfully obvious in the world of employer brand marketing.

Can't Just Talk About It
For the more savvy leader, there is an awareness that both employer brand, and the marketing that goes along with it, are no longer options. They are required. 

Allocating resources and supporting the development and execution of a strategy, should be required of every leader at every level.

But how to make it happen?

Who pulls it all together, particularly when most leader are still hiding behind the tired excuses that they don't "do" social media, blogging or push out any forms of content?

You do, that's who.

Leading By Example...For Real
It takes more than just a driven HR leader to make this happen however.

In his recent post describing the important role executives play in content marketing, Robert Caruso details not only the rationale for executive involvement, but some compelling data that would indicate it's time for senior leaders to get in the game.

Delegating participation in an organization's employer brand strategy is not only ineffective, it is obvious to most who are paying attention. 

How About You
Who do you know in your organization that needs to be more involved in your recruitment marketing initiatives? Have you reached out to give them the support they will need as they start using unfamiliar, and candidly intimidating (at first) digital tools? 

I'll help too. Don't be afraid to reach out at any time.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Lead By Example In Employer Brand Marketing»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: University of Phoenix Research: Your Employees Aren’t Innovative Enough [Podcast] by Ben

Note: If you’re looking for a good app to access We’re Only Human and other podcasts, I personally use Stitcher on my Android device. 

Did you know that your employees aren’t innovative or creative enough?

That’s the latest from a research study performed by University of Phoenix on workplace innovation. In an interesting mix of data, the organization asked employees to identify whether their employers were innovative or not, and hiring managers were asked to identify the level of innovation exhibited by employees. The results were intriguing, and I covered some of the key topics of the research in a recent podcast interview with Ruth Veloria, Executive Dean of the School of Business at University of Phoenix. 

For clarification, University of Phoenix has 50k+ students at the university, and Ruth heads up areas such as academic programming, employer relationships, and more. She said UoP undertook the study to help with a few things, but the key reason is to stay in tune with what hiring managers and business leaders are looking for in the candidates they hire. All too often we as HR leaders run across college graduates that don’t have the necessary skills or business acumen, and the University is trying to make sure that degree programs fit that need. Can I get an amen to that?

Here are some of the notes from our conversation. Be sure to listen in so you get the full set of responses and ideas that Ruth shares. She’s incredibly sharp.

Ben: What were the key differences in the employee- and employer-focused studies? Any similarities of note?

Ruth: The survey found that employees want to be developed, but about 1/3 of them we talked to weren’t confident in the development program. On the employer side, business leaders are looking at people thinking they are missing key innovative traits, so the next question is how they can grow them.

Ben: One of the stats that I thought was interesting was more than 8 in 10 employees think they are innovative, but just 8% of hiring managers think their employees excel at innovating. I would expect there to be a gap there but that is pretty substantial. In addition, about a third of hiring managers (33%) say that innovativeness is a teachable skill, and another 46% say sometimes it is, depending on the person. How can managers look for innovative thinking in the hiring process?

Ruth: I’m a product of going through management consulting. Our key method was to give people scenarios and case studies they’ve never had to tackle before, because it gives you chance to see if they can solve problems. You’re looking for someone with a healthy respect for rules, but also innovators.

Ben: About two in five large business hiring managers each say that they have either policies (38%) or dedicated innovation teams (38%) to help encourage innovation. The thing I always push back on with regard to this: does having a dedicated team make innovation less likely to happen on the front lines or by people that aren’t directly tasked with it?

Ruth: Given the pace of change, it needs to be a responsibility for everyone. Some people only think about innovation as products, not process and operations. If you want to compete, you have to build a culture of support for innovation throughout the organization. Front line employees sometimes deliver more innovation. Need a culture of listening and professional development access to drive it in the people.

Ben: What are the most common ways companies solicit innovative ideas from employees?

Ruth: Surveys are the number one method. They also have meetings focused on innovation. They also look at what processes are preventing success. The second key is an annual planning process. One third of companies think this is key. As we know, what gets measured gets done, so public recognition/rewards is important for driving innovation. [Note from Ben: this concept of rewards for innovation was touched on briefly in a recent post on “innovation judo.”

Ben: About a third of hiring managers say their organizations plan to create cross functional learning opportunities and offer to pay for educational opportunities to increase innovation.Talk about what these methods look like in practice.

Ruth: You can put people into projects to help them learn. UoPhoenix uses an online, self-paced approach that shows how to learn innovation skills. Users practice those skills and behaviors to become ingrained. Learning by doing is best.

Ben: A third of hiring managers say that new approaches to old ideas, creativity, and forward thinking are traits missing in current employees. How does this link back to the hiring process? Are companies hiring for these kinds of traits, or are they hoping that employees develop them later?

Ruth: We see lots of talk about soft skills. It’s easy to teach hard skills but people hope you come with a foundation of the right soft skills. We want to find those innovators on the front end but we also need some combination of how to embed innovation for these people. Some organizations, like Intuit, have a center of excellence as a hub to drive innovation throughout the organization. They want to create innovation in the raw talent.

Ben: This has been really wonderful to explore the subject of innovation with you, Ruth. If someone wants to learn more about the study I will make sure to link it in the show notes, but is there anything else you want to leave in terms of a takeaway?

Ruth: The key thing is that there is a disconnect. Employees want to be innovative and work for innovative employers. Hiring managers want employees that are innovative. Employers need to think about barriers they might be putting in place. Is there adequate time set aside for innovation, funding, or other resources in the organization like data analytics tools? Is there an environment or culture that helps employees to be more nimble? IT infrastructure slows down businesses in many cases.

Ben: Thanks again to everyone for joining us for this episode of We’re Only Human. To see the show notes and listen to all of the shows in our archive, please visit http://ift.tt/2jqDL7I. Also, if you liked this episode or if you’re an innovation junkie like me, be sure to check out our recent show on 8 Ways HR can Drive Enterprise Innovation.

 

Article source:Ben - University of Phoenix Research: Your Employees Aren’t Innovative Enough [Podcast]»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Getting Ready for #WorkHuman 2017 by Jennifer Miller

In less than 48 hours, I’ll board a plane headed to Phoenix for the WorkHuman 2017 event. This three-day business conference, which is produced by recognition software experts Globoforce, is unlike any I’ve ever attended. Globoforce is leading the charge to make our workplaces more “human.” To that end, the speakers at this conference talk about admittedly non-businesslike topics such as workplace civility, mindfulness, compassion, and making feedback more human. There are more HR-sounding titles too, such as, “The Correlation Between Social Recognition Experience and Retention of Key Employees,” and “Next Generation Performance Management: The Triumph of Science Over Benchmarking.”

I’ll be covering two of the five tracks offered: “Your Whole Self” and “The Organization of the Future.”

During the conference, I’ll write daily updates and post them here. If you want to read my other posts about the conference (including my coverage of the 2016 WorkHuman event), check out the WorkHuman tag.

Here’s a preview of the sessions I’ll be attending:

Tuesday:

Christine Porath, “Mastering Civility: How it Benefits You and Your Organization”

Rasmus Hougaard, “Mindfulness and Compassion: Core Business Strategies for 21st Century Leaders”

Cy Wakeman, “Reality-Based Leadership: Ditching the Drama and Turning Excuses into Results”

Wednesday:

Jay Dorio & Jenna Shapiro, “Employee Experience in the Cognitive Era”

Tamra Chandler, “How to Reboot Your Culture with Human-Centered Performance Management”

Jeanne Meister, “The Employee Experience Is The Future Of Work: How HR Leaders Can Prepare For The New World Of Work”

Dean Becker, “Leading Across the Optimism & Resilience Gap”

Josh Bersin, “Rewriting the Rules: Engaging People in the Digital Age”

Thursday:

Grant Beckett, “R.I.P. Annual Performance Review: Inspire Continuous Conversations”

I’ll also be in attendance for Main Stage events, which include keynotes from:

• Former First Lady Michelle Obama
• Actor and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Activist Chaz Bono
• Author Susan Cain
• Best-Selling Author & Wharton Professor Adam Grant

It’s an honor to help bring new and interesting messages to the readers of this blog. If you have a specific interest in one of these speakers or their topics, drop me a note in the “comments” section and I’ll let you know what the speakers had to say about their topic.

Article source:Jennifer Miller - Getting Ready for #WorkHuman 2017»

Guest Article: The Power of an Apology by Melissa Fairman

“I’m sorry.” “I apologize.”  Those two phrases hold a great deal of power because they can repair a relationship and soothe hurt feelings. Sometimes, the lack of an apology can irretrievably hurt a work...
Article source:Melissa Fairman - The Power of an Apology»

Check out more of Melissa Fairman's work at HR Remix

Guest Article: Accurately assessing soft skills: A huge opportunity for recruiters by Ross Clennett

Soft skills, behavioural competencies, transferable skills, personal attributes, employability skills, capabilities; no matter what you might know them as, these non-technical skills are important at work and becoming more so. Deloitte Access Economics explores this topic in their recently released report, Soft skills* for business success (It's a very readable and interesting report and I
Article source:Ross Clennett - Accurately assessing soft skills: A huge opportunity for recruiters»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Learning Anarchy: The Risks and Rewards of Informal Learning (Webinar) by Ben

According to Deloitte, more than 80% of learning is informal in nature, yet many companies are still unsure how to harness this critical mass of activities to improve performance, minimize risk and deliver organizational value.

Consider this: if you have a toddler, that child can probably pick up your phone, unlock it and open their favorite app. But it’s likely that you haven’t formally created content or delivered a course to the child on how to accomplish this task. It is one of the many learned behaviors that are picked up informally. While simplistic, this example highlights the fact that not much has changed about how people learn new concepts. The difference is that we now have technologies in place to help track, curate and analyze the impact of those learning activities.

Value and Risk: It’s All About Perspective

Discussions around informal learning typically branch off in a few directions. The conversation either turns to the incredible risk associated with “handing over the keys” to the employees to curate and manage their own content or focuses on the supposed anarchy that will reign if learning resources aren’t governed by a single, cohesive L&D team. But there’s another story–one that tempers some of the fear by pointing out the value and opportunities presented by adopting a more informal approach to learning.

Click here to continue reading and to register if you’d like to catch the webinar!

Article source:Ben - Learning Anarchy: The Risks and Rewards of Informal Learning (Webinar)»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: I Don't Have the Time for My Personal Brand by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

The questions, and the obvious struggle, seems to be popping up everywhere I turn. Colleagues and clients alike are starting to understand just how important having a personal brand is for their career.

Now, for those of you that think "personal brand talk" doesn't hold any weight; really impact the world of work, or make a difference in the trajectory of your career, please stop reading and go back to watching Happy Days.

It's a digital world now...are you with me?

Time or Priority

Here's the chatter...

"Jay, I wish I had the time to work on this stuff....I work hard, love my job, but know I should be doing more for myself....and I know it will help my company too..."

And here's my response...

"How about we replace the word 'time' with 'priority?' It goes something like this...I haven't made my brand a priority." 

How does that feel?

Getting Started Is Easy
I'm not sure how the "mystery of a personal brand" started, but candidly friends, there is no mystery. If you can copy and paste, text, or click a share button you are well on your way.

3 Steps to a Fast Start!
- Make sure your social media accounts are up to date (LinkedIn, twitter, Instagram, etc.)

- Identify 10-15 sources of content you would like to share (always include your employer's content)

- Share content across your social channels throughout the week

BOOM!

You're off and running!

How About You

Let me help you get started. Reach out when you're ready, and we'll get you set up and rocking in no time! 

Let's do this!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - I Don't Have the Time for My Personal Brand»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: What Does Employee Engagement Even Mean? by Ben

What does engagement mean to you and your company?

That’s a question I’m trying to answer with a new research study. I’m partnering with my friend Jason Lauritsen to examine the ins and outs of engagement in a very hands-on manner. Instead of just looking at the theory, we’re digging into the specific practices that YOU think drive the highest engagement in your workplace.

The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, and I’ll be randomly selecting two participants to receive Amazon Gift cards from the people who take the survey through this URL in the next 72 hours. You must enter your email address at the end of the survey in order to be eligible to win. Ready, set, go!

Click here to begin the survey.

In case you’re curious, yes, I’ll be writing on these results in the coming weeks to help you understand how and why they matter. I’m also presenting at a few conferences in the next few months and will be weaving the results into those events as well. Your responses do matter!

Article source:Ben - What Does Employee Engagement Even Mean?»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: The gender pay gap explained: Women are less likely to negotiate by Ross Clennett

Recently I read through the excellent Richard Lloyd Sydney Accounting Salary Report – 2017. I have seen many salary surveys over the years and most are a boring copy of each other with very little new to say about the data that has been gathered. The pedestrian reporting of salary differentials across skill levels, although mostly diligently gathered and reported, was rarely
Article source:Ross Clennett - The gender pay gap explained: Women are less likely to negotiate»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: How To Have A Great First Day At The New Job by Melissa Fairman

Like a Japanese tea ceremony, your first day at the new job offers many opportunities to offend, insult and look like a clueless foreigner. Whether its figuring out the best exit to avoid the...
Article source:Melissa Fairman - How To Have A Great First Day At The New Job»

Check out more of Melissa Fairman's work at HR Remix

Guest Article: You Can't Bring Me Down by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

I thought you could use a heavy dose of my view of the last twenty years of work!

You Can't...

- make me a hater with your hate

- worry me with your rumors

- get me worked up simply because you are an insecure old-school leader

- stop me from pushing the organization forward

- slow me down from being a positive force in the company

- block me from being the mentor you wish you could be

- stand in my way from networking around the world to learn and grow

- instill any self-doubt or fear in me

- force me to follow approaches that are out of step with the modern world

You can't bring me down!

How About You
Are you ready to be an unstoppable force in your organization? Go get it!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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inspiration
Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - You Can't Bring Me Down»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Employee Referrals: A Players, Diversity Hiring, and Key Benefits by Ben

Employee referrals are not a new topic in the HR and recruiting space. But the truth is that many companies phone it in when it comes to referrals, often leaving them with lackluster results. It takes a little time, effort, and intention to get a referral program into good shape, and the benefits are far-reaching.

Hiring A Players with Referrals

Data from one study shows that referrals are the best source for finding quality hires. Another expert says that referrals should be one of the top metrics that talent acquisition leaders focus on. And our own data at Lighthouse Research says that more than 80% of companies believe that referrals are important for measuring sourcing performance. Yet more than four out of ten employers are measuring nothing or only anecdotal information when it comes to referrals as a source of hire.

Referrals as a Talent Channel

You don’t create a great place to work. You defend it. -CEO of a firm with multiple “Best Places to Work” credits

Let’s face it. Many employees have not had the opportunity to work at a company with a great culture. But when they find one they inevitably become protective of the culture. This is a great tool for ensuring a strong referral program without having to constantly weed out poor performers and poor fits. It’s been said that A players hire A players, but B players hire C players, and companies of all sizes, industries, and geographies are trying to find those critical A players to remain competitive.

The right referral program needs to not only prioritize referrals as a source of hire, but it also needs strong technological underpinnings to help manage the volume and variety of referrals. Systems like MintMesh and others provide that functionality and help companies to get a grasp on what is typically operated as a “shoot from the hip” type of program. From an analytics perspective, being able to track quality of hire, time to fill, and other metrics and tie them back to the referral source is an incredibly valuable practice. Gathering the right data to support your referral practices is going to generate higher quality hires, ensuring those A players end up at your organization, not at the competition.

Using Referrals to Improve Diversity

Diversity has become an HR buzzword, thrown around in meetings and leveraged for positive PR, but what does diversity really mean?

Legally, diversity refers to the age, socioeconomic background, gender, race and ethnicity differences in your workforce. However, the concept of a diverse workforce encompasses more than that, capturing more nuanced elements such as religious and political views, social status, personality, communication styles, and cultural values.

Diversity sourcing, by extension, is a dedicated effort to attract, engage, and hire a diverse slate of candidates. An interesting twist on the diversity sourcing discussion is in referral practices. Anecdotally, it’s often believed that referral hiring will diminish diversity, encouraging people to refer their friends and colleagues that are just like them. In reality, diversity sourcing can be vastly improved with solid, intentional referral practices.

While virtually all companies say they encourage diversity, and the evidence for diversity as a business performance enhancement is clear, the question remains – how can we source and recruit a diverse workforce? There are three keys to success:

1. Building a Diversity-Driven Culture-Having the best diversity programs possible won’t matter if your culture doesn’t support it. Diversity begins and ends with your company culture. It should be part of who you are as a company.
2. Expanding Your Diversity Definition: In a conversation last month with the head of human resources for a U.S.-based construction firm, the leader said that the biggest challenge was filling a key technical role with diverse candidates, because the company had come to see the value in not just diversity of gender or skin color, but in diversity of thought. Candidates that entered the role from diverse backgrounds performed better, connected more thoroughly with their customers and peers, and lasted longer than more traditional candidates.
3. Employee Referrals: Current employees are living, breathing advertisers for your company. Their testimonies about your organization provide an authentic initiative for potential hires. Missing out on their referrals could be the difference in being a market leader or a laggard. And as mentioned above, this allows your company to target more diverse hires in a way that traditional job postings and advertising just can’t.

Referral Benefits for SMBs

While referrals can help any company, I see the benefits to small and mid-sized businesses as being some of the most valuable.

Referrals are the most powerful tool in recruiting. A provocative statement, sure, but also proven to be true. Recruitment is the lifeline of all organizations and referral programs can deliver top talent to your door at a fraction of the cost of traditional recruiting. According to Dr. John Sullivan, if 50% of your company’s hires aren’t coming from referrals, then you need to get proactive with your referral program.

This is even more true for small and mid-size businesses. With tight recruiting budgets, limited organizational agility, and a need for highly engaged workers from day one, the SMB market can benefit from referrals by reducing costs, lowering time to fill, and ensuring long-term retention and engagement.

Cost

Costs for traditional recruiting sources far exceed those of referrals.Traditional recruiting can cost anywhere from $4,000 to well over $18,000 per hire, but recruiting with a referral program costs closer to $1,000.

Even offering financial incentives to employees for referrals is still a small price to pay for creating an army of talent scouts. Offering a $1000 bonus would still keep the referral hire cost far below that of other methods.

Other cost savings associated with hiring referrals include lower spending on advertising, job boards, and agency fees. Meritage Talent Solutions founder Kara Yarnot found that the typical agency charges a fee of 20 percent of a hire’s first-year salary, equaling $20,000 for a single $100,000 hire. If we’re comparing that to the referral program cost per hire data above, your organization could have hired 20 people for the same cost of one hire through an agency.

Referrals save costs and benefit the bottom line.

Speed

In today’s fast paced workplace, speed is crucial. Referrals can significantly increase hiring speed over traditional recruiting methods. Referrals are the fastest method to hire with an average of 29 days for referrals. Compare that with 39 days for job boards, and 45 days for career sites, on average.

This is due in part to the fact that you have a broader network when you’re prioritizing referrals. Your employees know the company better than anyone and with the rise of social media, employees have networks of contacts at their fingertips ready to tell their peers and friends about openings at your organization.

To get a sense of the size of this potential network, consider this: Pew Research estimates the average person has more than 600 social connections. If your business has just 100 employees, that’s a potential 60,000 people that can learn about your openings with a good referral program.

Not only do referrals start faster–they also onboard faster. A key part of onboarding, beyond understanding the workplace policies and requirements, is assimilating into the social fabric of the organization. By having a social connection already in the firm, the referral can onboard faster. This equates to higher productivity and performance from day one, which is critical for SMBs that don’t have extensive resources to train and develop competencies in new hires.

Referrals are faster to hire, start working quicker and out perform non-referrals.

Retention and Engagement

One third of new hires quit their job after about six months and 32 percent of employers say they expect employees to be job hoppers. This demonstrates the “revolving door” attitude employees have towards companies, but referral programs can increase job loyalty.

Referral programs are proven to decrease turnover and increase retention. 46% of referral hires are retained after one year as opposed to 33% for non-referrals. With referrals producing 25% more profit than their peers, this is doubly valuable for employers.

As mentioned in a recent blog, great companies are made up of great people, and referrals are the best source for bringing those great people to your front door.

Article source:Ben - Employee Referrals: A Players, Diversity Hiring, and Key Benefits»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Vulnerable Leaders are More Powerful Than They Know by Jennifer Miller

When you think of the most effective leaders you’ve worked with, how would you describe them? Perhaps you said “charismatic,” “energetic,” or “visionary.” One word that probably didn’t spring immediately to your lips? Vulnerable. Which is too bad, because vulnerability is a powerful ally that helps leaders gain the cooperation necessary to get things done at work.

One of the best bosses I ever had was a soft-spoken, thoughtful person who excelled at building relationships with his direct reports. David* had the most amazing talent for speaking honestly about our challenges at hand. I recall one department meeting in which he had to impart a new strategic direction imposed by the corporate headquarters. It was a terrible idea and everyone in the room knew it. When we asked how in the world this new direction made any sense, David simply said, “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out together.” Rather than put a falsely cheerful face on the news, he admitted that our path forward wasn’t clear, yet he expressed hope that we would prevail.

It wasn’t often that David expressed doubts to our team, so when he did, we knew he was being sincere. Because he was a quietly confident man, David wasn’t afraid to show us a bit of vulnerability. By exposing his uncertainty, David made us want to pull together and figure out the challenge together. Patrick Lencioni, author of the fable The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, is a strong proponent of leaders who show vulnerability. Lencioni writes that “the strongest people in life are the ones that are comfortable saying ‘I don’t know.’” To Lencioni, vulnerability is not at all soft– “it’s the key to building great teams.”

There’s a scientific basis for why vulnerability is an important leadership attribute: humans are wired to help one another. In the January-February 2017 print edition of the Harvard Business Review, neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak puts forth his team’s decades-long research into how humans build trust. The article, “The Neuroscience of Trust,” Zak explains that when an individual asks for help, the oxytocin levels of the person receiving the request increases. (Oxytocin is a brain chemical that is associated with, among other things, social bonding.) In other words, when a person demonstrates vulnerability, others are socially inclined to assist. Far from being a sign of leadership weakness, expressing uncertainty or requesting assistance (in moderate doses) builds camaraderie. “Asking for help is the sign of a secure leader– one who engages everyone to reach goals,” writes Zak.

According to a Smartpulse poll launched earlier this year by Smartbrief on Leadership, about 43% of readers polled felt they were very comfortable being seen as “vulnerable” with their teams. For the remaining 57% who keep things closer to the vest, here are some phrases that will open yourself up to your team in an appropriate way.

• I’m sorry I was such a jerk yesterday.
• You are the expert in this area, not me — how about if you take the lead?
• I don’t know the answer to that question; let me get back to you.
• I’m not sure — does anybody else know the answer?
• Yeah, I’m not certain about this new policy either. But I know that we can sort through it.

Notice a couple of key elements to these statements:

1. They express hope that things will get better or offer a way to address the concern
2. The statements are personal versus private, meaning that they express how the speaker is personally experiencing the issue, but they don’t divulge inappropriate “private” information

The archetypical leader is often portrayed as a person with nerves of steel, unwavering in their confidence for the path they’ve set for their followers. It’s true that people want strength in their leaders. It’s equally true that they want their leaders to show some humanity. And the occasional display of vulnerability in the workplace is a very appropriate way to do that. It makes you more powerful than you know.

 

*Name changed to protect this leader’s identity.

A version of this post appeared as part of Smartbrief’s Originals series.

Article source:Jennifer Miller - Vulnerable Leaders are More Powerful Than They Know»

Guest Article: ABS Update: Contractors hit 1 million; weekly agency temp market 133,500 by Ross Clennett

Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Characteristics of Employment (6333.0, August 2016) which is always an interesting peak under the hood of the Australian labour market.   Here are some selected pieces of data from the survey (all data is at August 2016):   Contractors There were just over 1
Article source:Ross Clennett - ABS Update: Contractors hit 1 million; weekly agency temp market 133,500»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Sourcing: How to Find Great Talent on Purpose [Podcast] by Ben

[Email subscribers click through to listen to the episode]

Sourcing isn’t a new activity in the talent acquisition world. There have always been hard to fill jobs, but we’re seeing more of this kind of issue than ever before. In fact, a recent CareerBuilder study puts the cost of open positions at nearly $800,000 annually, tallying up costs that ultimately hurt business performance. Organizational leaders say these are the top problems caused by jobs they can’t fill:

• Productivity loss: 45 percent
• Higher employee turnover: 40 percent
• Lower morale: 39 percent
• Lower quality work: 37 percent
• Inability to grow business: 29 percent
• Revenue loss: 26 percent

In addition, our Lighthouse Research study of talent acquisition priorities pegs sourcing as a top area that business leaders plan to focus on in the coming year (just 1% behind onboarding, which was the highest priority).

In this episode of We’re Only Human, host Ben Eubanks is joined by the amazing Madeline Laurano, co-founder of Aptitude Research and co-host of Research on the Rocks, another HR Happy Hour network show. She and Ben discuss some of the key aspects of sourcing, such as employment branding, recruitment marketing, and technology’s role in the process.

In addition, they examine the impact of AI, machines, and algorithms on the sourcing world, breaking down some of the hype and illuminating an amazing competition that pits recruiters against robots to see who is the best at sourcing great candidates. Not to spoil the surprise, but the real story here exemplifies that to get the best results, we need humans and machines working together. Get all this and more in the latest episode of We’re Only Human on the HR Happy Hour podcast network.

Check out our other episodes in the We’re Only Human podcast archive.

Article source:Ben - Sourcing: How to Find Great Talent on Purpose [Podcast]»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Don't Be A Human Resources Jargolonian by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

Every professional discipline has a unique culture that goes along with it. Key terms, work processes, codes of ethics, behavioral norms, and words that inform various situations or issues are all part of the work.

Some of these words are important and need to be understood and used regularly to demonstrate competency and awareness.

Other words are simply jargon that are used in an attempt to demonstrate competence, but in reality end up clogging conversations, meetings, and other forms of communication with extra words.

Here are a few of my "favorites."

Stakeholder - an important term that is used to recognize the people who are interested in certain issues, projects, or organizations. 

Unfortunately, this perfectly good word is so overused that I get hungry when I hear it...

Fork + Knife = Steak Holder

Synergy - a word that is intended to demonstrate the power of working together. However, this too is so overused I find myself wondering....

Who actually goes home at the end of the day and says "we created so much synergy today!"

No one.

Straw Man - a wonderful concept that should ignite a productive brainstorming session on a certain topic, idea or initiative.

However, never in my life, prior to moving to the consulting side of life, did I ever use the term straw man in my corporate roles....the only thing that comes to mind for me is...

The Wizard of Oz.

How About You
Which words do you love to use, but actually kick off an avalanche of eye rolls around the conference room table?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.


Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Don't Be A Human Resources Jargolonian»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Breast cancer: You can help me eradicate this devastating disease by Ross Clennett

Guest Article: Beggin' and Payin' by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

Ridin' high when I was king,
Played it hard and fast cause I had everything,
You walked away, won me then,
But easy come and easy go and it would end

Too Comfortable
When I look back on my career and think about all the twists and turns, highs and lows, and everything in between one thing becomes clear. Without people giving me an opportunity I would have nothing.

Nothing.

Sometimes I can lose sight of the journey I've been on simply because the pace of life is so hectic. Juggling my responsibilities inside Kinetix as well as with our clients, going full speed in my busy personal life, squeezing in daily workouts, and generally trying to stay out of trouble can all be a distraction. 

I don't necessarily feel bad about being so busy, in fact it is a blessing to have so many exciting things happening...even if they seem to be happening all at the same time!

Stop Begging, Start Paying
The risk, obviously, is that what I have now can erase my memory of what it took to get here. More importantly, it blurs the memory of who got me here.

The early part of my career was all about working hard, and hoping for an opportunity. The professional version of begging, if you will. Fortunately, there were many people who saw something in me, and took risks of their own to give me a chance.

Now, it's my turn! In fact, it's been my turn for quite a while. I've embraced connecting with people early in their careers. I love encouraging new members of the teams I've worked with, even to the point of challenging them to think beyond their role with the organization because I thought they could do more right now.

It would be impossible to list everyone who has been influential in my career, but here are a few...

Dad and Mom, far and away the most influential role models in my life

Paul McBride, undergraduate school professor

George Haskett, graduate school professor

Mike McNally, first HR VP that I reported to and early mentor

Kathryn Gillette, CEO, former boss, and mentor

Trish McFarlane, HR leader, social media, blogging mentor and friend

Mike VanDervort, HR leader, social media, blogging mentor and friend

How About You
How do you connect with the early careerists in your company? Do you notice them; or, are you too busy running to your next meeting to "really see" them? 

In addition to my focus on payin' - I'm looking forward to serving as a formal mentor for one of our interns this summer!

How are you payin'?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

pic
beggin'
Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Beggin' and Payin'»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: The Change We Need In HR Is Customer Service by Melissa Fairman

Customer service is critical to HR and too often we don’t think of it until we get a complaint. 99.9999% of roles in HR require customer service.  By customer service I mean: a pleasant...
Article source:Melissa Fairman - The Change We Need In HR Is Customer Service»

Check out more of Melissa Fairman's work at HR Remix

Guest Article: Global Employment Laws: Do You Know Your Stuff? by Ben

Did you know, in some countries it is illegal to email employees after normal work hours? This is just one example of the interesting global employment laws that can catch an unsuspecting employer at an inopportune time. For instance, several years ago I was sending some workers to Saudi Arabia, and we found out at the last minute that we had to abide by the “Saudization” requirement, which forced us to hire local workers to support the contract, even if they were not qualified to do the work on the project. It pays to understand the requirements of the country you are working in.

My company Lighthouse Research has partnered with Papaya Global for our 2017 Global HR Practices study, and we asked companies about their level of risk and confidence in their existing resources. One of the preliminary findings of our study highlighted that 70% of companies are at-risk due to limited understanding of local compliance requirements. Additionally, nearly three-fourths of companies manage the complexities of their global workforce in-house, creating a vulnerability to potential problems if they are unaware of local customs, requirements, and regulations.

Did You Know? Global Employment Law Differences

It has been said that companies based in the United States have it “easy.” In terms of labor laws, there are relatively few that govern how businesses operate. Take the common “employment at will” doctrine for example. In essence, companies can terminate workers at any time and for any reason as long as it’s not explicitly based on a discriminatory reason. In other countries, work contracts, workers’ councils, unique benefits requirements, and strict termination rules that define the employment relationship are common.

• Other countries however, commonly rely on actual employment contracts to hire workers. Because workers are tied to contracts, terminations often become complicated. For instance, in Dutch employment law, the statutory period of notice for an employee is one calendar month.
• During one research interview, an international human resource management leader at a German company took some time to explain her challenges with the local workers’ councils. In her story, the company was trying to gather data through an employee survey, but the workers’ council would not allow the HR team to share the information with the consulting partner to analyze and interpret the data, creating a stalemate.
• Other challenging areas include benefits and leave. For instance, employers must pay Chinese workers 300% of the value of any unused vacation days at the end of the year
• Brazil requires employers to offer employees thirty calendar days of paid leave after twelve months of service.

It’s clear that without some awareness of the requirements for global employment, companies can often make costly missteps, but there are ways to minimize the risk associated with global employment. Want to learn more? Check out the rest of the blog at Papaya Global to learn how to get educated before it’s too late.

Article source:Ben - Global Employment Laws: Do You Know Your Stuff?»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Why do employers continually fail at onboarding? by Ross Clennett

Allegis Group have just released an excellent report Explore what sets high-performing recruitment organisations apart, a paper that offers insights from nearly 12,000 employers and candidates across various industries and functions from North America and the EMEA and APAC regions, revealing benchmarks that set high-performing recruitment organisations
Article source:Ross Clennett - Why do employers continually fail at onboarding?»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog