Cultural fit is extremely important in hiring

Sure, a candidate’s work experience is very important. A candidate’s accomplishments, successes, failures (from which they learned) and skills are very important.

Luckily, you can find all of these details on a resume and, to an certain extent, in a typical interview process.

However, everything that is important on paper means nothing if your candidate does not fit into your office culture. When a company fails to hire for company culture along with all other prerequisites, they face a high risk of losing their employee within the first year.

Employee turnover due to poor cultural fit can cost 50-60% of the person’s annual salary, so it is time to figure out your culture!

What is office culture?

Culture does not necessarily equal team outings, catered lunches or weekly happy hours. Every office has their own culture, even if the culture consists solely of fluorescent lights, shined shoes, and grey cubicles!

Consider these five starter questions to figure out your office culture:

• What do my employees wear to work every day? Jeans? Suits?
• Do my employees have their own offices/cubicles or do we have an open floor plan?
• Does my company hold outings for employees to bond together?
• Do my employees bond after hours?
• What is communication like in the office? Are all aspects of the company transparent to my employees?

The sooner you can classify your company as a tight-knit group of dungaree-wearing Tuesday night bowlers, the sooner you can find that candidate that fits right in!

Maybe your team consists more of pressed suit, go-home-at-five-on-the-dot, hard-working and keep-to-themselves types. That is fine, too!

Are you beginning to see why it’s important to make sure your next hire fits in?

Finding the right cultural fit during the interview process

Once you have determined what your company culture looks like, it is time to modify your interview process in order to fit in appropriate questions.

Dive into more than the candidate’s skill set and business-related achievements. Find out how the candidate works with others, what their ideal working environment is and how they contributed to the community in their last position. Start out with drafting some culture-specific interview questions.

Here are some basic questions you can ask to determine the cultural fit of your next candidate:

• What is it about [company] that attracted you?
• Do you thrive working alone or do you prefer working cooperatively with a team?
• What does an ideal day at work look like to you?
• Describe a challenging time in which you were able to work with others to come out on top.

Keep in mind that there are questions that are illegal to ask in an interview. Make sure to steer clear of mentioning race, creed, citizenship and more touchy subjects.

Evaluating culture fit during a reference call

After interviewing the employee, go to the references for further questions. A reference, whether it be a former boss, a colleague or a mentor, can provide valuable information about the applicant’s hobbies and passions.

Here are some basic questions you could ask a reference to get started:

• What would you say is the candidate’s greatest strength and weakness?
• When working with a team, what role does the candidate typically take?
• Describe a time when the candidate came up against a specific problem and how she overcame it.
• What was the last environment the candidate worked in like and how did she perform in it?

Be sure to save a portion of your conversation with a reference in order to ask cultural fit questions. Find out how the candidate works with others, how they contributed in other situations and what strengths and weaknesses they can build upon in the future.

Final thoughts

Remember, cultural fit is extremely important in the hiring process, so make it a priority when planning your next interview. If you cast it off to the side, you will likely find yourself hiring for the same position before the year is out!

Are there any other areas in which you would infuse cultural fit questions or opportunities to learn more?

Please let us know!

The post Tailoring Your Interview for Cultural Fit appeared first on The HR Gazette.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy employee.

Join Tim Baker and the team at 12:30-1:30 ET on Tuesday, July 5th, for the next #HRchat on Twitter to discuss how “broken promises” can impact the onboarding experience.

The recruitment and interviewing process can be lengthy and stressful for an eager candidate applying for their dream job. Add to that some broken promises made by the employer, and the experience can be very deflating. The onboarding process is a pivotal time for the new hire. This is the time when they are welcomed into workplace culture and expectations are defined. 

Join us to discuss how employers can keep their promises to new hires.

Question preview:

Q1: In what ways can an employer misrepresent the new job to the candidate?
Q2: New hire orientation is still important. In what ways can a poor orientation fail in the onboarding process?
Q3: How can onboarding ensure new hires get to know co-workers?
Q4: How long do you dedicate to the onboarding process before it’s business as usual?
Q5: How can we ensure new hires understand their purpose, objectives & responsibilities?
Q6: How can we ensure new hires are engaged and aware of their performance in the first few weeks?

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So many candidates encounter the line: “You will be under probation for the first 90 days of your employment.”  But, does the new employee or the employer REALLY know what that means?

Let’s start with a little history…

The “probationary period” was started as a way for employers to deal with Unions and their rules governing new employees.  This short, introductory period was established to allow the employer to terminate a union employee without concern for just cause without having to fight the union on it.

What is has come to mean today…

A “probationary period”…typically 90 days…is a “test drive” for employers to see if the new employee is really a fit for the job or not.  The assumption is that if the employer decides they are not a fit for the company before the 90 days is completed, they can simply terminate the employee and wipe their hands of it.

Not so fast…

1) In most cases, the employer is not protected from then having to pay unemployment to said employee,

2) Depending on how the probationary period is worded to the employee, there runs the chance of creating an “implied agreement” that the employee has a job at the end of the probationary period, and

3) This does not – I repeat – does not exempt the employer from still documenting performance issues and counseling the employee on their performance during the probationary period.

First point: Unemployment

In the State of Illinois, an employer becomes the “chargeable party” after the employee has worked for them for 30 days…meaning, even if you use the “we told then there was a 90-day probationary period” angle, you are not exempt.  The first 30 days are key because attitudes and patterns can be uncovered to determine whether or not the employee is a “fit” for the company if the managers are spending time with and observing the new employee.  The next 60 days in a probationary period should be used to further tweak and streamline the employee.

Second point: Implied Agreement

How are you wording your “probationary period” in your Employee Handbook or in the employee’s Offer for Employment?  Take a good look at it right now.  Employees know they are being taught and guided during their first 90 days but there is an assumption that they will have a job after 90 days.  Most simply believe that completion of the time period simply means a rate increase and/or benefit availability.

Some employers have started to use “Introductory Period” instead.  This gives the same impression if not specifically stated that continued employment is contingent on successfully completely the introductory period to the satisfaction of the employer.

Third point: No documentation or Follow-up

Another mistake many employers make is relying too heavily on the “at will employment” many states have – meaning, your employer can terminate your employment at any time without cause.  This does not protect the company from unemployment filings or wrongful termination lawsuits if proper steps have not been taken.

This is especially important with new employees and if you use the “probationary period” as a condition of employment.  Supervisors should still be documenting any issue that arises so that evidence exists to argue any such cases and to use while drafting a performance review.  Stay away from generalizations in reviews and disciplinary actions.  Always – always – provide specific instances (issue, date, location, who involved) as well as what was discussed with the employee to correct or improve.  Employers need to show that they tried everything that they could do to make the situation work to protect itself.

In my opinion:

The use of Probationary Periods, when used properly, encourages the new employee to learn their job quickly and adjust to their new environment so that a continued relationship will be the end result.  This is also good to use in salary negotiations, giving the employee a bump in pay rate for successfully completing the probationary period…give them a goal to work towards while adjusting to their new position.

Make sure all your supervisors are educated, however, on what a Probationary Period really is and how they are to conduct themselves during this time frame.  They need to be advised not to make any verbal promises – or threats – and to treat the new employee just as they would current employees when it comes to disciplinary actions.

Companies – and their supervisors – also play a role in the success of an employee…and don’t forget it!

The post The Confusion Over What is a “Probationary Period” appeared first on The HR Gazette.

Figuring out where to look for job seekers is just one step on the long, obstacle-ridden path known as recruiting. While employers often struggle with attracting and hiring the right people, they also find it difficult to retain their top players.

How can hiring professionals strategize in order to hire and retain the most qualified candidates?

The infographic below — compiled by RolePoint, a complete social recruiting suite — introduces the importance of sourcing in the right place and explores how to write effective job descriptions, cater to a large pool of job seekers, engage employees in recruiting, and offer professional development to your A players.

Here are some highlights:

• Avoiding a toxic employee could save a business nearly $12,500.
• Job descriptions that focus on the candidate’s needs received 3x as many highly rated applicants, as opposed to those that just list skills and attributes needed.
• 23% of job seekers would never apply for a job at a company again if they experienced issues while filling out an online application.
• 24% of job seekers say that employee referrals helped them find their most fulfilling job.
• 40% of employees consider their employer’s commitment to professional development as very important to their job satisfaction.

Check out the full infographic below for some recruiting insights, as well as some direction in starting an employee referral program and offering advancement opportunities to your best employees.

What does your recruiting strategy look like, and how effective is it? Share in the comments below.

The post These Recruiting Insights Will Make You Rethink Everything appeared first on The HR Gazette.

Published by Brennan Kolotinsky

Aerotek, Inc.

Aerotek is a leader in the HR industry, acting as a recruiter and staffer. Aerotek believes people are the foundation of a business and recognizes the potential in humans. Aerotek can help you if you are seeking employment, are seeking talent or want to work for Aerotek. Aerotek has been in business for more than 30 years. In this time, Aerotek has impacted the lives of millions of people by helping them find a job. Aerotek has helped people around the world. People are at the heart of every task Aerotek works to solve. Since Aerotek’s inception, Aerotek has worked to connect talented individuals with incredible organizations. Aerotek cares about people more than anything else.

Aerotek Logo: Blue

People

After hearing so much about Aerotek emphasis on people, you are probably wondering what it’s like to be an Aerotek employee. Positions at Aerotek include recruiters, human resources, sales, marketers, accountants, managers, administrators, and financial officers. The atmosphere of Aerotek is made up of the Aerotek’s values: upholding your honor, leaving an impact, owning your work, developing yourself, being prepared to take feedback and provide input, creating teams for projects, respecting each other and learning from the past.

Customer Service

This culture allows Aerotek to provide excellent customer service and fulfill all obligations to all of its’ stakeholders. Aerotek recognizes the importance of developing employees and tries to provide growth opportunities for their employees. Aerotek wants to offer their employee a full career and opportunities for them to succeed at their job. Moreover, Aerotek compensates employees through skill development and performance. Aerotek will support whatever growth you are seeking. These magnificent opportunities can allow you to be the person you want to become.

Aerotek was also an exhibitor at the SHRM DC 2016 conference. For more information regarding Aerotek Pro, visit aerotek.com.

The post Vendor Profile: Aerotek, Inc. – People Are The Core Of Business appeared first on The HR Gazette.

Sometimes good candidates are lost or won in the interview. These days, recruiting is a group effort. A hiring manager can’t simply opt out of the process anymore and walk into a meeting blindly only to completely screw it up. Candidates today aren’t hungry enough to jump at any old position that comes along. They now demand communication and transparency. Candidates today are searching the internet for information about your company, they’re looking at your team photos on social media, and they’re definitely reading reviews on sites like Glassdoor. In this time of scrutiny, it’s going to be difficult to compete if your hiring manager isn’t on board with the message. You’re going to have to teach your hiring manager to sell the position and sell the company.

Ditch the Inquisition and Sell, Hiring Manager, Sell!

In the old days, a hiring manager could largely opt out of the hiring process. He or she could come in at the end, meet the top candidates and pick the one they wanted. Now, they also have to be on brand, on message. They have to worry about whether a candidate will post the questions they asked in the interview on Glassdoor. They have to worry if their position will sit empty because they weren’t as forthcoming about the organization culture. Today, the hiring manager has to be involved in the hiring process as much as the Talent Acquisition team. So what do you teach them and how?

Talent Acquisition must sit recruiting managers down and go over the message. Whether a recruiting manager knows it or not, every employer has a message and a brand that they want potential employees to hear. This message should be authentic and in line with their talent brand. Ideally, a strong employer brand is supported by a strong talent brand. If the two are not in sync, your recruiting manager may be driving potential employees away. Teach your recruiting managers the official messaging to connect hiring efforts with a candidate’s experience interviewing. Do they know what differentiates your organization from its competitors, what makes them unique in the market? They should be able to articulate all of this to a potential employee as an extension of your employer branding efforts.

Teach your recruiting managers how to interview. Frequently, the number one complaint from candidates is that their interview was not good. Many recruiting managers just don’t know how to interview. Beyond the top 6 questions your team wants to know about, your recruiting manager should be able to make the experience great for potential employees. Offer them training in interviewing techniques and teach them how Talent Acquisition is able to get the answers they want without the inquisition. Offer role-playing scenarios to recruiting managers seeking to apply these tools. Practice, practice, practice. With a little training and development, a recruiting manager can become a very effective interviewer.

Review your company culture with a recruiting manager. Many recruiting managers are great employees, but they don’t quite know what the company culture is, let alone how to articulate it. By going over the intricacies of your company culture, you can position your recruiting manager as an authority on the company. This information is critical to the potential employee experience and can be the differentiator that causes a potential employee to choose your company over a competitor. Teach your recruiting manager how to discuss company culture in a positive and realistic way. If they’re trying to sell the company, they should be able to do so without faking it or making false claims. No new employee wants to start a position finding out that the laid back team they thought they were joining is really a high-pressure high-stress environment. Give your recruiting manager the tools to discuss the company culture with potential employees to set them up for success.

The old models for hiring are broken. Today’s candidates seek transparency, communication, and interaction with team members. An effective recruiting manager can bridge the gap between Talent Acquisition and the company, offering potential employees the insight they crave. Using these techniques, your company can sell the position and acquire the talent it desires.

Written by Greg Rokos.

Originally posted on talentculture.com

The post 3 Steps To Teach Your Hiring Manager To Sell Your Company appeared first on The HR Gazette.

For decades, there has been a negative stigma against Human Resources. Human resources have been based on being the department that is seen by many as “a dark bureaucratic force that blindly enforces nonsensical rules, resists creativity, and impedes constructive change.” However, if companies are trying to change, whether to become more successful or better corporate citizens, a flexible and smart HR department is vital. The company goals won’t be achieved if the company does not have the right people and the right support in place. In addition, it’s essential for HR to evolve with the market. Something that worked twenty years ago may not necessarily work today. Millennials are the next large generation to enter the workforce and are considered to be bright young individuals who want to help a business change. So how does the role of HR drive positive change after the Millennials show up?

Firstly, let them do what they have to do and get out of the way. Seemingly pointless processes and paperwork – this is the HR that drives people crazy. Tom DiDonato, the head of human resources at Lear, an auto-part manufacturer, claims that sometimes the best thing HR can do to enable change is to do less. For example, basing compensation on performance reviews created stress and stifled the candor that people need to improve and innovate. Instead, the company decided to base its pay on market conditions, and awards and promotions were given for good performances. Don’t get hung up on a process that everybody hates.

Secondly, help the company do good by channeling the company’s talent and resources to help improve both bottom line and society as a whole. For example, Eileen Fisher recently launched its plan to improve the environmental and social sustainability of its entire supply chain. Implementing this vision requires intensive cross- disciplinary cooperation. It’s company leaders from manufacturing, design, production, and other functions have weekly calls and monthly in-person meetings. Eileen Fisher promotes a culture based on collaboration. Instead of having one CEO, it has a “facilitating leader team” of seven executives. This culture is carefully nurtured by the HR team.

Thirdly, the “unconscious bias” that many HR executives face. In today’s society, racism hand gender disparities are still major problems. Companies should consider implementing systems and regulations that produce equality within the workforce. Companies like Google developed a program that assists employees to notice their deeply held perceptions and identify ways to counter them. After going through the program, findings show that ninety percent of Google workers not only know what bias looks like but feel like they have an obligation to step in and intervene. Fighting bias, conscious or unconscious, may be the best thing that HR can do for any employee and company.

In conclusion, a Human Resources department is more than just a group processing the payroll or handling the hiring season. Human Resources plays a vital role in developing a company’s strategy, as well as nurturing and growing the employees. Many companies are taking the time and effort to build a stronger and effective human resource team, which will pay off in the long term.

Source:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/-the-importance-of-a-good-human-resources-department/392969/

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Entering postsecondary is an exciting new chapter for many. Everyone has a different route and there is no such thing as the right way to live your postsecondary career. You may choose to pursue your interests and further develop yourself by getting involved, whether it be running for student elections, participating in school clubs, or working at an internship. Or, you may choose to strictly focus on getting high grades. Fast forward four years later, you are a recent graduate seeking a full time job. So now you may ask, what do employers look for when hiring recent graduates?

  
Peter Cappelli, a professor at Wharton, suggests that academic skills are not employers primary concern. In fact, work experience is the essential attribute that employers want for students who have yet to work full time. However, this doesn’t mean grades don’t matter. Although some employers may not crave the good grades, the good grades are sometimes the ones that land you that internship. That brings us to the next question, do some industries care more about internships than others? The answer is yes and no. Media and communications organizations are typically more excited for internships and uniquely indifferent toward your classes. Health care companies care the most about your major, and white-collar businesses care the most about your GPA. Ironically, education employers care the least about grades.

How about the reputation of the school? It most likely does not matter to the employer where they got their degrees, but rather what they did with their time in the school they did attend. It depends on what kind of person they are, how persistent they are, how creative they are, how hard they work, and how they present themselves. Sometimes recruiters hire from the big state schools and have the greater persistence and deal the best with bureaucratic issues, because, in order for them to survive and thrive in their schools, they developed those set of skills. However, the most creative and insightful employees can come from smaller liberal art schools.

The years you spent in post-secondary are supposedly the best four years of your life. Not only do you make long lasting friendships, but this is the time to discover your interests and who you are. School can be tough and challenging, but it’s important to find that school life balance. Undergraduate students are encouraged to work an internship sometime during their post-secondary career. There are many benefits of an internship, such as future employment and having a better chance at landing a full-time position upon graduation. Although grades may not be sufficient as experience in today’s market, it doesn’t mean grades don’t matter. If you are in a competitive field, grades will play a significant role when it comes to determining who will get the job.

Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/the-thing-employers-look-for-when-hiring-recent-graduates/378693/

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/does-where-you-go-to-school-matter-to-employers/

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There’s no doubt that job searching is stressful. With a competitive job market and many graduates entering the workforce, the search of landing a full-time job is no walk in the park. So what do employers look for when they’re hiring? In “Five things I look for when I’m Hiring”, written by Liz Ryan, she states how many hiring managers and recruiters want employees who already have experience in the job they’re applying for and individuals who have a linear career path. However, this view is dangerous. For companies to be innovative, their employees need to learn and develop. So how do employees learn and grow if they have experience doing the same thing over and over again? They don’t. There really is no point for employees finding new jobs if they are going to be performing the same tasks as the old job. In addition, focusing on a linear career path is perfectly fine, but so is focusing on a non- linear career path. Ryan explains that although some employers are looking to hire individuals with some experience, she prefers to hire someone that had to make tough decisions and take chances, rather than someone being carried along by the wind. Here are the five things Ryan looks for in a new employee:

1. A person who can come up with their own ideas
2. An individual who is intellectually curious
3. Someone with a personality and a sense of humor
4. An individual who knows themselves and what they want
5. Someone who has worked toward a goal and reached it

By the time the hiring manager is interviewing a potential candidate, they have already found a reason to meet with them. Whether their resume demonstrates that they have the right skills and knowledge for the job opening or the hiring manager believes that they have the capability to help solve a problem. Either way, the hiring manager is going to hear about their career history at the job interview, but it would be counterproductive to hire someone just because they have already done many of the things you need your new employee to do. Ryan wants to hire someone who is smart and inquisitive and explains that the right person will teach themselves on the job, with the help of her support. Obviously, this can’t be the case for all jobs such as a surgeon or a doctor. But how does the hiring manager determine if the candidate has the necessary five qualities Ryan looks for? She states that one can achieve this by setting aside the interview script and communicating to the candidate like they’re meeting for the first time. She advises recruiters to tell potential employees about the job and let them ask questions. The questions they ask will demonstrate their thought process than their answers to scripted questions ever could.

In addition, Ryan unfolds the issues of focusing on linear career paths. These employees typically do not have their own ideas or opinions, and may not even realize it. Employees will respond with an answer and won’t even know why they feel that way. They are conditioned to reply with certain answers because that’s what they’ve always been told. Ryan advises candidates to question themselves when they answer a question. Ryan challenges them to ask themselves, “why do I feel that way?” “why is this the answer?” and encourages employees to share their thoughts and responses to other colleagues.

To conclude, not all hiring managers and recruiters are like Ryan. Some of them hire based on experience and prefer the traditional way. However, the hiring process is slowly changing and many companies are shifting away from this paradigm. Thus, it is the smart employees who are the ones that are noticing the outdated recruiting and interviewing mindset is what hurts the company and helps their competitors. Read more on Ryan’s article on “Five things I look for when I’m Hiring”.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/11/11/five-things-i-look-for-when-im-hiring-2/#60d09ee61e0e

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The best way to influence performance data? Start with the people.

In the twenty-first century workplace, data is king. For company leaders, metric analysis is a spinal tap that can gauge the health of a business as well as help to diagnose problems and shed light on potential solutions.

The steady march of technology into commerce has given rise to a generation of metric maniacs — ambitious leaders who obsess over the data points that have potential to impact the bottom line.

This development is positive until it’s not. Naturally, leaders who strive to maximize business outcomes are necessary for growth, but when it comes to reading data, often the forest is missed for the trees.

My work is predominantly with enterprise scale restaurants, a field where the chasm between tree and forest is often particularly exacerbated. Sky high attrition rates have cause executives to become so focused on the figures — guest satisfaction, average ticket size, product upsells — they forget about what’s behind them: the employees. Enterprise strategies like advertising, marketing, product refinement, etc., certainly have their place, but the foundation of any business rests on the hands that keep it afloat day-to-day. Employees are the true drivers of business, and if their potential energy is not maximized, numbers will stagnate and decline no matter what sort of grand strategy you implement.

This concept is nothing new: the phrase “employee engagement” has found itself increasingly en vogue over the past few years. We’ve all seen the now-trademark “X methods of improving employee engagement” listicle flash across our LinkedIn feeds; we’ve all pondered what the “secret sauce” of engagement may be. Is it gamification? Monetary incentive? Company health programs? In the flurry of potential answers, executives have forgotten basic principles: starting at the guts of the machine and refining, piece by piece, until efficiency is optimized and figures start to move.

Overproliferation of “engagement” theory has reduced its potency. Many engagement strategies now involve something of a shotgun approach, when what’s required is a precision laser: a methodical, ground-up reassessment.

If you want to be a true metric maniac and get your data points moving, start at the ground floor: with your employees. Throughout my fifteen years of experience in-industry, first as a consultant and later as an entrepreneur, I’ve seen the same mistakes repeated over and over. I’ve developed a three pillar thought process to combat workforce stagnation.

Start with the person. Craft the employee.

Hire character, not expertise.

Let’s take a step back and consider what the word “qualified” actually means. According to a landmark 1998 study by Frank Schmidt and John Hunter, the number of years of work experience of a prospective employee has roughly a 3% impact on actual job performance. Reference checks can predict performance slightly better, at 7%; interviews don’t fare much better, at 14%. These are the figures Google cites when they discuss their unique approach to hiring.

Qualification entails a lot more than can be contained in a two-page CV or a half-hour interview. If leaders want to optimize their business, they must start at the base level when assessing applicants: personality and character.

The best restaurants I work with make applicants take a personality profile prior to hiring. Only those applicants whose profiles align closely with those of the company’s top performers are hired. This virtually guarantees that — regardless of skill level at entry — an employee will have the wherewithal to become a top performer. And when a company is full of top performers, the data moves rapidly.  

Teach — relentlessly.

After character, the next step is skill and knowledge, which determine how well an employee is able to perform in the workplace.

These must be taught. Not solely during onboarding; not solely during training sessions within the first few weeks of employment; but relentlessly throughout an employee’s entire lifecycle. Teach, and reinforce. This ceaseless cycle does not fail.

One restaurant mandates up to 150 hours of training before they allow even a cashier to operate without one-to-one supervision. Yes — that’s 150 hours of paid training. This exceeds what many white collar workers must complete prior to taking on much greater responsibility. When employees subsequently take on further responsibilities, they complete an additional 150 hours of certification training in that field before they’re allowed to work independently. And each shift, a handful employees is randomly selected to take a test on key tasks for their role. If they fail, they go through the same training again.

This solution is airtight, and companies that are willing to put more into their employees get more out: the order accuracy rate for the restaurant in question is 10x lower than the industry average.

Don’t “manage.” Empower.

The last step is empowerment. In this context, “management” is stagnant leadership: the kind that scours through reams of data and concocts grand strategy without properly leveraging employees.

When leadership invests in employees, the result is a workforce to be reckoned with: a team of savvy employees who take pride in their performance. In order to perpetuate this level of motivation and create a self-replicating loop, empower employees through transparency. That means that workers have constant access to the data that is currently all-too-often hoarded at the top: revenues; sales; customer satisfaction; peer performance relative to their own. Transparency cultivates a sense of ownership, which acts as a cement that reinforces employee commitment.

So, yes — leaders should be metric maniacs. But they must go about it like a captain at the helm of a ship rather than a suit at the top of a skyscraper. Start from the bottom up; hire the best; teach relentlessly; and trust the employees you’ve cultivated to own their performance. Do this, and watch your metrics skyrocket.

The post How to Be A Data Maniac — The Right Way appeared first on The HR Gazette.

LinkedIn is to recruiting as a soda shop is to ice cream. It has evolved into a community of 330 million professionals that are looking for a job, wanting to advance their careers, or simply showing off. There is no other social media with that much educational and professional information about its members thereby making it a valuable resource for recruitment.

However, with 83% of members willing, if not rearing, for new career opportunities, it can be like panning for gold. You could end up with a long list of candidates, and no real way to separate the wheat from the chaff.

If you don’t have the time or patience to sort through all the results in a typical search, you should streamline your process. Here are some ways you can cut through the fat and get to the meat of the selections.

Use your status update box

Some people in your network are likely to know someone personally that could fill in the blanks in your personnel files satisfactorily.

You can get some solid recommendations by posting your requirements in your individual status update box in lieu of posting your dog’s first birthday photos. The beauty of doing it this way is you keep your search to a limited circle.

You post your requirements to people that know you and your business, and their networks, so you have a better chance of getting the best candidates quickly. Of course, you still have to do your due diligence and screen the candidates, but it’s an efficient way to do a search without having to do a search.

Use Boolean search terms

When you make a keyword search on LinkedIn, you could be overwhelmed by the sheer number of results you get, and you could miss your perfect candidate in the mess.

The best way to get the shortest list possible is to make a Boolean search, which allows you to filter the search results according to conditional statements using AND, OR, NOT, double quotation marks (to search for exact words), and brackets () (to create subsets in the search).

These are not complicated terms, but it can make your search laser-targeted if you use them correctly. Just remember that Boolean searches do not look at dates. For example, if you are looking for a systems analyst, you may get candidates that were once systems analysts, but have since moved up or to other things. The “NOT” statement could help you avoid those in positions that indicate they are no longer systems analysts, i.e. NOT “director.”

Confer with your hiring manager

If you are not handling the hiring yourself, then you need to understand what your hiring officer or manager wants for the role and in a candidate before doing a search to avoid wasting everyone’s time.

For example, you may like a candidate for a certain position, but the hiring manager feels otherwise. Since you are doing the search, you may never see eye to eye on any of the people you shortlist.

Get a clear list of requirements and qualifications  to make sure you are looking for the same type of people.

Create an intriguing InMail invitation

LinkedIn can make it easy for you to invite likely candidates for the position you need to feel through InMail. However, the more important the position, the more likely the candidates you are inviting are highly qualified and in demand. You have to make sure the invitation to apply you extend to them is intriguing and attractive, to motivate them to make contact.

First impressions do matter, so the first thing you have to ensure is that your message is grammatically correct and error-free. You can get a professional writer from Essay Scholar Advisor to make a generic message for you, and simply put in details about the candidate to customize it.

Most people also make the mistake of revealing too much in the first email, when all you really want is to get their attention. Once they respond in a positive manner, you can then reply with a more detailed invitation for an interview.

Think global

Limiting your search to local candidates may work for some positions, but you need to remember that expertise can go beyond your borders.

You may find your perfect candidate for a key role in your organization in another state, maybe even in another country. Location can take a back seat in such cases, especially if you can get your candidate on board a couple of months earlier. The costs of relocating the new hire may be justified.

Think LinkedIn Recruiter

If you have the budget and the need, you may want to consider using LinkedIn Recruiter. It will cost you some, but it does make your search more comprehensive and faster.

It has a ton of features that can save you a lot of time when hunting for heads, figuratively. You have Saved Searches, so you don’t have to start from step one every time you need to find a new guy, and Update Me, which keeps you informed about anything going on with a candidate you are keeping your eye on.

Use your company page

What can be better than to have candidates come to you? Your company page can do that for you if you update it regularly, and post relevant information that a potential hire will find interesting.

Members can follow your page, so you can use it to post career opportunities and they get alerts. You can even go the extra mile and get a paid subscription that includes some important features to help you in recruiting the best talents available, including the ability to post job ads and excluding other company pages from popping up on your company page.

The post Make your Employee Search Through LinkedIn More Efficient: 7 tips appeared first on The HR Gazette.

How do you attract and retain top talent?

To eliminate actively disengaged employees, companies are looking to re-strategize their employee engagement programs to attract and retain top talent. Take a look at these three ways you can leverage personalized learning to showcase your commitment to employee engagement

Make it Mobile

When you make your company’s learning material mobile-friendly, employees can easily access materials, complete necessary training, and schedule business meetings with their senior leaders – all on their own time.

Your Move – Game-based Learning Activities

Interactive learning games are a stimulating way to break up the workday and encourage employees to complete training modules. When people play games, they are likely to retain knowledge and complete tasks required to win. Additionally, throw in some friendly competition and incentives to improve employee morale.

Video Killed the Radio Star

Where do you look if you want to learn how to do something? A quick search on Google will provide countless results of results, and often the solution can be seen YouTube. The benefit of video training for business is twofold. First, videos are engaging, and they are cost-effective and time-efficient. Second, as a talent acquisition leader, you can create a tutorial that is inexpensive, upload it to YouTube for free and email it.

About the author:

Are you ready to drive employee engagement and improve your TA strategies? International Performance Management Institute is hosting the Talent Acquisition Institute from May 21st – 23rd 2017 at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine in San Diego, California. Join forces with the most inspirational VPs of Talent Acquisition from America’s largest companies including Mastercard Inc., Sutter Health, and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation. Through intimate business meetings, roundtable discussions, and speaker sessions, you will return to your organization ready with top talent acquisition initiatives. Secure your spot today.

The post Drive Employee Engagement Through Personalized Learning appeared first on The HR Gazette.

I hear this all the time from employers. They keep getting low quality candidates and employees who can’t be left alone for a moment.

The thing is, at one time there were natural barriers that kept unmotivated applicants who needed babysitting away. At the bare minimum, you had to get in your car and drive somewhere to pick up an application or drop off a resume.

Not only has that barrier been removed, but a lot of companies have removed all the “friction” from the process. You can apply for a job or send your resume off from job boards with just a few taps on your cellphone these days.

At this point, people are probably applying for jobs while driving.

It can be all too easy for low quality candidates to apply for jobs.

Low quality candidates who are often unqualified can just glide right through application process now, with little to no difficulty. Which is at least part of the reason why you may be getting employees that are unmotivated, along with lots of applications from people that aren’t remotely qualified for your position.

So should you go back to the pre-internet days and make people drive to pick up applications?

No. Definitely not. At this point, I believe it will reflect poorly on your business.  To the good candidates, it will look as if you don’t have any respect for their time, and you’ll miss out on candidates who may have been willing to relocate.

So what can you do?

How to Screen Out Low Quality Candidates

One of the other things I constantly hear about from employers is the amount of time it takes to go through the many applications and resumes they get these days.

Making the application process easy has not only let more low-motivation, low quality candidates in, it’s caused employers to be flooded with applications from people who are taking a scattershot approach to finding jobs – because applying is easy, they’re not even reading the qualifications of the job, they’re just applying for everything.

The “solution” I’ve seen a lot of employers use is adding more and more bullet points of qualifications and requirements to their job postings.

Here’s the problem with that approach.

The low quality candidates were never reading your job postings anyway. They were going straight to the “apply” button. The good candidates who take the time to read what you’ve written are just seeing a wall of demands from the employer.

Considering that we’re living in one of the most difficult hiring markets in a long time, this might not be the best approach. Great candidates are in high demand. They’re probably already employed, and they’re on the lookout for something better than the opportunities they already have.

If you want the great candidates to apply, you should be listing reasons they want to work with you, rather than all the things you’ll be expecting of them.

I know. You’re probably thinking that this will just bring you even more applications that you’ll need to get through. But there’s a simple step you can add to your process that will get rid of the time wasters and low motivation candidates that need babysitting.

It’s actually quite simple too.

Just write up an email that asks about 5 questions of the candidates. These questions should take some thought to answer, and should be difficult, if not impossible to answer for people who don’t have the qualifications you need.

It should take about 20 minutes for them to answer the questions.

Low motivation, unqualified candidates in need of babysitting won’t bother getting back to you. If they do, you’ll see low quality answers that you can instantly weed out.

But here’s the best part.

The high quality candidates will stand out like a sore thumb. Just skimming the answers, you’ll get an immediate idea of who actually took some time and put thought into their answers. A closer reading should give you an idea of how qualified they are, and from there, you’ll know exactly which resumes you need to review.

Ok, I hope that helps you save some time, find the great candidates and hire better! Good luck with your next hire.

The post The Simple Way to Screen Out Low Quality Candidates appeared first on The HR Gazette.

With technology connecting everyone on the go, there is no reason that employers and employees alike should not want to use it for their benefit. One of these is the possibility of remote employment.

If an individual has the required skills and can get the work to his employer in a timely manner without the added hassle of coming to the workplace every day, there is no reason why they should not be hired.

Today there are several major companies that hire remote workers, including American Express, Apple, and IBM.

Below are just a few of the pros and cons of hiring a remote workforce:

The Pros of Remote Workers:

1. Increased Morale

Some naysayers might protest that when workers are removed from an official workplace, they might grow lazy and unorganized. On the contrary, studies have found that when employees avail the option of working from home, they are happier, more efficient, and produce a better output than if they came into work every day.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that not everyone can cope with an office environment, and have genuine reasons for wanting to work remotely. Remote workers have also proved to have a higher level of satisfaction with their home and professional life as a whole. Whatever the case, it is certainly beneficial to both parties.

2. Allows Hiring Of Distant Candidates

This advantage should be obvious; when an employer looks for an employee, they should technically only want the skills and expertise that an applicant brings to the table. However, sometimes star candidates have to be passed over or walk away themselves due to location limitations.

Or it may be that the perfect candidate isn’t even found in the company’s locality. At best, relocation has to be done. The remote hiring system does away with these problems, allowing employers to have a much wider geographic outreach, sometimes even worldwide.

3. Saving On Time And Energy

Since workers are not actually commuting to work every day, the transports costs and energy that the company consumes is significantly cut down. This allows the company to be greener and work more efficiently in the process.

Since remote workers are not wasting time and energy in going to crowded subways or taking their own car, this also saves their personal time and energy, leading to a happier, more productive workforce.

Operational costs are also lowered, with millions of dollars saved in the process. This is because no arrangement of office space or budgeting for maintenance and transport is needed for a remote workforce.

4. Lower Turnover

One of the main problems that employers could face is a high employee turnover rate. Hiring a remote workforce can eliminate many reasons why employees quit their job. The reasons might have nothing to do with the nature of the job itself, as many people quit their jobs because their spouse relocates or they have other family commitments, such as raising a child. In this case, if the employee works remotely, he or she can easily pick up the same tasks in his/her new location.

Even in cases where the location isn’t a problem, some employees simply aren’t happy with the work environment. A home based job gives employees the freedom to create their own schedule, spruce up their work environment, and generally feel more responsible and motivated than if they were forced to work in a cubicle all day. Working at home and fitting in house chores at the same time makes a job less of a sacrifice when it comes to managing a home and family.

The Cons of Remote Workers:

1. Less Personal Motivation

Of course, whether a remote employee is motivated in a home environment depends largely on the individual him/herself. If they are not organized enough, or cannot manage their schedule properly, they may fall back in their assigned tasks. If an employee does this in the office space, they can be immediately put back on track by the managers.

Sometimes, motivation in the form of a few appreciative spoken words can do wonders. For someone working at home, there is little or no such personal communication. This may lead to a consistent lagging that takes its time in being detected and rectified.

2. Dependence Upon Facilities

Working from home is, as most remote workers know, dependent upon electricity and a working Internet connection. Especially in third-world countries, both these facilities are a huge problem. Sudden power outages or connectivity issues could hinder the work being completed or reaching the employer on time.

Conclusion

A remote workforce is an new convenience thanks to today’s modern technology.  Of course, there will be failures and kinks along the way, but this model is not to be ignored as an employing option, as the benefits are too great.

Author Bio

Scarlett Erin is a professional Writer, Public Speaker, and a Blogger. In addition, she also works for assignment writing uk company as an academic writer.

The post The Pros and Cons of Hiring Remote Workers appeared first on The HR Gazette.

It used to be so much more of a pain in the butt to apply for jobs.

Applicants had to get a newspaper, see what was available, update and print their resume, find out where the business was located, and get themselves there for each job.

Now, employees can find a job by searching Twitter hashtags on their phone, apply by tapping their thumb on a button that turns their LinkedIn profile into a resume and go back to bingeing on their favorite series on Netflix.

For this reason, a lot of the employers I talk to are just a little skeptical of posting jobs on social media. They’re already getting slammed with piles of totally irrelevant applicants every day, by people who didn’t even bother reading the qualifications for the job. Why would they want to reach a wider audience of people potentially even less likely to care what they apply for?

Because that’s where the best candidates are.

Right now, the U.S. has its lowest unemployment rates in 10 years, highest number of people employed, and longest time to fill jobs. While great employees do still check out job sites, especially industry-specific job boards like these, a lot of the people you really want to hire are known as “passive applicants.”

They’re not out looking for jobs, but if they saw a great opportunity, they’d take it. So if these people aren’t on job posting sites, where do you find them?

On social media, that’s where.

How to Attract Great Employees on Social

Great employees may not be searching job boards, but they’re almost definitely on social media.

Problem is, how do you get their attention between all the baby photos, political rants, and cat videos?

You’ve got to know exactly what it is about your job that will get their attention. There are a couple surefire ways to do this.

First, just talk to your current employees and ask them what the best things are about working at your company. Get specific – are there things they love about their co-workers, the region, the office space, or the equipment they use?

Next, go to Glassdoor and do a quick search for the position you’re hiring for. See what other local companies are hiring for this job (if there aren’t any, re-do the search with the location blank).

Click on those companies and take a look at the reviews of them, and take note of the “cons.” Usually, after reading some reviews, you’ll see patterns emerge, like everyone complaining that they don’t get enough paid time off, that their equipment is outdated, that their store is a shambles, etc.

Can you counter any of these cons? For instance, do you have a state of the art store, cutting-edge equipment or a great paid time off allowance?

Now take this info, along with what you learned from employees, and put as much as you can into your social post. Put everything else into your job descriptions, with just the most essential qualifications listed.

So, a potential Twitter post might look like: “#Hiring sales associates. Generous PTO at a brand new store. Apply here:” ending with a link to where they can apply for your job.

Adjust this as necessary for posting to various social media, and use images whenever possible.

How to Screen Out the Bad Employees

Ok, reading the above, you might be thinking that this strategy is going to bring you a lot more applications to sort through.

And you’re right.

But I’m going to show you a simple trick for making that sorting process a whole lot easier and faster. This is the simple version, if you want to see a more detailed screening process, go here.

All you need to do is come up with 5 questions about the job that you’d like potential employees to answer. These questions should ideally only be answerable by people who have the experience you’re requiring and should take some thought and about 20 minutes to respond to.

Send these out to every applicant before you even take the time to review their resumes.

Here’s what will happen.

The totally unqualified and unmotivated candidates won’t even bother responding. If they do, the poor quality of their answers will be immediately obvious.

The great candidates will also be obvious. Those will be the ones who clearly put some time and thought into their answers. Theirs are the only resumes you’ll want to bother with.

Now part of the reason we created a job post that focuses on all the great things about the jobs, and limits qualifications, is to get great candidates to answer these questions.

If you just post the typical boring list of responsibilities and qualifications, with nothing about why the job is worth applying for, great candidates won’t feel inclined to answer your questions. So don’t miss that key step.

Good luck hiring! I hope this helps you get more quality applicants via social and creates a better hiring process for you overall.

The post Why You Should Hire on Social Media, and How to Make it Work appeared first on The HR Gazette.

Nearly 60% of all employees in the U.S. are hourly workers. Yet small businesses struggle to tap into this huge pool of potential candidates.

If you’re hiring for a minimum wage position, you can’t spend a ton of time and money on recruitment. Often the turnover rate is high, it doesn’t make sense to spend thousands of dollars to fill these positions.

So, how do you find great employees that won’t break the bank?

Luckily, there’s a bunch of different low cost options and that’s exactly what I am going to show you in this article. We will go over some specific places that you can source candidates and break down the pros and cons of each of these places.

If you’re ready, let’s jump in.

Friends and Referrals

If you have existing employees, then you should be leveraging them to help get the word out about new openings. There’s a lot less risk with hiring someone that is referred to you by an employee that you already trust and like.

You can further incentivize your existing employees by offering a bonus for referrals that lead to a hire. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money, even $50, might help motivate people.

Also, ask your friends for recommendations. If you do have an online ad, have your friends share the ad, that might help get it in front of the right person.

Pros:

• Reduces hiring risk since you are hiring based on a recommendation from someone you trust
• Relatively low cost since you might be paying out a small bonus to your employees for a solid recommendation but this is less than many other options
• Referrals are the fastest way to hire in comparison to other approaches

Cons:

• It can lead to potential awkwardness with the person that referred the hire if things do not work out
• If you are not careful, you might hire someone that is unqualified because you base too much on the recommendation

Online Job Boards

There are tons of job boards and some, like Snagajob, are aimed at hiring hourly employees. The cost and effectiveness of the job board for different types of positions can vary wildly, but here we will try to provide some guidance for some of the major boards.

Craigslist

Craigslist is one of the best and least expensive options for hiring hourly employees. A job listing varies in price from free up to $75 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Craigslist is particularly great for restaurant, hospitality and lower end sales positions.

Pros:

• Low cost and effective
• Very easy to use

Cons:

• Exposes your inbox to potential scammers and spam
• Can be time consuming to sift through all the applications in your email
• No control over quality or fit

Snagajob

Snagajob is another relatively low cost solution ($49 for 15 day postings and $89 for a month). They specifically target hourly workers and have 75 million registered users.

Pros:

• Designed specifically for hiring hourly workers
• Perfect if you are looking to hire retail, hospitality or retail

Cons:

• Not as effective in the Western U.S. as in the East
• Applicants have to sign up on Snagajob to apply, which can reduce your application conversions versus a place like Craigslist where they just need to send an email

General Job Boards

Besides Craigslist and Snagajob, posting a job on Monster or Indeed is another great option. With Monster, you pay per listing and if you only have one job to post for, it can be expensive. However, as one of the world’s oldest job boards, your listing will get in front of a massive audience.

With Indeed, you get the benefit of a massive audience but you also pay only for performance, meaning that you only pay when people click on your ad. The advantage here is that you have more control over the budget and what you are willing to pay for an application.

Finally, sites like Proven will allow you to post to all these places from one site, so you can test multiple options all at the same time.

Social Media and Online Groups

Like referrals, social media is a great free resource that you can easily tap into. If you have a big social media presence, than you should be leveraging this audience to help get the word out about your open positions.

Even if you are not that active, you can search sites like Facebook for groups that might be relevant to the job opening that you have. These groups are filled with tons of active people that are interested and passionate about a topic relevant to your business. That’s a great sign.

Pros:

• Free resource
• You can tap into passive candidates that may already have a job

Cons:

• Little control over who applies to your position
• Some online communities can see your posting as negative if you are not an existing member of that community

Final Thoughts

Finding great hourly workers can be a challenge. There’s often a high turnover rate associated with these jobs and as such, small business owners cannot afford huge budgets to fill these positions.

However, with the state of technology today, we have more low cost resources available than ever. Referrals, job boards, social media and online communities are just a few low cost and effective options. It’s a good idea to use all of these in conjunction.

So, next time you need to hire, give these a try.

The post Where To Find Great Hourly Workers appeared first on The HR Gazette.

The days of graduates sticking with the first employer they find out of school until retirement are sadly behind us. It’s not uncommon for recent graduates to hop between jobs. Trying different specialities and even different industries until they settle on something enjoyable isn’t uncommon. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the frequent staff turnover can bring some fresh energy to your team with greater regularity. However, the cost in real terms for staff retention isn’t something that can be ignored. The process of hiring, training and developing new staff is often a key expense for businesses. And if you invest in training something, you’ll want them to stick around for long enough for your business to see a return on that investment.

There are two parts to staff retention. Firstly, you want to attract and hire the right staff who are interested in working for you and developing their career. And secondly, you need to find ways to retain the staff you already have so you can ensure you aren’t running a continuous recruitment drive. If you’re interested in how you can attract and retain millennial workers, why not consider the following workplace practices…

Advertise the benefits

Workers are looking for more than just a good salary, they are often more interested in all the added perks you can offer. This might include simple things like free snacks and refreshments, a company-wide happy hour on Friday, or even the latest gadgets. While many companies might offer these, if you don’t advertise them, you won’t be attracting the candidates you want. On-going benefits like gym membership will also help to encourage your existing employees to stick around and keep them healthy while they are working for you.

Offer flexible working to increase staff retention

While this might be more often associated with working parents, flexible working practices can help millennials to feel that they are more in control of their working day and encourage them to build a career with you. While flexible working might be most useful for working parents hoping to make the school run or work from home to cut down on childcare costs, by offering this perk before it becomes a necessity, you will let your employees know that you are interested in them growing their career with you.

Make your office pet-friendly

Studies have proven that pet-friendly offices promote a healthy working environment for everyone, not just younger workers. Pets encourage people in different departments to get to know each other and to work together better. Pets in the workplace are known to reduce stress and encourage collaboration, so it’s worth investigating if this is something that would be popular with your workforce.

Don’t forget the basics

Young companies often get carried with trying to work out the big perks that they forget to iron out the more basic things that people will expect from their employer. Despite millennials being branded as clueless about money, more and more are taking things like pensions more seriously. Other things like comprehensive sick pay, bonus structures, and generous maternity and paternity structures can help to attract and retain millennials who are playing the long game. There are some things that you have to offer in line with employment law. But there are many other added perks which will help to make your company more attractive to the best workers.

Offer training

There’s an old saying in the HR world: You can either invest in training your employees and risk them leaving or not invest in your employees and risk them staying. When it comes to job satisfaction, more people will only stay happy in their job if they are always learning new things and developing. By training your employees in the areas that interest and challenge them, you will be encouraging them to think about their long-term career prospects with your company. When people move on to pastures new, they often cite looking for new challenges as the main reason, so there’s an argument that you can skip this step by offering a transparent development plan.

The post Five Ways Companies Can Attract Millennials And Increase Staff Retention appeared first on The HR Gazette.

As web-based technology becomes more and more important for businesses of all shapes and sizes, Human Resources (HR) managers need to be prepared to interview web developers. This can be a daunting task for HR managers in small to medium-sized businesses that don’t yet employ someone in this position. As the HR manager, you may find yourself unsure what to ask a web developer with a strong technical background. Therefore, HR managers must be prepared for an interview with a web developer to find out if the candidate is worth hiring for a job.

But how do you prepare for an interview with a web developer? What are the best practices that help an HR manager to get ready for an interview with a developer? Web developers may not always be available to assist at the interview. Sometimes all they can do is give a sheet of paper with a development task that you should hand over to a potential employee.

What follows is a series of recommendations for how you can prepare yourself for an interview with a web developer.

Advice #1: Acquire a technical background

I’m not suggesting that you have to understand how to code and how to employ all the tools that dwell in the ecosystem of a certain programming language. But you should definitely know the basic programming principles, the most popular software tools used by developers in their workflow, and what libraries and frameworks are written in a language and what they are used for.

For example, an HR manager should have a clear understanding of the object oriented and functional programming paradigms, Git, GitHub, frontend and backend development, and what programming languages are used for frontend and backend development.

If you’re going to interview a developer who must know a certain language such as Python, Java, or Ruby, it’s recommended that you also learn the ecosystem of tools that are used with those languages. For instance, if you’re going to frequently interview Ruby on Rails developers, you should know about the Ruby Version Manager and most popular Rails engines such as Devise, Spree Commerce, Refinery CMS, and Thredded. The tools for Python or Java are certainly different.

Advice #2: Consult a web developer

To be prepared for an interview with a web developer, you should not only learn the basics of programming, but you should also talk to other web developers. You can ask them about the ecosystem of the programming language – the main tools an interviewee must know about. There’s no need to talk to web developers face to face. What you can do is go to Reddit, StackOverflow, and Quora to consult web developers there.

As you acquire technical knowledge, professional web developers can suggest what exactly is included in the ecosystem of a programming language. They can suggest the best libraries or frameworks built with it. Say, you’re looking for a JavaScript developer, therefore, you’ll have to know where this language is used, what are HTML and CSS, and how all these three languages are connected.

Advice #3: Prepare a list of questions

Preparing a list of questions to ask a web developer is the most obvious advice, but it’s extremely important. No matter what programming language a web developer knows, you can ask literally hundreds of questions about the programming language, its API, quirks, advantages, and issues. One of the simplest ways to make a list of questions about a programming language is to look on the internet.

When you gather the questions related to a programming language, it’s best to group them by the area. For example, if you need to test a Ruby on Rails developer, you can separate questions in two main groups: Ruby-related questions and Ruby on Rails-related questions. Questions about the Ruby programming language can be further divided into several sub-groups, so as the Ruby on Rails questions.

You can consult the following articles to find more questions to different developers:

• 201 Core Java Interview Questions
• Top 40 Python Interview Questions
• Top 100 PHP Interview Questions
• 15 JavaScript interview questions and answers

By gathering and arranging questions, you’re actually creating a good interview structure. You’ll know what to ask next if the interviewee successfully answers the previous questions. Even if a web developer assists you and talks to the interviewee, it’s recommended to have a list of questions at hand, because web developers may easily forget what to ask. So, a sheet of paper with all the questions must be available at the interview.

Advice #4: Ask a web developer to attend an interview

If possible, a professional web developer, who knows the required programming language, should assist you at the interview. Surely, you can acquire enough theoretical knowledge about a programming language; but what genuinely matters for a web developer (i.e. an interviewee) is to have good practical skills. Therefore, only a professional web developer can really help you at the interview as they can ask an interviewee some specific questions and understand what is incorrect in their answers.

Advice #5: Always remember about the soft skills

Until now, we’ve concentrated on the technical background and how you should ask developers to help you during the interview. But there’s one more area you should focus on as well, and that is an interviewee’s soft skills. Arguably, for programmers there are three key requirements:

• They must be willing to learn new things. As the development world is changing quite rapidly, an interviewee must prove that they are definitely ready to jump to new technologies.
• They must be dedicated to web development. Programmers must manifest the desire to code. Otherwise, you can hardly call them programmers.
• They must have excellent communication skills. Programmers often talk to customers, other programmers, designers, etc. Therefore, programmers must be capable of explaining their ideas for implementing a project.

Your task is to figure out if the interviewee possesses the three soft skills we’ve listed above. There are many other soft skills that a good developer should acquire, but having the three basic skills is good enough.

We’ve given not as many recommendations as we could, but if you follow the tips from this short article, you’ll be able to interview a web developer.

The post 5 Pieces of Advice to Get You Ready for an Interview with a Developer appeared first on The HR Gazette.

As we enter the age of robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), let’s get prepared to encounter innovation, disruption and new business models very similar to what happened when the internet caught fire and led to the creation of many different ways of doing things.

The chat bot market which would be part of the overall AI business which was US$113 million in 2015 is projected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 27.8 percent to US$994.5 million. Cognitive Computing is expected to grow even faster at a CAGR of 49.9 percent with projected global revenues close to US$1 billion in 2025.¹

The APAC region is predicted to be the second largest region after North America to consume these products and services.

In order to meet both employee engagement and business requirements, HR will, therefore, need to change and bring about efficiencies based on these new technology innovations. Companies which base their workforce and talent management on Data Analytics will be ahead of their competition. And a function likely to be impacted very soon will be recruitment and staffing – this is the most transaction-heavy, cost-impacting function within a typical HR department.

With the introduction of machine learning-based search tools and chat bots, a recruiter can now go through large databases and identify the best talent in terms of experience and skills a lot faster, easier and cheaper. Today, there is no need to build complex Boolean syntax which, in the past, would have been show-stoppers for recruiters in terms of finding the right resume even if the resume was present in the database searched.

What might other advantages be to a recruitment function?

Standardising output from a sourcing viewpoint

Since it is based on machine learning, every search and shortlist gets the machine to learn better and reconfigure the search to attract resumes which are far closer to the job description. Once the algorithm matches the resumes to the job, it would run perpetually and churn out resumes. This standardises output from a sourcing viewpoint, the bane of the recruitment function at present.

Further, it helps in defining the exact strategy for finding talent and removes any emotional judgement human beings may have in shortlisting candidates for a particular job.  This allows the recruiter to provide more value-added work like spending more time in engaging and negotiating with the candidate.

This is also useful for candidates on the lookout for a suitable opportunity. Currently, an individual browsing career sites would typically find it a nightmare – there are so many jobs available and he would not know where he is best suited.  But with contextual search tools, a candidate is able to see which jobs he will rank best based on his skills and experience.

The additional introduction of chat bots can also screen and remove mismatches through the use of screening questions or suggestions as to potential courses which can bridge the skill gap. This would help in reducing the time taken to fulfil jobs where there is a dependency on applicants and also helps the individual candidates to follow through jobs where they will have a high probability of getting selected compared to the “spray and pray” approach prevalent in many job searches today.

Reducing hiring time

How many resume databases do you think a super recruiter might be able to scan and then come up with matches that work? With machine learning tools, you can now search millions of resumes in a fraction of the time you took before and with much higher probability of a match.

What does this mean? It means that recruitment could now potentially be measured in days and perhaps even in hours. This means hiring from campus grounds and at recruitment events can also be drastically reduced with machine-based tools.

Stronger buy-in from hiring managers

When you have a more standardised output which leads to a better selection ratio for interviews, this will lead to stronger buy-in from hiring managers. These managers will consequently rely on recruiters even more. From a recruiter’s point of view, this would certainly negate the negative perception a hiring manager typically has towards this function.

Reducing costs

When you are able to leverage the internal and ATS (applicant tracking system) databases even better, this leads to reduced cost. You are sourcing more effectively and there is better throughput in the interview pipeline, which thereafter helps reduce operational costs even more.

Cost can also be reduced when there are more internal candidates identified and relevant skills training is provided.

Bots usage is trending

The use of Bots for candidate screening and interview scheduling is showing a positive trend. Algorithms are available for asking certain hygiene questions directly with candidates.

Bot usage, therefore, helps in further qualifying candidates for roles and interviews are scheduled based on the availability of candidate and the interview panel. 

Flexibility in the service offering

Many of the products now available are offered as SAAS (solution as a Service) offerings. These are effectively cloud-based services with an option to pay per usage. What this affords is a level of flexibility for you to use such tools within an ATS as well as outside it and allows a degree of customisation as needed. Added to this, is an increasingly strong focus, in the market, on data protection and security which makes these platforms increasingly more reliable.

Overall, there seems to be a global trend to look at AI products and platforms in a more positive light. By all indications, AI appears to be moving rapidly into the realm of everyday business.

¹ transparencymarketresearch.com
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#bots #AI #SAAS #hiring #sourcing #recruitment #analytics

The post Artificial Intelligence will change recruitment appeared first on The HR Gazette.

Recruiting new people to join your company comes with many responsibilities and factors of which a hiring professional should be aware. It is necessary to get to know the individual as completely as you can before hiring him/her which is why pre-employment screening is a must.

An employer’s viability depends on the employee’s quality and reliability. Effective pre-employment screening of an employee is a critical step in hiring and retaining quality employees. Employers and hiring professionals also screen potential employees to limit the chances of legal liabilities. Effective screening can ensure that there is no potential liability exposure and any kind of wrongdoing in the workplace.

A prescreening process helps in a number of ways. You may discover if the employee can safely perform his/her tasks and duties, whether they have a positive record from prior employment or even if they have any criminal background or records of prior conviction.

Here are some of the ways by which you can establish a super effective background screening.

Clarity in the prescreening process

You should have a clear prescreening process. Establishing a proper written method of screening not only helps fasten the process but also avoids any kind of negligence or overlooking key issues. You should build a process and policy that is specific to the goals of your business, and that takes into account the risk tolerance of your company. Supervise all the levels of screening and when and how they will be performed. Give an explanation, step by step, of how the policy will be implemented.

Consistent implementation

There should be a certain consistency in how the policy is implemented. Never conduct background checks selectively or arbitrarily. All applicants and potential employees should be subject to the same format and method of screening. They should receive all the checks prior to employment.

Screening providers are very useful and help you in your decision making

Make use of a reputable screening service provider. They help not just to make the tasks easier but ensure that key activities are completed.

Legal compliance

You should also take care that the applicants comply with State and Federal laws. You should ensure that these laws are covered in the contractual obligations and rules provided. There are many laws and regulations which you need to refer to and therefore, legal counsel may be of great help.

What do you think?
#screening#hiring #pre-employment

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The post How to make your pre-employment screening super effective appeared first on The HR Gazette.