September 29, 2004

Recruiting.com blog
Posted by Jason Butler at 1:44 PM

Here's an interesting group blog focusing on recruiting issues. All sorts of good stuff over there.
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Women on the rise
Posted by Sean Kenney at 10:55 AM

Cigna's $2 million annual commitment to recruiting and developing executive women is based on business strategy, not political correctness. It's an approach supported by research that says companies with the highest representation of women have better financial performance.

This article from Workforce Management touches on several of the challenges both companies and aspiring female executives face in filling the top positions. --------

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September 23, 2004

Outsourcing trend hits start-ups
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:48 PM

As Beth Healy reports in today's Boston Globe, it is not just mature firms that are looking to keep expenses down by outsourcing work overseas. Now it's a demand in the entrepreneurial world, as well:

While large American companies have drawn the most attention for shifting jobs to cheaper overseas markets, the practice has quietly taken hold among start-ups as well. It's a trend that financiers of young technology companies say is inevitable. But they also admit it's controversial, and likely to rock a sector that Boston relies on for jobs and a vibrant economy.
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Speaking to a group of venture capitalists and business executives at a Harvard Club dinner on Tuesday evening, [TH Lee managing director Ramanan] Raghavendran said that Boston-based TH Lee is urging the companies it invests in to ''build offshoring into the business plan from day one." If management doesn't ''get it," Raghavendran said, ''venture firms need to drive the thinking" about hiring offshore.

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September 22, 2004

Home Depot hiring spouses of military personnel
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 5:22 PM

Here is one of the more original hiring policies I have seen, coming from a firm that is not afraid to wear its patriotism on its sleeve. After a national ad campaign touting their employees who were competing in the summer Olympics, Atlanta-based The Home Depot has now announced that they will be hiring spouses of those in the military:

The Home Depot Inc. is recruiting the spouses of military personnel in the latest hiring initiative between the nation's largest home improvement chain and the government.

Home Depot, which averages a new store opening every 48 hours, said its effort with the Defense Department also will involve hiring more veterans, active duty service members about to be discharged, National Guard members, and reservists.

An admirable initiative, and an innovative way to enlist recruiters - albeit indirectly - in the national effort to combat terrorism.
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September 21, 2004

Hire for attitude; train for skill
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:11 AM

Samuel Greengard's article, Gimme Attitude, discusses hiring for attitude and training for skill:

They’re hiring for attitude, reasoning that you can teach the right person the skills to do the job but you can’t transform even the most knowledgeable person into a success if she lacks the right temperament.

Note that Greengard suggest behavior-description questions, not personality tests, to see if someone has exhibited the right temperament for the job.

One thing that gets some organizations into trouble--particularly those with tight budgets and limited human resources staffs--is depending solely on personality profiles and psychographic testing that don’t take behavior into account.

At the end of the article is a table that gives a few examples of how to turn hypothetical or closed questions into behavior-description questions.
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September 17, 2004

Hiring poorly is worse than not hiring
Posted by at 5:22 PM

Joe Kraus, one of the founders of Excite, says that hiring a bad employee is far worse than not hiring anyone. He explains:

1. A bad employee does far more damage than no employee, no matter the issue.


2. A players hire A players, B players hire C players, and C players hire losers. Let your standards slip once and you're only two generations away from death.

More thoughts on the no fit is better than bad fit theme. Both of these via Kottke.
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The quarter-life crisis
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:01 AM

HR professionals involved in workforce development are sensitive to their individual employees' needs, looking at their career development in the context of their life development. Typically we think of more demands being placed on individuals as they age - dependents, school costs, health concerns, saving for retirement, caring for elders. But how many are aware of a newly emerging area of study on the demands of being 20-something?:

There is a new movement afoot of professionals studying today's 20-somethings. They maintain that there's a phase of life - quarter-life - which, like adolescence and midlife, has its own set of challenges and characteristics. People get married later and have more transient careers than before. They are in debt longer, sometimes in school longer. The early to late 20s represents a time of extreme instability.

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A new tool for staff shortages
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:55 AM

A piece from yesterday's Globe looks at a new web-based tool that is helping a local hospital deal with gaps in nursing shifts:

Registered nurses at Nashoba Valley Medical Center are doing what few of their counterparts anywhere can do: logging on to their computers and bidding on working shifts that have openings.

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September 16, 2004

Making the tough decisions
Posted by Sean Kenney at 5:04 PM

"In a nationwide survey over a base of 2,000 senior executives and managers, NFI Research found that 62 percent of executives and managers deal with making the tough decision at work right away, and 58 percent after getting opinions from others.

While the participants in this study rate themselves highly in their decision making skills and methods, almost 40 percent of managers say their superiors defer the tough decisions, while a fourth of them say their bosses either avoid the tough decision or focus on those that are easier.

How does this stack up with your experience of decision-making at your organization?
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Ladies, let's not forget about the homefront
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:40 AM

As one of my friends likes to put it, "women fought for equality in the workplace, but we forgot to fight for it at home." She's not alone in thinking this and now has some statistical support. CBSnews.com reports on a recent study by the Labor Department that found that employed women averaged about an hour more on housework and nearly and an hour-and-a-half on child-care activities per day than their employed male counterparts. Which probably explains the other findings: that men have more leisure time; are able to work a little bit longer at the office; and are more likely to participate in sports.

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September 15, 2004

How to jump-start your company's community initiative
Posted by Jason Butler at 10:44 AM

Volunteerist is a new magazine and website dedicated to raising awareness of the great things happening at the intersection of the corporate, nonprofit and volunteer worlds in Greater Boston.

In its inaugural issue, Volunteerist pulls together a roundtable of luminaries from the Boston nonprofit world to discuss the best ways for companies to increase their presence in the community.

Boston's leading organizations continuously work to increase their ties to our community. Does yours?

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September 13, 2004

Sometimes "Y" chromosomes just aren't enough
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:55 AM

ChicagoBusiness.com takes a look at the ongoing battle to get more "X" chromosomes in the board room.

When Cheryl Francis walked into her first board meeting at Lands' End Inc. three years ago, she was the only woman in the room. The topic that day: how to attract the working-woman shopper.

It was the first time the Wisconsin-based direct merchant, which sold mostly to women, had a woman on the board. Ms. Francis sat back and listened.

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Are you suffering from too few risk-takers?
Posted by at 8:53 AM

I was reading Naomi Moneypenny's Talent Management, and was struck by my similar experiences with my clients. The people who've managed to keep their jobs aren't the ones willing to take risks -- they've been incented NOT to take risks. As Moneypenny says:

Now, most organizations incented these behaviors [not taking risks] during cost cutting, and now suddenly enterprises are waking up to the fact that employees have retrenched and are probably feeling highly over worked and under valued.

You can't just tell people, "It's time to take risks now." That won't work. But if they see top management taking risks -- and being rewarded to take risks -- as well as making risk-taking an explicit part of their performance goals, then you can turn things around. Take a cue from Moneypenny and reconsider your talent management processes now.
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September 7, 2004

Thoughtful commentary on reviewing resumes
Posted by at 3:54 PM

In Screening vs. Resumes: What Will Be the Weakest Link?, Charles Handler suggests that relying on the resume is the weakest link in sourcing candidates. He recommends that instead of screening based just on the paper or electronic resume, employers consider:

1. Dissect the resume.
   
2. Anchor screening systems to a database of job requirements.
   
3. Use scientific screening.
   

I have to admit, I disagree with him on just about all points. While I agree that his three ideas could be useful, I don't agree with the rest of the article's suggestions for how to do these things. In my opinion, he pushes the candidate farther away, when both the candidate and the hiring manager are looking for ways to get closer -- to see if they like each other.

I have found a thorough job analysis so that I, as a hiring manager, know what to look for, in conjunction with multiple people reviewing resumes is a better tool than further removing the candidate from the hiring manager. I'd love to hear your opinions.
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To brag or not to brag, that is the question
Posted by Diane Danielson at 2:17 PM

This weekend's BostonWorks section focused on "Brag Queen," Peggy Klaus, who runs workshops and seminars for women on how to brag to get ahead.

Peggy Klaus raced down the aisle, exhorting the 150 or so women professionals and business owners packed into a meeting room at Citizens Bank to stand up, speak up -- and brag.

''Women have been hit over the head with the idea that if they talk about themselves, people won't like them,'' said Klaus. ''But if you don't talk about your accomplishments, who will?''

It's worth reading the whole article, because there are some experts at the end who question whether this is the best strategy for women in the workplace. Their fear is that women may unintentionally cross over the line and be seen as too pushy. So what's a woman to do? I suppose one solution would be to have an unofficial "Take your Grandma to Work Day" and let her do your bragging for you!

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September 3, 2004

Considering race as a "plus factor"
Posted by Sean Kenney at 3:47 PM

"A Supreme Court decision on diversity in educational settings is prompting companies to reconsider how they weigh diversity in their hiring decisions.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for a divided court, has approved the careful use of race in educational settings as a "plus" factor in individual selections, recognizing the critical importance of building a diverse student body. Now the time has arrived to consider whether this legal lesson should be applied to the corporate workplace."

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September 2, 2004

Workers feel overworked, overwhelmed
Posted by Jason Butler at 4:44 PM

MSNBC reports on a recent Harris study detailing the impact employer squeezing has on employees.

With many companies extremely reluctant to add jobs, nearly two-thirds of workers surveyed by Harris Interactive say their workload has increased over the past six months — with more than 10 percent of workers asserting they are putting in an extra 10 hours a week or more. And they are not happy about it. More than half answered no when asked, “Do you feel your employer appreciates and rewards you well?”

You're under pressure. Your hiring managers are certainly under pressure. Is anyone happy?

More to the point: what will happen if the long-predicted employee exodus picks up steam in the fourth quarter and in 2005? Will you be one of the preferred employers, or will there be clouds of dust where your best workers used to sit?
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The other campaign issue: jobs
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:05 PM

WBUR's Here & Now, with host Robin Young, is in New York City this week covering the Republican National Convention. Yesterday H&N did a segment focusing on employment as a presidential campaign issue and spoke with Bush's Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, and economist Mark Zandi, co-founder of Economy.com. The discussion was a bit "lively" in parts and is well worth a listen to.

To hear this audio blog, go to the WBUR archives page for 9/1 and scroll down to the link for "Two Perspectives on Job Growth." Once the segment launches, advance to the 4:00 minute mark in the scroll bar. The segment lasts about 9 minutes.
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Me talk guyspeak someday
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:36 AM

Interesting article yesterday in the Houston Chronicle about the communication gap between genders.

Imagine a typical meeting. A problem has come up with, say, the making of a new type of paper cup, and the team has to get together to fix it.

The problem is described, and discussion begins about cost, efficiency, sales and the like.

Finally, one of the women in the room brings up other concerns — environmental pitfalls, consumer preferences and cultural issues.

The men stare. What is she talking about? What does the environment have to do with the cost per cup?

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September 1, 2004

Separation agreements -- after feedback
Posted by at 3:40 PM

I was reading Separation Agreements: Going Separate Ways with a Written Handshake, and thought about three managers who were separated from their organizations in the past two months. In each case, the manager was surprised. No one had ever told any of these folks their performance was not adequate. Read How to Talk about Work Performance: A Feedback Primer for more information about effective feedback.
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Checking in from 20,000 feet
Posted by Diane Danielson at 2:50 PM

August's issue of Fast Company interviews six high-flying, high-ranking women re: the status of the glass ceiling. Each one provides some interesting insights. However, the general theme is that while young women of today should appreciate the strides that have been taken, it's still a little bit lonely being a woman (and/or minority) at the top.

It was another promise of the new economy: We'd finally move from the old-time rules of the old boys' network to a workplace based on merit, performance, and skill -- a workplace that would be more open to women. Forget about breaking the glass ceiling, the logic went, the new economy would break out of the whole box. That was the promise. Just how well has it been kept? To find out, Fast Company surveyed six successful women, high achievers in industries as diverse as autos, packaged goods, finance, and medicine. The question: Are we living in a meritocracy or a machotocracy?

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