August 2010
August 2010 Newsletter – What’s Inside
• Retention
• Talent management and recruiting
• Nonprofit Leadership Institute
With dozens of applicants beating down your door for any opportunity and continued uncertainty in the economy, it might not feel like the right time to focus on recruitment and retention. However, these core tasks should always be a high priority for your organization because they have a very strong influence on morale and productivity.
Retention:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of employees who voluntarily left their jobs exceeded the number laid off for the months of February, March and April this year. This hasn’t been seen since 2008 and seems to indicate that as the job market begins to improve, turnover of employees who are dissatisfied or feel stagnant in their current jobs could become a significant issue.
It’s not enough for your employees to feel “lucky to have a job.” In order to build loyalty and a strong culture of productivity, your employees should be able to feel proud to work for an organization where their work matters, they make a difference, and their employer cares about them.
It’s time to:
- Re-recruit your “A-team” members. Talk with them about what their goals are, what makes them happy, what frustrates them. Focus your efforts on these team members and try to spend less time on “problem children.”
- Conduct a salary and benefits survey. Be honest with your employees about your compensation philosophy. If you lead the market, tell your employees about it. If you lag, explain to your employees why, and what other benefits you provide that help reach equity such as work from home, flex time, or similar programs.
- Measure employee satisfaction and engagement and create action plans for managing both.
- Move low performing employees up or out. There’s nothing more frustrating for an “A-team” member than having to pull the weight of an underperforming peer who makes the same amount of money for doing less.
- Understand that while cuts in budget and staff are often necessary, they leave those remaining in the company very uncertain about their job security. It’s important to understand that if you don’t over-communicate your strategy and plans to your employees to keep them informed, they will create a story of their own about what is happening and where the organization is going.
Talent Management and Recruiting:
Wyoming has had a net increase of almost 2000 jobs while unemployment has continued to decrease for the first half of 2010, but the talent pool is still pretty deep. Even though it might seem strange to think about hiring right now, consider that now might be the best time to access the talent you need to take advantage of upcoming opportunities.
It’s time to:
- Conduct an HR Evaluation/Talent Survey to determine if you are making the best use of the talent you have and to determine what additional talent you need.
- Develop or review succession plans to make sure you are ready to continue forward when key leaders depart the organization.
- Develop or review processes for talent search, interviewing, hiring and on boarding. Involve your “A-team” in this process so that they can help you hire more people that are as good as they are.
With opportunities still relatively scarce, job seekers may decide to apply for positions outside of their work experience. This is not always a bad thing as they may have parallel experience and skills that would be valuable to your organization. However, it makes it very important be very deliberate in your hiring process to make sure you are selecting the best candidate possible.
Some things to consider
- Use the job description for the position and an evaluation of organizational needs to develop a picture of your “ideal” candidate. Determine what education, experience, skills, and abilities this candidate would have. Decide ahead of time where you are willing to compromise and where you aren’t.
- Be very specific in your posted job description and clearly describe required experience (i.e. “5 years of claims management experience”, “experience managing annual maintenance budget of $500,000 or more”, “1 or more years of face-to-face customer service experience”).
- Develop an interview template with specific, behavior-based questions that allow you to get to the traits you are looking for.For example:
- Tell me about a time when you managed a project that included individuals with different types of jobs. How did you develop the team? How did you facilitate communication on the team
- Tell me about a time when you had to counsel an employee with a behavior issue.
- If you have a candidate that you’re seriously considering, ask for references and then contact them. Don’t assume just because someone is listed as a reference, they’re sitting by the phone waiting to give a glowing review. If they’re willing to answer questions, ask them specifics about their experience working with the candidate and their qualifications for the job you are considering them for.
While it’s often tempting, and sometimes very appropriate, to “stretch” internal candidates into roles needed by the organization, the same steps above should be used when considering moving or promoting them into a new position. You might certainly give extra weight to an application from a current employee, but keep in mind that the candidate that best meets the needs of the organization might be outside the doors.
The Align Team stands ready to help you with all your planning, consulting, training and business services needs. We can help your organization with any of the activities mentioned in this article from conducting employee surveys to talent evaluation and recruiting. At Align, our mission is assisting organizations to reach their full potential and our solutions are always customized to meet your unique needs. Please contact us today to discuss how Align can help your organization meet its goals.
Nonprofit Leadership Institute
Earn Align’s Management Certificate by attending all seven sessions of the Align Nonprofit Leadership Institute, which features a curriculum designed to build on your knowledge and take you to the next level of leadership. You will experience hands-on, real-world classes facilitated by experienced instructors.
The next sessions begin in Cheyenne on September 10, 2010 and in Casper on September 24, 2010 and occur once a month. You also have the option to attend a three-day Intensive Training in Jackson, Wyoming which will be held on September 30, October 1 and 2, 2010. Attendees of this intensive session will also receive the Align Management Certificate. Grant funds for tuition may be available from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
Align
1401 Airport Parkway, Suite 300
Cheyenne, WY 82001-1543
V: 307-772-9100
Toll free: 877-32ALIGN (877-322-5446)
TheAlignTeam.org