Gamification in HR: Going Beyond the Buzzword

In the recruiting world, it seems there is a lot of discussion about gamification even though gamification is something that’s been around for years. Let’s get this out of the way up front – for almost all companies or organizations, gamification should not be viewed as a solution for attracting candidates (America’s Army is one of a few exceptions). However, gamification can be an effective method of encouraging behavior once you are already interacting with a candidate.

Gamification is one of many problem-solving tools you should consider when approaching a challenge. As a general rule of thumb, any discussion about gamification should first start with questions versus answers – it is only through careful questioning that you can then determine if gamification offers an answer. The first question to ask is not “What should our gamification strategy be,” but instead, “What are our primary challenges from a recruiting standpoint? Are there aspects of gamification that could offer potential benefits that address these challenges?”

For example, many of you have likely read articles on, or even tested out, Marriott’s use of gamification that launched a few years back. Their tactic included the development of an interactive game within their Facebook page allowing players to manage all the behind-the-scenes aspects of running a kitchen within a virtual hotel. [While this game is not currently live, you can view a trailer for it here.] Without knowing the strategic foundation and problem the game aimed to address, it may likely have appeared somewhat elementary. Yet understanding that the target audience was young, international (many having recently moved from a rural environment to an urban one), and lacking the basic knowledge of what happens within a hotel – the simplicity of the game was by design. Marriott needed a way to educate an audience on what working in the hotel kitchen environment was like, and research showed the audience members were using social media channels to discover job opportunities and were also were heavy online gamers. This strategy addressed the questions noted above and was not put into place just to have gamification tactics.

Ultimately, to be successful gamification should never be based on a “wouldn’t it be cool if” idea a client or agency has. Always put your audience first; understand their needs, their behaviors, and their motivations. Then, understand your brand’s recruitment and employee challenges. By doing so you can have the best chance of developing a recruitment strategy that meets your objectives and offers an experience that resonates with your target audience. If this strategy includes some form of gamification, then great!

With that said, while it is critical to first understand your problem before considering gamification techniques, there are certain areas that gamification is often a potentially great strategy for. Because gamification is best used to encourage behavior with an existing audience, the following types of efforts offer great place to focus your initial consideration:

• Internal Employee Engagement

• Onboarding Processes

• Performance/Recognition

• Employee Referral Programs (ERPs)

via Gamification in HR: Going Beyond the Buzzword – RecruitingBlogs.

Gamification in HR: Going Beyond the Buzzword

Decoding The DNA Of Great Recruiters (Part I)

Guest Blog: Lars Schmidt

I’ve spent the fifteen years in recruiting leadership roles, hiring dozens of recruiters over that time. Some turned out to be exceptional, others never quite lived up to expectations. So, what makes a great recruiter? How do we identify those exceptional talents that will make a difference for our teams and our organizations?

Recruiting has evolved dramatically over the past five years. Recruiters need to have a diverse set of skills to make a real impact. As the job market continues to pick up, the demand for recruiters will continue to rise. It’s hard enough to find good recruiters, but finding great recruiters will be a true test.

Rather than focus on the individual, let’s focus on the traits that make them exceptional – their recruiting DNA. Understanding the qualities great recruiters need to possess in today’s market will help you develop an interview process that can screen and explore these qualities, and make better hiring decisions when building your recruiting team.

Ability To Influence

I’m not referring to self-professed Rockstars and Gurus. That’s not what I want when building a recruiting team. I’m talking about recruiters who work to build tight relationships with all of their constituents, and work hard to build credibility that puts them in a position of authority. Great recruiters have over-developed consultative genes. They understand to be successful they have to have great relationships with their hiring managers, client groups, peers, candidates, and other departments – all of them.

Data-Fluent

Data fluency and the ability to build a data-based recruitment strategy is the future of recruiting. If having credibility with your executive team is your main event, data is your key to admission. Top recruiters can build data-based talent pool assessments on given roles and markets, and present that data to inform hiring decisions before a requisition is even written. That’s how you become a trusted adviser to your business.

Empathetic

Recruiting is a role like no other. We work with human beings considering weighty life changes every day. We make (and at times break) dreams. Recruiters are the face of your organization, and the vanguard of your employer branding efforts. How they treat your applicants can elevate or tarnish your brand in a single interaction. Great recruiters gets this. They never lose touch with the humanity of recruiting, and treat everyone they engage with the respect s/he deserve.

Risk-Taking

Exceptional recruiters understand that following the herd isn’t the best way to make an impact. They’re creative, willing to take (calculated) risks. Particularly in the area of Employer Branding where there is no playbook. They see opportunities where others don’t. The above traits enable them to make a compelling case inside their organization to get their ideas green-lit. Some of their ideas will fail, but they’re smart enough that they’ll learn what went wrong and incorporate those learnings into future campaigns.

Tenacity

There are many parallels between recruiting and sales. What trait do most great salespeople possess? Drive. They’re tenacious in their pursuit of new business. They live for the close. Great recruiters do too. Exceptional recruiters possess the motivation to run with little direction. You don’t need to manage them by traditional recruiting metrics. Their results speak for them. They have a hustle honed over years of experience, and an relentless focus on continual improvement.

Marketing

This trait is a relatively new strain of recruiter DNA. It’s driven by the prevalence of social media, and the evolution that’s taken place around digital recruiting. In competitive hiring markets, recruiters need to be creative and clever with how they market their jobs. Post and pray has gone the way of traditional job boards. Great recruiters can use their marketing skills to develop multi-channel, targeted recruiting strategies that cut through the clutter, reach, and compel candidates to action.

Tech–Savvy

The pace of innovation is accelerating rapidly. Recruiters have new tools at their disposal that didn’t exist only a year ago. Great recruiters keep an eye on these trends, ensuring they can intelligently advocate for that game-changing technology that can make a difference in their company’s hiring efforts.

Curious

This trait speaks to the desire to learn. As referenced above the innovation curve is growing at an accelerating pace. I don’t just mean technology. With social media fueling a share economy, there is an abundance of information available that can help your recruiting efforts. Best practices, research, white papers – all just a click away. Exceptional recruiters must be curious and driven to self-educate and regularly tap into this knowledge to grow their own skills (and share what they learn with their team).

Passion

My favorite interview question for recruiters – why do you recruit? The answer to this question helps me get a feel for their passion for the field. Why is this important? Recruiting is hard. Hiring Managers are demanding. Candidates you were certain were closed fall out. Projects get derailed. Great recruiters have a passion for their craft that will help them overcome these obstacles. They light up when they talk about successful searches, and it’s contagious. You want recruiters who are passionate about what they do on your team. If they’re in the right role, their passionate representation of your organization will make a difference.

via Decoding The DNA Of Great Recruiters (Part I) | LinkedIn.

Decoding The DNA Of Great Recruiters (Part I)

Offer Your New Hires Training, Not Free Doughnuts

You might be taking the wrong tack when you’re trying to sell your company to potential employees and retain those already on board.

Employees care little about free perks at a new job and put more weight on other onboarding elements like mentoring opportunities and job training, according to a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers by Lindon, Utah-based human resources software company BambooHR.

The survey found that often-overlooked onboarding processes are actually very important to people when they start new jobs. Three-quarters of those surveyed, for example, said that new-hire orientations are time well spent.

But possibly the most important takeaway from the survey for business owners is that 76 percent of those surveyed agreed on-the-job training is the most important thing a company can provide to get new employees up to speed and starting to contribute. The assignment of an employee “buddy” or “mentor” was cited second-most often in this category.

Once companies bring new hires into the company, it is important that the companies keep them in the loop. Survey respondents who left jobs after less than six months indicated that “review and feedback of early contributions” was very important to their happiness and success. Less than one percent said that “free food and perks” would have been a factor in getting them to stay at a job they left after six months.

So when you bring on new hires, don’t worry so much about the perks you can offer them. Instead, focus on the orientation and training processes you have in place.

via Offer Your New Hires Training, Not Free Doughnuts | Inc.com.

Offer Your New Hires Training, Not Free Doughnuts

Want Your New Employees" Personal Commitment? Take Their Onboarding Personally

You get the employee engagement you deserve. If you don’t engage with them, they won’t engage with you. If all you need is compliance, indirect communication is fine. If you want them to contribute, you’ll need direct communication. If you want them to commit to the cause, you must make an emotional connection with them. This is particularly true at important moments of truth starting with how you onboard them. So, take onboarding personally and make it personal.

Onboarding Survey Findings/Conclusions

BambooHR’s founder and COO Ryan Sanders talked to me about the findings from their new onboarding survey (released March 19, 2014). While the survey highlights several important components of a valuable onboarding program, Sanders told me that the greatest impact is made by combining the components. He and the survey indicate:

1. The Manager is Critical. More respondents (33%) said their manager had the greatest influence on the effectiveness of their onboarding than did anything else. Sanders suggests this is especially true for the Millennial workforce as their “need for connecting at a personal level” is particularly high.

2. Invest in On-The-Job Training. 76% of respondents agree that on-the-job training is the most important thing a new employee needs to get up to speed and begin contributing quickly. Of course receiving organized, relevant and well-timed content matters. It’s just that that content is much more valuable if new employees know how to apply it.

3. Invest Over Time. Sanders is amazed at how many organizations think onboarding should be a one-day or one-week thing. He knows that onboarding effectiveness requires managers, mentors and buddies to be “involved, engaged, providing early feedback, and clear expectations” over an extended time frame.

(Jane Quigley)

 

Onboarding Practices

Don’t believe what they say. Certainly don’t believe what they say others say. Instead, pay attention to what they do. Sanders took me through Bamboo’s onboarding program. He focused on accommodation, assimilation and acceleration. (Request an executive summary of the book “Onboarding” for definitions and descriptions.)

• Accommodation. Bamboo’s HR staff makes sure “everything is ready for their new employees when they arrive”. Surprise. Surprise. They use their own software to make this work, including their own accommodation checklist. (Appended at the bottom of this article for your use.)

• Assimilation. Bamboo’s managers take onboarding personally. It is their responsibility to take their new employees to lunch on day one and to make a “personal connection outside of work”. Not suggesting this is the right approach for every organization, but Bamboo prides itself on its personal relationships.

• Acceleration. For this, Bamboo invests in on-the-job training on an ongoing basis. They strive to help their new employees absorb a lot of information – at their own speed.

Resulting Engagement

As described in an earlier article, “engagement” is too blunt a description. Compliant employees play it safe, meeting the minimum requirements. Contributing employees collaborate with others and help as they seek belonging and self-esteem. At the highest level are those committed to the organization’s purpose and driven by doing good for others. The only way to get this level of personal commitment from them is for you and your managers to commit to them personally, starting with how you onboard them.

—————————————————————

Bamboo HR Onboarding Checklist

Permissions

• Logins created for technology platforms


• Assign permissions for each platform

Office

• Assign work space


• Key Card


• Office supplies


• Swag

IT

• Computer set up


• Software installed


• Phone/Ext/Headset


• Monitor(s)


• Keyboard/mouse

HR

• Welcome phone call


• Welcome survey


• Technology needs survey


• Introduction email


• Phone ext in BambooHR directory


• Office Tour


• People Tour


• Culture meeting with HR


• Benefits


• Payroll


• Time card


• Week 3 meeting with HR

BambooHR

• BambooHR login


• Directory Picture


• Job information


• W-4


• I-9


• Company Policies


• Benefit enrollment forms

Manager

• Team introductions


• Expectations and resources


• Lunch on first day

via Want Your New Employees’ Personal Commitment? Take Their Onboarding Personally – Forbes.

Want Your New Employees" Personal Commitment? Take Their Onboarding Personally

How To Recruit for Niche Positions [5 Useful Tips]

Sometimes to find the perfect candidate for your open position you have to think small. That’s what niche recruiting is all about. As job boards boom, recruiters are starting to realize that specialization is actually saving time and money. With current unemployment hovering around 8% in the U.S. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, any open position is going to garner a good number of resumes.

This avalanche of resumes could range the spectrum from qualified to woefully wrong for the position. Niche recruiting can help to cut down on the pre-screening process, since the target is to get more qualified resumes right from the start. You’ll be focusing on candidates that are both the most qualified and the most passionate about their career field.

The following are some niche recruiting tips that will help you sort the best from the rest.

1. Specificity in the job description

Recruiting for a niche position starts with the recruiter, after all. Make sure that you’re being very specific about the job description at hand. List out the qualifications necessary and whatever skills and experience the candidate should possess. Be concise and to-the-point because your niche candidates aren’t just looking for any job that comes along. You’re recruiting people already interested in your career field, so feel free to use specific language and jargon. If they don’t get it, they’re probably not right for the position.

2. Know your job seeker

Recruiting for a niche position means that job seekers will often share attributes. Are they more technically minded or more creative? Knowing information about the typical job seeker in your niche will allow you to tailor the outlets you use to advertise your position. It will also allow you to seek out your ideal candidate in the places they most often visit, both online and off.

3. Get specialized

If you post your job listing on one of the huge job boards, you’re going to get a lot of responses. Some of them will be from great, talented candidates uniquely qualified for the position. However, more will be from candidates with no relevant experience at all. Sorting through these resumes will take a good chunk of time, even if you only spend about 6 seconds apprising a resume. So what’s a better way to let qualified job seekers know about your position?

Getting specialized could be the answer. Take that job listing and share it with a community or network of individuals looking for opportunities in your career field. After all, that’s what networking is for! Sharing your job posting within your networks will help you to find the most qualified candidates. It’s likely you’re not the only one who knows about these communities; motivated, career-minded job hunters have surely already found them. This will help to significantly cut down on the initial weeding out process.

4. Get social

Social media is a great way to connect with niche job seekers. With 66 percent of online adults on one or more social networks, there’s a good chance that great candidates have found their way to social media. Social media also allows for greater self-selection based on interest and career aspirations. Candidates interested in your niche will most likely be following a lot of the same companies and people. They’ll also be reading a lot of the same blogs and attending the same events. Tools like Twitter chats are invaluable resources for finding the plugged-in job seeker. You know the individuals putting time and effort into growing their niche networks will put the same time and effort into your position.

5. Prize creativity

The best job candidates are the ones who can think outside the resume. Job seekers who expand their job hunts in new and creative ways will similarly be able to expand the business of their companies. These professionals are motivated and not hemmed in by rigid thought patterns. Job seekers are finding tons of creative ways to apply for jobs, from infographics to video resumes. For instance, a candidate that sends in a video resume is more likely to be a creative problem solver in the office. Candidates who find ways to work their career niche into innovative applications are showing their passion.

via How To Recruit for Niche Positions [5 Useful Tips].

How To Recruit for Niche Positions [5 Useful Tips]

Does Data Drive Good Hiring?

To data or not to data? That is the question when it comes to determining if potential hires would make good employees. The arguments seem to favor it but at least one expert is wondering about its true effectiveness.

SHL, a subsidiary of CEB that specializes in talent measurement, is an enthusiastic backer of the concept. Its 2013 Business Outcomes Study Report supports the use of data when it comes to hiring.

“The case-study-based report reveals that organizations are achieving tangible bottom-line results through a better understanding of the abilities and future potential of their prospective new-hire candidates,” pronounced in a press release.

It cited, as examples, “an electronics retailer found that sales associates who achieved high assessment scores averaged 19 percent more sales per month, translating to more than $70 million in increased sales per year. Additionally, a telecommunications provider found that customer service agents who had high assessment scores handled calls faster, were more likely to meet customer service rating goals and were more likely to be rated top performers overall. The company saved more than $22 million annually through increases in productivity.”

Robert Morgan, SHL President and CEB General Manager, said, “… global executives believe the key to delivering profitable growth is a 20 percent increase in staff productivity. Our findings clearly show that those organizations that leverage talent measurement solutions to recruit, retain, and develop top talent typically meet or exceed their performance and productivity goals.”

He added, “As organizations seek to do more with less, many are looking to talent management solutions including pre-hire and post-hire assessment tests, in order to better understand people’s abilities and potential to perform. Organizations need employees who are flexible, collaborative and able to flourish in increasingly knowledge-based roles if they want to grow.”

Of course there are dissenting opinions. In an earlier post here at Recruiter.com, Nick Corcodilos, writing at PBS.org, said headhunters are relying too much on big data when recruiting personnel and it’s hampering their ability to find the best candidates for the job and keep them in their positions.

He added, “America’s employment system is getting even more automated and algorithmized by applying ‘big data’ to process you. According to [an article] in The Atlantic (“They’re Watching You At Work” by Don Peck), the vice president of recruiting at Xerox Services warns that, ‘We’re getting to the point where some of our hiring managers don’t even want to interview anymore.’ According to the article, ‘they just want to hire the people with the highest scores.’”

Kazim Ladimeji, a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and a frequent contributor to Recruiter.com, offers his perspective on the issue. He said, “[B]ig data is currently being used by leading companies to boost their hiring processes, making it, in my opinion, an industry best practice that all HR companies should be looking to adopt. I would even go as far to say that given the insights that big data can offer, it is foolish to ignore it.”

He added, “Admittedly, big data has been center stage for some time amongst the powerful employer brands, but big data should now be center stage in HR across the board. It’s not enough for HR professionals to walk into the boardroom with gut instinct and say, ‘I think this is going to happen, and so I’d like this.’ HR now needs to be saying, ‘Our statistics show this is not working and that this approach is twice as effective; so, I recommend doing this…’”

via Does Data Drive Good Hiring?.

Does Data Drive Good Hiring?

9 Job Search Trends You Need To Know

Are you one of those people who think a resume is an antiquated job search tool? A relic of the decades when classified newspaper ads and the U.S. mail were a job seeker’s best friends?

If so, I have some good news for you: just as technology has changed so much about the way we communicate and do business these days, it has had a major impact on the way job seekers learn about and apply for new jobs. There are more options for conducting a job search than ever before. And the bad news? Resumes—although certainly doing their fair share of adapting to our current cultural expectations—haven’t been relegated to the history books just yet.

The fact that so much is changing in career management has prompted even seasoned career experts to go to great lengths to make sure they’re on top of job search trends. Just recently, more than 150 career professionals put their heads together to share their observations for the fourth annual Global Career Brainstorming Day sponsored by Career Thought Leaders.

Here are some of the findings from the group, and ways you can take advantage of current career management trends:

1. Make multiple versions

Having a killer resume is a great first step. But to succeed in today’s job market, you may need to tweak your resume into several different versions to work for applicant tracking systems (ATS), online profiles, mobile platforms, email, and maybe even Twitter.

2. Emphasize your brand

In an information-saturated world, you need to stand out. That means focusing on your brand—those unique skills and characteristics that make you an excellent candidate for jobs in your chosen career—in every career communication that you create. And of course, presenting your case in a clear, concise, and compelling way.

3. Go the extra mile

Many candidates are exploring different ways to catch employers’ eyes. Depending on your field, options include short videos, links to projects or published articles, and even websites complete with expanded examples of career success including detailed plans or photos. Give employers something to drool over… in a totally professional way, of course.

4. Boast a bit

Have you received any glowing employee reviews or LinkedIn recommendations? Savvy job seekers are including some of the best comments in their resumes, cover letters, bios, or on various social media.

5. Leverage LinkedIn opportunities

LinkedIn is more than just a place to post the dry details and responsibilities of your job; it is often a first stop for companies looking to hire. Make sure your profile is engaging and personable. And don’t forget the value of groups, which contribute to the conversation may boost your visibility to recruiters or employers.

6. Preserve your reputation

Companies are increasingly turning to online sources to vet prospective employees. Make sure your online presence—from Twitter and Facebook to any public comments on forums and the like—captures your personality and reflects your dedication to your field… not your low opinion of your current boss or your status as a party girl or guy.

7. Explore apps

Apps have been introduced for almost every aspect of the career management process, from finding jobs to posting resumes to networking. Some apps worthy of your attention per the Global Career Brainstorming day findings include Glassdoor, BeKnown, BranchOut, and TweetMyJobs.com.

8. Conduct smart searches

More and more companies are now posting jobs on their Twitter feed or blogs, so be sure to follow any companies you’re interested in working for. Use your network! And job boards, especially specialized ones, may still be a great place to find technical or lower-level job postings.

9. Practice your video skills

It’s not uncommon for employers to conduct initial screenings via video instead of phone. And don’t be surprised if you’re asked to complete entire interviews over Skype or Facetime. A little preparation will go a long way toward helping you feel and appear comfortable and confident.

In short, the shift toward utilizing technology in the job search process means job seekers will need to be increasingly savvy in order to position themselves as desirable candidates. With these tips, you can start capitalizing on the advantages of social media and online/app tools, while tempting recruiters with clear, compelling, bite-sized morsels of information that leave them wanting more.

via 9 Job Search Trends You Need To Know | CAREEREALISM.

9 Job Search Trends You Need To Know