People in the HR world have been tossing around the “war on talent” metaphor for some time now. At first, it may seem a little overly-dramatic, especially in light of ongoing international events, but to hiring managers and recruiters the situation can often seem pretty grim. There’s a significant disparity between the demand for talent (big) and talented candidates (less big), and employers are facing increasing difficulties even sourcing to fill positions. Hiring often becomes even more difficult once the field of applicants gets whittled down because, at that point, the talent you’re courting is being courted by multiple other organizations too. If you’re a recruiter or hiring-manager, all isn’t lost, but you better know what you’re up against before the war gets even worse.

Anyone who’s examined specific numbers in HR knows that the situation is significant and real. A recent study by management consultants McKinsey found that in the field of logistics (not even especially competitive, historically speaking), there is an “an annual demand for 75,000 employees, not a huge number until you consider at present, the industry graduates just 5,000″ (via European Leaders Network). ELN argues that an organization’s procurement function is where the magic needs to happen and that “as procurement continues to move up the corporate agenda, it is beginning to compete with other business areas that have traditionally appealed to the top talent.”

However, many organizations lack the internal resources to maximize their procurement procedure, often because of its position in the corporate hierarchy, which is one reason we recommended increasing investment along those lines. To get the most out of procurement, you need a dedicated, efficient system for sourcing, assessment and delivery.

In a great article for Harvard Business Online, Bob Sutton suggests that many organizations take the wrong approach in their war for talent. His advice works for both hiring and retaining, and he delivers it in five recommendations:

• Superstars are overrated.
• Great systems are more important than great people.
• Create smaller rather than larger pay differences between “star” employees and everyone else.
• The law of crappy people is probably a myth.
• The no asshole rule helps. [a reference to his book]

Essentially, all five boil down to maximizing your hiring system in ways to accurately match talent with specifically determined needs, while avoiding candidates that are likely to cause work-culture problems.

A major part of optimizing your system is presenting it in a way that encourages candidates instead of running them off. Complicated, static online applications often rub talent the wrong way, especially when nobody in the organization follows-up sufficiently. Steve Roesler, at the Roesler Group, says that he has seen talented candidates abandon an application procedure because of a poor online experience.

“I can tell you from first-hand experience that many of the websites are clunky, user-unfriendly, and periodically inoperative. I’ve watched job candidates go through numerous screens, fill in data, and 30 minutes later watch it disappear when they clicked ’submit.’ But it wasn’t submitted. It disappeared.”

At itzbig, our research corroborates the findings above. 82% of the recruiters who participated in our survey for our upcoming talent network said that they have to spend so much time just reviewing resumes that it detracts from their actual recruiting. Similarly, in a recent poll here on the itzbig blog (look in the left sidebar) 64% of our respondents said they didn’t have the time to source ahead of demand. However, we think that staying ahead of demand is one of the best ways to optimize procurement and get to the best talent first, and we think our new network streamlines the process for you so you can get back to placing that talent. So as the war heats up, are you doing everything necessary to ensure that your hiring system doesn’t become a casualty?

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[Daily post from itzbig] To retain quality talent, you have to help them love the job

As Boomers step down and fewer members of Gens X and Y step into those vacancies, organizations are going to have to work hard to retain existing employees. However, the manner of retention changes significantly with the younger crowd, and employers are going to have to revamp workplace culture to keep in step with the needs of their new employees.

CollegeRecruiter.com Blog: 10 Tips for Finding a New Job

“If you know your strengths and weaknesses and what you want in a career, then you have a much better chance of finding your perfect job. Finding that dream position starts with understanding your personality, values and what drives you.”

systematicHR: Employee Engagement Improves Organizational Agility

“The Mckinsey Quarterly survey of barriers to agility and speed related to behavior and attitude ranked “employees lacking a sense of purpose commitment, motivation” as the number 1 factor inhibiting business speed and agility.”

About.com: Tips for Training Transfer

“On a whole different level, the trainer failed to do anything that would facilitate the transfer of the training to actual actions and behaviors in the workplace, but what can you expect from an hour and a half? I provide training as part of my consulting practice, and attending this teleconference was a huge reminder about what not to do.”

Brazen Careerist: Employee loyalty isn’t gone, it’s just different

“Ironically, the way to make your work more meaningful is to be more loyal. This doesn’t mean you can’t quit in three months. It means that you have to be loyal while you are there. And in this way, the idea of workplace loyalty is changing: Loyalty is not dead, but you have to ask yourself, what are you loyal to?”

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In the war on talent, there is a major drive towards recruiting and delivering, but what do employers do with the talent they’re able to get? As Boomers step down (although be thankful for their talent while you’ve got it) and fewer members of Gens X and Y step into those vacancies, organizations are going to have to work hard to retain existing employees. However, the manner of retention changes significantly with the younger crowd, and employers are going to have revamp workplace culture to keep in step with the needs of their new employees.

Just to reiterate, communication is key. However, to 20- and 30-somethings, communication means more than just executive sermons handed down from on high. It has to mean engagement and participation. A report on VPS CIN.org found that

“an increase of 10% in EE [employee engagement] at work leads to a 6% increase in discretionary effort, which leads to a 2% increase in productivity and performance. Highly committed employees perform up to 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave their organizations than employees with less commitment.”

That means creating a space for their voices and ensuring that executive ears are listening.

That listening includes adapting to the needs of workplace culture and connecting with employees. One of the best ways to engage talent and continually invest in them is through mentoring. CollegeRecruiter.com argues that younger talent, especially Gen Y, “crave mentoring.” If you’ve already got Boomers in place, you’ve got an incredible pool of wisdom and experience from which to draw. Similarly, the post recommends using Gen Y talent to mentor interns in a sort of trickle-down effect of engagement.

Younger talent wants to “work hard and be great sources of the innovation that keeps organizations growing and changing with the times” (also from College Recruiter). More experienced talent represents an incredible resource for drawing the younger generations into existing work culture and opening the door for those innovations. But none of that is going to happen if your organization doesn’t give your workforce a venue for engagement, be it a blog, round-table meetings or some other community function. Putting work culture to work for you will always increase retention, and that’ll increase productivity by helping talent love the job they have.

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[Daily post from itzbig] To find the right jobs, candidates need to be Selectively Networked

Think of the instant connections provided by networks like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. Huge networks like these might be great for your ego, but job discovery is going to benefit more from a focused, selective network than from an all-inclusive one.

Confessions of an Executive Restaurant Recruiter: Top 10 Ways to Blow Getting the Job

“The topic I am going to cover should be near and dear to anyone who has considered changing jobs, and while I almost always write with a slant that gives my posts a restaurant flavor, there are lessons for everyone”

Harvard Business Online’s Bob Sutton: The War for Talent Is Back

“Our discussion focused on what they could do to build a more civilized workplace. In the course of our conversation, each of these executives emphasized–as I’ve read recently in The Economist, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek–that building a workplace that attracts and keeps great people is especially important now because the job market for skilled people is so hot.”

systematicHR: Human Resources Strategy and Technology

“for good reason, it’s not just about productivity, growing talent and engagement, but also about the total state of your workforce and maintaining the best talent around. The small things force employees away, but it sure does take a lot of energy to keep them.”

Recruitment Rap: Are You a Change Agent?

“One of the most significant factors that impede success in recruitment is lack of leadership’s understanding and support. It is up to us to implement and educate on change.”

Brazen Careerist: Cupcakes go far at work

“You need to be nice at work. This doesn’t mean holding the door. Well, it does, but you need to do more than that. You need to do high-profile, from-the-heart niceness. People who are popular at work do better at work.”

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Many times on the itzbig blog, we’ve extolled the virtues of being networked; it’s good for both employers (and their agents) and candidates alike. While the nature of a business network is to be selective, the nature of candidates - especially millenial job-seekers - is to cast incredibly wide nets in the pursuit of establishing vast networks. Think of online communities like MySpace and FaceBook, where users are implicitly encouraged to add as many friends as possible. Think of the instant connections provided by networks like Twitter. Huge networks like these might be great for your ego, but job discovery is going to benefit more from a focused, selective network than from an all-inclusive one.

In theory, it might seem that the widest network will put you in contact with the most prospective employers, but, in practice, focusing in on more targeted, higher-quality contacts is always going to yield better results. In a post on Forbes.com, Barbara Ehrenreich reminds networkers that

“You aren’t meeting people because you want to make friends or find allies but because you want something from them. […] This is not the free-floating sociability of prehistoric hunter-gatherers; it’s a calculated performance.”

It may sound callous, but it’s a best practice and it’s true. You’re trying to get a job through this network. You can maintain another network in which you befriend anyone and everyone, but a focused network is integral to successful job discovery.

A candidate should also keep in mind that a network has to be an ongoing endeavor. That means constant maintenance, but the payoff might just be your dream job. Drawing on research Microsoft performed on its MSN network, Web Worker Daily suggests that there are four main styles of maintaining a professional network: cultivator, pruner, harvester or gatherer. The last three have tendencies towards making and losing connections quickly, making too many or not making enough. However, a cultivator spends

“a significant amount of their time nurturing friendships. They’re always arranging get togethers and are in constant touch with friends online and on the phone.”

Their results tend to be more accurate because the connections are stronger and more targeted.

If that kind of network cultivation sounds time-consuming, that’s because it generally is. In the research itzbig did to build our new network, that kind of serious time expenditure was one of the main concerns candidates reported. We took it seriously, and we think that our system can create a better network for you by establishing accurate matches instead of just throwing your resume into an online black-hole and hoping that the right connection comes along. Come sign up and let us do the networking for you.

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[Daily post from itzbig] Better hiring practices: look ahead, tell the truth and don’t discount Boomers

When it’s phrased like that, hiring seems like it’d be easy, right? Obviously, there aren’t necessarily standardized rules for recruiting and hiring the best talent out there. If there were, we’d all be on a beach somewhere enjoying early retirement. Nonetheless, the three adages in the title of this post represent some basics that recruiters need to keep in mind.

StlRecruiting: Finding Candidates Through Blogging

“There is a lot of benefit to hiring bloggers, but a downside as well. Make sure you have a blogging policy in place, and go out there and find you some!”

Web Worker Daily:: Blog Archive Open Thread: What’s Your Professional Networking Style?

“Web workers have different styles when it comes to maintaining our professional networks. Some people rely on a small, tight-knit group of like-minded contacts, adding new ones slowly and cautiously. Others…”

Contract Recruiting: Fasten Your Seatbelt Contract Recruiters!

“This is great news for Contract Recruiters and it certainly seems to indicate that the near term future is bright if you are an experienced and professional Contract Recruiter. I also think new members to the profession will benefit as well since the demand will allow them to be considered for entry level positions.”

The Sourcing Corner: The Soucer of the future

“Here is the kicker, my belief is that as sourcers/researcher/cyber sleuths, or which ever way we chose to call ourselves, we need to be ambassadors on a mission. We need to “represent”, there should be much more marketing then research in sourcing.”

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When it’s phrased like that, hiring seems like it’d be easy, right? Obviously, there aren’t necessarily standardized rules for recruiting and hiring the best talent out there. If there were, we’d all be on a beach somewhere enjoying early retirement. Nonetheless, the three adages in the title of this post represent some basics that recruiters need to keep in mind as they go about the hectic job of finding and placing quality talent. They are also keys to understanding the philosophies behind our new employment network.

Plan for the future
One way to go about recruiting is to respond to an organization’s needs by sourcing talent after the organization posts an opening. Of course, it’s not the most effective way to recruit. A better method involves that great business buzzword: proactivity. You’ve got to anticipate clients’ needs and source ahead of demand. That can be difficult, but the alternative is that you constantly play catch-up to the market.

Of course, another way to stay proactive is to stay networked. Yes, that means staying in contact, but, like sourcing, it should be done ahead of demand. Barbara Safani on CareerHub warns candidates that “networking isn’t really a job search tool, but rather a career management tool,” and the same can be said for a recruiter’s network. It shouldn’t exist merely as a “candidate-search tool.” Rather, it should be a fertile, well-cultivated “candidate-management tool.”

Give accurate information
Or “tell the truth.” It was the rule in grade school; it should be the rule now. A big part of that honesty comes from a full understanding of the client’s position and needs. It puts you in a better position to represent the client and gives you a better ability to accurately match talent with needs. Debra Owen at 8 hours & a lunch warns that recruiters and hiring managers, “don’t get desperate”, “don’t talk about work/life balance if it doesn’t exist”, and “don’t make promises of what might happen down the road unless you are absolutely positive it’s going to happen that way.” Misrepresenting the workplace (hours worked, advancement potential, etc.) or the company - even a little - can lead to problems Owen describes as “big ones: loss of trust. disgruntled employees. turnover. it can create a situation where HR is not trusted or valued.”

The Baby Boomers ain’t retired just yet
In fact, since that generation represents around twenty years’ worth of people, we’re still a ways off from a complete withdrawal of Boomers from the workforce. That’s not to say that the coming war on talent isn’t real.The simple numbers of future retirees vs. potential candidates don’t match up nicely. However, while experienced Boomers are still defining workforce productivity, and even continuing to change jobs/careers, HR departments and recruiters alike would do well to makes the best use of that talent.

In a recent Manpower, Inc. “survey of 1,000 U.S. employers, 78 percent indicated they were not concerned that an aging workforce might hamper their ability to recruit and retain talented workers” (according to Small Business Times). That’s partially because employers who “explicitly include older workers as part of their talent strategy have found success with programs that appeal to the wants and needs of the workers themselves.” Again, the talent crisis is underway, but employers and recruiters have to count Boomers in as long as they’re currently still willing to participate. Their knowledge and experience can represent great productivity, and, they can function as as mentors for younger talent.

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[Daily post from itzbig] How much are your jobs worth?

Hiring managers and the recruiters they work with can ensure that they bring in the highest quality talent by increasing the workplace’s and its culture’s sense of worth. At itzbig, we think that level of graciousness and care can revolutionize the world of employment, and we’re trying to foster that change one job at a time.

BusinessWeek: The Myth of High-Tech Outsourcing

“The U.S. technology industry added almost 150,000 jobs in 2006, according to an Apr. 24 report by the American Electronics Assn. (AeA), an industry trade group.”

Washington Post - On Balance: How to Wreck Your Career

“Over the past 20 or so years, the average workday has increased significantly. The more time employees spend at work, the less time they have to spend at home. This leads inevitably to conflict between work and home, and to a merging of work and family.”

Career Hub: Why Your Networking is Not Working

“Many people neglect their network until they are in job search. If you haven’t talked to someone in eight years and then you try to rekindle the relationship when you are in search mode, the problem is not that you look fake, the problem is that you are fake.”

The Hire Sense: Wrong Way Prospecting

“My guess is that this company will send a bunch of resumes to me and make me sort out which ones to interview without truly knowing what I need. The fact that the candidates may be able to work within 24 hours sounds like summer staffing candidates.”

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What did you think of when you read this title? Did you think “Money?” If you’re a regular reader of the itzbig blog, you know that concepts like worth and investment mean more than just money to us. It means you’ve got to establish employee worth by creating a strong hiring/recruiting, development, and retention culture. You do that by investing - yes, some money - but also time and diligence into understanding and fulfilling your organization’s needs. You adapt your understanding of talent-placement to fit the market, and you implement that understanding in the workplace. As a post on The Impassioned Workforce argues:

“Gardeners use their knowledge of plants, growing conditions and their available resources to ensure each plant achieves its optimum performance.[…] I believe this to be true of managers and their reports as well.”

Whether you’re a hiring manager, a recruiter, or some other member of the HR team trying to place and retain candidates, knowing the worth of your jobs and the talent you seek to place determines the difference between mediocrity and greatness.

One major truth of business to keep in mind is that changing work culture is a top-down exercise. Or,as Anna Farmery says in a quote on The Engaging Brand, “Management doesn’t change culture. Management invites the workforce itself to change the culture” (via Impassioned Workforce). In fact, she argues that the word “invite” is crucial to understanding how to increase the worth of your jobs. Employees thrive when they feel that management has invited them to participate, when their communication is solicited and their needs taken seriously.

If that change doesn’t come from the CEO, it can still be a top-down implementation, and that creates a powerful opportunity for HR departments. Even though, in a recent survey of 545 HR professionals,

“62 percent feel HR is perceived as more than a support function, and less than half consider their budget sufficient to their needs, […] most HR people surveyed feel they have the authority they need on their jobs, and some 77 percent compliment the relationships their departments have with others.” (via HR Daily Advisor)

Hiring managers and the recruiters they work with can ensure that they bring in the highest quality talent by increasing the workplace’s and its culture’s sense of worth. At itzbig, we think that level of graciousness and care can revolutionize the world of employment, and we’re trying to foster that change one job at a time.

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[Daily post from itzbig] Sourcing vs. Recruiting. Who has time to do both really well?

Sourcing well requires specific aspects of search and assessment abilities, and it can be a very time consuming endeavor. Recruiting and sourcing are two very different things, although many recruiters frequently find themselves doing both, and spending lots and lots of time sourcing and less time on assessment and delivery of quality candidates.

ZDNet: Asia’s IT Employment Trends 2007

“Qualifications may be necessary in securing an IT job, but head hunters at Microsoft often look under the hood for passion and self-awareness. In an interview with ZDNet Asia, Fernando Esquivel, Microsoft human resource lead for Asia-Pacific, said the software giant looks for “people with high levels of energy and a passion for technology”.”

HRmarketer.com: When to Ignore Best Practices. Lessons from a Former GE Executive.

“Whether general management or individual business functions, people are often too quick to apply “best-practices” that work well elsewhere to a company where they may not make any sense due to cultural or other reasons.”

AAUW: Pay Gap Exists As Early As One Year Out of College

“New research released today by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation shows that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues, even when they work in the same field. Ten years after graduation, the pay gap widens.”

The Future of Work Weblog: Overcoming Loneliness as a Distributed Worker

“It can indeed be lonely out there, and groups like Zevillage and Hidden-Tech are terrific at helping all those individual “location-neutral” workers hook up with each other to create both buying and selling power, to learn from others experiences, and sometimes just to have someone else to talk to.”

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