Jay Graves of Pathfinder Business Consultants interviews Don Alexander of GeneCoda® about the impacts of the COVID-19 / Coronavirus on recruiting, hiring and retention during the pandemic (24 Minutes).
Networking: What are people doing?
Don Alexander (GeneCoda), Ted Benson and Jerel Bonner (Corralling Chaos)
Introduction
On Monday mornings millions of professionals like you look at their calendars and think “I’ve got too much to do!”
Most professionals hear that they need to be networking, though they don’t know how to fit in into their schedule and whether it will really be worthwhile. They wonder if they’ll get real value, or just waste time.
So, we wanted to find out: What does it mean to network successfully? How do professionals maximize the value of their networking? What might an “ideal” networking event look like?
The Real-World Importance of Corporate Culture
Don Alexander (GeneCoda), Ted Benson and Jerel Bonner (Corralling Chaos)
Introduction
Crafting and activating corporate culture can be challenging. Many papers, speakers, and books discuss various aspects of corporate culture, from time-worn standards like Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” to new classics like Dan Ariely’s “Payoff”. There are also company founders who are outliers in crafting unique cultures, like Jim Goodnight at SAS and Tony Hsieh at Zappos: leaders who’ve blazed new trails getting employees to completely buy into, and sustain, company culture.
But less often considered is how working individuals in the real world evaluate the value of workplace culture. For example: Do they think that the company actually cares about culture? How important is a company’s culture to current employees? How do candidates consider it when researching prospective employers, and how do they do investigate it? Do they find it easy to identify corporate culture from their research and interview? Will their impression of the culture influence their decision to accept a job offer? Once onboard, can they actually recognize the culture and does that match their expectation created during their research and interview? And does the culture support their growth and development, proven key factors for employee retention?
This study explored these questions by surveying several hundred individuals. The respondents serve in a range of functions, from individual contributors to executives, in a variety of private firms across several scientific and technical industry sectors. Continue reading “The Real-World Importance of Corporate Culture”
Commercial Launch, a Time of High Expectations and Greatest Risk
Recently, I met with a long time colleague, Chris Morrison. In our discussions regarding bringing novel products to market, I reflected on the many times I’ve witnessed the premature scaling of a commercial sales force and asked Chris to author the following blog to better assist company leadership in assessing the best inflection points for hiring sales professionals.
Continue reading “Commercial Launch, a Time of High Expectations and Greatest Risk”
The High Cost of Unplanned Employee Turnover
Many articles I’ve recently reviewed about employee turnover describe various methods to calculate the unplanned turnover costs of an organization. For example, a study from the Center for American Progress in 2012 cites figures that range from 16% of annual earnings for jobs paying $30k or less up to 213% for very highly paid jobs and those at senior or executive levels.
Continue reading “The High Cost of Unplanned Employee Turnover”
Armageddon: Hiring, Teamwork, and Leadership
I had the opportunity to watch one of my favorite movies over the holidays. It is hard to believe this is the 20th anniversary! Armageddon is a 1998 American science fiction disaster film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and released by Touchstone Pictures.
The movie has an interesting plot and cast of characters with several funny, intense and emotional scenes. Armageddon also presents a compelling story of hiring, teamwork and leadership. If you haven’t seen the movie, watch it first and consider the following clips/quotes!
Continue reading “Armageddon: Hiring, Teamwork, and Leadership”
Differentiated Messaging
I must admit, I am a Will Ferrell fan and viewing this YouTube clip made me realize just how important a “Pitch Man” is for most all professions involving sales, including Executive Search. Employing or using poor and/or inexperienced talent acquisition specialists (a.k.a. “HeadHunters” or “Recruiters”) is one of the worst decisions a company can make when seeking seasoned executives and professionals.
I must admit, I am a Will Ferrell fan and viewing this YouTube clip made me realize just how important a “Pitch Man” is for most all professions involving sales, including executive search. Employing or using poor and/or inexperienced talent acquisition specialists (a.k.a. “HeadHunters” or “Recruiters”) is one of the worst decisions a company can make when seeking seasoned executives and professionals.
Professional and executive search is both science and art. Part of the art of recruiting often involves relocation of gainfully employed people to their competitors. Anyone can post an ad and “get lucky”, but there is no substitute for trained professionals combing your competition with an appropriate “pitch” that draws attention! As we say in our company, “busy people have little time to read help wanted ads.”
Market Maker
As a former Financial Consultant and one whose decision making is driven through analytics, I like to contemplate similarities and differences between my former “Wall Street” life and present “Executive Search” life. When pondering the human capital industry, search and staffing firms might be thought of as Market Maker’s.
As a former Financial Consultant and one whose decision making is driven through analytics, I like to contemplate similarities and differences between my former “Wall Street” life and present “Executive Search” life. When pondering the human capital industry, search and staffing firms might be thought of as Market Maker’s.
Employment Stability | Myths and Realities
Question: What is one of the biggest search criteria on the minds of employees and job seekers?
Answer: Stability.
Question: What is one of the biggest search criteria on the minds of employees and job seekers?
Answer: Stability.
In recent decades, stability was thought to be found in an employer. Employer dimensions including size, market share, revenues, technology and company longevity, in a given market, were all metrics that gave employees and job seekers that “warm and fuzzy” delusion of continuous paychecks and funded pensions.
Continue reading “Employment Stability | Myths and Realities”