Established 1996
Talent Management
Hiring Star Salespeople isn’t the best way to Grow
It has long been understood across industries that in sales, the Pareto Principle applies and only the top quintile brings revenue worth four-fifths of the company’s worth. As standard industry practice, poaching of top sales personnel is a common occurrence. These stars are expected to produce instant results though it has been understood time and again that this does not always hold true. These new recruits often do not do well at the new place as the systems aren’t in place, thus highlighting the importance of the process rather than star personnel. Also, it is more beneficial for the organization to get better value out of the rest four quintiles than try hard to get the few very best. Some core elements need to be put in place for the process to be successful. First of all the people in charge must understand what all goes on in the sales process and tasks within the chain must be clearly defined. The sales process as well as resources invested must be balanced with the purchase process. Any imbalance will lead to a glut or shortfall. Business analytics must be made extensive use of in order to procure exact information for decision making. Metrics that must be tracked include volume data, opportunity costs and conversion data.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/02/hiring-star-salespeople-isnt-the-best-way-to-grow
Whose Job is it to Manage Freelancers
Organizations are increasingly reliant on the specific skills that freelancers bring. Their agile talent is being leveraged to provide solutions required for a particular purpose, yet management processes haven’t evolved enough to provide them with proper mentorship. Similarly, there is no role that has emerged to manage such agile talent. Some solutions have been suggested though. One of them is to assign a roving Chief Technology Officer (CTO) who only works with freelancers. Once the task is done or contract over, the CTO moves on to the next such solutions provider. Another such option is to actually create a new position called external talent manager. This person will only manage all such freelancers or contract workers. A third option is to utilize the specific skills of existing project managers as they have ample experience in managing remote employees. Facebook, Intel and LinkedIn have already adopted this approach. Another approach could be to broaden the existing job profiles of C-Suite members. It could involve talent management of contractual workers and freelancers. Since these people are already managing internal teams, it will only be a valuable addition to also incorporate the management of external staff under them.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/03/whose-job-is-it-to-manage-freelancers
Why you shouldn’t label people “Low Performers”
Several examples exist to suggest that labeling people often hits the wrong note and ends up disrupting work. People underperform when they are categorized. This is especially true when someone is labeled as a ‘low performer’. Such categorizations also limit employee engagement. A case where exceptional talent management by a senior professor helped one of his students was when a student who was supposed to be a “big picture” personality and thus not suited to “detail oriented” sessions was motivated when his attention to detail while composing music was highlighted and appreciated. Similarly, a manager who was to assemble a cross-functional team ended up with only “mediocre” or “poor” performers from other departments ended up getting the best out of these same employees once these categories had been taken off their backs.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/09/why-you-shouldnt-label-people-low-performers
7 Ways people quit their Jobs
People quitting their jobs is on the rise with an average of ten percent resignations in western Europe and North America. This rate goes up substantially in parts of Asia. With there being more number and types of jobs now available the mobility will further increase. It is up to talent management professionals to figure out ways as to why resignations take place and how to curb attrition rates. Seven ways have been identified by the Harvard Business Review by which employees resign. Four of these are positive ways and three of them negative. Resignations By the Book involve the conventional method of employees approaching their seniors, addressing them about reasons for quitting and then serving the required notice period. The Perfunctory method is similar but with the exception that no reason is attributed. A grateful goodbye is where the resigning employee offers to help out with the transition during the notice period. In the Loop method is where the employee informs the organization that he / she wishes to quit and is looking for new opportunities but isn’t in any hurry. The negative approach starts with avoidant where the person does not directly inform the organization but gets information ‘leaked’ by telling colleagues. Next up is the Bridge Burning method which is the most notorious as here the employee on purpose engages in verbal assault so that the firm is forced to see him leave. The rarest method is Impulsive where the employee simply leaves the premises never to return again and avoiding all communication. It is the only method where notice of all forms may be avoided.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/09/7-ways-people-quit-their-jobs?referral=00563
5 Ways IT Leaders can lure top Tech Talent
The IT industry is one forever slugging it out for the best of talent. With the increasing number of technology based jobs, talent recruitment is now done on a war footing. Yet there exist some simple ways which can help IT leaders attract the very best. They can start with holding contests which are fun to participate in but at the same time test the mental fortitude. Young employees prefer benefits and perks so these must be enhanced. Career development through corporate training could be one such. An unconventional way that has long been the norm in athletics is signing on bonuses. Cash may be offered immediately for joining. The recruiting company must reflect a sense of calmness so that potential employees consider the place one of fun. Some positions require a sense of magnanimity and care for others. If such a feeling can be fostered, applicants will automatically jump for such positions as has been the case with military jobs.
What we miss when we Judge a decision by the outcome
The concept of the outcome bias is severely debilitating for several organizations. We tend to focus on the results rather than the intentions. This particularly affects talent recruitment as seniors who select newcomers do so often on the basis of genuinely thought out strategies rather than selfish gains. The employee thus recruited may still perform badly in spite of the best of intentions. Studies have shown that when two different decision makers are compared, participants are more likely to look up for the results alone rather than when shown separately. Thus it has been understood that in order to really benefit the organization, evaluations on major decisions such as recruitment must be done before the outcome is released as that rewards people who care for the overall good and not short-term gains.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/09/what-we-miss-when-we-judge-a-decision-by-the-outcome
How to hire for Emotional Intelligence
Organizations across sectors and regions experience cases where bosses hurt the competitiveness due to their lack of a grip on the people. They speak out of turn and cannot gauge the emotions of the staff members while forever focusing on the results alone. This is because talent recruitment is rarely conducted on behavioral aspects but instead focuses on qualifications and work experience. Some points if applied can still lead to effective behavioral event interviews. First of all personality tests do not measure Emotional Intelligence and must be not be attempted for this purpose. Self report tests also do not work because chances are high that the aspirant will try to hide one’s shortcomings. Three sixty degree feedback must be used for corporate training and not for evaluation. Best way to measure EI is to get hold of the candidates’ references and speaking with them. Such behavior related interviews must try to make the candidate comfortable as only then will genuine aspects come out. The candidate can be asked to narrate one successful and another not so stories about their life or career.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/02/how-to-hire-for-emotional-intelligence
What to do before you fire a Pivotal Employee
In modern business organizations, employees are connected not only to one another via social media but in many cases also with vendors, suppliers, clients or even customers. This leads to certain dilemmnas for the organization. The organization must actively try to leverage the contacts of employees. While on the one hand they may all be employees, but their connect to each other matters when it comes to wielding informal influence. There are some of them who are well integrated and rank high on closeness while others may not be that well linked but may provide connect to some loners so can be classified as exhibiting ‘betweenness’. The HR needs to monitor both the groups for risk mitigation as well as for damage control. The closeness exhibiting group allow risk mitigation while damage control can be done using those who show ‘betweenness’. The HR thus needs to conduct a thorough business analysis of the contacts of its employees as well as modes of communication without violating privacy norms. Greater communication by email shows formality while Skype or social media demonstrate relative informality. The talent management team must ensure that pivotal employees are not removed without creating adequate backup.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-to-do-before-you-fire-a-pivotal-employee
Developing Employees’ strengths boosts Sales, Profit, and Engagement
A study anchored by Gallup across forty five countries in seven different industries has confirmed that corporate training provided to employees leads to several business gains. There was an increase in profits, sales, customer engagement for organizations where employees’ strengths were further developed upon. In those same places there was a decrease in employee turnover and safety accidents. Some principles need to be followed in order to boost these aspects. First of all the leadership must be approached as the top management’s skills must reflect on the entire organization. Managers must be convinced of the positive impacts of such training sessions, else they will doubt the validity leading to poor implementation. A sense of enthusiasm for such activities must be generated throughout the organization. This will also enable tracking of individual skills so that project teams can reflect diversity on people with varied skill sets. Managers’ appraisals must reflect their teams’ increased engagement and development. This positivity in the company culture will eventually reflect on its overall brand.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/09/developing-employees-strengths-boosts-sales-profit-and-engagement
How to make sense of Human Resources Technology
Human resource management is getting a dose of revolution thanks to the onslaught of technology. Several apps and tools are now available to make work easier such as Workday in HRM, Jolt in workforce management, CATS in recruitment and staffing and Kenexa in talent management. However a lot of HR tech goes waste due to investment in the wrong tools or unnecessary solutions. Learning management is one field within HR where investment is pertinent due to the fact that corporate training is set for several changes. Employees prefer online tools as they provide the flexibility of time to undergo training at anytime suitable on any topic where help is needed. This is in marked contrast to the classroom mode where sessions are pre-decided as per a certain rigorous schedule. Like in CRM, recruitment solutions must create files on each case as the former would do for customers. An ideal workforce management tools meanwhile must incorporate payroll, attendance, leave scheduling and forecasting of labour or staff requirements.
Source:http://venturebeat.com/2016/09/02/how-to-make-sense-of-human-resources-technology/
Recruiting Strategies for a tight Talent Market
Companies are taking extreme steps in order to succeed at talent recruitment. Snapchat’s geo-filters for example enable poaching of talent from fellow startups. Notably it has also been used to deprive Uber of personnel. Some strategies have thus been etched out which if followed with proper procedure, can improve recruitment drives. While social media is a tried-and-tested source for recruitment, the channels for the same need to altered. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter already posses en number of firms fighting it out for limited number of people. Instead Levo or Muse could be ideal sources for millennial women. For the medical field it could be Doxima, while Stack Overflow will be for developers or programmers. Development of own talent pools is another good strategy as followed by Genesys to recruit from the USA, South Korea, Malaysia and even South America. In order to recruit millennials, their specific concerns will need to be addressed but in a funny manner. GE for example had long been associated with manufacturing and not ground-breaking innovations. Through the “what’s the matter with Owen” campaign, GE very intelligently addressed this challenge and got over it by connecting with younger people.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/04/recruiting-strategies-for-a-tight-talent-market
Recognizing the Role of Emotional Labor in the On-demand Economy
In the on-demand economy, most firms evaluate their workers through customer feedback systems. This creates an enormous amount of emotional labour pressure among the workers, similar to that faced in the airline industry by flight attendants and stewards. This is particularly true for Uber which has seen a number of its drivers facing stress, often not due to their fault but due to customers being unable to use the app properly or even reasons for technicality. Some methods have been identified to support this aspect of the on-demand economy better. First of all workers may instead be hired as full time employees as that will provide them greater security at work. The Finnish company ‘Happy-or-Not’ has created a scale involving facial expressions and Emojis for evaluation of people. Business research conducted by the company confirms that this enables better ratings by customers than the Likert Scale of 1 to 5. Users must also be given the option to do more if they desire so such as the tipping mechanism is much better embedded at Lyft than at Uber. Ultimately, companies in this segment must understand that they operate in the service sector and must equally take care of their employees the way they will of their customers.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/08/recognizing-the-role-of-emotional-labor-in-the-on-demand-economy
Ex Summit: Is the real Innovation around Employee Engagement?
Majority of organizations are these days focusing on User Experience (UX) or Customer Experience (CX) but what they are ignoring is Employee Experience (EX). While there are en number of programmes designed to reach out to customers, there are almost none of that level for employees. As per business research conducted by Gartner, it has been understood that only a fifth of employees in the USA are engaged, but a similar number are actively engaged. Companies are designing products taking into account the diversity of the user group but corporate training programmes still do not reflect this in spite of employees also being from diverse backgrounds. Markets are afforded time to penetrate but employees almost no such luxury to stabilize and grown on the job.
How to Work for a Narcissistic Boss
Working under narcissistic bosses can be really tough but that can be propounded by being poorly dealt. The problem further aggravates because a lot of narcissists appear confident and charming to the outside world, implying that the pain that their subordinates suffer do not get reflected. These people are quick to claim credit for other’s work and possess a sense of entitlement. One of the ways to cope up with such situations is to control one’s own ego in order to avoid clash. It is also recommended that such superiors must be complimented at all time usually when the two are alone. There may still be a lot to learn from such leaders such as exuding charisma and ability to look calm under pressure. It will also be good to avoid gossip near such bosses as these people tend to be very control savvy and thus trying to collect information within the organization at all times. Ultimately it is advisable to weigh all options carefully as it may not be a good thing to quit the job. Another place may have a similar leader with management consulting publication Harvard Business Review confirming the same through their study.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/04/how-to-work-for-a-narcissistic-boss
Power shifts to the People in Job Hunt
The US economy has now hit a straight 80th consecutive month of growth. This means that growth has been steady since the dark days of 2009. Business research conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that the number of people looking to be gainfully employed is almost the same as the number of job openings. Total payroll jobs created has been constantly on the rise and unemployment now stands at the low of only 4.9 percent. This may have mixed blessings. For job seekers, it means that there are more opportunities for wage negotiation. Wages have not increased much during this entire cycle, but that trend too has started picking up lately. For organizations though, talent recruitment is currently a massive challenge. Power has shifted from the organizations to individuals. Staffing the right person with the job profile is increasingly proving to be difficult.
Source:http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Power-Shifts-to-the-People-in-Job-Hunt
3 Ways Social Entrepreneurs can solve their Talent Problem
Three ways have been identified by social entrepreneurs to solve the talent related problems within that sector. First of all, social sector firms must realize that funding alone will not solve all recruitment problems. Even at the highest level pay can never match profit motive corporates. The best approach will be to work towards the genuine vision quoted. Hiring, retaining and managing the best of talent available must be among the top targets at such organizations. Talent recruitment must be taken care of by the top bosses and not be delegated. Retaining employees is one aspect, but these firms must go one step ahead by trying to develop leaders from within the ranks. Management training and skill development at this level can help develop the best of leaders for an uncertain future. Source:https://hbr.org/2016/06/3-ways-social-entrepreneurs-can-solve-their-talent-problem
People favor Naturals over Strivers- even though they say Otherwise
In every field of life, there are naturals and there are strivers. The former are those who were born with some innate talent while the latter may not have been so talented but developed their expertise over time with experience. It has been confirmed that most people rate the potential of greatness above those who have actually produced the goods. A study was conducted with a group for musicians and this trend proved to be correct. But to verify the same, business research was conducted on professionals to analyze the level of appreciation and respect they had towards a certain set of entrepreneurs. Some parameters were distinct between two groups of subjects but again the same results. The group adjudged to have greater natural flair was preferred by the people, in stark contrast to what they actually professed.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/05/people-favor-naturals-over-strivers-even-though-they-say-otherwise
The top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends dominating 2016
Social media has entered a critical phase where its centrality to digital marketing has been further enhanced. Some interesting trends have emerged that are dominating this market presently. First of all more content is no longer the mantra, instead it is quality content. Until recently, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were highly dominant within this market, but that trend is altering with the emergence of Snapchat and Instagram serving niches. Live streaming using video content is getting bigger than ever. Buy buttons are getting more popular thus instigating people to complete the purchase process on social media itself. Existing applications are diversifying to service certain business requirements. An example of this would be Facebook’s Messenger service restricted to businesses. Instead of the mass content, the move towards customized material is gaining credence. Apps are getting broader with greater functionality. An example of this could be Facebook’s personal digital assistant.
Four Interview questions to help you hire people with Grit
Some interview questions have been compiled which recruiters must ask as the answers elicited will highlight the people with true grit. First of all they must ask whether the candidates’ dreams have turned into reality. Of course not all plans will have come to fruition but what the candidate learns out of such apparent failure is what will determine how focused the person is. Talent recruitment experts have also suggested that the aspirants must be quizzed about their ability to bounce back from failure. The methodology will reflect on how calm and composed the leadership will be in times of crisis or project failure. Thirdly, they must be asked about times in their career when they have come up with suggestions to improve work and what were the results of such ideation. More than innovative ideas emanating, it is the ability to execute them that will make or break leaders. Finally, the recruiter must ask that with the plethora of distractions today, how did the candidate stay focused at work during earlier projects which required long hours of work. The answer to this question will influence the staying power and perseverance of the interviewee.
Innovation in the World demands Adaptability in the Workplace
Innovation has hit a new high over the past two decades. Mobile phones have evolved from big luxuries to basic commodities to such an extent that millions of kids across the world cannot even fathom an alternate universe without them. Further changes are afoot with smart cars set to be autonomous ones and robots being able to replicate codes themselves. To keep up with all this business innovation, it is essential that employees themselves stay adaptable. For this up skilling through corporate training is a must. This will involves specific training towards technology based applications. Over the next few years, studies suggest that around five million people will either lose their jobs due to automation or their profiles will need to be realigned to existing realities. Becoming tech-savvy is essential for all levels of managers.
Using a stage by stage approach to increase Employee Engagement
In order to increase employee engagement, a step by step method has been suggested. The first level is tactical and this one is slightly outmoded. By this, the company gets feedback on its work through annual employee surveys. These take time and only look backwards and where things went wrong rather than predicting on the spot how things can be improved. Stage two involves a response driven scenario where employee feedback is solicited not annually but post major events such as promotions, holidays or management training sessions. At the third stage, the management is able to take informed decisions as it now has applied business analytics to gauge what exactly employees and how best those points may be resolved. The best and most productive way in modern times is the one based around foresight. This emerges from highly engaged employees who give timely feedback themselves rather than waiting for formal appraisals. A major cultural evolution is required for companies to reach this stage.
Source:http://engageforsuccess.org/using-stage-stage-approach-increase-employee-engagement
The Era of Agile Talent
There is a certain requirement across organizations for agile talent. This kind of personnel relates to freelancers who have an expertise in certain aspects which they can provide to organizations requiring them at that point in time. These freelancers do not do functional or administrative tasks as in the past, but take part in the corporate strategy. For example, the Campbell’s soup company wanted to expand to Russia and China. In order to sell canned soup to these markets, they needed to understand the socio- cultural dynamics. Thus they hired an anthropologist for a brief stint to work with them. Similarly an NGO working in Bangladesh needed a cell chemist for a few months of the year and took those services. Similarly, there are educationists who teach certain specialized subjects at seasonal periods of the year. The freelancing style of working will further expand with time.
Source:https://hbr.org/ideacast/2016/07/the-era-of-agile-talent
If you’re not outside your Comfort Zone, you won’t learn Anything
There are several aspects at work which professionals are aware will bring them benefits, yet they do not venture for this. This is because they aren’t familiar with such tasks. The reluctance to come out of a certain comfort zone is crippling for several professionals. First of all it is important to be honest with oneself and not give excuses. Individual behaviours are unique and no professional can be good at all aspects of communication. One needs to start rectifying such traits by taking small steps. Even corporate training programmes aim to isolate trainees in situations where they aren’t comfortable so that eventually they win over their fears.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/07/if-youre-not-outside-your-comfort-zone-you-wont-learn-anything
Listen to your Employees, not just your Customers
Hulu, which is the world’s third largest internet streaming video player once realized that several of their customers did not change away from their services in spite of poor feedback. They then realized that this is because competitors such as Netflix and Amazon Prime were working too hard and thus were being too pushy to Hulu customers to switch over. This over-insistence did not go well. This realization occurred after a unique experiment where Hulu integrated customer feedback with employee feedback. While most customer facing organizations spend enormous amounts of money on the former, very few take care of the latter even though employee feedback is a critical component of talent management. Feedback systems must be aligned around key strategic objectives. The feedback system must be designed in such a way that it can capture vital business intelligence across the various touch points of the customer journey. Employee and customer surveys must be held at right intervals. Some amount of open-ended questions must also be included in the surveys as that allows people to speak freely and the company in turn to capture the emotional connect.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/08/listen-to-your-employees-not-just-your-customers
Power Shifts to the People in Job Hunt
Source:http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Power-Shifts-to-the-People-in-Job-Hunt
Listen to your employees, not just your customers
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/08/listen-to-your-employees-not-just-your-customers
The 5 types of Millennials you need to know about
Source: http://www.humanresourcesonline.net/5-types-millennials-need-know/
The Five Traits you should prioritize when Recruiting Executive- level Talent
Different levels of the workforce present different talent management challenges. While recruiting for the executive level, certain attributes must be prioritized over pure metrics. First of all the candidate must be humble. The executive may eventually rise to be a leader so he / she must be able to possess some motivational skills. Executive level candidates must be able to persevere against several levels of challenges – organizational, personal and market. The person must be show a sense of trust and respect towards others as well as garner those traits for oneself. The executive must understand that success in career to quite an extent depends upon risks undertaken, so he / she must brace up for such vulnerable situations.
Why you should interview people who turn down a job with your company
Source: https://hbr.org/2016/08/why-you-should-interview-people-who-turn-down-a-job-with-your-company
The three recruiting trends defining HR today
Source:http://www.recruitingtrends.com/REC/view/story.jhtml?id=534360953
How to manage the knowledge workers on your team
The way to manage knowledge workers is very different from employees who perform routine tasks. The metrics to evaluate them must also equally be different. In the mews and media industry this is all the more apparent as genuine knowledge workers are needed to conduct investigative journalism like was done during the time of Watergate. In order to get the best productivity out of them, it is essential to foster an environment at the workplace where collaboration is a constant process. Those working on special assignments may get the freedom regarding working hours or even work from home options. Evaluations may be over six months rather than quarterly. They must also be explained the companystrategy over the next period so that these knowledge workers can position their work accordingly without bringing down the quality. Knowledge workers are unique individuals and they must not be measured by any common yardstick. They crave independence and freedom at work. They possess a certain level of knowledge for which they deserve likewise respect. In order to standardize content to some extent, it is necessary that all latest software and operating systems they must be familiarized with through formal corporate training.
Three ways small startups can attract big tech talent
Four interview questions to help you hire people with grit
3 things every boss should know about building a strong team
Source: http://www.inc.com/tom-gimbel/3-employee-engagement-lessons-learned-from-a-glassdoor-panel.html
The radical way this well-known company weeds out bad employees
How gaming is helping organizations accelerate recruitment
The secrets to designing a top-tier recruitment strategy
Why we must disrupt the face of talent management
Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/advertising-week/why-we-must-disrupt-the-f_b_10237250.html?section=india
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