Keeping people who work remotely engaged and motivated

In 2020 and beyond, having remote workers at your organization will likely become even more prevalent. Therefore, it’s of the utmost importance to have a powerful strategy in place to ensure that your employees are kept engaged and motivated. After all, physical distance between a manager and workers can lead to mishaps, including poor communication, feelings of isolation and a decrease in efficiency.

“An effective remote worker plan can mean happier workers who feel decreased pressure by not having to answer to office constraints,” says Nancy Halverson, MRINetwork Senior Vice President, Global Operations. “They are often able to achieve a level of work-life balance that is more difficult to manage in a traditional work setting.” She noted that a recent study reported by Inc. Magazine and Business Insider found that workers who can do their jobs remotely at least on a part-time basis tend to be more at ease.

“Video conferencing company Owl Labs surveyed 1,200 U.S. workers between the ages of 22 and 65 for its 2019 State of Remote Work report, and found that employees who regularly work remotely are happier and stay with their companies longer than on-site employees. Of the more than 1,200 people surveyed, 62% work remotely at least part of the time,” according to the publication.

To help make sure your company’s remote worker plan is implemented in the strongest possible ways, here are three tips to follow:

1. Foster connection among remote workers.

According to Forbes, “Isolation can really take a toll on remote workers. If you’re holed away in a home office with little human contact, that’s unhealthy. In addition to that, remote workers often miss out on casual friendships and interactions that go hand in hand with working in an office.” To aid in preventing feelings of isolation, Halverson recommends holding weekly conference calls between employees in which everyone shares updates about their lives. “You might also consider having workers set up one-on-one check-ins with one another to help them become friends and feel connected,” she says.

2. Collect regular feedback from workers and clients.

Beyond creating opportunities for connection, it’s also crucial that you get thoughts and opinions from your workers and the clients they’re helping in their remote capacity. “Not all remote workers receive the benefit of performance reviews, or even knowing whether or not their client or boss is happy with their latest project. Worse, clients may not take the time to tell you if something is wrong. Instead, they simply won’t hire you again,” according to Forbes. “To combat this,” says Halverson, “hold performance evaluations and garner feedback from clients so that you can better understand the needs and challenges from all parties. You’ll get valuable information that you can use to improve quality of life for all involved as a result.”

3. Promote independence for your workers.

This final tip centers on promoting a culture of freedom and flexibility. According to The Muse, “Because you don’t have colleagues just a few feet away or a tech team one floor down, you’ll find yourself developing the skill of looking for your own answers and becoming more proactive to find what you need on your own.” As a boss, therefore, it’s important that you don’t micromanage your workers. “Allow them to truly enjoy their remote work opportunities and have confidence in their ability to get the job done as opposed to nagging them for constant check-ins,” advises Halverson. “Your people will be happier and more motivated for it.”

Remote work can encourage more effective workers in many different ways. By fostering connections among your staff, getting regular feedback and boosting an environment of independence, you’ll build a strong culture for remote work. This, in turn, will lead to greater efficiency and higher retention rates.

The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com

Employment Summary for January 2020 (BLS)

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report, the U.S. saw employment rise by 225,000 in January, while unemployment remained about the same at 3.6%.

The numbers show that “U.S. employers ramped up hiring in January and wage gains rebounded, providing fresh evidence of a durable jobs market that backs the Federal Reserve’s decision to stop cutting interest rates and hands President Donald Trump an early election-year boost,” according to Bloomberg.

Notably, there were strong gains in a number of industries during January, according to the report, including construction, healthcare and transportation and warehousing.

Along with the strong job gains and a low unemployment rate, the numbers beat estimates for growth in January, according to the news publication. “Payrolls increased by 225,000 after an upwardly revised 147,000 gain in December, according to a Labor Department data Friday that topped all estimates of economists. The jobless rate edged up to 3.6%, still near a half-century low, while average hourly earnings climbed 3.1% from a year earlier.” In advance of the report, business experts anticipated a lower total of around 150,000 jobs, suggesting that a slowdown was inevitable given the economy’s long expansion. January was the 112th straight month of job growth since 2010.

“The report is unambiguously good,” said Ed Campbell, portfolio manager at QMA, in an interview with CNBC. “Strong growth and decent but not runaway wage growth should be good for stocks. Of course, we’ve had such a strong week, the markets are taking this in stride given how much we’ve been up so far.”

Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provided a breakdown of the major worker groups by gender and ethnicity. “Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.3 percent), adult women (3.2 percent), teenagers (12.2 percent), Whites (3.1 percent), Blacks (6.0 percent), Asians (3.0 percent), and Hispanics (4.3 percent) showed little or no change over the month.”

Year over year, the job gains in January 2020 were much higher than in 2019 when 175,000 employees joined the workforce. In December, women outnumbered men in the workforce for just the second time in history. That number was mostly unchanged in January, with women continuing to make up just over 50 percent of employees.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics broke down the growth by industry: First, the construction industry saw a strong employment boost for the month with employment rising by 44,000. “Most of the gain occurred in specialty trade contractors, with increases in both the residential (+18,000) and nonresidential (+17,000) components. Construction added an average of 12,000 jobs per month in 2019,” as noted by the data. Interestingly, Bloomberg mentioned that the gains in the construction industry were in part due to the “unseasonably warm month.”

Second, the healthcare industry also experienced strong numbers for the month, adding 36,000 jobs. It’s been a strong year too: “Healthcare has added 361,000 jobs over the past 12 months,” according to BLS data.

Finally, transportation and warehousing saw increases for January 2020, with numbers up by 28,000. “Job gains occurred in couriers and messengers (+14,000) and in warehousing and storage (+6,000). Over the year, employment in transportation and warehousing has increased by 106,000,” as noted by the data.

The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com

Employment Situation Report - January 2020

Employment Summary for December 2019

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest report, the manufacturing industry took a hit in the number of jobs available for U.S. workers. In fact, the industry lost 12,000 jobs in December and increased by only 46,000 over the course of the year, according to CNBC. That’s compared to a net increase of 264,000 in 2018.

Overall, there are plenty of jobs in the industry still available, however. In fact, “There were still 477,000 open positions as of October, down less than 5% from the year-ago level, according to the Labor Department’s most recent data,” as explained by CNBC. The publication goes on to suggest that companies are having a difficult time filling positions due to a combination of a skills gap as well as the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.

“Until we have a better-trained, more-skilled workforce, which is not really out there, you’re going to have a lot of these positions open. It’s a challenge,” said Steve Rosen, CEO of Resilience Capital Partners, in an interview with CNBC. “There are job openings, and they are very tough to fill.”

Notably, this comes as the unemployment rate overall held at 3.5 percent, meaning that just 5.8 million people in the U.S. were without a job in December. “A year earlier, the jobless rate was 3.9 percent, and the number of unemployed persons was 6.3 million,” according to BLS data.

In terms of major worker groups and their employment rates, the BLS stated the following: “The unemployment rates for adult men (3.1 percent), adult women (3.2 percent), teenagers (12.6 percent), Whites (3.2 percent), Blacks (5.9 percent), Asians (2.5 percent), and Hispanics (4.2 percent) showed little or no change in December.”

Overall, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 145,000 in December with the most notable gains coming in retail and health care, according to the BLS data. For the year, "payroll employment rose by 2.1 million, down from a gain of 2.7 million in 2018.”

More specifically, retail trade added 41,000 jobs and “employment increased in clothing and accessories stores (+33,000) and in building material and garden supply stores (+7,000).”

For the health care industry, the field saw a 28,000 boost in December. “Ambulatory health care services and hospitals added jobs over the month (+23,000 and +9,000, respectively).” For the year, the industry added 399,000 jobs, which was higher than the increase of 350,000 in 2018.”

Other industries such as transportation, information, finance and government saw little changes in employment for the month, according to BLS data.

Interest rates are likely to remain the same as a result of this most recent jobs data, according to Bloomberg. “Federal Reserve policy makers are likely to keep holding interest rates steady after cutting three times in 2019 to insure against risks from trade-policy uncertainty and sluggish global growth, though further weakness could raise concerns about the durability of the record-long U.S. expansion,” as noted by the publication.

The Trevi Group | “Executive Search for Technology Professionals” | www.TheTreviGroup.com

Update about our monthly "First Friday Preview" reports...

Over the years, the First Friday Preview monthly newsletter has provided you with information about recruitment trends and actionable insights to attract and engage talent. In 2020 we are refreshing the newsletter with a new name - a name more fitting of the content and goal of the publication.

Look for the new STAR Update (Staffing, Talent Advisory, Recruiting) to be released in the middle of each month, starting with the first issue on January 15.

Also, we’ll continue to provide BLS Employment Situation reports. Please note the January 10, 2020 date for the first report in the new year.

The Trevi Group | “Executive Search for Technology Professionals”

Trend to Watch: Increased Focus on Performance Management

The year 2020 will mark fierce competition among employers who want to hire and, more importantly, retain the best talent at their organizations. After all, unemployment in the U.S. is hovering at near-historic lows, with the most recent Employment Situation report from by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics illustrating that the unemployment rate within the executive, managerial and professional labor market was just 3.3 percent.

Click to watch the video.

“In 2020, companies will want to ensure their performance reviews are specific, frequent, tied to relevant work and are as practical as possible,” says Annette Wehrli, director of leadership and organizational effectiveness for MRINetwork. “This helps both the organization and employees have candid conversations about progress, development and goal achievement.”

For decades, the prevailing wisdom has been that a big annual review at the end of the year is enough to let employees know how they're doing. However, this is no longer true - employees are demanding more frequent and detailed feedback on their work, and managers are responding by making their review practices more flexible and engaging. If your company hasn't updated its performance review practices, it runs the risk of losing top talent to companies that build feedback into their regular business functions from week to week. Also, you'll miss out on the valuable chance to identify and develop employees' professional skill sets.

With 2020 just around the corner, here are some tips to revise your company’s performance review practices in order to succeed for the coming years:

1. Make performance reviews an ongoing conversation

The first step to ensuring employees are poised for success is to move the performance review from the annual model to one that’s more of an ongoing conversation. Instead of saving comments for the annual review, find ways to provide feedback and discuss priorities with employees on a regular basis. You could hold biweekly, one-on-one check-ins with employees, discuss goals or accomplishments at the beginning or end of each quarter or provide opportunities for group discussions at weekly team meetings.

According to Forbes, this will change these previously dreaded discussions to welcomed, productive dialogue, resulting in more actionable successes. “Before making the change at your company, put a specific plan in place. Meetings can be less formal but should still have a clear framework, including benchmarks and opportunities for setting goals,” according to the publication. “The focus should also shift from year-over-year progress to continuous personal growth, setting the cultural precedent that employees are rewarded for growing and learning, not just annually.”

2. Embrace offering employees a career path at your organization

Career pathing is a comprehensive process in which managers partner with employees in taking an honest look at their career goals, skills, education, experience and personal characteristics. A plan is developed for achieving what is necessary in each of these areas in order for the employee to advance within the company, providing both employees and employers with a clear understanding of what it will take for workers to move from their current position to where they want to be. Through this process, employees are empowered to take ownership of their career performance and to align their career goals with the strategic goals of the organization.  Career pathing essentially helps companies retain top performing staff by showing them a personalized pathway to advancement.

“By showing employees a tangible, achievable path to growth within your company, you increase the likelihood of improving employee engagement, which leads to greater productivity, happier workers and less attrition,” says Wehrli.

To do this, it’s important to reserve time during more regularly-scheduled performance review sessions to sit down and learn about the employee's professional aspirations at the company. Then, you should put together a tangible plan for helping the employee reach these goals in a timely and proactive manner.

3. Make transparency and feedback a part of your culture

The performance review, historically, has been thought of as a one-way street. Managers are giving employees their review and it ends at that. However, this is an antiquated approach to performance management. Instead, your company should seek to foster a culture of transparency and feedback for all.

Reviews that benefit both employee and employer are based on honest, open communication, and this is only possible when there is a culture of workplace transparency. Employees should feel comfortable expressing their concerns, and criticism should be communicated in a way that is constructive. In addition to being able to offer feedback to managers, the performance review should also include feedback from fellow colleagues and others at the organization (not just one manager).

According to Forbes, “One review from one manager doesn’t really paint a full picture of an employee’s holistic performance. The review process should involve the peers they work with every day and at least one direct report, when applicable.”

4. Make sure that performance reviews are fair

Too often, employees can discount a manager’s review of their work as simply opinion. That is especially the case if the review goes poorly. The benchmarks employees are judged against should be realistic and fair instead of nebulous and entirely subjective.

“Managers and employees should work together to establish metrics for success, so that once reviews occur, there’s an objective way to discuss and evaluate performance,” says Wehrli. “By doing this, the employee is likely to be more open and receptive to their manager’s feedback, and be more involved and motivated to succeed within your organization.”

In conclusion, 2020 is the year in which drastically changing your performance review process is essential for your company’s continued success. With unemployment so low and companies fighting for the best talent to bring to their organizations, you must do your best to enhance your performance management process to retain employees and set them up for success.

The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com

How to Hire More Effectively in a Tight Labor Market

National unemployment remains at record lows, especially in the executive, managerial and professional labor market. In fact, unemployment in this sector has been hovering around 3.3% most recently, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. As a result, many businesses are struggling to find the best talent, with the necessary skills for their open roles.

Click to watch the video.

If your organization is struggling to find top talent in this tight labor market, here are some strategies you can follow:

Consider expanding your criteria for the ideal employee. Cast a wider net of candidates. Instead of looking for only people with a very specific background or special training, it’s important to widen your search when hiring during a difficult labor market with low unemployment.

“In a tight job market like this one, it’s important to be flexible with the required background and expertise you’d like candidates to have,” says Simone Mazzeo, program manager of talent attraction for MRINetwork. “Instead, also consider people who may have the skills from another sector that can apply well to the job at hand. You’d be surprised at just how effective these employees can be.”

For instance, someone can have an exceptional educational and work background in your precise industry sector, but still fail at your organization if they aren't a good cultural fit, or if they don't share your core values. Therefore, you need to factor in the type of person who will fit in among your employees with the mentality they need to thrive, and the interpersonal skills, perhaps not listed on their resume, that will help them become part of the team.

Notably, many employers feel that hiring a candidate with transferrable skills is a strong way to hire. According to the 2018 MRINetwork Performance Management Study, nearly 80 percent of the employers surveyed, somewhat agree or strongly agree that finding quality, industry-experienced talent is more difficult than ever, and that their companies are more likely to hire people who have transferrable skills, but lack industry experience.

By considering those with transferrable skills, you can significantly expand the number of applicants and focus on harder to define skills, such as cultural fit, ability to work with teams and communication ability, which might be just as important for the role, but are much harder to learn than specific, technical skills. As a result, you’ll find yourself interviewing candidates who may not fit a traditional hiring profile, but who instead can thrive at your firm with some industry-specific training.

To cast a wider net, you should focus on the job descriptions you post for every open role. After you draft them, revisit the requirements to determine if they’re all absolutely needed. For example, you may realize that some of the technical skills or professional requirements are simply nice to haves, but not truly essential to the worker’s success at your company. If that’s the case, don’t make them absolutes and you’ll find yourself with more candidates for your open roles.

Increase the types of perks and benefits you offer candidates to entice them to accept your job offer (once you get to that stage in the hiring process). When you’re facing an especially tight labor market, any little edge over your competition such as sign-on bonuses or benefits can impress and get a candidate to choose your company over a competitor.

“Ensuring your company has benefits that fit the needs of the next generation workforce is one of the most important things you can do to set your organization up for success,” according to Forbes.

Some perks you may want to consider adding to your organization include:

• Relocation assistance: If a candidate is looking to move to join your firm, you can offer to help pay some of the costs, including flights, moving expenses, and even rent.

• A monetary sign-on bonus: This can be an attractive way to get strong talent to you firm as it’ll show that your company truly respects a person’s experience - and is willing to put money down to prove it.

• Helping employees pay off student loans: With student loan debt the highest it’s ever been, employees can truly benefit from this perk. This will illustrate a desire by your organization to support workers’ lifestyle needs and their education.

• Paid days off (PDO): Potential candidates want to ask about PDO, but don’t want to appear overly interested in time off, in comparison to the responsibilities of the job. However, they do want to know their hard work is recognized with the ability to take time off. They especially appreciate their birthday as an additional day off. Take the awkwardness out of these conversations by proactively discussing your vacation and paid time off policies with applicants.

• Gym membership and other health benefits: Work-life balance is an important part of any job. Candidates will appreciate a company that wants to take care of them not only financially, but physically as well.

“By presenting these types of perks, you’ll provide candidates with even more reasons to accept an offer with your organization,” says Mazzeo. “Candidates will see that the company culture focuses on the well-being and happiness of its employees, and this can be a great attribute that both attracts new hires and retains people for years to come.”

Plus, as Forbes notes, these types of benefits will be especially attractive to millennial employees. “Companies that offer these benefits will attract and retain the best talent - and prevent significant turnover costs as well,” according to the publication.

In sum, applicants have numerous options in a tight job market, so it is imperative that the way your organization approaches them and the advantages that are offered give candidates every reason to want to join your company.

 The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com

Video: Here's what you can learn when a top candidate rejects your offer

You think you’ve found the perfect candidate to fill an open role at your organization. After reviewing their resume, conducting rounds of interviews with your recruiter, hiring manager and company leadership, you’ve made an offer. You’ve even checked the candidate’s references and completed salary negotiations. Everything looks like it’s going well and that the candidate is about to accept the offer ... That is, until they don’t.

Click to watch the video.

You’re surprised and disappointed by the rejection. While the candidate gives a valid reason as to why he/she can’t accept the role at your company, you’re still upset. But instead of letting it get to you and your human resources organization, you must bounce back and learn from the experience so that you can grow as a business.

“Making an offer to a candidate, only to have it rejected, is always difficult.” says Simone Mazzeo, program manager of talent attraction for MRINetwork. “This is especially the case if you don’t have a second applicant who can fill the role. Instead of placing all the blame on the candidate that rejected your offer, use the experience as a powerful learning tool. You and your firm need to carefully analyze what happened so you can avoid a similar situation in the future.”

Here are some tips to help you move forward after a top candidate rejects your offer:

Revisit your interviewing process as a firm. If a candidate rejects your offer, it might be because they did not have a good experience during the interview process. Maybe one or more of the interviewers failed to impress or didn’t adequately answer the candidate’s concerns. Or it could be that the interview process was extremely drawn-out and grueling and left a bad taste in the person’s mouth. Then, when it came time to think through the offer, they simply didn’t feel comfortable with their perception of your firm’s culture reflected in that process.

To help, you and your organization should look carefully at how the entire interview process is structured and implemented. That way you, recruiters and hiring managers are on the same page when it comes to language you use when meeting candidates, the types of questions you ask, and, maybe most importantly, the way you describe the company in order to accurately (and enticingly) market the position and the opportunity.

“Get together with key stakeholders during your interview process,” says Mazzeo. “This is absolutely critical if you want to make offers to top talent in a competitive job market and have them accept. You need to come across as a united front and inspire people to want to join your firm. That means you must hold their interest. Are you asking them what their interest level is in each step of the process? Otherwise, you’ll lose out on people who will help your business succeed.”

Determine if you have an employer branding issue. A lack of compelling employer branding or a sense of the brand experience is another reason a top candidate might reject your offer. For instance, a candidate may not feel excited about what your organization has to offer them. Maybe during the interview process, they didn’t see the potential for career growth. Or the company felt antiquated and not a good fit for their personality. If your organization feels stale, unappealing or otherwise not exciting, then it’s likely a candidate will simply reject your offer without a second thought.

To address this, you need to ensure the company has a solid social media presence, a consistent media voice, and the company website and marketing materials are updated. This will provide the “wow factor” for prospective candidates from the very beginning, enabling the organization to inspire interviewees with specific examples of a strong company culture, growth opportunities, and a highly professional interview process.

Here are some topics to cover in the interview to help prevent rejected offers:

1. Company History. Know your company’s history and be able to articulate your value proposition during the first call or meeting.
   

2. Company Culture. Find out what type of culture the candidate wants and go into depth on your culture. What did they like about their current company culture? What didn’t they like? Is that why they are leaving?
   

3. Compensation. Be prepared to discuss the compensation range and benefits. While you may have already screened candidates around desired salary, it’s important to talk about other benefits and perks that are available to applicants. This is another opportunity to promote the advantages of working at the company.

“You want to make the right offer to the best candidate,” says Mazzeo. “To ensure you’re interviewing top talent that will be engaged in the process, strongly consider partnering with a recruiter to find A players that will move your organization forward. He or she can represent your brand effectively and present candidates to you that are thoroughly screened and informed. Not only will this weed out weaker candidates, it’ll also help you experience fewer rejections from seemingly strong contenders.”

In sum, while a rejected job offer can throw a damper on a critical position you need to fill, there are several actions you and other on the hiring team can take to lessen the chances of this happening. By partnering with a recruiter, bolstering your interviewing process and employer branding initiatives, as well as simply looking out for red flags, you’ll make offers to stronger candidates who won’t leave you scrambling to fill open roles at your organization.

 The Trevi Group | www.TheTreviGroup.com | “Executive Search for Technology Professionals”

Video: How to confidently conduct your next candidate interview

When it comes to interviewing, there is often the assumption that hiring managers know how to interview candidates in a meaningful way that provides clarity around applicants’ expertise and overall fit with open roles. However, depending on their experience interviewing, managers can be just as nervous as candidates. After all, hiring managers are human too. That’s why it’s important for new or inexperienced managers to be very well prepared to avoid any possible jitters.

Click to watch the video.

“If you’re a manager who’s new to hiring or someone who may be unsure of how to get the most out of the candidate interview, there are measure you can take to feel more at ease,” says Simone Mazzeo, program manager of talent attraction for MRINetwork. “By leveraging measures such as coaching from your preferred talent partner, making sure you’re highly prepared by reading through each candidate’s resume and cover letter, and simply putting yourself in the candidate’s shoes, there’s much you can do to feel more confident.”

Here are some tips managers new to interviewing can follow:

1. Preparation is key. It’s not surprising that doing your homework can pay off when you’re in a high-pressure situation. That’s definitely true for an interview that you’re conducting. One key way to prepare for the interview you’re about to conduct is to gain a deep understanding of the person’s job experience by reading and re-reading the person’s resume, LinkedIn profile and cover letter.

Also, try drafting some questions you want to ask before the interview so that you have an idea about what you want to ask. You can even jot down notes on a copy of the person’s resume to help.

1. Get coaching from your preferred talent partner. If you want to really ensure you’re never nervous for a job interview again, simply ask for help from an expert. Recruiters and other members of your company’s HR team are well-versed when it comes to interviewing potential candidates. Therefore, simply tap them for advice before the interview date. They can coach you on ways to perform best under pressure by doing mock interviews with you, reviewing the types of questions you ask, and answering any questions you may have about the process.

“When in doubt, it never hurts to ask the recruiter who is connecting you to top candidates, for a little assistance,” says Mazzeo. “Their jobs are dedicated to finding and hiring the best talent for the company, so they’ll be more than happy to assist you as a hiring manager trying to fill an open role.”

1. Enjoy your time with the candidate. Instead of having the interviews seem like a stuffy, extremely formal experience, you can make them more of a conversation. While it is, of course, very serious business to hire a strong candidate for your team, you’re both only human at the end of the day. You also want to make candidates (and yourself) feel at ease so you get a stronger assessment of each person’s unique skills and abilities during your time together.

In sum, you can ease the pressure and stress of conducting candidate interviews by preparing yourself through research, working with your talent partner and HR team to learn more about interviewing and by keeping the interview itself as conversational and light as possible. By following these tips, you’ll find all-star employees in no time (and be less nervous)!

 The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com



Video: How a great employee referral program can help you promote your employer brand

It’s no secret: Employee referral programs can greatly help your organization find and hire top talent. After all, where best to find potential new employees than by tapping into current workers, who share your firm’s values and who are already helping you run a successful business? “Employee referral programs can be an effective way to hire talented people, and they can also be invaluable in the current talent acquisition environment, in which open jobs outnumber qualified candidates,” according to SHRM. However, securing talent through a strong employee referral program doesn’t just help you hire strong new employees. It can also be a powerful tool to help you promote your employer brand.

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"These types of initiatives are extremely powerful tools that can help you promote your employer brand and attract strong talent into the recruiting process," says Kathryn Budd, director of human resources for MRINetwork. "When applied consistently, employee referral programs can also be a great retention tool that translates into huge costs savings on recruitment and investment in employees over time."

What does an effective employee program entail and how can you start one at your company? SHRM notes there are a number of things you can do, including:

1. Give employees the tools they need to refer: This can mean putting together a positive culture around employee referrals and being able to track these efficiently in an HR portal so that you can effectively review the entire referral workflow.

2. Set expectations and guidelines: Additionally, SHRM recommends that you should “make sure employees understand the referral program's guidelines and expectations, including who is eligible to participate in the program and receive rewards for referrals.” Also be sure to include EEOC language to make it clear that the referral program is not discriminatory in any way.

3. Provide incentives: To help boost employee support in referring all-star talent, you should ideally put into place monetary inducements (if someone gets hired and stays for a set period of time). Make sure these incentives are paid in a predictable, timely and public manner and. To facilitate this, HR staff should set up automated payments in their HR information system.

Other guidelines to follow include holding leaders accountable and being transparent throughout the process with employees, providing feedback, and, importantly, marketing the program far and wide. This last guideline means investing in the marketing and communication plans to boost how many employees at your organization actually participate.

This is extremely important when trying to promote your employer brand. But, how is the term defined? According to SHRM, employer branding “is an important part of the employee value proposition and is essentially what the organization communicates as its identity to both potential and current employees.”

Moreover, it includes many things about the company, including the “organization’s mission, values, culture and personality,” according to SHRM. “A positive employer brand communicates that the organization is a good employer and a great place to work.” Notably, the article also states that an employer brand greatly affects the “recruitment of new employees, retention and engagement of current employees, and the overall perception of the organization in the market.”

So, what are the specific ways referral programs can help?

First, a strong referral program, as noted above, includes clear expectations, guidelines and a powerful marketing plan of action. As a result of this communications push, employees will know in-depth how to speak with former co-workers and friends who they want to refer. This strong professionalism instantly makes your company look like a worthy organization and one that many will want to join because of this, leading to increased interest.

Second, your company should be investing heavily in communications and online content in order to promote your employer brand on your website, social media platforms, public relations and through other promotional materials. As a result, people will covet the chance to be referred and interviewed because they’ll know even more about the company.

“An employee referral program is a win-win situation for you and your organization,” says Budd. “You’ll create both a powerful commitment to hiring the best people as well as an employer brand that truly shines.” This will also signal to your firm’s clients and other external stakeholders that your organization has robust systems for attracting the talent that will drive performance, further establishing confidence in your products and services, and ultimately a more successful business.

 The Trevi Group
www.TheTreviGroup.com
Executive Search for Technology Professionals

Career Pathing: Key to Attracting the Best Talent

When a candidate applies to a job at your organization, chances are they’re unhappy at their current company for a number of reasons, including a poor manager or a need for higher earning potential. However, a desire for upward mobility is the top motivation for a job search, according to 30% of candidates in the 2019 MRINetwork Recruitment Trends Study.

Click to watch the video.

Some additional drivers include:

1. Seeking more compensation: 25%

2. Didn’t like their boss: 19%

3. Contract assignment ended: 15%

4. Switched to a different industry or sector: 13%

It’s essential to anticipate this top job change motivator and to have prepared strategies in your interviewing and hiring processes that respond to this driver.

“With nearly one-third of prospective applicants trying to advance their careers through a job change, it’s imperative that discussions around career pathing become a central part of the interview process,” says Nysha King, public relations and employer branding lead for MRINetwork. “From your website to the interview and post-interview steps, emphasize just how important career growth is at your organization.”

The following are strategies you can follow to illustrate the ways you, as the employer, can ensure a potential employee succeeds at your business:

Demonstrate that your company prioritizes career growth. Illustrate that commitment on your company’s website, career site and any external marketing and PR channels, as part of a deliberate employer branding strategy. For example, you can show that employees at your firm have fulfilling careers by highlighting stories of individuals who have advanced through a series of promotions within a culture that fosters recognition of excellent performance.

More specifically, you can post videos and publish blog posts on your site that showcase stories of advancement. These, in turn, will be read or viewed by prospective candidates.

“Telling powerful stories of workers who have really advanced and grown at your company is key to finding candidates who will feel confident in accepting an offer,” says King. “Whether through videos, social media or PR, tell these stories and make sure applicants can easily relate to these experiences.”

Proactively communicate during interviews your company’s commitment to providing career advancement opportunities. Don’t wait for candidates to ask about advancement opportunities; clearly promote it during interviews. Have interviewers highlight your organization’s track record of giving raises, promoting and consistently supporting talented employees. Additionally, ensure interviewers provide personal accounts of advancement, and highlight data or statistics around promotions or annual raises. If your organization is struggling in this area, be honest and discuss the steps being taken to address this.

“Train your employees so that they can eloquently answer questions about job advancement,” says King. “It will pay off by keeping star candidates interested and excited about your company.”

Ultimately, candidates want to know they’ll grow in their position at a new company or at least have the opportunity to tackle new challenges. Demonstrating evidence of this through employer branding can leave a lasting impression with potential new hires that makes them want to join a team that celebrates success.

 The Trevi Group | www.TheTreviGroup.com | "Executive Search for Technology Professionals”