I Can't Believe I am Asking This - Do I Need an Avatar to Recruit?

Most of the time I feel pretty digital as a HR Pro - I like technology, got the blog thing going, looking to automate everything under the sun... Then something comes along and makes me think I am 14 months away from retiring....

Do I need an Avatar to recruit?  The Washington Post suggests I might, citing a growing trend among companies to hold virtual recruiting fairs in online properties like Second Life.  No talking, just Instant Messaging.  From the Post:

"Last week, Sodexho took to the computer-based virtual world to screen job candidates. Job candidates were invited to create avatars (animated graphic characters) of themselves to be interviewed online by avatars of Sodexho recruiters. Candidates were able to choose the hair color, clothing, and general appearance of their avatar. They then sent their avatars to a virtual Sodexho office for an interview conducted via instant messages. The experience solicited positive reviews--cost effective, not as stressful on the candidate, more engaging than a phone interview, and appealing to both recent graduates and older experienced candidates."

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but how about this as an alternative?  If the only way you are comfortable interviewing as a candidate is through a virtual job fair in Second Life, have I got a deal for you - it's called a "Virtual Job" - the perfect accessory to add to your identity in Second Life.  The twist is that instead of me paying you, you'll pay me for the identity I create for you in Second Life, complete with stress, pressure on the relationships in your life and something to complain about when you are away from "work". 

Ahhh - I feel better now.  Feel free to comment and tell me that I don't get it and I'm not tuned into Gen Y and Z.  If only customers could be handled exclusively through avatars, this might actually be a predictable methodology for interviewing.

PS - As for my Avatar, check out the picture from Doug Copeland's JPOD above- no question you'll see me online as the Cowboy....

PS #2 - Can someone sue you if they choose an Avatar that represents a protected class, even if they aren't a part of a protected class?  Don't laugh - you know we are probably 3 months away from that happening...

Talent Watch - What's The Difference Between an Employee Who "Meets" and One Who "Exceeds"?

One word - "Innovate"

Two words - "Innovate" and "Create"  (I always think of the old "Think Different" campaign by Apple when I see these words).

One of the hardest things to do related to getting a robust Performance Management system in place is develop the right kind of evaluation culture.   How do your managers rate employees?  Are they soft or hard?   Are they challenged to have candid conversations with employees regarding what truly constitutes "Exceeds" performance?  What type of system has been in place in the past?  What type of business are you in?

The biggest challenge seems to exist for companies who are migrating from a subjective system to a more objective format, one where individual objectives and goals are set for every position in the company.  The primary challenge in this circumstance is not only to create individual goals and objectives, but also to set the bar for what is "Meets" performance vs. "Exceeds" performance.

How do you cope with this challenge?   Regardless of position, I focus on common identifiers which illustrate how someone who truly "Exceeds" in their performance differentiates themselves from the pack.  Much of how I viewed this revolves around rewarding those who create and innovate, but I have had my book of identifiers expanded recently by Scott Stone, CFO at SourceMedical.  Instead of positioning the value play as Meets vs. Exceeds, he calls them Expectations vs. Differentiators.  Regardless of the headers, here's the list: 

Examples of Identifiers signaling "Meets" Behavior:  Quality, Accuracy, Timeliness, Respect for Others, Integrity, Communicates Effectively, Accountable, Pride in Work Product, Team Player, External Locus of Control.

Examples of Identifiers signaling "Exceeds" Behavior:  Proactive, Creative, Innovative, Leads By Example, Seeks Greater Responsibility, Self-Motivated, Solution Oriented, Always Learning, Takes Chances, "Zooms", Internal Locus of Control, Builds Teams.

That's a pretty good list - special thanks to Scott for helping me get my head around them.  Apply these identifiers across any functional area to identify the true players - the ones that will not only help you maintain the status quo, but will blow up the status quo as necessary.  When you find them, reward them, and guard against rating inflation in your organization - lest you drive the players away because they don't feel like they are "different".... 

   

Talent Nugget: The Value of the Receptionist

If you want to get upstream as a HR Pro, start reading Seth Godin.  Blog, books (some listed on the side), whatever.  Seth's a marketing guy who understands the value of the brand in recruiting and talent.

Case in point - One of Seth's recent posts hits on the value of the receptionist (including value to your recruiting process):

"Being a pretty good receptionist is easy. You're basically a low-tech security guard in nice clothes. Sit at the desk and make sure that visitors don't steal the furniture or go behind the magic door unescorted.

But what if you wanted to be a great receptionist?

Think the job acceptance rate goes up if the first impression is a memorable one? Think the tax auditor might be a little more friendly if her greeting was cheerful?

So, a great receptionist starts by acting like Vice President, Reception. I'd argue for a small budget to be spent on a bowl of M&Ms or the occasional Heath Bar for a grumpy visitor. If you wanted to be really amazing, how about baking a batch of cookies every few days? I'd ask the entire organization for updates as to who is coming in each day... "Welcome Mr. Mitchell. How was your flight in from Tucson?"

The difference between good and bad in this area is a big deal - no question first impressions make a BIG difference.  Here's the problem - how do you keep someone in this role when they deliver an experience like Seth describes?  I guess in many cases you don't, and need to except the fact that you'll be doing a lot of interviewing for the spot.  My company's lucky - we have a person who delivers a lot of this and seems happy where they are.

Who do you think of when you think of this kind of front-end talent?  Pam from The Office?  Even she doesn't seem like she has the ability to go the extra mile that Seth describes. 

Your Background Check Process - Protecting You Vs. 10% Of All Bad Stuff

The feature Op/Ed column in this week's Workforce Week asks a chilling question - Would you have hired Cho Seugn Hui?   Given the fact the incident was based on campus at Virginia Tech, I really didn't contemplate that when reading the coverage a few weeks ago.  From the column by Alan Rupe:

"I am certain human resource professionals and managers across the country laid awake at  night last month wondering, "Would I have hired Cho Seung-Hui if he applied for a job at my place of business?" There is reason to worry.

The simple truth is that the same questions required to weed out mentally disturbed gun purchasers ("Do you have a diagnosed mental illness regardless of whether you are receiving treatment?") cannot be asked of a person applying for a job operating a rivet gun or driving schoolchildren on a bus without violating the Americans With Disabilities Act. Savvy employers know that under the ADA, employers may ask only if the applicant is able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation."

That's the truth.  There's not much protection out there, or even a clear path to figure out who's mentally troubled and prone to workplace violence even if seeking such information was legal.   The only way you could get what you needed in this area is through some type of psychological testing, but that's cost prohibitive and would likely be challenged as not relevant to most jobs.

The best shot at getting the information?  That has to be references, since that's a more fluid process than other components of a normal background like criminal record checks.  Obviously you can't ask if the person is crazy, but phrases like "Tell me about Cho's interactions with teammates" are always available and in play.  As always, what people don't say sometimes speaks volumes towards what you need to know.

Alas, the odds are stacked against us in this area.  Good luck. 

Bootstrap HR - Sales Performance Management

What's your view of Performance Management in the Sales arena as a HR Pro?   Make the number or you're fired like Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross? ( My favorite line from Baldwin in that movie - "We're adding a little something to this month's sales contest.  As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize? [Holds up prize] Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired.")  If you haven't seen this movie, rent it now.  A must see for all HR Pros trying to understand the culture of sales organizations.

But I digress... While everyone knows that sales reps who don't hit the number aren't long for the job, Performance Management for Sales reps is a weakness for most HR types.  In order to be an effective resource for your VP or Director of Sales, you have to understand how the sales process works.  My secret weapon for getting a weekly lesson in Sales productivity?  Jeffrey Gitomer's weekly Sales Caffeine Newsletter.

I first picked up on Gitomer via the Business Journal chain that often includes his column.  This week's newsletter asks the age-old question, "What's the best way to make my quota every month?"  Among the nuggets:

-Make 10 new prospect calls per day.

-Make 10 new appointments per week. Preferably by Monday.

-Make 10 follow-up calls per day.

-Make one strong face-to-face presentation in the morning and one in the afternoon.

-Take prospects or customers to breakfast or lunch four times a week.

-Attend at least one business networking function per week.

The point?  All are specific and measurable items from the sales funnel that directly impact the sales reps ability to get to that ultimate scoreboard - the quota.  Embed these into the Performance Management process and suddenly you have measurements that feed into the quota number - giving the sales function something to measure other than overall quota and help shape behavior.

Some Sales VPs/Directors will love this, some will hate it, preferring to give their reps more space.  Regardless, subscribe to Gitomer today and take the weekly medicine.  It will make you more prepared to contribute to the discussion of sales at your company... 

Why Do Some Employees Hate Being Non-Exempt?

Caught notice of the following press release from the DOL via Jottings By An Employer's Lawyer - The DOL has launched an Overtime Pay Calculator designed to assist employees to ensure they are being paid correctly in regards to OT.  Not a bad idea, and you are likely in good shape if you calculate your payroll via automated input and the usual back-end from a provider like ADP.

The OT Calculator got me thinking about exempt/non-exempt classifications - can you imagine the train wreck that would ensue if the DOL launched a Java applet designed to determine whether an employee should be salary or hourly?  It always amazes me the status that being salary vs. hourly carries with employees.  To many employees growing up in hourly positions, the move to salary is a coming of age type of experience, and any move back to hourly is commonly seen as a negative event, regardless of overtime potential, etc.

Lots of legal stuff that goes into making the right classification decisions on a job by job basis.  My favorite starting point before diving into the legal thicket is a pretty simple question - Does the employee have the opportunity to determine when they will conduct assigned work activities?  If the answer is no (think call center job), my experience is that the position is usually safely classified as hourly.  Not a legal opinion, just a common sense approach, probably a conservative one at that.  But - when was the last time you saw back pay because someone was incorrectly classified as hourly?

HR Haters - Past and Present

Back in early April I commented on an article at Workforce Management on the demise of the HR Generalist.  See the response Workforce received from the article here.  As you might expect, the response from HR types was emotional.   Comparing the function to an extinct animal with a walnut-sized brain apparently doesn't sit well with a lot of us...

The article underscored an anti-HR current that is present in many organizations and may be justified.  My general take was change-oriented - Business leaders are always watching, so manage what you spend your time on accordingly and above and beyond all else - don't try to gate/control things that don't matter or add value.  Be a business person who just happens to be a HR Pro, not a HR person embedded in a business.   

At the time I saw the article, I also thought of a more hopeful rant that first appeared in Fast Company in 2005 entitled "Why We Hate HR".  When this article first appeared, I gave it to my boss at the time (a non-HR type with a prior history of being tough on stereotypical HR types - hopefully not me), and he shook his head in agreement.  He loved it.

If you saw the Sullivan article in Workforce Management and were upset, read this one and take some notes.  Rather than simply call for the elimination of the HR Generalist, Keith Hammonds (author) focuses instead on missed opportunities and the tendency for all of us to do what we're comfortable with rather than stretch for growth.   An oldie, but a goodie...

Hat Tip to Lori at HR Thoughts for reminding me of the article.   

The Crackberry and HR People...

By now, you may know that the term "crackberry" has officially made it into Webster's, a watermark that clearly states a phrase has won hearts and minds on the path to creditability.  If you don't know, the term "crackberry" refers to the addictive nature of the Blackberry, and the pattern of users to check the device at all hours and locations previously deemed as off-limits (family time, bed, church, etc.).

As you might expect, the constant intrusion as well as slang comparing the telecom device to street drugs has caused a backlash among a subculture of professionals who don't want a Blackberry.  Case in point, I have at least three HR Director/Manager friends who have said no to a Blackberry at their companies.  The rest of their workforce is going mad in the usual ways, using the Blackberry at all times and frustrating their families.  Not my HR friends - they are making a stand for balance....

While the stance is admirable, is it smart for a HR pro to not carry a Blackberry when all managers around them have them?   Are my friends destined to be thrown into the HR Dinosaur stereotype at their companies?  I have a feeling not accepting the technology of the day lends itself to that stereotype, no matter how unfair...

As for me, I have the crackberry and have never been happier.  My wife thinks otherwise - she would literally throw it under a truck if she didn't know another one would take its place the following day.  I probably need to find some balance via a 12-Step program like this one...

Ask the HR Capitalist - When Candidates Counter, Can I Walk Away?

Dear HR Capitalist -

I recently made an offer to a candidate on one of my open positions.  When I made the offer, the candidate countered, wanting about 10K added to the base salary that was offered.  When I talked to my hiring manager, they wanted to simply walk away rather than hold firm on the original offer or make a counteroffer back to the candidate.  What are my options?  Can I walk away?  What if the candidate indicates they will accept my original offer once I communicate we are pulling out?

Thoughts? - Sheila, Chicago, IL

----------------------------------------------

Sheila -

Welcome to the wonderful world of negotiation, where every candidate seems to have attended the Zig  Ziglar class (has everyone read the book on the right on closing?) on effective negotiation.  I'll spare you the regular discourse on how badly you need the talent and whether you are going to find another suitable candidate and get right to your question.  Once a candidate presents you with an counteroffer to your original offer, you basically have four choices:

1.  Accept their Counteroffer and close the deal - this probably means you low-balled them initially or the skill set is so critical you can't delay the hire - so after giving it the "old college try" to keep the offer down, you'll crumble like a deck of cards built on sand....

2.  Give a Little Ground and Go Back to the Candidate with a Counteroffer of your own somewhere in the middle - a common practice, which usually shows that both parties are expecting some process to get to a number they are comfortable with.  Nobody goes on the car lot without expecting to haggle a little bit, right?

3.  Hold Firm on the Offer that was originally made - you love the candidate, but aren't going to budge.  Tell them you love them, but the offer is the offer.  Always helps to have some reasons why - budget, salary range guidelines, your view of the marketplace, other candidates in th mix you can go to, etc...

4.  Walk Away Cold - The hardcore reaction to a counteroffer, this action means that once the candidate counters, you are retracting your initial offer and letting them know no counter offer will be forthcoming from the company.  I see this happen the most when the company has done everything it needs to measure the compensation needs of the candidate (This usually means you ask them! What a novel approach!), then the candidate surprises them by asking for more after indicating an offer along the lines of the one made would be acceptable.  That can create a trust issue that can't be overcome.  Additionally, sometimes the hiring manager won't want to work through the process, preferring instead to simply walk away (like your manager did).

The bottom line - you are well within your rights to walk away after a counter offer and consider the process dead.  If you haven't done it a lot, it is going to feel very hardcore... 

Walking away from a candidate's counter without providing an "in-kind" counter is an option for all companies, and most candidates aren't prepared for that to happen.  If you chose option #4 above and you are the one communicating the end of the offer process, you'll need to have talking points ready for why the company is opting to do that.   Lead with a firm statement on what happened - you made the offer, they countered, and rather than hold firm to the original offer or counter back, you are opting to end the process.  At that point, you'll want to add a reason for why you are pulling out, which can include budgetary constraints, internal equity constraints, other candidates involved in the process, etc.

If it needs to be done, you can do it.  After all, you're smart enough, you're good enough, and gosh darn it, people like you.... 

Microsoft and CareerBuilder - One more dagger for HotJobs

I'm a user of job boards - more than likely so are you.  With that in mind, the move today by Microsoft to take a further equity interest in CareerBuilder provided another shovel of dirt on Yahoo HotJobs.    While I like the HotJobs interface and the tie in to Yahoo, the bottom line is that the board provides very weak volume when compared to Monster or CareerBuilder.  That weakness is reflected in pricing - a pack of jobs on Yahoo Hotjobs can be discounted as low as $60 per job (think price per job in a package of 20).  The price per job on Monster or CareerBuilder?  At least $300 per job for a package that size.   Another example of getting what you pay for...

HotJobs isn't dead yet, but it desperately needs a partner to help drive more traffic.  Monster's the 800 lb. gorilla at the party, CareerBuilder has the built in relationship with MSN and the network of newspapers, and Hotjobs has.... the connection with Yahoo.  As a user of Yahoo search and MyYahoo, it's always amazed me the Yahoo affiliation doesn't drive more traffic for Hotjobs - but it doesn't...

The obvious partner for Hotjobs is Microsoft, and talk has been heavy about a partnership of sorts or outright purchase.  Additionally, the equity stake Microsoft has taken in CareerBuilder is relatively minor (4%), so that could be liquidated if a bigger deal is stuck between MS and Yahoo.  One thing is clear - without better visibility and distribution - Yahoo will continue to be a distant third in the job board wars....