Hiring Process

Jason Lemkin created and runs SaaStr, the world’s largest community for B2B/SaaS founders, and is the managing director of SaaStr Fund, a $90 million venture capital firm specializing in early-stage enterprise investments. He is also the mastermind behind two major tech conferences each year—one in the Bay Area, drawing in over 15,000 people, and another in Europe, with a crowd of more than 3,000 SaaS executives, founders, and entrepreneurs. Before SaaStr, Jason wore many hats: CEO and co-founder of EchoSign (later bought by Adobe), vice president at Adobe Systems, co-founder and president of NanoGram Devices Corp., vice president of NeoPhotonics, and a senior director at BabyCenter. In our conversation, we discuss:

• How far you should go without a salesperson

• Signs it’s time to hire salespeople

• Why you need to hire two salespeople

• How to compensate your salespeople

• How to interview salespeople

• When to hire a VP of Sales

• How to prevent their flaming out

• How to scale your sales org

• How to improve the relationship between your sales and product teams

• Much more

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-a-world-class-sales-org-jason-lemkin-saastr/

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Where to find Jason Lemkin:

• X: https://twitter.com/jasonlk

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin/

• Website: https://www.saastr.com/

—

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Jason’s background

(06:18) The importance of sales in B2B businesses

(11:23) Signs that you should start hiring salespeople

(14:19) Attributes to look for in early sales reps

(19:08) Hiring a VP of Sales

(26:43) The role of a VP of Sales

(30:06) Interviewing salespeople

(45:16) Determining sales compensation and quota

(53:34) Transitioning from 100% commission to a smaller percentage

(56:58) Indicators of a hard-to-sell product

(59:39) Scaling the sales organization

(01:05:26) Understanding sales roles and titles

(01:10:02) Product involvement in sales, and vice versa

(01:20:32) Thoughts on product teams taking on P&L responsibilities

(01:27:23) One thing founders can do to become better at sales

(01:31:02) The ideal trial length for a free trial sales team

(01:39:50) Closing thoughts

(01:41:43) Lightning round

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Referenced:

• Marc Benioff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff/

• Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com/en/

• Yamini Rangan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan/

• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/

• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/

• Twilio: https://www.twilio.com/

• Cloudflare: https://www.cloudflare.com/

• GitHub: https://github.com/

• Columbo: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1466074/

• What is Davos and why is it important? Your guide to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting: https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/01/15/what-is-davos-and-why-is-it-important-your-guide-to-the-world-economic-forums-annual-meeti

• Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/

• Satya Nadella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/

• Glengarry Glen Ross on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Glengarry-Glen-Ross-James-Foley/dp/B002NN5F7A

• The Wolf of Wall Street on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Wall-Street-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00IIU9FQY

• A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting-a-sales-pitch-that-wins-april-dunford-author-of-obviously-awesom/

• Pipedrive: https://www.pipedrive.com/

• Sam Blond on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-blond-791026b/

• Gong: https://www.gong.io/

• Zendesk: https://www.zendesk.com/

• ZoomInfo: https://www.zoominfo.com/

• Apollo: https://www.apollo.io/

• Daniel Chait on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhchait/

• SAP: https://www.sap.com/

• Lessons on building product sense, navigating AI, optimizing the first mile, and making it through the messy middle | Scott Belsky (Adobe, Behance): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-on-building-product-sense-navigating-ai-optimizing-the-first-mile-and-making-it-through-t/

• VistaPrint: https://www.vistaprint.com/

• Procore: https://www.procore.com/

• Matt Mullenweg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattm/

• Wordpress: https://wordpress.com/

• SaaStr University: https://app.saastruniversity.com/collections/20252

• From Impossible to Inevitable: How SaaS and Other Hyper-Growth Companies Create Predictable Revenue: https://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Inevitable-Hyper-Growth-Companies-Predictable/dp/1119531691

• Pavilion: https://www.joinpavilion.com/

• Top 10 Learnings about Free Trials with Tomasz Tunguz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfQNJpnxmMw

• The Terminal List on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/The-Terminal-List-Season-1/dp/B09HYNH8TK

• Top Gun: Maverick on Paramount: https://www.paramountmovies.com/movies/top-gun-maverick

• OpusClip app: https://www.opus.pro/

• OnePlus Open smartphone: https://www.amazon.com/OnePlus-Dual-SIM-Unlocked-Smartphone-Hasselblad/dp/B0CHN7M531/

• SaaStr conferences: https://www.saastr.com/events/

• Marketo: https://go.marketo.com/about-marketo-landingpage-emea.html

• Zoomtopia: https://zoomtopia.com/

• Money20/20: https://us.money2020.com/

• Shoptalk: https://shoptalk.com/

• Jeff Lawson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffiel/

• Eric Kwan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erickwan/

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

—

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

Hey, DUDES! Today's episode of Operation Agency Freedom is all about the crucial topic of employee readiness, particularly when it comes to hiring managers. We're going to walk you through four of the six readiness indicators to help you make informed decisions and avoid costly hiring mistakes. From evaluating current job performance to assessing core values, and even taking a look at the controversial aspect of checking a candidate's credit score, we've got it all covered.

If you're a business owner or part of a leadership team, this episode is a must-listen because hiring the wrong manager can set you back months, or even years. So, grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let's dive into some game-changing insights that could save you a ton of time and headaches down the road! You won't want to miss out on this valuable discussion.

Discussion Points 

00:00 Intro

04:39 Challenges of management layers and employee readiness.

06:40 Assess new hires based on job performance.

12:02 Evaluating team members for managerial potential is key.

16:07 Promotion candidates should have solid credit history.

19:38 Outro

Resources:

• Connect with DUDE on the following social channels

• Facebook / dudeagency

• Instagram / dudeagency.io

• Visit our YouTube channel / @dudeagency2093

• Check out our website and see how we can help you run a profitable agency https://bit.ly/3RPh4Zn 

Will Larson is Chief Technology Officer at Carta. Prior to joining Carta, he was the CTO at Calm and held engineering leadership roles at Stripe, Uber, and Digg. He is the author of two foundational engineering career books, An Elegant Puzzle and Staff Engineer, and The Engineering Executive’s Primer, which will be released in February. In our conversation, we discuss:

• Systems thinking: what it is and how to apply it

• Advice for product managers on fostering productive relationships with engineering managers

• Why companies should treat engineers like adults

• How to best measure developer productivity

• Writing and its impact on his career

• How to balance writing with a demanding job

• How to develop your company values

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Brought to you by DX—A platform for measuring and improving developer productivity | OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster | Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-engineering-mindset-will-larson-carta-stripe-uber-calm-digg/

—

Where to find Will Larson:

• X: https://twitter.com/Lethain

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-larson-a44b543/

• Website: https://lethain.com/

—

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Will’s background

(04:12) Changes in the field of engineering

(06:27) We need to stop treating engineers like children

(08:32) Systems thinking

(13:23) Implementing systems thinking in hiring

(16:32) Engineering strategy

(20:21) Examples of engineering strategies

(25:08) How to get good at strategy

(26:48) The importance of writing about things that excite you

(32:40) The biggest risk to content creation is quitting too soon

(35:24) How to make time for writing

(37:41) Tips for aspiring writers

(41:18) Building productive relationships between product managers and engineers

(43:45) Giving the same performance rating to EMs and PMs

(48:24) Measuring engineering productivity

(55:53) Defining company values

(01:02:10) Failure corner: the Digg rewrite

(01:11:05) Will’s upcoming book, The Engineering Executive’s Primer

(01:12:04) Lightning round

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Referenced:

• The end of the “free money” era: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/11/techscape-zirp-tech-boom

• Work on what matters: https://lethain.com/work-on-what-matters/

• Sheryl Sandberg to Harvard Biz Grads: “Find a Rocket Ship”: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/05/24/sheryl-sandberg-to-harvard-biz-grads-find-a-rocket-ship/?sh=708c9a93b37a

• What Is Systems Thinking?: https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/business/what-is-systems-thinking

• Introduction to systems thinking: https://lethain.com/systems-thinking/

• Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557

• Silent Spring: https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Spring-Rachel-Carson/dp/0618249060

• Writing an engineering strategy: https://lethain.com/eng-strategies/

• Carta: https://carta.com/

• Eric Vogl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericvogl/

• Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The difference and why it matters: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-difference-matters/dp/1781256179

• The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists: https://www.amazon.com/Crux-How-Leaders-Become-Strategists/dp/1541701240/

• How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in Between: https://www.amazon.com/How-Big-Things-Get-Done/dp/0593239512/

• Technology Strategy Patterns: Architecture as Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Technology-Strategy-Patterns-Architecture/dp/1492040878/

• The Value Flywheel Effect: Power the Future and Accelerate Your Organization to the Modern Cloud: https://www.amazon.com/Value-Flywheel-Effect-Accelerate-Organization/dp/1950508579

• The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win: https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Business/dp/1942788290

• The Engineering Executive’s Primer: Impactful Technical Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Executives-Primer-Impactful-Leadership/dp/1098149483

• An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management: https://press.stripe.com/an-elegant-puzzle

• Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track: https://www.amazon.com/Staff-Engineer-Leadership-beyond-management-ebook/dp/B08RMSHYGG

• Gergely Orosz’s newsletter: https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/author/gergely/

• Leaving big tech to build the #1 technology newsletter | Gergely Orosz (The Pragmatic Engineer): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/leaving-big-tech-to-build-the-1-technology-newsletter-gergely-orosz-the-pragmatic-engineer/

• The art of product management | Shreyas Doshi (Stripe, Twitter, Google, Yahoo): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/the-art-of-product-management-shreyas-doshi-stripe-twitter-google-yahoo/

• Henry Ward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heward/

• Vrushali Paunikar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vrushali-paunikar/

• Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations: https://www.amazon.com/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Technology-Organizations/dp/1942788339

• How to measure and improve developer productivity | Nicole Forsgren (Microsoft Research, GitHub, Google): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-measure-and-improve-developer-productivity-nicole-forsgren-microsoft-research-github-goo/

• DORA: https://dora.dev/

• Setting engineering org values: https://lethain.com/setting-engineering-org-values/

• Digg: https://digg.com/

• Kevin Rose on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrose/

• Digg’s v4 launch: an optimism born of necessity: https://lethain.com/digg-v4/

• Dash Gopinath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dashgopinath/

• Rich Schumacher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richschumacher/

• The ALL NEW Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: https://www.amazon.com/ALL-NEW-Dont-Think-Elephant-ebook/dp/B00NP9LHFA

• Top Chef on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/top-chef/5172289448907967112

• Hard to work with: https://lethain.com/hard-to-work-with/

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

—

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

File 9:  In today’s file, the team continues a 3-part series focusing on how Recruiting Begins with Retention.  The discussion focuses on your employees who have been with you for 6 months to 3 years.  We’ll refer to them as “The Evolvers.”

Jamie begins with a quote from Fortune magazine regarding why employees leave during the first 6-12 months.  Some of these reasons can be restated to include:

•         Feeling out of sync
•         Not understanding how they impact the company
•      Realizing their job-related activities are different from what they were originally told

In Part 1 of this discussion, specifically focused on employees who were in their first 6 months, the group stressed the importance of helping the new hire to clearly understand the above 3 points.  How well your team performed relative to this important activity will set up the next 6 months and beyond. 

Molley discusses how at the 6-month mark, the employee is beginning to develop relationships with his/her co-workers.  They should be settling into both the role and the culture.  Jason asks if it’s fair for the responsibility to now transition from the recruiting team to the management team?  The answer is yes.

This would make sense because the recruiting team now needs to refocus on generating the next batch of new hires.  They’ve generally done their job of finding the right candidate, getting them hired and assisting with the on-boarding process.

Molley recognizes that there may be some joint-responsibility, but for the most part it’s no longer a recruiting issue.  There should be a helpful hand-off.

If leaders were to see a trend develop in which people decide to leave in the 6-8 month period, then of course, maybe recruiting should be involved in a deeper dive into the core issue driving the trend.  However, generally speaking, it’s now in management’s hands.

Molley recounts a series of simple, but important questions she presents to C-Suite leaders regarding their turnover rate, cost of hiring and the cost of leaving that position unfilled.  Many do not have a firm grasp on those metrics.

Jason comments the above illustrates exactly why a company should have at least one individual tasked with monitoring, measuring and reporting on these metrics.  It’s vital to the company’s ability to grow in a competitive market. 

The Workforce Therapy Files team is a group of professionals who work with companies grappling with the challenges of workforce development.  They know how overwhelmed talent-teams are.  Nonetheless, someone in the company needs to have retention as a part of their individual responsibilities. 

Managing the Transition

Molley recommends re-engaging with employees who are at that 6-month timeframe to see if they would be interested in mentoring others in the 0-6 month range.  It could foster engagement for both parties.  There’s a lot of value in this effort.

Jamie discusses how the types of conversations you’re having with that employee who is in the 6-month to 3-year tenure needs to evolve.  It’s a good time to get the pulse of the individual relative to their aspirations for advancement, job-satisfaction and general engagement.  Make sure employees continue to feel that level of interest you initially showed.  They are still important to the overall mission.

Unfortunately, at the 3-year mark, there tends to be a dramatic decrease in the engagement level of an employee, based on what Jamie’s observed during her career working to help various companies.  Job rotations and internal job fairs are ways to foster interest and improved engagement levels. 

Molley makes a good point.  If you do internal job satisfaction-style surveys, but don’t take action based on the results, nothing will change.  In fact, it may worsen.  Your employees are human beings and they need to be acknowledged for the contribution they make to the overall organization’s success.  Knowing that they are being heard is a great way to begin improving employee engagement.  “I hear you” is a powerful statement for management and supervisors to make.

How Does Your Employee Perceive What They Do?

Jamie recounts an example that goes directly to an individual’s contribution to the mission:

“A man was approached and asked what he was doing.  His response was that he was laying bricks.  A second man was asked the same question.  He responded he was building a wall.  A third man was asked and his response was ‘I’m building a cathedral.’”

This illustrates the importance of ensuring the individuals understand how important they are.  It often begins with how they see their role.  Effective communication and coaching by management can help to influence that perception.

Jason reminds us that this is why it’s so important that everyone understands the mission and vision of their respective companies.  It helps to define how each person’s role is related to the long-term success of the company and the customers who purchase the products and services provided by those companies. 

Milestones at the 6-Month to 3-Year Stage

Employees who are in this stage of their tenure generally experience the following:

•         They’re comfortable with the role
•         They’re getting competent in their role
•         They’re getting clarity in their position

However, there are some other actions, intended or not, that generally take place:

•         Support for the individual begins to decline
•        Expectations begin to increase
•         Issues start to arise

If you are doing engagement surveys with your workforce, hopefully you’ll be able to identify the red flags and take action before the employee fully disengages and/or exits the organization.

Situational Leadership

Jamie discusses how at 0-6 months, leadership needs to be directive.  At the early part of the 6-month to 3-year window, there will be fewer instructions and coaching.  This is the point at which recognition and feedback are important.  It gives you an opportunity to gauge how the employee views his/her progress.  Remember, these are “the evolvers.”

Managers should never be too busy to engage in the recognition and feedback at this stage.  It’s a critical part of their role/responsibility.  The company has invested a lot in the individual’s achieving this stage in their career path.  Don’t short circuit the return on investment by ignoring this phase.

At this phase, a manager will be able to get a feel for the individual’s trajectory and aspirations.  At the same time, the person’s true talents should be emerging, which could lead to opportunities in other roles.  Engaging with him/her about future options would be a great idea.

Employee Referrals

Molley explains how this is an excellent window during which employee referrals can be made.  Unfortunately, as the individual grows more comfortable, referrals tend to decrease.  However, while many companies have referral incentives, Molley shares a pro-tip.  How about instituting an employee referral program that rewards both the individual making the referral, as well as the new hire?  You can really get creative here to go beyond the status quo.

There are many ways to get an employee to engage.  Some of the options may be for internal improvement initiatives, but don’t forget about community-wide initiatives.  Again, get creative and foster that sense of pride and belonging.

Recognition is also important.  Jason recommends publicizing work anniversaries, promotions and achievements.  Jason shares his company’s fondness for fun trophies.  Recognition is recognition.  It motivates and fosters a sense community, even though it’s focused on the individual’s activity. 

That’s where we’ll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We’d love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We’re here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

•         Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com
•         Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com
•         Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

It is easy to depend on your gut feeling when hiring people into your team, but you cannot always do that. Joining Eric Anderton is Jonathan Porter-Whistman, CEO of PerceptionPredict.ai and WhoHire.com, who debunks the biggest myths of intuition surrounding the most common hiring practices. Jonathan explores the high risks of recruiting incompatible talent if you fail to understand the correlation between data-driven approach and human intuition. He also unveils the dysfunctions of high-performing individuals and challenges conventional wisdom about what makes a good fit for your team. Start making better hiring decisions backed by data by listening to this episode.

Buy this book - Construction Genius: Effective, Hands-On, Practical, Simple, No-BS Leadership, Strategy, Sales, and Marketing Advice for Construction Companies: https://www.amazon.com/Construction-Genius-Effective-Hands-Leadership/dp/B0BHTRDY1T

Jonathan's Book- The Sales Boss: https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Boss-Secret-Training-Managing/dp/1119286646

In this week’s Scale Your Sales Podcast episode, my guest is Andy Champion, the Vice President and General Manager of Highspot.

Andy is an ex-British army officer who excels in leading SaaS go-to-market teams in EMEA and ANZ, guiding them through IPOs and market expansion. He's passionate about mentoring diverse talent in dynamic, accountable autonomous environments to achieve outstanding outcomes.

In this episode, we dive into Andy's journey in sales leadership, exploring the profound impact of technology on sales strategy. We discuss the pivotal role of investing in people and coaching in driving successful sales teams, touching on recruitment challenges and the key behaviors indicative of future success. From leveraging sales-specific data sets to the game-changing potential of generative AI in personalized coaching, our conversation offers insights for sales professionals and leaders alike. Join us as we unravel the dynamics of sales, leadership, and technology, providing valuable strategies to scale your sales. Get ready to immerse yourself in the depth of our discussion—you're sure to love every moment of this episode.

Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcast, Andy Champion.

Timestamps:

01:46 – Why did Andy join Highspot?

07:54 – Success strategies start from the people.

11:08 – How do you make sure that you do have the right people for the job?

14:55 – As salespeople, we are responsible for our own success.

22:20 – Coaching cost time, and time is the most valuable.

26:06 – Generative AI can analyze and summarize calls for personalized coaching.

https://www.highspot.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andychampion/ 

Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth through customer experience and sales.

Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event https://janicebgordon.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-b-gordon/     

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon 

Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast   

More on the blog https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon    

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSal... 

In this week’s Scale Your Sales Podcast episode, my guest is Andy Champion, the Vice President and General Manager of Highspot.

Andy is an ex-British army officer who excels in leading SaaS go-to-market teams in EMEA and ANZ, guiding them through IPOs and market expansion. He's passionate about mentoring diverse talent in dynamic, accountable autonomous environments to achieve outstanding outcomes.

In this episode, we dive into Andy's journey in sales leadership, exploring the profound impact of technology on sales strategy. We discuss the pivotal role of investing in people and coaching in driving successful sales teams, touching on recruitment challenges and the key behaviors indicative of future success. From leveraging sales-specific data sets to the game-changing potential of generative AI in personalized coaching, our conversation offers insights for sales professionals and leaders alike. Join us as we unravel the dynamics of sales, leadership, and technology, providing valuable strategies to scale your sales. Get ready to immerse yourself in the depth of our discussion—you're sure to love every moment of this episode.

Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcast, Andy Champion.

Timestamps:

01:46 – Why did Andy join Highspot?

07:54 – Success strategies start from the people.

11:08 – How do you make sure that you do have the right people for the job?

14:55 – As salespeople, we are responsible for our own success.

22:20 – Coaching cost time, and time is the most valuable.

26:06 – Generative AI can analyze and summarize calls for personalized coaching.

https://www.highspot.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andychampion/ 

Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth through customer experience and sales.

Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event https://janicebgordon.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-b-gordon/     

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon 

Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast   

More on the blog https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon    

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSal... 

“You’re only as great and as strong as your team.” -Rachel Gogos

Join us for the inaugural episode of "Behind The brandiD," a microsode from "The Business of YOU" podcast, where we explore The brandiD agency, our dedicated team, and the world of business.

In this episode, our Founder and CEO, Rachel Gogos, engages in a dynamic conversation with Christy, a seasoned member of our brandiD team. They explore the realm of hiring for business owners and entrepreneurs, discussing the strategies for building a robust team, utilizing tools like Workable, finding the delicate balance between cultural fit and skills fit, and emphasizing the paramount importance of integrity in today's remote work landscape. Don't miss this insightful discussion—it's your key to achieving success in business growth!

Dive into this "Behind The brandiD" microsode where Rachel and Christy share their insights on:

• Team strength
• The hiring process with tools like Workable
• Balancing cultural fit and skills fit
• The significance of integrity in a remote work environment.

File 6:  In today’s file, the team digests the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers and their impact on recruiting and economic standpoint.  Why are they important and what difference do they actually make? 

For reference: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Jason begins with a brief explanation.  The monthly jobs report is a combination of narrative and tables intended to help individuals, businesses and other organizations to monitor the labor market.  This information assists in planning, forecasting and modeling for a variety of purposes.

In this report, the number of new jobs created was double what the economists expected.  Depending on your role, that could be good or bad.  For recruiters, that means there may be more competition out there trying to attract great candidates. 

The average hourly wage increased from $27.85 to $29.06, versus the same time last year.  This is a national number, so it may seem higher or lower than where you are located.  Jason recommends interacting with your local or regional workforce development team to get a better handle on your specific market.

The unemployment rate is 3.8%, a historic low.  But what does this really mean?  This represents individuals available and actively looking for work in the past month.  However, that number can be skewed.

The workforce participation rate is a more interesting number.  This is the percent of the population either working or actively seeking work.  In this report it was 62.8%, compared to a roughly 60% rate for the last year or so.  This might be a red flag.  As the Boomers retire, the workforce is getting smaller.  The younger generations have different work habits and preferences.  This rate is also seasonally adjusted.  Jamie observes that the report indicates we have more jobs and fewer people to fill them. 

Molley describes a period during which she was recruiting for architects and engineers.  There was significant shortage of candidates.  The college and university enrollment levels for these programs were down.  If you are trying to hire in these types of fields, it’s going to continue to be difficult.

What the Data Means for the C-Suite and the Recruiter

Jamie comments that 400,000 more people have part-time jobs, in addition to their full-time jobs, compared to last year.  Jason notes that this could indicate talent-acquisition teams are realizing the trends and may be pivoting by offering part-time arrangements, rather than requiring the role to be filled by a single, full-time employee. 

Some organizations resist the consideration of part-time arrangements.  She states it requires management and intentionality on behalf of organizational leaders.  It may be a good time to split certain roles into part-time segments, if it can be done.  Flexible location and hours are still preferred by prospective candidates.  It’s quite possible some of these candidates would maintain their full-time jobs due to current state of the economy.

Jason observes that the 400,000 number is interesting from a marketing standpoint.  He often works with large organizations to attract prospective job applicants via online platforms.  If you begin to break full-time positions into multiple part-time positions, you’re going to need to market to a wider population, thus potentially increasing your marketing spend for this hiring initiative.

Molley adds that by having more eyes on a particular project, the creativity and problem-solving capabilities would naturally increase.  Jason comments that it would be less of a negative impact if you were to lose a part-time employee vs a full-time employee, because you still have one or more people in the position.

Innovative Steps to Help Your Workforce

Jason comments how a client organization in a rural area has begun offering transportation services.  This provides a way to overcome transportation issues that might restrict or eliminate people from getting to work.  He admits it takes effort to implement the logistics, but definitely works well in the long-term.

Molley is dealing with a client organization that’s confronted with a similar transportation issue.  Some of the employees and prospective employees are challenged to get to the facility, because it’s not located near the bus line.  Figuring out a solution is very beneficial to the employer, but again, requires a level of intentionality.  She recommends that if the company is drawing from an area requiring 45 minutes to an hour to get to the workplace, implementing an internal, logistics program for those individuals would be a solid investment. 

Jamie returns to a topic discussed in a previous File (Packages – Peeling the Workforce Onion Part 2).  It’s the importance of having regular wage reviews.  Are your compensation packages still competitive in your area and industry?  The information you collect will help you develop a better plan to attract the right number of individuals for your workforce development needs. 

Jamie also notes that the tuition deferment programs are getting ready to expire.  Are you considering some type of tuition repayment support? Doing so could make your company and its open positions more attractive.

Organizational leaders have both the opportunity and responsibility to review policies that impact your team’s ability to effectively recruit.  There’s value in developing a culture focused on meeting employees where they are.  This means you have the ability to prepare to do good and great things for your organization.

As pay rates increase, as mentioned earlier, the workforce not only remains your most valuable asset, it also remains your largest expense.  However, there are ways of augmenting your compensation package, without actually increasing hourly wages.  Transportation, child care and other options help you to meet your workforce where they are.  It’s important for your recruiting team to be able to seek employee feedback and push that information to the C-Suite.

Advice to Recruiters about the Numbers

Molley offers some valuable tips and advice.  If you don’t understand how the unemployment rate or the workforce participation rate affects the jobs you’re trying to fill, it makes it more difficult to effectively communicate with your leadership.  While you may be gathering insights as to what candidates and current employees need, if you can’t correlate those needs with industry data, your recommendations won’t seem as solid.

You have the ability to be at the forefront of change.  You’ll be better equipped to add top talent and to drive value for both the company and the individual.  Molley challenges recruiters to learn the numbers and what they actually mean for your company’s success.

Increasing compensation adds pressure.  However, Molley recommends diving deep to understand your particular industry and your competition’s offerings.  Why would a prospective new-hire select a competitor over your company?  There’s also understanding the scope of the competition.

Molley uses the example of Louisville’s UPS World Hub.  There are many companies in a radius around Louisville that work in logistic, fulfillment and distribution.  If this is your segment, it may not be exclusively UPS you’re competing against.  Rather, it’s important to understand how your compensation packages stack up with the larger scope of competitors.  You need the statistics and information to craft a solid analysis of what you need from leadership to enable you to attract top talent.

Molley comments about how one of her clients offers employees a cell phone plan and that aspect of the package has resulted in a very high retention rate.  It seems relatively small, until you understand how that benefit directly impacts household budgets.

Carefully planning questions to determine what challenges, needs and desires a prospective candidate might have can uncover valuable insights into the compensation package you’re going to need to offer.  Obviously, this shouldn’t be interpreted as asking questions that are “off-limits” or might result in legal consequences.  However, you should intentionally pursue conversations to help you recruit that candidate.

In a previous episode, the team discussed how the power dynamic is changing.  Applicants and candidates have more leverage.  Both the recruiter and the individual are evaluating if this is a good fit.  Molley quotes a statistic that on average, essential workers apply for up to 10 different positions, at any given time.  You have to find ways to offer competitive comp packages, the right culture and requirements that meet both the company and the individual’s needs.

Altering the Fundamental Approach to Recruiting and Hiring

Jason offers an explanation of how and why the approach needs to change.  Traditionally, leadership will cast a vision, talent acquisition receives the objectives and attempts to execute.  Jason recommends both stakeholders review, analyze and consider the economic and employment reports on a periodic basis, especially during monthly, quarterly and annual strategy sessions.  The numbers are going to impact how you execute the plans. 

As a recruiter or HR specialist, you have the opportunity to mold your company and its future.  The situation may look different down the road, but the key is to avoid being stagnate and/or unaware of the trends impacting your talent pool.  Prepare your leaders to craft the proper policies and to focus on developing leaders throughout the organization who believe in and support those policies.

Procrastination is not your friend.  You have to intentionally block out time to think about these topics with your team.  Solutions don’t simply materialize.  You need time to analyze the opportunity, understand the headwinds, align the solutions with your company objectives and then to effectively present them to your C-Suite leadership.  It takes time.  Start soon.

The team suggests you actually forward this episode to your leaders and think through the issues together.  If you’d like help, our contact information is provided below.

That’s where we’ll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We’d love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We’re here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com 

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

In this week's episode of the Scale Your Sales podcast, my guest is Roheel Ahmad.

Roheel is the Co-founder of Forsyth Barnes, one of the fastest growing, global, bootstrapped, talent partners. They headhunt middle to senior executives across eTail, Sports & Entertainment, and Fintech. Forsyth Barnes is committed to enhancing diversity within client organizations.

In this episode, Roheel delves into his unwavering mindset of resilience and growth, even in challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss his company's decision to invest in a larger office space and maintain ambitious targets, along with the value of continuous training to prepare for future opportunities Our discussion centers on the pivotal need for optimizing the recruitment process and driving innovation in the industry. He emphasizes the urgency and efficiency required in hiring, shedding light on the risks of lengthy recruitment processes that can lead to losing top talent to more agile competitors. We also explore the integration of diversity within Forsyth Barnes' recruitment methodology, known as FB way, and how it positively impacts the industry.

Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcast, Roheel Ahmad.

Timestamps: 

01:26 – The FB way: Control, influence, and urgency explained.

07:39 – Frustration with sector drives desire for innovation.

11:38 – Early success in field sales, fearless in job applications, transitioned into recruitment.

17:43 – Confidence in ourselves amidst uncertainty and targets.

28:01 – Underestimating speed, financials, evaluating culture in recruitment.

30:27 – Longer recruitment process leads to lower-quality talent.

https://linkedin.com/in/roheelahmad

Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth through customer experience and sales.

Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event https://janicebgordon.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-b-... 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon   

Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast    

More on the blog https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon   

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSal...

In this week's episode of the Scale Your Sales podcast, my guest is Roheel Ahmad.

Roheel is the Co-founder of Forsyth Barnes, one of the fastest growing, global, bootstrapped, talent partners. They headhunt middle to senior executives across eTail, Sports & Entertainment, and Fintech. Forsyth Barnes is committed to enhancing diversity within client organizations.

In this episode, Roheel delves into his unwavering mindset of resilience and growth, even in challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss his company's decision to invest in a larger office space and maintain ambitious targets, along with the value of continuous training to prepare for future opportunities Our discussion centers on the pivotal need for optimizing the recruitment process and driving innovation in the industry. He emphasizes the urgency and efficiency required in hiring, shedding light on the risks of lengthy recruitment processes that can lead to losing top talent to more agile competitors. We also explore the integration of diversity within Forsyth Barnes' recruitment methodology, known as FB way, and how it positively impacts the industry.

Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcast, Roheel Ahmad.

Timestamps: 

01:26 – The FB way: Control, influence, and urgency explained.

07:39 – Frustration with sector drives desire for innovation.

11:38 – Early success in field sales, fearless in job applications, transitioned into recruitment.

17:43 – Confidence in ourselves amidst uncertainty and targets.

28:01 – Underestimating speed, financials, evaluating culture in recruitment.

30:27 – Longer recruitment process leads to lower-quality talent.

https://linkedin.com/in/roheelahmad

Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth through customer experience and sales.

Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event https://janicebgordon.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-b-... 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon   

Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast    

More on the blog https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon   

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSal...

File 5:  In today’s file, the team goes with a Halloween theme.  We’ll discussed spooky recruiting issues and situations to avoid. 

Ghosting

Jamie begins the discussion with the topic of ghosting.  Imagine leading recruiting teams for large organizations.  Suddenly you find yourself laid-off.  You’ve made progress in your job search, but suddenly you realize, nobody is calling you back.  It feels as if you’re being ghosted. 

If you’ve every applied for a job, it’s quite possible you’ve been ghosted.  You took the time to go through the process.  You did your best to avoid typos and grammatical errors.  You submitted the information well within the posted application period.  Nonetheless, you’re not getting any response.  No acknowledgement of receipt.  No “thank you will be in touch.”  No “we’ve decided to go in a different direction.”  No follow up letter/email of any type.  Nada.

Molley shares her personal experience when stepping back into the job search.  She wasn’t aware this actually happened in recruiting.  It was a shock.  She and Jamie discuss the importance of tracking the communication flow to ensure you’ve responded to each applicant, even if it’s to decline them.  In the past, this was a tedious, manual process.  Today, technology has changed that process and there’s no good reason for ghosting an applicant. 

Molley comments about how important follow-up is, especially if you’ve had an actual interview with an applicant.  At some point, it becomes about the personal brand of that recruiter, as much as about the brand of the company looking to hire.

Jamie talks about how some of her best hires were people who had previously applied but weren’t necessarily the best fit for that particular role.  However, once a better opportunity came around, because she’d effectively handled the communication flow with that person, she was able to reach out and convince them to apply for the new opportunity. 

The follow-up becomes even more important if the candidate has made it through several steps of the interview process.  Remember, how you represent the company for which you are recruiting can have a significant effect on how that individual talks to family and friends about the company, especially if it was a poor experience. 

The team discusses the importance of having a solid process in place.  In File 2, Process was the focus of the entire episode.  It can ensure you communicate and limit the chance that an applicant or candidate slips through cracks.  A good process, especially when combined with the right software can help you to automate some of those communication activities, thus saving tremendous time and effort.

Zombies

Molley transitions the discussion to zombies.  Okay, well not exactly, but we’re sticking with a Halloween theme today.  Zombies are the recruiters or HR professionals who only consider applications if all of the right boxes are checked.  The system or process might eliminate a quality applicant, simply because he/she didn’t meet each one of the prerequisite qualifications.  Often, those qualifications might be more boilerplate than actually relevant to the individual’s ability to excel in a particular roll.  Unfortunately, the zombie recruiter will never get the chance to connect with that applicant. 

Jamie also describes a colleague who was an extremely effective professional, but might not have made it past the initial screening process, because she had a degree in paralegal studies rather than a bachelor’s degree. 

The Invisible Man or Woman

Jason introduces this spooky recruiting issue.  This is an HR professional who is not performing internal talent reviews.  Recruiting is a time-intensive and costly process. It’s quite possible the ideal candidate would have been an internal hire, had there been an internal talent review to identify this individual.  It’s scary to think of the time, effort and money wasted by not looking at your own bench before deciding to pursue an external hire.

Molley asks who’s actually responsible?  Is it the HR professional or the internal candidate?  Jason makes a good point that if the internal individual doesn’t know the job is posted, how could he/she apply? 

It’s important to make sure you have a process in place to identify and cultivate successful, internal candidates, who are actually interested in pursuing a new role.  Jason describes managers as gardeners.  They’re growing and developing their teams, but the recruiter may not be as familiar with the internal talent.  Again, effective communication flow is critical to optimizing the recruiting and hiring process.

Jamie advises recruiters to have this conversation during the intake process.  Ask the hiring manager, during the initial discussion, their current team or individuals in other departments.  There might be quality candidates who should be involved.

Frankenstein

This refers to an amalgamation of a number of factors.  Recruiters may be looking for culture-fit, but forcing a fit may actually create a monster.  Subjective decision-making introduces bias.  Trying to convince someone they are a good fit, or rejecting someone because you don’t think they’re a good fit may result in negative consequences. 

Jamie and Molley share that sometimes the culture needs to be adapted or changed.  Often a talented individual may be able to evolve the team’s culture, while also excelling in the role regardless if his/her perceived “fit” with the existing culture.  Why miss out on a great candidate because of a bias?

Molley describes an “interesting” question a CEO used to use in his interviews with prospective clients.  It may not have yielded the desired result.  She comments that while sometimes there are reasons for “riding the wave” when it comes to assuming a new role, more often than not, it can be risky if the process isn’t managed properly.  This can lead to failure rather than an optimal result for both the new hire and the company and/or department.

Vampires

This refers to the person who sucks the life out of you at work, rather than enabling you to maintain your excitement and engagement in the work you are performing.  Jason observes that the vampire may have originally been a Frankenstein (i.e. forced into a culture fit scenario) and now he/she is in a position in which the rest of the team is suffering because of it. 

Jamie describes another vampire, but from a different perspective.  This is the high-performer who’s meeting or surpassing the KPIs, but leaving bodies in their wake.  They’re abusing their administrative support and others.  People might imagine aggressive sales people fitting into this mold.  While the individual continues to earn accolades, bonuses and other recognition for performance, the damage to the organization can be tremendous.

Solutions for Dealing with Spooky Recruiting Issues

Ghosts:  Make sure you’re properly staffed so you have the time and processes to effectively communicate with your applicants and candidates.  Automation can be your friend. 

Zombies:  Jamie mentions this was addressed in a previous episode.  As a recruiter, you really need to know and understand the job for which you are recruiting.  Understand what really matters and what really drives results.  As you’re interviewing if you spot a potential gap or deficit, ask questions to see if the applicant/candidate may have made up of this perceived gap/deficit in another way.  Again, it’s never about just checking the boxes.  Engage!

Molley observes that when the job market is tighter, recruiters may have the opportunity to look more closely at prospective candidates.  As part of that, Jamie recommends reviewing your “knockout” questions to ensure your system isn’t rejecting individuals who may actually be able to perform and/or excel in the role, based on a few broadly brushed parameters.  Bias can have a role in the zombie approach.  The recruiter needs to be on guard and self-aware during the vetting process.

Invisible Man/Woman:  Jason suggests having a good process developed to identify viable internal candidates can be a solution to dealing with this issue.  Remember, you may have a talented individual already on your team who either hasn’t spoken up or doesn’t know about the new opportunity exists.  The internal search process can save time and money.

Frankenstein:  Stitching together a person to simply get a body in the role may seem the path of least resistance, but in the medium- to long-term, it can turn out to be a disaster for the organization.  Molley makes the point that it’s important to review the job description before you set out to hire.  The job description may not have been updated since the role was originally created, however, the actual tasks and responsibilities may have evolved.  Fixing this upfront can definitely help avoid creating a Frankenstein. 

Vampires:  The group quickly urges managers to identify the vampires in your organization and get them out.  The overall negative impact to the organization isn’t usually worth the damage the vampire is inflicting.  Jamie recommends analyzing the rewards systems to ensure they’re not rewarding vampire behavior.  More often than not, this is the case.

That’s where we’ll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We’d love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We’re here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

Key Points from the Episode: 

• The group discussed operations, processes, systems, and HR in their businesses.
• Having clear processes and systems documented is important, especially for hiring, onboarding, and offboarding employees. Things like offer letters, paperwork, and checklists help ensure legal compliance.
• Getting feedback from employees through assessments and interviews can provide valuable insights into improving company culture and operations. But leaders must balance caring about employee opinions with making decisions in the best interest of the business.
• Understanding your own strengths and weaknesses via assessments can help you put the right people in the right roles on your team. A balanced team covers all quadrants of the DISC profile.
• The goal of systems and processes is often to automate, delegate or outsource your weaknesses so you can focus on your strengths and high-level strategy.
• Ongoing review of systems, processes, marketing plans, etc. helps maximize effectiveness rather than waiting until year-end.

File 3:  In today’s file, we continue a 3-part series dealing with workforce issues related to Process, Packages and People.  In part 1, we focused on Process.  Today, we’ll focus on Packages.  Jamie, Molley and Jason are ready to help identify some of the issues employers have in effectively recruiting, hiring and retaining good talent. 

Editor’s Note:  If you missed the previous segment of this discussion, click here to listen to Part 1 of this series.

“Who We Are Is What We Offer”

Jamie begins with observations of general statements about compensation packages.  She points out that people often begin with, “I got this great job!”  The compensation is one of the first things then mention.  Those packages create or impact the stories about their new jobs, but also about your company. 

The Concept of Total Compensation

Molley comments that total compensation is much more than the wage or salary.  People often focus on what the role pays, but depending upon the season of life the new hire is experiencing, the rest of the package will be an important factor.  When you consider your workforce, there is a wide range of ages.  Those various groups want, or place value, on different things related to their compensation. 

Jamie explains that total compensation is all of the tangible things an employee receives for working at your company.  This is typically made up of base-pay plus any incentives, shift-differentials, overtime opportunities and benefits (usually insurance for health, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability).  This would also include a 401(k) and the company’s matching contribution.  For some, it might involve a pension program.  There’s also vacation and PTO time.  Molley shares an interesting way a CEO communicated the value of the compensation package to new hires.

“Up to $20/hour to Start”

This type of phrase is often included in job postings.  Does it really accomplish its intended result?  Jason explains that this style of offer is extremely blurry.  Your compensation package is your offer.  Suggesting there’s a range may actually sow the seeds of either doubt or potentially mistrust in the mind of the candidate. 

Jamie describes a sign she saw in a restaurant offering $17/hour.  That seemed hard to believe.  She asked one of the staff about it and learned that it was extremely misleading.  The staff member said you needed to be there for 3 months and it includes to 3^rd shift differential (for which there were no openings).  Imagine the impact on the excited new hire when he/she learns that this was a bit of bait and switch.  Do you think the fine print will have an impact on that excitement?  Will it impact the way the employee views the company?  More importantly, do you think his/her views will be discussed with others in the community?  The answer to each of those questions is a resounding, “Yes!”

Jason observers how prior to the pandemic, companies may not have worried about the negative impacts of these types of hiring practices.  There weren’t as many alternatives and companies had their pick of prospective candidates.  That didn’t make it right, but it may have played a part. 

Fast forward to the current environment.  Candidates have many more alternatives from which to choose.  From a purely marketing perspective, your compensation package is your offer.  Lead with your best offer.  If you don’t you may not get the chance to hire that candidate. 

Planning Pays Off

Jamie suggests that having a good plan will help you to better understand the levels various pay-rates in your organization.  The standard package is being scrutinized much more closely, today.  Potential new hires are spending more time deciding if the package actually meets their needs in the immediate, as well as how it will work down the road. 

It’s true, pay-rates and compensation packages have increased.  Jamie recommends companies use the available tools to properly plan out their compensation and benefit practices. 

Talk to Your Employees to Discover Why They Like Working Here

Jason comments on a very simple to implement tactic.  Ask why people like their jobs within your organization.  If you learn what they actually don’t like, now you’ll know what to fix.  Your employees are your best recruiters.  They talk about work with their neighbors, families and friends.

Consider asking about what they like, what they’d change and what they absolutely love about their compensation package.  Use the latter when advertising your job opening.

Are You Generating Toxicity?

Molley comments on how the bait and switch of an “Up to $X/hour” approach usually leads to disappointment in the mind of the new hire.  It may not be openly expressed, but the seed has been sown.  This may lead to a growing toxicity within your work environment.  Once that takes hold, consider the benefit cost to the employee and to the organization.

At Incipio (Molley’s company), they work hard to fully understand the organization’s employee benefits package, but then to contrast them with realistic expectations.  When working with her C-level clients, she helps them to understand “who they are is often defined by what they offer.”

If your workplace environment is toxic, it will generate higher rates of sick days, mental health issues and general stress.  These factors can often outweigh the total compensation package. 

If you do decide to survey your workforce, formally or informally, it’s important that the C-suite hear the negatives.  You have to take those up the chain.  Effectively addressing some of those issues will have a positive impact on everyone. 

Be Candid with Your Prospective New Leaders

Jamie adds that it’s extremely important to be candid about current challenges within the organization.  It sets the proper expectations, while conveying how much you respect the experience he/she would bring to this role. 

If management is committed to resolving the various challenges, it can give the prospective new leader a sense that things will improve and they will play a role in that success.  Having the opportunity to contribute may be viewed as an intangible part of the total compensation package.

Defining Your Value Proposition

Jason’s firm, CrowdSouth, is a marketing agency.  They work with organizations to help craft effective messaging related to the company’s value proposition.  In other words, what are they truly offering?  It’s important to understand a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.

Jason recommends developing distinct, customer/employee personas for each job description.  This can lead to defining the 4 different types of people who could be successful in this particular role.  Jamie adds, she often challenges clients to define the 3 questions the employer wants the candidate to answer “yes” to during the hiring process.  For instance, “Are you the type of person who likes to solve problems?” How the candidate responds can help you to identify where to probe deeper during the interview.

Jason describes a process they use when working with a client to develop effective job descriptions.  This helps to build out the personas, which leads to the creation of an effective targeting campaign to attract specific types of applicants for each persona.

It’s important to openly consider whether your organization actually matches its stated values, especially if those are communicated as part of the advertising and recruiting activities. 

Molley comments on the importance of understanding the relationship between the type of candidate you want to attract, the season of life they may be in and how the compensation package aligns with that season.

Jamie is an HR professional.  At her company, Parcel, she recommends organizations anticipate the usage specific benefits will get when developing budgets.  Not all benefits will be used by each employee or employee group.  She uses the example of a company offering tuition assistance and dependent educational assistance benefits.  While the dollar amounts budgeted for both were similar, in reality, very few employees used both components of their benefits.  It enabled them to offer a properly-funded and valued benefit, without having it crushed by Finance because of the forecasted cost, were every employee to use both components. 

Jamie explains is extremely important to emphasize the “soft” components of the compensation package, because prospective employees are trying to find an organization within they’d fit and one that aligns with their core values.  This are much more important than in the past.

Jason reflects on the impact a company’s social media presence can have on the total compensation package.  Every organization has a brand and works to influence its brand positioning in the mind of the market.  Companies should consider “dripping” out posts about values, over time, but without being divisive.  This could easily support your recruiting efforts.  The company’s social media team or marketing team should be allocating ad budgets for to augment your recruitment campaigns.  This should be an ongoing conversation both internally and with the external audience.

Consumers develop brand preferences.  For those consumers who might actually become employees, why wouldn’t the company/organization consider positively influencing that preference, as well.  The efforts can go hand-in-hand.  Associating your positive brand affinity with a job opening definitely plays a part of the assumptions the prospective employee attributes to the total compensation package.

That’s where we’ll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We’d love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We’re here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 2:  As we open today’s file, we’re going to begin a 3-part series dealing with workforce issues related to Process, Packages and People.  In part 1, we’ll focus on Process.  Jamie, Molley and Jason are ready to help identify some of the issues employers have in effectively recruiting, hiring and retaining good talent. 

Do Companies Actively Plan for the Hiring Process?

Molley begins by asking this question of the group. This is particularly relevant when an employer is hiring a larger number of people. Jamie’s response is that often companies plan for work, but necessarily workers.  Jason comments that when things get busy, companies tend to scrap the process and just try to fill the jobs. 

The plan is a key component of a hiring initiative.  But as Molley observes, the plan is going to be different based on the number of employees the company is trying to hire.  How you need to accomplish the objective has changed dramatically.  Traditional methodologies aren’t as successful as they were in the past.  This is where many employers struggle.

This Is the Way We’ve Always Done It

That mindset is a limiting factor in today’s environment.  Jason points out that while it may not be the most effective approach, today, many companies aren’t sure how to change their recruiting and hiring process.  Unfortunately, rather than taking the time to investigate, modify and improve the process, some companies just decide, “We’re just going to go with what we know.”  It’s no wonder the results often fall short of expectations.

Molley’s been involved in recruiting for the past 28 years.  Things have obviously changed.  Jamie comments that she found her first HR position in the newspaper.  How effective are newspaper ads today?  Not nearly as good as they were years ago.  The market and how prospective new hires look for job openings has evolved.

Molley explained how, in the early 2000s, she took a different approach to helping a company recruit a large number of applicants for experienced IT roles.  The success of her non-traditional approach proved her assumption that you have to be creative in your process, if you want it to work.  The “post and pray” approach is a sub-optimal way to tackle workforce development objectives.

Jamie remembers how in the 1990s, she noticed a company using video to showcase the work environment, so prospective applicants could get a sense for what a normal day would look like.  It was innovative back then, however, there are companies who still are relying on the “This is the way we’ve always done it” strategy.  They’re losing out on some of the best candidates.

Jason notes that the balance of power has changed.  It used to be that the employer had all of the leverage, but that’s not the case anymore.  There are more open jobs that people who want to work.  It’s a big shift and those talent acquisition teams that are willing to recognize it, have a tactical advantage over those who are still looking in the rear-view mirror.  You have to adapt your process.

You’re Recruiting from 5 Different Generations

The group recognizes that depending on the role, you have the opportunity to recruit from literally 5 different generations, but they all gather and process information differently.  This poses a significant challenge to employers who are anchored to a single, outdated process. 

Fun with Labor Planning

Jamie discusses how a company she previously worked for held daily, labor planning meetings during peak production.  The HR team focused on KPIs to help them understand their current tracking, as well as identifying potential gaps or shortfalls.  They would then model their future performance in an attempt to forecast potential issues.  For instance, how would the opening day of hunting season impact their attendance?  They considered the UK and UofL athletic calendars and many other factors that could stress the production capability of the operation.  This is a process that helped to highlight the need for contingency planning to minimize disruptions.

While this seems fine for a larger company, it may be even more critical for a smaller operation.  The larger employer had a pool of employees to fill in, as needed.  That “luxury” may not exist for a smaller company.  Developing a more detailed workforce planning process may be the key to helping the business to deliver on commitments to its customers, as well as to the bottom line.

Culture Has a Role

Jason points out that beyond the company’s culture, the culture of your workforce also has a role in an effective process.  It’s not uncommon for a diverse workforce to have specific needs/desires for time off during various holiday and religious seasons.  They have valid factors in their personal lives the company should consider in its resource planning.

Attrition Is Part of the Algebra

This is an interesting, and often frustrating, part of the planning process.  While math is based on truths (e.g. 2 + 2 = 4), factors impacting your ability to effectively manage the workforce levels are always changing. 

Jamie is a firm believer in the adage, “Start with your customer and work your way backwards.”  Some companies have pronounced peaks and valleys that impact the number of employees you need to have at any given time.  For others, however, the business flow may be more steady. with a slower burn.  She recommends including your particular workforce demand in your annual planning and review it in your on-going monthly discussions.  You want to ensure you’re achieving your monthly goals, or identifying factors preventing your organization from doing so.  This on-going monitoring will enable you to spot issues quicker, allowing contingency plans to be implemented to limit significant problems.  Once again, it’s a process.

Molley discusses how pausing to consider the drivers of why you need to hire can also provide valuable insights.  Often companies assume they only need to focus on the hiring process due to business growth and expansion.  Sure, you can forecast workforce needs based solely on this, but what about attrition?  Don’t fail to consider your need to hire additional employees to address those you’re going to lose through attrition.  If you’re not careful, you’ll overlook the need to budget for the recruiting, hiring and retention of these addition employees. 

It’s important to include regular analysis of the workforce development actual expense compared to the budgeted expense.  If you have a smaller organization, your planning needs to be even more thorough.

Succession Planning

This process can be complicated, especially when you realize it’s not simply for production-level employees, but also for continuity planning within your management and senior management. 

The group discusses the often-overlooked risk of “that single point of failure.”  This refers to the accumulated knowledge a specific employee may have, but never gets documented.  When this person leaves, production and/or other important roles can be significantly impacted. 

Molley describes a situation in which a manufacturing employee had spent 30-years on the line.  A couple of times each month, he replaced a piece of duct tape that helped to keep the line moving.  He left and when the problem arose, no one knew what was causing it, nor how to quickly fix it.  Production was disrupted.

One solution would have been to have someone stand beside him to document the specific processes and the unwritten tips, steps and quick fixes that he knew about.  How much smoother would that assembly line’s production have run, had that single point of failure been identified in advance?  Realize, most operations have many of this informal knowledge floating around.

Molley shares another story about a 35-year employee who notified his company that he was going to retire in 2 years.  No training manual for his job existed.  This would have been an excellent opportunity to have someone shadow him, take pictures of specific actions and speak to him about why that step was necessary to the process.  The training manual would easily be created.  As Jamie points out, a well-developed knowledge transfer should be part of the process.

Jason’s company does a lot of video training.  They create videos using the actual employees, when possible.  There are video tools and screen sharing tool that can be used to show a specific process.  This style of training is great for visual learners and those who may not read as well.

What’s the Proper Way to Develop a Budget for Staffing?

Jason comments that while you need to consider what you will have to spent, it’s also important to consider what you’d lose if you didn’t spend the money on it.  Molley found research indicating it costs $10,050 to recruit a mid-level or lower employee and to keep them for 60 days.  This doesn’t factor in the cost of a failed hire or other opportunity costs.

Of course, you can spend less, but you have to break down the process and decide what will work best for your specific situation.  Unfortunately, as Molley’s experience has shown, very few companies tend to adequately budget for a phase of new hiring.

Jason discusses the challenge of finding “the right employee” who gets it, wants it and has the capacity to do the job. 

Jamie comments on the key question of whether your organization is prepared to recruit.  There are often additional individuals, beyond just the recruiters involved in the process.  Are they prepared to ask the appropriate and legal questions?  It’s an important consideration.  Compliance is there to protect the company, especially from legal exposure.

Molley and Jamie point out that many of the recruiters haven’t performed the actual job, so they aren’t able to fully address questions that may arise.  This can be a flaw in the process.  If the recruiters could have some experience doing the job or observing the job, it can help them to set the proper expectations during the interview.

It’s important that numerous stakeholders are involved in the overall plan.  It’s the best way to ensure your recruiting and human resources teams know the plan, work the plan and nail the plan.  If you’re asking, “Why can’t I find good people?” one answer is process.

Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We’re here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

One of the signs of a good organization is the one that dedicates a lot of their resources to community building. Kelly Barclay understood the importance of serving others wholeheartedly while going up through the banking industry. She now serves as the President and CEO of Ozona Bank for more than a decade. Joining Steph Silver, she talks about how banks can bring a positive impact not only to the finances of their customers but to their daily lives as well. Kelly also talks about hiring individuals who are passionate about bringing people together and why community banks are more flexible in addressing customer needs from a personal standpoint.

This video covers the government job interview process. For federal government job interviews there is a specific process that is followed. There are also specific types of questions that are asked. The most difficult are the performance based interview questions. This video explains the entire interview process. Also, if you wait until the end I give my responses to three specific interview questions that I have been asked before on interviews.

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Karl Palachuk has a major announcement . . . followed by a discussion of The Five Employee Rules You Can't Forget - No matter how difficult the job market is right now.

Karl has been procuding materials for IT consultants who are tackling the challenges of hiring in as we roll the calendar over to 2023. He recently posted a recorded webinar at https://www.mspwebinar.com on Hiring and Keeping Great Employees in 2023 - https://mspwebinar.com/finding-and-keeping-great-employees/.

In this podcast, Karl outlines five extremely important things you need to remember, even in a difficult job market. 

Karl is one of the SMB Community Podcast hosts. He has written more than twenty books, and runs the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community as well as IT Service Provider University.

Karl has built and sold two managed service businesses. He has been a professional consultant for more than three decades, and he has been an active community builder in the SMB IT market for more than fifteen year. He's also the founder of the National Society of IT Service Providers and is currently their Executive Director.

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Joined by Stephen Runyan (AKA Tommy Gunn) to talk about what and who built him, recruitment being more than checking boxes, the word safety! --- all of this plus everything the audience threw our way. Was an awesome evening, enjoy the recording!