Yesterday I was fortunate for the opportunity to provide the morning keynote on Employment Branding for Collaborate 2010 – the first Jobs2Web user conference.  I enjoyed sharing the stage with a group of forward thinking practitioners and industry giants Lou Adler and J2W founder Doug Berg.  I also couldn’t help but marvel at the astounding level of engagement, open sharing, synergy and success during this event.  Collaborate was truly the perfect theme!

Jobs2Web continues to push the envelope on strategy, innovation and results for progressive organizations serious about leveraging technology and intelligence to Recruit Better. This week it was exciting to listen and learn about the powerful ROI they are delivering.  Client presentations from Yum Brands, Microsoft, Lifetime Fitness and Mayo Clinic validated Jobs2Web as both a powerful business partner and clear industry leader.  They continue to set the pace for delivering innovative Web 2.0 (or 3.0?) recruitment marketing solutions.

One of the most exciting client projects I’ve worked on in my new consultancy has been the Jobs2Web brand, unveiled this week at the user conference. I think the message platform and marketing tools resonated with the community in a compelling way!  I will post a more complete case study in the near future but in the interim, here are two video’s our team produced in partnership with Jobs2Web.

Great week!  Congratulations J2w!

Remember Graduation Day?  Hope…Optimism…Opportunity….recently my intern, Lora Berthiaume graduated from St. Thomas University…congratulations Lora!  As she embarks on launching her career in advertising/marketing/communications I am fortunate that Lora will be spending just a little more time with me this summer…she is a Rock Star ready to contribute significantly to the right fit employer!  We chatted recently about her transition from campus to career and how she and her peers felt about making the leap.  Bottom line, its still a tough market for millenials entering the workforce and as the data shows new grads simply have fewer opportunities and are accepting jobs for less compensation.  Lora had this to say as she approached her Graduation Day:

When the anticipation of putting on that special cap became reality the anxiety set in. College life is over. We have been waiting for this exciting day since we were little, and now that the time has come, we wish it would be years ahead of us still. Although I can vouch for many that we are all thrilled to not have to spend endless hours at the library, or eat the terrible cafeteria food, it is a mutual understanding that we are scared. This is a turning point in all of our lives, one that most of us are not prepared for. The biggest fear of entering “the real world” is finding a job.

The lucky select few have full-time jobs, many have internships, but most of us are still in the job-hunting process. Yes the economy may be turning around and there are a few more jobs opening up, but it is still not the prime time to be looking for that first career.

Job-hunting should be considered a full time job itself. Like most of my graduating class, I have used every job seeker service and networking connection out there. It takes time and a whole lot of effort to find a job. The main site my classmates and I use to find available jobs is the University of St. Thomas Career Development website. Next on the list is going on companies’ websites you are interested in and looking at their job postings. LinkedIn is also a popular tool. A non-virtual path most of us have taken is attending career fairs around the Twin Cities area, as well as organizations such as Advertising Federation and American Marketing Association, which allow you to network.

Many available jobs right now require numerous years of experience in that field. It gets a bit discouraging when you find a job description that fits you perfectly, until is says 5 years experience required. How are we supposed to gain experience when entry-level jobs are scarce?  That is why so many of my friends (and I) are doing internships post college in an effort to quickly build more of that necessary and relevant experience.

Ideally, the company at that first “real job” holds an energetic, welcoming atmosphere and possesses an innovative and unique culture. Getting fully submerged in a company right away allows one to learn the quickest, so the more fast-paced, the better.

With all the fear and anxiety aside, it will be an amazing feeling to receive the diploma we have all worked so hard to get. I know my major in Marketing and minor in Advertising will lead me to the perfect position in my career field. My passion is a mixture of business and creative work. I am diversified from marketing plans all the way to graphic design, and would love to do anything in between. No matter what opportunity arises, I know I will succeed.

And I’ll be spending this summer of transition supporting Ryan Estis & Associates and their growing speaking/consulting business.  Life as a start-up intern. isn’t so bad!

First dates can be tough, especially if you haven’t dated in a while.  The fear of change and rejection are powerful forces capable of keeping people trapped in situations that are less then desirable. When it’s personal the stakes are high.

Take the job interview.  Tough sledding for most people, especially if it’s been a few years.  It’s got first date evaluation, scrutiny, benchmarking and comparison all over it.

And the sales the call.  I believe whoever said not to take sales rejection personally couldn’t have been very good at sales.  Trust me, it’s personal.  In most instances customers buy from YOU…..whatever you sell is typically replicated and available from the competition.   The best sellers are the difference makers.

To get it right requires some thorough preparation.  And preparation also eases the natural anxiety and tension that come with the territory.  It also mandates authenticity…and the best advice I could give to any candidate or closer is be yourself.  Because good interviewing, selling, dating and relationships are all about ‘fit’ and at the onset deserve authentic representation.

I hadn’t interviewed in quite a while (which was a mistake) when I decided to launch my own business….and in those roller coaster first 6 months the familiarity and security of the corporate gig pulled…and put me in a state of being open to taking meetings, interviews and considering my options.  And I can tell you the very best interviews come when you are confident, patient and open around evaluating the intersection of talent and opportunity.  I am not the right man for every Chief Sales Officer job……and there are sales leadership gigs that would put my feet to sleep inside of 90 days.  Fit is the key.

It’s not all that different in Sales.  The very best sellers take fit assessment seriously.  One of the biggest reasons salespeople fail is they spend their time on the wrong things…low margin activity…or spinning their wheels trying to capture business that simply just doesn’t fit for the enterprise.  In my consulting business being selective and segmenting the kind of clients we work with (where we can really add the most value and help improve their business) is absolutely the focus.  We want great fit for us and the client!

Having ‘fit’ perspective makes the first date (whatever it is) more enjoyable.  Everyone can relax, have some fun and participate in some open, meaningful dialogue….wherever it takes you.  And when its good….when the fit seems to align, you’ll know it.….it will move you, shift your perspective and lift your spirit.

The start of something new brings the hope of something great….so relax, be confident, authentic, focus on fit and enjoy the ride!

This Spring is providing a variety of opportunities for the HR community in my hometown to conference and connect around some terrific content!

April 13th is the HRP of MN Spring Conference.  I’ll be opening the conference with Employment Branding 2.0 and plan to stick around all day for two outstanding additional sessions and the panel discussion to close out the confernece!  The event will focus on Post Recession Strategies (REgroup – REtain – REcruit) and should prove to be a great opportunity to connect with leaders in our local HR community.

May 12 is the TCHRA Spring Conference.  Keeping with the recovery and reinvention theme, ‘Leveraging Human Capital During the Economic Recovery’ there is a special opportunity to see a dynamic national speaker take the stage and keynote this event.  Simon Bailey is outstanding!  I recently had the pleasure of spending a little time with Simon after we both presented at NOHRC in my hometown of Cleveland.  He is as brilliant and authentic off the stage as he is on.  I can tell you his message is relevant for this time of transformation and includes a powerful blend of inspirational and actionable content.   You don’t want to miss Simon!

May 17 the ERE Social Recruiting Summit will be held at Best Buy in Minneapolis where some of the leading national players leveraging social media for talent acquisition will descend on the Twin Cities for the one day event.  If your focus is recruiting this is a can’t miss opportunity to learn from a think tank of strong, national practitioners doing exciting work!

Look forward to seeing some old friends, familiar faces and making new connections in the Twin Cities this Spring!

I had coffee this week with one of the strongest practitioners in the Employment Branding space, Heather Polivka at UnitedHealth Group. Heather is a great example of the Marketing meets HR competency needed to get effective Employment Brand strategy the top down support and traction necessary to have some significant long term impact on the business. What kind of impact?

-Increase in hew hire satisfaction
-Increase in Hiring Manager satisfaction
-Significant reduction in recruitment marketing spend
-Dynamic and growing talent networks through the recently launched social media strategy

The foundation of this  2 year journey was based on a significant research and discovery initiative to determine the unique, differentiated and compelling EVP that now serves as a foundation for all of the tactical deployment and communication both inside and outside the organization.  Driving consistency across such a large and complex organization is both a significant undertaking and accomplishment.

Her extraordinary work effort and contribution to her own employer is being recognized by Electronic Recruiting Exchange where UHG is a finalist for Best Employment Brand (winner to be announced during the upcoming Spring ERE Expo).

I am sorry I won’t be in San Diego to witness the well deserved recognition firsthand but enjoyed Heather’s insights and perspective this morning around how she has achieved success, the recently deployed UHG social strategy and what is coming next!  Her words of wisdom follow:

Remember the movie, Meet the Parents?  Where Gaylord Faucker was hopelessly left outside his soon to be father in law’s magic circle of trust despite his every effort and very best of intentions. Once he was outside the circle it took quite the herculean effort to get back inside.

TRUST is a major issue in the workplace today.  Employee engagement has waned and the prevailing feeling in so many organizations can only be described as anxious and trapped.  It matters little whether the marketplace is talent rich, if the talent on the team isn’t aligned to the objectives and invested in the outcomes.  And invested just enough not to get fired doesn’t count.  I know a lot of passive jobs seekers, working and waiting for something better to come their way.

Sales and Marketing have a Circle of Trust with their customers.  So does Recruiting and Leadership with their employees. And trust and engagement are never higher than the moment someone says YES!  Once the big decision is made the trust should solidify and escalate into endearing loyalty and evangelism.  But it usually doesn’t.  The circle breaks down.

When interest is elevated and engagement is high its a violation if the ‘experience’ doesn’t meet the ‘expectation’.  Brands (and employer brands) that can deliver an experience, that exceed expectations consistently (exceed once and fail twice and you’ll drive people crazy and right into the hands of the competition) build loyalty and have the opportunity to drive evangelism.

Transparency and Authenticity are the new mandate.  You better BE what you SAY.  I read a great quote about this on the Edelman site last night.

“Audiences expect companies to interact with authenticity and transparency. Companies need engagement. Both will only achieve these if driven by compelling content that courts, plays and engages with credibility and professionalism. As Peter Whitehead wrote in the Financial Times, Web 2.0 is a world in which anyone can have a go at generating content; Web 3.0 is where professionals take the lead in shaping that content.  And those professionals are the production experts and the multichannel, multimedia engagement experts. A new world, needing a new marketing offer. It’s all for the taking.”

Content is everywhere.  Quality is another matter entirely.  And better communication inside and outside the company is imperative.  And experience is what really counts.

Authentic, Sincere, Transparent, Timely and Relevant Communication builds TRUST. With employees and customers.

How is your company doing?  Are they inside your circle?

An outstanding week followed by a miserable weekend offered some interesting considerations for the work I do.

I attended HR Connect, a networking event co-sponsored by SHRM, SmartBrief and RecruitingBlogs.  The event and a few meetings around it provided an outstanding opportunity to catch up with clients, colleagues and friends who are passionate about HR and Recruiting.  The ‘Tweet-Up’ (my 2nd official happy hour focused on people connected on Twitter meeting up) affirmed the real desire that people have to connect face to face, with other people, who share a passion for their profession (I wasn’t the only one who got on a plane and flew in for the event).  Using social media makes events like this more rewarding for me and strengthens my network.  But the secret to social media is really all about the relationship.  And its clear to me the conference/event model is far from dead.  To the contrary, people have a deep need and desire to connect live, in person and learn, share and grow.  So, while formats may evolve, good conferences with progressive content aren’t going to be extinct anytime soon.  Social media is simply an accelerator.

I attend a lot of HR conferences.  Often, I am speaking.  Always, I am interested in meeting new people and having meaningful conversations. And while so many of the conferences provide valuable content and connections the HR event circuit can be a bit insular.  And its valuable to gain outside perspective specific to the work you do.  I attended a non HR workshop/event in my hometown a couple weeks ago.  The focus was on social media for business and the audience was comprised of mostly business professionals.  Marketers, Entrepreneurs, Consultants etc. looking to learn more about leveraging new tools/technology.  And part of the workshop general discussion the topic of recruiting and social media was raised.  I was a bit surprised by what happened next.

A gentleman in the audience stood up (not required as part of the discussion format), looked around at the 200 or so people in the room, and in an elevated tone suggested that, “Recruiting is absolutely the most disrespectful business process…..ever.”  He had my attention now. And went on to explain how it was simply unconscionable for companies to treat candidates the way they do during the job search.  Some of it was what you might expect.  Lack of communication.  No feedback.  Minimal, if any human contact.  Horrendous turnaround time.  He was angry to be certain.  And had it stopped there, you could write it off as one disgruntled person having a hard time with a job search.  But it didn’t.  What it did was open the dialogue, all affirming stories acknowledging the problem.  The snowball could have turned into an avalanche had we not had facilitation and the discussion was closed on the story from the candidate, who 30 days after he was hired and started working for his new employer, received an automated email from the recruiting organization updating him on the status of his resume.  Oops.

Sometimes it pays to get perspective outside of your profession.  And it was clear to me this snapshot of dialogue offered some indication that companies have a long way to go with respect to how they respect candidates during the recruiting process.  Some of it comes right down to bedside manner.  And I think some recruiting organizations could learn a lot from Dr. Black.

Dr. Black was my personal weekend Physician.  Heading back from DC Thursday evening I had slight pains in my chest and side.  Writing it off to bad airport pizza I gutted out Friday’s work day with the pain worsening a bit.  By Friday night I knew something was definitely wrong and I ended up in the ER.  EKG, discussion of blod clots, fluid in my chest and lungs, worsening pain and an escalating fever.  No fun. No diagnosis.  Nobody quite sure what exactly is wrong.  Enter Dr. Black.

She offered clear and concise communication with a personal touch.  She explained herself.  Her thoughts about what might be wrong.  What they wanted to rule out and why.  She patiently answered questions.  And stopped back an hour later just to see if I had any more.  And under the circumstances I actually felt so much better having her around.  It wasn’t so much what she said, as the way she said it.  I trusted her.  And because of her I felt good (and still do) about the entire hospital/organization. Dr. Black circled back around and amid my ailment we chatted a bit about work, passion and bedside manner.  I learned that although she had been practicing in this very ER for 11 years she didn’t necessarily think medicine was her true calling.  She is a full time mother and very part time artist.  And would love to have more time to create. We talked about the danger/trap of getting really good at the wrong thing…..and she knew she was good at her job.  Real good.  And her confidence and charisma carried over into a bedside manner that absolutely elevated the patient experience.  Although this might not have been her true passion, her sense of purpose to serve never wavered.  I’ve been to the ER before.  And I have never had a Doctor follow up with 2 phone calls to me personally the next day.  Of course, I wasn’t in the care of Dr. Black.  People make the business.  And the brand.

When you are in the business of saving lives (or starting careers) its easy to put the human element on auto pilot.  But the best in the business don’t.  They remember that it isn’t just what you do, but the way you do it that often makes the difference.  And doing it with elevated communication, care, compassion and consideration make all the difference in the world.

Antibiotics and rest will get me better.  Likely pneumonia or a really bad infection.

Dr. Black’s bedside manner made me feel better when it really mattered.  A great lesson.

Had the fortunate opportunity to connect over coffee this week with the braintrust at The A List.  A great conversation with A Players and all around sourcing/staffing pro’s, JP Winkler and Raghav Singh about the trend line in recruiting, social media and their plans for 2010.  I hadn’t had the opportunity to catch up with Raghav since we recorded an ERE Podcast on Social Media earlier in the year and he always offers an insightful perspective on the industry.  If you want to follow a powerful voice with BIG ideas about the future of HR, Recruiting and Social Media Raghav’s writing is well worth the read.

The practice of Human Resources is poised to look very different coming out of this recession.   Through the recent challenging economic climate employers have been forced to confront harsh realities around image, reputation management, cost containment, employee  engagement and productivity.  As we prepare for the next growth cycle our approach to competitive talent strategy will require transformation.   Globalization, commoditization, generational and technological  drivers are accelerating change and introducing new challenges to the way we acquire, engage and manage human capital.  Understanding the attitude and expectations of today’s workforce and building strategy to drive engagement, productivity and protect tier one talent will be mission critical to build the sustainable talent advantage necessary to win in today’s competitive marketplace.

While many organizations hit the pause button on infrastructure and investment in human capital over the last 12-18 months, those with more foresight and focus are poised to leverage an advantage.  HR as a function also has an opportunity to emerge from this recession poised to contribute to business in a much more significant way – as the true custodians of the organizations talent – a function that will that will likely be more meaningful than any other as it relates to the opportunity to accelerate business growth.

Over the next year we’ll watch HR grow up and continue to evolve into its rightful place as a critical and strategic driver of business growth and sustained success.  4 keys that should transpire:

1. Talent will emerge as a critical C suite issue.  There isn’t going to be a labor shortage, but demand will escalate for certain critical skills and competencies.  HR will need additional investment and resourcing will be procured by the practitioner community that can build a proof of concept business case and step into accountability that really matters to the business.  In sports when the owner spends money to upgrade talent they expect it show up in the Win/Loss column and eventually a championship.  Business is no different.  Time to fill?  Sourcing Data?  Retention and Engagement trends.   So what?  Show me where/how it saves (or preferably makes) me money, contributes to growth and helps the 5 year vision become reality.
2. Trust is a foundational issue impacting culture, engagement, performance and retention that many organizations must address to protect talent and avoid an exodus of skill as recovery provides more opportunity.  Reports of employee engagement rising slightly during this recession are indicative of people feeling more trapped than engaged and recognizing there were opportunity limitations in considering a career transition.  That will change. “54% of employed Americans plan to look for a new job once the economy rebounds.  The sentiment is even stronger among younger workers, with nearly 75 percent of those between ages 18 and 29 reported as likely to look for new jobs once the economy turns around.”  At the heart of the issue is Communication and Competency.  Organizations must do a better job in the next 12 months connecting with talent and investing in their human capital (training).  That is part of the protection strategy.
3. Technology is an enabler that can help HR transform and the burden of assessment/selection relative to the right solutions suite for the business need is imperative.  The vendor community is a buzz with tools and claims creating more confusion than ever in the marketplace (and they will have an escalating  proof of concept challenge also).  A future directed HR organization will have embedded expertise to evaluate, integrate and leverage new tools and technology to accomplish business objectives.  The way we connect and communicate has forever changed and that is an advantage for organizations invested in building community to impact culture.  That doesn’t mean everyone needs to be on Twitter.  There is a balance and intersection between High Tech/High Touch.  You can’t automate relationships.  But you can expedite your opportunity to have more of the right kind of introductions and leverage new tools to aid performance.
4. Transition is a natural outcome and we’ll see more talent from outside the HR industry migrate in to drive innovation.  I see it regularly.  Good marketing/communications and PR talent entering the space.  Finance and operations migrating in as well.  As the practice becomes  ever more critical to business success HR could generate more interest from non-traditional talent and/or more placement from executives who demand a different outcome.

The Time for HR to rise to the occasion has never been better.  A favorite quote of mine from the Jim Collins book Good to Great is: “Great organizations preparing for the future know the ultimate throttle on business growth and success isn’t just about markets, technology, and innovation. In fact, there is one critical consideration above all others: the ability to get and keep enough of the right people.”  That should be the HR mission and for many companies that need to focus on Talent First, there is much work to be done in 2010.

The Best Talent Wins!

Enjoyed a great conversation today with Employer Brand International Corporate Advisory members Kerry Noone, Marketing Communications Manager at Sodexo and Heather Polivka, Director of Employer Branding & Marketing at United Health Group.  The conversation covered top of mind territory around Employer Branding as business strategy (and not just recruiting strategy) and the cost/benefit analysis and opportunities specific to leveraging social media for talent acquisition.  Kerry and team Sodexo have built brand ambassadorship and a clearly defined social strategy that includes active participation/engagement and adheres to some of my general best practices (participation drives relevancy; transparency equals trust; listening is more important than talking; define the objective; and validate).  I am sure she’ll be sharing valuable insights around the Sodexo journey on panel at the Social Recruiting Summit later this month in NYC.  Heather (and Heather) at team UHG have a carefully vetted and clearly defined EVP leveraged across a variety of key internal/external Talent initiatives including the deployment of their new content rich careers portal.

Both are world class practitioners delivering for organizations that have strong leadership support for bringing new ideas and innovation to the talent function (which is certainly key to expedite transformation).  And both are HR transplants that come to the discipline with a marketing background and competency.  A new trend?  Will more companies adopt these titles & roles embedded into the HR/Talent function?  Is there an opportunity for more cross functional collaboration between HR/Marketing/Communications and PR in support of talent?  Perhaps…

Today’s conference call would have offered valuable lessons for anyone in sales/marketing. That is certainly part of the new talent acquisition competency.

These are two Talent Innovators bringing Passion AND Purpose to the profession.  Fun to watch!

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