What to do when a Union comes knocking at your door - Part 1

What to do when a Union Comes knocking - Part 1: Employee beware

In the spirit of my good pal, the Evil HR Lady, I am writing this post in response to questions I've been getting about Unions approaching employees in union-free companies.

Let's start out with a few very basic facts here; Unions can and often do serve a valuable role. Historically, Unions have helped shape the current state of the employment landscape. They have played a key role in the development of many important labor-friendly laws that have eliminated workplace hazards, provided excellent benefits and generally made the world a nicer place to work in.

Even though all of the above is true Unions are not perfect either. Unions survive on the dues that they extract from their members and some have a pretty bad reputation for not being good stewards of those funds. Further, some Unions have a great track record of forcing their way into companies where employees dont really want them through scare tactics and outright threats.

The first thing YOU need to do as an employee or manager is GET THE FACTS before you sign anything. Unions will almost invariably try to get you to sign a card, form or petition saying you want them to represent you. What most people miss out on here is the fact that electing a Union means that you are effectively making them your agent; you are turning over your power to negotiate your terms of employment to them. This is like signing a power of attorney. Imagine if some lawyer confronted you in the parking lot of your company and said "Hey, sign this form and I will get you a better deal" - would you sign it, just like that? Well, that's what the union is asking for when they come to organize.

The first time somebody swindled you out of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich for tuna fish on rye in third grade, you learned two valuable lessons - First, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And second, the grass is NOT greener on the other side (although that tuna fish probably was - yeech!) - That lesson will serve you well when a union comes to town.

Is your "secret sauce" in jeopardy?

Have you ever thought about the risk to your company from the practice known as poaching. This is the practice where firms effectively raid their competitors to hire away their top talent, you know, the folks on your team who know how to make the "secret sauce". The competitive advantage gained by doing so comes from the double-whammy of your company gaining a top notch player, while simultaneously removing a key player from the competition.

There are very distinct concerns and considerations to this as highlighted in John Sullivan's Inc article on poaching.

I want to focus on poaching as a competitive threat to your company for a moment. You have to understand how poaching works and develop a strategy to recognize it and defend against it if you want to be successful in a competitive industry.

First off, all you really need to know about poaching is this: Unless you work in an industry where NO ONE competes with you, it IS a threat to your very livelihood. Every enterprise, from your local motorcycle repair shop to your local school district poaches at some point. Maybe it's the tight labor market; maybe it's the sadistic vein in the CEO.... whatever the reason, it is real and headed your way eventually.

Now, as to how to head it off; You need to understand that no solution is perfect for all situations and you are not likely to avoid losing staff this way. Knowing how the law on this point works (remember folks, I am NOT a Lawyer - this is solely based on my opinion and experience).

Employees in the U.S. are bound by a common-law duty not to compete with their company. This means that while they are under your employ, they are not permitted to solicit your customers, influence your staff to leave, or take any action to steal your intellectual property. You can use this common-law as an educational point to your staff - having them understand their obligations may help them avoid the temptation in the first place.

Many employers try to protect their secret sauce by having key staff (Executives / Officers, top sales people, strategists, programmers, etc....) sign a non-compete / non - disclosure / non - solicit agreement in which the employee promises not to directly compete, disclosed confidential information to, or lure other staff to work in a competing company. This is not a bad approach and it can be VERY effective in the short run. These agreements have a couple of major drawbacks though; First, you have to get the employee to sign them in recognition of something of value you provide to them - usually a bonus payment . Second, they have to be specific and reasonable. I wont bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that the limits have to be short in duration (generally less than 12 months), specific to known and named competitors in specific geographies and reasonably not preclude the employee from working in your industry in some non-competing way. Not a perfect fit, eh??

In my opinion, these methods are mere adjunct tools in a larger strategy which is much more basic and incorporates all the "little things" that make you a great employer, make your employees loyal to the cause and forms the basis of the real "secret sauce".


YOUR MISSION
Take a look at your exposure to poaching. Resolve all the obvious details like pay equity (internal and market based), truly open lines of communication, fair and consistent performance evaluations, constant and constructive feedback and most important of all - show the troops that you really care. If you get all of this right, you are doing more to protect your business than ANY non-compete agreement can do.

Carnival of HR

It’s carnival time in HR-land and those fools – er, kindred souls in the Village have entrusted me with hosting it this time. Cue up the Calliope and summon the clowns.

And speaking of Clowns…. I’ve been following the continuing saga of Mr. Alex Rodriguez, and his now infamous demand of a $350 Million Dollar offer just to begin negotiations with the Yankees…. Who does he think he is, Robert Nardelli? How’s that for chutzpah??

Our friend over at Ask A Manager has some good advice that could have saved Home Depot and the Yankees a lot of trouble by managing the performance of people like these two “stars” upfront and properly.

And why is it that sports (and other) stars always put management in difficult positions by being the spoiled people that they are? Kris at the Human Capitalist has some pretty good insights on managing such stars without killing your business.

Maybe we could be better at influencing the behaviors and performance of our stars by having a results-tied compensation plan. Ann from Compensation Force may have the answers in her brilliant post on Incentive Principles.

It’s a pretty good bet that if the Yankees had a decent performance assessment process and a candid Talent Assessment plan they might have headed off the blow-up with A-Rod. Gautam Ghosh came up with a thought provoker about Assessing Potential – how it can be done well, and how we all tend to stumble through it usually.

Peggy at Career Encouragement raised a seemingly unrelated topic, till you look below the surface. She refers to a post on how employees feel about being referred to EAP. Now I’m not making any accusations here, but A-Rod demands $350 Million at the same time Peggy brings up an EAP article…. Coincidence! You decide!

Lisa at HR Thoughts raises a real value perception question that relates nicely as well. So you’ve got a Hero on the team and you reward him for his clinch hit in the bottom of the 9^th to win the game – but do you ever hold him accountable for striking out in the first 8 innings and getting the team into a clinch in the first place??

Maybe the problem isn’t all with A-Rod alone. Maybe a better leader could have inspired and engaged him to play well for less cash – at least that’s a theory that fits Anna’s post from the Engaging Brand. Besides – I cannot deal with the Image of Steinbrenner reading anybody’s palm – yech!

Wally over at Three Star Leadership has a great viewpoint on selecting and developing leaders that touches our theme here as well. Maybe George Steinbrenner should have read this last year??

This topic really had me steamed and I was starting to rail against these smug little sports brats. Wayne Turmel (the host of the Cranky Middle Manager show and President of Greatwebmeetings.com.) pointed out that maybe this generation of spoiled brats isn’t really so bad after all – maybe the kids are alright after all.

And finally (ironic, since she was the first to my door with her post – well done!) Carmen over at Race in the Workplace reminds us that as we move on post this drama and trauma and begin our search for a new bat-wielding hero to propel the Yankees back to the playoffs, we have to acknowledge that talent comes in all form, sizes and colors. We do ourselves and our team a grave injustice when we claim not to notice the color of our teammates.

Phew! – an entire carnival all tied (however loosely) to a topic that I don’t even really care about! Perhaps I have uncovered a hidden talent in myself – maybe I’m a free-style Rapper trapped in an HR geek’s body? NAH!!!

So how much do you think YOU are worth?

I've been struggling to find a topic that gets my blood hot enough to blog about while still being related to all the management voodoo we cover here. Thank you Mr. Rodriguez!

I read this little bit of insanity in today's New York Post while waiting in the oil change place yesterday. Everyone there from the baseball junkie to the suburban soccer-mom had something to say about the unmitigated gall of A-Rod to seek such a kings ransom despite having been in a virtual coma for the playoffs. While it's an extreme example, it gave me the jolt I needed to bring up a topic we've not covered before - compensation.

As an HR geek, I have seen more than my share of self professed super-star employees come in with some pretty outrageous salary demands and it always gets to me to the point where those otherwise silent voices in my head scream out, "what the heck is she thinking?". Honestly folks, we have all done or at least seen it before. For some reason, you get it in your head that you are not being adequately paid for what you do. Maybe you have had an increase in responsibility or maybe you still do the same job, but have heard about someone else making more, or seen a salary survey indicating that people who do what you think you do make more money for doing it.

I'm not going to suggest that you are (or are not) properly compensated for you job, but I will challenge you to think about your pay this way;

- Are you really underpaid? If you think so, how do you define it?

• Being paid less than you feel you need to live on is not the same as being underpaid. I know lots of outstanding burger flippers at McDonalds and some of them seem to be struggling to make ends meet. They are great at what they do, but despite their personal financial challenges, Burger Flippers make $7.25 per hour, period.
• Being paid less than others who do the same job you do, with the same quality results and without any difference in seniority (if that applies in your world), IS something you should speak with the boss about.
• Comparing your pay to "survey" data is a complex game and you should be careful how you go about it:
• Does the survey job you are comparing yourself to really match your job?
• Are you doing all the components of the survey job?
• Is the survey data from your area, or is it from a national or regional average?
• How current is the survey data ?
• And most important of all, does your company even care about survey data???

The fact is that we are living in a great job market. Companies are finding it harder to find the talent they need to get the results they need and there is already stiff competition for the best players. If you really feel you are underpaid, why not look around the job market to see how much other companies are willing to pay for your expertise? I know that sounds a bit militant, but hey, you are in the Guerrilla HR page!

YOUR MISSION:
If you feel that you are underpaid, talk to the boss about it. If the company isn't willing to be open and up front with you about your compensation, it may be time to brush up that old resume and float it out to a few companies to see what the rest of the world will pay you for your expertise.

Welcome to the team!

Think back to your first day on the job. It's funnythat even though that “first day” may have been years ago, you can probably remember it quite vividly. It’s an important day and one that can set the tone for your tenure with the company.

There are loads of studies that show that a good orientation plan is critical to getting new employees productive and keeping them on the team. Some real world examples:

· Texas Instrument determined that employees who completed an orientation were fully productive two months faster than those who did not.

· Corning Glass determined that 69 percent more employees stayed in the company after three years if they completed their orientation program.

The unfortunate fact is that most employers don’t handle this first day, or the process of orientation very well. I find that the reasons for this are lack of understanding of the importance, confusion about whose responsibility it is, and a lack of accountability for the results.

Let’s take this one reason (or excuse) at a time:

Understanding the importance: We all know how costly and painful it is to have to recruit new or replacement staff. Even when they are hired, they take a while to get up to speed. No matter where you are in the organization, the lower productivity of new staff is a real business issue that you need to address.

Confusion about who is responsible for orientation:

No matter how large, complex and well staffed your HR team is, they are only a small part of the solution to orientation. As a manager, you should view orientation as your responsibility, because the most important things a person needs to know about working on your team, are not things HR will know or understand. Whether your HR folks prescribe some form of orientation program or not, you need to have a plan that ensures your new staff have a way to learn from your existing staff, and from you. This will make the new person feel valued, and give them a chance to become assimilated to your ways of getting things done quickly. This can also be a way to show your current staff how much you trust and value their experience.

Accountability for business results:

This one is simple - you are the manager; the buck stops with you!

A good orientation process will make your new staff productive faster and make them feel welcomed, valued and important. All of those things will help you develop and keep a productive team. It’s not hard to do and there are loads of good examples on the net of how simple it can be to arrange a good orientation experience.

In my next post, we’ll talk about one particularly simple, but effective tool – The Buddy.

YOUR MISSION:

Talk to your team about this at your next team meeting (you are having weekly team meetings with your direct reports, right?). Ask each of them to think about what went right with their orientation, and what could have been done better. Then have them draft a simple plan to make sure that every person you hire has a great orientation experience

The first step is admitting that you have a problem!

Time for the Guerrilla to take a lesson as well as passing it along. Work is to workaholism as a beer is to alcoholism. It can be hard to tell when you have crossed the line between a healthy work-life balance and working just too damn much.

Oddly enough, this family-wrecking, hair greying, blood pressure raising addiction is actually referred to in some cultures as an honorable addiction! There is nothing honorable about working yourself to collapse. There's a great quote from Confucius to help reorient you on this point: To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

Your mission -
Take this quiz and be honest with yourself. If you fail you really need to take a long hard look at yourself and figure out where your priorities really lie.

The truth will set you free, if you can get past the campaigns

Ok, chalk this one up in the category of "they have GOT to be kidding, right?"

The ongoing Union vs Non-Union battle is fun to watch, but THIS video was posted as part of a Union campaign to defeat a move in the Indianapolis legislature to allow employees to chose whether they want to support a union or not.... It's basically an argument with no reasonable defense, but the Unions and their "spokespeople" (read lobbyists) chose to strike as many nerves as they could to distract from the real question.

Take a look at this little gem - it's a great example of how a special interest can distract you from the truth to keep get you to vote for their plan, no matter what the facts may say.

Now if you are done crying for poor little Maggie, let's consider the facts the Unions left out... yep, Maggie's got a fair chance of making less than her peers in non-right to work states, but those states have cost of living factors WAY higher than Indiana. They also left out the bit about Right To Work States having much higher job growth, higher median incomes and let's not forget the ever popular right not to pay dues to a union that is funneling your dues to political campaigns without your consent!

I'm not out to bash Unions here, but I just HAD to call them out on this blatant line of B.S.

YOUR MISSION:

No matter the topic of debate, get beyond the hype and drama to get to the facts and make your decision based on the facts alone!

How will the troops perform after you have left?

It's a common bit of wisdom in the military that the best time to judge a commander is not when he's in front of his troops, but by watching how his troops perform after he has left.

Let's put that to the test. Let's assume you are a good manager (and the fact that you are reading says that you probably are). Your team is known for getting the job done well and everyone thinks you area solid leader for it. Now let's suppose that you are taken out of the picture - maybe you get promoted, maybe you hit the lottery, whatever... you are gone. What is your successor going to find?

Was your team's success due to you taking control, or because you let your team manage themselves effectively? Did they succeed because you coached and trained them well, or because you plugged the gaps they left behind. Did you have a competent, intelligent and resourceful team capable of handling exceptions, or did you shield them from change and just keep them focused on their silos? All the truth behind the performance will come shining through when a new boss takes the helm - this is why the military changes unit commanders so frequently (and maybe your company should too?)

The truth is that the best managers build great teams of fully capable and confident people who really don't need their manager on-hand to deliver success - they could basically do it without the boss in tow. Now that's not saying that the boss has no play. The fact is that the best bosses use the "free time" they get from not having to ride shotgun all day to continually refine process, preempt emergencies and constantly invest in the development of their people.

If that seems painfully simple - it is! Now, you ask if it is so simple, why don't more bosses "get it"? Answer that and the Harvard Business School will let you teach a course on it!

YOUR MISSION:

Review this post with your team and make this pact with them: "If you will help me be a better manager, I will make you the most effective and successful team in our business." This partnership is your first step towards becoming an outstanding leader of an exceptional team.

CARRY ON!

"C" words form the backbone of great recruiting

I'm a former Army guy - I have to keep stuff really simple. Quick check-lists help me remember steps and key parts of a process. Here's a little list I developed to ensure that I have the proper focus on my role as a recruiter - oddly enough, this list could also be applied to many management roles!

Client Focus: View every interaction as though you were dealing with a client. No matter if you are speaking to a hiring manager (clearly your client), or a candidate (who could be a client) always focus on their needs as part of whatever outcome you are trying to achieve.

Communication: Communication with every audience - internal, external, up the chain or down must be concise and accurate as well as specifically tailored to the needs of the audience. You simply cannot over-communicate!

Coach: The hiring manager knows the needs of the business better than you do, but you know the strategies that yield results. The best coaches ASK more than they ANSWER. Ask questions to get the manager to draw their own conclusion and they will normally land on the right answer.

Consideration: You are asking managers to consider the needs of the role and of the candidate. You are asking the candidate to consider the opportunity. All this consideration needs to play out along with some real personal consideration for all involved. Don't forget that at the heart of the process they are all still people with needs.

Consistency: Aside from all the compliance risks in not being consistent, lack of consistency means you will never be able to replicate the magic when you finally get the recruitment process nailed down. Consistency with candidates, managers and even your team is foundational to being able to grow and consistently deliver great results.

Compelling: You HAVE to be able to tell a compelling story about your business, the opportunity, and even the candidate. Your offers must be compelling to the candidate to effectively convey the desire to have them join and the importance your company places on the role - note that "compelling" does not have to mean heaps of money - if you have followed the points above, you will know what is important to the candidate and THAT's the compelling part!

Candor: Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy - sure you can soften up the feedback, but if the hiring manager is a dolt who does not understand the basics of the business or managing people, SOMEONE has to tell them. Just continuing down the recruiting path with someone like this just means you will have to do it over, and over and over and .....etc! The same holds true with candidates. If Johnny shows up to interview for a VP of Sales job, but has the personality of a librarian.... you REALLY have to tell him. Just using the standard Recruiter's dodge of "it's not the right fit" serves no one. You get off cheap and he doesn't learn why he's not qualified... big missed opportunity there. In practice, I find that candidates really like being told the truth - wouldn't you??

And Finally...CLOSE!! Time is money, so get to the point and close the deal. Force managers and candidates alike to act with a sense of urgency. You have invested time and money going through endless assessments and interviews, now it is time to remind everyone that this process is about business results! If you are not going to hire them, tell them AS SOON AS YOU KNOW. If you are, make the offer NOW! Too many searches go belly-up because we lose candidates to competing offers that came in while we pondered.

Ok, enough for today... I could go on for hours, but then I'd have nothing for future posts.

YOUR MISSION:

Hold this little diatribe up as a measure of your practices on recruiting (or managing in general). See any opportunities??? If so, act on them. If not - write a book and I will buy it!!!

The missing ingredient in business plans? TALENT!

The lack of the right talent at the right time can hamstring even the best laid business plans, so why is it left out of so many of them? Let's look at a hypothetical case to illustrate the point.

Imagine you are running a business and your business plan calls for a shift from your normal product line of industrial widgets - now you want to get into the widget customization business. The key to success is your ability to crank out a new and better series of widgets that can be adapted to meet your customers varied widget needs. So you ramp up your business plan - You build out your factory to handle the variations and increased production. You get your suppliers on-board to ensure you always have inventory to produce widgets. Heck, you even got yourself a slick custom widget ad-campaign! Now all you need are some super talented, consultative widget subject matter experts / consultants / salespeople.

And that's when it hits you - you never determined if that kind of talent even exists in your market! Turns out that you didn't know that there are very few people who can really sell customized widget solutions, and they all work for your competitor! Wow - don't YOU feel silly?? All ramped up and no one to sell it! Try explaining that little oversight to the shareholders.

The key to your widget “secret sauce” was people with the specific talents you need to get the job done, and you forgot to include them in your business plan. Living proof that if we fail to plan we’re actually planning to fail!

YOUR MISSION:

Take a look at your business planning process. If PEOPLE are not accounted for early on in the process, change your process. The best ideas, technology and products are all useless unless you have the right people working on them.

Surviving organizational change

Organizational change - whether it be an internal reorganization or a change in ownership, can be a good thing, but if it is not properly managed, it can become a major distraction to the work at hand.

Think about the last major change you faced at work. I'll bet that while it generated a lot of buzz, it did little to drive progress to results. Faced with change and uncertainty, people tend to pull back into their shells a bit. Rather than pushing that big project ahead, folks begin to "circle the wagons" in an effort to protect their jobs.

The sad news is that while keeping one's head down is viewed as a way to survive change - in great organizations, it's a great way to highlight the value you are not bringing to the table! Career Journal takes one particular spin on this which I think is spot on. You have to focus on the opportunity to show the value you bring to the company rather than hiding under your desk to avoid detection - you might not be seen, but your name shows up on payroll reports!

While the Career Journal article seems pointed for upper level muckity-mucks, those of us a bit lower on the corporate food chain should also take heed. Educational / Tech blogger Doug Johnson has some really practical advice - note in particular point 2 - It's all about doing something meaningful and valuable rather than just relying on your title.

YOUR MISSION

No matter the source of the change, your best chance at succeeding is to establish a credible reputation as one of those go-getters that your company just cant do without, rather than being known as "that guy with the bad suit in accounting"! So, start making yourself indispensable TODAY!

Life lessons from a young Marine

I normally don't let too much of my personal life bleed into this blog, but this is a different case. My family is mourning the loss of my nephew, Corporal James Mazza Jr. Jimmy was a great kid who grew up to be an outstanding young man and a proud Marine. In his passing, I have come to realize some of the great lessons I can learn from him.

1. Don't cry because it's over, smile because is happened - Jimmy loved that line, and I can now understand how well it truly fits. Life is way to short to spend it in regret. Enjoy the gift you have today fully - consume all the adventure and joy around you....
   
2. If you are going to do something, do it all the way. Jimmy took every new challenge as an opportunity to kick it up a notch. He applied this in sport, study and service - every day. That is a view most of the best and brightest share and it is what makes them so successful.
   
3. The bonds we form with those who share our struggle and adversity are stronger than any challenge. While Jimmy served only a few years with his unit, his Marine buddies were as close a family as the one he left at home. His buddies all came up here for his funeral and, as hard as it is for a former Army guy to say, these were some of the finest young men I have ever had the privilege to meet.
4. The seeds we sow can bring a huge return, IF we sow and tend them well. Jimmy was a great person and he truly had a positive impact on just about every life he touched. His Dad is a Police Officer and his Mom is a Teacher. Together, the three of them have touched and saved or improved countless lives. When Jimmy died, the community responded in a way that can best be described as heroic. Sort of like the folks of Bedford Falls all chipping in to help George Bailey, the community delivered a crop of compassion from the seeds of service they planted.
   
5. Organizations are only as strong as the devotion they show to their people. The Marines are an extraordinarily tough organization and they draw all the dirtiest and most dangerous missions, yet they are still viewed as elite and membership in their ranks is considered to be an privilege - hard to earn and with you for life if you get it. In seeing the respect, dignity and compassion with which they treat their fallen comrades and the families they leave behind, I now understand how the bonds of this fraternity are formed and the loyalty they share amongst themselves is a reward in itself.

So, with these lessons added to our arsenal and a long road of healing ahead, let's salute this exceptional Marine and try to continue the good fight.

Semper Fi

A good old fashioned rant!

Frequent readers will know that I normally grouse about bad management practices and then whip out a little bit of advice to overcome the bad behavior.... well today is going to be a bit off that track. Today I am going to take a few pot-shots at Job Seekers!

We've all been job seekers before, but there are some ALARMING new trends I see among those who want to work for my company, and many of my fellow HR trolls tell similar tales around the cauldron, so I figured it was time to act.

First, if you want to get a job selling widgets at my company, you better know a lot about my company; exactly what type of widgets we sell, to whom we sell them to and why our widgets are better than the competition's. Honestly, this doesn't require a lot of work on your part - just read our flipping website and you can articulate all that pretty well - even if you don't really understand it. As simple as this sounds I am appalled at the number of candidates who don't even know what our widgets do! Kind of like me applying for a job running a cruise ship and not knowing it's name, size or even where it sails!

Second - I am the HR geek trying to help the Manager identify, qualify, assess and potentially hire you - treating me like a bellhop ain't such a good idea. If you treat me like crud I might imagine you'd treat colleagues and {gasp} even customers that way! There's NO quicker way to earn the dreaded "Thanks, but....NO thanks" letter from me.

Third - Be realistic. You'd be blown away by some of the unrealistic expectations candidates can have. YES - we do want to woo you, but we are NOT going to give you the keys to the castle on the first date. For example, remember that we are in business to make money - demanding half the profits from a new product is not realistic and will set you apart in a VERY BAD WAY! A corollary to that is, if this is your first or second job, please dont expect to make as much as that 20 year vet sitting next to you - we are not paying for longevity, we are paying for experience, not attitude.


Yes, this was a grand old rant, but it's needed!

YOUR MISSION:

As and when you start interviewing - remember these basics:

1. Be prepared - Know all you can know about the company
2. Treat everyone you deal with in the process as you'd like to be treated. Remember, the HR person you crap on in the interview process may well handle your payroll record some day!
3. Be realistic about the company, the role and yourself - you may be good, but you are NOT the only person who can do the job - understand that no matter how sexy that job looks, somebody has to do the dirty work..... you will likely get your share of that along the way.
   

Who can you trust?

I recently blogged about how non-HR folks can be greatly effective recruiters IF you company has a well designed and executed Employee Referral plan. Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership commented on that post about how he hears that folks feel there are not getting the truth from recruiters. Let me get this straight - is Wally saying that recruiters might actually lie? You betcha they do! Especially those for whom there is a payday hanging on your decision to take on that new role.

Let's be clear here - I AM a recruiter and I know how the game is played - we convince ourselves that we are not lying.... maybe we call it "optimistic view-shaping", or "tactical fact withholding" or some other euphemistic term - all of those variants are lying in my book. And while I confess to having done such things at points in my past, I have long since realized the benefits of just being candid, so as a reformed recruiter, I have earned the right to this soap box.

Put aside for a moment the basic fact that such behavior is possibly illegal, is surely unethical, immoral and probably going to cost them some Karma points... beyond all that - It's just plain STUPID!

Your reputation is a critical asset to manage and protect. If you, as a recruiter, treat people well, honor your word and commitments and generally look out for your candidates and prospects, you will gain much more than the momentary rush (and potential payday) of the quick win. If that "win" is achieved by selling the candidate a bill of goods, they will figure it out, quit the job and your name will become three levels lower than pond scum! No candidate with talking to will be willing to speak with you or anyone at your company if the word gets out that you mislead candidates.

Great candidates are in short supply, so it's extremely important to be honest with them. Treat them as you would want to be treated and they will respect you AND your organization. No, you probably wont enjoy such a stellar batting average and some great talent will go for other opportunities, but the folks you do hire will be happier in the near and long term because you will not have held back on them and they will know exactly what they are getting into from the word go! Your personal and organizational reputation will be enhanced and the folks you hire will tell folks about the refreshingly honest approach you have afforded them.

YOUR MISSION:

Do you know what your HR friends are telling your candidates? What are YOU telling your candidates. If you are being any less than open with them, shame on you. Bad Manager! No Donut for you! Now... sin no more and go tell the truth!

The best recruiter in your company DOESN'T work in HR

Boy - is THAT gonna get me shipped off to the HR dungeon! But it is true - I"m a recruiter and I humbly admit it. Now let me clarify - I'm not talking about someone whose full time profession is talent acquisition - I am talking about people in your company with other jobs. Salespeople, Accountants, Technicians, Admin Assistants and Widget Producers - all of these people can be (or already are), pound-for-pound, better than most recruiters at finding great talent to fill your company's needs!

With a properly designed and managed Employee Referral Program, these folks will understand the importance of their role in helping the company find and engage the most talented people they know. While some will argue that Employee Referral Programs are not the best solution, I say that they are one of a few critical weapons in your arsenal and will pay back many times the investment you make in them - IF they are properly oriented and managed - this article gives some great insight into what I mean. Just look at the success that some companies are getting with Referral Programs and you will agree that there's something good to work with here.

The items linked from here offer great advice, but the first move on this is up to you! Of all the weapons in the guerilla arsenal, this is probably one of the best to roll out because of it's relative low cost and it's potential to drive morale and hiring fast!

YOUR MISSION:

Consider your organization's stand on Employee Referral programs and see if what you are doing works. If it is working well (as referenced in the links above), keep reminding management and HR to help it evolve - if it's not working - refer your HR Geeks to this post and we'll get them on track!

CARRY ON!

Lions and Tigers and Acquisitions... oh MY!

MAN!!! I just cannot seem to catch a break. Just 6 months after my company was wholly acquired by Dow Jones, now News Corp has made a bid for Dow Jones.... and the "big fish eats smaller fish" theory applies again.

So while I'm honestly a bit weary of the operational tempo associated with this I am neither worried or disheartened by it. In fact, if this sort of activity doesn't get you worked up just a bit, you should really check your pulse! It's natural for this type of thing to be polarizing, exasperating and more than a little exciting (like being chased by a pack of rabid wolves maybe?). I actually find this a great opportunity - let me explain...

The good guerilla knows that effectively managing in a time of change can open new doors. As I blogged in an earlier post about managing within the vortex of M&A you can either lead the process and show the company your value, or you can shrink from the challenge and demonstrate what you don't have to offer. Given the choice, it's ALWAYS better to lead! Don't leave your fate in the hands of others who may not know your talents and desires. Step up, speak up and let everyone around you know what you can do, as well as what you want to do in the new world order.

Now, some of the more timid in the crowd will think this approach a bit brazen, but the battle is usually one by those who take it by the horns - Like the top guns of the British SAS say - Who Dares Wins!

YOUR MISSION:
Take a look at the competitive space your company is operating in. Are you on the market to acquire, or be acquired? Don't wait for the news to tell you about a deal in the works.... start planning out now - what will you do if you are being bought? Plan your next steps and ensure you have everything ready when the storm hits - because you won't have time after the news breaks to make up for missed opportunities along the way.

Measuring your candidates - ask the right question to get the right answer

Interviewing is the topic today, and for good cause - it seems that most of us basically stink at it. Not having the right process and questions is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. But fear not intrepid reader - for you are in guerrilla-ville and we have a cure for this too.

The first key step in measuring your candidates is to decide what's important and ask questions that really gauge how well they can do it. There are loads of methods out there, but we are Guerrillas and we like to keep things simple. I found this great and amazingly simple article which explains how to do this. A much more thorough peek behind the curtains on this topic is here. Either way, I'm sure you will find this really helpful the next time you have to hire someone.



YOUR MISSION
Don't wait for that key role on your team to open up - start developing an interview process for the role now - heck you can even help the person in the role develop by having them help you write the interview questions because they probably already know exactly what it takes to be successful in the job.

CARRY ON!

NEWSFLASH - Publishing smarter job ads gets you smarter candidates!

As a recruiter, I often find myself arguing (strike that... "persuading") my hiring managers to be very realistic when specifying the educational and experience requirements for a job they want to fill. You have no idea how many job posting requests I shoot down because they want a person to have an MBA and 15 years experience to take on an entry level sales role.... ?!?!! Ugh!

What we all need to think about is what are the experiences and education that are really necessary for someone to perform the job well. Doing so we can avoid the legal risk associated with posting for 15 years experience with an MBA, then finding our perfect candidate with only 5 years and a BA, or just plain looking stupid to our candidates for not knowing what it really takes to do the job. We need to get up to speed on this fast because the days when you could get talented folks to respond to a poorly constructed job ad are over - talented people are smart and can smell a line of bullcrap a mile away. They want to know more about the job and less about the price of entry.

Setting clear and defensible minimum qualifications up front will allow your candidates to self-select out if they don't measure up while not unnecessarily limiting your candidate pool. Remember, this isn't just a convenience issue - it's a potential legal problem. The US Department of Labor takes a VERY dim view of employers who post one standard, then allow someone below that standard to get the job. It's especially bad if someone in a protected class takes offense at being on the short end of that deal.

YOUR MISSION:

Take a long hard look at the job postings you are putting up. Are they a realistic statement of what it really takes to do the job, or are they some dream sheet? Get down to the basics of what job REALLY requires, then sell the finer things about the role, your team and your company to the candidates to ensure that smart, properly qualified candidates fill your pipeline!

DRIVE ON!!

Winning the War for Talent: Part Two - Grow your own!

Having explored how to make your company an effective "talent magnet" through building a talent scout mindset and leveraging your brand, we are ready to move on to part two of this series - growing your own talent.

Everything in life takes balance, and talent management is no different. There are always going to be times when you need to fill role and you recognize that the skills, knowledge and abilities required for success just don't exist in your organization - in most of these cases, you will opt to bring in fresh talent. This is particularly important when a fresh perspective is needed. This is an accepted practice, but it can be risky if you overuse it.

The "buy it" option's biggest risk is that the existing workforce will become stagnant and not see the trickle-up impact of promotions and cross-functional assignments. While many employees are not ready to take a promotional, or cross-functional assignment today, you can ensure that you have a ready pool of deployable talent by developing them today for the future. While the main benefit of the "build it" or "grow it" option is to ensure you have the next generation of leaders on deck, there is an equally important ancillary benefit - RETENTION! When your staff sees that you are serious about helping them develop themselves to make ready for new opportunities within the company, they are likely to be more engaged. In organizations where such talent assessment, development and succession planning is not evident, there is a huge competitive risk that some of the best players on your team will be willing to answer the siren call of the recruiter trying to steal them away!

While I normally try to give you simple things that you can immediately act on to better your situation, this one is a much more involved process. Developing the organizational intelligence to know when to buy vs build is not easy, and developing methods to assess your team to understand your succession picture and what's needed to develop folks to meet that mission is a major undertaking - requiring a virtually religious zealot approach. But, as a I said in my very first post, the journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step....

YOUR MISSION
Start the conversation with your leadership about ways to assess your folks, plan for succession and begin developing those in-house destined to become successors, or begin building relationships with folks outside your company who you think would be great successors if no internal folks are, or can be made ready.

Winning the War for Talent: Part one - Building the better mouse trap

Editorial Note: So much for the "next posts will come out faster" comment! It's been a month, but I am back, so strap in and let's roll

Your company relies a constant inflow of talented folks to help drive the business. So how do you ensure that you are getting enough of the right talent? The answer is the same as that tired old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall - practice, practice, practice! The practice you need to do is actually some simple stuff though, and I can spell it out in just a few bullet points:

• Be a CONSTANT TALENT SCOUT. Always be on the lookout for folks who have the kind of talent you need for your team. Whether at a trade show, seminar or at your mates backyard BBQ.... talent is ALWAYS around - you just have to keep looking.
• Demand that your company develop an excellent EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAM. But make it measurable and meaningful! Use it to get your team to be on the lookout for great folks to refer to your company. But not just when a job is posted... they should be referring folks who impress them all the time.... it's hard enough to find talent, waiting till you actually need it on hand is only adding troubles.
• Make hiring good people who become successful on your team a goal. Make sure your recruitment effort and spend was worth it by measuring how long those new folks stay, how successful they are in 90, 180 and 365 days. See how they are doing against goals and track their path to promotions. Replicate the efforts that worked and ditch the ones that bore no fruit.
• Become an EMPLOYER OF CHOICE. It's hard enough to get candidates to answer the phone when you have a good name, but if you are not recognized as a great place to work, it's a whole lot harder. Being a recognized great place to work (and there are LOTS of ways to get there) will give you something to crow about when pitching your opportunities to prospects. Heck, even if your company isn't a top rated company - you can make your team the most desirable place to work within that company... and that leads me to our next section.... developing internal talent to meet your needs. But that'll have to wait till next time....

YOUR MISSION:
Get cracking on these pointers and start up a "bar napkin list" of the 10 people who most impress you in terms of how they could help your team be more successful and START CALLING THEM! Just call to say "Hi, John... I was reading a geeky HR blog about finding talent, and you came to the top of my mind. Let's talk about where you are with your career and where you'd like to go... I just might be able to help you out... " and let that conversation flow to become the first step in a long and prosperous relationship with your next best employee!