3 Ways to Be ‘Irreplaceable’ HR!

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Aszure Grimes

In my role at ADVISA, I spend a lot of time with CEOs and Human Resource Directors – two potentially powerful leadership roles that contribute to an organization’s level of success. An article recently on MSN about being an “irreplaceable” employee prompted me to offer three tips specifically for HR Directors to become even more effective as leadership partners with CEOs:

1. Know what matters to your CEO.

Understanding what s/he considers to prime objectives for the year, and beyond, can put you in a position to support them. For example, in a conversation recently with a CEO of a large law firm, he told me that his goal is to grow the firm. He wants to hire people who will develop new business as well as bring a solution to him when they recognize an issue, not just bring him complaints. “I need to know that they are ‘go-getters and problem-solvers’ We can teach them aspects of the business we need them to know. But, we can’t make them proactive when they’re not,” he said. Being aware of these goals, and acting on them when it comes to talent acquisition, is what will make the difference for his HR department. (How can HR identify candidates who are more likely to problem-solve and develop business for the CEO? A behavioral assessment, like Predictive Index^®, can provide the data needed.)

2. It’s All About Productivity: Quantify It!

Measuring productivity or success in a role can appear difficult at first for non-sales positions. “Am I doing a good job?” is a question many ask and the answer is often left to subjectivity when it doesn’t have to be. For example: if you are responsible for acquiring talent in your organization, track the turnover or the productivity of the candidates you’ve brought into the company. Are there departments where the turnover is exceptionally high? Be proactive in looking into the problem and identifying a solution. And, tracking data gives you the opportunity to identify what is working well so that you can duplicate it in other areas. (Do you have a “turnover problem”? Whether it’s departmental or company-wide, consider talking to ADVISA about how Predictive Index can help you identify the reason AND create a solution.)

3. Be the Expert AND Be Open to Change

CEOs will often look to HR to help them understand personality assessments and what they can potentially bring to their business in terms of improving talent acquisition; developing management skills and improving communication. You can’t possibly know everything about every tool available! But you can become the expert about what’s important to your organization. Whether it be increasing sales; reducing turnover; improving communication or employee engagement, fully understanding the problem at hand positions HR to seek solutions. When looking at various solutions, you will know what is a reasonable option for your company and what isn’t. (If you are not comfortable presenting a new tool or solution, allow the solution provider to be the presenter instead. Do you have an issue that you need help resolving? Let’s talk about it!)

Human Resources serves a unique and often unappreciated role in many organizations by being responsible for its lifeblood – its people. As an HR professional, you can take your organization to new heights and new levels of profitability. What company and CEO doesn’t want that? It’s just a matter of considering what’s important from their perspective, in addition to yours, and taking action. Sometimes that can be a bit overwhelming. Where do you begin? ADVISA is here to help.

Organizational Planning – Avoid letting one get away!

Posted on May 28, 2011 by ADVISA WEB TEAM

We had the unfortunate situation come up this week in which a client really liked a candidate for a position but because of a delay in the timing of communicating this to the candidate, the candidate accepted another opportunity. Ugh! A good one got away!

This reminds me of a time last summer when my then 9-year-old son was fishing in a local pond. He may or may not have been convinced that he would ever catch a fish, so he didn’t really plan on “next steps” in the event that this actually occurred! Well, as luck would have it a fish did bite and it was a big one; but because he did not plan in advance, he did not know what to do once it actually took the bait. It got away. He didn’t act swiftly enough to actually catch the fish and reap the benefits of such a feat! This was very disheartening for him as you can imagine.

The same was true for the client/candidate situation mentioned above. Unfortunately, timing is everything and not being able to respond swiftly when you find a candidate who matches what you are targeting often times leads to losing them to another company. It is very disheartening for a hiring manager to think they might have a position filled only to find out that by waiting or even just hesitating that candidate moves on to another opportunity.

All of the candidate screening processes in the world will not guarantee a good hire for a particular position within your organization unless you have put into your organizational planning the action steps needed in the event that you find the right candidate for the job. In addition to identifying when a new hire is necessary and taking the steps to effectively screen candidates for the position you should also include in your best hiring practices a plan to actually move a candidate through the selection process quickly!

With real estate the old adage is location, location, location. With hiring the adage may just be “timing is everything” – especially if you want to avoid letting one get away!

A case for candor about money in your job postings

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Dana Harrison

This month while I’ve been working with several clients on strategies for employee recruiting and attracting the right candidates, the question of whether or not to include in a job posting the compensation structure or range keeps coming up. This is certainly a hot topic and one that elicits strong opinions as to what falls within best hiring practices. From my seat, however, I am a strong advocate for being candid in the job postings about the pay range.

Admittedly, there is distinct taboo in our culture for talking about money. It’s not considered socially acceptable to talk about our compensation over dinner with friends. Nor is it generally considered acceptable to talk about our compensation with our colleagues. Regardless of our perspectives on these taboos, the fact is that it is these attitudes that make us gasp at the idea of blatantly saying in a job posting, “Here’s what we’ll pay for this position.” What if the former employee sees that figure and it’s vastly different than what they earned? What will others in the company say if they know this information? Does this information help your competitor? Eek! Too many companies hear these questions and quickly mandate that postings not include wage information. I think this is an over simplified reaction and one that harms the company in the long run. Here are five reasons distinct advantages to posting the range:

Save time – The company doesn’t need to waste time with candidates who aren’t a good fit. The salary information is the best bottom-line self-selection mechanism for potential candidates. Let candidates weed themselves out if the pay just won’t work for them.
Save time (part 2) - The compensation is the clearest indicator of the level of the position. Again, let self-selection take place and let many over and under-qualified candidates pass by.
Transparency – Withholding any compensation information for late in the candidate screening process conveys to candidates a feeling that the company is playing games. This can deter candidates and/or make your new hire get started with a less-than-positive feeling about the company.
Avoid mishires – Withholding the information also may result in someone taking the position because they’ve gotten so far into the process even though the writing is on the wall that it won’t work for them financially. The outcome? Say hello to early turnover!
Appeal to cautious applicants – The cautious applicant (who may be the perfect person for your accounting, QA, purchasing, etc. position) may skip your posting and focus on those where there’s less risk in applying because the dollar figure is out on the table. You need these candidates.

Repeatedly, one of the reasons I’ve heard that a company won’t post the compensation range is because they’re not comfortable with it. Sometimes they’re unsure how competitive they are in the market. A simple salary survey (we can help with that!) will provide that information. Other times they know that they aren’t competitive and they’re nervous about turning off candidates. But I have to ask, is a strong candidate going to be more disenchanted seeing the low pay in the posting or when several steps into the screening process? If your business model depends on highly competitively priced product/services and as part of that you have low wages, I encourage you to own that, make your case as a strong employer in other ways, and embrace the advantages listed above that will come when you are candid about pay.

There is both an art and a science to recruiting employees - at ADVISA, we enjoy looking at all angles and helping our clients be savvy about their efforts. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject and welcome the opportunity to help advance your hiring. Let’s talk!

Frustration in the hiring chair

Posted on March 30, 2010 by ADVISA WEB TEAM

You would think that in today’s economy that it’s an employers market, i.e. employee recruiting would yield tons of applicants and it would be a piece of cake to find the right person. Alas…it is not always so. Sometimes, it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In the present economy, employers who are hiring don’t have the luxury of hiring multiple people to fill lots of positions. Hiring is more “spotlighted” where employers are looking for that one person who brings a multitude of abilities and skills that can fill many shoes. So the desired skill set can be much more complicated and, thus, more difficult to find and not quite as obvious as…

but more like this…

We can help you with your applicant screening and hiring and selection process to ensure that your recruiting strategy is on target to find your personal “needle”!

Recruiting – The Art of Creating the Right Relationships

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Dana Harrison

Studies indicate there are four of these levels of fit between the employee and the job, the workgroup, the candidate’s vocation and the organization described below.

The concept of “employee fit” is truly a multi-level phenomenon, and will be maximized in instances in which a person’s personality matches both the objective characteristics of the organization and integrates well with the personalities of those that he or she interacts with most frequently. Keep both of these levels in mind when assessing candidates.

Only the best hiring practices coupled with a well-planned and executed on-boarding process will deliver the desired results.

The 3 Keys to Effective Sales Training

Posted on December 7, 2009 by ADVISA WEB TEAM

Most sales training programs are not individually focused, but generic in their nature. The courses are designed as a “one size fits all.” Improving sales performance occurs when you can identify the type of sales person you have, where their strengths and areas of improvement are in the sales process and if any after class coaching programs exists to make the improvements in an individual’s sales results permanent.

Many of us have attended sales training courses, left feeling empowered by new information and techniques, but eventually sliding back into old habits due to the lack of any type of long term enforcement.

Key #1: What type of sales person do you have?
Two basic types of sales people exist – sales hunters and sales farmers. Sales hunters enjoy looking for new business and developing new leads. Sales farmers do best when given a warm account (the lead has been established) and will earn additional business by the good customer service they deliver. Sales hunters can farm, but thrive better when hunting. Asking sales farmers to hunt is oftentimes very painful for them. A personality assessment like the Predictive Index® can assist in determining if the sales person is a hunter or a farmer.

Key #2: Targeted sales training
Sales assessments like the Sales Skills Assessment Tool™ can help to identify where a sales person’s selling strengths and areas of improvement occur. Providing generic training that does not address an individual’s needs doesn’t really provide the training and eventual results one desires from the training dollars invested.

Key #3: After training coaching
Coaching to reinforce the areas of improvement after the training course has ended will create more value for the sales training, provide real long term results and provide an ongoing assessment of the sales person’s progress. Practice makes permanent!

As with any goal, the sales process training program needs to have a strategic plan with the type of results desired, a game plan for improving sales performance and constant reinforcement through motivational coaching techniques.

Blog Contributors

TELL YOUR PI^® STORY