Archive for November, 2009

Turkeys have been carved, families and friends have reunited at dinner tables around the country, and that leftover pumpkin pie would probably taste a lot better than the vending-machine snack you’re devouring right now. Although Thanksgiving has passed and the full craziness of December is looming upon us, there’s still time to take a quick look back at November’s tasty workplace tidbits. And remember – there’s always time to give your employees thanks.

Cyber Monday and Bikini Friday
It’s Cyber Monday, one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, and do you know where your employees are? Well, according to results of a recent CareerBuilder survey, one-third of them just may be doing some online holiday shopping while on the clock. Other employees, meanwhile, may be slipping some unusual suggestions into the office suggestion box. Medical marijuana rooms and Bikini Fridays, anyone?

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• Posted by: Amy Chulik on November 30, 2009
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• Categories: In Review, Insights & Trends, Monthly Review, Social Media

In CareerBuilder’s recent interview with Bob McNabb, chief executive officer of Futurestep, Bob discusses the unique understanding he has of the role that people play in creating a high-performance culture, both internally and for his clients.

What is your philosophy as it relates to your people and their impact on your business?

People are central to the way that Futurestep and Korn/Ferry operate.  The philosophy of Korn/Ferry and Futurestep has been one of attracting, developing, rewarding and retaining the very best talent in the industry.  My personal belief has been that people want two things in life: they want to win, and they want to be loved.  We want to create an environment where people can achieve their career objectives beyond their wildest dreams, and, at the same time, we celebrate them through the process.

At the end of the day, great people make our business successful.  Our employees represent Korn/Ferry and Futurestep, and they are the face of the company to our clients and our candidates.  It’s critical that they are motivated, passionate and caring about our vision, our mission and our perception in the marketplace…they are the keepers of our brands.

What programs or initiatives have you put in place to reward or retain your people?

We understand that to grow and succeed as a company, we must outperform our clients’ expectations and provide exceptional results.  The only way to achieve this is to develop your people. That means recognizing their achievements, and it means giving them the means to grow. At Futurestep, we’ve created a number of platforms to highlight achievement. For example, we have created the  Chief Executive Awards to recognize top performers in our company.  That’s a very direct and powerful motivator for employee engagement in a high-performance culture.  We also focus on thought leadership, both in learning about our industry and in sharing our expertise.

At the same time, I want to point out that Korn/Ferry embraces a concept we refer to as “The Art and Science of Talent.”  Talent management is an art, but the science of talent is just as critical to our success. For example, a few years ago we acquired Lominger, a company that is known and respected around the world for its  proven, competency-based tools for assessment and development. We leverage those tools to help our clients identify, attract and develop the very best, and we apply those same tools to our own company. It’s a scientific approach to helping us identify the right talent for the job, and also to help our employees identify the right path for growth and development in their careers. Whether we apply processes, tools or communications, we approach reward and retention with sound, practical principals that truly encompass both the art and the science of what we do.

What are the most important leadership lessons that you’ve learned? Continue Reading…

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 30, 2009
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• Categories: CareerBuilder Leadership Series

Workers and employers are once again at odds — at least in some offices around the country. Cyber Monday, the National Retail Federation’s coined term for the first Monday after Thanksgiving, is predicted to be a busy day for office Internet use. Continue reading

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• Posted by: Amy Chulik on November 24, 2009
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• Categories: Employee Engagement, Retention, Social Media, Survey Results

With Thanksgiving T-minus 33 hours, 47 minutes and 12 seconds away just around the corner, it’s time to embrace your inner-Charlie Brown and let your employees know how much you appreciate them.  After all, showing that you’re grateful to your employees isn’t just goodwill, it’s good business practice – especially now.

“In any turbulent time, it is more important than ever for managers to make use of the powerful tool of recognition,” say Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton in their best-selling management book, “The Carrot Principle.”

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 24, 2009
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• Categories: Employee Engagement, Retention

In the grand tradition of merging words to create portmanteaus (e.g. “chocoholic,” “truthiness,” “Brangelina,” and – most recently and unfortunately– “Speidi“), there now comes “smores.”

Smores, or “social media whores,” as explained by blogger Mark Allen Roberts in his article, Beware of Smores: Social Media Whores, are “self professed social media experts who take large retainers from unsuspecting clients, they over promise and under deliver.”

Michelle Spellerberg, Marketing Director of CareerBuilder’s consulting arm, Personified, passed the article on to me, summing it up this way: Continue Reading…

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 24, 2009
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• Categories: Social Media

While you were busy scoring tickets to a screening of “New Moon” this weekend, fighting back your tears at the announcement that Oprah is canceling her show after a 25-year run, or wondering how you’re going to fill the void of your Pumpkin and Eggo Casserole this Thanksgiving, news in the hiring and recruiting world may have slipped right by you. Continue reading

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• Posted by: Amy Chulik on November 20, 2009
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• Categories: Week in Review

If the recession seems to have taken a toll on your workplace morale, you’re hardly alone…

A new CareerBuilder survey, released today, indicates that nearly a quarter of employers (23 percent) rate their organization’s current employee morale as low. According to Jason Ferrara, CareerBuilder’s Vice president of corporate marketing, low morale is an unfortunate side effect of this recession.

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 18, 2009
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• Categories: Employee Engagement, Survey Results

Last week, I listed the top traits recruiters and hiring managers look for when identifying their organization’s next leaders. Now, I’d like to follow up that post by discussing why now, more than ever, businesses need to put focus on developing their leaders (if they’re not already doing so) – and what areas they should concentrate on to get the best return on their investment.

Spending money on leadership development may seem like a lot to ask during a time when budgets are already tight, but it is critical that employers invest in ways to engage and retain their leaders right now, according to Elizabeth Craig, a research fellow at the Accenture Institute for High Performance in Boston, in a recent Business Insight podcast.

Unfortunately, businesses tend to see employee training and development programs as an expense, making these programs among the first to go when companies look for ways to cut costs. On the contrary, it is these very programs – these investments – that will better position companies’ competitive standing when the economy turns around. Continue Reading…

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 16, 2009
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• Categories: Leadership Development, Retention

While you were busy getting suspended for your “wild” Bengals haircut, threatening to walk off the set of “Larry King Live”, or making a case for “Bikini Fridays,” here’s what was happening in the world of hiring and recruiting this week…
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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 13, 2009
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• Categories: Week in Review

(Actually, this list is one better than a “top 10” list, because it goes up to 11.)

Last week, readers, I challenged you to tell me what qualities you consider most important when identifying new leaders.  I guess this question struck a chord, judging by the number of passionate responses I received in general, and the number of responses that referenced how a leader emerges during times of uncertainty in particular.

No doubt several of you were drawing on your own experiences from these past several months, as you witnessed those around you being forced to make tough management decisions, seeing who emerged as true leaders – keeping employees motivated, adapting to stay ahead in a difficult economy, thinking outside the box to keep business going – while perhaps witnessing others “falter and fail,” as one commenter put it.

While sorting through the over-200 comments, there were several words that emerged over and over again to describe leaders. Here, I give you the most frequently mentioned leadership characteristics - and a few of the reasons given for singling these traits out. Continue Reading…

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• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 12, 2009
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• Categories: Leadership Development