Archive for March, 2011

CareerBuilder recently sat down with Tom Daley, President of Volt Workforce Solutions, to discuss his leadership philosophy. In the following excerpt, Daley shares the lessons he’s learned in 30 years at Volt, including why empowerment is essential and the most important decision he’s ever made.

What is your philosophy as it relates to people and their impact on your daily business?
Being in the recruitment service industry gives us the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of people each and every day.  After 30 years with Volt, I have come to realize that you can never minimize the value and importance of providing a job or career for a person.  It impacts the individual, their family and their future. My philosophy has always been to respect people and their abilities. I expect this philosophy to exist at all levels of our company. In our industry, a recruiter doesn’t just use computers and job boards to place people. People place people. We may get the same job description from three different clients, but it’s our recruiters who recognize the importance of making a culture match as well as a skills match.  Their ability to respect each candidate and yet make accurate candidate placements with our clients has the biggest impact on our daily business.

Has your philosophy evolved over time? How do you share this philosophy with clients when you consult with them on their own talent acquisition needs?
My belief in treating people with respect, both up and down the organization, hasn’t changed. The same holds true for clients. My approach has always been to be objective and level-headed and respect the issues that each client faces. What confirmed this approach for me is Volt’s implementation of Six Sigma methodologies eight years ago. Six Sigma has enabled us to formalize our actions and processes with our clients. So by this I mean, we always knew the importance of listening to the voice of the customer and giving them what they value, but with Six Sigma every decision we make on a client’s behalf is information-based. This allows us to quickly make decisions and improvements based on the best available data, and this gives us the ability to measure and demonstrate results. This Six Sigma approach is shared at every level of interaction with our clients and our internal customers.

How do you engage with and relate to your employees? Do you have additional programs to engage your candidates and contractors?
As I’m traveling for client meetings, I also make it a point to visit the employees in our local branch offices. We’ll have informal brown bag lunch sessions where I can get to know all of our employees. I make sure they have the opportunity to ask me any questions they might have. Volt is an entrepreneurial-based business where we put a great deal of energy into reaching out to candidates in our local communities. I’m especially proud of our efforts to engage our military veterans through our Volt Military Heroes Program. Continue Reading…

• 
• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on March 31, 2011
• There is 1 Comment. Join the discussion.
• Categories: CareerBuilder Leadership Series

Looks like someone’s been taking her Boniva! (Or whatever its employment industry equivalent is, at least…)

According to CareerBuilder and USA TODAY’s latest job forecast, the employment outlook is starting to feel like its younger, more vibrant self again. Continue reading

• 
• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on March 31, 2011
• There are 2 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: Forecasts, Insights & Trends

Even though it meant missing what was surely another riveting “celebrity” performance on Dancing With The Stars, participating in CareerBuilder’s first ever Twitter chat for job seekers and recruiters was more than worth it. (No offense, Ralph Macchio.)

Using the hashtag #cbjobchat, anyone on Twitter was invited to follow and particpate in the chat led by @CareerBuilder.  To begin the discussion, @CareerBuilder posed five different questions on the subject of résumés (last night’s theme) to job seekers and recruiters, and then let everybody offer their own advice and thoughts. Continue reading

• 
• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on March 29, 2011
• There are 0 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: #cbjobchat, Events

If you’ve seen the recent reports that more employees are quitting their jobs as the economy improves, then hearing that employee loyalty nationwide is at a three-year low should be about as shocking as hearing that Charlie Sheen is getting a reality TV show.

I mean, we all saw this coming, right? Continue reading

• 
• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on March 28, 2011
• There are 0 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: Retention, Survey Results

While you were busy not being at all pretentious, failing to impress anyone in Arizona, wondering when these two became friends or deciding that even that annoying “five dollar footlooooong” jingle can’t get in the way of true love…here’s what was happening in the world of workforce management this week. Continue reading

• 
• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on March 25, 2011
• There is 1 Comment. Join the discussion.
• Categories: In Review, Insights & Trends, Week in Review

Many organizations have a policy prohibiting their employees from discussing salaries with each other. We can safely assume that employees disregard plenty company policies on a regular basis. Sneaking in a few minutes late. Checking Facebook every once in a while – or maybe all the time. You might think salary discussions are another example of employees ignoring their bosses, but that might not be the case. A recent survey from CareerBuilder suggests that men and women have starkly different views of gender inequality in the workplace – especially when it comes to income.

Here’s what the survey found:

From the women’s perspective:
-38 percent feel they earn less than their male counterparts
-39 percent believe men have more opportunities to advance their career
-36 percent believe men receive more recognition for accomplishments
-35 percent believe their decision not to rub elbows with upper management (while the men are doing it) is the reason for the pay and advancement disparity
-22 percent cited favoritism toward men as the reason for the income and advancement differences

From the men’s perspective:
-84 percent believe males and females with the same qualifications are paid the same
-72 percent believe opportunities for advancement are the same for both genders
-6 percent believe they are paid less than their female counterparts
-17 percent believe women have more opportunities for advancement
-18 percent say women receive more kudos for accomplishment Continue Reading…

• 
• Posted by: Anthony Balderrama on March 24, 2011
• There is 1 Comment. Join the discussion.
• Categories: Survey Results

“There’s an evolution going on,” says Jennifer Prosek, author of the new book Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth, in reference to today’s workforce. “If you look at what new entrants into the workforce are looking for in terms of jobs, lives, careers and what we’re taught about the world of work have changed.”

As the CEO of public relations and financial communications consultancy CJP Communications, Prosek has noticed that today’s workers want more responsibility, and today’s employers should be receptive to that desire. Continue reading

• 
• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on March 24, 2011
• There are 2 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: Building a Best Place to Work, Employee Engagement, Talent Acquisition

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Authored by John Thedford. Thedford is CEO of La Familia Pawn and Jewelry, a chain of high-end pawnbroker shops with locations throughout Central and South Florida, and he is the author of Smart Moves Management: Cultivating World-Class People and Profits. Continue reading

• Posted by: Guest Contributor on March 23, 2011
• There are 2 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: Guest Contributor, Interviewing, Leadership Development, Retention, Selection, Talent Acquisition

While you were busy marveling at the fact that it’s Friiiday Friiiday, finally beating a long-time rival, daring to say what no one else will, or putting an abrupt end to playtime with the kids…here’s what was happening in the world of workforce management this week… Continue reading

• 
• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on March 18, 2011
• There are 0 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: In Review, Insights & Trends, Week in Review

While at HRPA 2011, Canada’s conference and trade show focusing on HR issues and trends, I stopped in to check out Howard Wallack’s session, 10 Global HR Trends for 2011 and What You Need to Know to Manage Them. Wallack is the Director of Global Member Programs for Society for Human Resource Management, and in his discussion at HRPA 2011, he drew from several studies and surveys (EIU’s Global Firms in 2020, IBM’s Working Beyond Borders, BCG/WFPMA’s Creating People Advantage 2010, and more) and gathered input from SHRM’s Global Expertise panel to determine the 10 most prevalent global HR trends for the rest of 2011. Continue reading

• 
• Posted by: Amy Chulik on March 17, 2011
• There are 2 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: Employee Engagement, Survey Results