Archive for the 'Employer Advice' Category

If a friend tells you they’re not a huge fan of your three wolves T-shirt, well, maybe you’d defiantly wear it to dinner anyway because you know it looks, um, fabulous. But if your customers or candidates told you a new product of yours was hideous, would you scrap it? Well, that’s exactly what General Motors Co. recently did, with its recent cancellation of plans to launch a new Buick sport-utility vehicle after asking for feedback from its customers, employees, and many others about the vehicle — and then actually listening to that feedback.

As Vice Chairman of GM Tom Stephens wrote on the GM FastLane blog after the decision was made:

The Buick crossover we showed received consistent feedback from large parts of all the audiences that it didn’t fit the premium characteristics that customers have come to expect from Buick.

The negative buzz all started when Twitter users started calling the vehicle a “Vuick,” a reference to GM’s Saturn Vue that provided the basis for the Buick. Consumers’ complaints stemmed around the idea that the Buick was simply a retread of the Vue, rather than a new design. Add hashtag #vuick to a tweet, get others talking about it, and before you know it — Twitter’s all abuzz about it. And apparently, GM was watching — and listening. And the criticism didn’t end there.

We were all struck by the consistency of the criticism of the compact crossover. And what we decided to do in response is a good example of the essence of the new General Motors… acting quickly, and boldly, and listening to feedback from customers, employees, dealers, media and just about anyone else with an opinion, Stephens continued to say on the GM FastLane blog.

It appears that social media is taking companies to task in their business practices and behaviors. With customers, clients, and candidates reacting and sharing information and opinions on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, businesses are forced to take a harder look at what they’re doing — or suffer the consequences of ignoring the chatter and damaging valuable relationships.

I believe that this is a positive movement. Business practices are becoming not only more transparent, but more interactive. As an employer, you have probably already noticed this interactiveness if you participate on social networks. Social networking Web sites are be valuable tools for companies to embrace in order to connect with candidates, establish a brand presence online, and build valuable relationships.

It’s important to remember that you have the power to build or destroy relationships with candidates. You can ignore them or answer questions defensively, or you can reach out, engage, help — and, as GM did, listen. Really listen to what candidates and employees want. After all, it’s the best free advice out there.

So I ask: Are you paying attention to what your candidates and employees are saying about you? How are you responding?

• Posted by: Amy Chulik on August 27, 2009
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• Categories: Employer Advice, Social Media

In CareerBuilder’s recent interview with Ben Roth, founder and chief executive officer of Roth Staffing Companies, L.P., Ben revealed his thoughts on the “three circles of the hedgehog,” his advice to other companies on how to create a values-driven company, the importance of his company’s “Ambassadors” in driving employee engagement, and more.

Continue Reading…

• Posted by: Amy Chulik on August 26, 2009
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• Categories: CareerBuilder Leadership Series, Employee Attraction, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention, Employer Advice, Leadership Development

Job boards are dying…at least if you believe some people.

The latest so-called evidence of this phenomenon is in this Wall Street Journal online article, which discusses how more companies today are enhancing their own Web sites in efforts to attract talent (a tactic I wholeheartedly agree with); but it also seems to imply that because of this, companies no longer have a need for job boards in their recruiting strategies.  That’s where I don’t so much agree, and here’s why… Continue Reading…

• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on August 10, 2009
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• Categories: Branding, Employee Attraction, Employer Advice, Job Postings, Products, Social Media

Our latest CareerBuilder Leadership Series spotlight is on Ron Williams, chairman and chief executive officer of Aetna, one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies.

A strong proponent of meaningful health care reform, Mr. Williams has championed specific solutions in op-ed articles featured in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Financial Times, and he lends his time and expertise to a number of organizations, including the Business Council as vice chairman and the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, which he currently chairs. Ron talks to CareerBuilder about the power of employee suggestions, how leaders play a critical role in employee engagement, how he focuses on driving home diversity in the organization, and more.

What is your philosophy as far as the role people play in your organization?

At Aetna, we have a set of values we call The Aetna Way. The values really start with putting the people who use our services at the center of what we do. We maintain an intense focus on employee engagement because it is so fundamental and critical to our success. As a service business, we are what our employees do. You cannot go into any store in America, and buy one Aetna off the shelf – it doesn’t exist. So our employees have to internalize the importance of their role in living our values and meeting our customers’ needs. One way we measure how we’re doing in this area is through an annual employee survey. This year, 94 percent of our 36,000 employees completed the survey, which is an extraordinary response rate. Through the survey they are able to tell us what they think is working well and where there is room for improvement.

Can you give an example of an instance where an employee suggested an improvement for the company that you implemented and some effects you saw from that?

One great example is that employees felt we should have company-wide recognition events. So we established The Aetna Way Excellence Awards to recognize employee excellence in living our values and meeting the needs of our customers. The awards are especially meaningful, because winners are nominated by their peers. Last year we had nearly 4,000 employees nominated for silver awards, the first level of awards. From that group of winners, we selected about 35 to 40 gold award winners, who went onto the Platinum awards or highest level of award, where roughly 10 individuals were recognized as the very best examples of the values of the company. That whole program came about as a result of employees suggestions that came through the survey.

How do you ensure that employee engagement starts from day one and continues through the 10, 15, 20 years they might spend with your company?

Our leaders play a critical role in employee engagement. We have a set of leadership expectations that lays out core behaviors, including the expectation that leaders will communicate, communicate, communicate. A big part of their regular communication is to help transmit the culture and the values of the company. For example, we put new leaders through a first impressions orientation program where a senior officer, like myself, the president of the company, the CFO or our head of human resources, will go in and talk with them to make certain that they understand the culture at Aetna, how seriously we take our values, and the expectations we have for them as leaders in fostering employee engagement.

What is your set of values composed of?

It has four values. The first is integrity, which is about both what you do and what you don’t do. And we talk a lot about how we honor our commitments, behave ethically and do the right thing for the right reasons.. The second value is employee engagement, which we describe as leading people to success, valuing diversity and building confidence and pride in our company. The third value is excellence and accountability. It is doing what we say we are going to do when we say we are going to do it. The final value is really about quality service and value. Quality is so important in health care because most members presume that they are going to receive quality, but in reality, they may or may not. So we focus a lot on quality as one of the core values in our organization.

How do you engage different members of your organization?

One of the goals of an executive is to define reality for the organization, and to help the organization confront that reality quickly and effectively, and at the same time inspire managers and employees that these challenges can, in fact, be addressed. To give you an example, as I moved around the business community in the last half of 2008, it became clear that businesses were facing very substantial economic challenges. When our service team met with the benefit executives in our client organizations, they were not yet feeling a lot of that tension in their organization at that level. But when you talk to many executive leaders, they were clearly sharing their anxiety about how they saw the second half shaping up. So as the leader of the organization it is my job to define that reality, bring that reality back into the organization and say, “You may not yet be seeing what will be happening, but it is going to happen. We have to prepare for it happening,” and develop the next set of products that will be responsive to where our customers are going as opposed to where they are today.

Who or what has made the biggest impact in how you lead or interact with people?

• Posted by: Amy Chulik on July 27, 2009
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• Categories: Building a Best Place to Work, CareerBuilder Leadership Series, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention, Employer Advice

SHRM 2009 was packed with activities and distractions. How many of you spent a little too much time on Bourbon Street? No judgement here…

In case you missed the opportunitiy to attend one of CareerBuilder’s informational sessions, you can download the full presentation decks here. Also watch the full presentations taped during the SHRM conference.

The Ression’s Over – Now What? Presented by Jason Ferrara, VP Corporate Marketing

Unlocking Your Organization’s True Potential Through Its People Presented by Corey Epperly, VP Personified

Shared Apply: The Best Change You Haven’t Made Presented by Mike Dutter, Strategic Services Director

Recruitment Has Changed – Have You? Presented by Matt McCloskey, Director of Corporate Marketing

London Calling – Staffing Reactions Abroad Presented by Robert Stinsa, Director of Pan European Sales

Please let us know if you have any questions about the material presented here. Leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you with more information.

• Posted by: Stephanie Gaspary on July 16, 2009
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• Categories: Employee Attraction, Employee Retention, Employer Advice, Events

Money Magazine just released its “Best Places to Live” for 2009, and while perusing the “winners,” I noticed that the towns listed all had several factors in common to qualify them as the “best of the best,” including a strong local economy, little crime, short commutes to work, low rate of unemployment, robust industry, great schools, affordable homes — the list goes on. There is no one magic component that makes these towns desirable; it’s a combination of factors that come together and compliment each other to make up a best place to live.

Similarly, hiring isn’t simply posting a job and accepting the first person who comes along. Successful employers view hiring as a multi-faceted process — stemming from attraction all the way to retention, with several aspects in between. As an employer in today’s economy, you must be cognizant of changing job seeker practices, communicative during your candidate engagement efforts, active in encouraging employee satisfaction and retention — all while establishing and building a strong and recognizable brand and fostering a thriving internal company culture. (Whew!) There’s a lot involved in being a successful business with the best employees on board, and sometimes, you need a hand to help you brush up on those areas which you’ve neglected — or simply haven’t thought about before.

That’s why we’re happy to report that CareerBuilder’s Small Business Hiring Guide is now available for you to download (for FREE… we must be crazy, right?!).

What is it?

The Small Business Hiring Guide is a how-to guide full of advice, tips, and trends, compiled by CareerBuilder’s team of small business experts. It is designed to keep you up-to-date and armed with the latest on hiring so that you can make your most successful hires now — or whenever you’re ready.

In the guide, you will learn:

• How to improve your internal company culture
• Tips to strengthen your employment brand
• The importance of employee recognition
• The six essential steps of the Talent Supply Chain: Brand Establishment, Candidate Attraction, Application Management, Onboarding, Retention, and Succession Management
• …and more.

You can download the full guide here.

• Posted by: Amy Chulik on July 13, 2009
• There are 5 Comments. Join the discussion.
• Categories: Building a Best Place to Work, Economy, Employee Attraction, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention, Employer Advice, Free Tools You Can Use