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The Returnship

Have you seen the movie, “The Intern”? You know the one. Robert DeNiro comes out of retirement to work for a thriving start-up in the fashion industry run by Anne Hathaway. Funny, heart-warming, and inspiring, it’s a film that not only highlights the new “Lean In” culture with corporate feminism at its core, but also focuses on the generational gap that exists between DeNiro and his fellow co-workers. Returning to the workforce after a tech boom caused DeNiro’s character to face many new obstacles he might not have anticipated.

returnship

Don’t worry. We’re not writing a film review here. But “The Intern” got us thinking about this relatively new trend called the “Returnship”.

“Returnship” was a phrase coined by Goldman Sachs in 2008 when they developed an onboarding program specifically designed for people who had taken a break from the workforce, either to raise kids, serve in the military, or just simply, to take a break and reevaluate. Similar to an internship, their purpose in this program was to sharpen skills that they may not realize they need after taking an extended time off and to help these employees land a job, either at their firm or elsewhere.

But Goldman Sachs isn’t the only firm providing this service. In fact, you can find returnships from many other companies such as Deloitte, PwC, Ford, Johnson&Johnson and more!

If you’re thinking about a Returnship or offering the program to your employees, here are a couple of the benefits you can find:

Returnships Provide Tech Training

Technology is constantly changing. Whether you’ve taken 2 years off or 10 years off, chances are you have a few things to catch up on. By participating in a Returnship program, you have an opportunity to sharpen your skills, without neglecting your job responsibilities. Returnships can provide the support and training needed to do the job successfully: a win-win for both employees and employers.

Returnships Provide Equal Opportunity

43% of women take time off to raise families. This fact alone has made it difficult in the past for women to have equal opportunity in the workforce. Returnships are changing that. No matter the reason for taking a break, Returnships provide equal opportunities for men and women to step back into the workforce when they are ready while gaining the necessary skills and growing their network.

Returnships Provide Launching Pads

Many people returning to work may not be 100% sure what type of job they’re looking to fill. For some their previous job may not exist, while others might be considering a career switch. Returnships can be a great launching pad for experimenting with various types of roles and understanding the various nuances and changes of each. After completing a returnship, employees will be better informed and prepared for the role they’re stepping into.

The internet is full of mixed reviews when it comes to returnships. Are you thinking about implementing this program at your company? What are the obstacles you think you’ll face?

The Power of Storytelling

In human resources, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our interview process in order to hire great talent. And by great talent we don’t just mean qualified candidates, but individuals who provide an addition to our culture that we’d either been looking for or didn’t even realize we were missing.

But maybe the reason we’re not succeeding is because we’re conducting interviews like stuffy questionnaires and expecting to understand the intricacies of a prospect’s personality and previous experiences. Perhaps the answer to our interviewing woes comes through approaching the process like a journalist, rather than a hiring manager or recruiter.

storytelling interview tips

When a journalist sits down with their subject, they are trying to find something that makes them stick out. They want to hear what makes their story unique and different from all the other people they’ve researched before. It’s the same way when we interview a candidate. We want to find something that makes them different, whether in their previous careers, education, or just life experience.

The next time you sit down for an interview, consider the power of storytelling. Use these tips to hear their story and consider whether or not they’d be a good fit for your company and the role in question.

There is no right or wrong answer.

Best-selling author, Cal Fussman, puts it this way: “It’s more like you’re casting a movie and you know the part you need to cast for, and you know the traits that person’s going to need to make that job work for you and for that person. And so, it really isn’t a matter of this person’s bad or this person’s good. If you treat it like a casting director in a movie, you would say that’s the perfect person for that role.” Remember that there are multiple ways a candidate can answer your questions, or at least if you’re asking the right questions, that’s how it should be…

Ask the right questions.

We all know the tried and true “What’s your biggest weakness?”. Candidates have most likely pored over different responses trying to find the perfect one. Instead of asking something that they’ll hear in their other 20 interviews, consider asking questions that cut more to the core of your company culture. For example, if you’re hiring for a sports agency, ask them about the best game they ever played or witnessed. This is a great opportunity to not only gauge their passion for the industry, but to get them to tell a story. You’ll learn so much about their personality not only by the content that they share, but the way they share it.

Think outside the box, or at least, the office.

You might think conducting an interview has to happen within the four walls of your office or conference room, but that just isn’t true. If you conduct a lot of meetings at the nearby coffee shop, why not try it in your interview? Of course, find a place that’s still conducive for conversation, but a cup of coffee will definitely put you and your candidate at ease compared to the glare of fluorescent lights. In this way, they’ll feel more comfortable opening up when it’s time to share their story.

How do you get candidates to share their story? What are some questions you would ask?

The Search for Brandless Employees

A new company recently emerged on the scene that had the PerkSpot office murmuring: Brandless.

Brandless sells consumer goods from groceries to household and office supplies. What makes them unique? Everything is completely generic and only $3. In their words: “Better stuff, fewer dollars. It’s that simple.” By eliminating the costs associated with a name brand, they are able to increase quality and decrease price.

This got us thinking.. What would happen if we eliminated the brand stigma when hiring candidates? What if resumes came without company names like Facebook or Google? Would we still be hiring the same people?

brandless employees

Here are few lessons we learned when we began the search for “Brandless” Employees:

1. Go Brandless to See Talent for Talent:

One of the greatest risks to hiring employees based on where they’ve previously worked is that we might not truly evaluate their work experience. For example, is a managerial level candidate at Facebook really as valuable as a VP at X company? Even job titles can be tricky, so don’t let that sway you either. Focus on job performance and ability to perform the necessary tasks, not just the flashy titles they slap on their resumes.

2. Go Brandless to Remove the Paradox of Choice:

Have you ever walked down the cereal aisle of your grocery store and just stood there dumbfounded? There is one thing we love in America and that’s options. But sometimes too many options can leave us paralyzed and in fear of making the wrong decision. When sourcing candidates for a position, we can often come across the same problem. Simplify your search by only looking at candidates who meet your top requirements. Stick to your guns and don’t settle for less.

3. Go Brandless to Stay Transparent:

No matter what you plan to purchase at Brandless, everything is just $3. By knowing the price in advance, it makes shopping for what you need super simple. In the same way, we should be transparent with our new hires about our budget for compensation. Whether it’s putting a range on the job description or asking candidates their preferred salary, start the conversation early so you don’t waste your time or theirs.

How could your hiring efforts benefit from removing brand bias? What other ways do you see this affecting your recruitment?

Building Your Employer Brand

We’re all familiar with branding as it relates to marketing, but what about how it relates to recruitment? If you think about popular brands like Lyft, Southwest Airlines, and Starbucks, you probably have a good idea of what it’s like to work for these companies. That’s because they’ve integrated branding not only into their marketing strategy but their recruitment strategy as well.

 

An employment brand is the prospective candidates have of what it’s like to work for an organization. According to Glassdoor, 69% of Americans wouldn’t work for a company with a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed. This goes to show that reputation is everything, not just for consumers, but candidates as well.

building employer brand

Make your employer brand stand out with these 4 tips:

1. Focus on your audience.

First things first, consider the type of employee you’re looking to recruit. While diversity is important for an organization, there should be common denominators that unite your brand, such as creative thinking, innovation, and flexibility. While some thrive in a corporate setting, others may perform better in a more flex environment. Consider what makes your company unique and what unifies your current employees. Draw on your strengths to attract new talent.

2. Showcase “A Day In the Life”

When I was applying at PerkSpot, the job description really stuck out to me because it detailed what I could expect my first six months on the job. When candidates are looking for a new position, they need to be able to picture themselves on a day to day basis performing the tasks at hand. There are so many ways you can showcase what daily life is like at your company. From testimonials to videos to the job description, make sure you’re painting a picture for these prospects so they can visualize themselves working for your brand.

3. Incorporate leadership into the process.

A great way to build company culture and a strong employment brand is by getting the CEO and other executives involved in this process. When leadership takes ownership over the recruitment process and the message you are conveying to candidates, this can humanize the organization and build a stronger brand. In fact, according to Employer Branding International, this is one of the top factors in shaping a strong employment brand.

4. Make your message consistent.

If you’re working for a larger company, it can be difficult to create a consistent message across the board. Conduct employee surveys to gauge the current view employees have of your company. Incorporate the mission and values of the company into each department’s function. For example, if innovation is a core value, make sure every department from tech to marketing knows how this value is expressed in their job function. When everyone from the intern to the CEO can list your core values, you have a strong employer brand.

What are some ways you’re building your employer brand? What are the challenges you’ve seen? Let us know in the comments!

Getting Personal with Personality

should hr use personality tests

According to SHRM, about 60 percent of workers are now asked to take workplace assessments. These personality tests help boost understanding and improve collaboration among teams. We do the same here at PerkSpot, but a recent colleague brought to my attention that specific personalities don’t always dictate how you work. Using her as an example, Alissa is an introvert through and through. However, when it comes to her work, she enjoys building relationships with new people and engaging with clients over the phone and in person. Being an account manager is not a typical role for most introverts, but Alissa shared how this experience has been challenging and rewarding, while also being a natural fit for her. Perhaps you’ve experienced something similar within your own organization. Maybe an extrovert is great at crunching numbers and heads-down work, while your introverts thrive in sales roles.

Does this mean we are overestimating the power of personality? Should we allow personality tests to dictate how we collaborate on projects? Are they still valuable to the hiring process?

Mixed Reviews

Some of the most common tests include Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, StrengthsFinder and DiSC. HR professionals hold mixed views about the accuracy of personality assessments and how seriously we take the findings. Some of the positive results include gaining a deeper understanding of a candidate’s (or colleague’s) strengths and weaknesses, their communication styles, and how these play into their overall role within their team. While personality tests are great at viewing commonalities among personalities, but remember that these tests should be taken in broad scope, just as you would a horoscope. The flip side is that they often don’t take into consideration motives, values or even working styles. The way a person interacts inside the office could be very different from how they function socially. It will take more than a piece of paper to prove that.

Get Personal with Personality

If you’re on the fence about whether a personality test might be right for your team or as a new addition to your hiring process, consider what other pieces of the puzzle might be missing. Personality tests are great, but they cannot stand alone as a tool for assessing candidates. When hiring, look for candidates who not only fulfill your requirements, but also add value. When assessing a team member, use personality tests alongside other team building exercises to understand how each person functions on an individual level. The key is to get personal with personality and treat each person as an individual, not an answer to a quiz.

Do you currently use personality tests in your hiring process or among your team? Share your experience in the comments.

Stop Saying Culture Fit

Culture Fit is so last year.

We recently read an article that resonated with us about the idea of culture fit. The author explains the tension between finding a candidate that “fits in” and is able to hit the ground running, while still fulfilling the need for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Coining a new phrase “culture add”, she states “you are looking for candidates to bring in new ideas, a different point-of-view, and bring out different traits in others in a collaborative, positive way.”

As you look to hire new people this year, consider these few things before begin conducting interviews to ensure you find candidates that don’t just fit in, but who add value and a new edge to your culture.

culture fit

Start With the Basics

When hiring any candidate, the first thing you should do is go back to your mission and vision as a company. Consider where you are and where you’d like to be, and determine how this particular role will enable you to get there faster.
Here are a few questions to consider:

    • How does this role tie into the mission and vision of the company as a whole?

Be as specific as possible about the job function and how this fulfills your mission. If your job description is functioning as it should, this should be fairly obvious.

    • Attribute their future responsibilities and past experience with your company values.

For example, at PerkSpot, one of our values is people, so for a customer service role we would be looking for a candidate who has experience demonstrating how they consider others, whether clients or colleagues, when performing specific tasks.

Examine Current Strengths

Think about your current culture. We don’t just mean looking around and seeing what race, ethnicities, or genders surround you. Instead, consider where most of your employees come from, what they like to do in their free time, and any natural “cliques” that might have formed. By examining your current culture, you’ll get a great idea of your strengths and weaknesses.
Consider these questions to help you get a feel for your culture:

  • Are most of your employees thoughtful or more aggressive?
  • Does your company sway with having more doers or thinkers?
  • Are your employees more aspirational or pragmatic?

You may even want to take it a step further and do personality tests at work to see which personalities are currently represented and which ones you may be missing. Plus, it will help your current teams work better together by understanding what makes them tick. Win-win.

Determine Areas of Growth

Once you’ve determined how your current culture is leaning, this should give you a good sense of where you need to grow. Take what you’ve learned and think about where you want to go.
These questions can help you get started:

  • What viewpoints are currently not being represented (or underrepresented)?
  • Are there any types of experience you are missing on your team? For example, if most of your employees have worked at a large corporation, maybe you could benefit from hiring someone from a start-up environment.
  • Are there any client demographics you are struggling to reach and how do they compare to your office culture? This is huge for not only improving your culture, but increasing revenue as well!

Create Your Process

Once you’ve determined what you’re looking for, it can be easy to fall into the hiring bias trap. Make sure that you conduct interviews in a methodical way that levels the playing field for candidates. By having a set of five to ten questions that you ask each candidate, this ensures you’re giving everyone a fair chance to express how they fulfill the needs you’re looking to meet. Here are a few staple questions to include:

  • What about their previous company culture did they like or dislike?
  • What are some ways they’ve dealt with problems in the past and how did they come to a solution? This gives great insight into how they process information and develop solutions based on personality and past experience.
  • What most excites them about the role and the company?

Hire Well

Hiring isn’t about finding your new best friend or a clone of your most successful employee. Every candidate has unique experiences and backgrounds, and it’s important to find the one that can add the most value and meet your needs. Don’t just hire for culture fit, hire someone who will push you and your team to step outside your comfort zone and see the world through a different lens.

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Making the Candidate Experience Exceptional

Previously on the PerkSpot blog we explored the upcoming trends for 2017. Among these, and quite possibly one of the largest we’ll see sprouting up next year, is an improved candidate experience. More and more companies are realizing the importance of their recruitment process – not just for potential employees, but potential customers as well.

Give the candidate a great experience, and they’ll hold your brand in high-esteem. Reject them with a standard email, and a social media rant might be in your future.

Whether you’re a company of 10 or 10,000, here are some keys to improving your candidate experience in 2017:

Step One: Respond.

Ok, so you might be recruiting for 30 different positions and your inbox is out of control. Whether it’s a standard auto-reply or a personalized email, make sure you provide some guidelines for when the candidate can expect to hear back from you, when it’s ok to follow-up, and any next steps for the interview process. While it may be acceptable to ghost someone after a bad date, it’s not ok to do it to your job candidates. Need some help with what to say? Trello does this really well.
improve your candidate experience perkspot

Step Two: Show, don’t Tell.

Most interviews consist of round after round of intensive questioning. Take your interview process to the next level by giving candidates a “guide” for the day. This person will give them a tour of the office, introduce them to current employees, help them find the bathroom and something to drink, and anything else they might need to know. Ensuring the candidate feels comfortable will help them perform their best and also give you insight into how they’ll function in your office on a day-to-day basis.

Step Three: Provide Feedback

Spare your candidates the “We’ve decided to go in a different direction” email. Provide concrete reasons why they weren’t a great fit for this position. Be delicate and let them know where they fell short. If you don’t give them specific feedback, they’ll never know how to improve. In fact, 70% of employers don’t provide candidates with feedback. How you decide to let them down will arguably have the greatest effect on your brand. Let them down easy, but transparently.
improve your candidate experience

Step Four: Ask for Feedback

What better way to gauge how you’re doing than from someone who has walked the walk? At this point, you’ve given the candidate your feedback, so make sure you provide them the same opportunity. How was the recruitment process? Was there anything unexpected? What did they like about the interview process? How could it be improved? Make sure you share their feedback with everyone involved in order to improve your process in the future. There are plenty of ways you can create a positive candidate experience!

How will you improve your candidate experience in 2017? Let us know in the comments!

2017 HR Trends to Watch

2017 hr trends watch

As little as ten years ago Human Resources was primarily defined as the department in charge of payroll and benefits. Thanks to technology,  these more administrative functions have been automated, making room for more innovation and putting the focus on the “human” aspect of this department.

As we await for the ball drop and the ringing in of the new year, here are a few HR trends we can look forward to in 2017:

Recruitment

In 2016, 60% of job seekers reported a poor candidate experience and 72% of these candidates shared their experience via Glassdoor.com or other employer review services. Companies like Virgin Media are paving the way for an improved candidate experience. When Virgin discovered they were losing an average of $7 million in revenue due to weaknesses in their recruitment process, they began to analyze what they could do differently. They created a better candidate experience and in turn, improved ROI. We expect to see more of this in 2017 as employers seek to create a reformed experience for job-seekers.

The Gig Economy

The blended workforce is becoming increasingly more common in the modern workforce. With 93% of companies hiring freelance workers alongside full-time employees, we expect to see an even greater increase in 2017. In fact, a staffing industry report shared that total spending on the U.S. Gig Economy is close to $800 billion. With our economy becoming even more contingent on these workers, this presents new challenges for the HR professional as they seek to make these employees more of a focal point for employee engagement.

Generation Z

2017 marks the first year Generation Z will enter the workforce. These Centennials will bring a new culture with them. They are known for being more diverse, resilient and open than their Millennial counterparts.

While 37% of Centennials fear they will not find a job that fits their personality, this presents a new challenge for human resources professionals. They need to understand this new demographic and reach them with strategic and relevant content.

Retention

In CareerBuilder’s 2016 Candidate Behavior study, they report: “Although 76 percent of full-time, employed workers are either actively looking for a job or open to new opportunities, nearly half (48 percent) of employers can’t seem to find the workers they need to fill their job vacancies.” Employers also stated it takes anywhere from 26-34 days to fill an open position. We live in a world where time is money. Therefore, it’s certain more employers will take more measures to decrease the time and energy spent to find qualified candidates.

Wellness

In a study by Willis Towers Watson, 75% of U.S. employers state stress as their number one health and productivity issue. Unfortunately, employers and employees can’t seem to agree on its cause. Alleviating stress has become a top concern for many companies. The American Psychological Association, however, reports less than half of workers say their organization supports their well-being. In addition, one in three report chronic stress while on the job.  Evidence that we still have a long way to go in creating a more relaxed, stress-free environment in the workplace.

What are the trends you’re looking out for in 2017?

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Recruiting Star Candidates Without a Star Salary

We all want the best for our businesses, which includes the best employees. But what happens when you just can’t afford to pay big bucks for the best candidates? How can you recruit without the enticement of a fancy corner office or large salary?

recruitment-without-a-big-salary

Here are three things to consider:

Celebrate Your Culture

It should come as no surprise that employee engagement really pays off (literally). In fact, a Gallup survey reported that 54% of workers who are disengaged would leave their company for a 20% raise or less, while only 37% of engaged employees would make that same decision. Your company may not have a multitude of resources, but there’s one currency that’s undeniably valuable – your people. When interviewing for a new position, don’t forget to highlight your culture. There are many ways to educate interviewees about your culture, but it all starts with asking the right questions and highlighting what makes you unique. You’ll end up finding someone who not only is excited about the role, but is a fabulous culture fit to boot.

Promote Your Perks

Salary is only one piece of the puzzle. Does your company offer an above average vacation plan? What about work from home policies? No business is created equal so be sure and highlight the added perks that a new hire would receive. Maybe you’re even saving them money with exclusive discounts. Whatever the case may be, studies show that happy employees are better employees. Win-win.

Invite Their Input

In a recent survey, 80% of millennials said they want regular feedback from their managers, and 75% yearn for mentors. Highlight this in your interviews and you’re guaranteed to stand out among the crowd. 85% of everything we’ve learned comes from listening. Which means, if we want to know how to effectively lead employees well, we need to provide a platform for them to speak. Do you offer performance reviews every quarter? What about a weekly touch base? However you provide opportunities to listen and learn, showcase this in your recruitment efforts.

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Retention Before Recruitment

retention before recruitment

According to JB Training Solutions, “91% of Millennials expect to stay in a job for less than 3 years”. And with Millennials making up the largest part of the workforce, we definitely have our work cut out for us when it comes to retaining these individuals. As younger employees begin switching jobs more frequently, the effects are costly and quite frankly, exhausting. In fact, a study by the SHRM foundation states finding a direct replacement for an employee can cost the company anywhere from 50% to 60% of the person’s annual salary. So let’s say you are looking to replace an executive earning $80,000. Finding a replacement could cost your company anywhere from $40,000 to $48,000, not to mention the loss of productivity in the meantime.
So how can we beat these odds and ensure our employees stick around for the long haul?

Employee retention begins before the very first interview.

The best way to keep employees satisfied is to fully understand what they’re looking for. Gone are the days when a high salary and great compensation package was enough to entice an interviewee. Millennials long for purpose and direction in their career. Don’t misunderstand, while some are seeking a C-level title, the majority aren’t necessarily looking for a lofty position. The overall goal of a millennial is to learn, grow and be developed in their position.

Start by putting a plan in place for their career path. Think about where you’d like to see them take their role in the next three, five, or even ten years. Having this plan in place shows you’re investing in them as an individual and their career with the company. Maybe you don’t know exactly what type of position they’ll hold in five years, but you can show them the things they will learn. Discuss educational seminars they will attend or new skills they will develop while on the job. This is guaranteed to go further than a corner office would.

Recruitment and retention strategies are two sides of the same coin.

While setting them up for success is important, also keep in mind not everyone is going to be a great fit. In addition to thinking about what millennials want, also think about your company needs and the overall culture. The best way to ensure an employee sticks around is to determine if they are a great fit in the first place. I’ve seen this in my own experience when a job wasn’t exactly how it was laid out to me, I eventually got burnt out and left unhappy and confused.

You can prevent your employees from experiencing this new hire whiplash by making transparency an essential element of your interview process. When I left to seek a new position, PerkSpot stood out to me in one of the most obvious ways: the job description. Instead of the usual bullet points outlining the position in obscure terms, the description was familiar and informal. It painted an excellent picture of what my days in the office would look like. The transparency from the words on the screen to the face-to-face interviews ensured that from day one, nothing was ever a surprise. Within the first few days I knew the job was exactly what I had wanted and expected from the interview process.

Retention, by definition, is a continuous practice.

Beyond a new hire’s first week, remember that on-boarding is not an event that happens on the first day. When thinking about what millennials want, remember two of the most highly sought after aspects of a career for them are mentorship and development. You should already have your plan in place for where you want your new hire to take their career. Now, you just have to enable them to get there.

Keeping employees engaged isn’t a “set it and forget it” strategy. They need to know the specific goals you’ve set in place and receive feedback on their performance. Find a mentor who can meet with them in a comfortable, open environment. This is not only to provide necessary feedback, but also help them develop the skills they need to reach their goals. Millennials are eager to learn, but they can’t do it alone.

As employees long for job stability and your company profits from a secure workforce, don’t let employee retention become an afterthought. Think strategically about how to keep employees engaged. Remember that retention is an ongoing process that starts before, during and after the recruitment stages. Think of what you could do with that extra $48,000 when you don’t have to spend it on recruitment.

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