The Sourcerer got to thinking recently about how much complaining people do.  We complain about our health (and our health care), we complain about the weather, the cost of everything from groceries to golf, government  being too invasive or not invasive enough and we complain a lot about our jobs.  That last complaint is the subject of this Blog.

If you’re one of those people who complain about their job, maybe you can do something about it.  I know a company that used to have high turnover problems.  The work was hard, the boss demanding and the customers (like all good customers) could often be a pain-in-the-a- -.  Here’s what the company did to put a halt to the complaining and the turnover.

They had a brainstorming session with their employees to create a list of activities that would alleviate stress, encourage group participation and open communication on a completely new level for staff and management. They then set a schedule that allows everyone to participate in one of these events each quarter. The company closes early on the day the event is scheduled so everyone can attend.

They’ve done everything from volleyball to LazerTron.  Bosses and staff participate on an even footing.  The events are fun and often very funny.  When everyone is back at work, well, the work is still hard, the boss is still demanding and the customers…well, they never really change.  But you know what has changed?  The turnover…it’s nearly non-existent and the complaining has dialed-down to barely a murmur. And best of all, the company’s revenues have increased significantly since this program was introduced.

If you have too much complaining at your place of business, why not try a tactic like this and turn your workplace into a better, more productive and less stressful environment?

Occasionally you receive a piece of information that just makes you feel good, about yourself or your company or in this case…both.

The following is a testimonial I received today that  I wanted to share because it made me feel good about the 4 years that went into creating a product called Talmax. The struggle was worth the result.

“As the Human Resources Manager for Niagara Thermal, my initial experience with Talmax was a little different.  I was a candidate, looking to relocate.  I found the job I currently hold on Indeed and in order to apply for the position, I had to go through the Talmax online application process.  I was very impressed.  It was very streamlined and allowed questions to be asked of me as an applicant that gave me insight into the company’s personality.

 Now that I am the HR Manager at Niagara Thermal, I regularly see how our Talmax Career Site and the Talmax candidate screening tools help us identify and screen people for jobs at all levels in our company.  I like Talmax because it works, it helps me lower our recruiting costs and it saves my staff a whole lot of time while increasing the efficiency of our operation. 

 If you have any specific questions about Talmax, just give me a call.  You can reach me at 716-297-0652 x242 during regular business hours (EST).”

John Grubb, Human Resources Manager, Niagara Thermal Products

And now a Blog entry that’s just for fun.  The following are Dictionary definitions that you may not have previously heard:

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

ASSMOSIS: The process by which certain people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard

CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles.

PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people’s heads pop up over the walls to see what is going on.

MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation’s answer to the couch potato

SITCOMS: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids

STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiney.

XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one’s work place

ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the “rank and file”. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were created to solve

404: Someone who is clueless. From the World Wide Web error message “404 Not Found,” meaning that the requested document could not be located

OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you’ve just made a BIG mistake

WOOFYS: Well Off Older Folks.

To finish up, how about a few “gems” found on recently submitted resumes…

“Education: College, August 1880-May 1984.”
“Work Experience: Dealing with customers’ conflicts that arouse.”
“Develop and recommend an annual operating expense fudget.”
“I’m a rabid typist.”
“Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain operation”

 If you have some “gems” of your own from resumes you’ve received or a definition for our modern-day dictionary, please share your submittal!

If you haven’t read it yet, allow me to strongly recommend that you get yourself a copy of “Inbound Marketing” by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah and read every word.  I found it to be a comprehensive and eye-opening review of the multiple facets of marketing using social media as a mechanism to reach an audience of prospective buyers and ultimately to convert those prospects to customers.

There is a chapter titled “Picking and Measuring Your People” which addresses the need for companies to find and hire inbound marketing savvy people.  The book referred to these people as “Digital Citizens” who were either “born Web” or very familiar with the Web and who speak Web fluently.  The authors suggested using a framework they referred to as “DARC” to identify and hire these types of candidates.

The “D” in Darc refers to identifying people who are Digital Citizens.

The “A” deals with hiring people who can demonstrate analytical acumen. Because every marketing activity of inbound marketing is completely measurable, the ability to analyze the results will insure better decision making according to Halligan and Shah.

The “R” stands for hiring people who have Web reach.  Web reach is simply a new form of Rolodex; that is, a personal network of connections within a specialty or industry industry through the web.

Finally, the “C” refers to finding “Content Creators”.  These are people with great writing skills who can create what the authors refer to as “remarkable content”.

As I reflected on this chapter of “Inbound Marketing”I had two distinct thoughts:

1. Identifying job candidates who have the skills, background and characteristics required to handle the development and executive of an inbound marketing plan effectively, will necessitate careful consideration.  For each person to be hired, a prospective employer will need to create a comprehensive job description, interviewing questions and determine what, if any, testing should be done to help the hiring authority judge a candidate’s viability. 

2. The second thought I had dealt with a personal observation. It seems to me that when any company initiates a new idea or concept designed to improve efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately to increase the sales of a product or service the company offers, it almost always results in the need to find the right person to insure that the idea or concept is generated successfully.

Interesting, isn’t it…no matter how sophisticated or leading edge our approach to business, it inevitably boils down to a need to hire the right talent!

Let me know your thoughts on this or on any other topic in our blog. The Sourcerer wants your input…

This week I stopped at my local Home Depot store to get a couple of extra keys made and I got to talking with the clerk who was taking care of my order. I asked her if she liked working at Home Depot, expecting her to say something kind of “vanilla” about working in retail where the hours are tough and the pay is generally low.

Well, you should have heard this woman…she went on and on about how great the company was, how much she liked her job, her co-workers, the benefits, the way she was treated by her boss, etc, etc. I found myself taking a whole new attitude toward this company after that conversation.  And that got me thinking further…

Wouldn’t it be great to capture the enthusiasm of happy, satisfied employees and place their comments on your company’s career site so that candidates could see and read the reasons why they should consider your company as a potential employer!  Not the marketing hype from your sales department or ad agency, but the honest comments of real employees. 

No matter how high the unemployment rate is, finding truly talented personnel is difficult, to say the least.  Why not let your own employees help by giving interested candidates reasons to consider your company as their next employer?

Consider including the positive comments of one or two people from within the actual department or area where you have a new job opening.  You may find that doing so will encourage top talent to apply.

What do you think…

Candidates often ask questions of recruiters on issues about a new job possibility that range far beyond the scope of the job responsibilities, salary and benefits.  Top tier job seekers want to know:

• What’s the company like?
• How many employees do they have?
• How many people work in the department I’m applying to?
• What’s the working environment like?
• Can you tell me about the company’s culture?
• Do they have much turnover?
• Why is the job open?
• Is there a clear career path in this position?
• Do they promote from within?
• What kind of opportunities are there for advancement?

Candidates who are interested in career growth want to know so much more than a typical job description will tell them.  You can use your Career Site to present this type of ancillary information. Information that can increase the interest a highly qualified candidate may have in your organization.

It’s up to you to create the “sizzle” that will help convince that “just right” job seeker to pursue your company.  There are lots of topics you can include on a well designed Career Site including:

• Employee testimonials (VERY effective)
• A company events calendar 
• A diversity policy statement
• Employee photos
• List of charitable events in which the company & employees particpate
• Company vision or mission statement
• Comments from satisfied customers

Use your imagination to create a Career Site that will appeal to the level of candidates you want to attract to your company.  Whether unemployment is at record highs or is incredibly low, finding  top talent is always difficult.  Sell the reasons why your employees like working at your firm.