alstin communications

Now more than ever, companies are implementing “new and improved” approaches to gather quantitative metrics of their recruitment processes. Often times, numbers are the best way for HR to convey to senior management what’s working and what’s not. With the right tools in place, proper metrics can be determined, giving your organization a clear picture of the validity of your recruiting strategy and the ability to make the recruitment process more efficient.

When it comes to the use of metrics in tracking recruiting effectiveness, I’ve found that there’s a key to success – use your tools and use them consistently! Many companies are putting forth efforts and resources to capture data, but if these tools are being utilized only part of the time, accurate measurements are not possible, and will undermine the results. Incredibly valuable information to encourage improvements, metrics are worthless unless the results have the real potential to incite positive changes in recruiting and sourcing habits.

If you decide to implement a means to measure the response of your print ads, web ads, email blasts, landing pages, SEO tools, etc., it is imperative that this tool be utilized in every application.

In reality, I know that as recruiters this approach may not always seem ideal. I have seen recruiters change the contact mechanism for response in a recruiting ad or posting for a select position based on the urgency to fill the opening, the type of candidates they are targeting, or the ease of response retrieval. But the truth of it is, what used to work years ago, doesn’t cut it anymore especially when your overall investment and goal is to gather good metrics!

The purpose of the development of the many approaches to building metrics, is to answer the demands of organizations for proof of the overall success of HR’s recruiting efforts and what can be done better – more quickly, more efficiently, more cost effectively. However, if tracking methods are only used once in a while, when the head honchos ask for recommendations during budget evaluation time – how will you be able to truly identify what you can capitalize on, and what you need to do different?

In the current state of our economy, there is no doubt in my mind that organizations cannot afford spending to track costs for skewed evidence and base their budgets on ambivalent reporting. Take my word for it, if you heed this advice to properly make use of these valuable tracking tools, the metrics will help you determine:

• What was the success of your recruitment sources?
• Which sources provided the most candidates?
• Where did the more qualified candidates come from?
• Which sources provided the least qualified candidates?

I think we can all agree that conducting an evaluation of your recruiting costs with solid metrics can provide you with the information needed to support change and improvements for sourcing and hiring processes and for reducing costs. The bottom line: Don’t sabotage your efforts. Maintain consistent use of your measurement tools and you will have the most accurate metrics at your disposal.

Having trouble figuring out the best solution for gathering metrics for your organization? Need an assessment of your applicant tracking systems’s capabilities? Send me an email – blog@alstin.com - I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you!

I recently came across a great blog post the other day that made me wonder: What are recruiters stumbling across and tripping over on the road to making that terrific hire these days? 

I work with HR professionals everyday, assisting them with their daily recruitment goals. I often hear the urgency in their “I’m swamped” voice, or “I need a vacation” tone. So when I saw this blog title -  Want a new job? Stop being so nice. Seriously. I hate it.  - I had to check it out.

 As I read on, I discovered Sarah White, author of the Imsocorporate.com blog, and her feelings about a special breed of the annoying jobseeker. She goes on to reach out to fellow recruiters for confirmation and to let her readers know the three top things that will classify you as too creepy to consider working with. It was a quick rant but a viable one all the same. Those who commented seemed to take it pretty well. After a good laugh, I became interested to know what my clients would blog about regarding their encounters with eager jobseekers…especially now, in this current state of unemployment.

So little jobs…too many jobseekers!

In a sense, my job is to help you put out the bait, cast a net, and catch and hook those prime candidates for your open positions. It’s then your job to reel ‘em in. So, with this new age of social media, I think it’s sometimes helpful to give a personal voice of guidance to help the process along – and save you from having to throw too many back!

What’s your take on this? Please share your comments with me. These could be quite helpful – and funny.  (We’ve heard some dooseys in the past, so don’t be bashful.)

 I WANT TO KNOW…..

What are your gripes about the sourcing/interviewing processes?

With all this new technology, do you feel like you’re being stalked or like you’re stalking others?

What do you want candidates that are looking for a position with your company to know?

What are your top tips to win you over in an interview?

The prediction is that most companies are likely to experience a voluntary turnover once the job market improves. What are you doing to retain your best employees? Are you taking the necessary steps to hold on to loyal workers? Tidy up today or it may be turnover tomorrow for some of your best employees.

The last couple of years have made a major impact on many lives, especially in one’s outlook on the future of their career and financial stability. Many companies have suffered through numerous cut backs and the loss of valuable staff, leaving those who are left with double the workload, less hours and pay, fewer benefits and incentives, and the loss of their fellow employees, all while dealing with the uncertainty of maintaining their own position. The sequence of events that surround recurring layoffs cause feelings of insecurity and a decline in morale.

The effects of the current economic climate has clearly changed the atmosphere “around the water cooler”. The latest surveys are showing a large number of professionals who plan to leave their current company once hiring rebounds. Their top reasons for moving on vary from better compensation and benefits to dissatisfaction with potential career development.

I have friends that have gone back to school for a graduate degree to facilitate advancement in their careers, and are now experiencing feelings of despair in positions where they are not being used at their full potential and are not seeing the results of years of hard work. These hard times cause employees to reevaluate their plans, and reminds them to take steps toward new experiences.

The “lucky to have a job” period will be slowly drawing to a close as the new year rings in. The start of 2010 has resolutions raring to go – and the jobless are not the only ones on the market.

Now is the time to reinforce the value of your company. As the job market slowly begins to increase, you must be prepared to keep your best employees in play while hiring starts to pick up.

Are you listening to the concerns and ideas of your employees and taking them under consideration during this difficult economic time? Are your employees recognized and compensated monetarily for outstanding performance? If your answers are “no”, I recommend checking out this post on What People Want From Work by Susan Heathfield.

People like to know that they have room for career movement and advancement. No opportunity to progress within the company is a deal-breaker for many. Enhance the skills and expertise of your employees and the marketability of your company by providing cross-training and education for career and personal growth through training programs, challenging assignments and more.

And finally, it is important that you:

· Staff adequately so people don’t wear themselves out.

· Communicate the goals, new/additional roles and responsibilities of the remaining people in the company (including management) so that everyone knows what is expected of them and are aware that everyone is doing their part for the success of the company.

Remember that your employees are the fuel that keeps your business going.

By the looks of this blog, you might think we over here at Alstin eat, breathe and sleep all that is recruitment and retention. Every so often we’ll stray from the HR talk and bring you more on some of our favorite things, places and activities that also populate our daily lives.

One of my favorite things in Alstin’s new location is the large picture window near my desk. I am the lucky AE who sits facing a fabulous view of the city while I work.

I can see from my seat the hustle and bustle of the Center City streets, the neon sign of the restaurant EL Vez – a favorite for happy hour – and I even get to watch a helicopter take off from the launch pad at Jefferson Hospital to save someone’s life.

My fellow AEs and I have developed our department to feel comfortable to us all. We enjoy the natural light beaming in everyday, and will often leave the overhead lights off to let the sunshine fill the space. I believe it is true that sunlight stimulates happiness. On a bright sunny day we will open the window and breathe in the fresh air as opposed to the usual office ventilation. The feng shui of our space seems to give us the energy and enough comfort to enjoy  the day to its fullest.

With the number of well-known healthcare institutions I have worked with, I’ve seen that sunlight is often one of the key factors during renovations and expansions of patient care areas to aid in the speedy recovery of patients.

According to a study in Psychology Today:

Patients in recovery rooms full of natural light take less pain medication, and, days after surgery, they report lower stress levels. Their hastened healing may be due to sunlight’s ability to stimulate serotonin production, which helps regulate mood, sleep, and sex drive.

Now, if the sun can do all of that, think what it can do for employees – let the sunshine in!

You Might Need To “Get With It” When …

You think SEM and SEO are rival rock bands.

You admit to not knowing the first thing about Social Networking, but think it’s just a newfangled duhickey or fad that all the kids are excited about.

You’re still wondering what in the world a “tweet” is, and if it’s part of some new project Ashton Kutcher is working on.

You don’t have a Facebook page and never thought of setting one up for recruiting and retaining employees.

You are on LinkedIn, but don’t have a group page for your toughest area of recruitment.

The careers section of your company website is hiding from candidates in corners, behind unbolded or too small text and under an obsolete pull down bar – causing candidates to get lost and spend up to five minutes searching in frustration for your openings.

You think “Come Grow With Us” might be a great, creative theme for your employer brand.

When asked about your source of hire data, you are unable to determine where your new talent is really coming from.

Old school can be cool, but not when it comes to how you determine the best approaches to communicating with potential and current employees these days. If you are starting to feel a little out of touch, overwhelmed by it all, or not sure what direction you need to take first, don’t despair. And from what I am hearing, you are not alone.

From workshops to bring you up to speed, to effective consultation on the strategies and communications you need to get results, (shameless plug alert!) Alstin’s here to help you get with it and I am excited to help get you there. Your comments are always welcome, and feel free to drop me a line at blog@alstin.com.

Isn’t it amazing how fast the trend of social media has spread like wildfire across the country? Any and everybody are using some form of it these days. It couldn’t have come at a better time. With massive lay-offs, and a troubled economy, what more cost effective way could there be for someone to find work, or find the perfect hire by way of relationship building?

Many recruiters would agree that they get their best hires from referrals. Recruiters now benefit from the ability to ‘LinkIn’, ‘Tweet’ or ‘Friend’ employees, colleagues, clients, vendors, friends, applicants, and other contacts to promote their employer brand and career opportunities.

My guess is you’ve been thinking, this all sounds great! I’m going to set up my Twitter account today, put creating a Facebook Fan Page on my to-do list, and make sure I join some more groups on LinkedIn. I might even start up a cool new blog and join together employees to show the outside world how comfortable and collaborative we are.

But who is going to monitor all this potential interaction? And do I have the time? How am I going to keep that cool new blog current with daily posts? Monitor the comments on a Facebook fan page, and tweet new info while answering all the responses to my previous tweets?

That’s where Alstin Communications comes into play – we live the new job title that’s cropping up more and more – Social Media Specialist – every day.

Simply put: The explosive growth of social media is redefining how people communicate. The implications are far reaching. How you choose to use these new communication tools may well define your success as an employer in the coming years.

By developing a solid social media strategy, and tapping into sociability, Alstin Communications’ suite of social media products and services, you will get the most out of these new tools. Seminars on the how to’s, guidance on developing an in-house social media policy and of course all that you would expect (and maybe not expect!) from Alstin on how to maintain that all-important brand consistency across all social media channels and a whole lot more are offered up by our team of social media gurus.

From our perspective, adding these skills to your repertoire can only boost your organization’s – and your own – marketability.

I spend a good part of my day on Facebook, consider LinkedIn my personal, professional Rolodex, and am about to experience what it’s like to tweet about all sorts of thing, including my favorite blogs. I do consider myself a Social Media Specialist and am glad that growing expertise also makes me the “help wanted” for my clients.

In today’s changing economy and with the increasing differences in the U.S. population, your organization’s competitiveness and success depend on the ability to welcome diversity and embrace it.

Welcoming diversity comes down to how diverse employees are represented in positions, opportunities, advancement levels, training, performance acknowledgement, and financial growth in your organization. It’s how diverse candidates are received in interviews, correspondence, and on-boarding. And believe me, candidates will talk about their experiences and communicate their thoughts to others in the industry. That’s where social media comes into play – in 2009, welcoming diversity also means welcoming social media into your overall strategy.

I personally believe that capitalizing on diversity in the workplace is an important issue for management to recognize the need for, and approach effectively through communication, adaptation, and an open mind for change. The most successful organizations are those that are genuinely planning and allocating their resources on diversity management.

We can all recognize that effective diversity recruitment requires more than a legal sounding EOE statement and the use of multicultural photos in a campaign. It requires managers, recruiters and other staff to become culturally aware and to spread the word of how great it is to work for your organization via branded company pages on top social networking sites, gathering a following of diverse populations through blogging, advertising on targeted blogs/websites, hosting social networking events, ultimately increasing your competitive edge, and bolstering your company image as an employer of choice.

Diversity can be defined as…
Acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to race, age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, socio-economic, status political beliefs, or other ideologies.

I couldn’t agree more. Make 2009 the time to upgrade your diversity strategy. We are personally and professionally connected to each other 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. A strong diversity message is needed, and today, make sure that your message is carried out in a more interactive – and social – style