As organizations re-evaluate their staff and staffing plans to align with cost pressures and the current economic environment, there is a fair degree of media attention on unemployment and layoffs.
A sampling: C-Net’s tech layoff scorecard, CBC’s timeline of auto sector layoffs, and Federal projections of an overall unemployment rate of between 8.5% and 8.8% in 2009.
However, astute workforce planners understand that now is not the time to become complacent about the workforce and their organization’s future ability to attract and retain quality staff.
In fact, right now is an opportunity for entrepreneurial and insightful companies to capitalize on market conditions and recruit the kind of top quality staff that will be needed in years to come. C-Net’s “spreadsheet of sunshine” makes a great contrast to the layoff scorecard, and tells us that a number of high-profile tech companies have already recognized this. Big names such as Apple, Intel, Cisco, Facebook and Salesforce.com are already targeting skilled staff like software engineers who are likely to be in high demand in coming years.
But it’s not just about software engineers. As highlighted in the “spreadsheet of sunshine” (I had to get that in one more time as it is uplifting), within the next few years demand will outstrip supply in a number of professions. Some employers will also be forced to woo staff with incentive bonuses, well-paid salaries, and good benefits packages. This is the case regardless of current unemployment trends.
It’s interesting to take a quick look at the types of occupations that are on the list. Ok, there are some obscure occupations, but a lot of them are also squarely in the mainstream. We have Accountants, Computer Software Engineers, Dental Hygienists, Elementary Teachers, Counselors, Nurses, Financial Advisors, and Environmental Science and Protection Technicians. Are any of these occupations in your company?
Here at Aruspex we think that the current environment is as good, if not better to get proactive and workforce plan your future workforce. With the right approach and tools, workforce planners can take advantage of the current economic climate to build a workforce that is better aligned to your company’s strategic needs. Our whitepaper, Making the Right Business Decisions in a Downturn, provides more tips about workforce planning in tough economic times.
Mar 27, 2009
Mar 24, 2009
Advice for University Students
I recently met a young man who, after hearing what I do, asked what he should study at university. He had been interested in engineering but then was persuaded to apply for law. He was a second year student, doing okay but not great, and was worried what that might mean for future employment opportunities. He was concerned that he wasn’t passionate about what he was studying and was potentially building a career in something he didn’t like.
So what did I say? Firstly, I commented on his wisdom in recognising that he needed to be passionate about his career. But I also highlighted that a degree in law did not mean he had to practice law, nor did it mean if he started in law he had to stay in law. After telling him he’s only 19 and shouldn’t worry so much, I made the following comments:
Many people change their field of study after their first year at university. They use the first year as a ‘taster’ or, in some instances, to get a foot in the door of the university with every intention of changing into their preferred course in second year.
Yes, there are some careers, such as medicine, law, accounting, engineering and teaching, where you have to have the qualification to practice the profession. However, there are many instances where people study these qualifications and don’t work in the profession. There are also careers that don’t require a specific degree, or need a degree at all—even though it is listed as a pre-requisite—but that’s a topic for another blog another day. The knowledge you gain in any subject will be of merit in your career, even if it’s not directly related. Employers are now looking beyond qualifications and marks when choosing employees, and extra-curricular activities are regarded as a strong indicator of character.
You don’t have to go to university—now or at all. This probably doesn’t seem like ‘good advice’ to many people, but it is an option that should be seriously considered. As potential employers, we should be exploring more options to support people who are exploring careers by entering the workforce while they are still studying, or even to support older parents who never went to University to enter the workforce once their children have grown up.
University teaches many excellent and valuable skills, including self-discipline, time management skills, literacy and numeracy, and higher-order skills like critical and analytical thinking. However, many of these skills are also learnt through a combination of life experience and vocational education. It is all too often employers’ preconceptions and misconceptions that prevent capable candidates from fulfilling important roles in organizations simply because they do not have a degree. Degrees and what they represent are important, but they are not everything. In terms of job satisfaction and turnover, it is important to find a candidate with the personality and interests to match the position.
So what did I say? Firstly, I commented on his wisdom in recognising that he needed to be passionate about his career. But I also highlighted that a degree in law did not mean he had to practice law, nor did it mean if he started in law he had to stay in law. After telling him he’s only 19 and shouldn’t worry so much, I made the following comments:
Many people change their field of study after their first year at university. They use the first year as a ‘taster’ or, in some instances, to get a foot in the door of the university with every intention of changing into their preferred course in second year.
Yes, there are some careers, such as medicine, law, accounting, engineering and teaching, where you have to have the qualification to practice the profession. However, there are many instances where people study these qualifications and don’t work in the profession. There are also careers that don’t require a specific degree, or need a degree at all—even though it is listed as a pre-requisite—but that’s a topic for another blog another day. The knowledge you gain in any subject will be of merit in your career, even if it’s not directly related. Employers are now looking beyond qualifications and marks when choosing employees, and extra-curricular activities are regarded as a strong indicator of character.
You don’t have to go to university—now or at all. This probably doesn’t seem like ‘good advice’ to many people, but it is an option that should be seriously considered. As potential employers, we should be exploring more options to support people who are exploring careers by entering the workforce while they are still studying, or even to support older parents who never went to University to enter the workforce once their children have grown up.
University teaches many excellent and valuable skills, including self-discipline, time management skills, literacy and numeracy, and higher-order skills like critical and analytical thinking. However, many of these skills are also learnt through a combination of life experience and vocational education. It is all too often employers’ preconceptions and misconceptions that prevent capable candidates from fulfilling important roles in organizations simply because they do not have a degree. Degrees and what they represent are important, but they are not everything. In terms of job satisfaction and turnover, it is important to find a candidate with the personality and interests to match the position.
Mar 18, 2009
Designing Job Ads to Attract the Right Applicants
We recently, and rather excitedly, had to increase our team.
Like most companies, we work very hard to attract high caliber candidates, and we ended up with a great pool to choose from. (And if any of our applicants are reading this, as we said, the decision was hard.)
One of our interview questions was ‘Why do you want to leave your current employer?’ Interestingly, a number of the applicants answered that they had lost the passion for their current work. One even went so far as to say that they didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning and they didn’t like that feeling. They were motivated by doing something that they enjoyed, and they hoped that Aruspex would give them the opportunity to do this.
More than one applicant commented that the words in the job ad really appealed to them; the way in which we ‘marketed’ ourselves worked. This, of course, is not a surprise to us for, as many of you know, Stacy and I subscribe to marketing principles for employment. Employment brand is part of it, but it’s more than the brand. The whole thing has to be marketed, but not in a cheesy sales way. The last thing you want to do is promise something you can’t deliver all that does is increase first year turnover. You need to recognize the motivators of the people you are targeting, and market these in your ads. Of course, we all believe we do this and we may find it hard to objectively review our own job ads. A technique we use with our clients is to review/critique other people’s job adverts, asking questions. Who is the job targeting? What are the key features being promoted in the job advert? How do the job features match the profile of the people most likely to be available?
This type of analysis can uncover some pretty basic, but recurring peculiarities, particularly when asking that final question about matching job features to the available workforce.
To cite an example, we came across a job ad for telemarketers, supposedly targeted at older mothers looking to re-enter the workforce part-time. I say ‘supposedly’ because the job was not structured to match the target audience. For one thing, training for this part-time role was structured in full-time blocks. But that wasn’t really a major consideration, because the overwhelming majority of applicants wouldn’t even be able to get that far. Why? Before applicants were interviewed, they had to pass a comprehensive computer/technology skills test, and applicants in the target audience were not generally computer-lovers. However, they were good communicators, which is the real core skill required of telemarketers. So the advertisers lost a lot of excellent candidates through the poor design of their ad and the poor structure of the positions.
It always pays to consider your target applicants before you write the ad, then read and re-read the ad in light of the audience. Once you’ve done that, show it to someone else in your organization and see if they have any suggestions. Even better, show it to someone in your target audience and ask for their feedback, not only on the ad, but on the structure of the position itself. What you find out will surprise you!
A Real-World Approach to Planning the Right Workforce for Tomorrow’s Organizations. Part 2: Getting Down to Business: How to Workforce Plan.
Like most companies, we work very hard to attract high caliber candidates, and we ended up with a great pool to choose from. (And if any of our applicants are reading this, as we said, the decision was hard.)
One of our interview questions was ‘Why do you want to leave your current employer?’ Interestingly, a number of the applicants answered that they had lost the passion for their current work. One even went so far as to say that they didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning and they didn’t like that feeling. They were motivated by doing something that they enjoyed, and they hoped that Aruspex would give them the opportunity to do this.
More than one applicant commented that the words in the job ad really appealed to them; the way in which we ‘marketed’ ourselves worked. This, of course, is not a surprise to us for, as many of you know, Stacy and I subscribe to marketing principles for employment. Employment brand is part of it, but it’s more than the brand. The whole thing has to be marketed, but not in a cheesy sales way. The last thing you want to do is promise something you can’t deliver all that does is increase first year turnover. You need to recognize the motivators of the people you are targeting, and market these in your ads. Of course, we all believe we do this and we may find it hard to objectively review our own job ads. A technique we use with our clients is to review/critique other people’s job adverts, asking questions. Who is the job targeting? What are the key features being promoted in the job advert? How do the job features match the profile of the people most likely to be available?
This type of analysis can uncover some pretty basic, but recurring peculiarities, particularly when asking that final question about matching job features to the available workforce.
To cite an example, we came across a job ad for telemarketers, supposedly targeted at older mothers looking to re-enter the workforce part-time. I say ‘supposedly’ because the job was not structured to match the target audience. For one thing, training for this part-time role was structured in full-time blocks. But that wasn’t really a major consideration, because the overwhelming majority of applicants wouldn’t even be able to get that far. Why? Before applicants were interviewed, they had to pass a comprehensive computer/technology skills test, and applicants in the target audience were not generally computer-lovers. However, they were good communicators, which is the real core skill required of telemarketers. So the advertisers lost a lot of excellent candidates through the poor design of their ad and the poor structure of the positions.
It always pays to consider your target applicants before you write the ad, then read and re-read the ad in light of the audience. Once you’ve done that, show it to someone else in your organization and see if they have any suggestions. Even better, show it to someone in your target audience and ask for their feedback, not only on the ad, but on the structure of the position itself. What you find out will surprise you!
A Real-World Approach to Planning the Right Workforce for Tomorrow’s Organizations. Part 2: Getting Down to Business: How to Workforce Plan.
Mar 12, 2009
Productivity and Workforce Planning
Since the Carnival of HR will be all about productivity this time, I wanted to share one of workforce planning’s little mysteries….
Why, oh, why do most organizations do their workforce plans based on headcount calculations?
When we do planning based on headcount, we are assuming that productivity and capability will remain the same in the future as it is today…an assumption which is fundamentally flawed. So even though workforce planning is not just about math…the math that it DOES need requires an underlying unit of measure that’s not headcount. Use output instead – that way you can incorporate the impact of your productivity improving programs and really be able to plan for the benefits.
If you are planning using headcount, you are ignoring productivity. Have a look at Eric’s blog and overall at the Institute for Corporate Productivity’s site to understand just some of the reasons why that’s a really bad idea!
Mar 11, 2009
Don’t trust HR? OR, have HR apply good workforce planning!
There’s an article over in CFO magazine called Memo to CFOs: Don't Trust HR – hmmm. Apparently Rutgers University's Richard Beatty, spoke at the CFO Rising conference in Orlando recently, and said that most HR departments don’t have the analytics to support making good decisions. OK, there’s some truth in that, but the assertions it also makes about whether there is evidence to support the value of employee engagement is a little less acceptable. So I kind of went “huh”, then “WHAT?”, but then it took a whole new interesting turn…
“Most companies today spend too little effort on attracting and retaining top strategic talent and too much on satisfying the rest of the employee base”
"If you don't emerge from this market with better talent in the roles that really make a difference, I don't think you're trying."
There’s definitely truth there. Most organizations don’t have any framework in which to target their talent efforts…and the current market is an enormous opportunity for organizations to fix this, and to emerge from the situation in a much better place re talent. You do it through good workforce planning, and the current market is an excellent time to start. Yes, you will need some analytics (there’s a lot of software for that), a proven approach to workforce planning and the right tools to support it, and some techniques to ensure the business in engaged to the process and getting value. And guess what? The spreadsheets you are using today aren’t necessarily helping…nor is the staffing tool you’re having the IT department build. Why? They don’t have “a proven approach and the right tools to support it”…and if you are an HR person who is still taking those unsuccessful approaches even now while organizations are in most need of a better way – you probably will end up being out of the trust loop. BUT, those HR departments who are doing workforce planning well definitely don’t have to worry about THAT!
Technorati Tags: workforce planning,workforce downturn
Mar 4, 2009
Employer sponsored childcare and eldercare
Employer sponsored childcare often comes up in our workshops as a 'solution' to attracting and retaining working parents. Then, in light of the aging population, eldercare is raised and we begin exploring the practicalities—if we were to do this, where should the care be located? Some people want it near the office, some near their home. How can we as an organization know which is best? Can we afford such an investment? (Some even ask can we afford not to proceed.) What are the returns on such an investment?
Here is a slightly different slant on the issue of care as a benefit - emergency care for children or elderly. This refers to those situations when there is an unscheduled, unexpected break down in normal arrangements, requiring an employee to fill the care gap and take unscheduled leave.
I have come across two organizations that are undertaking these programs: Abbey Bank in UK who is using MyFamilyCare and Harvard University’s Parents in a Pinch.
I am sure there are other providers and more organizations with similar programs out there. Do you know of any? Care to share?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
