2010 February :: Steve Lowisz

Archive for February, 2010

Feb

First Impressions…

Posted by: jjohnson | Comments (0)

The last of the 7 steps I teach in “The Answer” recruiter training program revolves around the idea of onboarding. I generally get lots of groans and moans when I ask the attendees: “Whose company does onboarding flawlessly?” The reality is that most organizations do not spend the time or effort in ensuring that this part of the recruiting process is performed effectively even though this period is critical.

A study by the The Human Resources Corporate Leadership Council showed that increasing an employee’s level of engagement could improve performance by 20% and reduce the same employee’s probability of leaving by 87%. With these types of statistics, it’s obvious that we need to engage the employee from identification, through onboarding, and beyond. Read More→

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Feb

Bachelor of Recruitment?

Posted by: jjohnson | Comments (2)

After spending the better part of my adult life in the recruiting industry, I am always amazed at the lack of training or structured development for recruiters. I have even experienced some companies that look at the recruiting department as the catch all for those employees who really didn’t work out in the jobs they were originally in! This is nuts!!! Let’s put this in perspective. For many of us the largest decisions in our lives include getting married, having children, buying a home, and changing jobs. What is the common denominator in three of these decisions? See if you can pick it out below: Read More→

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Feb

Good or Bad, Metrics Drive Behaviors (You thought I was going to say results)!

Posted by: jjohnson | Comments (1)

“What gets measured gets done” is a quote that has been used for ages to support the need for metrics in just about every job function. Corporate leaders are too often disappointed by the performance of their employees, resulting in additional rules and measurement designed to hold employees accountable. What these same leaders fail to understand is that the exact behaviors they find acceptable, are in fact the same ones they create by the things they measure!

There is no doubt that metrics are a necessary part of work life-no organization or manager should have to put up with poor performance. The problem is that the metrics often used by companies are the same metrics that drive the undesirable results that the metrics were put in place to deter. Read More→

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Feb

Social Networking:
Can your connections hurt you?

Posted by: jjohnson | Comments (0)

It has been amazing to watch the growth of social media in the past 5 years, with many professionals focused on the number of friends or connections they can add. As a recruiter, it’s a badge of honor to be connected to more individuals then your peers. This use of social media technology has become a game changing frenzy in building both our personal and professional networks.

This non-stop, almost compulsive use of social networking has also caused many questions to be raised regarding the use of the information found on these sites. Companies are regularly using Google Searches, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc, etc before hiring applicants. In fact, I have seen many organizations decide not to hire someone based on what they have found on someone’s online profile! Is this legal? I have no idea – ask your attorney. The point is: what we post online can potentially cause damage to our reputations. Read More→

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