New ways of working: is workplace wellness the trick to attract talent?

I had a prospect client last week who referred to a competitor who had installed an office gym to attract talent. I had flashbacks of my PricewaterhouseCoopers time in the late nineties where the new office featured not only a bar and a shopping service but also a fully equipped gym. Not that we ever used it…after all, you don’t want to sit in the office with a sweaty, red face after a lunch workout.

Nevertheless, it triggered my mind. After several years of relative silence, workplace wellness appears to be back in fashion and is considered as a way of wooing the scarce talent by several trending companies. But can meditation sessions during lunch time or an in-house personal trainer be a competitive advantage when it comes down to attracting top talent?

Today’s talent attraction goes beyond drafting a clear job description and assessing a person’s experience and achievements. It is about finding the candidate who matches the DNA of your company and who will be complementary to the other team members. At the same time, it is about convincing the candidate that you can respond to their aspirations and career goals.

To assess the benefits of corporate health programs on talent acquisition, a distinction should be made between people who are just entering the job market and more experienced professionals.

Millennials who are just entering the workplace, are expecting more from a job than just a paycheck. This implies that they want to get an insight into what it is like to work in your company.

Consequently, it pays off to invest in building a solid employer brand. Workplace wellness programs can help you in defining that brand and set you apart from the competition. Group workouts and lunch yoga sessions are excellent opportunities to show what’s behind the scenes of your workplace. Next to that, it is great PR.

More experienced professionals on the other hand, have different objectives. They are looking for the next step in their career or a company whose culture is in line with their values. They are likely to be far less attracted by state-of-the-art wellness programs unless it has become an integral part of the working culture. Participating in a Hercules challenge to increase team-building, a pro-active burn-out prevention program supported by top management or a company restaurant offering healthy meals will send a message that you care about the well-being of your employees.

This approach might give you the competitive advantage that you are looking for as it is a perfect example of the “show, don’t tell”-approach to marketing. You’re putting your money where your mouth is by illustrating exactly how your company invests in the wellbeing of its employees.

But let’s be realistic, without a solid vision for the future, strong leadership and sufficient opportunities for career growth, promoting a corporate health program is merely window dressing and will not convince top-talent to choose your company as their next employer.

Implementing a wellness approach is just one of the new ways of working that are trending now. In the coming weeks, I want to look some other trends and the way they impact the attraction of talent. So, should you have any innovative new ways of working, let me know!

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Hunting for the purple squirrel: how to avoid ending up in a wild squirrel chase

Frustrating as it may be, sometimes searches don’t work out. Last week, I had to tell one of my clients that regardless of the effort put into identifying the right candidates, I wasn’t able to find what he was looking for. I should have known from the start that it was mission impossible because I was on the hunt for a purple squirrel.

A purple squirrel is a term commonly used in recruitment to describe a candidate with precisely the perfect mix of skills, experience and personality who is able to immediately handle the wide variety of job responsibilities with no training. Purple squirrels also don’t fuss about their compensation package, part-time employment or the required commute.

Attractive as it may be to initiate the search for that rare animal, it often proves to be a fruitless endeavour. They exist and from time to time, I am able to attract one but that isn’t the result of a successful recruitment strategy, it is merely a matter of luck.

As I don’t like waiting for lady fortune to wave her magic wand, here are a few tips that will avoid that you engage in a wild squirrel chase.

First of all, ask yourself if it is really necessary to find the perfect candidate? When you prioritise the ‘hard to learn’ requirements such as people skills over the specific skills that can be learned on the job, you can attract people who have it in them to become the perfect employee for the long run. Research shows that employees who are trained up to do a role have more incentive to succeed and tend to stay longer in a role.

Rather than spending months finding the perfect candidate, hiring someone with the potential to become the perfect employee may prove to be a very successful strategy.

If after this reflection, you are still convinced that you require a perfect match, gear up!

Personalise your approach. Most candidates with the perfect profile are not actively looking for a new opportunity. You will have to approach them pro-actively, convincing them that your opportunity is the one they have been waiting for.

Market yourself well. Analyse the current job market and define an attractive job offer, an offer that will entice them to engage in an exploratory conversation. In addition to the nuts and bolts of the offer, craft a story that helps the candidate envision better opportunities for success or professional development as a member of your team. Execute that story to perfection; ensure that every step of the selection process reinforces that story. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Be patient. It may take a while before you are able to convince the perfect candidate to take the jump. Investing in creating a talent community or a pipeline of interesting candidates prior to having the need to hire, will speed up the process.

Whether you are on a mission to catch a purple squirrel or whether you are painting a white squirrel purple …feel free to drop me a mail if you need assistance or a sounding board.

Although it is still pouring rain outside, summer has started so it is time for a break. I’ll be back with more insights on my life as a headhunter on September 6^th. Enjoy the holidays!

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalised and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Job-hopping: just for the money...or a way to actively manage your career?

For a lot of candidates, one of the worst things that may happen is that they would be considered ‘a job-hopper’. Consequently, I have numerous discussions on whether it is ‘the right time’….or whether changing jobs would be bad for their resume.

Back in the 1950s there was an unspoken agreement between employer and employee that the company would offer lifetime employment in exchange for loyalty. Today, this has radically changed. With a re-organization always just around the corner, we can be let go at a moment’s notice. Career self-management has never been more important so why does the label of ‘job hopper’ still carry a negative connotation?

In view of managing your career, job-hopping has quite a number of advantages.

You have a chance to see how other businesses work and build your skillset in ways that might never be possible when you stick to one employer. This flexibility to be successful in a variety of environments could make you very attractive on the labor market. Secondly, job-hopping can be a fast track to upgrading your title, your salary and your benefits.  

Last but not least, it can help you in building a powerful professional network.

An obvious downside is that changing jobs too fast and too often will label you as unreliable, unable to deliver or lacking commitment.

It is all about finding the right balance between managing your own career & skillset and bringing added value to your employer.

Every job comes with a certain ‘infancy’ period, usually 6 months to a year, where you have to get to know the company and its ways of working. During this time, your employer will invest time and money in getting you up and running. You can achieve some quick wins but your long-term impact will be limited. It is only after that onboarding period, that you will be able to truly show the added value that you bring and achieve lasting results.

When you switch jobs every year, your next employer will become quite hesitant to hire you as they risk loosing their investment. And yes, you might get the negative label of being a job-hopper.

However, once you have been able to demonstrate your capabilities and generate measurable achievements, it might be time to reflect on your next move.

You can choose to stay with your current employer to show commitment, gain additional experience and craft your job in such a way that it allows you to grow your skills.

However, if you are no longer challenged, it is time to take ownership of your career.

Here are a few questions to consider, before making the decision to explore new horizons:

• ·       Can I demonstrate measurable results and will I be able to identify people who can serve as a reference?
• ·       Am I leaving this job because I am desperate or am I making a strategic decision that will allow me to build my skill set?
• ·       What are the skills that I want to develop and how will that help me in the long term? What is the type of position that would correspond to that?
• ·       What doors will be opened and what doors will be closed from making this choice?

Asking yourself these questions will allow you, when an opportunity comes along, to take an informed decision to engage in a selection process…or not. This way, a job change won't be just for the money or the title but it will become a deliberate step in the way you manage your career.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Hiring the right talent: Make sure that your fish want to take the bait…

My last blog was all about finding the right balance between personality, potential and skills to identify your right talent.

Finding them is one thing, ensuring that they are attracted by what you have to offer, is an entirely different game. True talent is usually high in demand and it is key to find the right way to make them want to work for you.

That requires a mind shift: it is no longer about recruiting people, it has shifted towards attracting them. And that requires an end-to-end sales process.

It all starts by having a clear story: what is your company about, what are your values when it comes to leadership, what is your unique selling proposition, what are the challenges that lie ahead that will enable them to grow in their career,…

It is imperative to follow that story throughout the selection process. A hiring process is a courtship period…both parties get to know each other, see if they like one another. Much more than the actual discussions, the atmosphere surrounding the interviews, the feeling candidates have about the entire process plays a role in the decision whether to accept a job offer or not.

Selling that story and following through is often where it goes wrong. As important as employer branding, innovative selection software, … may be, there are a few simple tricks that will generate high impact on your capability to attract the right talent.

• ·       Make sure that your selection process reflects the image that you want your company to have in the labor market.

If you want to come across as fast-moving, quick feedback after the interviews and short time-lapses between the different steps will reinforce your story.

• ·       Carefully select your interviewers.

People choose people so having interviewers that are able to engage candidates, who are able to role model the story that you have to tell, are an essential key to success.

• ·       Move quickly when you find the right person

People have a tendency to wait until they have seen several candidates before making a decision. However, when you find the right one, move quickly. It will show candidates that you are genuinely interested in hiring them.

Should it be all about selling your company to the right candidate and not about what that candidate has to offer? Of course not, part of the hiring process is your own assessment of the potential a candidate has, their personality and their accomplishments.  But when you find the right fish, wouldn’t it be a pity that he does not want to bite the bait?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch