The Perfect Fit

The Same Company For An Entire Career?

I attended a seminar this morning presented by the St. Louis Business Journal, "The New Economy".  Michael Forster, Managing Partner of Sandberg, Phoenix & Von Gontard and Doug Mueller of Mueller Prost PC were the presenters.  The discussion centered around what businesses can/should be doing as we move (slowly) out of the recession.

While much of the discussion dealt with business operating methods and protocols, there were times when issues affecting employees were discussed.  Actually, it was more like how employees affect businesses.  I was struck that there was no mention of the need for programs to support (if not assure) employee retention. 

I've written previously in this blog about how employees have a responsibility to themselves to find appropriate training and grow professionally (The Workplace Has Changed . . . Have You?).  Hopefully, employers are supporting (and paying for) that effort.   I've also talked about the need for the retention of premier employees (Are you Being Taken Care Of . . . Or Taken Advantage Of?)  Employees need to grow in their careers, and employers should want to keep those employees who consistently do that.

There was what I considered to be an interesting observation made by Mr. Forster.  He suggested that in the "new economy", we had to behave more like in the "old economy".  He talked about the need for dedicated hard work for everyone, no matter what you do.  Hard work like in the "old days".  Hard work like our parents and grandparents talk about.  Interesting . . . that seems to fly in the face of theories of accommodating the newest generations X & Y. 

Further, it was suggested that the development of "real expertise" is being eroded by automated systems, and the reality that employees no longer stay with one company long enough to develop or enhance that company's specific expertise.  Another interesting point.  Think about how few people in the workforce now rise through the ranks from the bottom to the top of the same enterprise.  Can you think of any?

Obviously, innovation in any business creates advantage.  Innovation will be essential to fuel the "real" growth of the US economy.  I'm not talking about getting back to where we were, I'm talking about significant, job creating, lifestyle enhancing, growth.  Innovation is the result of happy, experienced employees. 

It seems like the way things are going, we are not on a track to have many of those!

Think about how your existing job and career might change if you decided you were going to become the CEO of your company.  You wouldn't let those little "issues of the day" bother you.  You'd find better ways of doing things.  You wouldn't take "no" for an answer.  You'd become Indispensable to your employer . . . and in so doing, become immeasurably more valuable ("Are You Indispensable Or Vulnerable?").  If all that happened in the longer term, you'd get promotion after promotion. You'd rise through the ranks, until you reached the top.  Interesting . . .

Do you really have a career strategy to reach career goals, or are you just looking for what you perceive to be a "better job" . . . ?  Are you expert enough to innovate?

Just curious . . .!

Companies Should Send Candidates Thank-You Notes, Too

That's the headline in a recent Ad Age article.  Sub-Head, "It's a Great PR Move for Prospective Employers".  I completely agree with Paul Gumbinner, the author of the Ad Age article. Paul writes,

"After an interview, it's surprising that only about 60% of candidates send a thank-you note (an even smaller percentage sends them after visiting with a recruiter). Aside from being an expression of good manners, a short note expressing interest can go a long way toward promoting a person's candidacy.

Of course, much has been written about thank-you notes in terms of job seekers. But I wanted to tackle something that, to my knowledge, has not been suggested before: Interviewers should send them to candidates, as well.

I would like to propose that this should be the policy at every advertising agency."

It should be a policy at every single employer, period . . . not just agencies.  I know most job seekers would say, "Hey, how about a simple acknowledgment of my interest in your company?"  It's extremely annoying to me that the vast majority of employers (75%+ ?), don't even bother to acknowledge receipt of a resume or inquiry.  Most employers are a black hole for resume submissions and as such, are committing PR suicide.  I've written about this previously with "Screw You, Candidate!"

In the near future, skilled employees are going to be at a premium.  Once you factor in their experience, career goals and fit with an employer's culture, they will be even more limited.  Yet, companies don't take the opportunity even acknowledge an interested candidates' resume.  They should thank every single applicant and treat each one with respect.  Respect is the foundation for retention and for hiring.  If respect exists in a corporate culture, so does employee retention.  You can't recruit someone with disrespect!

Respect (obviously) even goes beyond retention and recruiting.  It shouldn't exist for self-serving reasons.  It should exist because it's the right way to do things . . . everything.

Yesterday, I tweeted the article "Respect: A Key Ingredient for innovation".  The Innovation Tools blog goes on to state:

"Respect is a key ingredient for successfully bringing a new creation to market. In other words, innovation. At the highest level, senior managers should have respect for both the future of the organization and for the people they are responsible for guiding.

The senior management team needs to be seen by the troops as having their best interests in mind, and not just pumping up the stock price. If the senior managers are viewed within the company as being self-serving and unconcerned about the long-term success of the firm, the creativity and focus needed across the company will not flourish."

Why is a lack of common sense, civility and respect so much the norm?  Is it laziness, selfishness or (heaven forbid) expense?  Do employers consider themselves to be "too busy"?   How many of you will ever work for a company who never bothered acknowledging your interest or failed to treat you with respect?

Art Auction For Heart And Haiti In St. Louis

I just found out that a former employee of mine Julie Campbell,  who owns The Three Sinks art gallery in Webster is planning an art auction this coming Friday.  Here's all the info . . .

"Three Sinks Gallery is hosting a benefit event, St. Louis Artists Benefit for Haiti, with proceeds donated to the American Red Cross and the relief effort in Haiti.

Twenty-five artists have donated work to be exhibited at Three Sinks and previewed here on Facebook. 100% of the proceeds of the event will be donated to the American Red Cross. A silk-screen art t-shirt will be available for purchase online and in the gallery. This limited edition t-shirt will be significant to the heritage and plight of the Haitian people.

The exhibit will be held at Three Sinks Gallery, and will be available for viewing from January 25th through January 30th, 2010. A cocktail reception and silent auction will be held at the gallery from 6 to 9pm on Friday January 29th, 2010.

This event is in conjunction with Finale Fridays, a new happening occurring on the last Friday of each month and designed to give visitors a chance to sip, shop and stroll through unique Webster Groves establishments.

Location: Three Sinks Gallery - 8715 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves MO 63119"

I hope you'll make every effort to attend.  Further, I hope you'll pass this message along to your friends/colleagues and your social network.  Let's get the word out on this auction and help Julie raise some serious money for the victims of the Haitian earthquake!

A partial selection of the art along with additional information can be found on Julie's Facebook page.

Marketing Headhunter Gets Smarter with Twitter

I'm starting to embrace Twitter more and more enthusiastically, as I use it more and become comfortable with it.  I'm an advocate of continuing education and staying abreast of industry news, trends and new ways/ideas for doing something.  I'm finding Twitter to be extremely helpful in that pursuit.

I still read about six or eight trade and professional publications a month.  That has always been my way to know what was going on, hear about new ideas and the like.  I'm starting to find that the lead times for publication make that media almost dated by the time it's published.  Even weeklies like AdWeek and Ad Age print content that I've already seen or actually read through with all the electronic updates I now receive.

I created my Twitter account maybe two or so years ago with the username @HeadhunterBob (I encourage you to follow me!).  I had no idea what to do with that account for the longest time, yet I kept having people follow me.  I couldn't figure it out, I'd never sent one tweet, yet I had followers!

Over the past few months, I've started tweeting more frequently and I'm feeling very good about that for two reasons.  One, I feel like I'm "giving something back" . . . I've been told that followers appreciate the content of my tweets and enjoy reading many of them.  Second, I read more . . . a lot more.  I now read articles from literally scores of sources, including blogs, and articles of others I follow on Twitter.  It's enlightening.  I feel like I have a much better idea of what's going on, much sooner.

I'm sure you know that Twitter now integrates with the LinkedIn update box in your profile.  You can send tweets right from LinkedIn!

I tweet about issues related to recruiting, employment, employee retention, employer culture, marketing and advertising trends, etc.. In short, content that should be of interest to most in our marketing/employer/employee communities.  There are several other applications that have grown up around the world of Twitter, that I've found very useful.  I'd like to share some of those.

The most important is probably Tweet Deck.  Tweet Deck pushes the tweets of those you follow.  On Twitter.com, you have to refresh the page to see new Tweets.  Tweet Deck also allows you to follow several of (your own) accounts at the same time, as well as notifying you of any "direct tweets", or mentions of your username.  It's flattering to be "re-tweeted" and Tweet Deck tells you when that happens.

TweetChat is an application that lets you use the #(hashtag) to find people to follow in particular categories of interest . . . in my case, marketing, advertising, media, etc..  Twitter itself has an advance search capability that isn't so easy to find (you could look for users in your city).  If you'd like to tweet a photograph, use Twitpic.  Twellow is a directory of public Twitter accounts, with hundreds of categories and search features to help you find people who matter to you.

The last tip I have goes beyond Twitter.  It's a preferred method for shortening urls.  The reason it's preferred is that bit.ly tracks the number of times a particular url that you've sent has been clicked.  It's very cool and far superior to tinyurl, for example.

Go to Twitter, create a username and profile and get out into the Twitterverse!  It's fun and you'll actually learn something!

For those of you already using Twitter, do you have any stories of it's benefits?

The Workplace Has Changed . . . Have You?

The recession has caused fundamental changes in the way Employers look at their employees, and how employees are responding.  Employers have had to make difficult staffing decisions at every level of their organizations.  The reality in many cases what that expenses had to be cut, or the business would be in jeopardy.  It's no surprise that the expense of labor is significant and laying an employee off has immediate cost cutting benefits.

Furloughs, cutbacks in hours/days per week and pay (also benefit) reductions became methods with which employers were able to keep some employees, but at lower take home pay for the employee.  While this is understandable, and for some preferable to losing their job altogether, the result is the same . . . employees no longer relying on one employer.  Employees have to find supplemental income to maintain their income levels.  Trimming the pay might keep the employers' doors open, but the cost to employees is high.

Many employees are looking for "second job" options.  The ability to work remotely has helped move that trend forward and it's not going to stop.  Employees will work second "retail" jobs, freelance, or start a company, in order to make ends meet . . . at least in the short term.  They don't want to be in a position of being vulnerable to one employer's decision about their employment.  Those with more experience, might very well decide to start a business of their own.

Entrepreneurship has never been stronger.  According to BusinessWeek quoting the Kaufmann Foundation:

"A crop of potentially groundbreaking companies is emerging from the wreckage of the Great Recession. No question, some will blow up, and others will fail to reach their potential. But the downturn has done little to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit. During the first half of this year (2009), angel investors financed 24,500 new ventures, 6% more than during the same period last year, according to the Center for Venture Research. The overall amount of money going into startups has declined, but the figures suggest that this year will see the birth of roughly 50,000 companies with enough promise that someone is betting money on them. "It may be that this is the best time to start a company," says Carl Schramm, president of the Kauffman Foundation, an organization that promotes entrepreneurship."

There's another study conducted by the Small Business Administration (SBA) “Nonemployer Startup Puzzle” that came out in December 2009.  It concludes there is "a correlation between job losses and startups of single-person businesses (called “nonemployer businesses”).  “Nonemployer start-ups follow and are heavily affected by a state’s unemployment rate.”  In other words, there are more startups when unemployment is high."

My point is the workplace has changed, and will continue to change.  Employees who are not continuously working to improve their skills will become obsolete.  The onslaught of information and the way it's being delivered has never been more overwhelming.  It's essential for employees to stay alert to new thinking, new technologies and better ways of doing things.  They need to work to be top performers and indispensable to their employers. (See Are You Indispensable Or Vulnerable)

SEO Training At Buzzhound in St. Louis . . . Superb!

I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on SEO training yesterday.  It was presented by a new local company called Buzzhound.  I was looking forward to the training for two reasons.  I thought I would be able to put additional knowledge to work for the benefit of my website, this blog and in general, my online marketing efforts.  Additionally, I thought it important to keep up with the principles of online marketing.  It's obvious that online/digital marketing is a huge growth area for the future of marketing and advertising.  SEO is fundamental to and the foundation of every company's online presence (or certainly should be).  I want to stay as current as possible.

It took less than 15 minutes for me to be impressed with the presentation and to realize that the two presenters were experts on their topics.  I assumed that would be the case.  What I wasn't sure of, is how they would present the materials.  I wasn't sure how complex the material would be or if I had enough basic knowledge to be able to take advantage at all.

The presentation was incredibly well organized.  It was presented in a straightforward, simple and logical way.  Each of us was given our own computer, already set up with all the documents, tools, links, etc. that we'd be using during the day.  It was slick, it was efficient . . . and it was effective!

It was obvious from the conversations with the other eight participants that they were as excited as I was to be "finally" reaching a level of understanding about how SEO works.  What's more important, is that I believe every one of us walked out of the event with a clear idea of how to improve each of our own websites.  There were some marketing professionals in attendance as well.  It was obvious that they were excited about what they were learning and how they could take that knowledge and add value to their clients.  They mystery of SEO was removed.  We were able to see "behind the curtain" and realize that there are simple tools available to help a website's SEO.

I was also impressed with how organized the presentation was and the support materials we were able to take back to our offices.  Buzzhound provided all of the tools used for key word development, website page ranking and overall site "health", analytics and more.  I think part of the real value of the workshop was having the ability to see someone using these tools.  You can read and/or hear about this stuff ad nauseum, but to see how simple it is to use the tools made all the difference.  In fact, SEO concepts are not all that complex or difficult to understand.  The presentation made sense, so it was easy to learn and understand the material.  The Workbook we all left with has even more detailed than the presentation itself.  I know I'll be able to successfully refer to it for answers, when I have questions later.  Buzzhound even gave us a jump drive with the documents we created during the presentation and the tools/applications and links we used for the tools.

I want to recommend this training.  I think every professional company should send (at least) one person to this workshop.  I think the money spent is well worth the value received.  I don't know how anyone can be serious about enhancing their web presence, or marketing communications without starting with SEO.  It's the most fundamental essential, after having a website at all!

McGowan-Crain & Mozaic Rivet REBUS

I attended the first REBUS meeting for 2010 last evening, hosted by McGowan-Crain and Mozaic . . . what an event!  The 70+ attendees shattered previous REBUS attendance records and their enthusiasm was contagious!  Those attendees were entertained by Ben Crain and Todd McGowan's informative presentation of several case studies of their agency's work.  Ken Reece gave an overview of Mozaic's capabilities and Bill Freeman helped with post presentation tours.  Brian Handrigan of Gramatter, wrapped the presentations with a case study of a direct marketing effort on behalf of Royal Canin. 

Thanks to Modesto for being so kind as to provide the snacks for the evening.

Ben and Todd took turns presenting case studies on McGowan-Crain's work, across a variety of channels.  They explained their internal process for understanding and delivering brand positioning and appropriate marketing communications solutions across channels. They explained their "Smart, Simple, Strategic" foundationing and approach to all their work.  From Rosa Mexicano, an upscale Mexican food franchise, to Black Velvet Whiskey, and highlights of their 14 year run with Corona beer, Ben and Todd gave an open presentation of how they work for and succeed with their national clients.

They showed a very interesting video about "How an idea evolves".  The video does a wonderful job of showing how the addition resources of Mozaic (photography, pre-press and high end re-touching, online, and direct) can be utilized for their clients' benefit.  Check out that video and click here.

Todd delivered a final case study on one of the agency's pet projects, 1860s Genuine American Vodka.  The idea for the spirit was hatched in a local Soulard bar (1860 Saloon), when the owner told Todd that he's always wanted to create "his own" vodka to sell.  The resulting story of the brand positioning, development and launch  was fascinating to hear.  Apparently it worked, as it's now selling in six States, with more to come!

After the formal presentations members of the host staffs provided portfolio reviews for those interested.

This was the kind of event that REBUS strives for . . . An entertaining and educational presentation, presented in a very hospitable, creative atmosphere.  There's plenty of time to network with friends and meet new ones.  It's a unique opportunity to see what other agencies are doing, and what's more important, how they do it and why they do what they do.

For those of you who attended, thanks!  For those of you who missed it, we'll be announcing our next event on February 9th, very shortly.  For additional info, follow us on Facebook, or LinkedIn!

Job Satisfaction at Lowest Level in Two Decades

In a Conference Board Report released last week:

Researchers have found that employee satisfaction is at the lowest point since they began measuring this in 1987.

Employee satisfaction in 1987 was 61%.  In the most recent survey it was only 45%.

"Americans of all ages and income brackets continue to grow increasingly unhappy at work-a long-term trend that should be a red flag to employers", according to a report released today by The Conference Board.

The report, based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, finds only 45 percent of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61.1 percent in 1987, the first year in which the survey was conducted.

"While one in 10 Americans is now unemployed, their working compatriots of all ages and incomes continue to grow increasingly unhappy," says Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center of The Conference Board. "Through both economic boom and bust during the past two decades, our job satisfaction numbers have shown a consistent downward trend."

Fewer Americans are satisfied with all aspects of their employment, and no age or income group is immune. In fact, the youngest cohort of employees (those currently under age 25) expresses the highest level of dissatisfaction ever recorded by the survey for that age group.

"The downward trend in job satisfaction could spell trouble for the overall engagement of U.S. employees and ultimately employee productivity," adds Franco."

There's a short list of reasons employees are unhappy:
    * Fewer workers consider their jobs to be interesting.
    * Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
    * The soaring cost of health insurance has eaten into            workers' take-home pay.

The result is employees working harder and longer hours (in many cases because of layoffs around them) for less and less "real" money . . . spendable money.

Surprisingly, the authors do NOT believe that this lowest ever employee satisfaction measure is just a function of the current American economic downturn.  In fact, they think it is a sign of something far more dangerous, especially as it could impact enterprise success and knowledge transfer from one generation to the next. 

That's a scary thought . . . no growth or stability through expanding on an accepted foundation of past enterprise experience.  The foundation will never stop being built, it may never get past its preliminary stage of being a foundation.  Older workers may be less inclined to share their experience, knowledge and skills with younger employees.  There could be less of a sense of teamwork with the result of a perpetual downward spiral of morale and productivity.  See my earlier post "Turnover Is Going To Build" and "Are You Being Taken Advantage Of Or Taken Care Of?"

Does any of this sound familiar?  Are you less than content, or are you feeling professionally challenged and excited about your prospects of growth within your existing employer?  Are you satisfied with your co-workers' (including your boss) sharing of knowledge and experience?  Has anyone said "Good job" to you lately?  If you're not content, are you doing anything about it, either for yourself or your employer?

Some employees are going to polish up their resumes, start looking for new opportunities, or get in touch with a headhunter.  Premier employees are going to understand the issues involved, and do whatever they can to contribute more to their enterprise.  They'll communicate . . . with their bosses and their co-workers.  They'll identify the issues and try to find a solution.  They won't just quit and try to find something else.  They'll earn their money by performing well beyond their literal job descriptions.

In a similar way, the C-Suite or owners and bosses at every level have to understand what's happening in their organization.  They have to take steps to train and retain those employees who contribute in a positive way.  They need to tell employees they're doing a good job . . . when they are.  They have to do everything they can to staff and pay appropriately.  There needs to be a spirit of cooperation, collaboration and shared success.  I'll say "Communication" again . . . it's essential.

What do you think?  I'd like to hear your comments.

Looking Ahead to "Communicating" in 2010 (And Beyond!)

In the worlds of recruiting and staffing issues, Kevin Wheeler stands out as an experienced practitioner and commenter on current and future trends.  I have a great deal of respect for him, and have learned a great deal from following his thoughts, especially on recruiting.  Yesterday, he posted an article on what he thinks trends are in the coming year.  I thought they had value beyond specifically recruiting, and want to share them.

"Every year I try and predict what trends and topics will dominate our thinking, conversations, and technology in the coming year. Last year my three predictions were pretty much on target: Simplicity in sourcing, the rise of social networks, and internal redeployment. I am not sure how much redeployment actually took place, but it must have been significant as key positions remained filled even when external hiring was slow.

Sourcing remains a topic that I am interested in. It seems to me that the need to conduct in-depth Internet searches and apply Boolean logic to searches is no longer relevant in the majority of cases. Cold calling and other traditional methods of locating people will never go away, but are less significant. Two occurrences have changed the game. The first is social networks whose mass adoption, personalization, and ease of use have put them first in the sourcer’s toolkit. Second, jobs are being redefined and replaced with an emphasis on broader skills and on the ability of candidates to take on a variety of roles. This opens the door to more candidates, except in narrow technical areas where specific skills and training are required. A third minor factor is the recession and the short-term surplus of candidates. This will evaporate as Baby Boomers retire and more people start to work for themselves, but this will be an evolution over the next five years.

I don’t need to comment too much on the importance of social networks. This past year has proved their efficacy as sourcing tools as well as sales tools to motivate and engage candidates. What is going to change this year is the emergence of proprietary networks for specific industries or even for specific organizations, if they are large and employ a lot of people. The Facebook’s and LinkedIn’s will face competition, in a way, from networks that are designed for a specific type of person, role, industry, or geography. These more general networks are already offering this, in a way, through interest groups and pages for specific organizations."

Happy Holidays! . . . And Adios 2009!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all you loyal readers of my blog and followers on Twitter.  It's been a helluva year.  In many ways I'm glad to see it go.  From a business perspective, it was (hopefully) the worst economic climate that any of us will ever have to negotiate in our careers.  I know I'm glad to still be standing.  The statistics about how many retained recruiters went out of business this past year are just scary.  I also realize that way too many of you lost your job this past year.  My hope is that something that I share might be of assistance to you in finding that next killer opportunity.

I learned a great deal this year and I hope grew both professionally and personally.  I want to think that I contributed to the careers of others who I recruited for opportunities that they didn't know existed.  I believe I helped my clients grow and feel wonderful about being able to provide a valuable service to them.  I've become friends with many of my candidates, which is always one of the best perks of this profession.

I've made an effort to give back to others through my work with REBUS and MAPSS, this blog and through sharing thoughts and articles through Twitter.  I've received enough positive feedback on all those efforts to know that I'm going to continue them into the future. 

If you're not following me on Twitter, I encourage you to do so @HeadhunterBob.  I share thoughts on marketing trends and issues, recruiting, the retention of employees, and corporate leadership issues affecting corporate culture.

My best wishes to you for a spectacular Holiday Season, and a very Happy and Healthy New Year!