Alison Green does a great job explaining why taking a counter offer is not a good play.

In over 25 years of placements, I can only remember one or two instances where this worked out for a candidate for the long term  – and these were A players.  If you are generally happy with your job and it’s only about the pay,  ask for the raise first before you go job-shopping and give compelling reasons why you deserve it.

Go to the link for the full story  http://news.yahoo.com/why-shouldnt-counteroffer-133221049.html

During your interview you are telling a story about yourself. Michael Kinsman offers some valid thoughts as to show and tell why you would be the right person for the job.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/mar/15/jobs-rewrite-your-interview-script/

Technology professionals enjoyed their largest annual salary growth since 2008, according to the latest Dice Tech Salary Survey. After two straight years of wages remaining nearly flat, tech professionals on average garnered salary increases of more than 2%, boosting their average annual wage to $81,327 from $79,384 in 2010.

A more considerable jump was noted in both size of average bonuses, up 8% to $8,769, and the number of technology professionals receiving bonuses: 32% in 2011, compared with 29% in 2010 and 24% in 2009. The industries most likely to pay out bonuses: Telecom, Hardware, Banking, Utilities/Energy and Software.

For the full report:

• http://resources.dice.com/report/dice-tech-salary-survey-results-2012/

Join us to celebrate the San Diego High Tech community!

The 18th Annual TechAmerica (formerly AeA) High Tech Awards are fast approaching…last year we sold out with over 500 people, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to nominate an outstanding company. The award luncheon will be held on Friday, October 28, 2011 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines from 11:00am to 1:30pm.

Nominations are based on the following criteria:
TECHNOLOGICAL OR BUSINESS INNOVATION
IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCT OR SERVICE (is it designed to meet a critical need affecting a large market?)
MARKETPLACE VALIDATION (has product or service been accepted by marketplace?)
PERSEVERANCE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

TechAmerica will honor companies for the following categories:

• Software
• Internet/Web Commerce (Internet infrastructure, web development)

• Computers & Related Products (processors, specialized computing devices, computer peripherals, storage-related)

• Communications Products & Services (telecommunications, wireless, broadband, radio, electromagnetic, components and systems)

• Defense/IT Service (integration, IT consulting, government contractors)
• Semiconductors, Industrial & Analytical Instrumentation (test equipment, measurement, suppliers to semiconductors, non-medical instrumentation)

• Medical Device Technology/Instrumentation (medical equipment, devices, measurement systems)
• Clean Technology (technologies, services or solutions that enable more efficient use of natural resources and or/ greatly reduces environmental impact)

• Contract Services (includes contract manufacturing, design and engineering services)

• Outstanding Emerging Growth (under $5 million in revenue)

We hope to see you there!!!

http://hrstandardsworkspace.shrm.org/apps/group_public/document.php?document_id=3311&wg_abbrev=swpt06
 

 Many of you  may have seen this already – but in case not, I thought I’d post the attached recommended standard for your review.  

I’m still pondering a question in my mind related to a piece that seems missing when evaluating recruitment costs. The question relates to if, and how, this national standard for cost-per-hire should be related to retention. How does one account for very low cost-per-hire but very high attrition rates, or vice versa?  

All the best,

Shannon Erdell, President

 

 

Recently, I gave two speeches to nearly 1,000 people in my home state of Michigan and fielded dozens of questions from job seekers of all ages.

Since time and space are short here, I’ve boiled them down to three job search questions with broad appeal.

How many apply to you and your job search?

Question: “How can I stand out in a hyper-crowded job market?”

Answer: Try unconventional, “guerrilla” job search methods to get the attention of employers.

Here are examples of tactics used by creative job seekers to land interviews–and jobs.

• One Michigan man mailed cover letters with two aspirins taped atop each. His opening sentence: “Your customer service headaches are over!” This message resonated with employers, who called to interview him.
• A Las Vegas man mailed a paperweight and cover letter to an out-of-state employer. The paperweight was a miniature of the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. His cover letter began: “Not everyone who lives in Vegas wants to stay in Vegas,” playing off the famous slogan, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” He was flown to an interview in California.
• One aspiring assistant basketball coach mailed the right hand from a store mannequin to the coach he wanted to work for. Rolled up and gripped in the hand was his cover letter, which began: “I can be your right hand man.” He was hired.

Do any of these methods strike you as gimmicky or too offbeat to work in your industry? Fine. Don’t believe me.

Try mailing something unusual along with your resume and cover letter to a few companies you have no intention of working for–test and prove them for yourself.

Question: “I had to close my business and look for a job. What do I do with my skills?”

Answer: If you can’t find jobs to match your skills, here’s a tip: Use one of the big employment websites to generate ideas for you.

Example: I went on a large employment site and searched for these three skills: writing + training + German. This brought back 11 job openings nationwide, including German Help Desk Analyst, Customer Service Associate, and Web Editor/Writer.

This brainstorming exercise can help you select potential jobs to go after next, no matter what job you had before. You can then approach people in your network with a focused list of job titles, making it more likely they can help you find something.

Question: “How can I improve my networking? I’ve been networking for months, but it hasn’t produced a job.”

Answer: I happen to dislike the term networking because it’s freighted with unpleasant connotations for so many people who have had slow results–or no results–doing it.

Here’s a thought experiment: Forget everything you know about networking. In fact, stop networking altogether for a week.

Instead, start helping other people get what they want. Give freely of your information, personal contacts, expertise, knowledge, time, etc.

Example: Pick 10 people you know who are connected to people you’d like to meet. Spend an afternoon researching the needs of these “top 10″ contacts. You can even call them and ask, “What would help you do your job better?” Then make a plan to help them get what they want.

When you focus on helping others, your ego is removed from the equation, which makes you less self-conscious and more relaxed. That’s because, while not everyone can be a natural networker, everyone can help another person.

Done right, this is networking–helping other people to the point that they’re happy to take your calls and send you job leads.

Despite being carpet-bombed by economic bad news on a daily basis, the Michiganders I spoke to displayed–to a person–a rock-solid resolve that I’m convinced will solve the labor problems in their state and our nation.

---

Kevin Donlin is contributing co-author of “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0.” Since 1996, he has provided job search help to more than 20,000 people. For a free Guerrilla Job Search audio CD, visit MyNewJobHunt.com.

Well-trained employees are the key to your small business success. Studies have shown that the most successful, productive employees are those who have received extensive training. They’re the cream of the crop, and often have the strongest stake in the company’s future.

In an ideal world, you would be able to hire people who already possess the exact skills your business needs. But in today’s competitive labor market, demand for skilled workers far exceeds supply.

That’s where training comes in. Not only does instruction arm your employees with needed professional or technical skills, but it also shows that you are invested in them and interested in bringing them with you into the company’s future. This helps keep workers motivated and involved.

To successfully launch an employee-training program in your own company, follow these 10 helpful tips:

1. Stress training as investment.
   The reason training is often considered optional at many companies is because it is thought of as an expense rather than an investment. While it’s true that training can be costly up front, it’s a long-term investment in the growth and development of your human resources.
2. Determine your needs.
   As you probably don’t have unlimited time or funds to execute an employee training program, you should decide early on what the focus of your training program should be. Determine what skills are most pertinent to address current or future company needs or ones that will provide the biggest payback. Ask yourself, “How will this training eventually prove beneficial to the company?” Repeat this process as your business needs change.
3. Promote a culture of learning.
   In today’s fast-paced economy, if a business isn’t learning, it’s going to fall behind. A business learns as its people learn. Communicate your expectations that all employees should take the necessary steps to hone their skills and stay on top of their professions or fields of work. Make sure you support those efforts by providing the resources needed to accomplish this goal.
4. Get management on board.
   Once you have developed a prioritized list of training topics that address key needs within your company, you need to convince management to rally behind the initiative.
5. Start out small.
   Before rolling out your training program to the masses, rehearse with a small group of users and gather their feedback. This sort of informal benchmarking exposes weaknesses in your training plans and helps you fine-tune the training process.
6. Choose quality instructors and materials.
   Who you select to conduct the training will make a major difference in the success of your efforts, whether it’s a professional educator or simply a knowledgeable staff member. Having the right training materials is also important — after the training is over, these materials become valuable resources for trainees.
7. Find the right space.
   Select a training location that’s conducive to learning. Choose an environment that’s quiet and roomy enough to spread out materials. Make sure the space is equipped with a computer and projector, so you can present a visually stimulating training session.
8. Clarify connections.
   Some employees may feel that the training they’re receiving isn’t relevant to their job. It’s important to help them understand the connection early on, so they don’t view the training sessions as a waste of valuable time. Employees should see the training as an important addition to their professional portfolios. Award people with completion certificates at the end of the program.
9. Make it ongoing.
   Don’t limit training solely to new employees. Organized, ongoing training programs will maintain all employees’ skill levels, and continually motivate them to grow and improve professionally.
10. Measure results.
    Without measurable results, it’s almost impossible to view training as anything but an expense. Decide how you’re going to obtain an acceptable rate of return on your investment. Determine what kind of growth or other measure is a reasonable result of the training you provide. You’ll have an easier time budgeting funds for future training if you can demonstrate concrete results.

How do we reflect and encourage a commitment to “do the right thing” despite daily pressures make regaining or sustaining profitability our top priority?

A leader can start by admitting mistakes and encouraging other to do the same. Hiding findings or blaming others very often comes from a very natural need to protect ourselves from harm. The best companies understand this and work hard to foster open communication and avoid the tendency to make issues more complex than they are. Very often all it takes is a “gut check.” Put more simply: doing good, feels good.

Sometimes a commitment to values comes at a high short-term cost (admitting mistakes and fixing them is almost never without cost to the client or stakeholders.) But living by a set of values that focus on doing good by employees and customers creates a stronger company over the long haul.

Developing–and living with–a set of principles that guide decision making throughout an organization is no simple task. It involves the kind of soul-searching that not all people are prepared to engage in, especially in difficult economic times.

The value of doing good
I feel fortunate to be in a business where we can do well by doing good. As a staffing firm, the work we do impacts the lives of the people we touch in a powerful way. We must be ever vigilant and mindful of this impact. What impact do you have on the lives of others? I suspect it’s more than you realize. If you are a manager, do your employees understand your values and commitment to doing the right thing? As an employee, do you feel empowered to do what’s right, and admit mistakes along the way? Or is your first thought about how to mitigate the cost before understanding the impact on the lives of others?

Balancing work and life
“Quality of life” issues, such as balancing one’s work and personal lives, are still thorny issues at many firms. Thirty years ago, if you’d talked about these issues, management would question your commitment, or even your sanity. But most people are trying to balance their business lives with their personal lives, their professional needs with their health, social, and spiritual needs.

In these difficult times, there is a lot of pressure to work harder and longer, for the very real fear of losing ones job. Good business leaders know, however, that squeezing as much out of workers as possible, may increase productivity for the short-term, but is not sustainable for the long-term. Long-term profitability is sustained when employees are motivated and committed out of a sense of loyalty.

Managing for the short term as well as the long
As much as leaders understand that we must manage for the long term and keep employees happy, we must be realists and manage for the short term, as well–and that’s tough in the current economic environment. Just as people must manage their personal and work responsibilities, so, too, must companies balance their priorities –all companies must manage for the short term to some degree. We all need to understand the tradeoffs.

Of course, we would all love to work for a company that only manages for the long term, but that is not a reality today. Cash reserves have dwindled, and funding sources have tightened or disappeared altogether. Many of us are simply trying to keep the wolves at bay, and must ask more of ourselves, our colleagues and our employees. But we must not let our fears cause us to lose sight of our values and our commitments to do the right thing!

Shannon Erdell is the President of TLC Staffing and author of “Temporary Sanity: Managing Today’s Flexible Workforce”, SOCAA Publishing 1995. Headquartered in San Diego, with offices in Southern California and North Carolina, TLC Staffing is a 24 year old, multi-disciplined temporary and permanent placement firm. Their specialty divisions include: Business Services, Accounting and Finance, Legal, Human Resources, Engineering and IT. www.tlcstaffing.com 858-569-6260

One of the most common arguments against launching an employee referral program has to do with the lack of budget for such a program. Many recruiting leaders and line managers are familiar with the stories of outrageous employee referral bonuses, and multi-pronged program advertising campaigns that cost serious money. The stories have helped perpetuate the perception that without hefty financial support, an employee referral program cannot be successful. That’s not the case.

Approximately two-thirds of the employee referral programs in existence operate without a dedicated budget. While many of those programs produce mediocre results, there is proof that programs operating on a limited budget can produce world-class results. A number of best-practice firms have found that it is possible to operate the employer referral program on a limited budget or even with no budget all, if you know how to market and motivate employees. This article covers how referral programs can operate without breaking the bank.

The Referral Bonus

The largest expense item for most referral programs is the referral bonus. Approximately 90 percent of the programs I have encountered use some form of monetary incentive, the largest of which I have seen recently is $40,000. While that might seem extreme, keep in mind that for some positions you would most certainly pay more than that in advertising and executive search fees. The evidence is clear: Bonuses positively impact referral rates.

But it is also clear that there is a diminishing return as bonus amounts escalate. The average bonus across all industries for full-time hires is approximately $1,200. However, as I stated earlier, it is possible to operate a successful program without paying a bonus. FirstMerit Bank, for instance, set industry standards in referral rates without paying a bonus. The rest of this article will focus on some tools and approaches that you can use to get excellent results without spending a lot of money.

(Note: Someone once said that everyone has a price, a statement that has profound relevance to referral program managers. The truth is that if your organization is a great place to work, what you will have to do to motivate employees to participate is a lot less than if your organization is a less than desirable employer!)

Tips on Getting Great Referrals without Large Cash Bonuses

If you stand back and look around, there are lots of examples of people doing altruistic things without the promise of a cash reward. For example, many people regularly donate their time to charities without any expectation or thought of remuneration. Getting employees to participate in a referral program without referral bonuses requires that you think like a charity.

To get someone to do something, whether it is to refer a friend or colleague, or to accept a job, requires that they perceive a positive exchange in value for what they are giving up. Again, value can be generated in numerous ways. If you can’t use monetary bonuses, find something you can use; it can be as simple as an honest thank-you or as complex as a raffle for non-monetary prizes such as a reserved parking space or cubicle by a window.

The Best Option — Use a “Give Me Five” Program

Traditional referral programs are great, but you don’t need one in order to gather some of the best names possible (as recruiting prospects). Most referral programs are “passive” in that they don’t seek out individual employees and ask them to participate in the program. A more proactive approach is to actively seek out the best people in your organization and directly ask them to contribute the names of the best people they have worked with. I call that program “Give Me Five”. The best thing about this program is that most people will participate without ever expecting a bonus or reward!

The program is based on the fact that all of us come across some extremely talented people in our daily activities, but rarely do we take the time to notify recruiters or initiate a referral conversation. Employees know in their minds who these stars are, but need a trigger to stimulate the conversion of that talent from contact to candidate.

Using this approach, an HR generalist or recruiter attends a regularly scheduled meeting of employees. With the permission of the meeting sponsor, the HR person simply approaches key individuals during breaks and asks them directly to help “build the team” by thinking back and providing the names of the five:

• Best managers they have ever had
• Best team leaders they have encountered or worked with
• Best former employees they would like to see return
• Best out-of-the-box thinkers
• Best problem solvers
• Best sales people who consistently exceed expectations
• Best mentors of junior employees
• Best people that worked well under pressure
• Best team players/co-workers
• Best forecasters
• Best at a particular skill
• Best professionals with international experience
• Best people with diverse backgrounds
• Best customer service professionals encountered

It turns out that in a face-to-face meeting, individuals are more willing to provide names. You can go directly to their offices or hold “Rolodex meetings” to also capture the names.

Next Best — Make Them “Own” the Teambuilding Process

If you build your referral program exclusively around money and rewards, you’re making a huge mistake. Yes, people will refer Canada if there is a significant reward, but they are also likely to bombard you with large amounts of low-quality resumes in the hope that one of them might filter through and earn them a bonus.

A superior approach is to convince every employee and every manager that it’s to their direct benefit to have the best team working alongside them. That requires that they agree to accept some of the burden of identifying the very best.

These employees and managers, because of their extensive technical knowledge and contacts in their field, will definitely be able to significantly increase the quality of those who are sourced and hired. An analogy can be found in sports: While you would like to pick your little brother for your team, you actually pick the biggest and strongest person because you know you need a great team in order to win. When winning is critical and the responsibility is shared, everyone is willing to look for the very best, instead of just referring their closest friends.

The steps in the process are actually quite simple. First, you work with the accounting department to determine the dollar difference between on-the-job performance of an average versus a top-performing new hire.

Then you develop a chart showing the correlation or direct relationship between the number of referrals in a business unit and its ability to meet its stated goals and metrics. When you present these startling facts, almost every manager and employee will realize that great recruiting has a direct impact on their ability to do their job. Once they realize that if they hire a weak person, they will have to do “makeup” work to account for the higher error rate, they will accept their responsibility for providing the recruiting department with the names of the very best people they come across.