Recently, Time Magazine had a very thought-provoking cover story titled “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation.” As a proud member of gen Y, I was instantly intrigued by the article and had to check it out. The story makes a lot of interesting points about my generation, and I felt that many of them were observations that could be translated to gen Y’s role in the workforce. This seems to be a perpetually popular issue in the HR world, but it’s something I always enjoy discussing, particularly in light of such an opinionated article. Be sure to head over to ERE.net to check out my blog post, “Valuing the So-Called Me Me Me Generation,” in response to this hot topic!

Written By: Jane Graybeal
After starting out her career in sales and marketing, Jane discovered a passion for recruiting and currently serves as a Recruitment Consultant for WilsonHCG. In addition to being a Brand Ambassador for the company, she is excited about employee engagement and was selected to be a member of WilsonHCG’s internal employee engagement committee. Jane is also interested in issues regarding generational recruitment. As a true millennial, she is slightly obsessed with all things social media, including Facebook, Instagram and writing her own blog. Jane has a degree in communication studies from the University of Michigan and resides in Lake Tahoe with her husband and goofy dog, Lola. Follow Jane on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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Blog originally published on ERE.net

If you want to hire your next sales leader, look beyond job boards and career fairs. The top sales talent you’re after probably has a job and isn’t concerned about losing it – because they’re good at it. So, you might have to work a little harder to find these candidates, but it will be to the benefit of your company’s bottom line.

Try these sales-specific strategies to find your ideal candidates.

Attend networking events. While career fairs attract job seekers, local networking events attract people looking to connect with others. By attending a local networking event, you’ll meet people who enjoy socializing and interacting. Most importantly, you’ll find the people you’re talking to are open and honest about their current job situation.

Direct source your perfect candidates and flatter them. Once you find your potential top performers, “woo” them. Make sure your initial connection proves that you’re genuinely impressed by them and give specific examples. Make it feel like a networking introduction instead of a pitch. If you win the opportunity to get them on the phone, find out what they really need to make a move. Sell your position around their needs.

Post your job where your dream candidate will find it. Use social media and interactive technology to convey your company’s culture and display the incentives offered for being successful. Show a YouTube video of employees having fun, a president’s club trip to Hawaii or a sales manager’s career progression and success story. Most importantly, put your job right in front of your ideal candidate.

Circle back to previous contenders. Timing is everything. Hold on to the profiles and resumes of candidates who didn’t call you back or declined your opportunity in the past. It might be the right time for them to make a move. And, a bonus for you, they’ll have more experience now. Asking them for referrals can’t hurt either.

Invite your candidates to interact with each other. Instead of phone screens to sift through candidates, put together an open house that allows your potential talent to intermingle. Observe who stands out from the crowd, who’s the most likeable and who’s competing for your attention.

Recruiting for sales requires out-of-the-box thinking and a unique approach. Try tactics not commonly used and yield positive results

Written By: Jessica Lang
Jessica is the Business Development Specialist at WilsonHCG. She strives daily to deliver the best in RPO resources and knowledge available to all of her prospects and partners, from mid- to large-sized multinational organizations. A former outside sales rep herself, she has recruitment roots planted in sales and has a passion for helping her clients find the best sales talent in North America. In her free time, Jessica enjoys hiking, traveling and exploring the local scene in both Scottsdale and San Francisco. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn!  

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Staffing firms are nothing new to the HR world but trends show an increase in corporations utilizing these agencies in the last few years. The U.S. Government Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 40 percent of workers are employed on a contract basis. The contingent workforce is now a fixture in talent management.

If there’s an opportunity for your temporary position to become permanent, these few tips will go a long way in putting you on the top of the candidate list:

Be prompt with your responses. When the staffing firm emails and calls you, be sure to respond as quickly as possible. This shows the recruiter that you are eager to land a position. It proves that you’re a professional candidate and suggests the type of employee you’d be for the company.

Show up early. Arriving just barely on time or late sends the signal that you don’t really care. It’s not enough to show up just for your interviews early; be there for everything (starting the workday, important meetings, etc.) 15 minutes early. And be ready to dive right in once you arrive.

Write thank you notes. Sending a handwritten thank you note to your interviewers (e.g., recruiter, hiring manager) can make a world of difference. Anyone can throw together an email or LinkedIn thank you, but taking the extra few minutes to write out a note on professional stationery sets you apart from the competition.

Treat the role like it’s permanent. Once you receive an offer and begin working, put your best foot forward. Don’t go into it with the mindset that you’re only there temporarily so you just need to complete the tasks of the job. Go in motivated and energized, ready to be a hands-on contributor to the company. This will show them you’re a go-getter, and when the position opens for someone permanently, they’ll think of you.

While it’s easy to feel like there’s an expiration date at the end of a contract position, if you prove yourself, there doesn’t have to be. Treat every contract position as an opportunity for a permanent one, and you’ll increase your chances of landing one.

Written By: Ashley Jarocki
Ashley brings new-age, cutting edge techniques to the human resource industry, focusing on recruitment, employee relations and compensation. She started while still in college at a worldwide medical software company as a human resource professional in recruitment for a diverse range of positions, including genetics, executive, information technology, business analysts, marketing and training. Quickly after, she found herself fully submerged in coaching, consulting and helping the companies expand, build additional businesses and take teams to new heights. She soon developed and grew into other human resources fields. Ashley has taken her talents to Wilson HR and WilsonHCG. Additionally, she has led, managed and participated in volunteer services and charity organizations in the Tampa Bay area, working hand in hand to grow awareness and build a stronger community. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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When I started at WilsonHCG a little more than a year ago, one of the caveats for deciding to hire an in-house creative was the development of a new company website. While the previous (as of Monday, May 6, 2013) site was functional and served its purpose, ultimately it wasn’t flexible enough for our ever-growing, ever-changing organization. Simply put, we had outgrown it and needed a platform to better align with the WilsonHCG culture – less 1980’s Rubik’s Cube- and teased hair-inspired.

So, thus began a long, long (roughly eight-month-long) journey to the development and launch of the modern, sophisticated, dash-of-fun representation of WilsonHCG. Readers, meet our brand new website. (Cue the champagne!)

In the midst of all the website extravaganza (to date, one of the longest and most involved, yet rewarding, projects I’ve ever headed up), I got to thinking about how this process relates to employment branding and the need to rethink, refresh and continue to evolve strategies – not to mention, just having a strategy in place to begin with! At its core, there are three basic reasons for implementing a company website: it’s expected, it’s efficient and it converts. The same goes for employment branding.

IT’S EXPECTED: While employment branding, as compared to organizations having a website, is more in its infancy stage, candidates flock toward companies that are active on social media, have great online presence (dare I say a great website) and are ultimately out in the public space building new relationships and encouraging conversations to take place. If we’re not there already, I would predict we’re not far from candidates expecting these interactions before choosing to jump aboard a company’s ship.

IT’S EFFICIENT: Just as having a website increases an organization’s impact and visibility, having a strategic internal branding initiative in place boosts a company’s chances of attracting talent whose goals are more closely aligned. In essence, defining your internal brand and what sets you apart from other organizations is key to attracting and retaining the kind of talent you need to support your company.

IT CONVERTS: Let’s face it, there’s no point of creating an employment brand strategy (or website) if, at the end of the day, it’s not actually converting or enticing talent to want to join/share/stay with an organization. Just as a website helps convert a consumer into a customer, employment branding helps convert inactive candidates into potentially active ones. Recently I learned about something called the “halo effect.” Essentially, what it boils down to is this: When people are aesthetically attracted to something, science has proven they are likely to make other inferences into the validity of an organization, product, service, person, etc. Credibility can be gained through a well-designed and visually appealing website, just as credibility can be gained through a well-established employment branding strategy. Remember, though, this road can go either way. With poor employment branding goals in place, the likelihood of converting candidates to go elsewhere is almost a guarantee.

To wrap this posting up, I’d like to personally thank everyone who worked so tirelessly to get our website developed and launched. Ultimately, we can’t wait to see how this project impacts our organization as a whole and, of course, our internal brand. Stay tuned!

Kabani, Shama. The Zen of Social Media Marketing. Dallas: BenBella Books, 2013. www.shama.tv

Written By: Kirsten Robinette
After a few years working as a creative in the consumer advertising world (at The Zimmerman Agency), Kirsten has taken her talents to the human resources sector as an in-house creative and marketing specialist for WilsonHCG. While her roots are firmly planted in creating visual solutions through both traditional and non-traditional mediums, new passions have surfaced for topics such as employer and employment branding and social media tactics. When breaks from Adobe Creative Suite and Twitter present themselves, Kirsten is often busy Instagramming (@meanmug), reigning in her wild dog, Bentley, and checking out the local Tampa scene. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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Diversity recruitment is important to a company’s overall talent acquisition strategy. But, when most think of diversity recruitment, only gender and ethnic minority groups come to mind. How about the number of disabled people in the workforce?

With 15.2 percent of workers with disabilities in the United States in 2011, why don’t we hear more about the hiring of disabled professionals? This could be attributed to a perceived level of difficulty that recruiters associate with targeting disabled professionals. An effective diversity recruitment effort aimed at attracting the disabled population requires consistent effort, but your company will realize the results and reap the benefits of increasing its talent pool by including disabled workers.

Get Involved

To create an effective diversity recruitment effort, one that includes recruiting disabled professionals, start by doing your research. Look for local and online disabled professionals networking and support groups that you can leverage to make the disabled community aware of your efforts. Share with them your company’s inclusive culture and business objectives. Craft a diversity recruitment strategy that offers specific actions you and your team plan to take in order to target disabled professionals.

The diversity recruitment strategy should include active networking, consistent engagement and participation both within the community and online. These efforts combined will increase this talent segment’s overall awareness of your company’s efforts.

Interacting with community-based organizations is an effective means of engaging with your target audience. Attend local organization meetings and ask the leaders of these groups to mention job opportunities to its members. Maybe they can be included in monthly newsletters. Even offer to do a presentation about your company to its members to share potential opportunities you’re offering. In these groups participate in any local events, ask if your company can participate or be a sponsor.

If there aren’t many local groups to engage with, look online for disabled professional groups. Establishing and maintaining relationships with your target audience whether in-person or by remaining active in related online discussions and chats, will keep your company top-of-mind within the disabled professionals community. Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals for these contacts.

Posting on job boards for disabled professionals will provide a valuable source for a constant stream of additional candidates. In addition, governmental and educational institutions and associations can assist you in delivering your message.

A multichannel sourcing strategy with a focus on diversity that includes disabled professionals will not only increase your talent pool, but open your eyes to new possibilities for your company.

Written By: Jakoyah Clarke

Jakoyah is a talent branding and acquisition professional with a foundation in marketing and strategic planning. She is known for implementing creative sourcing methods and using social media to attract and hire valuable, diverse talent. Jakoyah is committed to contributing to company objectives, increasing department efficiency and elevating the employment brand. She is a passionate Recruitment Consultant and Brand Ambassador for WilsonHCG and is dedicated to continuing to add value to her company and clients. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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As the university recruiting specialist for WilsonHCG, I have had the pleasure of connecting with many thought leaders within the college recruiting arena. This past week, I had the opportunity to work closely with an industry leader, Mark Babbitt. Mark is the CEO of a great organization called “YouTern” that specializes in advising entry-level candidates on how to secure their dream internship or even their first entry-level role.

During my initial conversation with Mark, we both saw potential for our professional relationship, including me making “guest appearances” with YouTern on behalf of WilsonHCG. Mark was kind enough to invite me on his Blog Talk Radio show, InternPro Radio. Check it out here!

He also extended an offer to me to write a guest blog post on YouTern’s internal blog, which was published last week. I encourage everyone to check out America’s Next Top Candidate: You!

 I would like to thank Mark Babbitt and YouTern for their graciousness! I am looking forward to developing many more long-term connections with experts in the college recruiting field.

Written by: Kelly Bogey

Kelly started working as a recruiter for WilsonHCG right out of college and immediately noticed a connection between strong recruiting practices and college recruiting. Since then, she has dedicated her career to partnering with universities to recruit their top-notch talent through a variety of methods. Her passion lies in helping college talent secure their dream jobs by sharing knowledge and working with clients to build university partnerships and strategies. Kelly’s focus on college recruitment practices has made her an expert on the topic. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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The biggest challenge in sales recruiting is the pressure of filling a vacancy quickly with a low supply of top-performing sales candidates in your talent pool. Because of the high cost and amount of time associated with ramping up a new hire, you don’t want to mistakenly hire the wrong candidate.

The best strategy to avoid this blunder is to create a job posting and an interview process that attracts the best talent. It is also essential to make sure this talent is going to drive revenue for your company and make a long-term commitment to your organization. In order to attract top sales representatives, you must have a consistent process in place and leverage recruiters who share the sales mentality.

Here are some ways you can attract “A” players for your company:

1. Describe your vision of a perfect sales performer.

When your organization has open sales positions, you must have a “perfect” candidate in mind. Start by looking at the most successful sales reps at your company. What personality traits are similar among the top performers? Find out about their background and what motivates them to be a top performer.

2. Tailor your job description.

When creating your job description, the goal should be to attract the reader to want to sell at your organization. In addition to describing the day-to-day responsibilities in the job posting, define the incentives offered for doing an outstanding job. Explain what can be “won” for being a top performer, whether it’s a president’s club trip, year-end bonus or company party. Last but not least, post the job where prospective sales talent searches. Build talent communities and share your company culture via videos or pictures through social media platforms.

3. Make the interview process short and effective.

Sales reps don’t like spending time on a drawn out interview process. To determine whether candidates should land an initial interview, observe their timeliness, business acumen and follow-up, and make sure the questions they ask prove they’re goal driven. Role playing is also a great way to see how they handle pressure and indicates how well they can close sales. Remember that your competitors could potentially be pursuing your candidates as well, which is another reason to streamline the interview process and make it more efficient.

4. Follow through with your onboarding process.

Once you’ve hired your future top sales performers, create an onboarding process that will generate motivation and excitement and keep them with your company long term. Provide your reps with the training they need to hit the ground running. Never stop acknowledging their success and hard work, and follow through on your commitment to reward them with the perks of being a top performer.

The sooner you create a process that attracts the best sales talent in your market, the faster you’ll fill your vacant territory with a sales rep who creates positive relationships with your clients and rakes in revenue for your company. For a few additional best practices on recruiting top sales talent, be sure to join WilsonHCG and Jed Milstein, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at TransCentra for a free webinar to learn about “Sales Recruitment Strategies: Missteps and Mends.”

REGISTER: HERE
WHEN: April 9th, 2013 at 12:00 P.M. ET

Written By: Jessica Lang

Jessica is the Business Development Specialist at WilsonHCG. She strives daily to deliver the best in RPO resources and knowledge available to all of her prospects and partners, from mid- to large-sized multinational organizations. A former outside sales rep herself, she has recruitment roots planted in sales and has a passion for helping her clients find the best sales talent in North America. In her free time, Jessica enjoys hiking, traveling and exploring the local scene in both Scottsdale and San Francisco. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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In recent years, the phrase “employee engagement” has been frequently thrown around when referring to corporate culture; yet, despite its prevalence, the concept is not taken as seriously as it should be. Every company wants its employees to be engaged in theory, but it’s often not a priority that’s implemented. However, the price an organization pays for disengaged employees is too high to ignore.

Recent studies show that employee turnover costs U.S. businesses $11 billion a year, and engagement (or lack thereof) is a crucial component in how likely an employee is to stay with an organization. In addition, studies have shown that companies with the most engaged employees have higher productivity, higher shareholder return and higher net profit margins. So, how do you go beyond talking about employee engagement to practicing it?

Here are some simple and effective ways to improve employee engagement:

1.       Be aware of the specific needs of your organization.

Employee engagement is not one-size-fits-all. It starts by understanding who makes up your organization. If your company has a remote workforce, you may need to get creative and put extra effort forth to ensure employees feel connected to one another. If you have a workforce with a high percentage of millennials, traditional HR procedures like yearly performance reviews may not be as effective as more frequent, less formal assessments due to this generation’s need for constant feedback.

2.       Be clear about your organization’s direction.

Top-down transparency is a critical component in fostering an engaged employee culture. Weekly or monthly updates from management about the company’s progress keeps everyone in the loop. Communicating organizational goals makes employees feel like they’re playing a part in reaching those goals and it stresses their long-term value to the organization. And when management creates a “we’re all in this together” mentality, employees feel like their work is significant, which is a major factor in employee engagement.

3.       Create paths for advancement.

Don’t let your organization fall prey to high turnover due to a lack of potential for career progression. Make sure employees understand your corporate structure and be open about criteria for promotion. Employees are more engaged if they have a goal to work toward and understand what they need to do to attain it. In addition, internal mentorship programs can ensure employees have the tools needed to keep their career moving forward without changing companies.

4.       Create a leadership team.

You don’t need a big budget for employee engagement activities. This is the perfect opportunity to tap into your company’s talent. Creating an employee engagement team or taskforce made up of people who are passionate about your organization will give engagement the focus it deserves. This also creates opportunities for employees to take on a resume-boosting leadership role, something many people (millennials, in particular!) crave. Putting together a team consisting of employees instead of management adds insight into what employees want and yields more effective (and, perhaps, out-of-the-box) ideas.

Don’t let employee engagement be a buzzword used by human resources; make it a guiding principle for your organization by taking action.

Written By: Jane Graybeal

After starting out her career in sales and marketing, Jane discovered a passion for recruiting and currently serves as a Recruitment Consultant for WilsonHCG. In addition to being a Brand Ambassador for the company, she is excited about employee engagement and was selected to be a member of WilsonHCG’s internal employee engagement committee. Jane is also interested in issues regarding generational recruitment. As a true millennial, she is slightly obsessed with all things social media, including Facebook, Instagram and writing her own blog. Jane has a degree in communication studies from the University of Michigan and resides in Lake Tahoe with her husband and goofy dog, Lola. Follow Jane on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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The concept of diversity incorporates the acceptance and respect for individuals in a workplace, and in order for companies to be successful they need to be aware and demonstrate an understanding of this. Having a diverse workforce not only affects your internal operations, but also your clients, vendors and stakeholders.  By showing top down support, it can potentially increase their diverse candidate pool.  With a few key people in place, companies will potentially be on the path to having their diversity goals met.

Chief Diversity Officer:  This position can report to the president to collaborate with all company opportunities to create and sustain a diverse and inclusive environment.  This CDO can ensure that elements of diversity and inclusion are infused in all areas of the company including sales and delivery.  With this position in place, a support committee can be established.  This committee can mentor and build community involvement to focus on internal and external participation.

Diversity Subject Matter Expert: Having a few diversity SME’s in place will ensure all of your bases are covered. They can create diversity awareness trainings, community building programs and further aid recruiters in their diversity recruiting efforts. This also allows employees to get involved in an extra resume building program, thus improving employee engagement.

Diversity & Inclusion Specialist: A go-to expert who can assist a CDO and lead a group of SME’s would be an ideal position to add to your diversity team. This specialist could assist the business development  and marketing teams to execute diversity strategies, create associate inclusion activities and assist subject matter experts in their efforts.

As with any position or team, communication between diversity experts and the needs of HR is crucial. These positions should fall under the HR department to ensure collaboration and diversity goals are met. By investing in your company and showing diversity and inclusion is important not only externally, but also internally, employees and clients will want to invest in you.

Written By: Sandy Farida

In partnership with human resources and business leaders, Sandy drives leadership accountability for developing, retaining and advancing diverse, global talent and moving forward diversity initiatives within a company. Having the belief that a diverse workplace is better able to solve problems and implement new ideas, is to realize the greatest potential of a company. Sandy comes to WilsonHCG with 10 years of talent acquisition, training and development. She also has a master’s degree in human resources with a concentration in labor law and selection and screening. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn!

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At first glance, you see the term “branding” and immediately visions of Times Square with infinite billboards and advertisements appear. Or, maybe it’s standing in the shampoo aisle at your local big-box store and all of the elaborately (or minimalistically) designed labels are begging you to take them home. Personally, I think of the sometimes subliminal, sometimes not, splashes of red in a Target commercial, evoking a kind of internal game as to whether or not what I’m seeing is, in fact, a Target commercial — the logo at the end always instills a sense of victory.

Whatever it is that you think of, the idea of “branding” is very clear. It was for me at least, until I entered the human resources sector. In the HR world, “branding” almost always refers to “employment branding” or “employer branding.” It’s “consumer branding” that we encounter when we’re hunting down our favorite laundry detergent or watching Super Bowl commercials. But, the ideas behind the two are relatively the same — entice, engage and retain. In fact, we can liken the customer experience of consumer branding to the employee and candidate experiences of employment branding.

Fun fact: Simon Barrow and Tim Ambler, the founders behind the idea of “employment branding,” define the term as “the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company.” Essentially, it means that there are a variety of perks to being employed and a company recognizes what those benefits are. To take the lesson one step further, “employer brand” refers to how a company is perceived by employees and outsiders, while “employment branding” is the act and promotion from within the company to define why it’s a desirable place to work, again, to both current and future talent.

When you discover a brand or product that draws you in, do you ever stop to consider why it’s captured your attention? Chances are you haven’t – at least not beyond the initial attraction. However, subconsciously, it might spark a certain emotion or reaction from you that will either invite you to make a purchase, cause you to continue on without consideration or, if the branding is extremely successful, inspire you to tell friends and family what you’ve discovered.

The same idea applies to a company’s internal branding. Engaging, informative and transparent branding leads to a greater chance of attracting talent that aligns with the organization’s culture and increases the likelihood of organic marketing. If you love working for an organization, why would you hide that experience? This is why organizations should start considering (or further hash out) the concept of employment branding as a permanent fixture in the talent acquisition process, rather than treating it as an industry fad.

After watching the video below, do you feel that Facebook’s employment branding aligns with its overall consumer branding strategies?

Written By: Kirsten Robinette
After a few years working as a creative in the consumer advertising world (@ The Zimmerman Agency), Kirsten has taken her talents to the HR sector as an in-house creative and marketing specialist for WilsonHCG. While her roots are firmly planted in creating visual solutions through both traditional and non-traditional mediums, new passions have surfaced for topics such as employer/employment branding and social media tactics. When breaks from Adobe Creative Suite and Twitter present themselves, Kirsten is often busy Instagramming (@meanmug), reigning in her wild dog, Bentley, and checking out the local Tampa scene. Follow her on Twitter and/or LinkedIn!

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