Archive for March, 2010
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Recruiting for key positions can be tough enough, especially when competition is fierce, even when you know what’s coming. Add the element of surprise to the mix, and the time and effort you need to fill an open req increase exponentially. Unexpected vacancies are a part of professional life, especially for important positions (particularly those in the C-suite) where the top talent may be well known and highly coveted. If your superstar is poached, you may have to do the same to another competitor – or find the next household name while he is still undiscovered.
Historically, this sort of succession planning has been reserved for a company’s top executives. With KGTiger’s STREAM service, though, you can extend that readiness to key people across your company.
Here are five ways to have a solution to unplanned vacancies that’s always ready:
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Tags: open positions, risk, risk management, STREAM, succession planning, vacancies
Posted in Intelligence | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
As employees, we’re told to think before we act. The standard has always been: Would you want what you say (or do) to wind up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal? That’s good advice, of course, especially in an environment in which businesses have to cope with new levels of unanticipated transparency. It’s so easy for inside information to get out that the pressure to behave is greater than ever. You’d think that this maxim would apply to businesses as well. Strangely, managers and executives haven’t picked up on the fact that transparency goes both ways.
The issue here is simple: think about how you treat your employees, and monitor the web for results.
The risk that a disguntled former employee will leave your company and write a damning expose are pretty low. First, it’s hard enough for anyone to get a book deal! Only the most senior executives at very large, prestigious and powerful companies have access to the major media outlets that were once considered the venues for tell-alls. If you think you’re in the clear, brace yourself: there are plenty of alternatives for an ex-employee with an axe to grind.
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Tags: blogs, brand, BYTE, corporate behavior, employee behavior, employer, Facebook, media, social media, social networking, transparency, Twitter
Posted in Strategy | No Comments »
Monday, March 29th, 2010
When a large, established company enters a developing market, it’s almost standard operating procedure to transplant an executive from an established economy. But, this approach works only rarely. Local talent is always a better alternative, but back at headquarters, it’s hard to shake the anxiety of trusting a new venture to an unknown quantity. The risk becomes easier to accept, though, if you understand the local talent market.
It’s hard not to give in to the temptation to do what everyone else has always done: in this case, send a major market leader to a foreign land. But, you can overcome this urge by gaining some on-the-ground intelligence to fuel a true local market talent search. Information makes a difference – you don’t have options until you know what they are.
KGTiger’s TMR service provides what has been missing from emerging market entry strategies. Our research team examines emerging market talent conditions to identify the factors most important to your efforts. We can identify skills shortfalls or surpluses, key capabilities, and the risks you will face when trying to assemble a leadership and delivery team.
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Tags: Corporate Recruiting, economy, emerging markets, executive search, HRO, human resources, market entry, market research, new market entry, outsourcing, recruiting outsourcing, talent, talent acquisition, talent management, talent market, TMR
Posted in Strategy | No Comments »
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Four Ways to Make Lean Recruiting Work: Talk of running a lean corporate recruiting operation isn’t new. Human resources functions have always felt disproportionate pressure to do more with less. Doubtless, an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent may cause “lean” to be pushed to new extremes, and for corporate recruiting departments, it’s just more of the same. These days, the big challenge is finding ways to go leaner without cutting into muscle. Even if you lose budget, your responsibilities are unlikely to change – and you’ll need tools to help you rise to the challenge!
Read the article >>
Plan for Talent Ahead of the Economy: It’s still a bit early to tell, but it looks like the economy is finding its legs. As this trend continues, businesses will become more comfortable making larger strategic investments. The game-changing initiatives that get the green light are likely to have talent implications, and corporate recruiters should be ready for a new kind of action.
Read the article >>
What Makes You a Great Corporate Recruiter?: You’re at the top of your game: no open req is too difficult to fill. Even in a tight market, you can find several viable candidates for the toughest positions. There’s nothing in the corporate world that you can’t do. So, what’s the secret to your success? Chances are it isn’t what you spend most of your time doing.
Read the article >>
Take Control of the Talent Supply Chain: I’ve been told by hiring managers over and over again, “I have so many good candidates I can now invest my time and energy selecting the best of the best and leave little to chance or desperation.” If only it were that easy …
Read the article >>
Five Expensive Corporate Recruiting Mistakes: There’s a lot of sensitivity in corporate recruiting departments about being a cost center. Like most HR functions, recruiting doesn’t bring in revenue, and the role it does play in attracting the talent that does is often overlooked. Absent a revenue angle or risk avoidance any corporate recruiting analysis by the finance department or C-suite comes down to cost. The way corporate recruiting tends to be conducted – a model that really hasn’t changed in more than 30 years – offers plenty of room for improvement, especially since there are so many “mistakes” currently being made.
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Tags: Top Stories
Posted in Week in Review | No Comments »
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Talk of running a lean corporate recruiting operation isn’t new. Human resources functions have always felt disproportionate pressure to do more with less. Doubtless, an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent may cause “lean” to be pushed to new extremes, and for corporate recruiting departments, it’s just more of the same. These days, the big challenge is finding ways to go leaner without cutting into muscle. Even if you lose budget, your responsibilities are unlikely to change – and you’ll need tools to help you rise to the challenge!
KGTiger’s STREAM service can help alleviate the workload (and budgetary) pressures on your department, handling the 67 percent of your operation’s tasks that are rote, administrative and unlikely to tap the talent, skills and professional experience in your corporate recruiting department.
Below, you’ll find four ways that KGTiger can help you go leaner without compromising results.
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Tags: budget, HRO, human resources recruiting, outsourced recruiting, STREAM, talent, unemployment, unemployment rate
Posted in Process | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
You’re at the top of your game: no open req is too difficult to fill. Even in a tight market, you can find several viable candidates for the toughest positions. There’s nothing in the corporate world that you can’t do. So, what’s the secret to your success? Chances are it isn’t what you spend most of your time doing.
Taking a look at how corporate recruiters spend their time, you’d think the characteristics of a top corporate recruiter are:
- The ability to sift through thousands of resumes to find minute details
- A superior command of Microsoft Word formatting features
- The patience to make countless unproductive phone calls every day, often going hours without actually talking to another human being
- A willingness to spend large chunks of the day scouring job boards and social media outlets for a resumes to fill particular position
Does this sound like you? Would you admit it if it does?
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Tags: BYTE, candidates, Corporate Recruiting, HR outsourcing, HRO, human resources, interviewing, outsourced recruiting, outsourcing, recruiting
Posted in Intelligence | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
It’s still a bit early to tell, but it looks like the economy is finding its legs. As this trend continues, businesses will become more comfortable making larger strategic investments. The game-changing initiatives that get the green light are likely to have talent implications, and corporate recruiters should be ready for a new kind of action.
The momentum that comes with a turn in the economy can have a slingshot effect for companies that plan well. Making the right decisions now – and executing them effectively – can magnify ROI down the road. Every aspect of strategy execution has this potential, including corporate recruiting. But, before you rush out to assemble talent pools, you’ll want to get a feel for the new talent markets you are about to enter. Whether it’s for a product line or region, you should know the challenges and opportunities that await you.
KGTiger’s TMR service provides one thing: answers. As you’re preparing to recruit into the unknown, the risks begin to become apparent quickly, and the most daunting is the belief that there are “unknown unknowns” waiting to trip up your imminent strategic hiring program. Detailed talent market research reports from TMR can take much of the guesswork out of your riskiest, highest-potential and most important business initiatives. With TMR you can drive business decisions based on what you know – instead of what you think!
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Tags: Corporate Recruiting, economy, HR, HR outsourcing, HRO, human resources, market entry, market research, new market entry, outsourced recruiting, outsourcing, product launch, recruiting outsourcing, research, risk management, ROI, talent, talent acquisition, talent market, talent pools, TMR
Posted in News, Strategy | No Comments »
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
I’ve been told by hiring managers over and over again, “I have so many good candidates I can now invest my time and energy selecting the best of the best and leave little to chance or desperation.” If only it were that easy …
The truth is that candidates can arise and disappear quickly and easily, and if you get too comfortable with the talent pool at your disposal now, you could wind up with an unpleasant surprise later. Remember: recruiting is ongoing. You want to make sure that you have a rich talent pool available at all times in order to shorten the time it takes to get from an approved req to new hire orientation.
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Tags: BYTE, Corporate Recruiting, hiring managers, outsourcing, recruiting outsourcing, talent, talent market
Posted in Process | 1 Comment »
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Part I: Introduction: If you can convince the CFO of the value of an investment, life becomes a lot easier. Unfortunately, this level of comfort isn’t always easy to attain. CFOs are professional skeptics, tasked with weeding out the prudent from the frivolous. Even a great idea, if not expressed correctly, will fall victim to this executive’s budgetary scythe. Human resources investments are particularly susceptible to this fate, as the department tends to be perceived as pure overhead. You can change the image of the HR function – corporate recruiting, especially – as long as you learn to speak the CFO’s language.
Read the article >>
Part II: Generating Recruitng ROI: Process improvement projects are pitched to CFOs all the time, often with inflated (even absurd) ROI projections. So, it’s no surprise that these executives tend to be wary. Too often, these investments are nothing more than veiled attempts to increase headcount or decrease workload without regard to any meaningful industry benchmark. It’s no wonder that CFOs are uneasy about these projects.
Read the article >>
Part III: Win Critical Talent Fast: Corporate recruiters haven’t had to worry too much about the availability of talent for a while. Even with the unemployment rate in the United States down to 9.7 percent, there is still plenty of talent on the market. In addition to those who have been laid off, there are “survivors” struggling with increased pressure and heavier workloads who are on the lookout for new opportunities.
Read the article >>
Part IV: Look Before You Leap: No major strategic initiative gets the green light without the CFO’s approval. In addition to requiring a significant resource commitment, these efforts may call for the raising of capital, which entails an extra layer of finance department involvement. So, if launching a product line, entering a new market or making an acquisition is on your company’s agenda this year, you should be ready to communicate the talent management implications of the plan to your CFO.
Read the article >>
Tags: Top Stories
Posted in Week in Review | No Comments »
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
No major strategic initiative gets the green light without the CFO’s approval. In addition to requiring a significant resource commitment, these efforts may call for the raising of capital, which entails an extra layer of finance department involvement. So, if launching a product line, entering a new market or making an acquisition is on your company’s agenda this year, you should be ready to communicate the talent management implications of the plan to your CFO.
In any sort of high-profile strategic initiative, a risk management argument should carry a lot of weight. After all, this involves the protection of a significant investment and the future return it’s expected to generate. Being able to optimize strategy execution will only bolster your case.
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Tags: CFO, consulting, executives, HRO, market research, outsourcing, recruiting, risk, risk management, talent, talent management, talent market, Talking Talent, TMR
Posted in Strategy | 1 Comment »
