Monday, March 29, 2010

The Disappearing Career Discussion

According to a recent survey by Right Management, more than one-third of all employees (37 percent) never discuss their career development with their managers and another 30 percent have that discussion just once a year.

Why are employees so hesitant to talk about their career aspirations with their managers? Is it because they are too busy to think about their future or do they lack the skills to ask the right questions?

Although individuals should take the responsibility to manage their own careers, managers should reach out to employees to discussion career objectives because that is a key step in keeping employees engaged in the workplace.

Are your managers equipped with the skills to discuss an employee's strengths, growth opportunities, and developmental needs? If not, do you have a strategy for how to teach those skills to your organization's managers?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Deloitte: The Future of Recruiting Is Social Media

Recruiting doesn’t have to be relegated to job fairs and visits to college campuses. Deloitte is taking a multifaceted digital approach to recruiting by using a blend of social networking resources and multimedia elements. A versatile introduction to their company is available at the click of a button.

The program integrates several interactive social media outlets including a micro-site, a Twitter feed, a Facebook page and LinkedIn group, and a YouTube channel.

The recruiting micro-site offers visitors an in-depth look into the lives of Deloitte’s Gen Y workers, by showcasing a series of profiles and short films about working in the company’s different practice areas. The site also highlights the personal and professional pursuits of its youngest workers such as hobbies, community activities, favorite music, and TV shows.

The "Life at Deloitte" Twitter feed, offers daily tweets with a different business leaders (that rotate weekly) about their day-to-day lives inside and outside of the organization. Followers can study what’s on a senior professional’s mind and gain an understanding of the company’s different practice areas and latest hot topics.

The “Your Future at Deloitte (U.S.)” Facebook page, displays up-to-date information on initiatives and developments in progress at the company. It also has event photos, videos, and interactive message boards where potential candidates can join in the discussion. Deloitte also has a campus-focused LinkedIn group to help connect college students with employees and recruiters.

Finally, the "Your Future at Deloitte" YouTube channel has video testimonies from employees on why they chose to work at Deloitte and what working there means to them. The videos follow employees’ day-to-day roles, including working on site at a technology client and participating in a sustainability project.

Deloitte was recently ranked first on BusinessWeek’s 2009 “Best Places to Intern” and “Best Places to Launch a Career” lists and is also included on the DiversityInc “Top 50 Companies for Diversity” as well as the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” lists. The company plans to hire roughly 4,800 employees for both full-time employment and internship positions this year.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Employees Are Full of Feedback

If you have a suggestion to make in the workplace, do you make it or do you keep your mouth shut? Many people take advantage of their right to express themselves.

Fifty-seven percent of employees say they regularly make suggestions in the workplace, according to a survey by Right Management. In fact, 27 percent of employees report that they make more than 20 suggestions per year. Another 30 percent made at least 10 suggestions per year. Only 6 percent made no suggestions at all.

The poll, which was conducted on LinkedIn and included 614 participants from all over North America, found that the most vocal employees are those in management and C-level executives.

Other interesting findings were that number of suggestions does not vary by company size and sales people were the most likely to make suggestions at 50 percent followed by those in HR at 28 percent. In addition, workers ages 55 and over were more likely to make 10 or more suggestions at 76 percent as compared to their colleagues ages 25 to 34 at 51 percent. Women, at 61 percent, were also likely to make 10 or more suggestions as compared to men, at 46 percent.

"Our findings suggest a surprising number of employees go the extra mile by making suggestions in the workplace," says Deborah Schroeder-Saulnier, senior vice president of global solutions at Right Management. "At the same time, however, in our experience there is little evidence that companies really listen to employee suggestions—or, more important, try to benefit from their perspective and enthusiasm."

She advises that companies should not only listen to their employees, but make sure their ideas are acknowledged and acted upon.

Businesses need to remember that communication is a two-way street.

Friday, March 12, 2010

What Will the New Workplace Look Like?

The economy changed the face of the workplace in 2009. More boomers continued working, delaying their retirement; organizations focused on performance and efficiency, expecting workers to do more with less; and technology made more mobile, 24/7 employees.

Expectations for learning changed also. Workplace learning and performance professionals were charged with the task of getting employee skills up to date, finding the company's key competitive advantage, and keeping employees engaged.

What will the workplace look like when the economic recession ends? What efficiencies gained during this cost-cutting economic downturn will emerge as new ways to do business in learning and development?