Selection Criteria

Hiring Troubles in America

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Has the table turned on easy recruitment?

Portrait of a proud cafe worker
Burlingham/Shutterstock

It has been almost a decade since we have heard recruiters saying “you are going to have to pay more if you want to hire.” Recently in America, even at the low end of the wage scale, all types of workers are in demand.

HRM Canada does a wonderful job summarizing what American employers are doing to attract workers to the fast food industries which include:

  • Using professional recruiters
  • Extra days off
  • Paying above minimum wage
  • Free meals
  • And referral bonus

These are the types of hiring strategies and recruitment incentives that were used for high paying and hard to recruit jobs including high-tech or specialized medicine positions. Not so anymore; the lowly burger flipper now is in demand and can demand more in wages and employment perks.

What is happening? Well, it is all about the unemployment rate, which is at a rate of 4.7% in the USA; near a nine-year low. This means that the U.S. economy is close to full capacity and if employers want to hire an employee they will have to entice that employee to join them over the competition. It is a demand market for workers.

Some HR professionals have never had to experience what it is like to try and recruit in a demand market. Their HR work experience has been limited to 2008 forward when it has been relatively easy to hire workers, especially at the minimum wage level jobs. HR has to be aware that what happens in the U.S. economy usually happens in the Canadian economy. HR should now start thinking about how we keep the employees we have and what the new recruiting strategies are that will be needed in a full capacity economy. It is better to plan now than wait for the hiring crisis to happen.

Discussion Questions

  1. You work in the HR department for Tim Horton’s in Canada. Research the employment levels currently in Canada. What are they? What is considered full employment in the Canadian context?
  2. You have been asked to develop recruitment and retention strategies for Tim Horton’s. Prepare a 5 min presentation for you VP of HR.

Digital Versus Personal Networks

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The Battle Royal continues in the recruitment world.

Business people waiting for job interview. Five candidates competing for one position
OPOLJA/Shutterstock

What is the best way to help younger workers find a job?

Many individuals believed that tech savvy millennials would easily navigate the world of digital recruitment, but according to a Statistic Canada expert panel of youth employment, that is not the case. Vass Bednar, the chairwomen of the Canadian federal government panel on youth employment, states, “We are deluding ourselves if we think that by digitizing the job application process we are making it more democratic. Network effects are as strong as ever and this hurts young people with less social capital.”

From Stats Canada it looks like the power of the personal network is a persistent as ever in securing employment. Click on the two links below to read more information about this youth employment panel.

Click here to read about youth recruitment by HRM Online.

Click here to read a CTV news article.

Even in this digital age of recruitment where HR professionals believed that hiring would become more transparent and democratic, the research shows that personal social networks are still a significant factor in how employees are hired. HR has to be aware of this and ensure there are credible systems in place to allow networking opportunities for the younger employee trying to get a foothold into the workplace.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Identify a list of ten networking practices that a new HR professional should do to build their professional network.
  1. Discuss the ethics of hiring based on personal networks. Does it conflict with the basic goal of transparently in hiring?

Benefits of Blind Auditions

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Does objectivity really take the sting out of rejection?

Source: ofoto/Shutterstock
Source: ofoto/Shutterstock

Bias.  We all have it.  It appears either as implicit or explicit; conscious or unconscious.  It is always with us as part of our own perception of the world.

It is, also, one of the biggest obstacles that keeps getting in the way of effective hiring processes.  How we impose our personal biases on others may have an incredibly powerful impact on candidates throughout the job selection process.

The following podcast from CBC’s “The Spark” , discusses a few different methodologies to reduce the impact of bias during the applicant screening and interview assessment stages.

Click Here to Listen to the Podcast.

GapJumpers is a technology based resource that allows for ‘performance auditions’ which may open the door to a different approach for candidate screening.  It is, in essence a ‘blind’ audition.  The statistics cited in the first interview seem to speak for themselves when the use of blind auditions improved the diversity of demographics in a particular selection process.  In the second interview, Ian Cook explores the issue of bias in recruitment processes from multiple aspects including the actual sourcing of candidates from diverse constituencies.

All of these tips and techniques seem to be critical in order to reduce the risk of bias in selection processes.  Why?

It is interesting to note that this clip begins with a very powerful emotional memory, described by the host, about getting the good news confirming her new job.  On the other side, she refers to the emotional reaction that each one of us may have all felt when we were rejected for a particular position.

We are so diligent in the field of Human Resources about neutralizing and objectifying processes in order to minimize our implicit biases and unconscious perceptions.  We want to make the processes fair and accessible.  As we make processes more bias-free, neutral, and objective are we striving to reduce the emotional, subjective, feeling elements linked to making the ‘right’ hiring decisions?

This may be what we want to achieve from a process perspective.  However, in the end, does any objective process really take the emotional sting out of rejection?

We cannot forget that rejection, no matter how it is delivered, it always hurts.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you perform in a ‘blind’ job audition if you were not able to present yourself in person?
  2. According to Ian Cook (second interview), there are fewer examples of ‘reverse discrimination’ in Canada than in the United States. From your experience, what evidence supports this statement?
  3. What is reputational effect? Why is this important in any recruitment process?
  4. Promoting a diversity referral process seems to be similar to networking. What are the specific benefits that a diversity referral process would provide?
  5. As an HR professional, how will you respond to individuals want to make ‘networking’ connections with you?
  6. Do you remember your first job offer? What was your reaction?
  7. Do you remember being rejected for a job? What was your reaction?

The Scrapper or the Silver Spoon?

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As Human Resources professionals, we are taught (and we teach others) to make sure that everything we do is in compliance with rules and regulations.  This is especially true in the areas of Recruitment and Selection.  We work hard at making sure that there are no appearances of bias in potential candidate considerations.  We apply the consistency lens throughout our human resources processes with vigorous tenacity so that we can proceed with confidence in making the best hiring decisions.

Sometimes, however, these approaches cloud the lens and we miss seeing who the best candidate really is.

Regina Hartley, a director of human resources with UPS Information Systems, provides a refreshing approach to seeking, looking at and finding the best candidate in her recent TED talk.

Click here to watch the TED talk

Ms. Hartley definitely provides inspiration to the rest of us – both as Human Resources Professionals and as potential candidates looking for future success in our own careers.

We all have elements of the ‘scrapper’ somewhere in our employment histories.  By looking for and celebrating the success of the scrapper, we open the doors to a host of dynamic and talented individuals who might be missed along the way.

Cheers to the scrappers!

Discussion Questions:

  1. If you had to make a decision to interview the ‘scrapper’ or the ‘silver spoon’ candidate, which one would you pick? Why?
  2. Identify one element from this video clip that you disagree with and explain why.
  3. Which candidate profile do you think others see you as? Are you perceived as a scrapper or silver spoon?
  4. Ms. Hartley refers to ‘Post Traumatic Growth’. What is this and how does it have a positive impact on an individual’s career success?

 

HR Practitioner & the Hiring Manager

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Working the relationship

All too often, we, as HR Practitioners fall into the trap of ‘owning’ the entire recruitment and staffing process. Is this because we want the control, or, is it because the supervisor does not want to take it on? After all, it is HR’s responsibility to ensure that the process is done effectively from the very beginning, before a vacancy is even created, to the very end, when the successful candidate is in place and working with the equally successful hiring manager.

We do all of the work and yet, final decisions are, typically, not in the control of the HR Practitioner.

Click here to view the article.

Our challenge is to find ways to work effectively with the hiring manager in order to ensure that good decisions are made. HR recruiters, as noted in the article above, need to work and understand what managers are looking for, and also, to whom they are connected. HR may have a central role in any organization, but we may not have expansive knowledge about business practices or required expertise to fill specific roles as positional or subject matter experts.

Source: Tumblr. The above content constitutes a link to the source website.

Sometimes we impose our own HR processes and timelines on to the overwhelmed and overworked hiring manager, who does not understand or appreciate why ‘our’ processes and timelines are important. If the HR Practitioner is able to make pro-active connections with each hiring manager, then there should be mutual benefit for both.

Discussion Questions:

  • Do you agree that there can be mutual benefit for both HR practitioner and Hiring Manager, if proactive connections are made?
  • What steps can you take when assigned to work with a hiring manager who is too busy to commit to ‘your’ HR processes?
  • What can you do to pro-actively encourage a positive decision-making result when working with a hiring manager?