Archiv für die Kategorie „English speaking community“

Which HR function ranks No.1 with the highest impacts on two critical business success indexes – revenue growth and profit margins?

The Boston Consulting Group researched the answer to this question conducting a study interviewing 4’288 respondents from 102 countries across a broad range of industries. The report of this study entitled: “Realizing the Value of People Management: From Capability to Profitability” was released in July 2012.One of its conclusions reveals that recruiting is the most impactful HR function on companies’ profit growth.

In many years, only a few HR leaders quantified the business impacts of recruiting, except for Google, Apple, and sports and entertainment industries, for which it is well established that recruiting is the most impactful people management function on business results.

Top level Rankings of HR Functions

HR functions with the highest impacts on business are:

1. Recruiting
2. On boarding and retention
3. Managing talent
4. Employer Branding
5. Performance management and rewards.

Leadership development reaches the sixth position. As you can notice, other HR functions with the highest impacts are related to recruiting, such as it is the case for employer branding which is meant to support recruiting activities.

Bottom performing HR Functions

For the following HR functions or processes, the BCG has found very low impact. For some of them no impact on business results has been found at all. These functions are: transforming HR into a strategic business partner, health and security management, managing flexibility and labor costs, restructuring the organization, managing work-life balance, managing an aging workforce. For the latter, it even has been found that it had a negative impact on profit growth.

Great HR impacts on Stock Price

Caroline Mancioppi, Author

The Boston Consulting Group study also researched the stock price gains produced by highly capable HR departments. In order to select companies with the very best HR departments, BCG looked at Fortune magazine’s list of ” 100 Best Companies To Work for “. The group picked ” repeater companies ” (companies that have appeared at least three times in this list during the last 10 years). Then they compared the stock price growth of these ” best companies ” with the stock price growth of the S&P 500′s. Results are amazing. Companies with great HR departments saw their stock price rise 109 % while the S&P’s increased only 10 % over the last 10 years.

In conclusion, taking measures to improve the quality of the HR department performance makes perfect sense in this context.

As seen above, investing in recruiting teams enabling them to reach high level of performance appears to be essential to increase business growt

Click on the picture for further information.

h. However market volatility often impacts on recruiting needs, interrupting recruitment campaigns with hiring freezes. In this case, an RPO partnership can be the most efficient and flexible solution.

Further information on: www.serendi.com

Despite a great diversity in corporate businesses, objectives and cultures, recruitment challenges tend to standardize. Indeed social networks, mobile recruitment, employer branding and candidate sourcing belong to the most addressed topics of events and conferences which are dedicated to recruitment.

To what extent can we assert that these topics are part of the current recruitment trends? What are their causes? How will they evolve?

1. A “Mobile” Visibility on Social and Professional Networks

Our access to information has deeply changed with state-of-the-art 3rd Generation mobile devices. Beside a fast on-the-go access to our mail and the news, we can now directly make purchases through our cell phones with applications serving as extensions of online business sites (Groupon, Easyjet,UCG…). In some countries you can even buy a bus ticket using your phone. By 2015, 40% of all payment transactions will be made out of smartphones*.

Along this, social and professional networks have also expanded rapidly and are now mostly accessed by their members via their mobile devices. Considering this fact, recruiting companies absolutely need to be visible amongst social networks communities. Posting their job ads on well-known apps which technology is smooth (LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter, Monster…) enables them to ensure a wide visibility amongst users / potential candidates without having to develop their own app. With this phenomenon “Mobile Recruiting” is now a well-known term, according which applying to a job within one click is made possible. However this practice is not yet widespread in Europe.

Recruitment: 2012 Trends Review

2. HR Marketing and Employer Branding Strategy

The second trend is the adoption of an HR marketing strategy to “sell” the company as an employer amongst candidates. This is “employer branding”. Its

measures aim at “selling” open positions while distinguishing themselves from other recruiting companies. Now companies engage dialogue with candidates using their Facebook / LinkedIn pages**. They also post team, offices and product pictures in order to give candidates an overview of their future work environment. Long exhaustive content progressively give way to blogs and other interactive portals with employee pictures and testimonials. If they reflect reality, these testimonials are truly appreciated. Still, many companies embellish this material choosing testimonials which content is rather doubtful with such quotes: “I live for my job…” and glossy pictures.

3. Performance Analytics

To ensure ROI, more and more analyzes are regularly conducted in order to measure recruitment performances. These analyses help collecting data on the campaigns effectiveness, the perception of candidates for the brand. They also help identifying recruitment channels that offer the best results. Costs, quality, time, hiring manager satis

faction and staff turnover are analyzed regularly.

4. Proactive Recruitment: Candidate Sourcing

Candidate sourcing is slowly becoming one important pillar in recruiting. Companies are setting up resources to source “passive” candidates. It is highly recommended that recruiters do not improvise as sourcing consultants. The thing is, it is two different jobs. This is the reason why, many companies prefer to partner with sourcing professionals. In a context of economic crisis, some companies are compelled to lay off some employees. This gave birth to a new sourcing trend called: “predictive sourcing”. It aims at approaching individuals some time before they even look for a job.

Caroline Mancioppi, Author

5. A maximized Candidate Experience

This last trend is meant to facilitate applications but also to take care of each candidate, even the rejected ones. These latter are more likely to provide bad publicity, if the reason why their application fell out, is not explained to them. Moreover, maintaining a good relationship with them can make them apply to another position, for which their profile might be a better match this time. Each step done by applying candidates is analyzed to be improved: endless online questionnaires that must be filled out manually are not appreciated and make many candidates abandon their application, interviews that are rescheduled many times, assessments for which the candidate was not prepared, role games of the bad and the good recruiter… None of this helps offering a positive experience to candidates.

However, candidates who are satisfied with the way their application was handled will want to share their experience among the communities they belong to: Facebook, LinkedIn, Kununu, glassdoor… In the end it is very important that candidate experience aligns with the employer branding promises.

• Juniper Research Limited*
• Potential Park, M-Com Ranking**

For further information on candidate sourcing: www.serendi.com

As reported in our previous article “Understanding the importance of passive candidates and identifying them successfully” passive candidates who already have a job but remain open to other opportunities represent a major part of the population to consider when recruiting.

After having identified a potential passive candidate, there are several rules to follow in order to establish a relationship based on trust.

1. Don’t contact him at work

The first contact is always very important. Try to get his personal contact data connecting with him on social networks. A first phone call when he is at work can be fatal. In front of his colleagues he won’t be able to talk freely and may react very negatively which puts an end to your approach. Same thing for his work email address: he could be on vacation and could have set a rule to redirect his emails to one of his co-workers. Hopefully this has no consequences. Worst case scenario: the co-worker tells everyone that your potential passive candidate wants to quit. Can you imagine the consequences? You should also avoid sending the same message describing a position to a group of people in copy. None of this helps creating a climate based on trust. Personalize your message as much as you can and send it to only one person.

2. Understand his motivations

It is very important to understand the motivations that would make him change job. They can vary a lot from one person to the other, e.g. some people want to change because they may have issues with their superior, while other just want to work in another field. Salary is also a decisive factor. Establishing a close relationship with the candidate enables you to guess what his real motivations are.

3. Keep him informed

Passive candidates are often your top candidates. The more you provide them information on the company you are recruiting for, the better. Be prepared to sell this company and the benefits it offers and enhance the ones matching with the candidates’ motivations.

4. Be inquisitive

While providing a rich amount of information about the company you are recruiting for, you have to also get to know the current company in which your candidate works. What kind of compensations & benefits are offered? While learning this information you may figure out, that your candidate will have no interest to apply to your job. Isn’t it better to know this before you present his resume to the hiring manager? Keep in mind that if you actually end up having no opportunity for him, you may have one later and now that you have built this relationship it will be easier.

Caroline Mancioppi, Author of this article

5. Keep in touch

Remember that it takes time to build this kind of relationships based on trust and that get stronger with time. Connect with your passive candidates on social networks. Stay regularly informed of their career moves. Keep them posted about your business. Stay available but do not be too invasive.

For more information on candidate sourcing: www.serendi.com

Kürzlich hat successfactors eine interessante Studie auf Englisch mit dem Titel ‚Der Pulsschlag der globalen Belegschaft – eine Umfrage’ publiziert.

Darin wird mitgeteilt, dass die Personalverantwortlichen aufgrund der globalen wirtschaftlichen Veränderungen und den vielen damit einhergehenden Unsicherheiten besonders stark gefordert sind. Ehrlich gedacht ist das nun wirklich nicht neu. Allen Wirtschaftsbewussten ist das in der Zwischenzeit glasklar geworden. Des Weiteren nehmen die internationalen Hürden der globalen Rekrutierung grundlegend ab, da nationale Grenzen gut ausgebildete Arbeitsnomaden nicht mehr aufhalten. Auch das ist nicht wirklich eine neue Erkenntnis, die Personaler aus den Socken haut.

Nichtsdestotrotz ist die Studie lesenswert, weil sie folgendes Wissen vermittelt:

• Die sogenannten Millennials legen viel Wert auf Training (40%) und Unterstützung durch Mentoren (42%)
• Die Generation X hingegen wünscht gute Aussichten auf noch bessere Karrieremöglichkeiten (49%)
• Die non-konformistische Rekrutierung via Social Media ist nach wie vor kein Hype. Nur 39% der Befragten gaben an, dass sie Bewerbende via Facebook, Twitter, SMS oder Skype gewinnen konnten
• Interessant ist sicher zudem die Tatsache, dass 87% der Befragten erklärten, dass Bewerbende während des Rekrutierungsphase sich vermehrt über Vergütungsmodelle, flexible Arbeitszeiten und Weiterbildungsmöglichkeiten erkundigten
• 71% der Befragten berichteten, bei Kandidatenwünschen generationsbedingte Unterschiede festgestellt zu haben, nur 49% dokumentierten geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede bezüglich der Kandidatenanfragen
• Zu den nicht-finanziellen Vorteilen, die in der Regel von Kandidaten gefordert werden, gehören laut 49% der Befragten eher ungewöhnliche Leistungen wie Freistellung für Freiwilligentätigkeiten (16%), kostenlose Massagen (8%) und Reinigung von Kleidungsstücken (8%)

Die Zeiten ändern sich und die Ansprüche ebenso. Allerdings geht es hier um sehr gut qualifizierte Bewerbende, die sich solche Pirouetten leisten können und genau wissen, dass ihr hoch spezifisches Wissen dermassen begehrt ist, dass sie sich gewissen Eitelkeiten auf dem Bewerbungsmarkt leisten und forciert erlauben können, ohne gleich ihre Arbeitsmarktfähigkeit zu gefährden. In Europa können sich das viele Arbeitssuchende gar nicht leisten. Sie sind froh, wenn sie überhaupt noch einen Job erhalten, der ihre Existenz sichert. Verrückte Arbeitswelt.

Die Studie bietet sicher nicht fundamental neues HR Wissen. Sie ist aber sicher eine gute Ergänzung zu vielen anderen Studien, die in die gleiche Richtung tendieren und einmal mehr bestätigen, dass die Welt nach wie vor rund ist, die Drehgeschwindigkeit unverändert stabil bleibt, aber die globalen Arbeitsmärkten solch starken Veränderungen ausgesetzt sind, dass sie auch den Mikrokosmos vieler Arbeitnehmenden beeinflusst.

Mit dem nachfolgenden Link kommen Sie gleich zu der auf Englisch abgefassten Studie: 2012 HR Beat – A Survey on the Pulse of Today’s Global Workforce

Most organizations looking for ways to strengthen their competitive advantage are rethinking their approach to recruitment. They aim at creating greater efficiencies, making better decisions around talent acquisition strategies and applying them in the long run.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing helps companies enhance the efficiency of their recruitment, improving quality of hire, reducing time-to-hire and recruitment spending. Previously considered as a last minute solution in the scope of recruitment projects, the perception towards RPO has now changed. RPO is more seen as a strategic solution: identifying key skills which are essential within an organization, RPO is now tightly connected to its business performance.

Beside this, RPO is still currently the most misunderstood field in talent acquisition. Indeed, the RPO market is lacking industry standards around pricing or practices, which is the reason why many organizations find it difficult to build a business case for it. Moreover, many mistake staffing agencies and even headhunting firms as RPO. According to an Aberdeen* report, companies benefitting from an RPO service notice improvement of their overall time to fill, a much lower cost per hire, and a high satisfaction level of hiring managers.

Caroline Mancioppi, Author of this article

Talent acquisition is comprised of various critical areas: employer branding, candidate sourcing, screening, assessment, hiring and onboarding. Although the functions which are the most outsourced are screening and assessment, sourcing is one area that most companies plan to restructure shortly. Many RPO providers use their own sourcing technology, methodology and know-how. The art of sourcing is not easy. Beyond candidate search, it is necessary to create a talent pool with key skills and maintain this relationship built with A-candidates on a long term basis. In this context, a partnership with an RPO provider becomes highly strategic.

A Trusted Partnership

A trusted partnership between an RPO provider and its client is essential. Without this trust, organizations tend to continue managing their entire recruitment activities and do not involve RPO partners in their employer branding activities. In this context, RPO only brings a very limited added-value. Moreover, when there is no integrated service without any onsite recruiters to respond to HR and management needs, the RPO providers tend to have difficulties truly understanding the company’s culture and vision they represent to candidates. A trusted partnership is the responsibility of both the provider and the customer in order to benefit from all assets that an RPO partnership can bring (* Aberdeen Group Report: “A new look at RPO”).

More detailed information on our RPO solutions, www.serendi.com

My Town 4 you invites you to a series of inter-active morning sessions that will assist you in addressing your daily local challenges. Furthermore, these events will prepare you connect more easily to your environment. Come and join us!

Welcome – Q&A: Let us know how we can be of you assistance.

Our aim is to support you whether you have burning issues, open questions or need help in a specific field. Another key objective of these gatherings is to facilitate networking with people from around the globe in a truly historical, highly scenic site, namely the Schloss Bottmingen built in the 13th century. Additionally, each gathering will address relevant topics, which have been passed on to us. Kindly let us know which topic might be of critical importance to you.

Schloss Bottmingen - Click on it for more information!

Special Topic: Swiss Public Schooling System

We will have three experts addressing different aspects of the local schooling system and can help you with your questions. Meet our Educational Consultant, Margaret Oertig author of “Going Local – your guide to Swiss schooling”, Karen Dyson, Educational Consultant and Ann Ferroni-Strattner, English teacher and special needs educator.

Connect to local: Concert - “Give a Chance” / Herbstmesse (Autumn Fair)

The second time, Yannick Hohn presents different artists at their charity concert at Union Basel. Come explore magnificent dance shows and captivating music acts. “GIVE A CHANCE” charity concert supports the village school Mbengue in Cameroon. At the same time, they introduce young dance and music newcomers. Bryan Stone, local & church historian and author, will share some background on the oldest and biggest fair of Switzerland, dating back to 1471, the HERBSTMESSE Basel.

The events will be faciliteted by:

1. Katrin Adler, Founder of MyTown4You, Trainer & Personal Coach
2. Chisato Morohashi Straumann, Intercultural Trainer & Coach
3. Kaya Usher-Samayoa, Relocation Consultant

www.mytown4you.com

Moving to a totally new cultural environment is certainly not easy. We are there to support you during arrival, settling-in and becoming familiar with the local culture and many of the cultural offerings there are to be found in Basel and the three country corner (Author: Katrin Adler, www.mytown4you.com).

 We design unique concepts and events and help you meet other global and local residents. We provide a one-stop shop for individuals, families and develop customized solutions for companies who are dedicated to take care of their talents and their families.

Companies that understood that not only attracting but also retaining top global talents only works if their families are well and feel at home!

Basel and the Three Country Corner – in the Heart of Europe

Few other regions in Europe are as cosmopolitan as Basel. Also known as the “three country corner”, where Switzerland, Germany and France connect. Home to one of the world’s most effective life science clusters – with companies representing the full breadth of the industry. A hub of innovation and growth. The Basel success story grew from a long tradition of pharmaceutical companies: two of them are in the world’s top five.

Katrin Adler, Founder of
www.mytown4you.com

Here some successful stories from Basel Expats:

1. Mr Salieu Jalloh from Sierra Leone (Westafrica). Watch his story here.
2. Mrs Mireille Saliba from Lebanon. Watch her story here.
3. Mr Anshul Tandon from India. Watch his story here.
4. Carolyn Arculus from UK. Watch her story here.

About 800,000 inhabitants in the Basel region.

Over 150 nationalities. Highly qualified professionals from around the world. Around two-thirds of the local expatriates work for Basel’s large corporations. Most of this talent stays here for a few years (there are about 2,500 relocations each year). But some expatriates stay for good. Why? The high standard of living and level of security only few regions or countries can match.

Basel offers the best in cuisine and culture, leisure and education.

But that’s not all. The Three Country Corner offers the best in cuisine and culture, leisure and education. It is a Mecca for Europe’s gourmets. The Basel theatre annually presents around 30 operas, plays and ballet productions. The Burghof in Lörrach offers an amazing range of concerts, theatrical productions and more. The region’s many international employees also enhance Basel’s sports offerings: a cricket club, rugby, American football and baseball teams. Nature enthusiasts enjoy the surrounding area (Baselbiet) and the Jura hills or head north to the Black Forest and the Vosges. Local and international schools offer some of the best education anywhere.

We make you feel at home in Basel – www.mytown4you.com

Successful Relocations – a big necessity

Accepting a new position abroad primarily means moving to a higher level in business leadership. Many expatriates see the new perspectives offered as a reward and a huge chance. However, for a successful transition from the date of relocation to a strong job commitment, being quickly comfortable with your new surroundings is crucial – especially for valuable, high-profile employees and their families, who do not speak the local language. Typically, the first few weeks determine whether you like the place or not. Sixty-five percent of failed relocations result from personal difficulties in becoming familiar with the new place.* (*Brookfield Global Relocation Services, 2009). Therefore, modern HR Management has discovered the benefits of local services that go beyond the usual solutions – services that address the special needs of global citizens and that foster a satisfying work-life-balance for a higher quality of life.

Gathering for Spouses and Partners

We focus on supporting your family. We offer monthly gatherings at the Schloss Bottmingen to answer your questions, arrange useful insights on local rules, regulations and customs, facilitate networking and introduce you to something local each time. Have a look at our upcoming “gatherings for spouses”.

Intercultural coaching and training

Intercultural coaching and training? Click on the pic for more details.

How does Intercultural Coaching help? In a completely secure environment, you are able to share your concerns, and are assisted in the exploration of options that will help you gain a new perspective. You will then be able to develop your own answers and solutions that resonate with your cultural values, norms and beliefs. How does Intercultural Training help? It raises awareness of the impact of culture on international business and daily situations and introduces effective strategies for enhancing intercultural adaptation. It delivers knowledge and skills that enable people to become more productive and effective when interacting with people from different cultures.

Country Specific Training

This training is designed to provide background on history, language, and cultural patterns as well as tips for avoiding cross-cultural misunderstandings in professional and personal settings, especially for Japan, the United States and Switzerland.

Relocation 4 You

We tailor each move individually based on your specific needs and wishes. As soon as you start considering relocating to Basel we will support you by answering key questions that are relevant in making the right decision for you and your family. We work with you in developing a relocation plan that both meets your requirements, and leverages our extensive professional and personal relocation experiences.

•  For more information about My Town 4 You see: www.mytown4you.com
• For more information about Basel see: www.basel.ch (english)

Such as the business world has changed over the past decades, talent has also evolved. Let us see how:

1. Talent is free: it changes employers several times in the course of its career.

In the 50′s – 60′s white collars used to work within the same company during their entire career. “Company men” were corporate and shared the company’s values and long term vision. In the 70′s – 80′s workers tended to be more ladder driven. “Ladder climbers” did not hesitate to resign after 8 to 10 years in average, if the company for which they were working did not offer them the targeted positions. In 2012, there is a majority of “individualists” working as “free agents”. They are free and do not necessarily share the company’s vision nor values for which they work. In average nowadays workers stay up to 4.5 years within the same company, which makes around 11 different employers in a lifetime.*

2. Talent is continuously learning.

Today’s talent cannot only rely on its university skills. For, they become quickly outdated. According to Deloitte’s study* university skills have an expected shelf life of only five years. It is so in many fields such as technology, medicine, telecommunications… As a consequence talent has to be constantly learning in order to stay ahead on the job market. Talent must deepen and broaden its knowledge and develop skills of a complementary job. Today’s graphic designer may be an HTML software engineer in two years.

3. Talent is mobile, worldwide.

Thanks to numerous international agreements between many states and when one has many skills, it is easy to emigrate. Moreover, skilled workers are offered many advantages by companies wishing to hire them: high salary, fringe benefits, facilitated paperwork (Visa, housing…). Working abroad is also a great asset for resumes.

4. Talent has a bargaining power over their employers.

Due to the talent shortage which is already being experienced on profiles such as engineers and IT specialists, talent has gained more power over their employers. Concerning such jobs, the market is unbalanced; the demand is higher than there are candidates: as a consequence, talent requests a higher salary, diverse fringe benefits… According to Deloitte’s statistics, the financial performance of U.S. firms has declined in the past 45 years while skilled professionals saw their total compensation rise.

5. Talent is aging.

Caroline Mancioppi, Author of this article

Many studies agree on the impacts of the aging population in Western countries. According to Deloitte, by 2018, almost 40 million working Americans will be 55 years or older, which is an increase of 5.8% every 10 years. Concerning young professionals, given the short shelf life of their skills (point 2 in this article) and the difficulties they have “selling” these skills in order to be able to work in their field, they fall behind. Under such conditions, the most experienced talent prevails over the young talent.

*Deloitte White Paper: Brawn from brains – Talent, policy and the future of American competitiveness.

For further information: www.serendi.com

The phenomenon of “passive candidates” is still an enigma for many recruiters. They do not consider them as potential candidates and generally do not master communication tools to engage dialogue with them. This is unfortunate, since passive candidates are often the key to many open positions.

The rise of passive candidates is partly due to the economic slowdown and to the increasing unemployment in many countries. A large majority of employees prefer staying in their current position even though it does no longer entirely match their expectations. Seven employees out of ten declare being satisfied with their job. 82 % of them assert they are not looking for a job, but remain open to the right opportunity.

Forgetting about these candidates means ignoring a large majority of the active population.

Caroline Mancioppi, Author

Passive candidates already have a job, which in general, satisfies them. However one or two criteria are missing to entirely fulfill their expectations: getting closer from home, finding a better work environment or a company which ethics will be more in line with their ideals or simply finding it is time for a change. 47 % of the employees declare being ready to change job for a better salary or to reach upward mobility.

It is therefore quite normal that these candidates are more demanding than others. Because if they change jobs, this time, they expect to be fully satisfied. They do not belong to any defined level of the corporate hierarchy. They can be found at all levels: the graduate with only two years of experience in the company, to the senior manager who has many responsibilities and counts more than ten years within the company.

Unlike active candidates, passive candidates “seek” in an unconventional and sporadic way. They do not search but wait for the right opportunity. It is common that they do a targeted search, once a month after having read or heard something about an available position. As a recruiter, you must communicate on a regular and consistent basis in order to attract the attention of passive candidates. Then, to trigger their interest, you have to understand their need and offer them the benefit which is missing in their current position, in order to make them consider changing job.

Further Information under: www.serendi.com

Talent is a term used to define highly skilled workers. These individuals possess significant job experience in their functional areas and a strong knowledge of the industry they work in.

Talent management is a set of entrepreneurial human resources processes and practices ensuring the sustainable effectiveness of the most skilled workers within an organization.

Caroline Mancioppi, Author

Talent management is highly strategic. It aims at maintaining the company’s innovation and performances relying on the long term capacity of its human resources. An effective talent management is one of the highest valuable assets an organization can have. If talent management is performed professionally it can become an organizations backbone for economical success.

Talent management comprises three major pillars:

• Talent Acquisition,
• Talent Development and
• Talent Retention. H

However there are many more subprocesses which are part of talent management:

• talent identification,
• sourcing and
• assessment

Not all organizations have implemented a set of HR tools to manage their talents. Until recently most of them were not aware of its strong potential for corporate performances. Moreover HR departments tend to be swamped with daily business tasks such as payroll and recruitment in order to develop long term strategies.

For more information: www.serendi.com