Monthly Archives: July 2012

Finding an Engaging First Job

My younger sister just got hired for her first real job out of college.  It’s basically her dream job – the exact right blend of job duties, corporate culture, and management style.  She found this job less than two months after she graduated.  I thought maybe she was just really lucky, but it turns out that there are quite a few more open positions out there today than there were at the start of the recession.  While organizations reported having an average of 45 job openings for college graduates in 2010, by 2012 this number had increased to 116 openings.[1]

The increase in job openings is giving new grads a lot more options compared to my college class.  I graduated in May of 2009, just after the recession had hit its peak.  Pickings were extremely slim for job hunters that summer, and a lot of my friends ended up at jobs that weren’t quite the right fit for them.  Now they’re either suffering (not so silently) or have already changed jobs.

New grads should really take the time to be picky and find an organization that will accept them, challenge them, and most importantly, engage them.  In order to find that perfect first job, I have three pieces of advice for young people just joining the workforce:

Interpreting the Job Description

A huge problem for new grads is that they aren’t exactly sure what type of job they want.  A lot of degrees (ahem, Liberal Arts) don’t point students towards a specific career path, so the initial job search can feel like blundering around in the dark.  For students unsure of what career path to take, the job description can be hard to decipher because it is basically an advertisement trying to attract you to a position and an organization.  My advice is not to look at job titles, but rather the specific job duties listed.  For starters, do the tasks sound like things you’re interested in?  Things you’re good at?  More importantly, something that will continue to challenge you?  If you aren’t challenged by your job duties, boredom can turn into disengagement quite quickly.

Don’t expect the job duties listed to all be things you love.  Every job includes parts that aren’t very enjoyable.  The key is to understand what percentage of the job includes duties you prefer versus the less desirable ones.  If you like over two-thirds of the tasks you’ll be doing on a day-to-day basis, then the job is still a good fit for you.  You should also search for deal breakers within the job description.  For example, when I was job searching, database work wasn’t ideal but it was doable.  Cold calling, on the other hand, was something I knew I would never be able to do, so I didn’t even bother applying for jobs that involved cold calls.

Research, Research, Research!

You know how everyone has warned you that organizations will research you online after receiving your resume?  Well you can do the same thing to find out about your potential future employer.  Don’t just look at the company website to figure out what exactly it is the company does.  Instead, try to get a feel for the organization’s personality.  For example, do they have a quirky social media account?  The attitude presented in the account probably reflects the corporate culture.  Search through LinkedIn to see if you have any shared connections with current or past employees of the organization.  This type of connection can give you an insider’s viewpoint on what it’s really like to work for the organization, including whether there’s a scary boss to watch out for or if there are fun perks that aren’t advertised elsewhere.

Great organizations are also touted often for their excellence.  Have they recently won any workplace awards?  Have they been featured in newspaper or magazine articles?  While no workplace is loved by all employees, receiving this type of positive attention is an indicator that you may love the organization as well.

During your research, look for qualities within the organization that you valued as a student.  For example, if you were motivated by awards and honors, make sure the organization has an awesome recognition program.  If you loved leading group projects, make sure there is room for job growth within the company.

Make Them Impress You

During that first job interview, most candidates focus on trying to impress the interviewer.  The job interview, however, is an excellent opportunity for you to determine whether the job would be a good fit for you.  Ask the interviewer what he or she likes best about the job, the organization, and the other people who work there.  Not only does this give you great information about the company, it also shows that you are interested and engaged in the interview.  Determine what the position will really be like on a day-to-day basis.  Get a feel for the office environment – is it fast-paced or slow?  Are people interacting with each other?  Is it so quiet you could hear a pin drop?   Make sure the feel of the office is an environment you would feel comfortable working in every day.

In addition, one of the interviewers is most likely your future boss.  Does the person seem like someone you can work with on a day-to-day basis?  Can you build a rapport with the interviewer?  Having a bad manager is one of the top reasons employees quit.  If you get a bad vibe during the interview, it’s likely that manager is not for you.

Being a bit picky and following these pieces of advice should help you find that perfect job the first time around.  Good luck in your job hunt!

[1] “Brighter Prospects,” SHRM Online Staff, HR Magazine, June 2012 issue, p. 29.

Tips for Ensuring Your Benefits Communication Increases Employee Engagement

Regular, effective benefits communication is essential for companies to successfully recruit, engage, and retain their employees.  From financial planning assistance to wellness perks, organizations need to do a better job of communicating the value and availability of such benefits to current and prospective employees.  Last month, Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced the findings from its 2012 Workplace Benefits Report, an annual study of the role financial benefit plans play in employers’ talent management strategies and in the overall financial wellness of their employees.  The following are some of the key findings:

  • Thirty-five percent of employees indicated they did not know how to optimize their benefits while 10 percent of employees said they did not even know what benefits their company offers.
  • Sixty-six percent of employers think they should increase the frequency of communications [about benefits].
  • Sixty-three percent of employers believe they should target communications [about benefits] to specific employees.
  • Sixty-nine percent of employers feel they should increase the number of communication methods [about benefits].

Given these findings, below are some tips organizations can use to ensure their benefits communication increases employee engagement and boosts retention.

Clear, Open Communication

Organizations should clearly communicate the benefits available to employees, the advantages of each benefit, and how employees can use them effectively.  Openly communicating such information will engage employees, helping them take ownership of their well-being and financial future.

Frequent Communication

According to the study, 55 percent of employers only communicate with employees about their financial benefit plans once a year, or less.  From 401(k) plans and health savings accounts (HSA) to tuition reimbursement and summer Fridays, employees are interested in receiving regular communications about the many benefits available to them.  Without such information, employees are unable to make sound decisions about their health and financial planning.

Tailored Communication

Organizations should tailor how they communicate their benefits to different generations in the workforce.  For example, younger generations would benefit from receiving information about the advantages of 401(k) plans while older workers might be interested in learning about their employer’s phased retirement options.  Advice that is tailored to groups in different life stages will help employees successfully prepare for their future.

Cross-Platform Communication

When communicating benefits to employees, organizations should provide information across a variety of platforms.  From the company website and intranet to e-mails and direct mail, organizations would do well to get in front of employees in a variety of ways.  As a result, organizations will continue to drive home the importance of employees being aware of and knowledgeable about the benefits available to them.

By establishing a well-rounded benefits communication plan, organizations will succeed in helping workers fully understand the many benefits they can take advantage of in the workplace.  In doing so, employees will feel engaged and empowered about their future.

What “Tomkat” Can Teach Us about Workplace Culture

When a giddy Tom Cruise surprised millions by jumping on a couch on the set of the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005, few daytime TV viewers predicted his relationship with Hollywood ingénue Katie Holmes would last very long.

Yet Cruise and Holmes—or “Tomkat,” as the celebrity tabloids nauseously nicknamed the couple—bore on full speed ahead, as though completely oblivious to any of the signs that their relationship was doomed from the start.  After only two months of dating, they announced their engagement.

Five years later, they’re now back in the spotlight, this time announcing their split.

Photo by Jay Tamboli. Published under Creative Commons license.

Familiar as this kind of story is to pop culturists, seasoned managers and HR leaders may be reminded of a similar lesson gleaned in the offices and conference rooms of the workplace.  This is the story of the hotshot new hire—the one with the perfect resume and all the right skills—who after just a few months on the job surprises everyone by seeming unable or unwilling to meet the high expectations placed on them.  Or, just as likely, who unceremoniously decamps to another company.

Both Tomkat and the superstar new hire teach us about the importance of hiring for cultural fit.  If Holmes, who has reportedly expressed concerns over Cruise’s strong ties with Scientology, had taken a sober inventory of her budding relationship with Cruise and his faith, she may have saved herself a headache in the process.  So too can managers make informed hiring decisions by taking cultural fit into consideration.  Here are just a few ways to do so:

Understand Your Workplace Culture

For a starlet in the Hollywood dating scene, understanding one’s unique personal culture is the first step to attracting a partner who will mesh well with one’s goals and values.  The same can be said for the HR leader searching for candidates who will fit their organization’s culture.  However, as an amorphous, multifaceted concept encompassing the shared values of many, culture can be difficult to define and understand.  Employee engagement surveys help leaders in this regard by pinpointing the areas where employees strongly identify with the organizational culture, and areas where there may be some room for improvement.  Surveys essentially allow you to see the culture through the employee’s eyes.  Once senior leadership has used your survey to action plan toward a culture reflective of your values, you are in an excellent position to define your culture, understand its facets, and hire employees who will thrive in its midst. 

Communicate Your Workplace Culture

In our hyper-connected world, it is important not only to understand yourself and your own special culture, but also to be mindful of how you communicate your culture to the world.  Never is this truer than when searching for a partner, as through communication we provide others with a means to identify in ourselves what may or may not align with different personal cultures.  The clothes we wear, the way we talk, the topics we choose to discuss, our spiritual professions, or our behavior on a nationally syndicated daytime talk show enjoyed by millions—all these things can help others understand our culture.  In the workplace, developing an internal brand and communication strategy serves this end beautifully.  Once you have defined the values that underpin your organizational culture, develop communications that reflect those values, such as a newsletter with articles highlighting positive employee behaviors.  Through such a publication, your team not only rewards employees who exhibit behaviors aligning with your corporate culture, but you also reinforce those behaviors in your employee population at large.   During your hiring cycle, leverage this style of branding in your communications with candidates, in whose best interest it is to begin to understand your culture as soon as they make first contact.  Even your job advertisements can clue them in.

Expose Interviewees to Your Workplace Culture

In the case of Tomkat, greater pre-marriage exposure to each other would likely have done much to prevent the fallout Holmes and Cruise are now suffering as a result of their cultural clash.  In fact, Holmes has described having nursed a youthful crush on the older Cruise prior to meeting him, and had she spent more time with him before rushing down the aisle, she might have realized they didn’t truly “click” as a couple.  Likewise is it important to expose job candidates to your organizational culture.  With a deep understanding of your workplace culture and a framework in place for sustaining it through communication and expert management, the hiring process becomes, in part, a practice in identifying whether a skilled candidate will fit with your culture.  As such, a favorite best practice of many hiring managers is to facilitate interaction between the candidate and their potential coworkers, allowing each party to gain a sense of whether there is a cultural match.  Since employees are the true standard bearers of your culture, they should be encouraged to provide their honest feedback on whether they feel the candidate is right for the team—and why or why not.  This practice provides a more complete sense of the cultural fit and, when the right candidate is identified, allows employee engagement to be achieved before the new hire’s first day of work has even begun.

Whatever the methods chosen for making cultural fit a part of the hiring process, the main takeaway should be that cultural compatibility is absolutely essential to any relationship—whether in the workplace or in a marriage.  So the next time your job candidate starts jumping up and down on the couch a la Tom Cruise, think about whether their behavior evinces a cultural match with your organization.  If you’re a carnival impresario hiring for an acrobat, you may just have found your new star employee.

I’ll Start Tomorrow

Growing up, the title of this post was an oft-heard phrase in my house.  My dad used to talk almost every day about taking up running, but his “I’ll start tomorrow” attitude became a joke rather than an actuality, as he would never actually go for a run.

In the workplace, it’s easy to fall into a similar trap.  Big projects come up, and employees often think “I’ll start tomorrow,” but tomorrow turns into the next day and the day after that.  Before you know it, the project comes down to the last minute and you’re working overtime to meet the deadline. 

According to one study, 20 percent of people self-identify as chronic procrastinators.  Additionally, as many as 80 percent admit to procrastinating every once in a while*.  Dragging ones’ feet to put off large or complicated tasks is a common problem, no matter where you work.  Most everyone does it at one time or another.  The question thus becomes how to reduce the occurrence of procrastination in the workplace, rather than how to prevent it completely.   

Since leaders may not always recognize when team members are procrastinating, it is often the individual employee’s responsibility to avoid this tendency.  Employees can use the following tips to reduce procrastination:

  • If you notice you are prone to putting off projects, try cutting each project into various parts.  For example, if you are writing an article, establish deadlines for yourself to accomplish the different parts of the project, such as the outline, first draft, and final article, and stick to these.  Dividing the project into parts may make it seem less overwhelming.  Additionally, the feeling of achievement you get when you accomplish one part of the task may spur you on to finish the other aspects.
  • Determine personal rewards for yourself when you get your work done on time, like splurging on a coffee or dessert.  Doing so will give you added incentive for completing a project.
  • Communicate with your manager about your tasks and deadlines.  When you have open and honest conversations about your workload, you will likely feel less stressed and can work with your supervisor to establish manageable deadlines.

Managers can also help employees avoid delaying projects.  As a leader, you can implement the following guidelines to decrease procrastination in the workplace:

  • Find out what employees enjoy working on, and assign them more projects with these aspects.  When employees are working on something they enjoy doing, they will be less likely to put it off. 
  • Showcase how particular projects play into the greater mission and strategy of the organization.  Doing so will help employees recognize why their work matters, and must be done on time.  
  • Spread less enjoyable tasks among the team.  There are certain tasks in every workplace which must be accomplished but few people enjoy doing.  Spread these tasks among your team so no single employee is receiving these undesirable projects every time.
  • If you notice someone is chronically procrastinating, talk to that individual to better understand why he or she continues to put off the work.  Procrastination can serve as a defense mechanism to avoid failure, or can be due to apathy, boredom, stress, or various other causes.  Having an understanding of an individual’s reason for procrastinating will allow you to better tailor a solution for that individual team member. 
  • Recognize and reward employees for completing tasks on time.  Consider letting employees leave early when they complete a big project, or reward them by taking them out to lunch.

If you have read other posts in our blog, you may recognize that many of the tips managers can use to avoid procrastination are also tips to help increase employee engagement.  Procrastination and disengagement frequently go hand in hand.  Disengaged employees often have no connection with the organization, and thus are not concerned about the outcomes of their work and the effect their delays have on the overall organization.  They likely procrastinate due to apathy.   Engaged employees, on the other hand, will get their work done on time or early.  They understand the importance of their contribution, and will do everything in their power to accomplish their tasks.

Engaging your employees will help decrease the prevalence of procrastination, leading to better business outcomes in general.  Work will get done more quickly, and often in better quality, allowing you to move on to the next project.  This is just one more reason why employee engagement is vital to positive organizational outcomes.           

In my dad’s case, “tomorrow” finally became today; he has run nine marathons in the last few years, and does not plan to quit anytime soon.  He became engaged in this personal goal, and procrastination (at least in this vein), became a thing of the past.  The same is possible for members of your staff, if you and your employees put forth a dedicated effort to reduce procrastination. 

*Hara Estroff Marano, “Procrastination: Ten Things to Know. “ Psychology Today. July 07, 2010. Accessed June 29, 2012. http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200308/procrastination-ten-things-know.