John Mattone, President, Executive Development Associates (EDA)

The following is an exclusive excerpt from John Mattone’s new book, “Stealth Leadership: Using Assessment & Coaching to Propel Your Leaders & Organization to Greatness.”

The “Stealth Fighter” Model: The Power of Your Succession Management Value Proposition

The “Stealth Fighter” Model offers a compelling, symbolic way to understand the predictive relationships that exist between critical human capital/succession management processes (the 4 D’s), critical “leading indicators” (capability, commitment and alignment—more on these later), intermediate outcomes and ultimate outcomes. The 4 D’s essentially act as the 4 turbo-charged engines that propel the “Stealth Fighter” towards its target—defined as an organization’s “Future Desired State” and the required leadership competencies to execute both the current and future business strategy. By way of analogy—if the 4 engines are “well oiled” and functioning at a high level (i.e., optimized) and working together (i.e., integrated), they will propel the “Stealth” towards its goal.

In practical terms, an organization’s Succession Management Value Proposition (SMVP) is the holistic sum of the following practices: (1) Demarcation-performance management; (2) Diagnostic—objectively assessing leaders and potential leaders; (3) Deployment-structured meetings to integrate performance and potential assessments, calibrate capability, determine development options, and identify potential replacement scenarios; and (4) Development—coaching, on-the-job development and training programs—and their relative impact on multiple levels of business outcome—such as capability, commitment and alignment (leading indicators), intermediate outcomes such as individual and team performance, bench strength, percentage of women and minorities promotions versus percentage in pool, percentage of women and minority successors, retention rate of successors, percentage of key positions filled internally, promotion rate of successors, success rates of those promoted and cost to fill key roles (lagging indicators), and ultimate outcomes such as organizational revenue, profits and operating ratios.

Regardless of the exact words used to capture a given organization’s SMVP, one thing is sure, the elements identified in the “Stealth” need to be well thought out, believed in, communicated, executed, and measured (assessed)—continuously. At its core, a great SMVP encompasses everything leaders and future leaders experience and receive as they are employed by the organization—including the degree of engagement they experience, their comfort and “fit” within the culture, the quality of leadership, the rewards they experience, etc. A great SMVP always encompasses the ways in which an organization fulfills the needs, expectations, and dreams of leaders. More than anything, a great SMVP clearly connects winning succession management practices to business and operating metrics. As was discussed earlier, there exists no better way to create the belief in the value of the human capital asset than by demonstrating the connectedness between winning succession practices and operational success.

The research is clear and compelling. The Hackett Group’s 2009 Talent Management Performance Study involving hundreds of Fortune 500 Companies gathered both qualitative and quantitative data showing enterprise financial, operational and process payoffs from talent management. Companies with the most mature talent management capabilities (i.e., the 4 D’s) had significantly greater EBITDA, net profit, return on assets and return on equity results than those companies that were immature in their talent management processes. Additionally, mature talent management companies had leaders who believed in the value of the human capital asset, were passionate about investing in building and growing talent, were relentless in their assessment of leaders, individuals and teams, and shared their human capital responsibilities with line managers and the Human Resources function.

It is clear that organizations that excel operationally excel initially with their human capital/succession management practices. They select and promote only those leaders and future leaders who demonstrate (as a result of performance and objective assessments) they have the highest probability of being successful; they benchmark and essentially “certify” (as a result of assessments) that leaders and future leaders have the capability, commitment and alignment required to execute strategy; they provide a rich, compelling, engaging and dynamic learning and performance support environment that motivates leaders and future leaders to become the best they can be; and they reward and recognize those who truly execute.

A strong SMVP foundation leads to: (1) Capability-“Can Do”; (2) Commitment-“Will Do”; and (3) Alignment-“Must Do.” Great organizations excel in creating the belief that their leaders and future leaders have the “can do” (i.e., the skills, the talents, the behaviors) to execute; the “will do” (i.e., passion, motivation, drive) to execute; and “must do” (i.e., an overwhelming sense of connectedness to the culture, mission, strategy and values of the organization) to execute. To put in different words, a strong SMVP is the foundation for an organization to build and sustain a culture in which leaders and future leaders become continuously more capable, committed and aligned. In fact, organizations that excel in promoting and developing leadership talent—with a focus and unwavering commitment to optimizing these “leading” indicators—as indicated earlier—achieve impressive operating results.

John Mattone was recently named by Thinkers50.com as one of the fastest rising stars in the field of leadership development. The Thinkers50, a biennial list of the world’s top business thinkers, identifies those people who are making a real difference in the world of business. John was ranked as one of the world’s emergent thought leaders and appears on the 2011 Thinkers 50 “Guru Radar” list.

Bill Humbert, Recruitment Consultant

Isn’t this the age old question? Ask 300 executives and human resource directors that question. You will receive 300 hundred responses.

If you read “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink, you will see that scientific research demonstrates that people typically fall into two groups – those intrinsically motivated and those extrinsically motivated.

The extrinsically motivated employees are motivated by conditions outside of them – money, benefits, working conditions, etc. According to Pink, they are transactional by nature – if you do this, then you will receive that.

The intrinsically motivated employees are those employees we usually describe as self motivated. According to research cited by Pink, these people are motivated by mastery of their job, autonomy within their job, and a purpose for successfully completing their work.

Whom do you recruit? The best answer probably depends on the nature and culture of your business. My suspicion is that in many businesses you want both types of people. The better question is, “Are your executives/managers skilled enough to identify and manage both types of motivated people effectively?” If not, is your company willing to offer them the training to understand how these types of employees are motivated?

The delightful conundrum that humans offer is that we do not fit into boxes well. Just as you feel that you are successfully recruiting intrinsically motivated people, some employees suddenly begin to act more like transactional employees. Typically that means it may be time to study your compensation structure. It is important to take money off the table. Don’t give away the company and don’t make work an “if…then” proposition. Possibly what they really need is more autonomy or a better understanding of the purpose of their work? The unhappy employee may not know how to communicate those needs. They know they need a change and feel that more compensation may help them feel better. The terrible success rate of counteroffers demonstrates that more compensation is usually not the answer.

We are back to the important question, “What makes employees happy?” “It depends” is not a helpful response.

Let’s apply the chemistry elements analogy with each response from the 300 executives and human resource directors. Take all of those elements and simmer them down to the base elements. Doesn’t it boil down to these two elements? “Am I making a positive, measurable impact”; and, “Am I having fun?” If both of these elements are present, compensation takes care of itself. The employees will do the work necessary to receive the appropriate compensation.

The challenge for companies is to recognize those base elements and strive to help their employees succeed and have fun. It is not easy. Those who are successful generally are found on the Best Places to Work lists, and financially benefit with an engaged workforce.

Bill Humbert is an expert nationally based Recruitment Consultant and the author of “RecruiterGuy’s Guide to Finding a Job.” His business, RecruiterGuy.com, specializes in recruitment continuous process improvement, employment branding, creative candidate sourcing, interview training, and how these tie together to attract Impact Performers.

Dan Hanyzewski, Managing Partner, West Shore Partners LLC

How often have you heard it said, “He or she had the greatest credentials and experience and were perfect for the job,” only to be miserably disappointed that they were a total failure in the environment they were hired into. I would wager to say this happens more than we care to discuss. Most often it relates to the question posed regarding the cultural fit.

Zappos’ practice of asking job candidates to rank their weirdness on a scale of one to 10 is because one of Zappos’ core values is “create fun and a little weirdness.”

Nike utilizes “Competency Based Behavior “assessments because the culture calls for collaboration within a highly complex matrixed environment that tends to be more passive aggressive than a command and control environment.

When you think about the world’s most dominant brands, Starbucks, Google, Apple, and McDonald’s, to name some of my favorites, you have to ask yourself how they achieved this dominance. Most often, when you distill it all down, it points directly to innovation and flawless implementation spawned from an almost cult-like connection to their culture.

Cultural fit from one perspective might be a direct correlation between the employee’s personal value system and the company’s values. It may seem obvious but often goes undetected through the interview process and may not manifest itself until the prospective employee is actually trying to perform in the environment. Once it is revealed that there is disconnect the chances of success become questionable and often times end in a very negative result. This result has enormous financial impact. If you consider the loss of productivity , the negative impact on morale, the additional resources required to compensate, and the overall expenditure of time in acquiring and then ultimately replacing the employee, conservative estimates are as much as 40 times the base earnings of that individual and can be much more than this. In today’s market that might even be a conservative number when you consider that the supply chain for certain disciplines is quite diminished and you really can’t afford to make a wrong decision.

The consequences for making a wrong decision cannot only have financial impact but they can do enormous public relations damage and result in an organization making great concessions to its existing policies.

A recent example of this would be the wrongful termination case involving Dawnmarie Souza, who claimed she was unlawfully fired from her job at an ambulance company in December 2009 and denied union representation. She was terminated after posting negative comments about her supervisor on her Facebook page.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against the American Medical Response of Connecticut in October 2010. The board contended that Souza was “engaged in concerted activities with other employees” when she criticized and complained about her supervisor on Facebook.

As reported by Philadelphia Employment Law News, the company agreed to modify its “overly broad rules” in the employee handbook about how employees can communicate online and talk about their work conditions with their coworkers. AMR also consented to not punishing their employees for asking for union representation.

Dawnmarie Souza’s case raised the controversial question of whether employers have the right to discipline their employees for any posts or comments written on social-networking sites.

AMR had initially argued that Souza’s Facebook comments were not protected activity on the Internet, but the NLRB responded that firing Souza from her job actually violated the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRA permits workers to discuss the conditions and terms of their job with coworkers and other people.

Then there is the speculation that is generated in headlines like the following that have taken place in the last few years:

Oracle’s President Replaces Resigned CFO

Safra Catz, Oracle’s president and former CFO has replaced CFO Jeff Epstein who resigned after three years. No reason was given for Epstein’s departure, and Oracle said Catz will remain as president. Two previous CFOs each lasted less than a year. Observers see the move putting Catz and former HP CEO Mark Hurd in line to become Oracle’s CEO.

MySpace CEO is out after less than a year

Van Natta’s resignation is effective immediately. He will be replaced by Mike Jones, chief operating officer, and Jason Hirschhorn, chief product officer, who are being promoted to serve as co-presidents, News Corp. said in a statement.

Seventh Generation: Hollender supports new CEO, layoffs won’t slow mission

John Replogle joined Seventh Generation in March as only the third Chief Executive Officer in the company’s 23-year history. He is also the third CEO in just the past year and a half. He took over for Chuck Maniscalco, who joined the company in 2009 after founder Jeffrey Hollender stepped down as CEO. Hollender continued to work on the company’s sustainability initiatives during that transition, which he described as “a turbulent and difficult period for the company.”

“Chuck Maniscalco resigned less than a year and a half into his tenure,” Hollender said. “That alone is disruptive. I was CEO for almost two decades. Because these transitions are challenging, the company spent a lot of time and resources on it, hoping it would last more than a year and a half.”

It is quite easy to see how these changes can affect both brand equity and shareholder value, and they almost always do in these cases.

To say that making sure you have the right cultural fit is important is probably an understatement. Can you always be certain? Not likely. But you can do quite a bit to mitigate your exposure. You will probably never hire five out of five, as they say in the talent acquisition profession, but there are a number of things like behavioral interviews, 360 reviews, and complete and utter honesty with the candidate and yourself about the real culture within your company.

Oftentimes the outbound perception of one’s brand is not necessarily in sync with the realities of the culture that drives the company. To do your best in assessing the right fit it is important to know the perception of that fit.

Phil Knight, founder of a sports company, once said, “Sports is like rock ‘n’ roll. Both are dominant cultural forces, both speak an international language, and both are all about emotions.”

That might give you just a little insight into what the right fit for his company might be.

Dan Hanyzewski is Managing Partner of West Shore Partners LLC / Redmitten.com, a niche consulting firm focused on delivering high-end solutions to a range of Human Resources, Procurement, Operational, and Finance clients. He is currently engaged by  Sunrise Systems as a principal to aggressively grow that firm and Kelly Services (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) to assist Kelly’s Outsourcing and Consulting Group build out additional capabilities in employment branding, recruitment strategy, and contingent workforce management.

Bill Humbert, Recruitment Consultant

Most recruiters, corporate and third party alike, have discovered that a candidate’s acceptance does not automatically translate to their start. Many events may occur to prevent the candidate’s transition to employee, particularly if they need to relocate.

Therefore, it is important to stay in contact through the period between their acceptance and their start. It is also good for the hiring manager to communicate their excitement that the candidate is joining their team. Why? Well, the candidate is about to be re-sold on their current company with a counter offer. Possibly they need some advice for relocation to the new area. Do you have a dependable real estate agent for community orientation tours? Typically candidates convey any trepidation they have regarding the move to the real estate agent. Professional real estate agents can help you answer objections prior to them becoming too large to handle. The different variables working against the person’s start are too numerous to mention in a short blog or article.

When a recruiter feels the need to pull in the “big guns” (the CEO for instance), they need to be comfortable that person is willing and able to sell the candidate on the advantages of working for the client organization. I’ve been known to travel two states to save a valuable hire (with my client’s blessing and aid) after the candidate accepted a counter offer. Countering the counter offer requires skill and sensitivity. After all, change is difficult for most people.

How do you handle their start day? Do you welcome them on board with a special welcome? Or do you send them to HR to fill out their paperwork? Remember to differentiate your business as a great place to work immediately. First impressions are lasting.

Also remember your company just spent a sizable amount of money to identify this person. If they leave immediately (and over the years, I’ve seen a few go to lunch and never return), your company typically is starting over.

Welcome every new employee as a valued member of the team. The hiring manager should welcome them and review three, six, nine, and 12 month goals with them (those are in your job descriptions, correct?). Then the manager needs to introduce the new team member to their immediate team, followed by introductions to other areas of the company where they interface. They can then go to lunch with their immediate team to begin bonding.

But the paperwork! What about the paperwork? Send it to them ahead of time. Suggest they complete as much as possible prior to starting. After lunch they can meet with HR for answers to their benefit and other paperwork questions.

Is there value in a formal company orientation? Absolutely! Learning the history of the company, its mission, and how to successfully work within the company are all important. Assuming that most people start on Mondays, and that Mondays are typically tough days for human resources, begin orientation on Tuesday. This gives the hiring manager and their team a day to bond and show the new employee how to be successful in that new group. Where is the software they need on the company network? Show them and then provide cheat sheets.

The first day is the beginning of your company’s employee retention process – and what a day to begin!

Bill Humbert is an expert nationally based Recruitment Consultant and the author of “RecruiterGuy’s Guide to Finding a Job.” His business, RecruiterGuy.com, specializes in recruitment continuous process improvement, employment branding, creative candidate sourcing, interview training, and how these tie together to attract Impact Performers.

Lois Melbourne, GPHR, CEO of Aquire

Senior talent executives may be surprised to learn that a sizeable number of employees who are highly engaged at work don’t intend to stay with their company for very long. According to a survey conducted by Manpower, 84 percent of employees plan to look for a new position in 2011 – up from just 60 percent last year.

Meaningful work, performance-based rewards, and attractive career opportunities are certainly useful retention tools, but companies need to do more to retain highly engaged employees.

Engagement is a Two-Way Commitment 

Partners. Businesses and customers. Employers and employees. The act of engagement demands effort from all parties. But what are we talking about when we say “employee engagement”? According to Scarlett Surveys, “Employee engagement is a measureable degree of an employee’s positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, colleagues and organization which profoundly influences their willingness to learn and perform at work.”

The engagement itself is distinctly different from the typical elements we consider to be contributors to engagement, namely, satisfaction, motivation, culture, climate and opinion.

The Value of Retaining Engaged Employees

Engaged employees are the backbone of the world’s highest-performing companies. The dedication of these employees to drive outcomes is a critical force in these companies’ ability to succeed in their business goals.

Studies by F. Leigh Branham published by the American Management Association (AMA) estimate the cost of employee turnover to be between 25 and 250 percent of the annual salary per exiting employee. Clearly, there is tangible benefit to retaining engaged employees in whom you have already made an investment.

In an effort to retain engaged workers, employers need to first set clear company goals and be committed to ongoing communication. Those factors, in turn, will help guide retention goals.

Establish Goals

An employee who is engaged is “intentionally helping the company reach its goals.” One of the critical considerations when building retention programs is the clear creation and communication of these goals. Employees also need to know how their efforts will help impact the achievement of company goals. Before defining goals and their importance to the company, think carefully about how they will be communicated to the workforce and supported by the leadership team.

Ongoing support is a key factor in reaching company goals. If a goal is established and communicated only once to employees but never receives proper funding or support, the employees striving toward that goal may feel like their time and dedication is wasted. Conversely, goals that are kept visible, measured regularly, and driven by reward lead to greater employee satisfaction.

A common pitfall for companies is setting goals that are impossible to achieve – an effect that is compounded when no one will admit that the problem exists. Employees may simply leave the company rather than endure this atmosphere of predestined failure.

There is also the trap of setting goals that are too esoteric or poorly defined. In this situation, employees often have difficulty scheduling their tasks and projects without clear boundaries. Scheduling discussions that organize corporate goals across departmental, team, and individual levels help define goals which, in turn, raises employee retention.

Communication is Key

Engagement also requires active communication. Listening, exchanging ideas, and providing feedback are critical elements in fostering employee engagement. Those who contribute suggestions or engage in open dialogue with a superior are likely to contribute more to the organization.

Communication styles vary from person to person, so learning how each employee transmits and receives information most effectively is key to team success. Are numbers best delivered in lists for some people but in charts for others? Once you discover the best ways to communicate with teammates, information flows much more freely.

Retaining the Engaged

With a solid foundation in engagement tools, employers are then able to retain those employees. They’re already engaged, which means we have invested in them in such a way to get their buy-in.

Different personalities respond to different types of rewards and environments. There are a number of workplace dynamics that can be fundamentally rewarding for professionals yet are often undervalued by employers.  Consider the following:

Employee respect:

Respect carries no monetary cost to your organization yet it is the best investment you can make. Give your employees the benefit of the doubt. Allow staff the freedom and security to explain their actions. Encourage additional attempts at fulfilling goals without being judgmental. Trust and respect are reciprocal investments. People are much more likely to respect and follow someone who respects them in return.

Investments in technology:

Don’t let outdated technology waste the valuable time of your workforce. If you expect employees to be accessible when they are out of the office, invest in a corporate phone program and supply your workers with smartphones. When a company blocks on-line meeting technologies like WebEx and GoToMeeting, the staff is disconnected from educational resources provided in the marketplace. Such tools can even reduce travel and delivery expenses. Removing these barriers from your employees’ daily work environments is critical and greatly reduces employee frustration.

Adopt new forms of communication:

If half of your staff is texting or instant messaging to communicate quickly, while the other half steadfastly sticks to email and voicemail, which group do you think is better informed? If they are not communicating with each other, they could each be handicapped. Teach employees about the value of integrating all forms of communication and productivity will improve. Using the right tool for the right type of information can be critical.

Get it right early:

According to Doherty Staffing Solutions, the first 90 days are most critical to a new employee’s success. “The purpose of on-boarding is to assimilate the new person into your organization, so make their first days a positive, memorable experience,” notes Doherty Staffing. Training people on the how and why things are done is critical to a successful future. If you make the investment to train people, the return is well worth it.

Be flexible:

No one likes to miss important family events, nor do you want your team members to neglect their health. With today’s technology, telecommuting is possible for most positions in most companies. It’s unrealistic to expect your employees to make the company their first priority at all times. Show them that you understand and actively promote a work-life balance strategy.

Provide continued development:

Engaged employees crave challenges. According to Doherty Staffing, “…more than 40 percent of the respondents would consider leaving their present employer for another job…if that job provided better career development and greater challenges.” Providing them with challenging work, personal development, and a clear career path is an investment in retention.

Ultimately, engaged employees are high-performers, team motivators and dedicated workers. If employers take the time to invest in them, then they will be engaged and loyal. And that makes for a healthy and successful work environment.

Lois Melbourne is co-founder and CEO of Aquire (www.aquire.com), a provider of workforce planning and analytics technology solutions. She is GPHR (Global Professional in Human Resources) certified by the HR Certification Institute (HRCI), and a member of the International Association of Human Resource Information Management.

Bill Humbert, Recruitment Consultant

Have you ever sourced the Best Candidate; sold them on the opportunity with your company or client; worked with them through the interview process, answering their questions; helped the hiring manager determine the best compensation package; extended an offer that they accepted; and then lost the candidate to a counter offer? If you have been in the recruitment business for any amount of time, you have experienced that sinking feeling when they stop returning your calls.

When should a recruiter begin to prepare a candidate for the counter offer? My suggestion is to bring up the topic when you are setting up the onsite interview. Why? You want them talking about it long before they experience the counter offer. Why? You don’t want them to experience the natural ego boost when they feel wanted, possibly for the first time in a long time at their current company.

A great way to bring up the topic is head on. “How do you plan on handling the counter offer if my company/client extends you an offer that you accept?” Hate to bring this up but some candidates use interviewing outside of their company as leverage to get a raise. Obviously there is a lack of integrity, but they have been successful squeezing what they wanted out of a company using that tactic in the past. It’s best to begin to coach them now – and the best way to begin coaching is to know their response to that question.

Now is the time to ask the following question again, “Why are you considering a job change now?” Many times the response I’ve received is “You intrigued me. Otherwise I was not looking.” Then you may ask them, “What was it about this position that intrigued you?” This response is very important to your success. Write it down in your notes (all the better if you work with an applicant tracking system!).

While discussing the counter offer early on, I like to bring up the statistic that depending on the economy and industry between 67% and 80% of those employees who accept a counter offer leave in the next six months – and their company knows that statistic.

If that is true, why do companies extend counter offers? Typically to protect themselves. The manager suddenly realizes they need that person that they have either been ignoring or have not allowed them to move to a new project, area, manager, etc. They realize they will lose important knowledge that the person will take with them. They may have lost other members of their team and are afraid how this departure will reflect on them. Sometimes they suddenly realize they are under compensating their employee (but they still have a budget).

Fast forward to the offer. Once the manager has decided to extend an offer, typically they have already begun penciling the candidate into meetings (even when the candidate has not accepted). By now the candidate and I have had several conversations about the counter offer. They are now expecting one.

Once the candidate accepts the offer, I ask them to let me know how many of the following statements they hear from various members of management:

1. “I am shocked that you want to leave! I thought you were happy. As a matter of fact, tomorrow we were going to discuss a (promotion, raise, new project, etc.) with you.” (Call me a cynic but the timing is suspect…)
2. “You are a very valuable employee. We need to see what we can do to encourage you to stay.”
3. “I am happy that you came to me because I planned to chat with you about moving to another organization/project within our company.” (That was nixed in a previous conversation.)
4. “I am very disappointed that you chose such a busy time to leave our organization. Can’t you see the impact of your departure will have on everyone else?” (RecruiterGuy loves that one. The manager is trying to put a guilt trip on the employee!)
5. “Your manager just came to me to discuss your resignation. I asked if I could talk with you. You are a key person in our growth plans. I am sorry we haven’t shared this with you sooner. Let’s sit down and discuss the needed changes…” (Generally an executive speaking.)
6. “What will it take for you to stay?” (At least that one is upfront in its intent!)
7. “As you know, we rarely make counter offers here. You are such a key person. We will make an exception. What do you want to stay?”
8. “Thank you for coming to me and discussing needed changes. Would you like to lead those changes?” (Generally once you accept the counter offer, the desire to make the immediate changes in the organization dissolves shortly after.) Then they will say, “Let’s just finish what you are working on first. Then we will discuss the changes.” (Note – they won’t say “make the changes” again.)

One of my candidates called me after their resignation and proudly told me the company hit 7 of the 8 statements during the day of his resignation. Then he laughed and told me he was happy I warned him.

Why is accepting a counter offer typically one of the worse things an employee can do – and leads to so many leaving within the next six months?

• The employee’s loyalty to their current company is now questioned. Subtly they will begin to see changes in how management works with them if they accept the counter offer. Fewer strategic conversations and more tactical conversations as they begin the brain drain. Management also knows the employee will most likely leave in six months. Therefore, management will begin to plan who is going to replace the employee.
• Remember, the odds of further success at that company decline rapidly once the employee accepts a counter offer. Management is now focused on “protecting themselves” instead of future contributions from the employee. They know the employee will only be in the position a short time before they have to go through the expense and time of replacing them.
• Usually accepting a counter offer will burn the bridge with the company where the employee successfully interviewed and received an offer. Now the employee who was excited by the company, the new position, the hiring manager and the offer has to go to the offering company and give them the news they accepted a counter offer. Generally that conversation does not go well. Once a manager decides to extend an offer, they begin to plan for the new employee’s start and begin penciling them in for meetings. They are very excited they have finally found the right person for the position. Imagine the level of disappointment when they are told the candidate accepted a counter offer.

I recommend to candidates, “The best way to resign is to graciously thank the manager for the experience working with them. Then firmly tell them that they are very excited about the new opportunity and give the date of their departure (generally two weeks’ notice). When a manager approaches to discuss the counter offer, simply thank them and begin discussing the transition.”

By discussing the counter offer early and often during the recruiting process, you increase the probability of delivering your candidate to your company or client.

Bill Humbert is an expert nationally based Recruitment Consultant and the author of “RecruiterGuy’s Guide to Finding a Job.” His business, RecruiterGuy.com, specializes in recruitment continuous process improvement, employment branding, creative candidate sourcing, interview training, and how these tie together to attract Impact Performers.

Robert Funk, CEO & Founder, Express Employment Professionals

When the sun finally sets on the second quarter of 2011, a recent survey of thousands of employers suggests hiring increases will be evident in several areas — especially commercial and administrative jobs. But, another survey suggests that problems with low morale will spell trouble for employers as overall hiring heats up.

In a survey conducted by Express Employment Professionals of 19,000 companies regarding hiring plans in the second quarter, 39 percent of respondents plan to hire commercial workers and 29 percent indicated plans to hire administrative workers. The numbers are more modest for higher-level jobs, but 13 percent of respondents anticipate hiring to fill engineering and accounting positions, and 12 percent of respondents plan to hire for information technology and marketing positions.

Of those companies surveyed on second quarter hiring plans, 50 percent find it “very easy” to “somewhat easy” to recruit for and fill positions. Their top three recruiting sources include staffing firms (67 percent), employee referrals (59 percent), and online job boards (39 percent). But 44 percent of respondents indicated that they find it “somewhat difficult” to “very difficult” to recruit new hires at all.

While any indication of job growth is a sight for weary eyes these days, 15,000 employers were surveyed by Express on morale and their responses point to looming problems related to job growth and increased productivity. About 42 percent of respondents indicated that plummeting worker morale could begin to deplete their workforce when hiring becomes more vigorous. In fact, 65 percent of human resources executives are highly to very highly concerned about losing their best workers following the recession.

What’s with all the gloom on the job?

Most of the surveyed company leaders–62 percent of respondents–primarily link the downward spiral to heavier workloads. Other top factors cited as morale busters in the workplace include:

• layoffs or job security,
• employees feeling under valued,
• poor communication, and
• lack of confidence in management.

Employers can’t afford to wait for a brighter economic landscape before addressing morale issues. Sinking morale doesn’t just present the danger of mass employee exodus when the employment picture improves; dispirited workers make for a disengaged workforce now. And if they eventually leave, replacing them can cost up to 33 percent of a new hire’s annual salary, according to the Gallup Organization.

Plus low worker morale can challenge your business in other ways, including:

• decreased productivity,
• increased absenteeism,
• higher turnover,
• conflict between employees,
• distrust and frustration, and
• decreased job satisfaction.

On the flip side, the Gallup Organization found that highly engaged employees are 87 percent less likely to leave their jobs than ones who are unmotivated at work.

Proactive employers are taking definitive steps to boost morale and retain their best workers. The morale survey showed the top ways companies are addressing the morale issue. Half of survey respondents say they’re recognizing employee accomplishments, and about 42 percent say they’re striving to create a fun environment in the workplace. Other efforts include setting challenging yet realistic goals (38 percent) and offering team-building activities (28 percent). Plus, company leaders themselves are heading up the morale boosting initiative at 28 percent of the companies.

Other ways that company leaders can combat slumping morale and disengagement is by:

• professionally surveying employees about significant workplace issues,
• instituting an employee performance management system,
• taking measures to ensure that a new prospect complements company culture before committing time and expenses to hiring,
• considering temporary hires to help relieve the load on core employees, and
• offering targeted training.

Most important of all, act now rather than wait for the stranglehold that fleeing employees can put on your operations.

Robert A. Funk is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals, which specializes in evaluation hiring, temporary staffing, professional search efforts, and human resources. He founded the company in 1983, and it has grown to 550 locations in four countries, putting nearly 300,000 people to work each year. For more information, please visit www.expresspros.com.

Barbara Bruno, President, Good as Gold Training, HRSearch Inc.

We are going to review critical mistakes that are being made by managers in staffing and recruiting throughout the country. We will also be reviewing solutions to those mistakes.

MISTAKE #1 – Expectations are not written down

Recruitment leaders consistently approach me to find out why their recruiters are not meeting expectations. When I asked what those expectations are, the common response is: “To do better than they’re currently doing!”

Whether you have an office of new recruiters or seasoned recruiters, they need to know the following:

• Your specific expectations (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)
• What exactly they need to do to meet your expectations
• Share the following:
  • What you expect from them
  • What they can expect from you!

MISTAKE #2 – Too much emphasis on number of calls

Think about the following scenario…One of your recruiters has made 50 recruiting presentations with no hits. You approach your recruiter and tell them to: “Make more calls.” If the first 50 calls produced nothing, making 50 more of the same bad call will produce the exact same results – nothing!

• You must have your recruiters monitor their daily statistics
• After three months, you can start to calculate personal ratios
• Review the expectations set for each person on your sales team
• Tell them the exact results they need to produce daily to attain their goal
• If they don’t attain results one day, the number is added to the next day’s expected results

It should be more about the quality of the call and the results achieved vs. the quantity of calls made.

MISTAKE #3 – Planning is not mandatory

Your recruiters need to plan out all the calls they will make the following day. This allows them to hit the results they need daily. More often than not, if they attempt to plan in the morning, the telephone starts to ring, and they focus on the urgent issues all day vs. the important ones.

• Mandate daily planning prior to leaving your office (not on legal pads or post-it notes!)
• Check planners to see if they are smelling ‘money’
• List the six actions closest to the ‘money’ and commit to completing those tasks before leaving work the next day

MISTAKE #4 – You are expecting not inspecting

When I first began to manage I was taught one very important lesson about management: People do what you inspect not expect.

• It is important for you or your manager to inspect daily results
• It is important for you or your manager to manage by walking around
• It is important for you to listen for the hum in your office of people talking on the phone not just sending emails!
• You need to review daily planners, recruiting sheets, send-out hot sheets and activity levels
• If you ask for reports to be completed – read them

MISTAKE #5 – You don’t monitor daily send-outs

My definition of a send-out is: The first interview (either face-to-face or telephone interview) between your candidate and a decision maker.

Subsequent interviews don’t count as additional send-outs; tracking first interviews only. The number one reason production is inconsistent is the lack of consistent send-outs. If you don’t date you don’t get married, if you don’t book send-outs, you don’t make placements.

• Know the send-out to placement ratio of every recruiter
• Mandate send-out hot sheets
• When your team arrives at work as them: “Where is your send-out today?” See if they are focused on your hot leads!
• Teach your recruiters – When in Doubt – Send Them Out!

MISTAKE #6 – Lack of systems

If you have systems for every step of the placement process your recruiters will attain higher results.

• Systems prevent the desk dance
• Systems prevent details from falling through the cracks
• Systems increase the value of your business
• Systems increase referrals
• Systems help you retain your eagles

If you implement any of these solutions, you will focus on results and the results will be increased production, profits and incomes!

Barb Bruno, CPC, CTS is one of the most trusted experts, speakers and trainers in the Staffing and Recruiting Profession. Barb has spent several years helping Owners, Managers and Recruiters increase their Sales, Profits and Income with her top-rated web based training Course, the Top Producer Tutor. The Tutor jump starts new hires and takes experienced recruiters to higher levels of production. In addition to the class, Tutor clients hear from Barb weekly during the Tutor Training Webinars and bi-weekly during her live coaching calls! Contact Barb to schedule a free demo of the Tutor, call 219.663.9609 or Email support@staffingandrecruiting.com.

Barbara Bruno, President, Good as Gold Training, HRSearch Inc.

During a recession most employees stay at their job whether they are happy or not. They don’t want to take a chance at being the last person hired and the first person cut back. According to a recent survey by The Conference Board, only 40% of those surveyed said they were satisfied with their job. This is the lowest level of job satisfaction since they began the survey over 22 years ago.

A study by Right Management found that 60% of employees intend to leave their current positions when the economy improves and an additional 25% are networking and updating their resumes. Companies are populated with dissatisfied and disengaged employees who are staying with their company until something better comes along. This is not good news for employers facing a competitive workforce, but great news for our profession!

Companies who are not responding to three fundamental problems that are affecting the engagement of employees may witness an employee exodus, especially of their top performing employees. It is important for the Recruiting Profession to understand these three problem areas in order to address these hot buttons during recruiting presentations.

Problem Area Number One – Lack of Trust in Leadership

The 2010 Global Workforce study done by Towers Watson found that “Being Trustworthy” was the attribute 79% of respondents wanted in their senior leaders. Only 47% perceived their current senior leaders as trustworthy. Their trust level relates to the character as well as competence of their leader. Most employees feel strongly that their company’s leadership is not prepared for the economic recovery.

Obviously, the lack of trust in leadership is one of the reasons an employee will leave their current employer and something that should be addressed during recruiting presentations.

Problem Area Number Two – Employees Feel Undervalued

During the recession, many employees are expected to do the work of two people without increase in income. As a result employees feel overworked, underpaid and undervalued. Many employees feel their employers have taken advantage of them which adds to their level of job dissatisfaction. Most employees are willing to make allowances during the recession, but as the economy recovers they will question the need for ongoing sacrifices. If companies do not reward the individuals who did sacrifice, they will look for a new opportunity.

Obviously an employee who feels undervalued is a great candidate target for your clients.

Problem Area Number Three – Increased Stress

Increased hours, increased expectations, pay freezes, reduction in compensation, loss of co-workers and potential loss of job all increase stress. Many employees are also affected by personal struggles that could include a spouse losing their job, or other financial, health or personal relationship issues. Many benefits have been decreased including company events or outings. Increased stress can also lead to health problems and employee disengagement.

This disengagement will encourage an employee to consider other careers and opportunities.  Most employees are just waiting for your call!

If you want to attract candidates you must focus on three candidate expectations:

Trustworthy Leadership
Knowing They are Valued
Reduced Levels of Stress

When you are conducting your recruiting presentations, ask questions that will uncover the importance of these areas. These three problem areas are really three areas of opportunity for you to recruit the talent your clients want to hire.

Barb Bruno, CPC, CTS is one of the most trusted experts, speakers and trainers in the Staffing and Recruiting Profession. Barb has spent several years helping Owners, Managers and Recruiters increase their Sales, Profits and Income with her top-rated web based training Course, the Top Producer Tutor. The Tutor jump starts new hires and takes experienced recruiters to higher levels of production. In addition to the class, Tutor clients hear from Barb weekly during the Tutor Training Webinars and bi-weekly during her live coaching calls! Contact Barb to schedule a free demo of the Tutor, call 219.663.9609 or Email support@staffingandrecruiting.com.

Barb would also like to share what she feels is the greatest contribution she’s made to the Staffing and Recruiting Profession, www.happycandidates.com.

New Trends in Healthcare Recruitment and Retention

Lizz Pellet, Chief Culture Officer of EMERGE International and Fellow from Johns Hopkins University

It’s that time again when all the predictions for the New Year are stated and we have to wait 12 months to see if they are real or imagined. My thoughts on what will be an important activity in 2011 bring me back to Employment Branding.  When I wrote The Cultural Fit Factor, How to Create an Employment Brand that Attracts, Retains and Repels the Right Employee, published by SHRM in 2009, the country was just heading into an economic downturn. But here we are, just one and half years later and we’re just beginning to see glimmers of hope. Now is the time to realize that the need to find the right cultural fit is stronger than ever.

An article in CNN Money.com on January 6, 2011 stated that the economy had added 103,000 jobs in December, which was below analyst predictions, but at the same time unemployment sunk to 9.4% – its lowest since May of 2009. We have to factor in the December push for temporary workers, but this may be an indication we are putting people back to work.

We are also starting to see the trend to re-open searches for some positions that had been frozen in 2010 (or earlier). As these searches are opened again, we have the opportunity to look at our brands and how we are marketing our facilities. Is the marketing message really a reflection of the true employee experience or is it just a spiffy tagline which sounds great but is not 100% authentic and congruent?

I want to look at employment branding a bit differently for 2011. Let’s take the perspective of a consumer, versus a job seeker. Look at your brand like buying a new car. Consumer Reports has published its 2011 Car Brand Perception Study and it has some very interesting points of view. Number one, they say that Ford leads in the factors that matter most to car shoppers. Really? For years I have held the perception that Ford stood for Found On Road Dead. It’s hard to change perceptions. The study reflects how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: Safety, Quality, Value, Performance, Design/Style, Technology/Innovation and Environmentally Friendly/Green. When I look at these seven, this really could be criteria that top talent is using to evaluate your healthcare organization.

Safety: Do I want to work for an organization that is not JCAHO certified? I think not! Most allied health workers are seeking magnet hospitals. Candidates know the gold standard, so we have to be sure we have that certificate, logo or indicator on our career site.

Quality: Same goes for quality. If you have customer satisfaction figures, post them on your career site just like you would employee satisfaction statistics. Your career videos should indicate something about the level of quality patient care that you deliver or the level of satisfaction your employees convey. Press-Ganey scores do matter!

Value: This is an easy one!  List your organizational values – all of them, but don’t do it in a typical laundry list – convey them in behavioral terms. If your performance evaluations include a rating system on how the employees live the values, state that. We are seeing a trend of organizations posting their values on the page before you can enter a job search. They state things like – “here are our values, if you agree to uphold them, click here to continue. If these values do not match your personal values, thank you for considering employment at our organization, but we would not be a good fit for you”. Nice gate keeper approach. Remember – repelling employees that don’t fit is as important (if not more important) than attracting ones that will.

Performance: How fiscally sound is your organization? If you have public numbers, publish them. If your organization has recently merged or is expanding and building new hospitals or clinics, list them. Candidates want to see the potential for growth and don’t want to make a career change to an organization that is perceived as stagnant.

Design/Style: What does your organization “look like”? A great way to show off is to have a video recording of your campus. Google started this practice five years ago with “a day in the life of a Googler”. Get out there and shoot some real footage of your hospital and your employees. Everyone knows that the Microsoft stock photo people don’t work at every hospital website they appear on!

Technology and Innovation: How about we weave in some of the state of the art technologies your organization uses? This could be anything that demonstrates that your hospital is innovative and cutting edge. It could include the way you use social media in your recruiting efforts or how technology is used by your physicians or hospitalists.

Environmentally Friendly/Green: You may not have given this category a lot of thought but this is an important one! The new trend in recruiting is to switch to live virtual interviews via webcam versus phone screening or flying candidates in for second round interviews. The reduction in carbon footprint is just as impactful as the cost savings of candidate travel. Baptist Health System in San Antonio, Texas took the “Best Candidate Experience” award at the 2010 Onrec Global Expo for their physician recruiting practices by implementing the GreenJobInterview.com solution. This innovative solution is cashing in on the green – in more ways than one!

So begin the New Year by taking your employment brand for a spin and see how it matches up to the factors car shoppers use. You just might see the similarities in consumer branding and the employment branding process.

Lizz Pellet, Chief Cultural Officer of EMERGE International and Fellow from Johns Hopkins University, is the author of the new SHRM publication: The Cultural Fit Factor, Creating an Employment Brand that Attracts, Retains and Repels the right employees. She has also written Getting Your Shift Together: Making Sense of Organizational Culture and Change. Lizz is a master facilitator and educator. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and has presented over 70 professional learning sessions in the past three years. Her high energy, use of humor and relevant business content make her a very popular keynote speaker.