Why Outsourcing is such an Ugly Word. . .

Who’s going to lose their job?
How can they do the job / task / function better than we can.
They probably do it overseas and pay peanuts: after all you get what you pay for.
What are they cutting out to avoid legalities?
Anyway – I know my business better than anyone so I’ll keep doing it the way I know best.

The major source of negativity towards Outsourcing lies in the widespread adoption of the name for sending jobs and services overseas. Let’s differentiate outsourcing against Off-shoring. Off-shoring is the practice where whole industries have been removed from the US and UK to countries with lower per head costs. Think of call centers; back off support such as raising Invoices and allocating accounts receivables. Off-shoring will continue until consumers vote with their feet. When consumers stop spending money that sends profits overseas then companies will bring jobs back to their own country. Only time will tell if consumers can afford to pay higher prices for goods and services to bring jobs home.

Outsourcing is so common you do it every in your personal life every day:

Dentists:                 We can take our own teeth out……..(ouch!)
Barbers:                  Cut our own hair……….. (Fashionista!)
Gardeners:              Mow the lawn (summertime in Florida!)
Plumbers:               Unblock the drain….(scrumptious)
Recruiters:              HR Dept’s can find people……(it’s just easier to use a partner)
Lawyers:                 Fight our own legal cases….(genius)
Day care:                We put our kids in stranger’s care every day…(compared to that letting go of payroll is a breeze)

You get the general idea.

Businesses need to find ways to stay competitive now!

Outsource you non-core Human Resource Functions.
Look at outsourcing your Recruitment, Payroll processing, Group Benefits selection and Workers compensation coverage to reduce both fixed and variable costs, gain profit and increase efficiencies. Select an external HR provider who allows you to focus on your internal functions. Devote more time to your employees to make them more productive, more profitable and less likely to sue you.

Outsourcing is an acceptable but often misunderstood term. Perhaps it should be named co-sourcing, partnering, engaging or plain old hiring – that way the idea may be better received and understood.

Homeless man with golden voice – there’s talent out there

The touching story of Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice has sparked a storm of media interest. Mr Williams was extremely fortunate to have been spotted by someone who heard his talent and presented it to the world.

How many other talented people don’t make it through our every day filters? What chance does someone with a “voice” talent have of making it past the modern Applicant Tracking Systems so heavily relied upon by hiring managers. None. Just as those applicants who are not well versed in the modern trends of developing their “online brand” or writing a Shakespearean level cover letter become lost in the system.

That’s why modern recruiters and hiring managers have to remember the “old skills’. People still have to be met and interviewed to have any chance of highlighting their “brand”. If Mr Williams had been interviewed / heard within the last 2 years by an “open-minded” recruiter he may have been a great fit for a customer service contract at a call center or at least a telephone reception role.

Modern technology is there to enhance business and improve efficiency, but as we are losing the human element in the hiring process we lose the talent that does not know how to beat the computer filters.  Mr Williams was found under a highway; too many good people aren’t getting the opportunity to be seen or heard and lost under the virtual highway.

Note to self: Take more time to read Resume’s, reach out to hear more people stories and keep fighting for talent to be seen or heard.

Career Transition or Personal Meltdown?

I love the new way to put a positive spin for those who find themselves between roles, that is unemployed. Okay, there I said it, that dirty word that no one dare say anymore – “unemployed”.  It’s become the unwritten rule that you don’t even go there and say “unemployed” – if you do it may finally push an individual over the edge towards complete social leprosy  – the neighbors will lock their doors and make sure to hide their children and cats.

But how do you know whether you are truly in transition or have you spiraled into Metldown.  Here’s a checklist:

Transition You are still diligently applying to jobs and waiting for a response from HR. You suspect that there may be a big black hole somewhere with 178 of your perfectly crafted resumes, cover letters, voice mail messages.

Meltdown You have completely had it with these hiring managers who can’t be bothered to acknowledge your application. You have taken it upon yourself to acquire the license plate of every HR manager within a 50 mile radius.

Transition You are lucky enough to be on interview and get asked that perky little question about your salary requirements. You take the safe route and ask for whatever is commensurate with the role. When pushed you give a nice range starting at 25% less than your prior salary. You’ll just not eat on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Meltdown You know that bloody question is coming at any time soon. You start to sweat. When it comes your internal voice takes over ” Ok, so there’s no food on the table …..But I need to keep some dignity…so here’s the way it is – just give me the job and I will work for peanuts to save my sanity.  But better still turn the tables on them! Yeah!  So Missy HR tell me how low do I have to go?

Transition You have started to notice that many of the hiring managers appear to be a little young and somewhat inexperienced. That’s ok and just a sign of the times, what with social media taking such a prominent place in the hiring process. Or so you’ve been told – maybe that explains the sudden rush of Gen X’ers on Facebook – we now have time?.

Meltdown Every time you step into one of these Interview / career fairs you think it’s another day at daycare. When you try to engage in polite conversation you realize you have nothing in common with these 5 year olds who have been given the keys to the kingdom and you want to throw them over your knee and smack some sense into them – time to exit the room we think.

Transition Now that you have time on your hands at least you get to see the kids at all their after school sporting events. So much so that little Jenny, Billy and Ken have all lost any signs of puppy fat and you have made sure they are picked for every first team event possible – even Golf.

Meltdown Your kids may well be getting in shape every day but for some reason you’re gaining 12 pounds a week. It doesn’t make sense, as you no longer eat out any more. Maybe sat in front of the computer looking for jobs and getting acquainted with your old friend Twinkie is not the best strategy.

We invite further instances of Transition or Meltdown, all comments are welcomed!

Job Boards are Zombies

or Androids or Cyborgs or whatever derogatory automated term you can think of for the way we let computers and technology run our Job Searches and Hiring. Why have we let technology completely rule the selection process. Now, I know it’s supposed to be to the betterment of society to let technology make us more efficient. Yet with the advance of technology comes the access to more and more information, in fact addiction to information.

Applicants are overwhelmed at every corner with Job alerts from the various boards. This makes it more difficult to apply to positions in a timely manner, forcing applicants to use the ‘scatter gun’ approach.

Don’t get me wrong – there are some very good niche job boards out there that may reduce the information overload on hiring managers but If everyone is forced to fill out application forms that ensure we fit in nice neat little boxes, where’s the section for transferable skills, changing careers, jumping from suppler side to client side?   How can we evolve our careers?

Have job boards made anything about recruiting any easier or faster? Consider this:

On the face of it applying is one upload and click your resume is ‘there’!  But is it?
It typically takes between 30 minutes to an hour to fill out an online job application. Then you had better write a unique cover letter or you will be de-selected due to lack of effort on your part. Then the resume that you toiled over for hours (version 124)  must be edited yet again. It is then funneled through an applicant tracking system that decides you are unworthy because you only spent 23 months in one discipline and not the requisite 2 years set by the Hiring Manager when he/she set the hiring parameters.  I won’t even start on Keyword rich resume writing (gotta keep the robots happy)

We have always had advertising for jobs, remember newspaper classifieds – whats’ the difference you ask.  Well these ads were not programmed, when you sent your resume it was read (if quite briskly) by a human.  One that made decisions usually based on experience, need and intuition.

The adverts  were also ‘written’ with the intent of filling the position, they were short, brisk and to the point.  You knew then whether you should answer or not.  In fact, many candidates never felt confident enough to reply to adverts unless all requisites were met.  It was seen as embarrassing to send your resume willy nilly.  That’s why Cover Letters appeared to explain to the hiring personnel, why your resume may not be a complete match.  But that was when job ads were written ( copy writing for job adverts was a skilled position).

Now the boards are branding exercises for companies, with HR posting full job descriptions and person specifications – instead of what they really ‘need’ for this match to work.  If you continue to post broad non realistic eulogies  – everyone will come forward.

Open Question
Job Boards and their cronies the ATS systems are zombies cause they reflect an illusion of life, hope and ambition, but are really dead.  Candidates pour out their souls and in return the boards get bigger, hungrier, stronger.  They are feeding on the desperation of both parties.

Let’s get Hiring Managers and Recruiters involved in the selection process again. A human can still imagine how one environment may be similar to another working environment – computers and Job Boards can’t do that.

Use Job Boards only as part of your recruiting/ hiring plan. You also need to make a relationship with a Hiring manager or Recruiter who can understand your needs.

There is still nothing better than an in-depth conversation to assess a Human being.

HR Lessons Learned

to all recruiters who think they want to play on the other side…

I’m back from my hiatus. I recently spent several weeks helping a client move their call center operations from across our northern border.  Yep, I was for 3 months an HR manager.  Excited to begin with, although an accomplished Recruiter / HR professional of over 16 years, I had yet to become internal HR for a client.

It was an immersion into the e-commerce world and the value provided by outsourced call center support. We assessed everything from missed calls, calls dropped, hang up’s  to conversion rates.  This was the ‘other’ side of volume Call center recruiting.  I learned some interesting and valuable lessons, met some great employees and set up a great team.

But most importantly I learned

a) never to go into HR

b) always remember recruitment 101 basics