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Recruiting Across Different Generations

September 28, 2021 by Lacey Walters

The Generational Divide: Recruiting Employees Across Different Generations

Today's workforce currently includes four generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z. With so many differing ideals and motivators, avoiding conflict and fostering cohesion between these age groups is essential. To create a robust and diverse workplace, examine your recruitment process, job advertising, employee benefits offerings, and internal culture to ensure that you’re attracting and retaining the best talent.

 

What Differentiates the Four Generations Found in the Workforce Today?

Generations are demographic groups arranged by birth years that are often defined and affected by significant cultural or historical events within their lifetimes. For example, the Greatest Generation (born in 1901 – 1924) lived through the Great Depression and World War II, whereas Baby Boomers (born in 1946 – 1964) had the 60s counterculture, civil rights movements, and the Vietnam War that set the tone within their lifetimes.

Technology and the internet are significant factors for the four most recent generations currently in the workforce. Boomers adopted technology as older adults, while Gen X (born in 1965 – 1980) was the first to have access to personal computers. Meanwhile, Millennials (born in 1981 – 1996) and Gen Z (born in 1997-2012) are "digital natives" who have had internet access for most, if not all, of their lives.

Differentiating the Four Generations

Recruiting Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z Talent

When setting up your digital recruitment strategy to attract diverse and talented employees, you'll want to reach your target audience where they are and keep job seekers' goals in mind while marketing the position to candidates. For generations across the board, you can feel free to forgo print media. Boomers might not be digital natives, but most have smartphones, and many are active social media users.

In addition to platforms like LinkedIn and third-party job boards, consider mobile and SMS advertising. Using various media tactics and communication channels such as social media goes a long way toward maximizing your recruiting potential across different generations.

 

Best Practices for Advertising Jobs & Benefits to Multigenerational Candidates

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to enticing candidates with job descriptions and benefits, certain perks attract some age groups more than others. Appealing to job seekers by their generation can help you advertise your position and communicate to potential hires with exactly what your company has to offer.

Advertising Jobs to the Four Generations

Use the following list as a general guide to what each generation finds appealing in terms of work, company culture, and benefits:

Baby Boomers

Less concerned about company culture, most Boomers want to know about day-to-day duties and how their experience can contribute to the organization. They like to hear about the why behind decisions, and how the results of their actions will support company success. These job seekers are looking for stability, good healthcare benefits, and the potential for flexible hours as they get closer to retirement.

Generation X

Most Generation X candidates will be looking for growth opportunities as well as professional development and clear paths to promotion. Work-life balance will also be important as job seekers in this generation may be caring for aging parents or children. Healthcare and good retirement benefits have strong appeal for this group.

Millennials

Company culture and ethics are important to this age group. Most Millennials want to work for businesses they can believe in and trust. They thrive on social connection and want to work for companies with strong internal culture. Perks like working from home, free lunches, and gym memberships, in addition to affordable healthcare and flexible PTO, attract this generation.

Generation Z (Zoomers)

Much like Millennials, the ethics of your company will be important to Gen Z. They'll want the same perks as their Millennial counterparts and typically thrive in all-digital environments or work-from-home setups. Conversely, they will not pay much mind to company culture, as long as they are treated as equals amongst peers.

Hiring managers might not be able to offer benefits that appeal across all of these demographics. However, including the benefits and perks your company offers, providing insight into day-to-day work tasks, and adding an overview of your office culture in your recruitment efforts goes a long way toward attracting a diverse workforce.

 

Hiring the Right Candidate

When looking to add a diverse mix of people and generations to your company, the bottom line is that you want the best of the best in terms of talent. While tailoring your recruitment advertising to attract multigenerational candidates is essential, at the end of the day, you want the best person for the job. So regardless of a candidate's specific generation, look for the following traits and concepts when making a hire:

Preparation 

Regardless of a candidate's generation, job seekers should be informed and ready to talk about your company. Not only should they be able to give detailed answers about the business, its background, and its purpose, but good candidates will also have company-specific questions prepared for the interviewer.

Zeal

Look for job seekers who are genuinely interested in the position. Have they done any research into your industry? How are they keeping up with trends and technologies in this area? Employers can train skills, but you can't teach enthusiasm. Therefore, candidates who display eagerness and a drive to succeed in their field or career are ideal.

Suitability

Emphasizing company culture in an interview has two main benefits. First, noting the values and mission of your company will strongly appeal to Millennial and Gen Z candidates. Describing these dynamics and seeing how a candidate reacts can be very telling. Second, specific, detailed interview questions about how the candidate embodies or believes in these same values and mission of the business can help you determine which candidate is the best fit for your team. All the better if the candidate has questions of their own regarding culture, allowing you further insight into what their role would be in the team’s structure if brought on.

Initiative

Beyond training, potential employees need to be very self-motivated to fulfill their roles. Working from home and performing tasks with little supervision is the new normal, and employees will oftentimes have to figure things out for themselves. Asking interview questions about how candidates have taken initiative in the past or have thrived in a role with low supervision can help you make an informed hiring choice.

 

Best Practices to Support a Diverse Team

To support a multigenerational workforce, managers need to encourage a proactive office environment that promotes inclusion. By catering to different communication styles, offering two-way mentorships, emphasizing respect, and avoiding certain assumptions and stereotypes, companies can reduce conflicts due to different age groups in the workplace.

Support Diverse Generations Team

Varied Communication Channels

One factor that differs among all four generations is their communication preferences. For example, Baby Boomers often favor calls or face-to-face meetings, while many Millennials and Zoomers might prefer text or video chats. To bridge the gap and create a collaborative workspace, offer a variety of in-person meetings, calls, chats, email, and social media so everyone can use their favorite communication methods or explore new options.

Reverse Mentoring

Setting up two-way mentorships among people in different age groups has several benefits. The concept centers on both parties sharing what they know with one another without a power struggle. By pairing an older worker with a younger employee, one might gain insights from the other's extensive experience while inspiring a more tech-savvy approach to problem-solving.

Respect

Respecting workers regardless of age should be the cornerstone of your workplace culture. Acknowledging that both Boomers and Millennials have a wealth of knowledge and talent to bring to the table can break stereotypes. Placing value evenly among Generation X and Zoomers can encourage collaboration. Treating all generations as equals will strengthen relationships among colleagues.

Avoid Assumptions

Assuming what people want, based either on your own generational view or preconceived notions about others, can throw off the balance of your workplace. Instead of guessing that a younger worker might want more vacation time as a benefit rather than working from home, simply ask them. As an overarching rule of thumb, by talking with employees and finding out about which incentives/benefits, processes, or communication styles they prefer, you are more likely to retain your staff and avoid leaning into stereotypes based on age.

Mix Things Up

Fight the urge to group younger employees together with the assumption that they'll work well together or get along better. By allowing your office to settle into a natural mix, with younger and older employees working side by side, you can encourage communication and collaboration. Let workers find what they have in common on their own and discover the strengths that each individual and group brings to the table.

 

Beyond the Generation Gap: Life & Career Stages

Some studies suggest that the four generations' values and preferences really aren't that different, despite popular opinion on the matter. In fact, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) suggests that career and life stages play a more significant role in workplace relationships and management.

For example, apartment dwelling Zoomers and Gen Xers who are single with no kids may have more in common, along with similar goals and needs, than a Boomer or Millennial with a mortgage and a family. A person's life stage is another way to define someone beyond their generation.

Similarly, Boomers who are changing careers and Zoomers fresh out of college both have to figure out how to navigate modern hiring processes and online interviews successfully. These employees may also seek out promotions to advance their new careers and increase their salaries. While appealing to the wants and needs of each generation can help recruitment, similar life and career stages often transcend differences between age groups in the workplace.

 

Resources for Recruiting Generations Across the Spectrum

Whether you’re looking to hire Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Gen Z, or just need the best of the best, leverage a recruiter. Recruiting firms are experts at navigating the constantly changing landscape of the job market. It’s a recruiter’s duty to represent people based on skill, looking beyond gender, generation, race, ethnicity, etc. When looking to create a robust and diverse workplace, consider engaging with a firm like Blue Signal to truly strategize your recruitment process, job advertising, employer branding, and so much more to attract and retain the best talent – no matter their generation.

 

About our Contributor, Hazel Bennett: Hazel Bennett is a freelance writer and blogger. She has a degree in communications and lives in Northeastern Ohio. Hazel loves writing about numerous topics and showcasing her expertise with words.

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Career Advice Tagged With: Age Groups, Baby Boomers, benefits, Boomers, candidates, Career Stages, culture, digital recruitment, Diverse, Diversity, employee benefits, Ethics, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, Generation, Generation Gap, Generation X, Generational Divide, Greatest Generation, hiring, Inclusion, interviewing, Job Ads, Job Advertising, job seekers, Life Stages, millennials, Multigenerational Candidates, Office, Promote Inclusion, recruiter, recruiting, Recruiting All Ages, Recruiting Boomers, Recruiting Gen X, Recruiting Gen Z, Recruiting Millennials, Recruitment Process, talent, Work, workplace, Zoomers

2021 Jobs on the Rise: How 2020 Shaped New Trends and Created a Surge In Demand

April 8, 2021 by Aylish DeVore

As we settle into 2021, it has become evident how much has shifted in the workforce - especially considering what jobs are in demand. 2020, the year of unprecedented times, has brought us a completely new list of roles and industries that are rapidly hiring and ready to be capitalized on. Diversity and inclusion consulting roles, for example, have drastically increased as businesses seek dedicated staff behind these crucial initiatives. Flexible schedules and more positions offering work from home options have also played a big part in the job market further opening up. Big cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. still lead with the majority of open jobs, but there is much more freedom when it comes to job hunting compared to a year ago. The spike in the number of open roles and those looking for work also directly relates to the high amount of layoffs that took place in early 2020. Those who were laid off or took time to be at home with family due to the pandemic are now looking to enter back into the workforce as the vaccine is being adopted and those roles are reopening. In this blog, Blue Signal breaks down specific industry trends to look at what caused such an increased demand in jobs, specifically within D&I, healthcare, E-commerce and marketing, tax roles, and education.

Industry Trends:

Navigating 2020 was new territory for everyone - while some industries and businesses were hit harder than others, everyone was forced to pivot and adjust as best they could. The hospitality industry for example, faced one of the biggest hits across all industries, but it was incredible to see how these entertainment businesses were able to reimagine their brand and service offerings to match the needs of consumers. In a previous blog, we shared how food and beverage companies rose to the challenge, with some global distilleries shifting production from vodka and gin to hand sanitizer. LinkedIn recently created a list of the most in-demand jobs for 2021 and they found that while fields such as aviation and hospitality were affected the most, other areas like healthcare, education, and finance had to drastically ramp up hiring to meet increased demand. 

Diversity and Inclusion Jobs

Diversity and Inclusion Jobs

Across all industries, large or small, businesses are recognizing the necessary action they must take when it comes to being vocal and thoughtful about D&I within their own organizations. For a lot of businesses, this is something they are dealing with publically for the first time. After the Black Lives Matter movement and many other global civil rights campaigns that took place last year, companies are speaking to their customers’ and audiences’ interests, and making plans to support these causes internally. To carry out these mission statements, many companies are seeking to hire professionals in new roles and even full departments, to develop and manage these policies and actions surrounding diversity and inclusion. Indeed reported that “Between September 2019 and September 2020, Indeed job postings in diversity, inclusion and belonging have risen 56.3%—from 140 jobs per million to 219. More significantly, after the U.S. economy declined in Spring 2020, the DI&B industry recovered quickly, with job postings rising by an astonishing 123% between May and September.” For examples and actionable advice on how your company can go about D&I initiatives head-on, check out our recent blogs on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Blue Signal and The Importance of Diversity & Inclusion in Recruiting, where we mention what we’re doing to enforce this change both internally and within the recruitment industry as a whole.  

  • Workplace Diversity Experts
    • Increased Demand: Last year, companies large and small turned to diversity experts to help bring new voices into their organizations. Hiring for these roles increased more than 90% since 2019.
    • Top Job Titles: Common job titles include Diversity Manager, Diversity Officer, Head of Diversity, and Diversity Coordinator.
    • Top Locations Hiring: Popular hiring locations include New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary ranges from $72,900 to about $97,000. 

Healthcare Jobs

Healthcare Jobs

Not surprisingly, the healthcare industry has completely opened up and still seems to have a never-ending demand for staff, specialists, researchers, and volunteers due to the global health crisis. This has created a huge increase in opportunity and, for those who were contemplating making a career change into the medical field, it could not have come at a better time. Due to such an uptick in urgency for professionals like these, it is the easiest it’s ever been to make this transition, with quicker onboarding processes and more options for accelerated certifications and education programs available. Seaman says, “Many of these roles can be trained for remotely and don’t require a four-year degree.” Though front-line workers such as medical assistants and physicians are always in demand, another newcomer to these highly sought-after positions is in home health. When friends and family members weren’t able to visit their loved ones in nursing homes and assisted living facilities for months at a time, many families sought new plans for their elders’ care. Even though assisted living staff is still in high demand, at-home care workers have quickly grown in need as people would prefer their loved ones to be recovering at a private home rather than in a shared living space in close quarters with others.

  • Healthcare Supporting Staff
    • Increased Demand: Hiring for these positions has increased more than 34% within 25 titles since 2019. 
    • Top Job Titles: Health Care Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Dental Assistant, and Home Health Aide are among the most common professional titles. 
    • Top Skills: On average, skills such as Patient Education, Data Entry, and Physician Relations tend to be of the most in-demand within the space.
    • Salary Range: The average salary within this field falls between $65,300 and $106,000.

 

  • Nurses
    • Increased Demand: Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system and through the pandemic have been in demand more than ever, growing nearly 30% since 2019.
    • Top Job Titles: Roles such as Registered Nurse, Certified Nursing Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, and Intensive Care Nurse are some of the top positions hiring. 
    • Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia have proven to be the most in-demand due to their larger population density. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $73,000 to $111,000.

 

  • Mental Health Specialists
    • Increased Demand: With last year’s mental health crisis caused by the pandemic, hiring for these roles grew nearly 24% in 2020.
    • Top Job Titles: Roles such as Behavior Therapists, Mental Health Specialists, Psychotherapists, and Mental Health Technicians have all increased in demand.
    • Top Locations Hiring: Boston, San Francisco, and New York City have seen the largest surge. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $41,600 to $65,000.

E-commerce and Digital Opportunities

E-commerce and Digital Opportunities

As we’ve predicted since the beginning of the internet, the ability to generate online business and establish a digital brand presence proved itself to be not only beneficial, but a necessity, throughout the pandemic. The results were clear, businesses that had already established their E-comm brand online and invested in digital marketing and brand awareness prior to the global shutdown, skyrocketed. Those who were unable to pivot and redirect their business online found it difficult to stay afloat. The new wave of online and virtual communities has also brought in many ideas that led to new entrants to the space. Social media and digital marketing professionals, as well as graphic designers, web developers, and AI engineers are in high demand now more than ever as businesses pivot their focus toward updated and user-friendly websites. With the E-commerce world hitting record numbers - shipping and fulfillment jobs reactively increased in demand, too. Products are being consumed online in never before seen volumes, and as a result businesses are essentially required to order more inventory, invest in larger warehouse space, and hire more staff to support these larger volumes of picking, packing, shipping, returns, and customer service jobs.   

  • Frontline E-commerce Workers
    • Increased Demand: Hiring grew 73% YOY — and that demand continues with over 400,000 open jobs today!
    • Top Job Titles: Most openings within e-commerce are for professional titles like Driver, Supply Chain Associate, Package Handler, and Personal Shopper.
    • Top Locations Hiring: In the bigger cities, the demand seems to be highest with Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. topping the list.
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these positions falls between $42,000 and $56,000. 

 

  • Business Development and Sales Professionals
    • Increased Demand: Tasked with quickly adapting to an uncertain world and economy, hiring grew more than 45% between 2020 and 2019. 
    • Top Job Titles: In-demand professional titles include Sales Consultant, Sales Operations Assistant, Inbound Sales Specialist, and Strategic Advisor.
    • Top Locations Hiring: The top locations hiring remain in larger cities such as New York City, Denver, and Atlanta.
    • Salary Range: The average salary ranges from $43,300 to $105,000.

 

  • Digital Marketing Professionals
    • Increased Demand: Hiring for digital marketing roles grew nearly 33% YOY vastly due to the pandemic and increase of people remaining inside and at home.
    • Top Job Titles: Digital Marketing Specialist, Social Media Manager, and Search Engine Optimization Specialist are titles commonly looking to hire. 
    • Top Locations Hiring: Cities such as New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles tend to be hiring hot spots. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $48,000 to $96,0000.

 

  • Digital Content Creators
    • Increased Demand: From TikTok to YouTube, and blogs to podcasts, the demand for digital content creators grew 49% year-over-year. 
    • Top Job Titles: Roles such as Content Coordinators, Writing Consultants, Podcasters, and Bloggers have been the most in-demand. 
    • Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Chicago, and Atlanta have seen the biggest surge. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $46,000 to $62,400.

 

  • Specialized Engineers
    • Increased Demand: Most business and casual interactions moved online during the height of the pandemic, causing engineering roles to grow by nearly 25%. 
    • Top Job Titles: Common titles to look for include Web Developer, Full Stack Engineer, Frontend Developer, and Game Developer.
    • Top Locations Hiring: San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, D.C. tend to be hiring hot spots though the field has a high remote work availability. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $77,500 to $104,000.

 

  • User Experience Professionals
    • Increased Demand: Demand for people who specialize in how people interact with these technologies grew 20% between 2019 and 2020. 
    • Top Job Titles: User Experience Designer, Product Design Consultant, and User Interface Designer roles have seen the biggest spike. 
    • Top Locations Hiring: Cities such as San Francisco, New York City, and Seattle have been the most in-demand. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $80,000 to $103,000.

 

  • Data Scientists
    • Increased Demand: Brought on by the pandemic, some businesses leaned more heavily on data scientists with hiring growing nearly 46% since 2019.
    • Top Job Titles: Common titles include Data Scientist, Data Science Specialist, and Data Management Analyst.
    • Top Locations Hiring: Specific hiring hotspots include Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and New York City.
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $100,000 to $130,000.

 

  • Artificial Intelligence Engineers 
    • Increased Demand: The profession of artificial intelligence (AI) was booming well before the pandemic hit but the industry did not slow down last year. Hiring in this area grew 32% between 2019 and 2020.
    • Top Job Titles: Titles such as Machine Learning Engineer, Artificial Intelligence Specialist, and Machine Learning Researcher have all seen increased demand. 
    • Top Locations Hiring: San Francisco, New York City, and Seattle tend to be common hiring locations for this field. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $124,000 to $150,000.

Roles for Tax Professionals

Roles for Tax Professionals

Tax season seems to be a hectic time of year no matter the case, but this year is drastically unique. 2021 has seen a significant increase in people seeking professional help with filing taxes due to all the new and additional steps that have arisen from the pandemic and subsequent housing market. While the year began with a low unemployment rate of 3.5%, by April that figure had soared to 14.7% amid business shutdowns. A staggering number of 70 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the beginning of the pandemic last year, which creates a whole new tax situation many are unfamiliar with. Small businesses are also finding themselves in new territory after applying for and leveraging SBA loans. Even smaller claims from those who received stimulus checks has caused people who may not usually seek out tax help to reconsider this year. Another big factor playing into the overwhelming need for tax advice and services was the drastic change in the housing market. With interest rates at a record low, people were buying homes like crazy and homeowners were refinancing their properties to get better rates. Both instances caused homeowners, new and old, to search for professional assistance. 

  • Loan and Mortgage Experts
    • Increased Demand: From 2019, hiring within this industry increased nearly 59%. 
    • Top Job Titles: The majority of openings within the Loan and Mortgage space include Underwriter, Mortgage Loan Officer, Escrow Officer, Loan Closer.
    • Top Locations Hiring: Cities such as New York City, Dallas, and Chicago tend to be the hiring hot spots. 
    • Salary Range: The average salary within this field falls between $43,700 and $60,000.

Education & Career Coaching Jobs

Education & Career Coaching Jobs

In the midst of the pandemic, schools and universities and even coaching professionals were tasked with a major overhaul to quickly rethink their systems and completely reshape the way they operate and educate. This resulted in an increase in demand for the industry as a whole as virtual education and coaching became much more accessible. Many individuals found the time to go back to school during quarantine and those who were laid off realized the benefits of having an advanced degree in their field. Personal and career coaches also saw a major increase in demand when the state of the pandemic caused many people to reevaluate the direction of their careers, lives, and beyond. Professionals who specialize in life coaching and career planning became hot commodities, surging the industry and becoming extremely in demand today. Virtual learning has proved to be increasingly successful and incredibly advanced as those in the space continue to streamline their processes. This new age of coaching and educating will most likely change the way we learn, not just temporarily, but for the future to come. 

  • Education Professionals
    • Increased Demand: Within the education industry, overall hiring grew more than 20% between 2019 and 2020.
    • Top Job Titles: Common positions include Teaching Assistant, Elementary School Teacher, Mathematics Tutor, and Curriculum Developer.
    • Top Locations Hiring: Even with remote options available, top hiring locations remain New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $46,500 to $63,200.

  • Personal and Career Coaches
    • Increased Demand: Due to the seismic events of 2020, hiring for coaching roles increased more than 51% since 2019.
    • Top Job Titles: Titles such as Career Coordinator, Life Coach, Fitness Coach, and Business Coach are all commonly sought after.
    • Top Locations Hiring: Cities with an increase in demand include New York City, Houston, and Boston.
    • Salary Range: The average salary for these roles ranges from $44,300 to $50,000.

With the novel and constantly changing climate of the workforce today, it’s important to adjust and pivot accordingly when it comes to the next steps in your career. Whether you are someone who is looking to make an industry move, or calculate a secure pivot within your existing field, referencing this list can help you dial into a more targeted role and show which skills to highlight. For example, those who have worked in retail will want to hone skills in E-commerce, customer service, and brand marketing to stay competitive in their field. If you have a background in Human Resources, focusing on your skills and experience facilitating D&I initiatives and overcoming challenges in this area could be a smart move. No matter the industry or career path you are on, our recruiters at Blue Signal can help you capitalize on the demand facing your industry. Reach out to us for guidance, or check out our website for tons of helpful resources such as open job boards, industry-specific trends, and blog posts on how to enhance your resume, brand yourself online, or nail an upcoming interview.        

 

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Career Advice Tagged With: Accounting, AI Technology, artificial intelligence, Artificial Intelligence Engineer, Branding, Business Development, Career Coach, Career Coaching, Consulting, Content Creator, Counseling, D&I, Data Scientists, Digital Branding, Digital Content, Digital Marketing, Diversity, E-commerce, Education, Email Marketing, Engineering, Escrow, Healthcare, Healthcare Support Staff, healthcare trends, hiring, hiring advice, Home Health, Housing Market, Inclusion, Industry Trends, jobs, Life Coach, Loan, marketing, Mental Health, Mortgage, Nurses, Real Eststate, remote work, remote workforce, sales, social media, Software Engineering, Staff, Supply Chain, Tax, Tax Professionals, Teachers, Therapy, unemployment, User Experience, Work from Home, Workforce, workplace, workplace culture

Your 4-Step Guide to Adopting New Hires into Company Culture

August 27, 2019 by Lacey Walters

As a hiring manager, you’ve done the hard part, going through endless levels of interviews to find the perfect candidate and now, it’s the start date. For a new hire, starting a new job can be exciting, overwhelming, and nerve wracking. Some people approach their new career with elation and confidence, ready to take on their responsibilities. However, some employees dread the first day - worried about the people they’ll meet, their supervisors’ management style and even where they will sit at lunch. Successfully integrating new hires into company culture is one of the most important hiring processes and can be a determining factor in your new hire’s career-span within the company.

Your new employee has already had a great first impression with their candidate hiring experience, now, it’s more crucial than ever to continue to impress  them with your company culture and keep that excitement and momentum going. Here’s a 4-step guide to the process of making new employees feel comfortable and part of the team from day 1.

New Employee Onboarding

 

1. Begin Onboarding Before the Official Start Date 

One way companies can introduce company culture to new hires is to start the process before they even arrive. When sending out materials to introduce them to the job, include internal materials that gives your new employee an inside look into the personality of the company. Take advantage of what is typically a to-the-point welcome letter to prepare your new hire for what they can expect on the first day in a fun and creative way. Providing them with a FAQ sheet, recommendations around the area, and a set first-day agenda can eliminate some of the worries and questions they may have upon arrival.

2. Create Fun Opportunities to Meet Fellow Coworkers

We’ve all played getting-to-know-you games as kids in school, and whether we liked them or not, they were undeniably effective at breaking the ice and encouraging interaction. Icebreakers and team facilitation activities are a great way to ease some of the tension your new hire may be feeling. Social media is also becoming a new and innovative way to create connections between employees. Help your employees merge into the company by encouraging them to follow company social media accounts, along with adding them to a private social network for your company. A private social network, such as a private Facebook group, allows employees to participate and feel active in conversations in a less formal setting. Ultimately, it comes down to implementing interactive opportunities to create a strong dynamic for your company culture.

3. Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Regardless of the amount of time your company has been established, company culture is something that is present from the very beginning. Unless you are the CEO or have been with the company from the ground up, chances are that you have had to go through the onboarding process as well once upon a time. It’s easy to forget the impressions and questions you had on your first day, but it’s critical to put yourself into their shoes and make them feel as comfortable and supported as possible. Remember, as a new employee, questions will be asked and mistakes will be made; these are expected and should be looked upon as a learning experience for both the new employee and manager. Putting in effort to realize that you were in the same position at some point in time allows a certain level of respect and rapport to be built.

4. Follow up

The number one place where companies fall short in the onboarding process is following up with your new hire to ensure they are understanding and enjoying their work. One of the easiest ways to guarantee long-term employment is to onboard them correctly and not let employees fall off your radar. According to the 2018 Recruiter Nation Survey from Jobvite, 39% of talent professionals dedicate between 1-3 business days to onboarding. Although it may involve increased efforts from larger companies, onboarding should be a priority and last weeks or even months as necessary. In addition to habitually checking up on your new hire, a simple follow up email is a valuable way to gain feedback and opens up an honest communication forum between all levels of authority.

Some of the biggest onboarding challenges are inconsistent applications, manager accountability and competing priorities. Adapting a new employee to the company culture and ensuring their success needs to be a priority to guarantee a positive experience. Keep in mind, helping your new hire fit into company culture can be simplified with these 4 easy steps: begin onboarding before the start date, create fun opportunities to meet coworkers, put yourself in their shoes, and follow up. 

We Are Here to Help

Are you a hiring manager or talent acquisition professional looking to expand your team? Ask us how we can help coach your onboarding process as needed! Blue Signal’s search process continues to impress our clients and our recruiters are dedicated to finding top talent within any industry.

 

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Your 4-Step Guide to Adopting New Hires into Company Culture

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Career Advice Tagged With: candidates, company culture, hiring, hiring manager, hiring process, hiring trends, hr, human resources, new employee, onboarding, onboarding program, recruiters, workplace

The Importance of Candidate Experience

August 14, 2019 by Lacey Walters

With the job market being at an all-time high, and unemployment at record lows, companies are in dire need for top talent. This is creating more competition among employers and as a result it is fostering a more particular candidate pool. Candidate experience plays a huge factor for a company’s hiring processes with more than 82% of job seekers saying that it is an important factor in their decision.

So, why is candidate experience so important to job seekers? Well, not only is it a reflection of employers, it also affects their brand and the culture that they have built. Recently, CareerBuilder conducted research on candidate experience and it revealed that “68% of candidates think the way they are treated in the hiring process reflects how the company treats its employees.”

There are many ways that employers can improve candidate experience, but the most important way is by setting clear expectations, having a clear and responsive process, maintaining a good impression, and simplifying the hiring process.

 1. Set Clear Expectations

Candidates need to be intrigued by a job description and the company in order to apply. It sounds simple, but it comes down to how you market the job. It’s important for employers to set clear guidelines on what type of candidate they’re looking for, and what background they need to have. The Namely Blog stated that “an HRDive report found that 73% of hiring managers say they provide clear job descriptions, while only 36% of candidates agree.” Having a clear and accurate explanation of the overall job responsibilities, requirements, benefits, perks or incentives, and even compensation details are important. Although some employers may not disclose compensation during the hiring process, be sure to discuss that at some point - particularly early on.

2. Have a Clear and Responsive Process

Throughout the hiring process it is important to keep candidates in the loop on what is going on. Interested in taking next steps? Let them know! Not interested in speaking further with them? Let them know! According to Workable, “75% of candidates never hear back from a company after sending in an application and 60% of candidates say they’ve gone for interviews and never heard back from the company.” This eventually leads to a bad reputation considering that “22% of candidates will tell others not to apply to the company.” So, it’s crucial to be transparent and responsive to not only maintain a good reputation, but to improve the overall candidate experience.

Candidate Experience Stats

3. Simplify and Speed Up the Hiring Process

Some hiring processes can be tedious and take a lot of time. Candidates are usually unsure of what to expect so a simple, fast and clear approach is the way to go. Hiring new talent can be time consuming and costly for companies. The Society for Human Resource Management states that, “companies reported spending nearly $4,500 per hire–not including the cost of lost time and productivity while the position sits open.” It’s important to be efficient and simplify the process - not only for the company, but for the candidate. The hiring process is ultimately a candidate’s first impression, so be sure to stand out.

4. Maintain a Good Reputation 

We’re in a social media driven era and people can find positive or negative reviews on a company with a simple click. A candidate’s experience is especially crucial for the people companies don’t end up hiring. According to a LinkedIn survey, “83% of candidates said a negative interview experience can change their mind about a role or company they once liked.” Providing a good experience can maintain a good impression and it is important for organizations to consistently build a positive reputation as a great place to work. Candidate experience goes hand in hand with company culture, and research states that 95% of recruiters say that it has an impact on employer branding. Recruiters connect with candidates daily, so they have a full understanding of companies hiring processes and have dealt with both good and bad experiences. It is crucial to listen to what people are saying, and most importantly take their feedback into consideration in order to maintain a good reputation.

recruiter graphic

There are many ways employers can enhance candidate experience and improve the current processes in place. Learn what needs to be improved on and listen to what candidates have to say - whether it’s positive or negative. Feedback is important and can be a great resource. Even doing a simple Google search or browsing Glassdoor can give employers clarity on what people really think about them. Remember that setting clear expectations, having a clear and responsive process, maintaining a good impression, and simplifying the hiring process is a great way to improve a candidate’s experience.

We Are Here to Help

Are you a hiring manager or talent acquisition professional looking to expand your team? Ask us how we can help coach your hiring process as needed! Blue Signal’s search process continues to impress our clients and our recruiters are dedicated to finding top talent within any industry. Contact us today on ways we can help your organization. (480) 939-3200

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Career Advice Tagged With: candidate, hiring, hiring manager, hiring process, hiring trends, interview tips, interviewing, job market, new employee, recruiters, recruiting, unemployment, workplace

Blue Signal Expands to Meet Growing Demand

July 15, 2019 by Lacey Walters

In response to our recent successes, and increased demand for Blue Signal’s recruiting services, we have recently expanded our internal teams. We have nearly doubled in size with the addition of 15 incredible team members. With three new classes of recruiters in the first half of 2019, Blue Signal is poised to multiply our placements in the upcoming quarters. We are proud to announce this expansion of our team, and are excited to see what change and development we can shake up next!

Meet Blue Signal's 2019 New Recruits

Select a name to meet our new hires!

Michaela Newheart
Jeffrey Williamson
John Ross Wilsey
Trevor Gamble
Rachel Zuckert
Sal Salerno
Lauren Gallagher
John Stuart
Dominique Ziegler
Michaela Newheart

Michaela Newheart - Sr. Executive Recruiter

Connect with Michaela on LinkedIn!

Jeffrey Williamson

Jeffrey Williamson - Sr. Executive Recruiter

Connect with Jeff on Linkedin!

John Ross Wilsey

John Ross Wilsey - Sr. Executive Recruiter

Connect with John Ross on Linkedin!

Trevor Gamble

Trevor Gamble - Executive Recruiter

Connect with Trevor on Linkedin!

Rachel Zuckert

Rachel Zuckert - Executive Recruiter

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn!

Sal Salerno

Sal Salerno - Executive Recruiter

Connect with Sal on LinkedIn!

Lauren Gallagher

Lauren Gallagher - Executive Recruiter

Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn!

John Stuart

John Stuart - Executive Recruiter

Connect with John on LinkedIn!

Dominique Ziegler

Dominique Ziegler - Content Marketing Specialist

Connect with Dominique on Linkedin!

We look forward to working together with our new team members to deliver the best available talent to our clients. Meet the rest of the Blue Signal team here.If you are interested in getting in on the fun, you can also check our jobs page as we are constantly looking for talent to help us expand our own internal capabilities as well.

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Career Advice, Our Company, Our Company Tagged With: hiring, job market, new employee, recruiting, workplace

7 Subtle Motivation-Killers of Top Employees

February 17, 2017 by Lacey Walters

“Highly motivated” is a common requirement on job descriptions, but in reality, “built-in” motivation is a myth. While an employee’s internal drive is important, the other half of the equation is a joint effort by the employee and the manager to foster a productive workplace.

Employee engagement is a top buzzword of recent years, and there are many obvious killers of motivation: below-market pay, crushing workload, delayed wages, unfair management practices, and oppressive bureaucracy.  But for highly paid top performers, some team managers miss more subtle killers of motivation. In an increasingly competitive job market, these top employees have more options than ever, so it is important to address motivation killers and build a productive, healthy environment that lets high performers shine.

 

1.  Unclear advancement plans

In the modern high-level interview, hiring managers often ask for a prospective employee’s career goals. Not everyone wants to go into management, so this interview question is critical in uncovering what motivates the employee. However, many managers never follow up on this initial conversation.

Regularly discussing where the employee wants to go and how to get there is important, but it is only the start. High achievers are good at setting and reaching goals, so they need to have measurable targets to hit and a specific timeline. If an employee feels they are indefinitely treading water, or that they have no prospects for advancement at their current company, they will move on. Tip the balance by giving top performers a realistic idea of their growth timeline and what they can expect as a reward for their hard work.

 

2.  Unaddressed conflict

High performers often have well-rounded communication skills and are good at coping with set-backs and frustrations. That said, a toxic work environment will quickly frustrate someone who is trying to focus on achieving good results in their job. A sudden change in an employee’s performance or an abrupt drop-off in communication is a telltale sign of a toxic situation. Toxic workplaces kill employee engagement.

Promptly address conflict. Meet face-to-face with involved employees and be prepared to discuss what is bothering them in honest, blunt terms. Many times, good communication with a mediator will take the fire out of a bad situation. At other times, more drastic measures are required. Either way, when a top employee is sending distress signals, ignoring the problem destroys trust along with motivation.

 

3.  Lack of feedback and/or indifference to new ideas

Employee Engagement and motivation depends strongly on a workplace culture of relevant and consistent feedback on new ideasWhen employees come up with new ideas and find new ways of doing things, it is a sure sign that they have good motivation and are engaged in their jobs. A quick way to kill that motivation is to gloss over their ideas. Even if the idea is totally unworkable, enthusiastic acknowledgement of their effort is critical.

Meet regularly with high-performing employees, not just to assess performance, but to build trust so that the employee feels confident enough to share new ideas. Top performers often provide advice that is just as good as a pricey consultant.

4.  Poor industry reputation

A company rarely has a bad reputation without something else being wrong. Negative press or a poor financial outlook can cause employees to start searching before a crisis hits. This correlation is stronger with senior executives. Executives are generally more in tune with market conditions and the company’s industry reputation. Senior employees are also impacted more strongly by performance-based bonuses and budget cuts, so a stream of bad press can jumpstart a new job search.

Interestingly, the past few years have seen the market become much more politicized. In a report titled “The Dawn of CEO Activism,” KRC Research found that almost 40% of American consumers say CEOs have a responsibility to publicly address hot-button political issues. Depending on whether employees support or oppose their company’s views, political involvement can bolster or kill motivation. Senior executives in particular may come under fire for comments by the company, or have to clean up messes as a result of an unpopular comment.

In fast-moving industries with shorter tenure, especially technology, top performers look ahead to make sure that the experience they are building now can get them a job down the road. Tech professionals have learned the hard way that even giants like Myspace and Netscape can hit hard times and turn a star resume into one that looks dated and unfashionable.

5.  Being passed over for a key promotion

Top performers are less of a flight risk than underperformers. However, sudden departures are often due to missing out on a promotion or award. If a hiring manager is interviewing internally and interviews three top performers for a juicy promotion, and only one of them gets it, the hiring manager risks losing his other two top performers. The solution is to take time to give them a good explanation as to why they were passed over. Reevaluate their career path within the organization together with them.

Ironically, top employees sometimes leave because of a promotion or salary increase! The HR analytics software Workday found that a significant percentage of high-performing employees had a higher risk of leaving the company after a promotion.
Being passed over for a promotion can severely damage employee engagement for a high performer.

Several scenarios can cause this phenomenon:

  • After transitioning into the new role, the employee runs into one of the problems above.
  • The employee takes on more responsibility than they could manage.
  • The promotion or raise comes too late or fails to meet expectations.
  • The new job title or award makes the employee more attractive to recruiters or motivates them to explore even better options outside the company.

When interviewing internal candidates for a high-level position, it is critical to spend time with the rejected candidates to reevaluate their growth plan within the company, so they do not take it as a sign to move on.

 

6.  Insufficient mentorship or development opportunities

Networking is still the #1 way that people get a new job or advance at their current one. It is important to help top employees build mentor relationships within the company.

A mentor fulfills many roles in an employee’s professional life: they coach, train, give advice, brainstorm, encourage, and correct. Having strong professional relationships within an organization is a powerful incentive for a high achiever to work hard and stay with the company.

By contrast, companies who fail to invest in their top employees’ growth lose twice. Their top people gravitate to the competition, and they fail to attract top employees to replace them. Today’s employee knows that demand for new skills is fierce. Top employees have to reinvent themselves several times in the course of their careers. If an employer is not investing their skills, they lose the motivation to invest their best effort in growing the company.

Employee engagement - having a mentor and training opportunities significantly improves employee motivation and retention.

7.  Too little work or uninteresting projects

A mediocre employee will happily take a paycheck without enough work to keep them busy. Top performers want to be challenged. Even if an employee believes wholeheartedly in the company’s mission and loves their work, they will quickly become frustrated if they are bored or perceive that their work is unimportant.

If a high performer is consistently hitting goals without much effort, they have outgrown their current role. It can be tempting to keep them where they are to save the cost of replacing them when they move up the ladder, but this will frustrate the employee and usually lead to a drop in performance or a resignation letter. Reward employees’ growth by helping them to reach their desired career goals.

Many employees would rather leave than complain, so pay attention to early warning signs. Do not rely on employees to set their own workloads. It is the manager’s job to invest time in the employee to match their workload to their ability, drive, and personality. Find out what aspects of a project or of a client the employee enjoys working with, and seek out ways to maximize it for that employee. The investment is well worth it. Motivated employees who like their jobs will happily go to bat for their company to get the best results.

 

Change is difficult, and even top employees are reluctant to jump into a long job search process that may or may not pay off. A high performer will send many signs before they feel frustrated enough to start job-searching. Employee engagement takes an investment of time, thought, and resources. But the reward is that a manager who engages employees will have far better results to show than a manager who focuses on the results instead of on the people who produce them.

Filed Under: Blog Posts Tagged With: company culture, employee engagement, employee motivation, employer, guide, how to, job, job market, motivating, promotion, recruiting, strategy, workplace

How to Talk Like a Two-Year Old and Still Win at Your Job

September 28, 2016 by Lacey Walters

“Mine, give it back!”

“No! I don’t want to!”

Have you ever heard a two-year-old say this? My son does—he says exactly what he wants, no questions asked. Over the next 20 years of his life, my son will learn to share his things, not just his feelings. He will come to understand that while his needs are important, so is caring about the feelings of others. He will apply discipline and filters to his emotions in order to cooperate with goals that are larger and longer-term than his immediate impulses.

As employees develop and progress in their early career, sometimes they mistakenly get the message that the most desirable kind of worker is a people-pleaser who will never disagree. When difficulties arise with their work, they keep struggling without bringing it up for fear of rocking the boat. In reality, people—not machines—are a business’s most valuable asset, and people have opinions, feelings, talents, and weaknesses.

The most successful employees develop effective interpersonal skills in addition to mastering their hands-on job functions. They learn how to disagree while remaining professional and result oriented. By taking an active role in their professional relationships, they are able to take advantage of more growth opportunities and to shape their career to a far greater degree than their more passive colleagues.

 

“Mine, Give it Back!”

Employees grow through their responsibilities and achievements. When a manager reduces your job responsibilities, or one of your major customers leaves for the competition, it can feel like a personal reflection on your abilities as an employee. It is sometimes appropriate to show initiative and take action to get back what you lost, or to reach beyond what your current role offers.

Accepting - Mine give it back - How to disagree professionallyIf the situation arose due to your mistake, own it and provide an action plan (if appropriate) to correct what went wrong. Rather than insisting on fairness, list the positive results that you can achieve and how you plan to get there.

If the situation is a stagnant job, a lost client, or another unfair loss of responsibility, take time to distill your frustrations into a clear, accurate list of prioritized goals. Set a timeline and an action plan for how to achieve them. Ask for the opportunity to prove yourself and demonstrate an understanding of what needs to happen in order to get a result that will benefit the company. Show respect for yourself and your abilities as well as for the needs of the organization.

How to say it:

  • “Although I didn’t hit my target last quarter, I’m determined to exceed my quota this quarter. Here’s my plan to improve on my performance.”
  • To a client: “I’m committed to winning back your trust.”
  • “I would love another chance to prove myself on this project.”
  • “I’m ready to take on additional responsibility. I know that I can contribute a lot to the company’s bottom line with a larger sales region.”
  • “What results do I need to show in order to earn a promotion?”
  • “I’m motivated to move into a management position in the next few years. Can we talk about how I can get there?”

 What not to say:

  • “That isn’t fair.”
  • “But what about me?”
  • “I deserve to have that.”
  • “It’s not my fault.”
  • “You can’t do that.”

 

“No, I don’t want to.”

Rejecting - No I don't want to - How to disagree professionally

Some projects are neither necessary nor realistic. Sometimes you can give more value by doing something else. Although C-level and hourly employees are both crucial to a company’s success, it is a poor use of time and money to ask the VP of Sales to do repetitive data entry.

Although successful employees are versatile and willing to do what needs to be done, they also recognize which tasks are unproductive or disadvantageous. Agreeing to every task can actually make you seem less qualified—not to mention that it quickly leads to an overwhelming inbox full of difficult tasks that no one else wants to do.

Cultivate an open dialogue with your team and superiors, and deliver consistently good work on time. When a thankless task lands on your desk, you will be able to honestly say that you can do more for the company’s bottom line by avoiding the task. Standing up for yourself is good for both your personal and professional growth—as long as you back it up with excellent work.

How to say it:

Demonstrate that you understand the situation, explain the obstacle without patronizing, and make an effort to find a workable solution whenever possible. Emphasize the positive result and be flexible where you can.

  • “I have several reports due by Friday—can we rework the timeline for this new project?”
  • “I don’t have a background in design, but Jessie mentioned that she wanted to take on more work like this. She might be interested in this project.” (Check with colleagues before volunteering them for more work.)
  • “I need additional support to deliver this contract on time. Are there reps available to help with the data entry so I can focus on closing the deal with management?”
  • “What if we did this a different way? I’m spending about two hours a day manually entering data, but I could spend more time making sales if we used an automation tool.”
  • “I’m sorry. I can’t take on that additional work right now.” (This works best for colleagues who are asking you for help with their work, not for a superior.)
  • “My preference is to focus more on marketing. That’s my background, and it’s what I love.”
  • “I could do that project with some additional training.”
  • “I’m struggling with this task. Can we talk about it?”
  • “Can you explain how this task contributes to the project goals? I can contribute more by focusing on sales calls instead of graphic design.”

What not to say:

Giving the excuse that you’re unqualified to do a task says:

  • “That’s beneath me.”
  • “I can’t.”
  • “That’s not in my job description.”
  • “I just don’t like that.”
  • “That makes no sense.”
  • Refusing with no explanation.

A Final Word

Toddler temper tantrums don’t fly in the workplace, but that doesn’t mean you should never speak up about your feelings. Respectful disagreements demonstrate professionalism and give your manager valuable feedback that they might otherwise miss. Their goal is productivity and results, which are difficult to achieve with disengaged and unhappy employees. By voicing problems and suggesting a better way, you can improve your company’s production as well as improving the arc of your own career.

Filed Under: Blog Posts Tagged With: career advice, company culture, disagree professionally, disagreeing, employee feedback, etiquette, how to, job, job security, office etiquette, tips, workplace

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