Hiring in volume and Training the Trainers

The MTSG View

On business, the workplace and
employee relations

May, 2007

Hiring In Bulk

Even companies that forecast
well can find themselves with a sudden need for a large increase in its
workforce in a very short time A quality control concern might require an
infusion of assembly line workers Shifting work from one plant to another often
demands more employees And sometimes a hot product demands that production be
cranked up It's no secret the iPod sold better than Apple
anticipated

But as much as your business
might need those additional workers, are you actually ready to employ them? In
many cases companies are not Despite their desire to bring in help quickly,
they often lack the infrastructure to overcome the biggest challenge an employer
has with hiring surges - swiftly training the new people

If your company faces a
challenge in managing a substantial personnel increase in a rapid period, here
are some approaches to consider:

Stagger the hiring
Often times a company will say they need a large amount of people, but then
realize they can't accept them all at once So they bring on two consecutive
groups of 15 employees rather than one group of 30 The number of workers you
add in a week is dictated by the time and personnel you can commit to
training

Use prescreened
workersCompanies that turn to a staffing firm for personnel should look for
a partner that has a large pool of pre-qualified workers Full-service staffing
firms today not only screen for technical skills, but also conduct drug,
criminal and even credit checks on candidates All of that saves the company
interviewing time, assures that the employees are familiar with the jobs and
catches unwanted surprises that might eventually arise

Train the trainers
Contracting for senior personnel who have more experience in a particular
industry or job discipline, can save time and resources Rather than commit an
in-house manager to train the recruits for several days, an out-sourced trainer
may only need a walk-through to see a plant's production flow and a briefing
about how one work cell affects another The impact on the schedules of other
executives is minimized

Add a shift It's
tough to fit a size 10 foot into a size 7 shoe You may want to hire more
people, but you're short on space Adding a wing to your building is costly and
impractical since you need to hire in a hurry Many employers create a second or
third shift The number of hours depends on the work to be done We've seen
firms that extend hours until their shipping service closes for the day Others
expand to meet daily deadlines

Well-run companies forecast
their needs and plan accordingly But surprises arise When a sudden demand for
employees can help your business achieve its goals, take a thoughtful approach
and maximize your opportunity

Finding That "Signature Experience"

The March issue of the
Harvard Business Review includes an interesting article about the importance for
firms trying to recruit and retain talented employees to offer a "signature
experience" in their workplace What's that? According to HBR it's essentially
something a company does to make it special as an employer The author found
that firms whose employees were devoted to working there, psychologically
committed and proud to say they were part of the company, actually had practices
that were slightly "odd"

One example was Whole Foods
Market, the country's largest retailer of natural and organic foods New hires
begin on four-week probation and then either leave or continue based upon a vote
of peers, not a single supervisor The intention is to create a team of people
who will work well together For some people that's a great idea Others would
rather not feel as though they have many people to please Either way, it's
unique to Whole Foods According to HBR, companies with novel work processes
experience low employee turnover and high emotional excitement

So how do you learn about a
firm's signature experience if you're interviewing a company? Ask as many
questions as possible to get a clear understanding of the way people work at a
firm Ask to speak to other peer-level employees who have recently joined the
company What have they noticed? Is the reality of work life at that company as
the HR director advertised? Sometimes there's a disconnect And if the company
refuses to let you speak with those employees, that may be a big red
flag

You can check out HBR's
podcast of "What it means to work here" at HBR's website

Lights, Camera, Job Hunt!

Savvy job seekers today are
using technology to the fullest to land the right job and that includes video
blogs or diaries on the Internet When done well, it can be a great approach to
help HR managers get to know you beyond your resume You can demonstrate
confidence, articulation and enthusiasm that might not come across on
paper

But just as there are
guidelines for posting a written blog that employers are likely to find in a
background check, video blogs can't be sloppy either Your appearance and
surroundings will be noticed as well as what you're saying Keep these things in
mind before the video starts to roll

What's your point?
Remember that a video you place on your website or a social networking site such
as MySpace, that's meant to help in your job search, will be seen by two
important groups: people who haven't met you and those who have and are seeking
additional information about you What do you want to say to them? Write some
key points down, rehearse a bit, then turn the camera on

Notice your
background Employers see more than just you on your video There's also the
wall behind you and whatever is in view to the sides Find an appropriate
setting A blank wall might seem like 1950s Soviet Union, but the stuffed
animals in your bedroom won't work either Try sitting in front of a bookcase or
in a family room Or perhaps there's a conference room at the local library or a
classroom in a local college

Watch your language
Video provides an opportunity to give the viewer a better understanding of you
Make it the Well-Mannered You Profanity won't impress anyone and will probably
drive them away On the other hand mixing in humor to make a point about work,
your skills or your career might win them over An employee with a sense of
humor helps to make a better workplace for all

Resume Fiction!

What do you do when you discover the manager of one of the most important
parts of your organization, who has excelled in the job and is widely respected
in and out of your company, lied on her resume 28 years ago to win a low-level
position? Fire her? What do you do if you're someone who is famous in your
field, respected for your views and regularly recruited to speak to audiences of
your peers - but who falsified their resume decades ago? Suddenly announce the
lie?

For MIT and its admissions
dean Marilee Jones, the answers are "yes" and "no" Despite the fact that Jones
was, as the Boston Globe characterized her, "the most celebrated and outspoken
admissions dean in America," MIT wasted little time asking for her resignation
last month after discovering she had claimed to have degrees from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, Union College and Albany Medical College, but did not
have a degree from any of them

While the decision might
seem simple on the surface - fire the fraud - for many organizations or
businesses it isn't that easy Removing a valued manager can create a
significant hole in operations, even for just a short while It could take time
to find a suitable replacement Responsibilities have to be handed off The
workload needs to be redistributed Some chief executive officers or company
owners might decide acting on a mistake made 28 years ago isn't worth the havoc
it would cause today

But that brings up the
dilemma for the individual By starting a career with a lie, every level of
success ultimately achieved makes it more difficult to reveal the truth Jones
never admitted that her educational claims were false and the heights she
reached made her eventual resignation all the more startling In fact the more
removed star professionals are from their tainted beginnings, the more they have
to lose First salary, then influence, then reputation

Despite the standing Jones
had earned during the past 28 years, MIT decided a fraud is a fraud and acted
promptly The lesson for employers is one that is often overlooked - conduct
thorough background checks on employees including verifying their past education
claims As for job seekers, it might be tempting to embellish your record to win
a coveted job But when your income is climbing and your titles become more
impressive, will you be able to escape that lie?

Regards,



Joe Donahue

President