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Job Seekers: Use Games to Find Your Next Job

June 6, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is sponsored by Criteria Corp, a leading provider of pre-employment testing services. Their testing system, HireSelect, is a SaaS (software as a service) solution that enables organizations to increase recruiting effectiveness using state-of-the-art technology. Criteria Corp has clients in all 50 U.S. states and 30 countries. Enjoy the post!)

Let’s face it. Looking for a new job isn’t always fun. It takes time to send out your resume out to lots of companies (aka “spray and pray”.) It involves waiting. Lots of waiting. So, what if I told you that it was possible to have a bit of fun while trying to find a new job?

Our friends at Criteria Corp have launched an app called JobFlare (iOS, FREE) that allows users to play “brain games” that are scientifically created to test the cognitive abilities that every employer wants AND are considered the key predictors of job success. Let me explain how the app works.

Cognitive Ability Correlates with Job Success

I don’t want to get too far into the weeds, but there is scientific research spanning the course of almost a century on the predictive validity of hiring methodologies. The research has found that cognitive aptitude is one of the most predictive factors of job performance, just after work samples (which is obviously hard to beat). So JobFlare allows users to play games that are highly correlated with cognitive aptitude tests, which have been consistently proven as one the most predictive factors of job success.

JobFlare offers six games. Each game in JobFlare takes 90-seconds. Users can play the games as much as they like.

Math games (Infruition, Weigh Station)
Verbal games (Words of a Feather, Mumble Jumble)
Mental Fitness games (Robot Inspector, Expert Witness)

While JobFlare isn’t designed to improve cognitive function, Criteria Corp did share with me that candidates who are playing the games can regularly improve their scores. I believe using brain games in this way could reduce or eliminate some of the common apprehensions about job-related test-taking like “I was nervous so I didn’t do my best.” Or “If I could take it a second time, I’d do better.”

In my experience, employers really aren’t looking for employees to be perfect on a test. They do want employees who can think, reason, and improve with practice. And it’s important to note, employers don’t have direct access to see scores, so if a person starts out with a lower score, they don’t need to worry about anyone seeing them.

JobFlare Partnership with ZipRecruiter

Josh Millet, CEO of Criteria Corp, says that JobFlare takes the best of gamification to help users find a job. “Brain games are already a popular activity on smart phones. JobFlare uses games to measure the specific cognitive traits – problem-solving, learning ability, critical thinking, and attention to detail. These traits have been shown to best predict work outcomes and are coveted by most employers. We’re excited to partner with ZipRecruiter to deliver relevant job postings to JobFlare users.”

Here’s how the job posting feature works. Once an individual starts playing games, they can set up a user account including the job positions and industries they have an interest. Play all the games as many times as you want. After you play at least one of each game, you will start to receive email notifications from ZipRecruiter based on the information you provided. Now, let me offer a couple of caveats:

Please remember that every job in the universe isn’t posted on ZipRecruiter. That’s not a ding against them. They have thousands of job postings. But there’s no one site with every open job.
I talked with the JobFlare app developers and they gave me a high-level overview of how the job posting algorithm works. Basically, the emails start out very broad – meaning you will see lots of jobs – and get more focused over time based on the job openings you express an interest in (i.e. the ones you click on to learn more).

Flexibility Sets JobFlare Apart

I’ve been test driving this app for a few weeks and the thing I really like is its flexibility. When we’re looking for a job, we need to be flexible and the app provides it. JobFlare users can engage with one or both parts of the process as you wish.

If you want to play the brain games and receive job postings, great!
If you want to just play the brain games but aren’t ready to receive job postings, fine!
And if you want job postings but don’t want to deal with the brain games, that’s okay too!

Some of you might still be wondering about brain games, cognitive ability, and validity. Criteria Corp also offered to send me the nitty gritty correlation coefficients and more, but as much as I love statistics, I didn’t really think it was necessary. I did ask Millet to set the record straight about brain games. “Let’s be clear: our games aren’t designed to be ‘brain training’ games, they are gamified ways to measure cognitive aptitude. No doubt they do play a role in sharpening your skills a bit, but they don’t increase your cognitive abilities. We designed the games with this in mind – all of our games are strongly correlated with our cognitive aptitude tests, which are designed specifically to predict job performance. We believe JobFlare represents a unique vehicle for connecting undiscovered talent to opportunity.”

Job Seekers: Use Games to Find Your Next JobClick To Tweet

Adding a Few Fun Games to Your Job Search Isn’t a Bad Thing

While anyone can use JobFlare, it’s an ideal app for professionals at the beginning of their career, people considering a career or industry change, and individuals looking to downsize their work commitments (i.e. retirement). It provides an opportunity for self-awareness and education, which is always a good thing. Check out the JobFlare iTunes page for more details and to download the app.

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Quick Shots for #Recruiting and #HR Pros – Google Hire Edition

June 1, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

In case you missed it, Google has introduced a new product called Hire. As the name implies, it’s focused on recruitment. I heard people talking about it during the TAtech Spring Congress as well as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Talent Management Conference. It’s still very new, but worth keeping your eye on.

Personally, I’m always a little torn when I hear about new offerings from Google. And this is no exception.

There’s been very few specifics released about Google Hire. I did find a couple of articles like this one from Mashable “Google tests Google Hire, its own jobs tool”.

Workology put together a round-up of information titled “What You Need to Know About Google Hire“.

If you Google the term Google Hire, you’ll discover that the launch had a bit of a challenge. This article from Fortune “Relax—Google Won’t Share Your Browsing History with Employers” explains what happened.

My hesitation with Google is their tendency to abandon projects. Computer World put together a list of products and services that have gone to the Google “Graveyard”. I believe recruiters want to build long-term sources. Searching for a new talent source takes time and resources. Short-term sources are fine, but it’s important for organizations to establish a clear sense of brand.

That being said, I don’t want to be a complete downer. There are some definite advantages. Let’s face it, Google is already in the search and advertising business. Not to mention, candidates start their job search on Google.

It could also be helpful to understand how Google Hire will impact the recruitment industry.

In the end, it’s possible that Google is going to use Hire as a way to share resources. Similar to their blog re:Work. I found this article on Inc. Magazine further emphasizing Google’s willingness to share information – “Here Are All the Documents You Need to Hire Like Google (for Free)”.

It’s no secret that recruiting is a challenge. New companies are going to enter the market. Existing companies – like Google – are going to offer their services. Regardless of our feelings, we have to do our research and possibly give them a try. They could be exactly what we’re looking for.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby during the SHRM Annual Conference in Washington, DC

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Logic Is Not Always Linear – Friday Distraction

May 26, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Kronos, a leading provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions. The company was named of the 2017 Best Workplaces for Giving Back by Fortune Magazine. Congrats to the Kronos team! Enjoy the post.)

I like to think of myself as a logical person. One of the definitions of logical is “(of an action, development, decision, etc.) natural or sensible given the circumstances.” Notice it didn’t include linear. Something can be logical and not necessarily linear.

An example is PowerPoint versus Prezi. Both provide users with the ability to create digital presentations. PowerPoint does it in a linear fashion. Prezi in a non-linear one. But that doesn’t mean a presentation created on Prezi isn’t logical.

I was reminded of the importance of logic when I saw today’s Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos. Going from Point A to Point B isn’t always linear.

When organizations are trying to connect the dots, they have several tools at their disposal.

People. Sometimes we need to step away from challenges to see the logic or the connection. Sometimes we need co-workers to help us see the pattern or a different way of thinking. Each of us must be willing to say, “I don’t see it.” Or “Help me see it.” It takes self-awareness and trusting relationships with the rest of the team.

Technology. This is one of those moments where technology can be our best friend. Technology is about logic. Organizations need to be willing to use technology to help them see trends and themes. However, I would add that technology needs people to recognize the need for tech and to use it effectively. Great technology used badly isn’t going to provide accuracy and efficiency.

Data. Speaking of accuracy and efficiency, for technology to play its role, it needs good data. We’ve all heard that old phrase “garbage in, garbage out”. It applies here too. People need to know good data when they see it. Otherwise, they could make decisions based on false assumptions. And that’s not logical.

Organizations should use their people, technology, and data to make sensible decisions. Logical decisions. Because logical decisions are easy to explain and understand. When everyone is on the same page, and working toward the same goal, the company is able to accomplish its strategy.

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How to Find Bottlenecks In Your Talent Acquisition Process

May 25, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 2 Comments

Being able to deal with constraints is an important part of business. Constraints are stages of a process that causes the entire process to slow down, be less effective, or stop completely. In the book “The Goal”, Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt outlines The Theory of Constraints as well as how to identify and manage them successfully. It’s a good read that HR pros should have in their library.

A logical first step in successfully dealing with constraints is identifying them. We know in problem-solving that, if you only deal with a symptom then you never really fix the problem. Same applies here. It’s about getting to the root cause of the constraint. Take talent acquisition as an example. When the talent acquisition process is broken, everybody knows it. And in my experience, everyone blames everything on recruiting being broken.

“We can’t finish the project on time because we don’t have enough employees.”

“We can’t deliver good customer service because we don’t have the right employees.”

“I really need to fire Leonard, but if I do I’ll never find his replacement.”

Problems (or constraints, bottlenecks etc.) in recruiting isn’t something to ignore because finding top talent is essential to the business. The question becomes, how do you identify the constraint?

Let’s continue using the recruitment example and focus specifically on resumes and applications. Since talent acquisition is a process that involves multiple people: human resources, hiring manager, payroll, and possibly other individuals, we can start with an analysis of how the process works. Does your organization who is responsible for each part? When it comes to resumes and applications:

Who should spend the most time reviewing resumes? Should it be the hiring manager? Or HR?
What does each person involved in the hiring process actually do with a candidate’s resume? More importantly, what should they be doing?
Does each person know their role and responsibility? Do they know what the other members of the recruiting team are responsible for?
Is each person capable of successfully completing their role in the process?

In order to identify the potential constraint with applications and resumes, these questions must be answered. Organizations need to know that the process they’ve designed on a white board is the process that actually happens. They need to know that each person involved in the process knows their role and is capable of doing it. And that each person knows their role in the context of the other people involved in the process.

To minimize constraints, organizations might want to consider making investments in developing high-performance recruiting teams. Many companies invest in team building for departments. Sometimes in team development for project teams. According to Dr. Eduardo Salas, companies that invest in team training can see as much as a 20 percent increase in team performance. Recruiting teams are the group tasked with identifying and selecting the individuals who will service customers, create the next company innovation, and become the future leadership. It only makes sense to create a development initiative for this team.

Find the bottlenecks in your talent acquisition processClick To Tweet

Which brings us back to constraints. Is it possible that, if a company asked themselves those four questions, they would find the source of their constraint? Once the constraint is identified, then it can be appropriately managed. Here are three action steps that could correct the bottleneck:

Role reinforcement. Make sure each person who has a role in the process knows their tasks and accepts responsibility for their completion.
Training. Any individual who needs skill development should be provided the opportunity to become proficient.
Process communication. To make sure that steps in the process are not being duplicated or accidently forgotten, the process can be communicated to all stakeholders.

If organizations want to hire the best talent, they have to create effective processes and troubleshoot those processes to keep them the best they can possibly be. It starts with the recruiting team.

Image of Sharlyn Lauby captured while speaking at the Flora Icelandic HR Management Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland

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Employee Engagement Surveys: 4 Planning and Execution Must-Haves

May 23, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by Readex Research, which provides expert survey services to help businesses understand their internal and external customers. Their services include employee experience surveys. Enjoy the post!)

Two important pieces of any organizational initiative are planning and execution. Planning helps set the foundation for any project. We use planning time to allocate resources, set expectations, and establish milestones for completion.

When it comes to execution, I’m reminded of the book “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. Particularly, that execution involves continuous improvement. If organizations want to get really good at execution, they should try to find what works well and include some sort of regularity to their efforts.

4 Survey Planning and Execution Strategies

The same holds true for employee engagement surveys. If you want a survey to be successful, it needs to be planned and executed well. Here are four strategies to consider when planning and executing a survey:

STRATEGY #1: The survey needs to have a vision and an objective.

Think of a survey vision like an organization’s vision. It’s that picture of what we want the organization to look like in the future. In this case, with a survey, it’s the picture of what we want the survey to look like. The objective is the target we’re trying to accomplish.

A good place to start this conversation about vision and objectives is with the purpose of the survey. What are the reasons that the survey is being conducted? And let me suggest that “because we’ve always done it” really shouldn’t be the reason. As you’re thinking about the why, start considering the “categories” or areas of information you’re trying to gather.

Relationships and Culture – How are employees interacting with others? What do they feel while on the job?
Compensation and Benefits – Reactions to pay and benefits offered.
Communication – Opinions about the dialog that happens at work. Do employees feel comfortable that they can speaking freely?
Management and the Company – Views on top leadership and the organization.
Employee Experience – What’s the overall employee experience like?

The final piece of the vision strategy is to discuss how the organization will use the survey results. Visioning not only supports the purpose but it also helps in content design. If you can’t see how you will use pieces of data, then ask yourself if it really needs to be in the survey.

Surveys send the message to employees that the company values their feedback and is open to making changes. It could be detrimental to the survey results to ask for employee feedback in an area that the company has no intention of changing. For instance, don’t ask questions about flexible schedules if you aren’t able (or willing) to offer them. Spending time developing a clear vision and objectives for your employee engagement surveys will drive the rest of the development and implementation.

STRATEGY #2 – The survey content should be well-crafted.

Remember that technology term, “Garbage in; garbage out” (GIGO)? When it comes to developing survey content, that’s the key. If the organization develops poorly worded content, it will get poor information and data. This is one strategy that organizations shouldn’t skimp on. (Well, you shouldn’t skimp on any of these strategies…but if I had to pick one that HR needs to hold firm on…this is it.)

If you have been trained on proper survey development, then by all means, do this in-house. However, most of us haven’t, which is why we might want to seek professional expertise. There are two ways to design items:

Work with professionals to create good content. There are many qualified consultants and firms that can create content for your employee engagement surveys. The advantage to hiring a third party to create your survey content is that they can create unique content. The disadvantage is that this unique content can be expensive and time consuming.

Work with pre-developed content. Another option for businesses that’s more budget-friendly and faster to implement is creating a survey using content that has already been developed. Companies get the benefit of using proven content. And while it’s not unique content, organizations should ask themselves…does it really need to be?

As part of content development, it would be beneficial to reach consensus on a handful of benchmarking items. This content would appear in future surveys as a way for the organization to compare results and build a historical trend. For example, if the organization plans to experience several major changes over the next few years, it could be helpful to have a series of benchmarking items to gauge how the business changes are impacting employee engagement. A few sample benchmarking items are:

I know what is expected of me at work.
I receive adequate recognition for good work.
The work I do is important to meeting the mission of [Company].
I can speak freely to my supervisor on a variety of topics.
The information I receive from management is straightforward and honest.
My supervisor and I have a good relationship.

STRATEGY #3 – The survey should align with the organization’s brand and culture.

Even when the organization partners with an outside consultant to administer employee engagement surveys, it doesn’t change who owns the survey. It’s the company’s survey. As such, it needs to look and feel like the rest of the company’s communications.

The survey should include the company logo and images that employees associate with the company. In addition, the content needs to sound like the company. So, if the company marketing is edgy, the survey needs to have that edgy feel too.

In case anyone is wondering, having the look and feel of the survey content align with the other company communication doesn’t diminish or compromise the survey content. It fact, it actually makes employees more comfortable with taking the survey and sharing their open, honest feedback. And that’s what this is all about.

Speaking of open, honest feedback, organizations need to consider offering their employee engagement surveys in the languages that employees are most comfortable communicating in. I can tell you from my own experience with surveys, we received much richer information from employees when they were able to share feedback in their preferred language – even if the employee spent the majority of their working day speaking English. It’s about creating a survey environment that is accommodating to the way employees want to share their thoughts.

Which leads me to my last point. Organizations need to think about the different mediums that are available to conduct their employee engagement surveys. I know we spend a lot of time here on HR Bartender talking about the growing numbers of people with smartphones and tablets…and all of that is true. But everyone does not have access to the same technology or internet. So, it’s important to provide options. The most common survey mediums include online using a mobile responsive website, interactive voice responsive (IVR), and of course, paper and pen with a sealed envelope.

Oh, and I would encourage companies not to knock the good old-fashioned pen and paper option. I realize that technology makes surveys very accessible. And technology would be a preferred option. But, for employees who spend hours on planes and in remote locations, the pen/paper option could be a perfect place to complete a survey in peace and quiet.

STRATEGY #4 – The survey should create an inviting process.

Participation is important in any kind of survey. The way to get participation is by making employees feel their feedback is welcome and respected.

Organizations should announce the survey to all employees, including an outline of the process. If the company is using an outside firm to administer the survey, the announcement should include an introduction to the survey company.

Employees want to know that the organization they are sharing personal information with is credible. They want to trust the company they are giving feedback to. By defining the process and people involved with the process, it brings credibility to the survey and the survey results.

The other piece that increases participation is respecting participant’s time. I think we’ve become a society where shorter is better. According to Readex CEO Jack Semler, 25 – 30 items is a good range for employee engagement surveys. “All of us in survey research know this: Without willing participants, we have nothing. This is why it is vitally important to be aware of and respectful of the time it takes to complete a survey. The fact is that survey participation depends on many things. For example, customers will be more likely to fill out a survey than non-customers. However, this wouldn’t give the sponsoring company the license to ask 100 questions! Keep surveys focused and limited to what you need to know. Leave out questions that are merely nice to know.”

Employee Engagement Surveys: Here's Your BlueprintClick To Tweet

Finally, as much as the survey will be a priority for HR and consume their time, it will not have the same priority for everyone. Plan on a few reminders during the survey window. That’s the great thing about technology, you can schedule those in advance. That being said, you might want to consider telling employees that in the initial survey announcement. So, they don’t get a reminder that think the company doesn’t have their survey responses. (smile.)

Bookmark This! It’s Your Survey Blueprint

Employee engagement surveys are important – to the employee and the company. But they are only as good as the information you get from them. Proper planning and execution will yield good information.

Readex has created an excellent downloadable one-page reminder titled “6 Guidelines for Successful Survey Content and Design”. You might want to bookmark it for future reference.

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Recognizing Public Service Employees – #PSRW

May 7, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 1 Comment

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Kronos, a leading provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions. Kronos recently announced that, for the 17^th consecutive year, they have been awarded the NorthFace ScoreBoard Award for excellence in customer service. Congratulations! Enjoy the post.)

Employee recognition is important. It’s good for employee morale, engagement, and retention. And not just on an individual level. Organizations are recognizing groups of employees during workplace recognition days like Customer Service Week (the first full week of October) and Administrative Professionals Week (typically held in April). As a human resources professional, it’s good to see more organizations recognizing the work of their employees.

I’m also seeing organizations recognize employees who serve their community. Businesses understand that there’s a whole group of people who don’t work for the company but play a role in their success. One such group of individuals that every community relies upon are public servants. If you weren’t aware, this week is Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW). It’s been celebrated since 1985.

Public servants include first responders (i.e. police, fire, and emergency services). They’re all government employees across local, state, and federal governments. In addition, education employees across K-12 and higher education, including student employees at universities. Public service employees play a huge role in our communities.

To celebrate Public Service Recognition Week and the important work being done in our communities, our friends at Kronos created a video – “The Heroes of Public Service”.

Public service employees not only make our communities safer and better, but they touch individual lives. Rock Regan, director of the public-sector practice group at Kronos, shared with me a very personal story about what public service means to him.

“I was eight years old. Several friends of mine and I had decided to go tobogganing. Unfortunately, while we were out having fun, we crashed into a school fence. The good news was it wasn’t with a thud, but the toboggan dug in and slid effortlessly beneath the fence. My legs tucked in and were pinned under the tines of the fence.

Realizing it was serious, my friends knew it was time to go for help. The closest house was just a few hundred yards away and off they went. Moments later, I could hear the siren roar of Engine Six from our neighborhood firehouse and I knew help was on the way.

As I waited to be cut free, I remember thinking, ‘Thank god for the people who run to you in time of need, and give you the coat off their back in the middle of a storm to keep you warm and safe.’

For well over 20 years, I’ve had the privilege to be involved in the public sector. I know first-hand of the heroes that most never think of. The people like custodians who keep our schools maintained and clean, the road crews who fill in the potholes, the folks who run the programs at the parks, the caseworkers who keep children at risk safe, and the database administrators who make sure police officers get the latest information sent to their mobile computers. The list goes on and on. There are so many other public service heroes and we don’t do nearly what we should to show just how much we appreciate them.”

Thanks to all the Heroes of Public Service - #PSRWClick To Tweet

Public service employees are an integral part of the organizations they serve. They contribute to the education, safety, security, and efficiency of our communities. On some level, they’re an extension of our private sector workforce, because we couldn’t achieve our goals without them. They help our communities thrive, which in turn helps our businesses.

So, if you know a public service employee, take a moment to thank them for their hard work. And I hope you’ll share this post to thank the all the other public service employees who work in our communities every day. Thanks!

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Kids Need Career Development – Friday Distraction

May 5, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

I know I’m a little late with a reference to “Take Our Kids to Work Day” but I believe the concept is one we should embrace year around. It’s important for us to expose kids to work. Because someday they’re going to enter the workforce and we want them to be prepared.

In career development, that first level – often labeled entry – is where we learn those key attributes of being a good employee. You know, like showing up to work on time, professional behavior expectations, and teamwork. Those skills we take with us to every other job we will ever have.

Activities like “Take Your Kids to Work Day” let young people see those career development behaviors in action. They get to witness first-hand how work happens. Kids might decide they want to be an accountant, sales person, graphic designer, or HR professional based on their exposure to the workplace.

Today’s Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos is also a good reminder that sometimes an outsider can bring a level of clarity and creativity to the work problems we deal with every day. Not every problem can be solved by an outsider but, there are times when the answer is staring us right in the face and we can’t see it. When we need to refocus, here are a couple of things to consider:

Put the problem aside. I understand this isn’t always possible, but even going out for lunch or a walk around the building, can allow the mind to wander just enough. You can return fresh and ready to refocus.

Brainstorm new ideas. Bring a group together to brainstorm some new thoughts. Creating some diverse ideas could be the breakthrough needed to jump start the project.

As part of our career development, we need to be able to step away and refocus on issues when they occur. But we also need to be prepared to educate young people on what it takes to be successful in today’s work environment. It’s a win for everyone involved.

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