Sticky People, Sticky Culture

I’d like to talk for a minute about glue. Not the white sticky kind my kids love to use generously when working on school projects, but the kind that we try to bring into the work place whenever we can. Sometimes glue in the workplace is a person – that individual who brings people and ideas together in a way that others can’t, the person who attracts talent and makes them “stick.” Most organizations have at least a few of these people. Some are the historians, yet other times they can be that new person that almost magnetizes the air with a different way of doing things.

What’s really fun is when you get several of these sticky people in one group – watch out. You know how rubber cement only works when you smear it on two surfaces and then put them together? The best types of organizational glue are sort of like this, but even more three dimensional. They include the people that make things stick, the systems and processes, and dozens of little reminders of what makes an organization special. Yes, I’m talking about culture. Any strong organizational culture is nothing more than really powerful glue that has a way of binding people to it - new and existing employees, business partners, and yes, clients. When the stickiness starts to spread beyond traditional organizational boundaries, it can be pretty cool. I believe that a strong and sticky culture is hard to compete with. Just like the times I’ve helped my kids with those projects and found that my fingers still have a residual ability to stay attached to everything they come in contact with for a while, organizations with stickiness have a tendency to stay on your radar more than the rest. They might share ideas that make you think differently, have a style or personality that you just want to be around, and yes, their people may just be the kind you want to be stuck with for a while.

We think a lot about creating and building stickiness at Pinstripe – both for ourselves, and for our clients. Especially for our clients. We are fortunate to partner with some pretty amazing organizations, many who make products or deliver services that either make people’s lives more fulfilling and rich, or save them (literally). We spend a lot of time trying to identify the formula of their unique glue so that we can accidentally spill some in their candidate pools – oops! We aim to help them find talent that will add to the stickiness and extend it. In doing some, sometimes it makes us stickier too.

Post contributed by Angela Hills. Follow me on Twitter @angelahills.

How to pick your RPO Employer

With the exponential growth of Recruitment Process Outsourcing, recruiters should be enjoying lots of potential RPO job opportunities. And since the average recruiter spends more than 40 hours a week on the job, selecting the right RPO provider is very important to your career and life.

So how do you decide the right RPO career move?  What are your criteria? How can you differentiate one RPO employer from another?

The following are five (5) crucial items you need to know about your next RPO employer:  

1) What is the company's short and long-term plan?
With my extensive exposure to RPO service providers, I’ve learned that most RPO companies have a short term revenues goals, but lack a long-term strategic vision and plan. The majority of firms find it acceptable to be almost exclusively driven by the market versus trying to influence and shape the industry. One of the things I appreciate about Pinstripe is our clearly defined long-term business strategy and how our executive team readily and frequently shares the information with all our team members.   

2) Are you and the company a culture match?

Almost all recruiters I know believe that recruiting is a valued profession and talent acquisition is a critical, strategic business function. However, some RPO firms have commoditized their services so much that any opportunity for recruiters to think “outside the box” and find creative solutions is frowned upon. In the world of RPO, there are providers who give their recruiters the freedom to add additional value and there are other RPO companies just looking for a “small cog in their large wheel.” In my opinion, culture often trumps strategy. Decide who you are, figure out the RPO Service Provider’s culture and choose wisely.

3) What is the company doing about training and development?
Smart RPO companies invest in their employees (both onsite and virtual) and offer a number of ways to continuously learn and develop—not just for your current role but for the role you’d like to have in the future. In my position, I interview lots of recruiters from our competition and have learned that many RPO providers are rushing so quickly to keep up with new accounts or expanding accounts that recruiters are just thrown into the “lion’s den” with little to no initial orientation and virtually zero on-going training. Over the past several years, Anne Bucher, my colleague, as built out a comprehensive “certification” program that every recruiter receives as part of their Pinstripe and client on-boarding process. Sometimes this impacts the implementation and transition timeline; however, long-term it improves recruiter success, job satisfaction and employee engagement (and ultimately clients get better results).

4) What are the opportunities for career growth?
Growth doesn't always mean a new position, it could mean a developmental assignment, a mentoring relationship, joining company employee resource groups or volunteering in the community.  However, in regards to internal mobility, Sue Marks, our CEO, shares all promotions and internal moves on a monthly basis.  She does to help our employees understand potential career paths, improve retention but most of all to recognize and celebrate employee achievements

5) What are the people who already work there saying? 
Nothing is better than hearing first-hand how an employee already with the company has grown throughout his/her career. And since recruiters like to network and talk, it shouldn’t be hard to gather information. . This type of “unofficial” endorsement should be an essential part of any RPO career move.

The key to selecting your RPO employer is simple. Don't just take any job; be discriminating.

Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow me on Twitter @bddiamond

How to Narrow Your RPO Choices

By Barry Diamond

What do Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney have in common?

Yes, they are all possible 2012 GOP Presidential candidates. With so many potential candidates, how can a Republican make an informed choice?

And now to make the choice even more complicated, Donald Trump has (sort of) thrown his "hair" into the ring for the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination.

So while the primaries and convention are still months and months away, the field has already become extremely crowded with real and faux candidates….and this reminds of what is happening in Recruitment Process Outsourcing; where the field has also become much more crowded with RPO newcomers. I’m not complaining or whining...I believe competition is good for both buyers and sellers.

With so many choices and options, similar to the dilemma facing Republican voters, how are RPO voters going to make their upcoming selection?

Well, I have 4 initial recommendations for those in the market to engage a RPO firm:

• Engage a Sourcing Advisor (TPI, Everest, EquaTerra, Aberdeen, NelsonHall, Bersin, etc). The RPO advisor community is a neutral source for (paid) information and guidance.
• Attend the 2011 RPO Summit and meet a lot of the RPO firms a one time. Also, many of the RPO firms bring clients to the event and this creates another great source of information.
• Do some networking with companies that outsource recruitment and get some “off the record” references. This "back door" approach can be more informative than service provider "prepared" references.
• Reach out to some RPO firms for information and see who gets back to you in a timely manner. I think responsiveness is part of an organization’s corporate culture. If you don’t’ get it from the sales group then most likely you won’t get it from the service delivery team either.

Also, I do think if the incumbent is a doing a good job then don't change just to change. That's why I'll just stick with the guy who is running the country right now in 2012.