The rumor mill is in top gear this month with some in the blogosphere warning of a coming double-dip recession.  While the jury is still out on that, Ben Bernanke's remarks at the Federal Reserve on Friday made it clear that the recovery is moving slowly.  The good news is that the Federal Reserve is prepared to step in to provide additional stimulus, if necessary.  During his speech, Bernanke noted that despite the "recent slowing" in economic growth, "it is reasonable to expect some pickup in growth in 2011 and in subsequent years."

So we can't expect the economy to recover overnight, I get it.  I think some of us probably hoped it would, with the stock market and retail sales bouncing back tremendously at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, but our hopes were dashed.  Mr. Bernanke did make some promising arguments, though, for example the personal savings rate is much higher than it has been for multiple quarters, and household wealth-to-income ratios are getting back to their historical norms.  He says that "Stronger household finances, rising incomes, and some easing of credit conditions will provide the basis for more-rapid growth in household spending next year."

Bernanke's words were soothing to investors' ears (the DOW is up over 150 points!) but what I personally find interesting is how self-fulfilling economic outlooks can be.  If the public is convinced that there will be a double-dip recession, they will reign in their spending and save it instead. But, guess what should happen? People need to start believing things can get better before they will, and any change in public opinion has to start on the ground floor.

Luckily iCIMS is up to the task. We have a lot to be proud of--we've managed to grow rapidly, even during these tough few years. Just recently we made the INC 500l5000 list of the fastest growing companies for the fifth year in a row, so people are clearly still hiring. If a company which depends entirely on the creation of jobs can thrive, it's time to start believing.

Take it from Bernanke or take it from me, things will get better.

Most people accept annual performance reviews as a fact of work life, but what if it makes more sense to do away with performance reviews, entirely?  One expert on the subject, a UCLA business professor, thinks we should do just that.

According to this article from NPR, one Samuel Culbert believes that “[annual job reviews are] dishonest and fraudulent” and “just plain bad management.”  He says in his interview with NPR that periodic reviews do not help the employee or the company to improve, possibly because there is too much at stake.  In general, Culbert says, employees will just try to focus on their successes, but the “charade” doesn’t end there.  Management participates in the charade, according to Culbert, by having already decided what to pay an employee and guiding the review to that pre-determined end.

The main point of Professor Culbert’s argument is that when you define the metrics by which an employee will be rewarded, that is all he or she will care about.  Furthermore the metric that counts most may turn out to be the boss’ opinion, so the employee is going to do what will win the boss over or tie specifically into their metrics, rather than driving results that really matter to the business as a whole.

Perhaps I missed something, but I think that the professor is ignoring the legal necessity for documented performance reviews. Let’s face it: some people need to be fired! Whether it’s for the good of the company or the cohesion of a team or whatever, performance reviews define a process for companies to document issues with troublesome employees.  Without that documentation, companies open themselves up to unlawful dismissal and other lawsuits at a time and in a nation where we are already litigious enough.

Performance reviews can be painful for both managers and employees, but they are necessary. They provide a framework which we, as employees, can follow—for better or for worse. They provide companies with necessary legal protection from unsavory employees, create a venue for managers and employees to openly discuss issues, and define goals and targets for the future which everyone signs off on.  What’s so wrong with that?

It’s mid-year review time now, so let us know how you feel! Tweet your opinion @iCIMS or comment below.  If you’re interested in knowing how iCIMS can help you with your performance management needs, view the Employee Management demo available in our Demo Center.

Last August a friend and colleague of mine, Kaitlin Walsh, wrote about engagement in the American Workforce.  In her post, she wrote about a 2008 Gallup Management Research study which found that less than 1/3 of the American workforce is actively engaged in their jobs.  Given the apparent affect on morale this extended recession has had on workers, that number is probably even lower, now.  The Gallup study suggested that engaged employees have lower turnover, less absenteeism, more productivity, and higher profitability.

While all of that sounds nice it begs a practical question: How can I boost employee engagement?

This is a question well-satirized in the popular Dilbert comic...check it out here!

The responsibility for engaging employees falls to team leaders and managers.  This must be a day-to-day, consistent effort to ensure that employees are recognized for their achievements and feel aligned with the company.  While it may seem like management 101, here are a few tips I put together for managers to make their employees feel valued and recognized, leading to higher employee engagement:

• Get to know your employees—they have hobbies and interests just like you do, and while those hobbies might not be your cup of tea, it is important that you show an interest in their lives and try to understand what makes them happy.
• Show them your own personality, too—while too much chit-chat can counteract the productivity benefits you are trying to create, a little small talk can go a long way.  Giving your team-members a (small) glimpse of your life will help them to see that you’re human just like they are.  Employees who feel connected to their team and company are much more likely to experience goal-alignment and truly want to do well for you and for the company.
• Clearly define goals—explaining the company’s overall targets and how your team objectives contribute to those targets should be made crystal clear.  If you want to engage your employees, they have to see the relationship between their hard work and the success of the company.  
• Recognize employee contributions—it is important for every business to reinforce positive behaviors.  When an employee has done a great job, why not tell them exactly that?  It doesn’t hurt to throw in some small reward, either.  Where appropriate, consider buying an occasional lunch or letting out a bit early.
• Reward repeated positive behaviors—when an employee has consistently done well for your team and is committed to helping your organization succeed, make sure that you show them how much you appreciate those efforts. Give them an appropriate (financial) reward for their efforts but be sure to clearly explain why they are being rewarded.  This is an especially valuable tool now, as top contributors are starting to have other options for employment.

These tips are easy enough to implement although difficulty often lies in being consistent.  The appropriate attitude towards engaging employees is similar to that of getting physically fit.  It’s not enough to just go on a diet; you have to make lasting lifestyle changes.

For more information on employee engagement, download this free whitepaper on engaging and retaining top talent.

In just the first three months of 2010, the world has seen many changes, with some even bigger happenings to come. What should we expect?  Will Google pull out of China?  Will we pass universal health care?  Will this recession ever end?  Signs point to yes.

Back in November, a colleague and friend of mine, Jennifer Sekerka, blogged about the pending recovery.  She listed the stock market, retail sales, and shipping volume as hopeful indicators.  Now, four months later, let's take another look at where we stand:

• The stock market is even stronger.  Holding at 10,000 back then, the Dow Jones Industrial Average now has eyes on the 11,000 mark.  It may be a while before we cross it, but most analysts expect it to happen this year.  Almost 8% gained in 4 months. That is great.
• Retail sales were much higher in November and December than now, but they're supposed to be!  Holiday sales were mostly flat, as expected, but that's better than a decline!  Have we hit the bottom?  Several retail bellwethers seem to think so.
• Shipping volume is harder to get statistics on, but it seems as though, according to UPS, the shipping business is on the mend as well (maybe it's because people are fed up with airline baggage fees?)

I think most people expect that things are going to get better soon.  The question for quite some time has been when, not if.  Here's why I think the time has come: unemployment has held steady  For the past 2 months unemployment has held steady at 9.7% and it is expected to hold steady again in March before beginning a decline.  What's important about this is that unemployment has not held steady or declined for 2 straight months since March of 2007 (click here). If you weren’t preparing for the recovery in November, you might want to start now.

What should you do to prepare?  You're reading the iBlog, so you know that I'm going to suggest that you check out some of our great resources.  Four months ago, Jennifer recommended our "Post-Recession and Seasonal HR Practices" webinar, and that's still a great place to start.  You can find that on our Resource Center.  If you want more, there are plenty of other resources available, including white papers, articles, webcasts and much more.

These days, everybody is talking about search engine optimization (SEO) which, as the online traffic coordinator for iCIMS, I know a bit about.  Is my website optimized?  Is my blog optimized?  Are my tweets and social networking profiles optimized?  These are some of the more common SEO questions people are asking themselves.  The internet is a busy place and it can be hard to get noticed, but HR professionals should be asking themselves one important question: Are my job postings optimized?

Companies spend a fortune listing their open jobs on job boards, but recruiters are starting to realize that getting access to the best candidates may not be as simple as signing that fat check.  More and more candidates are starting their job searches with a visit to a search engine, not a job board. If the first point of debarkation for candidates is no longer the job board, the portion of the talent pool which can see certain job postings may be significantly reduced.  This shift in candidate behavior has led me to come up with the following suggestions for HR pros to maximize their jobs’ exposure.

1. Use appropriate keywords in your posting - A lot of job descriptions boil down to being acronym soup.  Make sure that you actually spell out what you’re looking for in the description so that you capture people who search for “Human Resources Manager,” rather than “HR Manager.”


2. Keep your postings where they are – The more sites they are posted on, including your friendly neighborhood job boards, the better.  This is especially true if they link to the posting on your company’s career portal.


3. Avoid using flash-based interfaces and portals – Flash-based sites are indexed by search engines as blank and, in many cases, forego the benefits of search engine optimization.  You need to make sure that you use appropriate keywords and that the search engine can read them. 


4. Make sure your talent acquisition software enables SEO – Did you know that you can turn off search engine indexing for security purposes?  What I find strange is that some providers of talent acquisition and talent management software do just that on their career portals, robbing their clients of valuable traffic.


5. Employ adequate candidate-screening capabilities – You will be tapping into a new source of traffic for your job postings and thus have more candidates to screen through.  Your time is valuable, so make sure that your talent acquisition software can handle the load for you by auto-responding to candidates who do not qualify.

As companies start hiring through this recovery, the best talent will be the first to go.  HR professionals owe it to their organizations to do what they can to get in front of the best candidates.  While that may not mean an immediate investment in new technology, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

Many economists say that the worst of the recession is over and unemployment will decline as the recovery takes hold.  Undoubtedly, recruiters will soon find themselves busy with more positions to fill, less time to fill them, and a more aggressive talent landscape to compete in.  Unfortunately, the post-recession rush for talent may not be the worst of what’s to come.  Even now, as companies are rushing to ready their talent acquisition systems for the recovery, they may be ignoring a much larger and more pressing issue: the baby boomer exodus from the workforce.

According to a report by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College, 77 percent of employers have not analyzed projected employee retirement rates or assessed employee career plans.  In other words, employers are largely unaware of the true impact the baby boomer exodus will have.  In 2000, baby boomers were 48% of the US labor force.  By 2010, they’re projected to represent only 37% of the labor force.  This decline would represent a shortage of 10-15 million workers in the next decade alone.

 Maybe it’s time to start analyzing.

The talent gaps created by experienced and skilled baby-boomers leaving the work force will be large.  Even if most of the replacements for those workers come from within the company, many new hires will still be needed to replace the replacements.  There is no way around the problem: new candidates will be needed and in large numbers. 

So how can we prevent a complete catastrophe?

The good news is that great candidates are still out there looking.  Now is the time to start building relationships with candidate pools in order to identify those individuals who truly stand above the rest.  When hiring freezes are lifted and new positions open up, a truly excellent recruiting team will already have candidates in mind.  Remember that the candidates being hired today will be in line for those leadership positions currently held by baby-boomers, make sure to catch some good ones.

As far as Talent Technology is concerned, employers should ensure that they have a proper Workforce Planning and Applicant Tracking System in place.  The worst outcome by far would be for employers to miss out on the best candidates because they were unprepared for the exodus or were inundated with low-quality resumes.

In summary, here are the steps for success:

1.       Identify the potential impact of the baby boomer exodus on your business

2.       Use Succession Planning tools to properly identify replacements from within the company and Workforce Planning to identify the additional staffing levels needed to fill the gaps

3.       Build candidate relationships through career fairs and ongoing interviews. Leveraging Candidate Relationship Management tools (CRM), frequently reach out to your candidates of choice to see how they are doing and update them on positions within your company

4.       Make sure that processes are in place to properly screen out low-quality candidates in order to save recruiters the time they need to properly evaluate good candidates

5.       Get started early and be ready!

Having a clear direction is important in life.  Isn’t that such a vague statement?  You don’t know if I mean your personal future, career goals, or driving directions.  That is exactly why proper onboarding is so important.  When you first join a company things can seem a little chaotic.  There is always so much to learn and it can almost be too much to take in.  That’s why companies today need onboarding programs which provide their new hires with clear direction.

Companies frequently focus too much on getting an employee up and running with their responsibilities as soon as possible, especially in the wake of a lengthy time-to-fill.  While this might allow for pressing issues to be resolved and fires to be put out, it can have negative implications for the new hire.  Without proper training, new hires can often miss important details or make mistakes in the execution of their jobs, creating a problem for the company.  Inevitably the employee will have to repeat the work until the mistakes are sorted out, which can get extremely frustrating (for both the employee and the managers).  Frustrated employees have a more difficult time coping with their new environments and may not fit in as well with coworkers as they would have if they were assimilated properly. 

Fortunately, all of the negativity created by the above situation can be tactfully avoided with the implementation of a successful onboarding program.  The best programs include one-on-one meetings or events with each member of the team.  Ideally, new-hires should be personally trained in each aspect of their role and be able to demonstrate their skills to their manager before being placed in real situations.  They should feel comfortable and familiar with their function, their co-workers, their workplace, and be welcomed to the team.  By fostering a positive environment, even across band levels, companies can create a nurturing environment for their new hires which not only provides clear direction, but encourages and nourishes innovation.

According to about.com the purposes of orientation are:

• To reduce startup costs
• To reduce anxiety
• To reduce employee turnover
• To save time for the supervisor
• To develop realistic job expectations, positive attitudes, and job satisfaction

So are you onboarding your talent to their fullest potential?