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Why Is Change So Hard?

My company is trying to change an industry, an industry that hasn’t really changed much in the 17 years I’ve been in it.  Apparently change is hard for human beings:

How many people were still driving their supercharged V8 super SUV when gas was over $5 a gallon?

How many people continue to rebuild a house on the same plot of land even after multiple floods wipe them out?

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We ARE the Stimulus Plan

How to simulate the economy seems to be the front and center conversation in the media and in homes across the country.  When AIG isn’t dominating the headlines and people are really thinking about solutions, they think of economic stimulus plans.  Most agree that creating jobs is task #1 and the thinking goes that if more people are working, more people are positive and therefore more people are spending money.  Basically any Government stimulus is simply supposed to spark OUR (the consumer) spending so there is more money in the system and we can return to our times of prosperity.

But wait, taking government stimulus money and repaving roads (like Bev Perdue is doing here in North Carolina) is wasting the taxpayer’s money.  It creates short term jobs but not long term employment and confidence. 

In essence, the government leadership is probably the least qualified to stimulate our economy and create jobs and confidence in the working population.  So who then should take the reigns?

YOU.

You, the American worker.  You the American entrepreneur.  You the American genius.  Why?  Because it’s always been YOU that has stimulated this economy, not government programs! 

How do we do it?  INNOVATE!!  Every age of innovation has created more prosperity than any government stimulus plan since the “New Deal” of the 1930’s.  Think about it.  The last time you were probably feeling flush and having the time of your life was in the 90’s.  The technology boom was in full swing and we were all jumping on the World Wide Web.  The age of the internet has spawned more innovation than we’ve seen in the last 50 years.  So it starts with innovation.  I’m watching Steve Wosniak on Dancing With The Stars and although he’s a really bad dancer, the guy is a certified American Genious.  He created the Apple Computer and launched the company behind your iPod, iPhone and i-everything. 

As innovation spurs new product development, consumers buy and buy and buy.  So I’m advoacting a “new” New Deal based on radical innovation.  In the last 5 years, there has been little innovation.  The IPhone created a stir, Blackberrys get smaller but there has been little to get the consumer inside us all excited and spending money.  More than ever, we need to innovate and create some excitement in our world.

But Phil, I’m a Recruiter – what can I do to innovate?  Anything you can think of.  Remember, part of the New New Deal is that people need to get working.  Let your mind go and takes some chances and risks – these are the building blocks of innovation.  Start that new recruiting business, moonlight helping unemployed people figure out how to get the jobs that are out there – do that one thing that you’ve been thinking of for years but that little voice in your head always says “no one will buy that”.  They will if you take the chance.

This country was built on the risk-taking, innovative backs of the people of the country.  We have to stop looking for help from our Government and take control of our own stimulus options.

Frustrated Job Seekers

Here is an interesting article that comments on the frustration most job seekers experience in online recruiting.  Speaking of the difficult time job seekers have of actually finding their “dream job” online, Jennifer Hamm says;

Still, trolling job boards remains a very time consuming process, contends Richard H. Beatty, author of “The Ultimate Job Search.” There are over 40,000 career websites, including mega job boards, industry-specific sites and listings on company sites.

“Job seekers are faced with the daunting task of somehow screening through this bewildering array to discover those sites that will prove most productive for them,” Beatty says. “Huge amounts of precious job-search time can be completely wasted.”

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Yankees or Oakland A’s?

I recently made my annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Major League Baseball’s spring training.  On the plane, I was reading and a collision of thoughts occurred in my head that would rival that collision at home plate between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star Game. 

For any non baseball fans out there, stick with this blog post as it WILL be brought around to talent acquisition, I promise.
First is an interesting article in last week’s Wall Street Journal.  In it, the authors propose that one of the leading causes of our current economic downturn was the profound short term thinking of Chief Executives and Boards of Directors.  They assert that the “short term gains at all costs” mentality of corporate America is a huge factor in this unprecedented economic downturn and that the people who run the most powerful companies in our country took their eye off the ball (baseball analogy) of business 101; building solid products, selling them at a reasonable price and supporting what you sell for the long term.  Granted that some of this “short timer” disease was driven by shareholder pressure to continue to grow wealth, the feduciary responsibility of Corporate America has to have a longer horizon than quarter over quarter growth according to the authors.

So what does that have to do with baseball and even more unclear, what does any of this have to do with talent accquisition??

Well, in the age of free agency in baseball, the game of building a winning team has become divided into two camps;

CAMP B: buy the talent with the best statistics from last year in the hopes you can win a pennant this year (Yankees) and

CAMP A: bring in not yet great, high trajectory, under the radar players for a fraction of the cost and grow a sustainable winning team over time (Athletics). 

There are a lot of arguments on both sides (As always, I met my Father and Brother in Phoenix, both avid Yankee fans and proponents of the “buy and try” mentality of the Steinbrenner family) but I’m making my case for the longer term horizon strategy of the Oakland Athletics.  Without going into a huge analysis (this is, afterall, a human capital blog, not one from Sports Illustrated) the Oakland A’s manage to make the playoffs or come within a few games almost every year.  They win and are fun to watch. They take calculated risks on young players and grow them in the organization for as many years as they can before the Yankees buy them. (Jason Giambi, Scott Brosius etc.) The fans in Oakland love them, even the years they come up just short of the playoffs.  Contrast that with the Yankee strategy where winning this season justifies Wall Street type compensation with short term required payoffs (in 2008, the Yankees spent over $420 Million on CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett) Their fans demand a pennant every year (just like the shareholders demand strong growth in profits and share value) especially now that they pay $70 for the cheap seats at the new Yankee Stadium.   I don’t know a Yankee fan that would be satisfied with a good run at a title this year and welcome back the team from 2009 in 2010 if they didn’t make the playoffs.  By the way, in the last 7 years (when the Yankees went really “out there” with the money they pay these guys) the yankees have only been to one World Series (in 2003) and they lost to……The Marlins (another Athletics-minded, lower budget team by the way) proving that chemistry, not just talent, counts.

Ok, so now you see the paralells; Yankees/corporate governance of the 21st century and Atheletics/desired corporate governance post economic recovery.

Now to wrap it up with the final parallel: the mentality of most companies in hiring and building teams.  “Shadow of the leader” as one of my past managers put it, dictates that the behavior modelled by the leader is what the teams beneath them see as the behavior that is desired, even when it might be the wrong behavior.  Just look at the Stamford Bank executive now under indigtment for misleading athorities in their investigation of her crooked boss!  So if the CEO’s lead by “short term gains at all costs” mentality, then it follows that this trickles down to every level of the organization.  Hiring Managers demand “no assembly required” candidates from Recruiters and many “not yet great, high trajectory, under the radar players” go unnoticed and unhired by the company.  Is your company the Yankees or the Athletics?

I’m not saying that Recruiters can fix the economy or baseball but I do believe they can take the lead in fixing the “no assembly required” hiring mentality of their hiring managers.  For a step by step “how to” guide on doing this, read Billy Ball – the story of Billy Bean, the guy who changed the mentality of the Oakland A’s hiring model.

It’s going to be a long season and the environment is ripe for a change of strategy.  Pick up some high level prospects from the waiver wire and be prepared for a champagne shower in 2011 when your “unknowns” of 2009 turn into hall of famers!

The Oscars – Extreme Branding for Job Seekers

As I watched the annual parade of glam last night, it dawned on me that each and every one of the movie stars is an extreme brand manager.  In any economy, job holders and job seekers should take notice of how these folks manage their personal brands because, like in Hollywood, it really is all you have to offer.

Top 5 tips from Hollywood’s Extreme Brand Managers: 

Dress.  “Who are you wearing” may not be something that you hear in interviews or after a particularly rousing corporate presentation but it IS noticed by people, some who count and some who don’t.  Presentation is one key to Personal Branding.

Pride.  Being proud can be a slippery slope.  It can escalate you to the front of the pack or relegate you to forever bringing up the rear.  The key in Hollywood is that actors are proud of the “work” not of themselves (for the most part).  Speaking proudly of the work your teams have accomplished in the past is a great way to stand out in a crowd.

Humility.  The balance to #2 is humility.  Being humble is a parallel slope to Pride.  If you are to humble and never speak of YOUR accomplishments you may come off as a coat tail rider.  Be sure to speak proudly of your team’s accomplishments and also of your unique contribution to the organization’s success.

Grace.  I’m always impressed with the Red Carpet ride these stars take and that they are willing to speak to people like Ryan Seacrest and Joan Rivers.  At each interview stop they smile, answer truly inane questions and always thank the microphone monkey as if it was a fantastic experience.  Leaving everyone feeling positive about your interactions with them is one of the fastest ways to get or stay employed.

Gratitude.  Ok, so thanking a handwritten list of everyone who’s ever been part of your career (like some did last night) can come off as contrived, being grateful for those who have made an impact on you and letting them know regularly is crucial.  Read “regularly” because being grateful only when you get laid off (and start re-connecting with everyone in your network because you need them) is the antithesis of gratitude.

I think the greatest job seeker lesson from the Academy Awards last night lies in Slumdog Millionaire taking the night with 8 Oscars.  Why?  Because there were no Brad Pitts, no Meryl Streeps and no Batman special effects.  It was a medium budget foreign film with children and teenagers as stars. 

Proof that success lies, not in what you see and expect, but in what you can imagine and create.

Un-Stimulating

Today, our new President signs a “stimulus” package with the hopes of the entire country riding on its back.  However, I’m not sure exactly how stimulating these programs are to the millions of people out of work or in fear of being there soon.

Apparently, sometime this summer, those of us lucky enough to still have jobs will begin receiving some direct benefit from the tax cut part of the package.  About $13 a week.  Now I don’t live in a McMansion nor do I live in a trailer down by the river but c’mon, $13 a week?  This is supposed to get me out and spending again?  My guess is that most of us will be so mired in other stuff in June that this “increase” will arrive with zero fanfare or even modest notice.  $13 a week buys me what?  Lunch by myself?  Enough gas for the week? 2 beers plus tip at my local pub?  I’m not sure what our Politicians were thinking when they all sat around and said “yes, that’s it – $13 a week”.  Chances are we could have made it $50 a week if they agreed to cut their own spending like they are forcing Banking Execs to do.

My Favorite “Stimulus Package” was put forth late last year.  Here’s a copy of a real “make sense” stimulus package and how it might work:

Something that makes good sense:
I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
 
Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a We Deserve It Dividend.
 
To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman
and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+  into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
“We Deserve It Dividend”.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college – it’ll be there
Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car – create jobs
Invest in the market – capital drives growth
Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+  including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out
a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG – liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.

Sure  it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
We Deserve It Dividend  more than  do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.
And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned
instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Kindest personal regards,
Birk
T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

Friday Humor

This one’s for Joe and Art at the barbershop – two avid readers;

These individual quotes were reportedly taken from actual employee performance evaluations in a large US Corporation.

1. “Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom…..and has started to dig.”

2. “His men would follow him anywhere…but only out of morbid curiosity.”

3. “I would not allow this employee to breed.”

4. “This employee is really not so much of a ‘has-been’, but more of a definite ‘won’t be’.”

5. “Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap.”

6. “When she opens her mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet.”

7. “He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle.”

8. “This young lady has delusions of adequacy.”

9. “He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.”

10. “This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.”

11. “This employee should go far…and the sooner he starts, the better.”

12. “Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together.”

13. “A gross ignoramus – 144 times worse than an ordinary ignoramus.”

14. “He certainly takes a long time to make his pointless.”

15. “He doesn’t have ulcers, but he’s a carrier.”

16. “I would like to go hunting with him sometime.”

17. “He’s been working with glue too much.”

18. “He would argue with a signpost.”

19. “He has a knack for making strangers immediately.”

20. “He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room.”

21. “When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell.”

22. “If you see two people talking and one looks bored…he’s the other one.”

23. “A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on.”

24. “A prime candidate for natural de-selection.”

25. “Donated his brain to science before he was done using it.”

26. “Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn’t coming.”

27. “Has two brains: one is lost and the other is out looking for it.”

28. “If he were any more stupid, he’d have to be watered twice a week.”

29. “If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you’d get change.”

30. “If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the oceans.”

31. “It’s hard to believe that he beat 1,000,000 other sperm to the egg.”

32. “One neuron short of a synapse.”

33. “Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled.”

34. “Takes him 2 hours to watch 60 minutes.”

35. “The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.”

Have a great weekend!

Wing Space

“None of us is as good as all of us.” – Ray Kroc – Founder of McDonald’s.

As I sit on this US Airways flight from Charlotte, NC to La Guardia today (knowing I have a return tomorrow the other direction) I can’t help but think of US Airways Flight 1549.
This is the famed “Sully” Sullenberger flight that was the only successful ditching of a commercial jetliner on record.  All 155 passengers and crew made it out safely.  For those of you not living in Charlotte or NYC, it may have simply been an interesting distraction from the tanking economy.

To those of us in Charlotte – it is lore.

We asked ourselves for days “how did they do it?”  How did everyone walk out onto the wing in 41 degree water and survive to be interviewed on 60 minutes?  Like many of you, I’ve scoffed at the mention of “your seat cushion can also be used for a floatation device”, figuring that when the time comes that I’m on a plane being ditched into a body of water, I’m kissing this life goodbye.
Not true I guess. 

You see, the power of “WE” is always greater than the power of “ME”.

What the crew and passengers did that afternoon was to work togther in a calm and orderly fashion to ensure everyone was safe and out of that plane before it swamped in the Hudson.
Professional air crew and professional bankers stood shoulder to shoulder and took control and at times, took orders without ego or preconceived notions of self getting in the way.  Amazing!  That people can come together and create miracles (the flight is called “Miracle on the Hudson”) is nothing short of inspiring.

So why don’t we read more amazing stories of collaboration in the pages of the paper or web about people casting off what they know and believe and simply “acting” in harmony?  Because many consider life to be a zero sum game.  This means that if you have it, I can’t have it and visa versa.  So we hoard and protect and compete for perceived “scarce” resources. 

Fortunately or unfortunately it takes a moment of life or death for most people to realize this is not true; that life is full of abundance if we only believe it to be so.  The crew and passengers of Flight 1549 certainly believed there was enough “wing space” for all of them to get out of the plane and out there on those wings

So the question begs to be asked; do you believe there is enough “wing space” for everyone?

Whether you are out of work and looking for a job or are lucky enough to have a job and are being bombarded by “networking” friends and relatives, are you doing all you can to make sure there’s enough “Wing space” for everyone?

If you are a Recruiter and you can’t personally help a candidate, are you taking the time to look for ways help them?

In times of difficulty will you make room on the wing?

The Status Quo Has To Go

Like many of you, I was glued to my television set yesterday watching the inauguration of President Obama.  It doesn’t matter if you are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or just don’t care – yesterday was a moment in history we will all remember.

So I asked myself, why?  What is it about THIS inauguration that brings over 1.5 million people to D.C. (whereas Regan had a small percentage of that for his first one) and causes a nation to come to a halt to watch?  Many will state the obvious, first African American President.  However, I think it is more than that.  I think this administration has given all of America and much of the world hope that the Status Quo in Washington is finally going to be broken and we are excited to see what changes are possible once this happens

So what has this got to do with Recruiting you ask?  Everything.  There are few departments in a corporation more tied to the status quo than the Recruiting Department.

Recruiters cling to the status quo long after the quo has lost its status.

If you doubt this, simply ask anyone responsible for change in a Recruiting department.  They will tell you that the change management is the hardest part of any operational adjustment.  New ATS, implementing a CRM for the first time, changing the candidate experience process etc are all great business decisions, backed up by sound financial and operational supporting measures and most FAIL because Recruiters fight change like an addict fights recovery.  I know of a brilliant Recruiting Operations Manager who just went through this; implemented a CRM, tied it to the ATS, brought the project in under budget and ahead of schedule and the metrics of savings etc proved true.  The CRM is failing due to Recruiter Resistance and he’s now at another company.

What causes Recruiter Resistance?  Why does changing, improving, modifying their business cause chills in Recruiters’ spines?  Here are a few observations of why Recruiters resist change: 

Change Overload.  Many recruiting departments change for change sake.  One way to protect mediocre performance is to give the illusion of continuous improvement to those who control the budgets. 

Fear.  Implementing new technology, new strategy and new process can expose people who have learned to game the system and float along, just above the performance issue line.

Work Overload.  Just-in-time (JIT) recruiting requires a fine balance of time management and Recruiters become the ultimate juggling multitaskers.  Picture the performer with a hundred plates spinning at the end of poles at one time.  Now picture tossing a medicine ball at that performers mid-section.  That’s how “change” can feel to JIT Recruiters.

Poor Communication.  Decisions made at the top and trickled down can become simply orders to change.  When people are involved in decision making (whether they ultimately support the change or not) they are more likely to embrace the change simply because they have a fundamental understanding of it.

Regardless of which of these situations your recruiting department is mired in, now is the time to break your status quo.  Seize the momentum of change permeating the country and make changes long overdue in your department.  You have the time, you have the reasons and now you have momentum on your side.  Turning your Recruiting Department into a strategic weapon for the company is the right thing to do.  Use the down economy like a change in administration and begin to create the energy and hope that breaking the status quo can bring to your organization.

Ipso Facto

It is January so I still have time to get my “2009 Predictions” in along with the hoards of others.  In the Recruiting community, predicting what will happen in our industry has become not only a tradition, but a somewhat stale one at that (like Aunt Ruth’s Thanksgiving Turkey, who everyone has to eat even though it’s dry and overcooked every year) with most “predictions” being nothing more than observations of what’s happening already:  (these are actual predictions from our thought leaders)

There will be less hiring this year

There will be fewer recruiters employed this year

Social Networking will continue to expand

Recruiting vendors will suffer

Less business travel

and so on.

Not exactly Nostradamus-worthy predictions right?  Since much of this was already happening in 2008, these just don’t seem like predictions to me.

So I’m not going to make a bunch of “observa-predictions” – you can read it in the Wall Street Journal and make your own.  I’m simply making one prediction.  One thing I can see on the horizon that, if things don’t change, will come true by Christmas this year.

I call it the “Ipso Facto” prediction.  Here it is;

I predict that 2009 will be the year that Job Seekers take back their job search.  I predict a “revolution” of sorts where job seekers, tired of being treated like a commodity, begin to fire their job boards and begin to demand tranparency from corporations they apply to.  If we are going to see 10%+ unemployment and it hits all industries and socio-economic levels – I believe the 21st century internet job seeker says, “ENOUGH ALREADY”.

So why “Ipso Facto”?

There will be no one to blame for this trend but job boards and corporate career sites!  Allow me to elaborate;

Job Boards today are flush with “false” jobs – jobs put there by anyone with a checkbook  who can pay for a posting.  At worst, they are people/firms who want to lure candidates into the false hope of finding work (to feed their family) so these predators can build a multi-level marketing organization or get someone to work for commission only with false promises of big returns (Madoff style).  Anyone posting a resume on a big board should have the Arnold Schwarzenegger of spambots on their computer – it’s really ugly and people are tired of it.

Corporate Career sites have no fraudulent intents but commit similar “crimes against job seekers”.  Even though there is no law requiring private sector companies to post their jobs externally, many HR departments are convinced this is a best practice for Equal Opportunity reasons.  In times of growth and expansion it may be a good idea as you can gather the best internal and external candidates for consideration.  In times of contraction, when you are already planning on filling that role with an internal candidate or a pre-determined candidate – this “artifical posting” is simply cruel hope to the millions of unemployed Americans.  These same job seekers who gleefully complete your online profile and apply for the “artifical posting” or even the real postings are, more often than not, rarely communicated with once their application has been acknowleged.

I think job seekers will be pushed past the tipping point and begin to demand better from eRecruitment.  They will flock to solutions that put the control of their job search in THEIR hands as they once and for all tire of putting it into the hands of people who don’t handle it with the care it deserves.  They will demand a “job seeker bill of rights”:

There are recruiting solutions today that treat the job seeker with the dignity they’ve always deserved and I’m happy to say there are corporations out there who treat job seekers the same way.  The partnering of these corporations and these solutions vendors will become a force in 2009.

I’ll answer to my peers if none of this happens but I think it may already be taking hold as you’ll see when you read this post from a blog titled; “The Day I Fired Careerbuilder”.

Power to the Job Seeker!