If there’s one lesson we could learn from the economic downturn of the past couple of years, it’s that critical thinking is an essential skill. If employees are being developed and hired with critical thinking in mind, many problems within a company can be remedied at faster paces than before.

When hiring, there are many tests which can be put in place to test critical thinking. One of those tests is the Pearson’s Watson-Glaser II Critical Thinking Assessment. Its popularity is growing, as many HR managers cite that it doesn’t take long and has been a good indicator of critical thinking skills.

Scott Nelson, a manager for MDA Consulting, a leadership based firm had this to say about the test, “As we are assessing hundreds of candidates every month, we think about using [the Watson Glaser II] as a way to get a keen understanding of an individual’s critical thinking skills. We think the Watson Glaser II is a gold standard. It’s very research based. And it’s very short and easy to use.”

An often overlooked aspect of critical thinking is hiring managers looking for it in every employee they hire, from entry levels to managers. The level of the potential hire should have no basis on whether or not critical thinking is tested, as you never know where a solution for a problem might arise.

Andrea Schilling, Global Director of Human Resources at Varde, a privately held international investment firm, said this about implementing critical thinking skills, “We have everybody who comes to Varde, globally, take the Watson Glaser II, and we do that because we really think critical thinking skills are important at any level.”

Schilling cites critical thinking as being a factor for low turnover as well. The belief is candidates with high critical thinking skills have a better understanding of a position before they take it, resulting in them being employed longer.

With tests which don’t take too long to implement, there’s no reason critical thinking should be left off the criteria when hiring. HR reps certainly have the tools to find employees with the creativity and know-how to succeed in today’s business climate.

It is very hard to go from an AA working at a McJob to a required PhD working in research which is usually the kind of job I am trying to fill, and my average job candidate resume is the McJob. Usually that means they are just filling out the paper work and spamming the job systems with garbage resumes on some forlorn hope that they will get a job they are totally unprepared for.

The interesting flip side to this is that I recently posted my resume on one of the major job boards because that was the price of looking for jobs at their site. The resume I posted was my teaching resume; I am only looking for teaching gigs, preferably online so that I can go pursue the other things I think are worthwhile, like my startup. What has been flabbergasting to me are the responses I am getting back from recruiters.

I am dead clear what I want to do, the opening preamble of the resume is:

“The idea job will focus on teaching the next generation of technology and business leaders the skills, creativity, thinking, and business/technology acumen to succeed in business and technology. As well, the job will have significant Social Networking, virtual meeting, and online interaction that lead to better comprehensive learning on the part of students.”

Fairly clear cut and dry, I just want to teach, been teaching now for seven years and I really love it a lot as a job.

What has been coming my way though has been a mishmash of job “opportunities” that have no relationship to what I posted online as a desired job description. I have gotten offers to be a program manager for an environmental company selling their environmental products. I have had three opportunities to become an insurance salesperson (and a direct sales job is something I am not suited for in terms of personality or temperament). I have had multiple franchise opportunities so I can go open some form of restaurant which is also something that shows nowhere in my background. The last restaurant job I had was in high school asking “do you want fries with that?” And the military would like to have me back, which is cool I loved the time I served in the navy, but not sure if I am really cut out to be a navy band member at this time. I play a pretty good bass guitar but that is about it, and the navy does not do punk rock.

What this tells me is that not only is there a major disconnect between the people who are applying for jobs that they are not suited for, but to add insult to injury there is also a major disconnect between people who have jobs to fill and do not really look at the resumes that are on the job sites.

With all this not looking, the real talent is getting buried in a morass of people working on divergent ends, where no one gets hired because in the impersonal way we look for jobs, there is no way to rise above the noise. The most frustrating part of my job is going through resumes that do not match the job description, and that is looking like it will be quickly followed by fending off recruiters who didn’t really read my resume.

We often laugh about how finding a job is broken, and now I know it is broken from both sides of the process. Sadly this means that the only real way to find a job is to do this by personal connections. This makes LinkedIn and other sites like that more important than the general job boards that have millions of members. Of all the people I have hired lately, none came from a job board; all came from personal inside recommendations. It is time to seriously make some friends because the public systems are seriously broken from both sides of the process.

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Let me begin with a chart from the 21-page survey report: a contemporary picture of social media tools either in use, planned for use, or not being used as answered by the nearly 900 people who participated in the survey.

The only real surprise to me from these metrics is actually how low current use is of internal-use tools like Yammer and how high the percentage is of survey respondents who either aren’t using it or don’t plan to at all. Yammer is a Twitter-like tool used for private communication within organizations.

What this suggests to me is that there is still a huge requirement in many organizations for education and awareness-raising of social media tools and channels to help people at all levels better understand the business value of social media from their perspectives and why it’s important that employees are empowered to engage with others, internally and externally.

I hadn’t heard about this survey until I interviewed Robin McCasland, the 2009-2010 Chair of the IABC Research Foundation, for the latest episode of the IABC Cafe2Go podcast, published yesterday. The survey report was a major publication of the Research Foundation this year. In the interview, Robin highlights many of the overall findings from the survey results, such as:

• Email (83%) and intranet (75%) are reported as the most frequently used communication vehicles for engaging employees.
• Social media tools have been gaining popularity with roughly 45% of respondents who said that they currently communicate through Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging (see the chart above).
• Compared with last year’s results, a higher percentage of participants have established external and internal social media policies.
• A majority of respondents (60%) reported that surveys are a key method for measuring employee engagement and workplace satisfaction.
• More than two-thirds of respondents stated they conduct employee listening activities at least once a year (which means that about a third don’t or do it rarely).

It’s good to note an increase in the number of organizations which have put in place policies and guidelines for employees to understand what the rules are with social media.

What caught my attention most, though, was a metric reflecting a picture that’s still too common in too many organizations – the lack of any activity used to measure the effectiveness of social media communication internally or externally.

As this chart shows, over half (52%) of those surveyed said they use no method to measure the effectiveness of internal social media use.

That makes little sense to me. Why would you not measure whether what you’re doing is helping you achieve the objectives you established at the outset?

There’s lots more to glean from this survey, a credible document that provides real insights into the communication landscape in organizations that includes other metrics on topics such as communication investment and employee retention, creating and sustaining a culture of engagement, management development programmes, and  internal/employer branding.

You can download the report, free, from the IABC Research Foundation website as well as from Buck Consultants.

And do listen to the interview with Robin McCasland – you’ll gain additional insights to complement the report.

• Podcast: IABC Cafe2Go #58 – Interview with Robin McCasland
• Survey report (PDF): 2010 IABC Employee Engagement Survey

(Disclosure: I’ve been an IABC member for more than 20 years and believe it to be the best professional association for business communicators. I also occasionally produce the Cafe2Go podcasts for IABC as an aspect of my volunteerism. None of that influenced my writing this post, though.)

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As a disclaimer, I have nothing in particular against recruitment agencies it’s just good to know the alternatives available – and of course everyone likes to know how to do things on the cheap!

1. Twitter - If you have a following for your company or personal brand on Twitter, it makes sense to reach out to these contacts in order to help find potential candidates. In 2008 PubCon spent $75,000 marketing the conference via email maketing. In 2009 they marketed using Twitter for $0, attendance was up 30% and income 40% – in a recession! That shows Twitter can be an incredible marketing tool if you have the right audience.
2. Blogging – Similarly to Twitter, make sure you reach out to your subscribers and let them know you’re recruiting. Did I mention we’re recruiting?
3. Industry leading website’s – This is probably the most expensive recommendation, but rather than paying a recruitment agency commission, it may be more beneficial to reach out to industry leading website’s to advertise directly via a one-off fee. Econsultancy is one of the top digital website’s out there, especially in the UK – so the quality of responses for listings on their job board is likely to be very high. Also there are normally many industry-specific job boards which are either free or charge one-off listing fees which are worth checking out.
4. LinkedIn – Of course LinkedIn is a huge social media site for professionals, so it’s an obvious choice for advertising jobs. LinkedIn charge $199 for a job listing fee, but as a first (free) step, try sending out a LinkedIn status update to tell your contacts you’re recruiting. Make sure you optimise your LinkedIn profile too, helping to improve its reach.
5. Local job boards – Outside of the big cities it can be more difficult to find people with the relevant experience. Make sure you find the best people in your region by targeting them via local advertising or job boards.
6. SEO – try targeting industry specific career/job terms, for example if you can rank for “search engine marketing jobs“, then you’re likely to start receiving a steady stream of applications.
7. PPC – PPC is far more successful than you may think for recruitment, just watch this very clever idea in action from Alec Brownstein. Alec specifically targeted vanity name searches on top Google execs with the aim of getting a job interview, slightly crazy idea, but it worked! Maybe you could think of something just as creative as a recruiter – although geo-targeting ads specifically based on job-based keywords would be a good start too.
8. Business parks, Universities & Colleges – if your company is located on a business park, this can be a great way of drumming up some local interest via direct advertising – plus in some cases it’s a nice way of building some quality links too. Perhaps your local University or College has a job board too, hopefully externally available online and containing those little things called hyperlinks…
9. Facebook Marketplace – If you have professional contacts on Facebook, this can be a great way of making people aware that you are recruiting. Plus it’s very easy to create a quick job listing which can be found via the marketplace by users outside of your network.
10. Facebook advertising – this is where you can stalk target individuals based upon profile criteria. Those options include interests and employer – so if you’re selective you can stalk target the right people very cheaply!

So there’s a few ideas to get you started, if all else fails then it’s probably time to turn to your recruitment agent. If you have any more to add to the list please let us know in the comments.

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According to Towers Watson’s survey, HR professionals listed ‘talent/performance management systems’ as the most critical issue of HR. 42% of the respondents listed talent management as the most important aspect of HR. Interestingly, ‘cost’ fell off the list of top HR issues. This has led to a drastic increase in HR technology budgets.

Tom Keebler, Global Practice Leader with Towers Watson’s had this to say about talent management, “Talent management technologies have unquestionably become one of the best ways for companies and HR departments to drive better employee performance and enterprise success following the recession.”

“In spite of the initial costs, organizations are increasingly deploying new or enhanced systems, recognizing that efficient and effective HR processes enable the flexibility and agility employers need in an uncertain but growth-oriented business environment.”

During the recession, investments in HR technology didn’t drastically decrease like other aspects of business. Now, in 2010, the outlook is looking better with 83% increasing or maintaining their tech budgets.

Keebler speaks about HR investment, “HR’s reliance on technology to achieve greater efficiency and cost savings during the recession allowed it to maintain and even grow HR technology budgets in a challenging business environment.”

“As companies recover and budgets expand once again, leaders appear ready to make a forward-looking commitment to talent management systems that will reap substantial long-term rewards for the HR department, line managers and the broader organization.”

If any lesson was learned during the recession, it was the value of the workforce being employed. As rosters shrank, it became vital to assess the importance of employees. This trend looks to be continuing beyond the recession, which means greater investment in talent management technology.

Here’s a list of important factors to consider when weighing the worth of a HR rep/team:

- Rapidly evolving business requires a HR official to be certified in many key areas

- The marketplace for potential hires is expanding its reach like never before. Having a professional who can tap into these markets provides a big boon for business.

- Along with new hires, providing support for current employees is at new levels as well. Happiness in the workplace can many times begin and end with HR support.

According to Seth Kahan, the author from the link above believes we’re seeing HR VPs rise to positions of power for the first time in history. He mentions Xerox CEO, Anne Mulcahy as an example. She was selected by US News as one of America’s best leaders, for her complete turnaround of the company. Of course, she received her start as VP of HR.

The shift of importance in the HR field should be leaving everyone reading this with a smile. It certainly means more pressure, but it also provides opportunities for HR reps to get step ahead within a company. Keeping up with certification and keeping current with strategies, should provide even more opportunities to make a power play within a company’s infrastructure.

The problem with grads is lack of experience, and work ethic. The lack of actual work experience really goes without saying. These potential employees were under a school environment for 2-4 years, therefore adapting to the work place might take awhile. Homework and tests really don’t prepare you for many real world nuances. As for work ethic being a question mark; I’m not saying you’re going to get a lazy worker from hiring a new graduate. Again, not having an employee mindset can provide a mental block for some grads. Giving them time to acclimate is a must.

A recent study has shown that only 24 percent of college grads have a job lined up directly after college. This is actually an increase from last year when that number was only 20 percent. Unfortunately, the average starting salary dropped 1.7 percent as well.

The safe route most companies take when hiring graduates is to simply hire them for an entry level position. Here you probably shouldn’t go against the grain, as entry level positions are simply made for college grads. What you don’t want to run into is hiring the wrong person for the wrong position, based solely on the idea of ‘grads should be put at entry level’. Trust in your interview, and if a grad answers his/her’s qualifying questions to a heightened degree of certainty, then perhaps they can be better utilized for an even greater role.

Taking into account the shape of the market and what your company’s status is, the graduate market is a fertile place to find talent. Saving money, while potentially finding an employee who will bring fresh ideas and an eager naivety, could be what your company needs. Just be cautious and trust your instincts.

The biggest changes being implemented are the abolishment of the essay system, and instead of requiring new hires to apply for separate jobs they are pooled together. Then hiring managers can pull applicants from a wider selection source.

Here are some of the changes, straight from Obama’s memo:

(1) eliminate any requirement that applicants respond to essay-style questions when submitting their initial application materials for any Federal job

(2) allow individuals to apply for Federal employment by submitting resumes and cover letters or completing simple, plain language applications, and assess applicants using valid, reliable tools; and

(3) provide for selection from among a larger number of qualified applicants by using the “category rating” approach (as authorized by section 3319 of title 5, United States Code), rather than the “rule of 3″ approach, under which managers may only select from among the three highest scoring applicants

(b) require that managers and supervisors with responsibility for hiring are:

(1) more fully involved in the hiring process, including planning current and future workforce requirements, identifying the skills required for the job, and engaging actively in the recruitment and, when applicable, the interviewing process; and

(2) accountable for recruiting and hiring highly qualified employees and supporting their successful transition into Federal service, beginning with the first performance review cycle starting after November 1, 2010

It looks like hiring managers will be put under a bit more pressure for their performance in hiring well qualified recruits. Of course, with the elimination of the essays, managers will be better equipped to process more applications.

It’s refreshing to see the federal government catch up to the private sector in hiring practices. Just like in all businesses, the system won’t be perfect but with what is likely a high influx of applicants, efficiency is the key.

Nixon states his reasoning behind diversity in hiring, “There’s no reason a man can’t do a better job of serving a female customer, or a Chinese Canadian can’t do a better job of serving an East Indian customer,” Nixon says. “But as an organization, we need to ensure that our makeup reflects the overall makeup” of the customer base. “It just makes good business sense.”

RBC certainly has proof to back up their claims of diverse hiring practices leading to good business. They are posting profit, and have a leading market share in various business sectors in Canada.

In March of this year, RBC was awarded for being an organization promoting the advancement of women in business; they were selected along with three other businesses. Catalyst was the organization who gave out the award, and they had this to say regarding RBC, “(RBC) has has truly become a model for diversity and inclusion both inside and outside its workplace, and has emerged as an industry leader by tying the unique perspectives of diverse groups directly to its global business strategy.”

RBC suggests to be creative when hiring talent. When hiring for people who deal with others’ money, it’s all about trust. Too many times potential hires are dismissed due to technical skills, which could easily be taught later on. Having a diverse workforce helps establish this trust with customers, who see all races, genders, and creeds represented within the company.

John Taft, RBC’s head of U.S. wealth management lists a specific example of diversity playing a key role in trust – the gay community. When taking care of money for this demographic, there are a set of rules and standards which are much different than for married couples. If you have people on staff who are a part of the community, then trust is more easily established which leads to more business.

When many people think of diversity in the workplace, they simply think of how a business’s image is effected. This is true, but there’s a different and more important value to associate with diversity. When going through a list of new hires, keeping this in mind could potentially pay dividends in the long run.

Even with technological advances which allow for easier telecommuting, companies held back on allowing employees to work remotely. A June 2009 report from IT consulting firm – International Data, suggests that employees are returning to a more traditional role. There are a couple of reasons listed as to why this is. First, is that companies are a bit more wary of allowing employees to work off site. More importantly, is the psychological effects of an employee who works remotely.

Justin Jaffe, an IDC analyst stated, “When times are tough, telecommuters will take refuge in the corporate office, maybe feeling vulnerable or exposed in not being where the action is.”

While many benefits are still tanking, 401(k) contributions are seeing a rise after the down economy. While during 2008-2009, many companies stopped matching employee’s 401(k) investments. However, according to a Hewitt Associates survey, 80% of the companies who had stopped matching contributions plan to do so again in 2010.

Last, and actually the least important benefit being done away with, are holiday parties. The Society for Human Resource Management survey showed that companies who host holiday parties have been decreasing since 2006, and will continue to decrease. Next year, 15% of the respondents said they will either reduce or eliminate holiday parties.

It’s never fun to write a negative article, but it’s important to note the trends companies are adhering to during the tough economic climate. It’s certainly encouraging to see 401(k) investments matched again. Hopefully, we can see other perks get in an upswing trend.

The idea of penalization, or denial of employment for health reasons inevitably leads to two camps: those who see unhealthy practices as a liability, and those who think it’s not an employer’s business what someone does concerning their health.

A field where the debate of health is really heating up is at hospitals. Today, an Eastern Pennsylvania hospital announced it would no longer be hiring smokers. The initiative was started by a health network which the hospital is a part of. The hope is that by excluding smokers from being potential hires that they will improve the health of employees while cutting healthcare costs.

Bob Zimmel, St. Luke’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources states his claim as to why this was a good decision, “While some may view this as a bold move, our organization feels strongly that promoting a healthier workplace benefits everyone.”

Other hospitals have taken a lighter stance, as they’ve instituted 100% smoke free grounds but it doesn’t go beyond that.

Executive Director of Human Resources Brian Altschuler gives reasons for the ban, “We’re not going to come down on them and we’re trying to reinforce the positive.
We know you may have a slip here or there and we’ll work with you.”

Interesting enough there have been zero resignations due to the policy, and their ‘want ads’ state the facilities are smoke-free. But there’s no discrimination against potential smokers.

Going beyond hospitals, employers are using health benefit penalties as a means to curb smoking. A Hewitt Associate’s survey shows a rise in penalties based on people smoking.

The survey polled 600 employers, and 47% plan to utilize financial penalties over the next 3 to 5 years for those who abstain from health programs, many based around smoking. Of the types of unhealthy behavior which they plan to penalize, 64% state smoking would be the unhealthy habit they plan to go after.

As health premiums and plans rise in cost, there will undoubtedly be more cases arising regarding health in the workplace. The problem going forward will be deciding what employers should be allowed to control in regard to an employee’s health.