Finding, Hiring, & Leading Talent

Innovation CampFor Entrepreneurs

Feb 26th, 2010

Finding, Keeping and Leading Talent

As an entrepreneur, what are your biggest people or talent challenges? Finding talent to join your team? Assessing their skill sets, personality

and fit? Keeping talent motivated? Knowing when to let talent go?

Where do you start?

It starts with: the sourcing process

Plan Ahead Define Your Job Objectives and Specifications

Develop an overview of your business and culture

Define position's scope and responsibilities, compensation package, reporting relationships and profile of the desired candidate

Develop the sourcing and recruiting strategy Develop the interviewing/selection process

Lets review your Talent Sourcing Strategy- where do you find them?

The sourcing channels could include any of the following:

Social Networking – Use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, JigSaw, Plaxo, Ryze, Spoke, Namyz

Direct Recruitment - identify target companies and identify candidates who possess the targeted skill set and proactively contact them to present your opportunity.

Web-based Mining - utilize web mining technology to identify and source potential candidates.

Advertising - advertising initiatives focused on communicating your opportunities to key markets, professional associations and societies.

Web-based Job Postings - identify a number of Internet career boards and job posting sites targeting the passive job seeker.

Affinity Associations - relationships with affinity groups and educational institutions that become valuable resources for the attraction of diversity candidates.

The Research Triumvirate

Google, LinkedIn & Jigsaw – useful for folks seeking both opportunities and talent.

site:LinkedIn.com -intitle:directory chemist "Greater St. Louis"

site:LinkedIn.com -intitle:directory "director" and R&D and chemist "Greater St. Louis"

This is where Jigsaw can help

Jigsaw lets you filter your potential contacts before you select them.

Once we select one of the contacts

we have contact information for the Lab Manager. Priceless!

More Sourcing strategies Direct Sourcing

Targeted Companies Contact databases Friends of friends in your network Referrals College Relations Vocational Centers State and local Job Retraining Programs Research Driven Employment Fairs

Web-Based Sourcing Affinity Groups/Industry Associations Strategically Place Banners and Sponsorships Social Networking Internet research: Google, Boolean strings Competitor sites

Traditional Media Industry Newspapers/Periodicals Local Media Placement (print/radio/direct mail)

The sourcing process

Candidate Development Process

Identify target sources using social networking, contact databases and network of contacts

Identify candidates, including internal and external referrals as appropriate

Screen and evaluate candidates Narrow list of candidates and review profiles Facilitate interviews of candidate, self, advisors, those who

know your business plan and challenges Obtain feedback from interviewers Feedback from candidates Integrate with assessment tools Conduct Reference Checks as you go along (before you fall in

love with a candidate)

The hiring process

Pay/ salary/compensation/rewards Alternatives to traditional rewards

Offer Management Developing the offer Conduct final Reference Checks Conduct any post offer testing that is required Discuss the offer parameters with candidate Write up offer letter with all details Request response to offer by

After the offer, the interview/selection process is not done!

Confirm the start date Announce the new hire internally Press release to local and regional media Internal administrative prep for new hire

Payroll set up Office space/tools Systems security/passwords Benefits set up

Prepare on boarding/orientation plan Welcome the new person, get them engaged,

excited and involved, so they know they also made the right decision to join you!

On Boarding/Orientation: The selection process continued

Day One Activities Week One Activities Employee referrals First month plan Stay interview 90 day plan 6 month plan Annual goal and objectives

Building an Onboarding Program

Make it fun and interesting Don’t overwhelm employees Think about the employee’s

perspective Use technology Make use of mentors Conduct follow-up interviews

Building an Onboarding Program

Company / Departmental Overviews Job Expectations Policies and Procedures Administrative Housekeeping Items

Going forward:Avoiding the bad hire or the bad employee!

Stay close to employees Regularly re-calibrate

goals/expectations Don’t assume no news is good news Establish on going 2 way

performance reviews Link pay to performance, incent

employees by aligning their goals with yours

Positive employee relations

Reward and recognition Regular employee communications Celebrate success Community/Participation-Involvement Keep performance issues private Focus performance issues on

improvement as opposed to discipline Remove discipline problems promptly Start a talent review and succession

planning process now!

Moving on - termination

When, how, and why Set clear standards, goals and objectives with

deadlines Communicate regularly and often Voluntary Involuntary: for cause, malfeasance or bad fit

Determine a process before it happens Be consistent Treat people fairly: performance improvement,

notice Severance only with a written release Future References

Moving on - termination

Keep good records of previous conversations, document

When you are in a jam: Get advice from experts

HR professionals first Labor/employment lawyers last

Questions and Answers!

Lisa Rokusek lrokusek@agenthr.com Executive Recruiter Agent HR 314.431.5083

Jeff.struve@charter.netSenior HR Consultant314-374-7025 http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffstruve