1) Hiring top talent in today's competitive market requires innovation in job design, a structured hiring process, and constant monitoring of retention strategies. 2) Engaging and developing employees so they feel their work is meaningful is critical for retention, productivity and the bottom line. 3) Improving the candidate experience through clear and responsive communication throughout the hiring process can turn candidates into brand ambassadors and improve future hiring.

1. Hiring and Retaining Critical Talent in
2013.

2. If you want to do BOTH, it takes
INNOVATION,
A STRUCTURED APPROACH , and
CONSTANT MONITORING.
Hiring and Retaining Top Talent is Possible.

3. Reality Check!

4. January 1999 was the peak of the dot com era, with IT
unemployment at the lowest point in US history at 3.35%.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
January 2011 ---BLS: IT unemployment drops to 5.8%.
June 2011---BLS: IT unemployment drops to 3.3%.
January 2013 ---Tech unemployment now 2.0-3.2%.
Demand at the same time increases 1250% in the
Chicago metro area just within our customer base.

5. “Everyone…is moaning about not being able to
find…quality candidates. Maybe they have caused
their own problem by narrowly defining jobs. We
cannot find qualified {candidates} …when we know
that there are very few people with good skills in
{high demand} areas. We are left with choices:
hunt like crazy… or decide to do something
different”.
Kevin Wheeler, renowned Human Capital expert

6. “We are entering the era of unparalleled talent
scarcity which…will put a brake on economic
growth around the world, and will fundamentally
change the way we approach the workforce
challenges.”
World Economic Forum

7. The report stresses that human capital is
replacing financial capital as the engine of
economic prosperity.
World Economic Forum

8. Talent and skills shortage is the number two
business risk facing all organizations today.
Lloyd’s Risk Index Assessment

9. HR’s number one risk is an inability to
identify, attract, and retain top talent. Whatever
they are doing today, it is not enough to succeed
based on the coming changes and trends.
Lloyd’s Risk Index Assessment

10. Of the 54.8 million job openings in this
decade, over half--61.6%-- will be
replacements, most of them created by baby
boomers retiring.
Lloyd’s Risk Index Assessment

11. “Retention issues will increase dramatically — a majority
of employees are willing to quit their current job as soon
as a better opportunity comes along. I am predicting
that turnover rates in high-demand occupations will
increase by 25%.”
Dr. John Sullivan---recognized as the Michael Jordan of hiring by Fast
Company magazine.

12. 86% of employees plan to look for a new job in 2013, up
from 60% in 2009.
Matthew Wong, Inc. Data Bank

13. 81% of employees plan to look for a new job in 2013, and
79% feel confident they will succeed.
www.MONSTER.com

14. Only 18% of employees agree: “I rate my company culture
as positive, strong, and motivating”.
Achiever’s Intelligence
Insight into Today’s Workforce

15. In 2012, wage & salary workers had been with their
current employer for a median of 4.6 years.
Bureau of Labor Statistics

16. In 2012, wage & salary workers age 20-24 are staying on
the job an average of 1.5 years.
Bureau of Labor Statistics

17. 50% of working Americans are ‘solopreneurs’ or
freelancers—NOT corporate American employees.
Bureau of Labor Statistics

18. Temp worker hiring is growing 5X faster than the overall
economy.
Bureau of Labor Statistics

19. Temp worker hiring is growing at 7.5% year over year.
Bureau of Labor Statistics

20. 64% of hiring managers will hire more employees with
21% hiring substantially more .
www.DICE.com

21. 55% of hiring managers state it takes too long to hire, with
16% stating that the challenge is substantial. 47% claim
that they cannot find qualified candidates to hire.
www.DICE.com

22. New York IT professionals with security experience have
seen their bases salaries jump 61% in 2013.
Crain’s New York Business

23. 30% of the federal work force will be eligible to retire in
the next three years with some areas affected by as much
as 46%.
CNNMoney

46. Rethink job specs entirely so they match what is
available.
Avoid job specs that are in conflict with the market.
Agree on a worst case scenario job spec and be ready to
pull the trigger on it, at the BEGINNING of the job search.

47. Fillable today in a reasonable amount of
time at a reasonable cost.
And refillable tomorrow in a reasonable
amount of time at a reasonable cost.
Properly Designed Jobs are:

48. Have skill expectations that are in line with the marketplace
supply.
In the last 10 years, the tendency has been to hire people
who can hit the ground running. Prior to that firms hired
candidates based on attitude and aptitude. People usually
needed a little ramp up time, but they proved to be
valuable additions to staff.
We need to go back to our prior mindset to be competitive.

49. SCOPE CREEP in a job search is the same as scope creep
on an IT initiative.
#1 reason---jobs don’t get filled, take long to fill, &
candidates are lost.
Job one needs to be eliminate scope creep.

50. If you rethink hiring to attitude and aptitude, and hire
quality people with 75% of the skills, they are generally
productive within the first 30-60 days.
The strain on the existing staff is less, or 30-60 days of
consulting fees are saved.
This strategy shaves 25-50% off of the hiring timeline.
And CO$T.

51. • Rethink use of consulting on a long term basis, and
replace consultants whenever a perm person comes
up---Strategically Surgical Hiring.
• By turning the hiring cycle on it’s head, we are more
competitive while investing less resource. Need them
more than 6 months? Go permanent up front.

52. Avoid trying to hire someone who has everything:
• Aside from personality/culture fit, the # 1 reason
people resign within 12-24 months is boredom.
• If someone has 75% of the requirements, it takes
60-90 days for them to be capable.

53. In the last 10 years the number of ‘hybrid’ jobs created has sky-
rocketed.
Whether it be unique employees who need to be replaced or
people forced to wear different hats due to past job cuts and now
have to have their jobs backfilled----these hybrid jobs have to be
rooted out and eliminated by HR/TA teams.
Jacque Vilet, Talent Acquisition Expert
Eliminate existing PRIUS job slots.

54.  Improved morale.
 Eliminates dependency on staff augmentation and reduces brain drain.
 Less team burnout (the negative effect of a team picking up the slack of someone
leaving).
 Higher productivity (happy=productive employees).
 Easier and better future hiring---turnover=“bad rep on the street”.
Lower Turnover Results In:

55. People who learn new things in a new job:
Are more excited about their job.
Value their job more.
Have a stronger employee/employer relationship.
Feel greater loyalty towards their employer.
Are happier employees.
Stay longer than people who do not learn new
things.

61. …the most important candidate is the one you are most
interested in hiring.
They are actually the least important candidate.
The most important candidates are the ones who return to
the marketplace as critics of you, your role, your
culture, your firm, and their candidate experience.
It is a Common Myth to Think…

62. More than 1/3 (38%) of candidates feel employers
lack the ability to understand their skills and
experience.
www.MONSTER.com

71. Only 30% of IT workers are fully
engaged in their job.
Jim Harter
Gallup Chief Scientist of Workplace Management

78. “OF ALL THE THINGS THAT
CONTRIBUTE TO A HAPPY
WORKDAY, THE ONE THING THAT
STANDS OUT FROM MY RESEARCH
IS MAKING PROGRESS ON
MEANINGFUL WORK. FEELING LIKE
YOU ARE ABLE TO MOVE
FORWARD ON A DAILY BASIS
ENGENDERS REAL JOY”.
TERESA AMABILE, HARVARD

79. ORGS IN THE TOP DECILE OF
ENGAGEMENT OUTPERFORM
PEERS BY 147% IN EARNINGS PER
SHARE AND HAVE 90% BETTER
GROWTH.
JIM HARTER
GALLUP CHIEF SCIENTIST OF
WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT

80. OPERATING INCOME
ORGS WITH LOW ENGAGEMENT EARN
INCOME 32.7 % LOWER THAN ORGS
WITH ENGAGED STAFF.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

81. OPERATING INCOME
ORGS WITH HIGHLY ENGAGED
EMPLOYEES EXPERIENCE 19.2%
HIGHER INCOME GROWTH THAN ORGS
WITH LESS ENGAGED STAFF.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

82. PROFITABILITY & ATTRITION
ENGAGED ORGS GROW PROFITS AS
MUCH AS 3X FASTER THAN THEIR
COMPETITORS.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

83. PROFITABILITY & ATTRITION
HIGHLY ENGAGED EMPLOYEES ARE
87% LESS LIKELY TO RESIGN.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

84. CUSTOMER LOYALTY
FIRMS WITH ENGAGED EMPLOYEES
EXPERIENCE 50% GREATER
CUSTOMER LOYALTY.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

85. EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
ORGS WITH ENGAGED EMPLOYEES
EXPERIENCE 50% GREATER
EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

86. EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
ORGS WITH ENGAGED EMPLOYEES
EXPERIENCE 50% LESS EMPLOYEE
TURNOVER.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

87. COST OF DISENGAGEMENT
A DISENGAGED EMPLOYEE COSTS
$3,400 FOR EVERY $10,000 IN ANNUAL
SALARY. THAT’S 34%!
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

88. COST OF DISENGAGEMENT
DISENGAGED EMPLOYEES COST THE
AMERICAN ECONOMY UP TO $350B
ANNUALLY, DUE TO LOST
PRODUCTIVITY.
DAVID MAC LEOD & NITA CLARK
STUDY ON ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

90. 1) Have more realistic requirements---use 75/25 rule.
2) Hire for aptitude and attitude and be forgiving.
3) Have a standardized interview structure.
4) Be responsive and move quickly.
5) Avoid use of consultants in interview process.
6) Create a positive, powerful candidate experience.
What Can We Do to Help Hiring?

91. 1) Get them ENGAGED.
2) Help them ENJOY their work.
3) Plan their CAREER GROWTH.
4) Get them to BELIEVE in the firm & department mission.
5) Look for ways to inspire LOYALTY.
6) Make sure you PAY competitively.
What Can We Do to Help RETAIN?

92. 7) Make sure they are positively CHALLENGED.
8) Look for ways earn their TRUST.
9) Daily, help drive their SATISFACTION.
10) Communicate CLEARLY, DEEPLY, and OFTEN.
11) Provide adequate RESOURCES proactively.
12) RECOGNIZE and provide regular FEEDBACK.
What Can We Do to Help RETAIN?

93. 1) Eliminate the AMBIGUITY after applying.
2) Eliminate the AMBIGUITY after interviewing.
3) VALIDATE all requirements.
4) Communicate CLEARLY, DEEPLY, and OFTEN.
5) Provide adequate RESOURCES proactively.
6) RECOGNIZE and provide regular FEEDBACK.
How Can We Improve the CANDIDATE
EXPERIENCE?

94. 7) MUST be C level driven. Customers are #2. Hiring is #1.
8) Hiring managers and teams need to adhere to SLA’s.
They are part of the solution or they are part of the
problem.
9) Assume each piece of your hiring strategy is outdated
and seek to learn what it should evolve to.
How Can We Improve the CANDIDATE
EXPERIENCE?

95. 10) Focus on establishing LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS
with every candidate. If properly done, they will become
ambassadors to your firm.
11) Standardize your process and monitor adherence.
Train and sit it on interviews.
How Can We Improve the CANDIDATE
EXPERIENCE?

96. http://www.slideshare.net/drjohnsullivan/improving-the-
candidate-experience-10129433
How Can We Improve the CANDIDATE
EXPERIENCE?
One of the finest primers on the importance
of managing the candidate experience
available today.

97. Challenge ALL existing
policies, programs, procedures, etc.
Abandon a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” model.
Abandon a “it’s always worked just fine” model.
Abandon a “it’s working now” model.
And keep evaluating and changing every 90-120-180 days.
Business Leaders & HR: What Do We Do?

98. Most importantly, this change needs to be CHAMPIONED
and URGENTLY DRIVEN by HR, despite how high the
resistance.
“C” levels and VP’s need to be educated, and driven to
CHAMPION these changes as if their very jobs depend on
it.
In reality, history will show us, they do.
Business Leaders & HR: What Do We Do?

99. Treat ALL candidates better than you treat your best
customers.
If you do not, based on the data provided, you will soon
have fewer of both.
Be a proactive DO IT NOW change agent!
Business Leaders & HR: What Do We Do?

100. Greg David, President
Gregory Laka & Company
105 W. Adams, Ste. 1350
Chicago, IL 60603
greg.david@laka.com
312-782-0202
www.laka.com
Questions?
Comments?