TM - February 2008 - (Page 25)

MITIGATE TOUGH HIRING TRENDS WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING Scott Langmack Modern hiring practices are rife with inefficiency. Consider the following facts from American Staffing Association and the Association of Executive Search Consultants: • Medical benefits and 401(k) plans are tied to companies that are structurally disloyal. • 67 percent of full-time employees actively plan their exit every week. • Consultants frequently spend half of their time prospecting for other opportunities. • Executive search firms charge 100 to 150 percent premiums on employees’ time. A powerful shift is occurring within the staffing world. Now, semiretired baby boomers and parttime working mothers make up the best educated and most qualified part-time workforce in the history of the world. Within the next 15 years, 60 million baby boomers will ease into retirement. Many of them are financially secure and flexible in the ways they spend their time. Most are tired of working 80-hour weeks and desire more time with family and friends, or to pursue noncorporate endeavors, such as volunteering their expertise for a nonprofit organization. The hiring industry needs to learn how to harness these trends. Further, it should be much more willing to hire part-time employees because many of the most talented potential hires will not accept a full-time position. The most efficient way to meet these modern HR challenges is through the power of social networking. It doesn’t make sense to wait months or even years for an executive search firm to present a list of qualified candidates. Hiring managers need data immediately, and they need to know it is verified. Top-notch candidates know other topnotch candidates through their shared career paths. A social networking database built upon these principles is exponentially faster than many executive search firms’ antiquated approach of phone calls, business lunches and surveys. Imagine a highly refined database of top-tier professionals, where these individuals refer other highly qualified individuals. This top-tier classification is gained partly through high-quality work experience and partly through a topnotch educational background. Financial rewards are given to members whose referrals lead to a successful hire. Hiring managers receive a list of highly targeted, highly qualified candidates in days, not months. This trend, which falls under the umbrella of a movement titled Million Ready Minds (MRM), is emblematic of a greater societal shift. Everyone is an expert in something. Have key workers developed the right skills, knowledge, attitudes and talents to create business impact? Which of these attributes can be further cultivated and put to use for a higher good? Do talent managers know what employees can offer and what they are passionate about? Have workers’ knowledge, skills and abilities been assessed recently? What input or feedback do managers and peers contribute to assessments, and how? Million Ready Minds is about cultivating and leveraging who employees are, what they are great at doing, and what they are passionate about, and then easily and quickly finding likeminded others to co-create or collaborate to make a difference, whether in a corporate position or for a nonprofit. MRM is a place where the commercial approach to problem solving can and should be leveraged with the noncommercial. This is a place where solutions to seemingly intractable problems might be located in others and with others, who can then grow together and uncover balanced and sustainable solutions. This is a place where human capital is valued, and even greater value can be created, because what employees know and have learned, as well as who they know (and what they know) can be aggregated for the betterment of the global community. Scott Langmack is the founder and CEO of Blue Chip Expert, an online hiring resource that is based upon a social networking platform. He can be reached at editor@TalentMgt.com. February 2008 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com 25 http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - February 2008

Talent Management - February 2008 Editor's Letter - Talkin' 'Bout My Generation Contents Human Performance - Achievement Motivation: Top Talent At Any Age Leading Edge - Who's On First? Foundations - Managing the Next Generation Workforce Viewpoint - Talent Strategies That Work Are Talent Strategies That Stick Those Who Have Left: The Value of Building Employee Relationships Alternatives to 360s: The Manager's Role Compensation and Benefits For X&Y Build A Multigenerational Performance Management Strategy Development's Role in Creating A Culture Of Inclusion Tomorrow's Leader: Identifying the Next Generation Integrating Talent Management Systems Strategically Seagate Uses Yearlong Evaluations to Help Integrate Talent Efforts Western Union: Connecting Strategy and People Globally Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources Full Potential - The Best Time to Change? Right Now!

TM - February 2008

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