To all our client companies and top-notch candidates, we say thank you again for the chance to work with you and look forward to a great 2009.
Here's to wishing you a very merry Christmas and a special New Year!
From all of us at Venator Ventures!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Building a Building
Kimball Kjar
Venator Ventures
Managing Principal Recruiter
Today was an eventful day for Venator Ventures: we broke ground on our new office building.
Not that this event made much mention in the Wall Street Journal or even our local newpaper for that matter, but this ground breaking is important for us and has major implications on the type of service we will be able to provide.
Although the building, by relative standards, is not huge, the facility is an important milestone in our growth and development as a company.
Many of you may not notice the difference directly in our effectiveness, but with the forthcoming construction of our new office building Venator Ventures will be able to expand, train and better attract top recruiting talent.
With the challenging times coming in 2009 the ground breaking was a symbolic event for our staff to remember our purpose: offer candidates and companies reliable recruiting services by building strong relationships of trust.
With new board rooms, sales areas, management offices, training areas and top tier technology infrastructure our new building will allow our recruiting staff to be the best they can possibly be for your various respective search needs.
We look forward to watching this building rise and being able to help you all in 2009.
Venator Ventures
Managing Principal Recruiter
Today was an eventful day for Venator Ventures: we broke ground on our new office building.
Not that this event made much mention in the Wall Street Journal or even our local newpaper for that matter, but this ground breaking is important for us and has major implications on the type of service we will be able to provide.
Although the building, by relative standards, is not huge, the facility is an important milestone in our growth and development as a company.
Many of you may not notice the difference directly in our effectiveness, but with the forthcoming construction of our new office building Venator Ventures will be able to expand, train and better attract top recruiting talent.
With the challenging times coming in 2009 the ground breaking was a symbolic event for our staff to remember our purpose: offer candidates and companies reliable recruiting services by building strong relationships of trust.
With new board rooms, sales areas, management offices, training areas and top tier technology infrastructure our new building will allow our recruiting staff to be the best they can possibly be for your various respective search needs.
We look forward to watching this building rise and being able to help you all in 2009.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Relationships and a Down Economy
Kimball Kjar
Venator Ventures
Managing Principal Recruiter
I will be brief with this entry, since the last two have be a bit laborious to read. But I think it needs saying, and please don't excuse how important I believe in this subject by my brevity, that relationships determine how a person or company will make it through this recession.
It's not just a strong marketing plan or strong sales results, but it's relationships with the colleagues that you work with and those people that that are your clients that will lead to success in times such as these.
Firstly, I said the "R" word a paragraph above, so there it is. Now you can either cringe and shrink like some or stand up to the situation at hand and face the oncoming months of bad news and struggle with optimism and resolve. But no matter your reaction the key to not only survive, but thrive, in a down economy I believe is how you treat other people and companies that you work with.
My colleague and I, Justen Nadauld, will be traveling next week to visit in person with a number of our clients. We like to do this often, but we recognized that these face to face sessions are even more critical in tough economic times.
And it's our hope that such "non-sales calls" will show that we value their business and that they will value the services we provide. So as a result when the wallets get thin but they need to hire a person they will look to us first, because they know we are going to provide value and more importantly be there for them no matter what.
And who knows, if the relationship is strong it might be us calling on them when things are tight because we know that they can be there for us conversely.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself saw one of this country's worst economic periods, said:
"Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world, at peace.”
Roosevelt knew that when trouble knocks on your door, it's nice to know that there is someone else besides yourself supporting you.
I won't get analytical in regards to this assumption, but in any form of human relationship, and business falls within this genus, people are more likely to overcome challenges together than by themselves.
So in other words, if things are getting dicey for you and your company right now and you see the dark clouds of the economy starting to form over your head, you need to connect with others who can help you so as to not leave yourself out in the storm that is gathering above you.
Roosevelt also left us with another famous quote at his innauguration that implies strong human connections in times of trouble: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Don't fear the world around you and don't fear standing strong as the economic storms rage around you because you have others there standing with you and around you. That's what friends do in life and in business and if your business is to succeed in spite of your respective set of circumstances, then I suggest you surround yourself with people that support you and your efforts.
I know this is a pretty generalized thought and somewhat altruistis without more academic support, but let me again say that I felt it was worth mentioning especially since we're coming to visit with a number of the people we do business with. We want them to know that we're here for them and we hope that they will feel likewise.
Looking forward to seeing many of you in the coming days.
Venator Ventures
Managing Principal Recruiter
I will be brief with this entry, since the last two have be a bit laborious to read. But I think it needs saying, and please don't excuse how important I believe in this subject by my brevity, that relationships determine how a person or company will make it through this recession.
It's not just a strong marketing plan or strong sales results, but it's relationships with the colleagues that you work with and those people that that are your clients that will lead to success in times such as these.
Firstly, I said the "R" word a paragraph above, so there it is. Now you can either cringe and shrink like some or stand up to the situation at hand and face the oncoming months of bad news and struggle with optimism and resolve. But no matter your reaction the key to not only survive, but thrive, in a down economy I believe is how you treat other people and companies that you work with.
My colleague and I, Justen Nadauld, will be traveling next week to visit in person with a number of our clients. We like to do this often, but we recognized that these face to face sessions are even more critical in tough economic times.
And it's our hope that such "non-sales calls" will show that we value their business and that they will value the services we provide. So as a result when the wallets get thin but they need to hire a person they will look to us first, because they know we are going to provide value and more importantly be there for them no matter what.
And who knows, if the relationship is strong it might be us calling on them when things are tight because we know that they can be there for us conversely.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself saw one of this country's worst economic periods, said:
"Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world, at peace.”
Roosevelt knew that when trouble knocks on your door, it's nice to know that there is someone else besides yourself supporting you.
I won't get analytical in regards to this assumption, but in any form of human relationship, and business falls within this genus, people are more likely to overcome challenges together than by themselves.
So in other words, if things are getting dicey for you and your company right now and you see the dark clouds of the economy starting to form over your head, you need to connect with others who can help you so as to not leave yourself out in the storm that is gathering above you.
Roosevelt also left us with another famous quote at his innauguration that implies strong human connections in times of trouble: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Don't fear the world around you and don't fear standing strong as the economic storms rage around you because you have others there standing with you and around you. That's what friends do in life and in business and if your business is to succeed in spite of your respective set of circumstances, then I suggest you surround yourself with people that support you and your efforts.
I know this is a pretty generalized thought and somewhat altruistis without more academic support, but let me again say that I felt it was worth mentioning especially since we're coming to visit with a number of the people we do business with. We want them to know that we're here for them and we hope that they will feel likewise.
Looking forward to seeing many of you in the coming days.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Perceptions & Job Satisfaction
Kimball Kjar
Managing Principal Recruiter
Venator Ventures
Job satisfaction. What is it? What makes a person like this job or that job? It’s not an easy answer for anyone and there have been numerous studies performed that try to definitively show what things a company should or shouldn’t do to ensure that they have “happy” employees. Because, as these reports assume, when the employee is happy, then the company will fair well.
In my career as a recruiter I’ve seen all sides of the employee job satisfaction array—from blissfully happy to vindictively upset. And throughout each instance there is one under lying reason as to an employee’s satisfaction: salary.
Now, you might say as a recruiter, my opinion is skewed since in most instances my commission is tied to salary. But hear me out and you’ll see what you and your company can do to improve job satisfaction via increased salary and that by so doing decrease the company’s hiring and other related “soft” costs.
A recent study showed that an employee’s salary is tied to job satisfaction in 1 out of 2 cases. But this survey also shows that salary is the real culprit less than 25% of the time. How can this be?—Perceptions.
We’ve heard the phrase “perception is reality” and in the world of recruiting and hiring it’s an even more elevated truth—it’s gospel. One example of misaligned perceptions is given in the above mentioned study. “Over-titling” gives people a false sense of reality and responsibilities and as such, leads to the feeling that the employee isn’t paid enough for his or her role within a company. An employee’s perception is greater than what is in fact reality.
As employers it’s unlikely that we ever fully comprehend the thoughts and intentions of our employees in spite of our best trained senses and abilities. And as such, every individual is left to his or her own internal dialogue to determine their state of being.
But when it comes to job satisfaction it’s not just “over-titling” that leads me to believe that this misalignment of perceptions is the root of the problem. It starts long before a candidate is ever hired, during the interview process.
If a company hires on a candidate after a fully vetting process of interviews from peers to the executive team, properly performed background and reference checks, then that company should feel like they’re done all that they need to do, right? WRONG!
They’ve neglected on major step: the offer package.
This stage of the process is often overlooked on account of numerous reasons which include budget constraints, personal interest, company HR standards, etc. Most companies will say that they are “set in stone” on what they can offer a person in terms of salary. By doing so, the company feels like they are offering “market standards” for the candidate and in some instances that the candidate should feel lucky to be even getting a new job.
This line of thinking is usually left to the companies that are having a hard time finding the best talent and also keeping them over the long run. Why? Perceptions.
It all comes back to perceptions. No matter how well a company brands itself or even sells itself to a candidate, the perception implied in the offer-making process to the candidate by the company is: “What is the perceived value of this commodity (aka the candidate)?” And if the candidate feels like they’ve given up more than their fair share, it stays with them for the duration of their employment at the company.
Another saying comes to mind—“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” And it’s no more true than during the offer-making process of hiring a candidate. If they feel their first impression of their soon-to-be employer is one where they feel unappreciated and under-valued, then that will stay with that employee for a long time.
The crux of this topic is that when times get tough, and they’re tough for more than our fair share of companies right now, any excuse that an employee has to walk out on their employer is accentuated when he or she feels that they are not valued according to what they feel they should be.
Most candidates and companies I work with have been very good about realizing that you don’t always get everything that you ask for during the offer stage. But the successful companies that I perceive to have great employee job satisfaction rates usually are the ones that go out of their way to make the candidates feel valued, appreciated and in some cases loved.
Fortune Magazine recently listed Bay Area stalwart Google as the best place to work. Among other reasons of open communication between manager and employees, team building activities, and such Google’s equity plan is offered to 99% of all the 12,000+ employees. And with the stock having cracked $700 a share it’s easy to see why there’s a term “Google-aires” running rampant in the Bay Area. It’s also widely known that Google’s compensation ranges average as some of the highest in Silicon Valley, but the company didn’t disclose this data to Fortune.
It’s also of note that in the same study by Fortune Cisco and Network Appliance showed the 12th & 13th respectively highest average salaries in the country for employees and that both held the highest average salaries for tech companies behind leading financial, petroleum and legal companies. It’s also worth noting that Cisco and NetApp both rank as 6th and 14th respectively on the overall list of “100 Best of Companies” to work for nationally.
Those company’s that don’t financially compensate the employees well usually are tied by CFO regulations on what they can “actually” spend and don’t have an environment to do what it takes to care for their employees overall. Trust me, I’ve seen it over and over. Companies who are pinching pennies, usually have high turn over rates. But you can still be fiscally responsible while also leaving yourself open to finding and hiring the best talent.
The costs of not looking to financially “well compensate” employees is given in the above cited study. It cited that “HR professionals estimate that the hard costs to replace an employee ranges between 33% and 50% of their base salary, in addition to soft costs such as the loss of productivity and institutional knowledge, as well as new hire recruiting and training expenses.” Isn’t an extra $5-10k given to the candidate during the offer stage worth it in this light?
So what are some solutions to this perceptions gap? I would contribute the following:
1. Pay an extra share of money for the candidate to feel like he or she is valued—give them what they want (within reason).
2. Don’t balk at counter-offers. If a candidate has been looking else where, don’t kick them out, but ask yourself why this person felt the need to look around. This could help hiring and retention processes in the long run and possibly reveal fatal flaws in your company’s human resource strategies. Plus, the cost of finding someone else to fill a vacated role can be prohibitive in the long run as opposed to offering a competitive counter-offer.
3. Work to bump pay at least 10% each year while offering performance based bonuses and equity grants.
4. Work with an experienced recruiter who understands this perception dilemma. Often, a recruiter can manage the candidate to ensure that he or she is “blissfully happy” about the offer and job opportunity.
5. Educate current employees, tactfully via HR, at performance reviews about market standards on pay and compensation.
6. Work diligently to develop retention strategies that offer candidates feelings of ownership, community and an ability to communicate their thoughts and feelings with their managers, peers and subordinates.
If you do this you’ll fight the perception dilemma head on and see positive employee job satisfaction while also decreasing operational costs over all.
The bottom line is that you want to have new employees walking through your doors on his or her first day saying, “I’m excited to be here and I can’t wait to help this company in what ever way I can!”
Trust me, I’m a recruiter…;-)
Managing Principal Recruiter
Venator Ventures
Job satisfaction. What is it? What makes a person like this job or that job? It’s not an easy answer for anyone and there have been numerous studies performed that try to definitively show what things a company should or shouldn’t do to ensure that they have “happy” employees. Because, as these reports assume, when the employee is happy, then the company will fair well.
In my career as a recruiter I’ve seen all sides of the employee job satisfaction array—from blissfully happy to vindictively upset. And throughout each instance there is one under lying reason as to an employee’s satisfaction: salary.
Now, you might say as a recruiter, my opinion is skewed since in most instances my commission is tied to salary. But hear me out and you’ll see what you and your company can do to improve job satisfaction via increased salary and that by so doing decrease the company’s hiring and other related “soft” costs.
A recent study showed that an employee’s salary is tied to job satisfaction in 1 out of 2 cases. But this survey also shows that salary is the real culprit less than 25% of the time. How can this be?—Perceptions.
We’ve heard the phrase “perception is reality” and in the world of recruiting and hiring it’s an even more elevated truth—it’s gospel. One example of misaligned perceptions is given in the above mentioned study. “Over-titling” gives people a false sense of reality and responsibilities and as such, leads to the feeling that the employee isn’t paid enough for his or her role within a company. An employee’s perception is greater than what is in fact reality.
As employers it’s unlikely that we ever fully comprehend the thoughts and intentions of our employees in spite of our best trained senses and abilities. And as such, every individual is left to his or her own internal dialogue to determine their state of being.
But when it comes to job satisfaction it’s not just “over-titling” that leads me to believe that this misalignment of perceptions is the root of the problem. It starts long before a candidate is ever hired, during the interview process.
If a company hires on a candidate after a fully vetting process of interviews from peers to the executive team, properly performed background and reference checks, then that company should feel like they’re done all that they need to do, right? WRONG!
They’ve neglected on major step: the offer package.
This stage of the process is often overlooked on account of numerous reasons which include budget constraints, personal interest, company HR standards, etc. Most companies will say that they are “set in stone” on what they can offer a person in terms of salary. By doing so, the company feels like they are offering “market standards” for the candidate and in some instances that the candidate should feel lucky to be even getting a new job.
This line of thinking is usually left to the companies that are having a hard time finding the best talent and also keeping them over the long run. Why? Perceptions.
It all comes back to perceptions. No matter how well a company brands itself or even sells itself to a candidate, the perception implied in the offer-making process to the candidate by the company is: “What is the perceived value of this commodity (aka the candidate)?” And if the candidate feels like they’ve given up more than their fair share, it stays with them for the duration of their employment at the company.
Another saying comes to mind—“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” And it’s no more true than during the offer-making process of hiring a candidate. If they feel their first impression of their soon-to-be employer is one where they feel unappreciated and under-valued, then that will stay with that employee for a long time.
The crux of this topic is that when times get tough, and they’re tough for more than our fair share of companies right now, any excuse that an employee has to walk out on their employer is accentuated when he or she feels that they are not valued according to what they feel they should be.
Most candidates and companies I work with have been very good about realizing that you don’t always get everything that you ask for during the offer stage. But the successful companies that I perceive to have great employee job satisfaction rates usually are the ones that go out of their way to make the candidates feel valued, appreciated and in some cases loved.
Fortune Magazine recently listed Bay Area stalwart Google as the best place to work. Among other reasons of open communication between manager and employees, team building activities, and such Google’s equity plan is offered to 99% of all the 12,000+ employees. And with the stock having cracked $700 a share it’s easy to see why there’s a term “Google-aires” running rampant in the Bay Area. It’s also widely known that Google’s compensation ranges average as some of the highest in Silicon Valley, but the company didn’t disclose this data to Fortune.
It’s also of note that in the same study by Fortune Cisco and Network Appliance showed the 12th & 13th respectively highest average salaries in the country for employees and that both held the highest average salaries for tech companies behind leading financial, petroleum and legal companies. It’s also worth noting that Cisco and NetApp both rank as 6th and 14th respectively on the overall list of “100 Best of Companies” to work for nationally.
Those company’s that don’t financially compensate the employees well usually are tied by CFO regulations on what they can “actually” spend and don’t have an environment to do what it takes to care for their employees overall. Trust me, I’ve seen it over and over. Companies who are pinching pennies, usually have high turn over rates. But you can still be fiscally responsible while also leaving yourself open to finding and hiring the best talent.
The costs of not looking to financially “well compensate” employees is given in the above cited study. It cited that “HR professionals estimate that the hard costs to replace an employee ranges between 33% and 50% of their base salary, in addition to soft costs such as the loss of productivity and institutional knowledge, as well as new hire recruiting and training expenses.” Isn’t an extra $5-10k given to the candidate during the offer stage worth it in this light?
So what are some solutions to this perceptions gap? I would contribute the following:
1. Pay an extra share of money for the candidate to feel like he or she is valued—give them what they want (within reason).
2. Don’t balk at counter-offers. If a candidate has been looking else where, don’t kick them out, but ask yourself why this person felt the need to look around. This could help hiring and retention processes in the long run and possibly reveal fatal flaws in your company’s human resource strategies. Plus, the cost of finding someone else to fill a vacated role can be prohibitive in the long run as opposed to offering a competitive counter-offer.
3. Work to bump pay at least 10% each year while offering performance based bonuses and equity grants.
4. Work with an experienced recruiter who understands this perception dilemma. Often, a recruiter can manage the candidate to ensure that he or she is “blissfully happy” about the offer and job opportunity.
5. Educate current employees, tactfully via HR, at performance reviews about market standards on pay and compensation.
6. Work diligently to develop retention strategies that offer candidates feelings of ownership, community and an ability to communicate their thoughts and feelings with their managers, peers and subordinates.
If you do this you’ll fight the perception dilemma head on and see positive employee job satisfaction while also decreasing operational costs over all.
The bottom line is that you want to have new employees walking through your doors on his or her first day saying, “I’m excited to be here and I can’t wait to help this company in what ever way I can!”
Trust me, I’m a recruiter…;-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
