The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently researched the ‘time to fill” metric and found that their sampling produced an average time to process of 33.28 days.  The number includes weekends and holidays.  The challenge, according to an article in the SHRM news is to keep it under 30 days.  The article offers some suggestions to facilitate this goal.

Initially, companies should always include head count and projected growth as part of the annual budget/forecast process.  This helps the recruiting department plan ahead, and keep an eye out for needed talent. 

Then – set a timeline for the process.  If you have been looking ahead, you should be able to get past the “let’s see who we can find” that traps you in a perpetual candidate identification circle.  Set a realistic deadline for receiving applications and move on.  Once the candidates have been presented, set a schedule for phone and face-to-face interviews, assessing and processing the hire. 

Review the process itself and answer some key questions – who will do the interviewing, how will they report results, and how (and who) will candidates be kept informed of the progress?  If communication and understanding isn’t there, the “time-to-fill” will be out of control.

Technology Ventures Corporation provides continuing education classes on all aspects of starting a company and one of the sessions spends significant time on preparing for and conducting interviews.  An important task is the initial screening of the applicant resumes.  A thorough review of that document can save lots of wasted time later in the recruitment process, and help reaffirm exactly what types of candidates the company is looking for.

Remember- the candidate may have other prospects, and you want to keep them interested while your team is making decisions.  The worst outcome of a hiring activity is to have your chosen candidate say “I just accepted another offer last__.”  Pick one “mentor’ to stay in touch with your best prospects.

It goes without saying that those conducting the interviews should be well trained and prepped for the task.   Good luck!

On the other hand, the group “Skills for America’s Future” claims that there are 3 million jobs currently open and unfilled due to skill gaps. Fifty-two percent of employers with job openings claim they can’t find qualified applicants.   What if we just create more jobs we can’t fill?

An article in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) news presents a lot of statistics, and also ways that HR Professionals and others are trying to help bridge that gap.  There seems to be three areas where companies and applicants need updating.

First – companies may be setting requirements for jobs that are not only unnecessarily stringent, they are unrealistic.  To address this, HR folks and upper managers are taking a closer look at the job descriptions they develop.  Admittedly, as I mentioned in the article addressing skill gaps for job seekers (Can Employers Find the Right Skill Set…?), companies are adding technology to increase efficiency in their organization.  This inherently requires a worker with higher tech skills.  The HR manager may be able to find quality applicants without the specific skill set, but with a background in the industry and an obvious ability and willingness to train for the new job.  Example – McDonald’s food chain developed a language skills training curriculum for new hires so they are able to better communicate with customers!  I have had discussions with local companies about this very topic – and made the suggestion that they may need to develop some training, and then can hire an experienced employee and bring them up to speed.

Second – Training skills aren’t always in every manager’s portfolio.  However, when there are 14 million people looking for work, and many of them experienced employees, it is worth spending some time to “train the Trainers” to keep up with the hiring needs of the employer.  In some cases local community colleges or professional societies such as SHRM are providing instruction in how to develop a training program and deliver it to new hires.  Hiring employers will need to recognize that there will be a little extra effort involved to get a new hire on the job and being productive.

Third – The job seeker needs to take the initiative to GET the needed training.  Again, local community colleges and universities are working with local companies to develop training programs that meet the needs of the new job market.  Local employment agencies and job postings can provide that information.  For the job seeker – let a prospective employer know that you are getting some training to meet the job requirements they list, and ask for feedback.  That may give you a head start in actually getting the position.
As always, good luck.

Employers are staying lean, and staff levels aren’t expected to increase much in the next months.  That means that the existing staff will have to respond to a wide variety of demands.  As workers shift around some of these positions may be available, but they may have changed significantly in breadth and skill requirements.  Employers also want workers who are able to adapt quickly to new responsibilities as companies try to stay competitive in a changing economy. 

Opportunities may be there in industries that the job seeker isn’t familiar with.  Economists do project growth in the health care market, professional services such as accounting and legal, retail sales and management and certain manufacturing jobs.  For each of these industries there are some special skill requirements or education.  Manufacturing may require some occupational training, but that can be accessed thru many community college programs.  The retail industry, sales in particular, requires interpersonal skills.

So, what is a job seeker to do?  Ideas presented in the article include highlighting the applicant’s creative skills to show their ability to adapt to new duties.  Technical literacy is really a basic must in most companies, including health care, where much of the business end of the industry is going automated.  If you are well versed in electronic data handling – they will want you! 

Project management and communications skills are abilities that are valued across many industries, and finding workers able to communicate clearly is getting harder to find among today’s applicants.  Job seekers need to work hard at honing their verbal and writing skills to differentiate themselves. 
Then, use marketing skills to get the point across.  Use social media (with taste and skill please) to reach prospective employers.  Understand in advance what the company values.  For example, a law practice will want to add skilled members that can bring in more business.  That asset is also valuable in other industries, so use your contact list appropriately.  Package your skills to show how you will add value to the organization – and be able to back it up with examples.  No “puffing”!
As always, good luck.

However, in areas of the country where there is job recovery, there seems to be another problem.  There is a significant gap between skills needed for these jobs and skilled workers ready to go to work. 

The SHRM article asked for responses concerning the skills deficits in job applicants for specific organizations.  A response from the Arlington, VA Workforce Investment Board said that in some cases job seekers just don’t know how to promote themselves.  When responding to the question “Why do you want this job” the applicant’s answer may be – “Because I want a job.”  Not a good way to highlight the skills a worker could bring to the company. 

Job seekers need to be aware that the current economic productivity is similar to levels reached prior to the 2007 -2009 recession, but there are millions more people out of work.  The good news is that 58% of companies that laid off workers during the recession are making direct replacement of those jobs. The bad news is that many of those jobs now require completely new skill sets.

The applicant needs to be able to separate him- or herself from the pack by highlighting the talents and skills they bring.  Recently there has been a change in the focus of the HR Recruiters from years of experience to actual skill sets available in the job seeker pool- reflecting the trend of changing skill requirements.

The really interesting issue highlighted by companies responding to the SHRM-posted question said that the most common skill deficiencies in applicants are 1) writing in English 2) math skills 3) reading comprehension and 4) speaking in English.  The cited language deficiencies could be easily addressed by applicants through local training organizations.  Students in secondary or post-secondary educational institutions need to be aware of these needs and be focused on heightening their skills going forward.

Hiring, or hunting for a job are stressful and difficult processes, and even with the right skills, or the right group of applicants the one thing we all need is persistence and a sense of humor.  Good hunting!

First let me say that a candidate that isn’t aware of issues that may come up in background checks, and not alerted the recruiters to the fact, are either not very astute or trying to hide something.  As an interviewee it is always good to check at least your credit history, and even background reports, as we deal with identity theft or just plain mistakes on reports.

The employer also needs to give this process some thought.  First, how much information do you need based on the job functions of the person you are hiring.  The more access the new employee has to vital company records (or to sensitive client information, as in the healthcare field) the more cautious one needs to be.  A company doesn’t want to make headlines because one of their delivery people was arrested for drunk driving!

There are also cost/benefit considerations for the company.  Some of the work can be done in-house by making phone calls to former employers and educational institutions.  The company can ask for a credit report if they obtain a release from the applicant.  There is a small fee involved.  Criminal records searches and motor vehicle records require more time and skill.  Obviously any outside screening service should be carefully selected, for accuracy and integrity.

The standard background check usually includes the following (Courtesy of Society for Human Resources):

 - Verification of Social Security Number

 - Credit report

 - Motor vehicle record check

 - County and state criminal records search (past 7 years)

 - National criminal records search, including sex offender records

 - Verification of the past 2 employers

 - Verification of educational background

Each of these factors requires time and skill to sort out and interpret properly.  The company needs to understand how to read the reports, and in the case of court records, have some understanding of the legal terminology.  In addition, the company needs to make certain that these records are kept confidential, with only the HR people directly involved in the process having access.  They should be stored securely once the process is complete.

It is becoming more and more important to do the due diligence before hiring.  A wrong decision can have a major impact on the company’s reputation, as well as the morale of current staff.  Better to be safe than sorry!

The other side: 
- Be careful not to discriminate against older workers when looking for interns.  The perception is that these jobs go to young graduates, but there are many older workers wanting new skills.
- Interns sometimes perceive that they are not subject to employer’s policies even if they sign the appropriate documents.  Similarly supervisors may think the same way.  Abuses of internships by both parties can lead to legal claims and end up being more of a hassle than the program is worth.  The key, of course is clear direction and careful management by the supervisor, with the help of the Human Resource group.
- Foreign workers on a visa do take internship jobs, and so the visa requirements need to be carefully managed as well. 

Companies need to set clear goals for their internship programs and make certain they are reaching them.  The primary reason a company has this program is to have access to a pool of possible hires.  If the company can’t identify good candidates in this pool, then it isn’t being managed correctly.  If the company isn’t able to add new employees, the time spent on training may not be worth it, even though it contributes to the business community overall.

Each company has its own special needs, and decisions about internships need to fit these needs.

Research is being conducted by the Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University. ER&A will conduct an educational inventory with the assistance of the New Mexico Public Education and Higher Education Departments. Ultimately, survey results and data will be provided to job seekers, educational institutions, business communities, and state agencies to help guide the State Energy Sector Partnership and Training grant efforts. (see below)
Another goal of the grant is development of the Mobile Green Jobs Workforce Center (MGJWC), whereby job seekers will have access to new computer workstations, software, and online services resulting from the Grant research utilizing this new resource. The MGJWC will be more responsive to the targeted population needs by making resources available to job seekers in all areas and communities with the most need, such as the state’s rural population, isolated Native American tribal areas, and other underserved communities. The MGJWC can also serve as a training center to promote workforce information and other topics at mass layoff rapid response locations around the state. All the data collected and outlined under this Grant will provide essential information to help stimulate the growth of New Mexico’s new green economy and help fill the job market void left by recent business contractions and closures.

State Energy Sector Partnership Program
The goal is to establish a statewide approach to job seeker training in renewable energy/energy efficiency occupations in solar, wind, green building/energy efficiency and biofuels.  These are identified as sectors active in the State with a potential for job opportunities in the future.  The oversight council, a subcommitte of the State Workforce Board will work to identify industry needs and job opportunities to make sure that training matches with the sector needs.
To be eligible for training candidates must be over 18 and 1) have a Social Security number, 2) have the right to work in the U.S., and 3) comply with Selective Service registration requirements (for males)
AND
Be included in one or more of the following groups:
1. An incumbent (currently employed) worker in need of skills upgrades for a solar, wind, biofuels, green building/energy efficiency green job;
2. A displaced (currently unemployed) worker ;
3. A woman;
4. A veteran or qualified spouses of a veteran;
5. A high school dropout; and/or
6. meet low-income eligibility guidelines.
To apply for this program complete the SESP training pre-application, available at the project website, www.greenjobs.state.nm.us,  and take it to your local Workforce Connection Center. Your nearest Workforce Connection Center can be found by visiting http://www.dws.state.nm.us/dws-offices.html.