|
 |
MetroWest Daily News
Jobs and GenX Explored
By Andrew J. Manuse/ Daily News Staff
Sunday, December 11, 2005
go to article >>
Career Matters
Career Management Strategies for HR Professionals
By Trisha Griffin-Carty, Speaker & Seminar Leader, Griffin-Carty
Communications
go to article >>
Ready, Aim, Hire!
Four Steps for Conducting Effective Interviews
By Trisha Griffin-Carty, Speaker & Seminar Leader, Griffin-Carty
Communications
go to article >>
MetroWest Daily News
Jobs and GenX Explored
By Andrew J. Manuse/ Daily News Staff
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Since graduating from college in 1996, Westborough resident Kate O’Neill has
worked for a newspaper, a college and a state agency. She currently works for a
nonprofit agency in Worcester.
Outside of work, the 31-year-old Generation Xer is a performer, an event
planner for the Irish Cultural Center in Canton, and she helps run an Irish
music session in Westborough. She also volunteers at her church.
O’Neill said she loves her current job, partly because it gives her a lot of
flexibility.
"I could never work in a really regimented environment," O’Neill said. "I’m one
of those people of the opinion that I’m not defined by my job... but I’m really
devoted to the job I have."
According to Trisha Griffin-Carty, a spokeswoman for the Boston chapter of
the Association of Career Professionals International , "O’Neill
has many of the characteristics typically associated with a Gen Xer," or the
generation of people born in the years after baby boomers. The association
studies work issues and provides career services to companies and individuals.
Griffin-Carty said Gen Xers tend to be devoted to their work, but not
necessarily formal work structures. They see work as a means to an end, not an
end in itself. They’re tech savvy and they’re really good at multi-tasking, she
said. Gen Xers are motivated by managers who allow them to balance their work
with the rest of their lives.
Managers who hope to retain Gen Xers at their companies longer should
"understand what motivates them and how it’s different" from what motivates
other generations, she added.
"Gestures and plaques don’t mean anything," said Griffin-Carty. "Time off
is a more meaningful reward" for work well done. Gen Xers also appreciate clear
and frequent feedback. "Don’t sugarcoat it," she advised.
According to a 2004 Generational Differences survey by the Society for Human
Resource Management, Gen Xers make up 34 percent of the work force. Baby
boomers account for 44 percent, "Veterans" account for 10 percent and
"Nexters," or members of the so-called Generation Next, account for 12 percent.
The survey said Veterans are people born before 1945, baby boomers were born
between 1945 and 1964, Gen Xers were born between 1965 and 1980 and Nexters
were born after them.
A 2005 Job Satisfaction survey by the same Alexandria, Va.-based organization
found that workers who were 35 or younger reported a "work/life balance" as the
most important factor for their job. Workers 36 to 55 valued the "work/life
balance" third, while placing "benefits" as their most important factor.
Workers who were 56 and older put "feeling safe" highest on their list of
job-satisfaction factors.
Jayne Mattson, senior vice president of Keystone Associates, a career
management firm in Westborough, manages both Gen Xers and baby boomers.
"You definitely need to talk a different language" when dealing with Gen Xers,
Mattson said. "I need to know what’s going on in their lives so I can be
flexible and help them balance."
Mattson, a past president of the Boston chapter of the Association of Career
Professionals, said she’s been able to learn a lot about technology from her
Gen X employees.
"I talk to them in a way that says, ’Teach me,’" Mattson said.
But dealing with Gen Xers poses some challenges, she said. While Boomers see
their tenure at a job lasting 10 to 15 years, Gen Xers might want to stay for
only one to two years.
"It’s as long as they feel valued and like what they do," said Mattson.
Leanne Doherty, 31, a Marlborough resident and assistant professor at Simmons
College in Boston, said, "The fact that I love my job makes me want to be here.
If I didn’t love my job, I wouldn’t be here."
Doherty’s particular job gives her the chance to be flexible, she said. Because
she’s on the track to an administrative position, there’s not as much pressure
for her to publish research, like other professors. This gives her the time to
work on an internship program she helped create and curriculum development,
which she said she really enjoys doing.
The fact that she’s "incredibly happy" with her job, leaves her in a position
where she doesn’t "see" herself leaving.
According to Griffin-Carty, employee turnover is one of the more important
reasons companies should take generational differences into consideration.
While the cost of turnover "varies from organization to organization," she
said, "it’s very expensive."
If an employee doesn’t stay with a company for at least 18 months, the company
really hasn’t seen a return on its investment in that employee, Griffin-Carty
said.
The human resources team at Framingham-based Courion Corp. knows this well and
has taken steps to make sure Gen Xers stay longer.
Courion makes identity-management, or "provisioning" software, that automates
the process of getting employees on board and manages their access to company
data, said Deb Pappas, the company’s vice president of marketing. The software
can also judge the productivity of employees, and the firm has noticed
generational differences, she said.
"Gen Xers don’t have the same loyalties of older generations," said Dee
Sendrowski, director of human resources for Courion. "It’s different from other
workers who’ll change their schedule to adapt to the work life. That’s an older
way of thinking."
Sendrowski said an older worker will say, "I’ll do what I need to do to meet
your needs," while a Gen Xer will say, "I’ll do what I need to do, but what are
you going to do to make my life comfortable?"
To account for the differences, Courion makes its office space feel as
accommodating and home-like as possible, she said. While the company has core
business hours, it also has an array of work schedules for Gen-X employees to
accommodate their hobbies, children’s schedules and family balance. It wouldn’t
be abnormal for an employee to work six hours one day and 10 hours the next,
she said.
Additionally, the company has given Gen Xers as many communication technologies
as possible to accommodate their desire to multi-task.
"Face-to-face (communication) is not necessarily the communication of choice,"
said Sendrowski. "We provide Blackberries, wireless PC cards and telecommuting
and video communications tools. All of these things allow a Gen Xer to leverage
many different devices so they can do a lot of different things at once."
The company is looking for a spot to build an Internet cafe inside the company,
so Gen Xers can sit down and have a cup of coffee while doing their work on a
laptop over a wireless network. Courion has also added programs for technical
training, industry conferences and social events, she said.
"A number of Gen Xers are impressed that we do so much for the staff, their
families and their kids, and that we’re investing in their lives," said
Sendrowski. "We don’t do anything less to attract and retain (baby boomers)....
We have a diversity (of programs) to attract and retain the best talent."
back to article list >>
Career Matters
Career Management Strategies for HR Professionals
By Trisha Griffin-Carty, Speaker & Seminar Leader, Griffin-Carty
Communications
The impact of technology on every business practice has been mirrored in the HR
environment. From sourcing candidates to conducting exit interviews, the HR
professional has become increasingly involved with employment cycles,
technological innovation and the changing career development needs of the
employee population. Not surprisingly, HR professionals today are challenged to
keep their own careers on track.
Here are some of the "rules of the road" for HR professionals interested in
growing their careers within the context of their current jobs:
1. Conduct your own career audit.
-
Take stock of your skills, accomplishments, goals every 6 months. Use this
information to update your career profile or resume.
-
Create a 30 second "elevator speech" that describes the role you play in your
company. Emphasize the "value added" component of the job rather than a
detailed description of tasks and responsibilities.
-
Review your current professional network and identify people you would like to
add and why. Strategize ways to expand your list of contacts and track your
progress.
-
Consider the industry’s impact on your organization and identify specific HR or
business competencies you may need to develop to address emerging issues.
Evaluate available courses and certification programs that may add to your
existing credentials.
-
Ask yourself how others view you within your organization. Check out your
internal reputation.
2. Stay current within your profession and your industry.
-
Increase your value to the organization by staying informed about changes in
your industry through web sites, books, professional journals, newspapers, etc.
-
Locate – and share - information on the labor market , employment trends,
changes in the law, and salary surveys.
-
Create a database of regional and national resources that may be relevant to
your organization’s recruiting, hiring and training needs; routinely share this
information with the organization’s management team through HR updates.
3. Know what you do well and tell others.
-
Increase your visibility by writing an article for publication in your
organization’s newsletter or an HR journal.
-
Present your ideas at a professional association meeting or conference;
participate in panels focused on employment issues.
-
Look for formal and informal opportunities to meet and network with managers
and employees from all business lines. Share your success stories as you work
with them to resolve their issues.
4. Connect with clients and colleagues.
-
Ask for feedback from your manager or your internal/external clients regarding
their relationship with HR; look for ways to partner with management on new
business initiatives.
-
Become a member of a professional organization to exchange ideas with
colleagues and learn more about the issues facing HR and your industry. Better
yet, join a committee to increase your visibility within – and beyond – the
immediate membership of the association.
-
Create your own career "Advisory Board " by identifying several career advisors
who can provide you with feedback, contacts, advice and development
opportunities. Your advisors may be former managers, colleagues from present or
previous jobs, or even contacts outside your industry.
5. Expand your resource list.
Find the time to identify and utilize the resources that will support your
career growth. The Greater Boston Area has a wealth of professional
organizations devoted to Human Resouce issues. Visit the web sites listed below
for more information on each organization including its focus, membership, and
meeting schedule.
back to article list >>
Ready, Aim, Hire!
Four Steps for Conducting Effective Interviews
By Trisha Griffin-Carty, Speaker & Seminar Leader, Griffin-Carty
Communications
Is the economy getting better? Industry surveys suggest that many organizations
will be adding to their workforce in the coming months. While this is good news
for businesses and job seekers alike, a critical question is … will the "right"
hires be made during the interview process?
Selecting candidates can be challenging, even in the best of economic times.
Identifying a candidate’s skill set, relevant experience, interest in the job
as well as a host of other factors all within a 30 – 60 minute time slot can be
a daunting task. Deciding what to ask – and not ask – during the interview
becomes even more important when an interviewer is faced with a large number of
candidates for one or two openings. Frequently, due to time constraints and
work demands, even experienced interviewers find themselves relying on general
questions and trusting their "gut feeling" to make the right choice.
Here are some suggestions to strengthen interviewing skills using a four-step
approach.
1. Analyze the job.
What does it really take – in terms of skills and behaviors - not just to do a
job, but to be successful?
While the resume can be a useful tool to learn about the candidate’s work
history and education, it stops short of providing the type of information
needed to determine how that individual will actually perform on the job. An
alternative approach is to create a list of tasks and behaviors required to do
the job successfully at the beginning of the selection process. This analysis
helps the interviewer identify important job requirements that become the
foundation for interview questions and evaluation criteria.
For example, when hiring a customer service representative, key considerations
may be product knowledge, or past experience in a specific industry. However,
other critical considerations could include the ability to resolve
service-related problems in a diplomatic manner or cross sell new products.
Good sources for identifying key elements of any job are the most recent job
descriptions and input from employees currently working in that position.
2: Create a game plan
Next, develop a series of job-related questions that determine whether the
candidate has the skills and experience that meet the identified job
requirements. If two or more interviewers are involved, each may ask questions
about specific skills and qualifications, following an agenda they have agreed
upon.
Fact-finding questions (or close-ended questions) such as "How long did you
work in financial services?" are designed to gather specific data. Questions
that tap into the candidate’s experience in other areas (open-ended or
behavior-based questions) help the interviewer assess the candidate’s actual
use of a skill in a specific context. For example, a series of behavior- based
questions for a customer service candidate could include the following: "Can
you describe a situation in which you had to respond to a customer’s objections
to a company policy? What steps did you take? How did the customer respond?
Contrast this approach with the more frequent, hypothetical question: "What
would you do if you had to respond to a customer’s objection to a company
policy?"
The hypothetical question encourages the candidate to respond in general terms,
while the more specific wording in the earlier question prompts the candidate
to give a concrete, detailed answer. Job- related questions keep the
interviewer and the candidate on track and reduce the possibility of the
discussion inadvertently moving into any gray or illegal areas.
3. Follow the 80/20 rule.
Since the interviewer’s main task is to gather information about the applicant,
listening is a critical interviewing skill. After posing a question, the
interviewer’s job is to fully attend to the applicant’s verbal and non-verbal
responses. By listening attentively, the interviewer can determine whether to
summarize, probe for more information or move on to the next question.
While it is tempting to provide extensive information about the job, the
department and the organization, a more effective approach is to use the 80/20
rule. Effective interviewers strive to speak only 20 –30% of the interview time
while listening closely to the candidate’s responses the balance of the
meeting.
4. Make the call!
The previous steps set the stage for the last interview phase: evaluation.
Instead of relying on "gut feelings," to make a final decision, the interviewer
can turn to established job-specific standards to determine the candidate’s fit
for the job. If there are several finalists for one position, each applicant
can be reviewed first against the job criteria, and then in terms of the value
added he/she brings to the job.
The bottom line? Investing in these steps requires some thought and
preparation, but the effort ultimately saves time during the interview and
increases the prospects of hiring a new, potentially successful employee.
back to article list >>
|
|