Posts tagged as:

workforce

Is Location-based Recruiting Creepy?

by Daria Steigman on April 15, 2013

Red HerringThe Wall Street Journal’s At Work blog has an interesting post on recruiters who use location-based apps to find prospects. The author points to a recruiter who drives around New York in a cab looking for Highlight users, and she asks:

What’s your take on location-based recruiting? Creepy or cool?

My take: if you’re going to broadcast your location, then you are fair game. That said,  it’s a red herring.

Using a digital yardstick to screen for job candidates is like looking for low-hanging fruit. 

In the early 21st century, knowing how to tweet, post to Facebook, or use a location-based app to keep track of your friends and look for a lunch date is pretty much a given. It’s a low bar. It’s akin to requiring a working knowledge of Microsoft Office. Or, once upon a time, asking job candidates how many words per minute they could type.

Companies could learn a lot from Cupcake Wars.

I was watching an episode of the show that featured four fan favorites. All of them could make a good cupcake. One baker didn’t stop there; she transformed a cupcake into a jalapeno popover–complete with an edible wrapping.

I’m sure the team that created the Oreo’s “dunk in the dark” ad knew how to tweet.

What skills do you look for in employees and partners?

Photo by Tim Parkinson (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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We Are All in Sales

by Daria Steigman on February 11, 2013

"Sold To Very Nice People" tagDid you know that the average person spends 40 percent of his or her job on sales? That works out to 24 minutes per hour.

In a fascinating conversation with Jonathan Fields, Daniel Pink said that “the technology that was supposed to obliterate sales has turned more of us into sellers.” Pink, whose latest book is on this topic, makes the point that blurring lines at work has put a form of selling into everyone’s job description.

We are all in sales.

Lawyers won’t tell you they are in sales, but that’s what they do every time they wine and dine a potential client. Customer service reps won’t tell you they are in sales, but the results of every service call can mean the difference between a product return and return business. Researchers won’t tell you they are in sales, but they’re selling ideas, projects, and their budget needs to their bosses (and their bosses). And CEOs… Well, you get the picture.

Watch the video. It’s long, but it’s worth it.

My friend Geoff Livingston said in a speech recently that “no one wakes up and says, ‘I am a lead generator.’” And yet we are. A lot of food for thought here–and implications for the world of work.

Photo by PinkMoose (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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Roses, Rulers, and Cubicles

by Daria Steigman on November 1, 2012

Death by CubicleA colleague of mine is about to move offices. Or, more precisely, her company is about to move her office across town. This has prompted mass angst (not including her) about office space and what the new digs will look like.

Which got me thinking about how stupidly some companies allocate offices and otherwise make clear the pecking order at work.

Cubicles and Rulers

A friend once worked for a Fortune 500 company that apportioned cubicle height based on job title. When she got a promotion, they came around with a ruler and added 12 feet. Apparently they did this three times, and then you merited a door on your cube! Yes, it sounds like an episode of The Office.

Speaking of The Office, there was an episode that revolved around Secretaries Day. I can relate. I once worked for a small association that took everyone in the office out for lunch on Secretaries Day. I was a year out of college and working as an administrative assistant. Toward the end of lunch, someone came in with roses. The senior VP then proceeded to go around the table pointed out who got roses (female admin assistants) and who didn’t (other female staff, and all the male staff). Perhaps most cringe-inducing was when they pointed to a male staffer and said, “He’s an admin assistant, but he’s a guy so he doesn’t get a rose.”

I was ready to walk out, but my friend Jill convinced me to wait five minutes first.

It’s not about the roses, the rulers, or the cubicles.

I’ve worked in cubicles. When I worked on Capitol Hill, most of the staff worked in a room full of cubes. It made sense; congressional space was at a premium–and everyone was in the same boat. Ditto for big open “bullpen” news rooms, and other open-space formats.

It’s about the signals you send.

It’s okay that the president has an oval office and I don’t. And I get it that there aren’t enough windows and vistas to go around. But there are better and worse ways to show appreciation. Hopefully your company’s doing it right.

What best practices have you seen?

Photo by 200MoreMontrealStencils (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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The Problem with the NFL

by Daria Steigman on August 13, 2012

Butting Heads (Goats on a Bridge)Is your business incentivizing employee collaboration?

The NFL does not have guaranteed contracts. This means that you can negotiate your multi-year deal, but if your get injured, sneeze the wrong way, or otherwise lose your marketability, then you end up on the street with nothing. Similarly, football teams routinely “renegotiate” deals midstream to give your dollars to someone else.

Do you really want to help the young guys?

In contrast to the NFL, MLB contracts are guaranteed. If you have a $100-million contract you are going to get that money whether you remain a superstar or get injured, age badly, or otherwise end up an albatross on your team.

One sports league fosters mentoring and collaboration; the other does not.

I’ve been thinking about this topic lately because there have been a number of stories this year about the way the veterans on my baseball team have mentored, guided, and helped a mostly very young squad to be better baseball players.

This isn’t to say that NFL players don’t (or won’t) mentor their teammates. But the way the business of football is structured means that most of the time you’re mentoring your replacement. And, unlike most companies, it’s not like there’s a promotion on the horizon. You’re either in or you’re out.

Is your business encouraging mentoring and collaboration or hindering it?

Photo by cliff1066™ (Flickr).

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Should Your Klout Score be a Deal Breaker?

by Daria Steigman on June 26, 2012

anonymous in a purple hoodieWhen a friend of mine turned 40 her sister told her that she had better take care of herself because she was competing with 20-year-olds. My thought: Why would you want to date a man who wants to date a twenty-something?

I feel the same way about Klout.

There’s a long article* in Wired about the so-called “standard for influence” (for the record, I have no Klout). It starts with a guy who goes in for a job interview, only to be turned down when his Klout score isn’t high enough. So he sets out to raise it — tweeting all the time, “engaging” with high-score accounts, and the like.

I don’t get it. Why would you want to work for a company that values Klout over smarts, strategy, and people who forge genuine connections with the people around them?

*You don’t have to read the whole article; much of it covers familiar ground. But it’s worth skipping down to the last couple of paragraphs, which I think say it all.

Photo by xJason.Rogersx (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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