Is Your Recruiting Plan
Recession-Proof?

By Margaret Hansen, JobsInMA.com

Bonuses are off the table. Salaries are flat. Staff resources are thin. People are lucky to have a job. You've heard all of this before, but how do you plan to address these shortfalls in '09? Here are 3 questions to ask yourself.

Question #1: Are you prepared for long-term vacancies?

First, make sure your current employees aren't left in the lurch. Even though your budget is tighter, you need to recognize and reassure them. After all, they are your most precious resources.

Process improvement should be the flavor of the day. Does your team really need to spend 80 hours per month on administrative tasks? Consider hiring an intern. It will free up some team time for strategic meetings and follow up work, plus buy you some insurance for future staffing needs.

By the time you have ironed out a leaner plan, your intern will be trained and interested, just in time for graduation and a post-recession promotion.

Question #2: Are you maintaining a trusted presence?

As the unemployed, or "active," job seeker pool grows, your image as a trusted employer should be keeping pace.

Many job seekers are feeling anxious about the future. People are nervous about layoffs. How do you address those fears? How do you instill confidence and attract top performers to your positions?

Be sure to answer these unasked questions at every step of the recruiting process from initial advertising to interview and beyond. It's on everyone's mind, even if they don't ask.

Come up with a "Top 10" list of why it's great to work for your company. Ask your most dedicated top performers what they like about working there. Make it diverse - choose at least one person from each division at varying levels: an IT employee is likely to have an entirely different perspective and experience from an HR employee.

Once this list is created, include it - in part or in its entirety - with all of your employment advertising. It's part of your Employment Brand and there's never been a better time to let it be known.

Question #3: Are you getting the best value for your employment advertising dollar?

Now that you have a Top 10 list of great reasons to work for your company, make sure that you're getting it out in front of the right audience.

Advertising online poses the least amount of risk while offering fantastic return on investment. Web stats track the number of job views, referrals, and online applications.

Sprinkle your Top 10 around: in your online banner ads, job postings, company profile, website, press releases and even in your employee manual. It will soon become a big part of your recruiting strategy.

Find an all-inclusive online subscription that offers unlimited jobs, unlimited changes and tools to help you recruit, such as a resume database. You'll be able to make changes at any time of day, recruit faster and cheaper and reach more people than any other method.

Your budget is likely to be tighter for next year. Be sure to maximize your recruiting dollars.

Recruiting Review Newsletter

Poll: Salary Competes with Perks

By Margaret Hansen, JobsInMA.com

In a recent JobsInTheUS.com poll, we asked which was most important:

• Salary
• A flexible schedule
• The ability to telecommute

Salary

Nearly half of the group chose Salary (47%) as #1. A not-so-surprising answer, but with the economy grinding to a halt lately, it seems to be packed with a little more emotion.

"Salary is just as important to me as is having work in which I can add value and fully use my skills and experience," said Suanne Williams Lindgren a professional HR consultant from Freeport, Maine. "I frequently meet intelligent, skilled people who are underpaid, underemployed, and working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. I think this is a terrible waste of human energy that we can ill afford at a time when there is such tremendous need in our world."

Flexible Schedule

Coming in at #2: a flexible schedule with a whopping 42% of the group choosing this answer.

The U.S. Department of Labor defines a flexible schedule as an alternative to the traditional 9 to 5, 40-hour work week.

Some situations allow flexibility with arrival/departure times with a prescribed number of hours, including daily presence during a "core time." Others may offer a compressed work week with longer days but more time off. Still others allow the flexibility to attend family events, meetings and other commitments during the work day as needed.

Life is unpredictable. Parenting, family issues, dealing with illness and maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle are just a few of the things that are competing with work. Increasingly, people need - and are demanding - a more flexible work schedule.

Telecommuting

Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" lists Telecommuting as one of its top six best benefits - and 84 of its 100 winning companies in 2008 offer it.

"It's true that financial concerns are leading people to consider compensation more heavily than, say, two years ago," Jason Blais, Field Operations Manager for JobsInTheUS.com, said. Blais meets with both job seekers and employers at career events across New England. He sees a new trend with uncommon work arrangements.

Blais points out that a more interesting trend is that the majority of poll takers chose perks over salary.

"53% of our poll respondents would prefer accommodations to fit their lifestyles (flexible schedule, ability to telecommute), compared to 47% who feel that salary is more important," Blais said. "I think employers need to take heed of this reality."

Some common telecommuting jobs include: medical transcription, IT-related work, sales, customer service and any job that relies on the Internet.

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