More than 95% of workers are quitting their jobs. Some are quitting because they don’t want to return to the workplace, while others are quitting because they can’t work from home anymore. To this majority, starting their own business or being a freelancer seems like the best move they can make now.
The pandemic has caused many people to reevaluate their life choices, especially those related to work. Unfortunately, many employers are still recovering from the loss they incurred in 2020 and, therefore, unwilling to hire more people and distribute the workload.
At the same time, some employers have grown accustomed to the fixed cost savings gained from offering the work-from-home facility and are unwilling to let go of the money they are saving by not opening their offices.
Regardless of the scenario, millions of employees are slowly losing faith in employers and ready to say, “I quit.” Human Resources decision-makers and recruiters are scrambling to revisit their hiring practices; however, most are still unable or unwilling to understand that the issue isn’t normal.
Under normal circumstances, more people quitting means a healthy economy, one where there is an abundance of jobs in the market. However, 2021 isn’t normal – by any standards.
Working from home changed people’s minds, hearts, and preferences. Work is no longer about paying the bills; it has now become about accommodating one’s life. For some, it’s a nine-to-five job after which they are free to do as they please. When working at the office, they had to commute, which would eat up at least two hours every day.
For others, there is now no difference between a workplace and where they rest, which leads to frustration and, later, burnout.
Still, both employees have one phrase on their lips, i.e., “I quit.” Some want to say it because they demand change, while others are ready to say it because they don’t want any change.
The pandemic has shifted the status quo slightly in favor of employees. They still need to pay bills; at the same time, they also want flexibility. With the vaccines rolling out, employers want to reopen their offices as soon as possible to bring this status quo back and reduce employee turnover.
Employees are now looking for time. Before the pandemic, there was no concept of going out and playing with your dog once you are tired of watching the work computer screen. The commute was unavoidable. Family members knew that they would have only a few hours with each other. Now that employees have seen the other side, they aren’t willing to go back to the way things were.
The Great Resignation is here, and it might be time for employers to revisit what employees really want from the job and achieve a balanced status quo. Employers need to understand that it’s not just routines that changed with COVID-19, but lifestyles changed as well. To retain employees, they need to provide a new balance to them at work and at home, which may warrant revisiting the work-from-home policies currently being adopted.
]]>Forming → Storming → Norming → Performing
In many cases, even the best-performing teams end up breaking apart after a new team member comes in. So, while conflict (storming) is unavoidable, it isn’t a part of business as usual in many cases. Sometimes, conflict is stirred up by a particular employee.
Sometimes, the conflict is a result of the employee not being a good fit. Regardless of the case, these conflicts are avoidable from the get-go by making sure you hire the right employee.
In this article, we will look over the cost of a bad hire and how you can calculate its financial impact.
This issue is the biggest one you will face with regards to a bad hire. Bad hires reduce work efficiency because of their actions; they also tend to dissuade or distract those around them. As a result, employees maintain a fluent workflow from 10 AM till the lunch break. After that, the momentum rises again from 4 pm till day-end.
Distracted employees will mean reduced work efficiency, which, in turn, will cost the businesses work hours.
Apart from team costs, there are also hiring costs to consider. Some costs may arise because an employee is either not performing properly or is a bad apple. These include:
Whenever an employee is let go, even if it’s someone who joined recently, it leads to reduced morale and confidence from employees as well, and recovering from this takes time.
Moving on to something concrete – how can we calculate the actual cost of a bad hire? There are many factors to consider—direct and indirect costs, the amount of work lost, advertisement costs, etc. How do we account for them all?
That’s where our bad hire cost calculator comes in handy.
You can estimate the cost of a bad hire by calculating different costs related to the hiring process and the productivity lost due to the bad hiring:
Every element is carefully analyzed concerning your organization to make sound business decisions ultimately. Therefore, companies must develop a robust strategy to mitigate this potential risk. Need quality talent but struggling to justify recruiting fees? Look through our, “cost of a bad hire” calculator to see why hiring the best talent is worth the investment.
If you would like to learn more about our services, and to find out how we can help you lower your hiring costs, let one of our experts take over the hiring process for you, contact us today.
We would love to partner with you!
]]>Having been a part of the job market and overseeing the recruitment process from the inside, we have seen many such brave decision makers disappear off the stage. One of the main reasons behind this is the fear of uncertainty and a counteroffer that sounds promising.
It is natural to want to stick to the status quo in a familiar place where you have already adjusted to the culture. However, this counteroffer is often not what it is represented as. There are many recruitment and HR experts that corroborate our stance on not accepting it.
There are always well-articulated reasons behind resignations. Whether it is nepotism, inside politics, or an unsatisfactory work environment, your reasons for quitting are valid. When employers present their counteroffer, it does not actually change anything – except for the salary.
Whatever underlying issues prompted you to quit, still remain.
You may not want to hear it, but when you hand in that resignation, your standing with the company will change. You may feel like your employer values your talent and want you to stick around because they trust you with the work. However, most employers see resignations as a sign of lacking loyalty. This will potentially come in the way of your progress and growth in the company in the future.
Companies boast about considering their employees as valuable commodities. They like to show you around and tell you that they cherish your hard work and dedication. But when the moment comes and you see that your performance as an employee has exceeded and no longer matches what you’re being compensated, your value in your employer’s eyes reduces.
Whichever company you have received an offer letter from recognizes that value and are willing to pay you enough for it. When you have that to look forward to, why would you want to go back?
There are several resources that show that more than 80% of employees that choose to accept a counteroffer resume their search for another job within 3 months. This relates to the first point we made above.
When the underlying problems that pushed you to resign do not change, the small salary adjustment would not justify you sticking around for long. Furthermore, the fractured relationships between you and your employer and their assumption of you losing your loyalty to the company will create further tension.
In the end, accepting the counteroffer is a short-term solution for valid concerns you have regarding your career. If you choose to do so, make sure you are laying out exactly what you want to receive from your employer. And if not, end things on a good note to maintain favorable relationships within the industry.
]]>Worn to the point of cliché, but change is, indeed, inevitable. The world as it thrives and rapidly evolves within the dynamic landscape comes under the fold of digitization, often making it compulsory to adapt.
This certainty of change is profound even more so today as we grapple with the previous, current, and unprecedented changes of the pandemic. Today’s workspace in every aspect of the business is no stranger to these implications and effects of COVID-19.
The future of work for the “new normal” for a post-COVID world has changed irrevocably for the majority of 2020. What has, and will, matter in the future is businesses’ ability to cope with what lies ahead as a consequence.
As it is with any major, global economic change, this pandemic also triggered a multitude of changes within the corporate environment. One of the main observations many experts have made is that this pandemic has accelerated the speed of change within patterns and trends that were already emerging.
For instance, Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO has already rolled out his allowance for indefinite remote work for all employees. Following the same path, other tech giants such as Facebook and Square have allowed their employees to work from home at least until the end of 2021.
Digital transformation has become the hot buzzword in the last few months. While it was underway for many organizations under the guidance of chief digital officers, it became the need of the hour during this pandemic.
Instead of simply advocating for efficiency through digital transformation, companies are more likely to aim for resilience. It has become apparent that businesses need to plan for flexibility and agility to face disruption.
One important consideration here is that to retain talent, employees from different backgrounds and proficiencies should be considered.
When the orders for lockdown commenced in March 2020, businesses except “essentials” were forced to work from home. With physical events shutting down around the world, more employees and employers started collaborating online.
From CEOs and executive management teams to field salespeople and HR professionals, remote work became reality for many. With over 48% of employees preferring the flexibility and convenience of remote work for post-COVID19, this trend is likely to leave a prominent impact on the future of work.
The Future of Work shows signs of transition to remote-first models. This will allow employers to attract more talent from outside local communities and promote their adoption of remote-first models to do so.
To reiterate a previous point, technological advancement is a reality that was already underway prior to the pandemic. While there was already a need for burgeoning technological advancements, it has become more amplified in the recent past.
It will become the driving force enabling companies to meet the challenges their workforce experiences as they adapt to how the workspace changes in the future. In fact, Statista reported that the average global expenditure on facilitating digital transformation will increase by 10.4% by the end of 2020.
This pandemic has exposed modern employees and employers to inconsistent work models. While companies started out by reducing contractor spend, they have now expanded to employing more part-time employees with a contingent workforce.
This allows them to save money and have enough flexibility to manage their employees’ performance.
As for the type of talent/employees, companies will look for in the future, there is a growing importance of STEM. With digital transformation at the center of the new normal, candidates specializing in areas of artificial intelligence, machine language, cybersecurity, cloud technology, lean supply chain, data science, and virtual reality, etc. are all in high demand.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics further suggested that more than 9 million STEM jobs will be created by the end of 2022.
L&D often goes unaddressed when pandemic-led conversations concerning the future of work are taking place. Trends such as upskilling and reskilling are critical for growth within existing employees’ and potential candidates’ skill sets.
Continuous learning, skill development, and knowledge sharing using e-learning and microlearning principles are becoming more widely adopted to facilitate digital transformation.
When it comes to L&D, focusing on critical skills that go beyond the execution of role-related tasks is important for overall career development. Microlearning, specifically, has been observed to support continuous learning and increased employee engagement that is necessary for coping with emerging and abrupt changes.
An urban exodus is on its way. Even more so, it is already beginning.
As the pandemic hit the lockdown stage, many people chose to move outside of busy cities to bear the first wave of COVID-19. As the ripple effects of the pandemic are still not expected to wrap up until the end of 2022, people will continue making use of the work-from-home model and move to find cheaper accommodations. Some of the areas being impacted by the dynamics of the pandemic are:
The future of work as an employer and as a job seeker is now based on how both build up their adaptability to face unprecedented change.
With remote work and flex hours/days becoming the norm in the corporate world, companies are on a journey of transformation across recruitment and HR landscapes. Future-proofing the company through the acquisition and retention of a skilled workforce and increasing operational agility and resilience for the “new normal” is essential for the way forward.
]]>Having been in the industry for numerous years and experiencing the interview process from both sides of the table, we understand that in-person interviews can be nerve-wracking. Even if you have been over the process multiple times within your professional career, you can still find yourself feeling a little nervous before it happens.
The best way to appease those nervous butterflies and ace your interview is preparation. Considering that the interview is a critical part of the interviewing process, it requires your focus. You need to demonstrate your enthusiasm, relate your achievements, and experience with your skills, and articulate your eligibility for the position.
Often neglected, it is important that you spend some time researching the company and its culture along with the industry it operates in. The company’s website, social media accounts and press releases should provide you enough information. If you can obtain the names of the interviewers, review their LinkedIn profiles and available Bio’s.
Most people tend to adjust and expand their resumes as they gain more experience without re-reading what they had put down earlier. Just to make sure nothing is poorly worded or missing, give your resume a second glance. As for revisiting the job description, it will help you come up with answers and examples of how your experience and skills apply.
There are numerous lists available across the internet of questions that most people are asked during in-person interviews. From “why are you suitable for this position” to “what are some of the challenges you faced”, practice your answers to make sure you articulate everything relevant.
Not all companies will be looking for interviewees to come dressed in business formal attire for their in-person interviews. The dress code depends on the company’s culture. You can always ask the recruiter if you are not sure. Plan your outfit a day ahead and make sure you are presentable.
This goes without saying but arriving early will help you calm down and get your nerves in check. If the interview location is far from your residence or is in a neighborhood, you are not familiar with, leave even earlier than the time required to reach your destination.
If you are in-person interview has more than one interviewer on the panel, make sure you greet and introduce yourself to everyone. A strong handshake and warm smile will show that you are confident and glad to be there.
Interviewers, especially recruiters are well-versed in the art of observing body language along with how you answer questions. When you answer truthfully and remain authentic throughout your interview, they will see that as a positive attribute. Focus on your experiences, achievements, and background and how they make you an eligible candidate.
This is a big interview no-no. If your experience with your current or previous employers has not been positive, focus on what you gained from them. Present them as challenges that you overcame instead of badmouthing the company.
It is very easy for an in-person interview to go into unrelated tangents. Be mindful to not ramble on. Keep your answers concise and relevant to the question. However, do not be robotic and give one- or two-syllable answers.
Yes, there is such a thing as being hyperaware of your surroundings. When that happens, you end up overthinking every small movement you make. This ends up making people even more nervous than they actually are. Just sit straight and try to not move your hands too much. That’s it.
Your research will come in handy here. Whether it is about the company, a recent press release, industry disruption, or the position you are applying for, ask a question. This will show your interest and enthusiasm once again as the interviewers wrap things up.
And lastly, do not forget to thank the interviewer/s when you are leaving the room. This will also be a good moment to ask them when you can expect to hear from them.
]]>Technological advancement is ubiquitous for all human life aspects. From pedagogical institutes and research facilities to our everyday lives, the consistent nature of change in regard to technology is continually changing what had been the norm for years.
Today, we concern ourselves with the topic of virtual interviews and how one prepares for them. With Career Concepts Search Group’s own expertise and first-hand experience witnessing the paradigm shift in professional settings, you will have access to insights and tips that prove of assistance as you navigate your career.
Even prior to the pandemic-led, rapid adoption of virtual technologies, video conferencing programs were already facilitating online interviews. Eligible candidates that were not able to be physically present could easily connect with employers through Skype and other platforms.
The pandemic and ensuing lockdowns only fast-tracked the global adoption of virtual interviewing processes. During times when the government and concerned regulatory healthcare institutions recommend social distancing, online interviews come as the perfect solution.
That said, these types of interviews may be an untapped territory for those who are used to in-person interviews. Here are some tips that will help you ace your next virtual interview.
A reliable internet connection, headphones, microphone, and a device with a camera (laptop or desktop are the tools you will need, avoid using smartphones or tablets. In addition to that, you will need to download and install Zoom, Google Hangout, or Skype for the interview (the company’s HR team will inform you of what platform they will use and any other special requirements).
From your camera to your headphones and the lighting of the room you’ll be giving your virtual interview in, check everything at least a day before. You can also perform a last-minute check an hour to half an hour before the interview to make sure your conversation is not interrupted due to technical difficulties.
We recommend, reading up on the company’s profile, review the LinkedIn profiles of the interviewers (if that is possible), the industry, and the job description you are applying for. Be prepared to ask the interviewer questions.
Being at home and interviewing virtually does not mean you can just put on a nice shirt and coat on tops and pajama bottoms. Dress up as you would if the interview were taking place in person, even if it’s just for an hour.
For people who cohabitate with children or other family members, it is important that you find a quiet place for your interview in your home. Tell people you live with about the interview and that the space you have chosen is off-limits during the interview. If that is not possible, then consider going to a friend or relative’s place where you will not be disturbed.
Choose a professional-looking location. Clean up any clutter and make sure there is nothing in the background that can come off as unprofessional. Although, you may opt to select a professional background option, if necessary. Also, do not place your laptop in your lap. Find a stable surface on a table or desk.
You cannot maintain direct eye contact with the interviewer as you would in person. However, you can emulate that by speaking directly to the camera when answering questions, and when not answering questions, looking directly at the interviewer.
This is the same way anchors on television use teleprompters to make eye contact with the audience. Other than eye contact, your body language, in general, should be professional. This is an important factor to consider as some of the effects of non-verbal communication can be lost during virtual interviews.
Many candidates stress out over not knowing what a hiring manager will ask. There are a few basic questions that you will almost certainly be asked include – “Tell me about yourself”, “Why do you want to leave your current role?” and “What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?” A good rule of thumb is to prepare and practice your responses.
Do not forget to sell yourself and highlight your M.S.A’s – talk about how you made the company (money, sales, etc.) Saved the company (money, time, etc.) and your measurable achievements. Express interest in the role and ask the interviewer if they have additional questions or concerns about your ability to be successful in the role.
While the logistics of an online interview are different, everything else remains the same. Your body language, the inflection in your voice, facial expression, and preparedness will be judged the same way as in an in-person interview.
Be authentic and articulate your points with confidence. Let them finish asking a question or making a comment and then reply. You want to come off as professional, respectful, and attentive to leave a lasting positive impression and ace that virtual interview.
]]>