Fistful of Talent

Feeling Tense? Hate the New Guy? It Might be Making YOU Better at Your Job!

In the latest from the "research from people who do annoying studies to prove bloggers wrong" series, a study from researcher Katie Liljenquist suggests that "the new guy" (or gal) can actually make us better at our job.

Lijenquist's findings show that "socially distinct outsiders" actually make for a more effective team than a team with perceived "cohesiveness". Or in simple terms, we don't have to like each other, in fact, it's probably better if we don't all get along, as it makes us better at our jobs.

It makes sense. I recently had a friend over for dinner and I asked how his job was going. He stated it was going well but mentioned that a new boss was making everyone fight for their jobs. He seemed irritated himself but said his coworkers were certainly performing better. While not a comfortable situation for him or his coworkers, reports from his store proved that numbers were soaring.

What does this mean? Let's look at it from a couple of different angles:

--Recruiting Professionals: Well for one, culture fit may be a little less important to overall effectiveness than we originally thought. What initially seems like a perfect fit, may end up being the "weakest link" in terms of the best person for the job.

--Managers: Choosing a team to work on a crucial project? It's NOT the same as choosing sides in kickball. Just because people like each other doesn't mean they are the best choice to work together on a project. The folks that "stand out" create tension and force other members of the team to analyze information more accurately.

--HR Pros: Don't ignore diversity efforts. Diversity means bringing different people to the table, creating the tension that Liljenquist says can create better performance. Recognize that by hiring like-minded employees you may not be seeing to the company's long-term best interest.

--Employees: Recognize that in this economy, there are going to be a lot of new faces, whether you're changing jobs, being reorganized, taking on extra duties or hiring a new team member. Understand that being comfortable is not the same as being successful. Embrace it! Be okay with getting "bumped".

P.S. Please get down on your knees and thank me for being the ONLY person who blogged about this without mentioning Dwight Shrute. Oh...dang it.

Recruiters Partnering with an Outplacement Firm Seems Like a No Brainer, Right?

WRONG.

Normally, I would say that recruiters masquerading as carrion after a RIF-fest is not the best career move. Not because it’s not a great opportunity, not because those employees aren’t as smart and capable as the employees safe from the proverbial guillotine, not because it’s a conflict of interest (as this article in the Times stated over 17 years ago when this practiced was debated and yes, frowned upon) but because it only reinforces the idea that recruiters are unfeeling opportunists who are only in it “to win it”.  However, 2009 is as far economically from “Normal” as I ever want to see things get.

Instead of the idea of “ambulance chaser”, the recruiter could emerge as a “savior”, helping the client out of an awkward situation (because despite how we have compartmentalized, downplayed, excused and dressed it up, getting fired still stinks. . .for nearly everyone involved) and is providing a ray of hope, no matter how small, for the candidate. This is good news for recruiters, who are already starting to see how much a needed part of society they have become. But with this new lauded status, with all this conversation about how the black sheep cousin of HR can actually be of use, comes a more sinister slippery slope.

Okay, maybe it’s not that sinister. Maybe it’s just an expectation that every recruiter can immediately get a job for every candidate in every industry. And it’s DANGEROUS.

It’s dangerous to the candidate, who is at an extremely vulnerable and scary position and cannot afford to have his foundations in the system rocked anymore than they already are. On the flip side, while outplacement is nice, for some employees it’s not necessary. There is a whole new generation of employees that can connect themselves to recruiters who work in their field, polish up their resume, mobilize their network and create opportunities in a matter of weeks (in fact these things may already be happening). Perhaps a more generous severance package, so they can do their job search, their way?

It’s also dangerous for the client, because half the reason they are using outplacement services is because they want to “do the right thing”. But who defines that “right thing”. If a recruiter can’t help, how will the candidate feel about the outplacement services then? It will not serve one of its original purposes, which is to keep a talent pipeline full, to keep ties with former employees who could serve one day as future employees. If, despite the outplacement services and recruiters “assigned” to them, these displaced employees still can’t find gainful employment, what happens to those expected perceptions?

And it can be dangerous for the recruiters, especially now. The kinds of recruiters that would make good “job search coaches” are probably the kinds that are already overloaded with jobless candidates. Unless they have a well-placed rival client who needs these folks (assuming that company is not also laying folks off) there is little chance they will be able to make any significant debt. And even if they do have such a client and can pull off this feat, the aforementioned desire (keeping ties, filling the talent pipeline, extending the network) of the outplacement firm competes with the recruiter’s goal, leaving one to wonder, who’s out for the job seeker’s best interest?

There are ways this can work. If a large outplacement firm works side by side with a volume recruiting outfit, it would be simpler to get a large workforce placed. “Purple squirrel” candidates can be attended to by specialty third-party recruiters. I guess it's a solution for desperate times but not one I'd pursue anytime soon.

Editor's Note- Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing, recruiting and development for multiple companies. When she's not doing that, she's blogging at Marenated.com and becoming addicted to Twitter...

6 Ways Talent Pros Can "Draw The Line" When Helping the Unemployed...

Recruiters work hard, most of them anyway. And for that, they are sometimes ignored by candidates, patronized by clients and overlooked by internal partners. There is one exception to this rule, and it's happening right now. It's the sucky economy and this is one of the worst of them all, with unemployment at its lowest levels in 16 years.

In this kind of economy, an average recruiter will get at least an email a day, and several calls per week from job seekers. You might remember that I wrote a post about helping folks out as did fellow FOTer Kelly Dingee. I still agree with that premise. But what happens when your reputation for getting people for jobs, turns into a a reputation for getting jobs for people. . .

I have found myself with upwards of three "job coaching" appointments per week, which would be great. . . if I was a job coach. But I'm not and as much as I love a good cup of coffee, from any employment perspective (third party OR corporate) there just isn't enough time in the week to job coach everyone who seems to need it now. I led a great discussion about this very topic on Talent Talk Cafe and got some amazing feedback:

1. Measure their commitment. Recruiter Julia Stone ensures that a candidate really wants help and isn't asking the recruiter to cover all aspects of their job search by giving them homework. Fleshing out their resume, collecting references and making a "sell sheet" for themselves are all good ways to see if they're serious about looking for work.

2. Use the tools. Virtual Recruiter Jenny DeVaughn uses her email to send resources and materials she collects on job search. Other options include your ATS, CRM, or newsletters and e-blasting tools. Use tools aimed to up your productivity to allow you to "give back" in moderation and on your own timetable.

3. Use a net. Recruiting Strategist Sarah White hosts monthly gatherings at her church for folks all looking for basically the same thing. She outlines strategies, suggests websites and gives search pointers. Julia Stone is considering an e-book to get the information all in one place.

4. Hit the local angle. The MN Headhunter or Paul DeBettignies, is planning a series of webinars to allow him to "help people all at once". He recently launched BeYourOwnHeadhunter.com to help give people the resources and connections they need. Mike Anderson, not a recruiter but a local Omaha business figure, hosts a weekly gathering for unemployed executives at a restaurant. He lines up speakers and posts jobs he hears about and collects a $20 surcharge for the meetings (up to 50 people attend the meetings). He also publishes a spreadsheet of the names to allow members to network.

5. Don't be afraid to self-promote. One thing I usually ask is if they are reading my blog. Have they looked at Fistful? If not, then I ask them (politely) to see if there is some information on the blogs I read that can help them. Alternatively, I will ask them to read up before we spend some one-on-one time together. Most people are hungry for information but don't know where to find it.

6. Use RSS. Having an RSS feed that boasts both openings and tips and tricks or links to great content is an excellent way to keep job seekers informed. It's ongoing which means that they can follow up with you anytime.

This post isn't meant to be unfeeling. Third party recruiters, HR Pros and Corporate Recruiters all have to focus on making sure they do their jobs. These are easy ways to help the ever growing number of "interemployed" while still keeping an eye on the bottom line.

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing, recruiting and development for multiple companies. When she's not doing that, she's blogging at Marenated.com and becoming addicted to Twitter...

HR - Not Off the Hook Because the Economy's In The Toliet...

I heard a fantastic speech by Johnny Taylor, SHRM board chair, a few weeks back. While the message wasn't new (he's been preaching it since 2005) it was riveting. And here's why, it was a challenge. He talked about Courageous Leadership in the HR field by:

-Knowing HR: Making sure we are experts in OUR field. Not marketing, not accounting, not operations, PEOPLE. If we are not the experts, who will be? Many mid and senior level HR folks are being painted back into a corner by thought leaders about what they should know and how they should apply it. That's okay but know YOUR stuff first.

-Doing HR: Strategy is great, said Mr. Taylor but do we DO IT? Do we live it? One of my favorite lines was: "All the strategy in the world doesn't matter to someone who finds out at the emergency room when their three year old has an earache that the benefits don't work." We need to "make sure the trains run on time."

-Aligning HR: Making sure that HR objectives align with business objectives is not a sell-out of the first step. It's the perfect replacement - when you know how to use your breadth of knowledge in HR (or your niche therein) to complement and help achieve the things "keeping the CEO up at night".

-Assessing HR: Make no mistake, this was about more than metrics. It's about doing something with the metrics. What is the info, you're working so hard to collect, telling you? Are you putting that in the broader picture we discussed in step three? You can spend loads of money and achieve your objectives, but when it throws other numbers out of whack, it's time to reassess and take a new tack.

What really came through out of this talk was something that struck an odd chord with many in the room. At a time when more than one HR pro is out of a job, his talk of "doing the right thing" and "standing up for employees' rights" caused some rears to shift in their chairs. Here's what he didn't say:

- You're off the hook because the economy bites.
- You can relax because they need you to fire folks.
- Your job will be secure if you do what the CEO says.
- You can commence whining about what corp America is not giving you.

Nope, it was pretty much a knuckle punch to the old pity party. Now, I don't have my PHR or SPHR. I am not a member of SHRM (I am a member of local HRAM). You might have heard that some of us here at FOT are not big fans of SHRM. But if they keep racking up members like this and this, this (sucky workforce time) may be their time to shine. I applaud Mr. Taylor for his rousing talk "Courageous HR Leadership" or in my own words: "Grow a Pair".

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing, recruiting and development for multiple companies. When she's not doing that, she's blogging at Marenated.com and becoming addicted to Twitter...

Attracting Gen Y/X Candidates- Job Portal Style

It's pretty rare that I jump up and proclaim a product's merits from the rooftop. However, once in a while, I use something that's so intuitive, so easy to use, and so effective, that I have to say something.

First, let me say this. How many job portals or jobsites do you like? One? Two? Any? There are not many jobsites that make a candidate or a talent pro sit up and take notice. For a small company, a well-manned intern blog might do the trick, but the staff has to be there 24/7 to engage. Many larger companies settle for the large, legacy sites that leave a job seeker more frustrated than engaged. You know the type: upload your resume, copy and paste your resume, enter your first name, last name, SSN, whoops, you've encountered an error, please start the 35 minute process all over again with no assurances that your resume will even make it into the hands of a living, breathing human who gives a flying burrito.

That's why I think a SaaS like StandoutJobs "Reception" is such a fantastic solution for companies large and small. I've mentioned the service before here and here. But, since leaving the third party world and entering the corporate line of work, I've discovered that the customized job portal service has more to offer than I orginally thought.

First off, unlike other portals in a box, Reception allows you to fully customize the site, in-house, with an easy click and go interface. Your colors, your pictures, your logo. Very nice. The site is a complete extension of your employer brand and rarely shouts SOJ! You can then take the SEO optimized web address and have it fully housed within your corporate site. Oh, any jobs you post will be forwarded to free sites like Indeed.com (automatically) and to paid sites that target your market directly like Dice.com (optional).

Second, it functions as a de facto ATS, allowing you to bookmark sourced resumes with the Talent Scout bookmarklet and keeping tabs of all applicants by name, job applied for, steps taken and so forth. Anyone authorized to view the candidates can go through and vote "yea" or "nay" on the candidates and add notes about thoughts, phone interviews etc. Also nice are both the auto-reply feature to let applicants know their resume is being reviewed and the email templates you can customize for each job.

But, the best part of Reception is that it lives up to its name. When the candidates come to your site, they are greeted with photos, videos, live chat, blog entries and anything else you can think of to promote working for your company. Benefits are neatly listed along with special notes about each job you are trying to fill. You can also keep potential candidates notified about jobs yet to come with RSS feeds.

There are lots of other features that I have yet to explore. My point is, with all the talk about community and so many companies trying hard to project a "young 'uns welcome here" sign, StandoutJobs offers a tremendous tool at a very small price tag. My bet is that medium sized companies will get the most out of it, as it lends itself nicely to a small HR team being in communication. However, it's completely useful as a tool for a small business as well, keeping everything web based and easy to access, while allowing a small company to advertise intangibles such as culture and flex time. I am thinking the market for big companies will be as an alternative job site, to capture top shelf talent, the type that knows she shouldn't have to enter her mother's maiden name or take a typing test five times to secure a phone interview. But that's just my market analysis, what do you think?

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing, recruiting and development for multiple companies. When she's doing that, she's blogging at Marenated.com and becoming addicted to Twitter...

Hey! I Know stuff!

Wow. I just finished having lunch with a very smart, very accomplished woman with about 20 years of experience in a high demand field. You might be asking yourself, why would such a woman want to have lunch with someone with less than two years of experience in recruiting (the newbie in recruiting, I like to say or if you prefer, the recrewbie)?

Because, I'm there. This highly accomplished woman called me because she saw me here, and here, and over here and all over the place. She and her cohorts, the exec set of my city, have finally started calling my phone, asking what they can do to solve their hiring, retention, recruiting and branding issues. Weekly, I speak with smart, fancy pants people, who think I am the resident expert in talent in Omaha. Am I the expert? Nope. Am I learning everything I can about this field? YES...

What startles me is what they don't know.

-They don't know that managers need training in communication
-They don't know that some of their key hires will likely leave in two years (and that's okay)
-They don't know how to write up their job descriptions like resumes, with every line a selling point
-They don't know how to implement flex time or flex spaces
-They don't know how to properly use consultants
-They don't know when and why to instill a hiring freeze
-They don't know how their dept fits into the company

I could go on and on. The point is not to bash hiring managers or even executives (evil grin). The point is, they don't HAVE to know any of this stuff. I know (some of) this stuff and they can ask me. Their job is to manage and lead their team or corporation. As all of us in the HR industry know, recruiting, retaining, overseeing, reviewing, attracting, motivating, coaching, and planning for employees is a FULL time job.

So, it's okay that the exec set doesn't know all that stuff. It's not their job to know. It's MY job to know. Even when I don't get the sale, even when I'm internal and helping a job seeker. Especially when times are tough and people need solid career coaching, they know they can call me and I WILL know. And if I don't, I can find out here, or here or here.

Things I can do:

- Start a group for execs between jobs

- Help companies go after social media the right way (my way, of course)

- Speak. Sometimes I forget that not everyone spends their days doing what I do.

- Speak slowly. I didn't learn it in an hour. How can they?

- Coach. Paying it forward, by helping people pro bono, is part of my core philosophy. Of course, it can be fun too. And you meet lots of great people that way. (both exec level AND up-n-comers)

Frankly, I'd love to use some of the "new curiosity" surrounding what I do to help local companies rethink their talent strategy. So many have been stuck for so long. Perhaps the "new economy" will shake things loose?

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing, recruiting and development for multiple companies. When she's doing that, she's blogging at Marenated.com and becoming addicted to Twitter...

Writing Someone Up for Performance - Don't Tell One Person They Suck . . .Tell Two!!!

Writing someone up is almost as fun as the dentist asking me whether or not I floss. They don't like asking, I don't like answering and my husband just sits there with an embarrassed look on his face. Disciplinary action is sometimes necessary. I agree. But there are ways to make it (while not roller derby with a corn dog FUN, at least C-SPAN) bearable:

-Advocacy- I believe that in all cases where someone is being reprimanded, that the HR or talent pro in the room should be not only a communication facilitator (think Dr. Phil but in almost all cases better looking and less annoying) for the supervisor but also an advocate and observer for the employee. Seems like a no-brainer but you would be surprised how many companies skip this step.

-Preparation- A supervisor should have to explain his reasons for writing up an employee and justify any further action. This gives the talent pro time to bring up the following:

-Was this a mistake or an intentional violation?

-Was this related to any inadequacy in management (substandard training, lack of oversight, unclear directives)?

-Is this in line with our disciplinary policy? Have others been reprimanded in the same manner for the same violation?

-What is the action plan to keep this from happening again? (if the manager cannot answer this, there is a BIG FAT problem)

-Privacy- During the prep time, tell the supervisor that you will be taking a few minutes after he/she leaves to ensure that the employee can tell their side of the story without and fear of reprisal. (No one wants to explain how it was actually their stupid boss who was supposed to fax the items out while staring at the person who signs off on their performance review.) I keep these notes in an informal (read: for my eyes only) part of the file with the violation action items, so that I can refer back to them later.

-Education- A disciplinary meeting should conclude with both the employee and the supervisor coming away with something they can do better. Yes, they can always be doing something better. If there are "to-do's" that the manager and the employee need to follow up on, make them both accountable. Ensure that a process is put in place to allow for success (sis-boom-bah!).

Other great ideas:

-Ask the employee what their core role is. Sometimes disciplinary forms are so garbled with corp speak that employees aren't even sure what they are signing.

-Get specifics as far as metrics. (for example, if they are assigned 10 cases per day and mess up on one in a three month period, perhaps that's not a bad average)

-Ensure they understand the reasons behind the write up, even if they are upset.

Have tissues handy.

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing and development for an IT recruiting and outsourcing firm called HCI.   When she's not at HCI, she's blogging at Big O Recruiting and becoming addicted to Twitter...

Box Up Your Stuff - It's Over...

"I could have another you in a minute, and in fact, he'll be here in a minute. . ."

Okay, enough proving I'm hip. Today's post is about firing. It must suck. I have actually only had to do it one time. But I've seen enough clients walk through it to know that it ain't easy. Saying "You are of essentially no value to this company" is not easy. Yup, there are some who will argue with that statement, but the truth is, whether it's budget cuts, poor performance, attitude or merger (there are more, but I'll stop there for the sake of brevity), by firing you are saying there is something that is OF MORE VALUE to the company than this employee.

Tough stuff, and (my new fave saying) even the dullest crayon in the box (with the best severance package) can feel the sting of that unsaid reverse value proposition.

Since most businesses are getting more and more segmented, while simultaneously offering more services (and less service?), should we not explore the ones we're letting go? Are there options we can steer them to?

I realized a little something about writing on this and my own blog today. Who am I writing for? For HR pros? Maybe. For recruiters and staffing experts? Sure. But odds are you're looking at this through the lens of a small business:

• Ninety-eight percent of all companies have less than 100 employees, 89% have less than 20, and the average American business has 10 to 12 employees.

So, who am I talking to? Maybe the business owner that needs to find his fifth employee? Maybe someone with no access to a recruiter or HR person they can ask? Who outlines their employee handbook? Where do they find a good disciplinary action system? How do they structure bonuses to motivate a salesforce?

Scary fact: Here.

Okay, well not here, but Google or Yahoo or Mahalo or whatever. And for them, they need to know how to recruit, hire, retain, compensate, fire and network.

So back on the rabbit trail: Firing someone requires serious thought, a written out plan and decisive action.  Do it right.

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing and development for an IT recruiting and outsourcing firm called HCI.   When she's not at HCI, she's blogging at Big O Recruiting and becoming addicted to Twitter...

How I Sold My Soul For Rock and Roll (and moved to Corporate Recruiting)...

So, obviously no one's gonna tell me who to sock it to, right?  Recruiting is a tough business. There are defined teams: corporate and third-party-- and BIG secret, sometimes we don't like each other so much. Third party folks are seen as unresponsive, overly sales-y and somehow less professional. (I don't make the news folks, I just report it). Corporates are seen as less motivated, slow to move and yes, a bit smug.

Recently, I was able to attend a group where we chatted about this very phenom. What are the advantages of each? Which is better? Should you try to encompass both during the course of your career? And so on. . .

Since I'm pretty new to the industry, I have "grown up" doing third party and I will tell you some of the nicest, kindest, smartest and most driven people I know are fantastic third party recruiters. They can literally "do it all" from selling their services to filling the requirement to sourcing, billing, marketing. I have always found third party folks to be up-front, honest, driven and fun!

Obviously, I was less impressed with the corporate folks. After all, my sole interaction (at first) with anyone on the "inside" was one of imbalance: me coming to them, hat in hand, asking for their business (sales people will climb all over the lack of value in that statement). I found them to be dismissive, aggravating, and maddeningly slow.

So, it may come as a bit of a shock when I announce to the world that I have accepted a position as the head of recruiting at a Midwestern financial firm. True, in light of my sometimes vehement past positions on internal recruiters, particularly heads of talent acquisition, it might seem a bit hypocritical.

Here are the reasons I think going inside the belly of the beast will make me a better talent pro (can't say HR, not yet):

1) I will learn how to overlay specific processes to a semi-recurring function rather than dealing with the bottlenecks that are not only common in agency recruiting, but constant.

2) I will learn how to manage a large group of people without killing them. No seriously, I have learned from brilliant mentor Susan Burns that strategy and management may just be "my bag" and I would love to explore that further (plus be the boss of people).

3) I will have the opportunity to map my career and discover other sides of HR, before discounting them.

4) I'll know what it's like when a third party recruiter calls me and be nicer.

5) If and when I go back to the agency side, I will then understand what it is like when twenty recruiters call you everyday, proclaiming their intrinsic value.

6) I will get to wear fancy big girl clothes every day, instead of just client days.

7) I will be able to further educate myself with certifications and conferences that used to have to come out of my pocket.

8) I will be able to transform a company's processes from the inside out, since I am able to influence the executive team, something I have long hoped for loads of HR Pros to have.

There are probably many more, and perhaps (as some of my third party friends have hinted) I will be back soon and writing a post about why agency recruiting is the only way to go. But what I know about this endeavor is that I will learn a great deal.

And lucky you, you get to watch!

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing and development for an IT recruiting and outsourcing firm called HCI.   When interviewing for FOT, I asked her if she was a tree, what type of tree would she be, and why... When she hung up on me, I made the offer the next day...

Don't Treat Your Employees Like Normal Caterpillars in a Jar...

This week my boys found the most amazing caterpillar. As thick as your thumb, brightly colored and very movity. In short, everything a little boy wants in a creepy crawly thing. So, they did what any self respecting child would do. They dumped this extraordinary creature into a jar, poked some holes in a lid and decided it would be our pet. They then proudly tramped into the house (dad in tow) to show me their prize.

I was stunned. In my mind, this was the worst fate this poor caterpillar could have crawled into (short of the front tire of the neighbor's Volvo). Any other normal bug would have been poked at and left to roam free in its natural habitat. Because of this little guy's (christened Moses) extraordinary beauty and size, he was imprisoned. I thought the whole thing hideously unfair.

As we shopped for a deluxe insect box, clipped branches from the neighbor's cherry tree and carefully researched the care of a cecropia caterpillar, my husband questioned the wisdom of such a strategy. After all, chances are only 50% that this sucker will live, even in the wild. Not much of a metric, is it?

Sometimes, whether we're recruiting them, managing them, or firing them, we Talent Pros do the same thing to our extraordinary candidates. It could be that we find an amazing candidate and try to wedge him into a job that's not quite the right fit. Or managers do not see the hidden talents in their subordinates, and because it would cost time and money to develop those talents, do not seek them out. When implementing a necessary layoff, we don't equip our workers for their next journey by using a network of contacts carefully cultivated through time in "the trenches". There are lots of ways we can disservice our clients and it's scary sometimes to imagine the power we wield.

In truth, for all the talk of work-life balance, it's often the "work" bit that gets the larger chunk of the pie. Are we ensuring that the talent entrusted to our care is getting what he or she needs?

In the end, as soon as Moses was settled into his (carefully and painstakingly crafted) new habitat, he began the long and arduous process of beginning his cocoon. We were seeing an immediate return on investment! The boys crowed with delight and my husband smiled, but I wasn't surprised. We had provided ample resources, lots of room, and researched about what would be the best. . . for a caterpillar. Don't your candidates and employees deserve at least that much?

Now, if your new employee enters his feng shui cubicle and starts spinning an elaborate web of silk with his mouth, don't come crying to me.

Editor's Note - Maren Hogan is a millennial living the dream in Omaha, Nebraska.  When she's not plotting the downfall of Gen Xer's like me, she's doing marketing and development for an IT recruiting and outsourcing firm called HCI.  Maren's a mother of three based out of Omaha, where she writes by the light of a laptop once her house is finally....quiet...