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It is better
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John Sumser

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Alumni Networks

(September 22, 2000) You've already invested in them. They understand the company culture. You can predict (at some level) their performance. They know the system. Although there are some adjustment issues that are different from other employees, they seem to fit in faster. You already know their history and have references available inside the company.

Former employees are increasingly understood as an asset of the company that needs constant attention and management. A sort of reserve farm team, this labor pool includes the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise. The fast rising stars, who always leave too soon, can be recaptured from time to time. Employees whose jobs were eliminated for business reasons can be cultivated as a resource.

Select Minds is the first company that we know of who produces Alumni Networks on subcontract. It's another one of those niche categories that is likely to explode in the near term. Learning to treat the population of former employees with respect (and benefits) is going to become a standard component of the 21st Century labor supply arsenal.

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Worth Digesting

(September 21, 2000) A press release from American Demographics:

The balance of power in the employer-employee relationship is shifting in favor of the American worker.
Spurred by low unemployment, increased competition for skilled workers, and a wealth of employment-oriented Web sites, American job-seekers are playing the role of interviewer as they prospect for the right fit with jobs and companies the way they shop for shoes or clothes. Clear signs exist that this trend will become more pronounced in the years ahead, according to American Demographics magazine.
``Who's The Boss,'' an analysis of the new American worker in the September issue of American Demographics, charts the major trends that are contributing to the changing mindset of the workforce. One major influence is the multi-option nature of the New Economy. ``As consumers, we buy where we'll get the most value, whether it's from an online retailer or a physical store location,'' said Seema Nayyar, editor of American Demographics. ``That consumer mentality has now spread into the way we view employment. We want and expect more from the transaction.''
As a result, perks like flex time and signing bonuses are becoming fixtures in employment packages. And employees will continue to expect -- and get -- perks in the future. Why? Savvy employers have started to realize that happy employees are the most productive ones.
A recent work trends study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, an HR consulting firm, shows that companies with highly committed employees have a 112 percent three-year total return to shareholders.
Companies with low employee commitment show a 76 percent three-year return.
45 percent of companies offering one or more flexible work arrangements perceive a positive return on their investments, according to a Families and Work Institute Study.
Another 36 percent perceive them as cost-neutral.
``Not only are companies better able to deliver profitability with a motivated staff,'' Nayyar said, ``but the savings generated by eliminating turnover are tremendous. More companies are beginning to connect the dots between employee benefits and the bottom line.''
Another reason for the shift in workforce attitude is the wealth of knowledge provided by the Internet. ``The Internet allows employees to research positions, companies and industries like never before. With more than 500 resume clearinghouses and nearly 30,000 job boards, as well as chat areas where potential hires can exchange information with current and former staff, employees know their worth in the market and are better prepared to negotiate,'' Nayyar noted.
Other factors influencing change in the workforce's mindset: an increased desire to have more control of one's work schedule, via flex time or telecommuting; and the influence of education and those who have it.
By 2003, nearly 30 million people will do work outside of the office, say forecasters at JALA International, a telework consultancy.
The number of occupations requiring an associate degree or higher are projected to account for 40 percent of total job growth from 1998 to 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of adults 18 and older participated in adult learning courses in 1999, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
``The people who have more knowledge will be more in demand and better able to negotiate their employment terms,'' said Nayyar.

Users Know

(September 20, 2000) Welcome to the web. In this environment, everyone is a producer, a consumer and a critic. We comment on others. They comment on us. Often, users know more than the people whose stuff they use.

We'll say it again.

Usually, users know more than providers about a product. They have to live with it.

So, if you want expertise on the Monster Board, for example, who is the last person to talk to? Someone from Monster Board. The best one would be a user with similar needs to yours.

One key symptom of success in web companies is that the management often forgets that users understand the product better than they do. Something about profitability and public attention fogs their mind. The entrepreneur who nursed each visitor onto the fledgling website most often becomes someone who only reviews statistics. Forgetting that users know is the first symptom of decline.

Fortunately, on the web there are tools like Alexa. Loaded as a part of your browser, the tool gives contact information, related links, traffic rankings, reviews and other useful, competitive intelligence. We generally suggest that any recruiter, marketer or executive who uses the web should have Alexa installed and operating.

If you are trying to figure out the competitive landscape, it gives you a start. If you want to compare your traffic with another site's, it gives you away. If you want to call the owner of a website, it gives you the data. If you are sourcing people, it gives you related links.

And, like it or not, its a way that users can post reviews about your web service.

- John Sumser © TwoColorHat. All Rights Reserved.

Too Fast

(September 19, 2000) It's a crying shame. If you've been following us over the past couple of months, you'll know that we have been actively promoting the Fast Company Talent Labs. At the conceptual level, the idea was incredible: reorient the job fair to account for free agents and changing demographics.

We're suckers for a good idea at the right time.

We know that good ideas, effectively communicated, can change the world. How else can you possibly explain the rapid rise of the web? Ideas change things when they are harvested correctly.

This one seemed sure to be right. Communications is the specialty of Fast Company magazine. Boston and San Francisco are the right towns. The overall sponsorship seemed solid. The idea was just what the market is waiting for.

Someone needs to reinvent the job fair. These guys had the credentials, the reputation and the idea. We assumed that execution was a no-brainer for them.

We were wrong.

Some things are so simple that you just assume that they're going to get done. Direct marketing pieces and telemarketing sales scripts are the backbone of selling the booths at a job fair, reinvented or not. We started getting nervous about the prospects for Talent Labs when a marketing guy said "If the prospect knows Fast Company, they'll sign up. If they don't we lose the sale."

Our anxieties increased over the past week as the Fast Company team began cutting prices and giving away tickets. "Think of it as Woodstock," one fellow said, "we've made it a free festival." We wondered at the time if he understood that Woodstock was free because too many people came. We wondered if he knew that dropping admission to zero undercut all of the market promises they've made.

We kept helping.

Even though Fast Company is a for profit corporation, we donated advertising, goodwill and our rolodexes. It's something we very rarely do. But, the idea was important enough to merit our deep support. The job fair really does need a redesign.

It pains us to remove our support. Really good ideas with real market potential are in fairly short supply.

But, through a combination of bad execution and the resulting panic, the team behind the event has changed the basic equation. The value that we envisioned and promoted is now missing from the equation. If you signed on to this event as a result of our recommendations, please accept our apologies. The event has become a traditional job fair with Fast Company branding.

It's a crying shame.

If you signed up to attend as a participant, be sure to get your refund. Tickets are now free, lunch is not included and just anyone can come. If you signed up for a booth, please renegotiate. The company has cut prices to the floor. If you are a major sponsor, reevaluate the basic equation, things have changed dramatically. The "peer to peer" Recruiting environment we hoped for just can't be sustained.

If you are in the market for recruits, particularly those who read (or recognize) Fast Company, there may be a saving grace. Although we wonder about the quality of a candidate who can give up two days (on a week's notice), there is liable to be an interesting flow. At $2,800 for a booth, it's still better than the average crapshoot.

Again, we apologize for the gear shift. We hope this is adequate notice to reorient your schedules.

(September 18, 2000) Have you noticed the impact of the labor shortage on Customer Service? Planet Feedback certainly has. The site, which offers consumers a chance to "give a company some feedback" is a web based cross between TheVault.com and Consumer Reports. Your complaints and feedback go into a rating system.

Visit the site and write a complaint to a major retailer. Navigation is easy and intuitive. The company helps you quickly through a form letter that can be tailored to fit your complaint. A snail mail address is provided if you are so inclined.

What surprises us is that this easy to understand model of the universe has no meaningful correlate in the Electronic Recruiting Industry. A lame offering like JobLetters.com could easily be rewickered to deliver the powerful value contained in PlanetFeedback.

Yeah, we know that no one reads cover letters any more. They don't fit in the applicant tracking databases (and doesn't that tell you everything you need to know about them?). However, the process of filling out a form letter (with the ability to cut and paste an attachment) is infinitely friendlier to some than the ponderous interfaces that dominate our marketplace.

PlanetFeedback makes us wonder if the market isn't ready for a much friendlier way of doing things. It's a shame to see so much chemistry wasted on the current obsession with transactions. After all, the decision to either hire or look for work is often very personal. We see the PF model as the epitome of friendliness.

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interbiznet this week
(through September 22, 2000)

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