Month: July 2014

We’ve talked about blogging before in previous posts, specifically how a blog can further a business or HR department. But how can blogging be used as a hiring resource?

Running a blog that is career-oriented can help you stand out against your peers. Whether you’re in-between jobs or have been working in the same career field for years, starting a professional blog has its benefits.

Here are a few benefits to starting a career-oriented blog:

Networking: When you are in charge of a blog that specializes in a specific field, you will meet like-minded individuals who will seek you out for questions, for potential blog subject ideas, and quite possibly, job opportunities.

Show off your skills: The beauty of a blog is that you can run it however you choose to. If you are a good writer, make sure your blogs show that. If you gave a presentation at a conference last week, post it. Take part in the discussions that your blog generates, and make sure you back up your statements.

A difficult part of blogging is building your readership, but an established blog shows that you know how to reach people and stay connected to them, a crucial skill for any employee to have.

Know your field: Having a blog that is career-oriented is a great way to stay up-to-date with the happenings in your field. When you are writing a blog post at least one time a week (maybe more, depending on your field), you have no choice but to stay current.

Stand out to future employers: Employers read multiple resumes, and it can be hard to find a way to stand out against the rest of your competitors. If you have a blog that shows your strengths and your personality, you’ll stand out against the typical paper resume.

As with anything, there are mixed feelings on using a blog as a hiring resource. It comes down to you, your career, and whether or not you think you could keep your professional blog going.

Are you interested in starting a blog, but aren’t sure where to start? Victoria Michelson shares her story and gives some good insights in an article on Idealist Careers.

Do you think blogging could help you in your career? Have you tried blogging before to network? Let us know what you think via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you.

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Ageism isn’t a new topic, especially when it comes to age difference in the workplace. We put large groups of people into categories: millennials, generation Xers, baby boomers, the traditionalists. There are even online quizzes that claim to give insight into age groups.

So is it important to have a nice mix of the categories working at your business? Is there a ratio to strive for (e.g. 50% millennials, 35% generation Xers, 10% baby boomers, 5% traditionalists)? Is age important in the work place?

It has always seemed pretty stereotypical to group people solely based on their age. People don’t always identify with the category they have been thrown into.

Some bosses are concerned with a worker’s age and the issues that are sometimes associated with an age group. Take for instance, the list that forbes.com came up with for older workers: stuck in their ways, slower to learn new technologies, poor health. As the article goes on to state, these issues can be associated with almost anyone of any age group. The same kind of stereotyping happens to millennials where looks are often taken into consideration: tattoos and piercings, a more relaxed dress code, or maybe a weaker work ethic.

The age of your employees shouldn’t affect your business, and labeling your employees as baby boomers or millennials won’t help you learn how they work.

Instead of focusing on age, focus on the quality of work. Make sure your employees are staying relevant, no matter what their age. Focus on the different skill sets that each person brings to their job, and don’t be afraid to assign mentors to newer members of the job. That might mean a twenty-five year old is mentoring your forty-five year old new hire. Employees of all ages should have the opportunity to teach, learn, and better their skills.

A cohesive workplace happens when your employees are willing to work together and share ideas. It’s important that each employee feels comfortable with their skill set and wants to teach what they know, and learn more about what they don’t.

Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development, and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. Have any questions about SAP? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you.

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Some people love technology. They crave the newest software, iPhone, tablet, or gaming system. Others don’t know that their laptop is capable of playing a DVD or that their phone has the power to hold all of their music downloads.

Technology uses are changing daily; social media isn’t just used to connect to your old high school friends or to follow your favorite actors anymore. The medium on how to get information to your clients or future clients has changed drastically; blogging, tweeting, and websites are key to a business’ success anymore.

Technology is changing daily. What are your employees doing to keep up?

Here are a few things to keep in mind when trying to help the not-so-tech-savvy employees improve their technology skills:

• Try and keep it as stress-free as possible: Make sure either you, your IT department, or another employee familiar with technology can take your team through instructions on how to use it.
• Ask your employees how they learn: Monster’s article on how to help reluctant employees gives some great insights into our topic, and this is also one of the key points that they mention. Ask your employees how they learn best, whether it be extra practice, one-on-one time with an instructor, or extra feedback.
• Give your employees time: Don’t give your employees a new program and expect them to be comfortable with it by the end of the day. Depending on the program, it might take days or even weeks for your employees to feel comfortable with it (part of what we’re here to help with).
• Make sure the change is warranted: You don’t want disgruntled employees on your hands if you can help it. Make sure the change is something that will further both your employees and business. Some employees might not be on board right away with the change, but when they see how it will eventually make their jobs much easier or go smoother, they will come around.

Human beings are creatures of habit. Your employees will eventually learn the new program or get used to the update in technology. Once they have time to work with and familiarize themselves with it, they will move on from the old way. And remember, not only are you helping out your business, but you are helping your employees by familiarizing them with the ever-changing technology of the twenty-first century.

Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development, and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. Have any questions about SAP? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you.

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In a few of our past blog posts, we have talked about the importance of the hiring process and what to look for in a candidate. It’s also important to remember that your candidates are evaluating you and your company as well.

Here are a few things that you might be doing that turns candidates away (you might not even know you’re doing them):

• Online presence: First, have an online presence, whether it be a Facebook page, Twitter account, website, and/or blog (the more of these, the better). Second, keep them updated. An outdated website with minimal content makes your company seem like it can’t keep up with the ever-changing technology. Candidates want to work for a company that knows what’s going on and can adapt to change.
• Job descriptions: Where are you posting your job openings? Is it on a reputable site? Where you post your job openings is directly related to the kind of resumes and applications you will get. Also, make sure the description is engaging, free of grammar and spelling mistakes, and give potential candidates a nice overview of the job description.
• Response time: How long does it take you to fill a job opening? A week, month, or longer? An exact response time can’t be given as there is no set time, but you don’t want to be too slow and have your best candidates get hired on at a different company because that company responded quicker. Yet, you don’t want to be too fast and miss key information from an employee that would have shown you that they wouldn’t be a good fit after all.
• You: As Forbes.com states, it’s time to realize that one of the biggest reasons why people quit has to do with you, their boss. Let your candidates and employees know how they can work their way up in the company. Be around to answer questions. Don’t overload your employees. Offer competitive salaries and benefits. And never underestimate the power of letting your employees know they’ve done a job well.

Keep in mind that your candidates are also your customers. Treat potential candidates with respect and remember that they are evaluating you and your company as well. If they are treated badly or your hiring process doesn’t run smoothly, they will remember, and they will take their business elsewhere.

Any questions or comments about today’s post? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you.

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For most people, it’s difficult to admit to failure, mostly because we tend to view failure as a bad thing. It’s because somewhere along the way, the word failure became personal; people think that when they fail, it reflects back on them as a person and that they are somehow insufficient or lacking because of their mistakes.

That doesn’t have to be the case.

As innovator Ben Shaffer says in his presentation on failure, you can’t get to the ground-breaking ideas without building off of the bad ones. Failure isn’t dangerous. The real danger of failure is not learning from it.

Here are a few things to keep in mind on failure and the workplace:

• Create a space where it is safe to try and fail: If your employees don’t feel like they can pitch new ideas or try new approaches, they won’t. Their ideas will be kept to themselves—ideas that could possibly promote your business or help out a client in trouble. Let your employees know that it is safe to think aloud.
• Learn from mistakes: It isn’t just about reflecting on the mistake or reviewing what happened. Dig into the mistake. Break it down into parts. What can still be used? What needs to be thrown away? Failure can be good. Failure can lead to positive results.
• Don’t be afraid to take a risk: Risk is key to innovation. Innovation won’t flourish with only a team or department in your business. It must be something every individual in your business is a part of in order for it to be successful. Risk taking should be encouraged (within reason, of course).
• Trust your employees: This goes back to why hiring is crucial for the development of your business. You know your employees and what they are capable of. Trust them to come up with new ideas and to learn from the ones that didn’t work out.

Great things can come out of failure. It just depends on how you analyze and respond to the failure.

Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development, and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. Have any questions about SAP? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you.

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