Sunday, September 16, 2012
Monday, June 20, 2011
Customization Matters in Hiring Software Tools
Although many businesses within a given industry have similar requirements for hiring and onboarding software, there’s something to be said for having the ability to fine tune an application to precisely meet your company’s needs. Workforce.com has an interesting article available about a major manufacturing and retail firm that discovered every cent spent on customized hiring tools more than paid off in profits. Luxottica Retail (the company that runs eyewear stores such as Pearle, LensCrafters, and Sunglass Hut) found that prehire assessment tests that are aligned with business objectives spell big bucks.
The cost to administer the prehire test is about $10 per candidate, so that’s not a big financial drain. The resources the company invested over the last ten years tweaking and perfecting the test are where the real expense came in. But this employer has found that stores staffed by high-scoring new hires consistently outperform those staffed by run of the mill candidates. On average, each employee in the top quartile brings in an extra $18,000 in sales per year.
Customization Isn’t a One-Time Effort
Luxottica constantly gathers performance information and feeds it back into the test optimization process. This doesn’t just perfect the test and make it a more accurate predictor of future performance; it also accommodates evolution as the marketplace continues to shift. Each Luxottica brand has its own customized pre-hire test to match associates with store cultures and customer demographics. The employer is careful to consult with legal counsel annually to ensure that changes to the assessment tests don’t restrict the hiring process in a way that could be viewed as discriminatory.
Onboarding Can be Tailored Too
Prehire testing isn’t the only type of hiring software tool that can benefit from customization. Acculturation onboarding is another area where constant improvement based on workforce analytics can yield benefits. Since an employee’s experience during the first 60 days on the job often have a significant impact on everything from productivity to retention, having the ability to update and refine an acculturation module could be very beneficial. For example, you might want to have an onboarding process that features different components based on job position. A manager would have additional training and development to complete while an entry level employee might be inducted into a mentoring program. To find out how our Acculturation Portal can help you customize the new hire experience at your company, contact Emerald Software Group today at 770-569-5122.
The cost to administer the prehire test is about $10 per candidate, so that’s not a big financial drain. The resources the company invested over the last ten years tweaking and perfecting the test are where the real expense came in. But this employer has found that stores staffed by high-scoring new hires consistently outperform those staffed by run of the mill candidates. On average, each employee in the top quartile brings in an extra $18,000 in sales per year.
Customization Isn’t a One-Time Effort
Luxottica constantly gathers performance information and feeds it back into the test optimization process. This doesn’t just perfect the test and make it a more accurate predictor of future performance; it also accommodates evolution as the marketplace continues to shift. Each Luxottica brand has its own customized pre-hire test to match associates with store cultures and customer demographics. The employer is careful to consult with legal counsel annually to ensure that changes to the assessment tests don’t restrict the hiring process in a way that could be viewed as discriminatory.
Onboarding Can be Tailored Too
Prehire testing isn’t the only type of hiring software tool that can benefit from customization. Acculturation onboarding is another area where constant improvement based on workforce analytics can yield benefits. Since an employee’s experience during the first 60 days on the job often have a significant impact on everything from productivity to retention, having the ability to update and refine an acculturation module could be very beneficial. For example, you might want to have an onboarding process that features different components based on job position. A manager would have additional training and development to complete while an entry level employee might be inducted into a mentoring program. To find out how our Acculturation Portal can help you customize the new hire experience at your company, contact Emerald Software Group today at 770-569-5122.
Friday, June 17, 2011
New Trends in Social Learning & Development Part 5
This is the final post we’ll spend looking at the SkillSoft “The Eight Truths of Social Learning. Now.” white paper. To wrap things up, let’s take a peek at the final 2 “truths” and think about how they work from an onboarding standpoint.
Truth #7 – Don’t Forget Knowledge Preservation
Letting years of experience and knowledge walk out the door with retiring employees is a huge waste of irreplaceable resources. One of the most valuable opportunities presented by social learning technology is the way it allows you to capture the insights of your best employees to share with new hires. Make a point of reaching out to high-value workers and encouraging them to take a leadership role in developing your social platform.
When employees give notice (on good terms), they often feel a little guilty about leaving their coworkers in the lurch. Use this to your advantage by letting them know there is a simple way they can help ease the transition. The exiting employee can upload resources and advice to the social network where it will be available to the new hire who is replacing them. It’s a nice way for a worker to leave a positive mark. The person who is onboarded to take up that job role will feel especially welcomed by having customized learning materials provided by their predecessor.
Truth #8 – Target Simplicity and Security
In keeping with making social learning accessible to workers of all ages, you should pick a system that is intuitive to use. New hires who have access to Universal Onboarding are lead through a step by step wizard that makes sure everything gets done. A similar approach would work well for setting up a basic profile in the social network. The easier the platform is to use, the more people will get involved without extra prodding.
Finally, make absolutely sure you understand the security features of the social system you choose. This will dictate what types of information you upload. You don’t want competitors mining your social site for “goodies” or your hosting service selling data to marketing groups. At Emerald Software, we always take employee data privacy seriously. Check out Chuck’s blog for lots of great posts on this topic.
Truth #7 – Don’t Forget Knowledge Preservation
Letting years of experience and knowledge walk out the door with retiring employees is a huge waste of irreplaceable resources. One of the most valuable opportunities presented by social learning technology is the way it allows you to capture the insights of your best employees to share with new hires. Make a point of reaching out to high-value workers and encouraging them to take a leadership role in developing your social platform.
When employees give notice (on good terms), they often feel a little guilty about leaving their coworkers in the lurch. Use this to your advantage by letting them know there is a simple way they can help ease the transition. The exiting employee can upload resources and advice to the social network where it will be available to the new hire who is replacing them. It’s a nice way for a worker to leave a positive mark. The person who is onboarded to take up that job role will feel especially welcomed by having customized learning materials provided by their predecessor.
Truth #8 – Target Simplicity and Security
In keeping with making social learning accessible to workers of all ages, you should pick a system that is intuitive to use. New hires who have access to Universal Onboarding are lead through a step by step wizard that makes sure everything gets done. A similar approach would work well for setting up a basic profile in the social network. The easier the platform is to use, the more people will get involved without extra prodding.
Finally, make absolutely sure you understand the security features of the social system you choose. This will dictate what types of information you upload. You don’t want competitors mining your social site for “goodies” or your hosting service selling data to marketing groups. At Emerald Software, we always take employee data privacy seriously. Check out Chuck’s blog for lots of great posts on this topic.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
New Trends in Social Learning & Development Part 4
We’re nearing the end of our journey through the SkillSoft “The Eight Truths of Social Learning. Now.” white paper. Today, we’ll investigate yet another “truth” as it relates to onboarding.
Truth #6 – You Need Multi-Generational Appeal
While you may be focusing a lot of recruiting efforts on Generation X and the Millenials, you still hire and onboard people from older generations as well. These workers may have a lot of experience to draw on that helps them get up to speed fast at a new job. However, the whole point of having a social learning and development program is to encourage people to keep on learning.
Older workers are just as likely as younger workers to appreciate the intellectual challenge of continual workplace education. It keeps things from getting boring. Picking up new information and honing skills also makes them feel that they are being given the same opportunities as young employees – an important factor in minimizing age-related discrimination claims. Any acculturation, orientation, learning, development, and socialization tools you offer in the workplace should take this into account.
Multi-media learning and development software has broad appeal since it lets workers choose their own style and pace for education. For example, someone who grew up in the age before YouTube and podcasts may feel that reading is the fastest way to learn. A 55 year old employee might feel they can absorb 5 times as much information by reading for 20 minutes versus watching a 20 minute video. In contrast, a 25 year old might find an all-text approach to learning too mind numbing to “stick”.
On the other hand, social contact is something pretty much everyone enjoys. It’s just a matter of letting employees have some control over the speed and frequency of interaction. One worker might enjoy a chat forum with instant responses while another prefers private messaging that gives them time to think.
In the final analysis, making sure new hires of every age get the help they need to make the most out of your social learning and development platform is the most important thing. The Emerald Software Acculturation Portal can play a role in helping new employees learn to use your intranet and social networking tools effectively.
Truth #6 – You Need Multi-Generational Appeal
While you may be focusing a lot of recruiting efforts on Generation X and the Millenials, you still hire and onboard people from older generations as well. These workers may have a lot of experience to draw on that helps them get up to speed fast at a new job. However, the whole point of having a social learning and development program is to encourage people to keep on learning.
Older workers are just as likely as younger workers to appreciate the intellectual challenge of continual workplace education. It keeps things from getting boring. Picking up new information and honing skills also makes them feel that they are being given the same opportunities as young employees – an important factor in minimizing age-related discrimination claims. Any acculturation, orientation, learning, development, and socialization tools you offer in the workplace should take this into account.
Multi-media learning and development software has broad appeal since it lets workers choose their own style and pace for education. For example, someone who grew up in the age before YouTube and podcasts may feel that reading is the fastest way to learn. A 55 year old employee might feel they can absorb 5 times as much information by reading for 20 minutes versus watching a 20 minute video. In contrast, a 25 year old might find an all-text approach to learning too mind numbing to “stick”.
On the other hand, social contact is something pretty much everyone enjoys. It’s just a matter of letting employees have some control over the speed and frequency of interaction. One worker might enjoy a chat forum with instant responses while another prefers private messaging that gives them time to think.
In the final analysis, making sure new hires of every age get the help they need to make the most out of your social learning and development platform is the most important thing. The Emerald Software Acculturation Portal can play a role in helping new employees learn to use your intranet and social networking tools effectively.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
New Trends in Social Learning & Development Part 3
This week, we’ll continue our perusal of the SkillSoft “The Eight Truths of Social Learning. Now.” white paper with numbers 4 and 5. How can these “truths” make it easier for you to onboard and develop your new hires?
Truth #4 – Existing Employees are a Great Resource
Formal mentoring programs are a definite benefit to the workplace; but a lot of training happens when coworkers spontaneously step in to help others out. A social networking and learning platform gives these “helpers” an easy way to reach out and connect with new hires (and vice versa). People who are natural teachers enjoy the process of distributing knowledge. When they have an opportunity to do this at work, they tend to become very engaged. At the same time, new hires will feel less cautious about asking questions when they can readily identify coworkers who like being informal mentors.
Truth #5 - Searchability is Key
The downside of having an expansive resource library, an active forum, and lots of internal experts is that it can become difficult for new hires to find exactly what they need without wading through a lot of info. Indexing content and profiles so they can be searched by keywords/topics is essential for efficient use. Fortunately, today’s social platforms are designed to support keyword searching. This means you may just need to train/encourage users to tag their profiles and discussions to make them easy to find when a new user starts poking around to find useful information.
Our Acculturation Portal can be used to introduce your new hires to your team and show basic examples of how to use your company’s social network for a variety of self-led learning activities.
Truth #4 – Existing Employees are a Great Resource
Formal mentoring programs are a definite benefit to the workplace; but a lot of training happens when coworkers spontaneously step in to help others out. A social networking and learning platform gives these “helpers” an easy way to reach out and connect with new hires (and vice versa). People who are natural teachers enjoy the process of distributing knowledge. When they have an opportunity to do this at work, they tend to become very engaged. At the same time, new hires will feel less cautious about asking questions when they can readily identify coworkers who like being informal mentors.
Truth #5 - Searchability is Key
The downside of having an expansive resource library, an active forum, and lots of internal experts is that it can become difficult for new hires to find exactly what they need without wading through a lot of info. Indexing content and profiles so they can be searched by keywords/topics is essential for efficient use. Fortunately, today’s social platforms are designed to support keyword searching. This means you may just need to train/encourage users to tag their profiles and discussions to make them easy to find when a new user starts poking around to find useful information.
Our Acculturation Portal can be used to introduce your new hires to your team and show basic examples of how to use your company’s social network for a variety of self-led learning activities.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
New Trends in Social Learning & Development Part 2
Today, let’s take a look at some more “truths” from the SkillSoft “The Eight Truths of Social Learning. Now white paper with a focus on how this type of learning impacts new hires.
Truth #2 – Employees are Overloaded with Information
Albert Einstein is often credited as saying: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” However, the folks at SkillSoft argue that one of the tools that inundates us all with way too much data can actually be used to help solve the problem of information overload. They might have a point. For example, a kind of collaborative sifting happens when a group of coworkers have access to the same library of learning and development content. The process tends to highlight the resources that have the greatest real-world value since those are the ones that people repost, “like”, and comment on. When a new hire is introduced to this system during onboarding, he or she can jumpstart self-directed learning by finding out what current employees find most useful.
Truth #3 – Social Learning should be Part of a Blended Approach
Here’s another 3 legged stool analogy that relates to blended learning strategies. Employers may see better results if they use in-person instruction, e-learning, and social learning together. That’s because the sum is greater than the whole of its parts when it comes to how people absorb new information. In-person instruction allows for face to face interaction to provide a sense of connection. E-learning offers participants the leeway to move at their own pace. Social learning presents a great environment for give and take both in real-time and as a follow on to initial instruction.
New hires who enter a work culture knowing that they will have ongoing mentor support from a whole group of coworkers via a social network may feel less stress during initial training. Our Acculturation Portal can play a role in introducing new employees into the social network. It interfaces with Microsoft SharePoint and other intranet platforms to provide a seamless transition into full interactivity.
Truth #2 – Employees are Overloaded with Information
Albert Einstein is often credited as saying: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” However, the folks at SkillSoft argue that one of the tools that inundates us all with way too much data can actually be used to help solve the problem of information overload. They might have a point. For example, a kind of collaborative sifting happens when a group of coworkers have access to the same library of learning and development content. The process tends to highlight the resources that have the greatest real-world value since those are the ones that people repost, “like”, and comment on. When a new hire is introduced to this system during onboarding, he or she can jumpstart self-directed learning by finding out what current employees find most useful.
Truth #3 – Social Learning should be Part of a Blended Approach
Here’s another 3 legged stool analogy that relates to blended learning strategies. Employers may see better results if they use in-person instruction, e-learning, and social learning together. That’s because the sum is greater than the whole of its parts when it comes to how people absorb new information. In-person instruction allows for face to face interaction to provide a sense of connection. E-learning offers participants the leeway to move at their own pace. Social learning presents a great environment for give and take both in real-time and as a follow on to initial instruction.
New hires who enter a work culture knowing that they will have ongoing mentor support from a whole group of coworkers via a social network may feel less stress during initial training. Our Acculturation Portal can play a role in introducing new employees into the social network. It interfaces with Microsoft SharePoint and other intranet platforms to provide a seamless transition into full interactivity.
Friday, June 10, 2011
New Trends in Social Learning & Development
What’s going on with social learning right this very minute? SkillSoft offers some answers to this question in a recent white paper “The Eight Truths of Social Learning. Now.” It explores what the company has found in developing and implementing its own InGenius® platform along with practical suggestions for making any system function more effectively. Let’s look at the first of 8 “Truths” and how it might apply to a social platform used as part of acculturation onboarding.
Truth #1 – Social Learning Requires 3 Elements
According to SkillSoft, you need a solid platform, great content, and a thriving community to make this type of initiative work. This combination of infrastructure, information, and individuals is the three legged stool upon which social learning rests.
Infrastructure
The platform is the foundation. If your application isn’t easy to use, no one will want to spend time engaging with it. You may want to use a module that meshes with your current HR suite, or one that relies on an established, external social network. Cost and ease of implementation aren’t the only factors to consider. Your decision might depend on how much inside information might be revealed in the discussions that take place between coworkers. For a social platform that meshes with an advanced learning and development system, you might even go with a custom application.
Information
Content is the next stage – and this is where you have to look within your company to find talent. An outside vendor can set up your software, but only those who are embedded in your organizational culture can provide the “wetware” to make your site interesting. Don’t expect your employees to grow the network on their own. You have to lead the way. HR and managers may well have to generate 75% or more of the content during the initial phases. This is an ideal time to set the tone by focusing on business and employee development related topics rather than social chit-chat.
Individuals
A great deal of the community building happens organically once you have the first two legs of the “stool” in place. However, HR should also ensure that new hires are given an extra incentive toward participating. This can be done as part of acculturation onboarding by assigning social learning tasks. Virtual meet and greets are also a great way to generate content and discussion. If you have relevant educational information hosted on your platform, new hires will quickly learn that this is the place to go to learn how to fit in with your organization.
Truth #1 – Social Learning Requires 3 Elements
According to SkillSoft, you need a solid platform, great content, and a thriving community to make this type of initiative work. This combination of infrastructure, information, and individuals is the three legged stool upon which social learning rests.
Infrastructure
The platform is the foundation. If your application isn’t easy to use, no one will want to spend time engaging with it. You may want to use a module that meshes with your current HR suite, or one that relies on an established, external social network. Cost and ease of implementation aren’t the only factors to consider. Your decision might depend on how much inside information might be revealed in the discussions that take place between coworkers. For a social platform that meshes with an advanced learning and development system, you might even go with a custom application.
Information
Content is the next stage – and this is where you have to look within your company to find talent. An outside vendor can set up your software, but only those who are embedded in your organizational culture can provide the “wetware” to make your site interesting. Don’t expect your employees to grow the network on their own. You have to lead the way. HR and managers may well have to generate 75% or more of the content during the initial phases. This is an ideal time to set the tone by focusing on business and employee development related topics rather than social chit-chat.
Individuals
A great deal of the community building happens organically once you have the first two legs of the “stool” in place. However, HR should also ensure that new hires are given an extra incentive toward participating. This can be done as part of acculturation onboarding by assigning social learning tasks. Virtual meet and greets are also a great way to generate content and discussion. If you have relevant educational information hosted on your platform, new hires will quickly learn that this is the place to go to learn how to fit in with your organization.
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