Caring management 101

Your customers and employees want to feel cared about, don’t they? They want to be supported by a caring management. Especially during challenging times when everyone is struggling to navigate forward. 

Today, we see a lot of companies facing devastating losses. And the most critical loss your business can face is the loss of your best employees. Your business is nothing without your employees’ hard work and commitment. Therefore, it’s vital for you to make sure your people have everything they need to stay positive and productive. 

We’re living in uncertain times which leads to increased anxiety. For example, it’s hard to answer questions like when things will get back to normal or whether to reopen economies or not. In such circumstances having a toxic work environment can take a toll on your employees’ mental health. 

As a manager or business leader, how do you take care of your employees? Do you have any strategy to ensure a healthy organizational climate? Are you a caring manager? 

In this post, we will talk about caring management, why your company needs it, and what you can do to be a caring manager. 

What is Caring Management? 

Caring management is all about how an organization treats its employees. Is management at your company caring? Or, are you a caring manager? 

It’s critical to answer these questions because how you treat your employees has a direct impact on your reputation and bottom line. 

Organizations now experience increased scrutiny from customers, media, and other stakeholders for hidden organizational practices. They have access to key information like your sexual harassment policies, wages, or involvement in political issues. In addition, social media is a great platform for people to voice their concerns. 

When consumers talk about a business, the top five things they talk about include how a business treats its people. People speak out against businesses they believe are irresponsible or unfair. Small social media influencers with hundreds and thousands of followers can have a serious impact on your employer brand. 

So, as a leader, you must take your employment practices seriously as they shape brand perceptions. If your employees are not happy with the way you treat them, it can damage your efforts to attract more talented people. 

Caring management can solve these issues with ease. It will take some hard work to understand what employees are going through and what kind of care they need to solve their professional challenges. 

All you need is a culture of caring which is only possible when your management is kind and compassionate. Here are some signs of caring management: 

What is A Culture of Caring Management?

Wondering what is a culture of caring? 

A culture of caring goes beyond how you treat your workers. It involves several things: managers caring about employees, employees caring for each other, and customers. Also, how your employees care for your vision or company’s purpose. 

A culture of caring matters because it has a direct impact on your business's success. Besides, how you engage with your workers can have an impact on productivity, retention, and absenteeism. 

Most importantly. Your company culture can impact your customer experience. If your employees are happy, they will try their best to make your customers happy. 

Related: The Key to Happy Customers? Happy Employees 

Creating a Culture of Caring Management 

A candid, genuine, and mutually respectful conversation is the starting point of a culture of caring. You need to invest some time talking to your employees and understanding their problems. Quarterly performance reviews are surely not enough to engage your employees. 

You need to learn how to listen while having group or one-on-one conversations with your employees, whether you have them digitally or face-to-face. 

Your employees’ well-being should be prioritized over your short-term revenue goals. Be willing to adjust your strategies to make things easier for your staff. 

Extract insights from those conversations and implement what you learn. If your employees are facing a workplace-related issue, make sure to resolve it. For example, if your workplace is not inclusive, take concrete steps to make it welcoming and caring. 

Happiness and Work 

Tech giants are often seen investing in employee support and job satisfaction. It’s possible to develop a scientifically controlled work environment where workers are happier and more productive. Science says happy employees are more productive. 

A study from the University of Warwick suggests that human happiness positively impacts productivity. It also identifies that unhappy workers are 10% less productive. 

Gallup finds out that 70% of Us employees don’t feel engaged in their workplace which cost companies $550 billion lost in productivity. 

Now, it's your job to figure out what makes your employees engaged and happy. Small things can make big differences. Certain strategies can help you develop a more friendly, caring culture. We will talk about them later in this blog. 

The Cost of Being a Caring Manager 

Before identifying ways to become a caring manager, let’s quickly identify the cost of being a caring manager. 

Let’s imagine that you started a role as a new manager at some company. One of your direct reports stops by for a chat. At first, you have no idea what this conversation is all about. However, as the chat progresses, you realize that this is about a personal issue. 

Your report wants to share how difficult it is for him to take care of their elderly parents whose health is deteriorating rapidly and he doesn’t know how to manage everything. He asks this question, “Do you have any advice for me”?

How would you respond to that question? You’re likely to be distressed and less engaged at work that day. 

Studies show that leaders spend as much time as 2.5 hours each week responding to such situations. Many employees prefer to approach their managers or leaders when they face emotional issues at work and they need assistance. 

However, responding to employees' personal issues and requests can affect your mood and performance at work. It is so because personal issues are often distressing and uncomfortable. Managers may find such requests inappropriate and disruptive because they have nothing to do with the work. 

It’s a real challenge to manage an employee who is going through a stressful period. 

Do you still need to be caring? 

On the bright side, when you feel like your support has a positive impact on the lives of your employees, you will feel better and experience a positive mood. Highly experienced leaders are good at managing such situations and they spend more time helping their employees with personal issues. 

How to Apply Caring Management

If you really want to be a part of caring management, you need to decide how you want your team to view you. Perception is an important factor for managers. In most cases, managers choose to be dominant, closed-off, and stoic and loud-mouthed. 

If you’re one of them avoiding a personal connection with employees, take a step back and rethink the way you manage people. Because you are likely to lose the benefit of a dedicated, long-term team if you don’t make your employee feel valued. 

Not sure how to show your employees that you care? Let’s take a look at these strategies that can show your appreciation for your people: 

Don’t Act Like You’re Above Your Employees  

How would your employees feel if you have your own parking spaces and you make them carry your luggage when traveling? It is considered bad management behaviour when managers don’t relate to their subordinates and act like they are superior. Good managers with true leadership skills care about their people and prioritize their interests above anything else. 

So, when your employees are having a problem, talk about it. Tell them how you had gone through similar situations. Expressing your own failures, vulnerability, and imperfections help your employees overcome their challenges. 

Listen First 

When you intend to speak to a worker about their struggles, be sure to listen first instead of immediately recommending something. Ask them what both of you can do together to address the issue. It’s helpful to use the word “we”.  For example, “How we can support you”. 

Help Them 

There’s nothing wrong with going above and beyond to personally help your workers. While assisting your employees with work-related issues is a part of your job, you should help them with their personal issues as well. For example, referring employees to appropriate resources can be greatly helpful. 

People go through life events that distract them from work; for example, the death of a friend, divorce, or an ailing family member. In such situations, you can support them emotionally so that they are able to focus on work while dealing with life events. 

Tell Them You Care About Their Personal Life 

It’s possible to demonstrate your care for employees’ personal life without meeting up for an all-night drinking binge. The objective here is to let your people know that you don’t just see them as worker bees. 

Back Your Workers Up With Clients 

What will you do if an employee complains about inappropriate client behaviour? Companies that care about employees will look into the matter and fire a client if needed no matter how much they’re paying. When you back your employees, your company will be rewarded with a return higher than what your client could ever offer you. 

Be Honest 

You need to be transparent and real in your day-to-day interactions with your employees. For example, if they ask for feedback, be honest. Don’t make stuff up. Also, you don’t have to be unkind when communicating feedback. Hiding the truth will only hurt your employees and company. 

Being transparent can sometimes lead to uncomfortable conversations. Take those conversations as an opportunity to deliver the truth and help your employees improve. 

Make Time 

When you are too busy to have a simple chat with your team, it will make it hard for your employees to feel appreciated. So, don’t appear too busy for workers around you. Have regular conversations with your people as a token of respect and appreciation. 

Pay Attention to Details 

We often undermine the value of small things. Sending a quick email to your team after a win can go a long way. Your team needs to be appreciated and acknowledged for all the hard work they put in to make your company successful. Events like Christmas and Thanksgiving are also an opportunity for you to express your appreciation and send them best wishes. 

Just compose a few sentences and send them over to your team members to explain why you value them. If you’ve got nothing to appreciate or you can’t think of anything you care about and value about your people, consider it a red flag. 

Welcome New Ideas 

Your workers can have great ideas on how to improve your business or overcome challenges. Listen to them and appreciate their interest in your business. If you want to encourage your employees to share their thoughts, create opportunities for them to speak up. 

Don’t Overpromise 

Set expectations carefully. You can’t effectively practice the above-mentioned strategies if you’re not aware of the expectations you set. Managers and business owners are prone to overpromising results to workers, which eventually leads to trouble. So, set realistic expectations. 

Know What You Can Offer 

When it comes to business, there are certain limits. You may be willing to give a grieving employee an option to work from home or several weeks of leave. But it’s not always your decision. Your company’s rules and regulations might not allow for things you want to do for your employees. Therefore, make sure you understand what’s possible and what's not. 

The Role of HR 

Your HR department can play a crucial role in creating a caring environment. For example, they’re involved in planning and executing employee experience plans. Make sure to equip your HR department with all the resources and tools they need to ensure an excellent employee experience. 

Here are 4 ways HR can impact company culture: 

What is the Culture of Kindness? 

Small acts of kindness are of great help when it comes to ensuring caring management. Kindness culture is when all of your people, including senior management, care about each other and are willing to go the extra mile to develop a better workplace. 

The following are 4 ways to create a culture of empathy and kindness: 

Final Thoughts on Caring Management

The need for bringing more humanity, social connection, and care to the employees’ experience is gaining momentum. Caring management is critical because talented workers look for value-based recognition and a healthy manager-employee relationship. It’s an era of leaders - the time for bosses is gone. 

Successful leaders care about their people. They don’t hesitate to invest efforts to make contributions at all levels. Follow them. Learn how to create a balance between doses of kindness and overall business outcome. Help your employees enjoy what they do. Remember, you need to be a great leader, not a friend. 

Offboarding: A Comprehensive Guide

Most large organizations do a fairly good job when they onboard new hires and provide new employee orientation, but far fewer have processes that address offboarding.

As critical as onboarding, you need a similar passion to define how you offboard employees.

You can send out a generic thank-you letter to people leaving your company, but you can do a lot better to improve your offboarding process and, eventually, build a healthy workplace culture. While it’s essential to make your new employees feel appreciated and comfortable with your company culture, you should not stop showing appreciation and support the day they decide to leave you.

offboarding

Why does offboarding matter?

It’s all about ending up things on a good note and maintaining a positive relationship with your past employees. The following are some of the benefits of having a sound offboarding process in place:

The boomerang effect

When an employee parts ways with your organization, a well-thought-out offboarding process will leave the door open in case they want to rejoin. Re-hires are often called boomerang employees. Since the competition for talent is getting fiercer, your offboarding process can help win back your former employees.

So, keep your doors open for high performers. If we look at the current trends and stats, HR professionals are more likely to hire boomerang employees. It’s a good practice to give high priority to boomerang job applicants who left your organization in good standing.

Pro Tip: Use an effective Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to keep track of your current and former employees.

Former employees are your brand ambassadors

Your past employees’ opinions matter. How do your ex-employees think or talk about your organization online or off? Obviously, you want them to spread the good word about your company.

A study found that 52% of surveyed jobseekers go to social media or company websites when evaluating employer brands. What if most of your former employees had a bad offboarding experience, and they shared negative reviews on the web? Having negative remarks on your social media or employer review sites could be very damaging. This would make it really hard for you to attract new talent in the future.

The Solution? Treat your present and departing employees as your company’s employer brand. A good offboarding process will make your employees share positive reviews on various platforms for years to come. Moreover, keep in touch with them. For this, you must maintain a database to reach your ex-employees and share company news and job alerts.

Increased security

Organizations can’t afford security breaches or risk company or customer data leaks. Consequentially, one of the best ways to prevent security-related issues is to have a controlled offboarding process. As breaches cause significant damage to organizations, you need to shift from traditional perimeter defense to a holistic understanding of where your organization is exposed or what causes the damage.

According to a SANS report, one-third of all companies have experienced an insider threat incident. Therefore, if you want to protect your company against these kinds of threats, start crafting a proper offboarding process.

Tap into industry knowledge

Departing employees possess valuable industry knowledge that can benefit your organization. They may have insights, shortcuts, or information not found in standard operating procedures. That being said, involve departing talent in the process of finding suitable replacements and training them. Demonstrating confidence in their abilities and valuing their advice creates a positive offboarding experience.

offboarding

Invest in outgoing employees for organizational benefit

While hiring the right talent is vital, it's equally important to invest in outgoing employees for organizational success.

Here's how:

Create a memorable offboarding experience

Design offboarding processes that support departing employees' needs and offer an opportunity to launch an alumni program. Avoid personalizing the departure and focus on creating a positive experience.

Leverage technology for connection

Use advanced HR software to stay connected with high-performing employees who have left your organization. Automation tools can send them future career opportunities and updates, increasing the chances of re-engaging former employees.

Preserve confidentiality in offboarding

Establish safe spaces during exit interviews to ensure confidentiality. Employees are more likely to share honest feedback when they feel their opinions are protected. Consider developing custom exit surveys for each position.

Add former employees to referral programs

A strong offboarding process can enhance your company's referral program. Therefore, you should focus on building good relationships with past employees, increasing the likelihood of them referring top candidates to your organization.

Implement employee offboarding automation

Automating the offboarding process from start to finish helps manage a talent pool of former employees who left on good terms. Nurturing this talent pool can reduce recruitment efforts in the future.

Pro Tip: Automate the offboarding process from start to finish using a platform like Wiggli.

When an employee decides to leave, view it as a learning experience. Engage in a conversation to understand their reasons and plans, uncovering valuable insights about your company's culture and workplace issues. Furthermore, express appreciation for their contributions and talent.

offboarding

Final thoughts

On the whole, offboarding is just as important as onboarding. Regardless of the reason for an employee's departure, gather information that can help you improve in the future. Saying goodbye to an employee positively encourages them to speak highly of their experience working for your company.

Employee offboarding is a crucial part of the employee life cycle that is often overlooked. It's time to address this issue and realize that last impressions matter too.

When you give due attention to outgoing employees, you can distinguish your organization's value proposition and culture. Transform departing employees into advocates who promote your company.

Personality Tests in Recruitment: A Match?

The use of personality assessment tests in the recruitment process has been a topic of extensive discussion. While some experts argue against using personality tests for hiring purposes, many recruiters still rely on these tests to identify the most suitable candidates for specific positions.

The reason is simple: personality is a scientifically validated predictor that provides valuable insights into candidates' behavioral tendencies within a particular work environment, helping recruiters gauge whether an individual will excel or be a good fit for the role.

When used appropriately, personality assessments can serve as a crucial and objective tool in the recruitment process, reducing discrimination based on factors such as ethnicity and gender. However, it's essential to note that personality assessments should not be the sole determinant in hiring decisions.

The Power of Personality Tests in Predicting Job Success

Can personality predict job performance? Absolutely. Personality shapes a significant influence over our behavior, attitude, and habits, making it a reliable factor for forecasting a candidate's potential job performance.

For instance, when hiring a salesperson, it is important to consider personality traits that align with the job requirements. Employees thrive when their personal inclinations align with their job responsibilities. In other words, individuals perform better when their natural tendencies are in sync with their job demands.

Consider a scenario where two candidates possess similar education, experience, and cognitive abilities. By using a personality test like the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), it becomes possible to discern their differences across various scales. The candidate scoring higher on the flexibility scale, for example, might be more inclined to succeed in a sales role.

The suitability of personality assessment 

As an employer or recruiter, you should be careful when incorporating personality tests into the recruitment process. Poor decisions and potential legal issues can arise if the assessments used are not psychometrically validated for hiring purposes. Therefore, it is essential to select personality assessment techniques specifically designed for selection and hiring.

When integrating such assessments, always prioritize the validity and reliability of the assessment method. But what do reliability and validity mean in this context? Reliability refers to obtaining consistent results when assessing an individual, multiple times using the same tests. Validity, on the other hand, pertains to the assessment's effectiveness in measuring what it is intended to measure.

Notably, many personality assessments available on the market lack sufficient reliability and validity. It is imperative to avoid using such tools to support the recruitment process. Instead, seek documented evidence demonstrating that an assessment meets the criteria for validity and reliability.

Integrating Personality Tests in the Recruitment Process

Having understood the value of personality tests in the hiring process, let's explore how to effectively use them to improve the quality of hires.

1. Develop a Sustainable Hiring Process 

To begin, establish a sustainable and technology-driven hiring process. Identify any existing challenges hindering your ability to find the right fit or retain employees. Incorporate personality tests in a manner that addresses these challenges.

One of the most important questions is when to introduce personality tests in the hiring process. Should you use them in the first round of the interview or last? The answer depends on your specific needs and the structure of your hiring process.

2. Use the Appropriate Personality Tests 

What test should you use to find the perfect candidate? Determining the ideal personality test for identifying the right talent requires a comprehensive understanding of the different assessment tests available for recruitment purposes. While experts may hold varying opinions on the most suitable test, the choice ultimately rests on personal preference and what aligns best with your requirements.

Experimentation may be necessary to determine the most effective test for your needs.

Popular personality tests for hiring include:

Keep in mind, these tests reflect how happy a candidate would be considering the work environment. 

3. Automate the Process

Before you even consider taking personality tests, it’s important to implement a digital hiring process. Manual integration of any assessment into your hiring process can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. By leveraging smart HR automation or talent management systems, you can seamlessly incorporate personality assessments into your existing framework.

Additionally, consider the option of administering tests online rather than through manual means. Manual processes take longer to gather and interpret results, whereas online assessments can save valuable time. By automating assessments and utilizing intelligent tools to interpret data, you can generate reliable reports with a single click.

When it comes to candidate assessment tests, leveraging AI-based HR technologies is highly recommended. These advanced recruitment assessment tools simplify the hiring process and enhance its efficiency. One example is Wiggli, a real-time SaaS HR platform that streamlines various aspects for recruiters, ranging from building talent pools to conducting personality tests.

Final thoughts 

In conclusion, incorporating personality assessment tests into your hiring process can be a valuable addition, but they should not be the sole determining factor in hiring decisions. It is crucial to view them as one part of a comprehensive and well-rounded hiring strategy. Consider their integration alongside other valuable tools and methods to ensure the most effective selection of candidates.

The Art of Implementing a Flexible Work-Week

The number of people working remotely has increased swiftly over the last couple of years. Taking into account the vaccination drive and implementation of SOPs, life is getting back to normal. However, many businesses are figuring out more flexible schedule policies to facilitate employees who want to work remotely. 

Some companies think that allowing employees to choose where they work or when they work will lead to a loss of productivity.

Do you think a flexible work week will lead to a loss of productivity? 

We don’t think so. In this post, we will help you implement a flexible work-week policy while maintaining or improving productivity. First, let’s take a look at what it really means when we use the term ‘flexible workweek’. 

Defining a Flexible Work-Week 

Work flexibility refers to practices of giving employees the freedom to decide when, where, and how long they want to work. This approach allows employees to get the work done at their own pace while aligning their work-life with their personal or family needs. Here are some of the key features of a flexible workweek: 

4-Days Week 

Organizations are thinking about having a 4-day week where employees work 32 rather than 40 hours per week. There has been an ongoing debate on the efficacy of the four-day week in the media. Research suggests that reducing work hours improves employees’ well-being without having any impact on productivity. However, it’s important to implement this strategy the right way. Developing a step-by-step guide will help you implement a flexible workweek. 

Remote Work 

Another great way to incorporate a flexible workweek is to allow your employees to work remotely. We know how remote work has gained popularity amid the Covid pandemic. As an employer, you need to take a fresh look at what we can do better and implement effective remote strategies. 

From a workers’ standpoint, the demand for remote work is on the rise across industries as they feel more empowered and productive than they did before. People are willing to quit or change their careers when companies force them to resume work from the office. Pushing your people to the point where they start thinking about quitting is a shortsighted mistake with long-term consequences. 

You can’t lose your talented workers by having a rigid work policy. So, engage your employees and talk to them about their preferences. Moving forward into the future, you need to intentionally implement remote work policies to retain your employees. All you have to do is use collaboration tools and workflows

Let’s talk more about the 4-day week and how you can implement it without losing productivity! 

Incorporating the 4-Days Work-Week 

If adjusting work hours is possible for your business, here are some recommendations you can apply to make it work:

Shift Your Mindset 

We are likely to focus on quantifiable things like hours worked rather than qualitative metrics such as well-being and productivity. This is why companies use the time at the office to measure employees’ commitment to work even when those measures tell nothing about the real value added to the business. 

To make a four-day workweek reality, you need to shift your mindset and focus more on actual productivity. It could lead your employees to have a healthier work-life balance without worrying about penalties for having some flexibility. A four-day workweek, thus, should be implemented as a companywide policy rather than an optional perk. 

Define Your Goals and Metrics 

You should embrace the uncertainty attached to experimenting with anything new. Therefore, when implementing a four-day week, be ready to go through a trial and error stage. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to plan anything. Have a well-thought-out plan to deal with new challenges. 

Both business leaders and employees should be actively involved in the process to make important decisions. It would be a good idea to form a committee to figure out a perfect reduced-hours program. An employee-driven committee can meet for an hour each day to identify potential challenges and propose solutions before launching the four-week workweek initiative. Here are some questions you need to ask: 

Have a Communication Plan 

Make sure you address the concerns of your internal and external stakeholders in a proactive fashion. Internal concerns could include how the change will impact your workforce. Make sure you clearly outline why you want to have the four-day workweek. Communicate with your employees that they will receive the same benefits without any cut. 

Reducing interruptions and eliminating operational inefficiencies can make it possible for you to have a successful four-day workweek program. Besides, the pandemic has taught workers how to be more efficient and deliberate in scheduling collaboration time. 

Run and Access the Initiative 

When you run a pilot, don’t expect everything to work from the start. You’ll be able to identify the tools and technologies you need to make a four-day workweek work. Issues you face during the pilot stage should not be considered a failure. Work hard to fine-tune your plan continuously. 

You can use both qualitative and quantitative metrics to understand the outcome of your initiative. So far as qualitative metrics are concerned, conduct group interviews to gain valuable insights. Ask your employees to explain their experience with the four-day workweek. If your employees are taking fewer sick days during the pilot, it simply means they felt less stressed. 

Final Thoughts

We understand that different workers are more productive and focused at different times of the day. So, instead of worrying too much about the number of hours worked, focus on results, deadlines, and the well-being of your employees. 

Is a Manager Meant to be a Psychologist?

“The best manager I have ever had”. Many of us have uttered or heard this phrase at some point in our lives. But what does it truly signify? What distinguishes a good manager from a bad one?

You may have come across numerous literary works that emphasize the qualities and traits of effective leaders and managers. However, little attention has been given to the psychology, daily interactions, and decision-making processes that enable managers to bring out the best in their employees.

According to Gallup, hiring a manager is the most critical decision organizations make. Unfortunately, most companies end up hiring the wrong manager, with a staggering 82% of hiring decisions resulting in mismatched talent. Furthermore, research suggests that 70% of individuals in management roles lack the necessary skills for the job. 

Bad managers cost companies billions of dollars annually and can even lead to the downfall of a company if there are too many of them. On the other hand, hiring talented managers can propel your company forward and keep it ahead of the competition.

As an entrepreneur or business leader, your success depends largely on your own or your managers' ability to comprehend the psychology of your employees.

In this blog post, we will explore how a basic understanding of human psychology can enhance managers' performance. We will also delve into different types of managers, the common mistakes they make, and what they should or should not do to become exceptional managers.

How Psychology Enhances Managerial Skills 

Is it necessary to be a psychologist to thrive as a business owner or manager? Why is understanding your employees' personality traits so important?

While it is not mandatory to possess an in-depth knowledge of personality dynamics to be a good business leader, having a basic understanding can significantly facilitate effective management and resolution of interpersonal issues.

When you make an effort to comprehend an employee's internal motivations, it enables you to encourage them to unleash their full potential.

Consider the following example to further illustrate this point:

Suppose you need to provide feedback to one of your employees who prepared a report but missed an important detail. If you possess an understanding of human psychology, you will be mindful of how you deliver the feedback. Employees often perceive feedback as criticism and react accordingly.

Instead of saying, "Hey Becky, you forgot to include last week's numbers in the report; make sure you don't repeat that mistake," you can say, "Hey Becky, you did an excellent job on the report. It would be great if you could include last week's numbers next time."

Your response to a particular situation should be tailored to the individual you are dealing with. For instance, if you have to handle a narcissistic employee, it is crucial to know how to address traits like arrogance and aggression. If firing the narcissist is not an option and they are causing significant problems for the company, your only recourse is to learn how to manage such individuals. For example, you can make them feel special, thereby motivating them to perform at a higher level.

A competent manager is adept at leveraging negative traits and transforming them into assets.

Types of Managers 

What kind of manager are you? How do your team members or employees perceive you? Do you possess qualities that drive employees to excel or become more productive?

There are various types of managers in the business world. Let's explore four types of managers who have demonstrated exceptional performance:

Appreciative Manager: Cultivating a Culture of Recognition

In the workplace, everyone appreciates recognition for their efforts. Employees prefer working with managers who acknowledge and value their work. To demonstrate care and appreciation for your employees and their contributions, creating a culture of recognition is paramount.

Recognizing good work doesn't require a significant time investment. Simple gestures like sending a quick thank-you email or message to individuals who have achieved outstanding results can go a long way. Additionally, meeting employees' emotional needs by appreciating those who come up with innovative ideas fosters a productive and positive work environment.

Receptive to Feedback: Embracing Collaboration and Collective Intelligence

We have all encountered managers who seem disinterested in hearing what their team has to say. Such managers assign work, give orders, and rarely listen to their employees' perspectives on assigned projects. Unfortunately, most managers are not adept listeners, impeding their ability to foster collaboration and gather valuable insights from their team.

Being a receptive manager means actively seeking and embracing feedback from your employees. It involves creating an environment where open communication is encouraged, and team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, concerns, and ideas. When employees know that their opinions are valued and that their feedback can lead to positive changes, they become more engaged and invested in their work.

Receptive managers understand that they don't have all the answers and recognize the power of collective intelligence. They actively seek input from their team members, consider different perspectives, and make informed decisions based on the information gathered. This approach not only enhances problem-solving but also empowers employees, making them feel valued and part of the decision-making process.

Caring Manager: Nurturing Employee Well-being and Growth

Effective managers go beyond their roles and demonstrate genuine care for their employees. It's not enough to simply proclaim care; actions speak louder than words. For example, managers can make a significant impact by sending simple, inexpensive gifts to their team members, creating memorable experiences. Welcoming new employees with a thoughtful welcome kit is another way to make them feel valued and appreciated.

Additionally, caring managers understand the importance of providing growth opportunities. They support their employees' professional development by offering career development plans, ensuring that employees have the chance to progress and acquire new skills. Progressive organizations prioritize employee growth, creating an environment where individuals feel motivated and empowered to reach their full potential.

Growth-oriented Manager: Promoting Growth in the Workplace

People don't want to feel stuck in their jobs; they want to grow. That's why having opportunities for growth is highly valued by employees. As a manager, what can you do to help your team members grow? If you don't support their growth, they may eventually seek other jobs where they can further develop their skills.

Progressive organizations provide career development plans to ensure that employees have opportunities to progress and acquire new skills.

How a Manager can Support Employees 

Managers often encounter situations where an employee makes a significant error or a project doesn't meet expectations. How should managers react in such circumstances? How can they effectively address underperforming team members?

Naturally, frustration and anger arise when employees make mistakes, particularly when it negatively impacts critical projects. Traditionally, the response has been to punish the employee, aiming to prevent future mistakes and send a message to the rest of the team.

However, some managers choose a different approach when dealing with underperforming team members: kindness and compassion. This doesn't imply a lack of concern for project success or outcomes. Instead, it presents an opportunity for coaching without passing judgment.

According to SHRM’s 2016 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey, a lack of support from management is a leading cause of employee dissatisfaction and turnover. Strong support from managers correlates with lower turnover rates.

Kindness is a crucial leadership quality. Research from Harvard Business School reveals that leaders who project warmth are more effective than those who rely on fear as a management approach. Kind managers excel at building trust, which is crucial in leadership.

Studies conducted by Oxford University confirm that kindness contributes to employee happiness. Happy employees tend to be more productive. Acts of kindness, even small ones like a smile or nod, create a positive culture, fostering trust, attentiveness, and appreciation. 

How to Be a Kind Manager 

Don’t react instantly 

To project warmth and become a likable manager, it's important to avoid immediate reactions. Take a step back, control your emotions, and respond thoughtfully. Practicing meditation can aid in emotional regulation. Additionally, consider your employee's perspective, fostering empathy and compassionate responses. Learning to forgive strengthens relationships and positively impacts well-being.

Consider your employee’s perspective  

Managers who neglect employee psychology often make critical mistakes, such as micromanaging through fear, failing to listen actively, becoming overly familiar, not providing constructive feedback, and withholding shared leadership opportunities.

Learn how to forgive 

Learning how to forgive not only strengthens your relationships with your team but also creates a positive impact on your own well-being. Carrying a grudge, on the other hand, leads to bad health. So, take forgiveness as a tool to lower stress and creates a productive work environment. 

Common Mistakes Managers Make With Their Employees 

Managers who disregard the psychological well-being of their employees often fall into the following traps:

Micromanaging 

The number one mistake managers can make is leading through fear and a lack of vision, which often results in excessive micromanaging. This hampers team motivation and stifles creativity.

Not Listening 

It is crucial to listen to your employees and engage in two-way communication. Failing to be an active and respectful listener shows a lack of value for your team members.

Overly Friendly Manager

Some managers fail to maintain professional boundaries and try to become too friendly with their subordinates, compromising their own integrity.

Lack of Feedback 

Mistake lies in being defensive or avoiding questions when receiving feedback from the team. Inability to accept feedback is an undesirable trait in a manager.

Neglecting Shared Leadership

A traditional business approach is to share leadership with employees, empowering them to make decisions. Frontline workers often possess more subject matter expertise than managers or leaders, so not tapping into their intelligence is a mistake.

Influencing Employees' Mood as a Manager

The concept is simple: if a manager is happy, it is likely that their team will be happy too. Happy workers undoubtedly produce better results. Conversely, an unhappy and frustrated manager makes it difficult for the team to remain calm and content.

Organizations require both happy managers and employees, which is why they seek specific behaviors and competencies when hiring managers, as these factors contribute to workplace happiness.

Managers can influence their teams' moods by considering various factors such as social activities, sleep patterns, work-life balance, and stressful events that affect emotions. By helping employees regulate and control their emotions, managers can make a positive impact. Simple gestures like a nod, smile, or word of appreciation can significantly influence the team's mood.

Managing Difficult Employees

Your employees are your greatest asset, but managing them can sometimes be challenging, as there may be individuals who exhibit unhealthy behavior. It is important not to allow such behavior to create stressful situations for others.

Here are valuable tips for managing difficult people:

Final Thoughts

Positive psychology allows managers and leaders to focus on developing the strengths of their employees rather than fixating on weaknesses. As a manager, it is essential to enhance your understanding of workplace psychology, instilling a growth mindset in your team and driving remarkable results for your organization.

By comprehending the reasons behind people's actions, you can effectively communicate and empathize with them. Prioritize your team's psychological needs, making them feel valued and empowered, while leveraging technology and tools to address other talent management challenges.


Crafting Your Career Destiny

In the digital world where 38% of workers quit their job because of email fatigue, business leaders and managers hardly find time to think about employees' career development. Regardless of how caring your organization is, it’s important for you to figure out how to achieve your career goals and put yourself in a position for long-term growth. Managers hardly find time to think about employees' career development. Regardless of how caring your organization is, it’s important for you to figure out how to achieve your career goals and put yourself in a position for long-term growth. 

To get what you want in your career, you must learn to identify your strengths, and weaknesses, and uncover blind spots. Remember, there are no shortcuts when it comes to achieving sustainable growth. Only perseverance and hard work will help you master the skills and experiences you need to thrive in the workplace. 

First and foremost, you need to realize that you’re living in a do-it-yourself career development era. Organizations either don’t offer formal training or their training programs are not given due attention. It is probably because employees change jobs frequently. As a result, organizations hesitate to invest in people who are likely to leave. 

Korn Ferry revealed that developing others is not at all on the priority list of managers. 

However, there are companies that treat personal development as a major company initiative. 

If you think you have skill gaps and blind spots that can make it hard for you to grow, it’s time to take some concrete actions and put your career on the right path. 

In this post, we will explain how you can take control of your career. Let’s get started! 

career

Define Your Success 

If you want to achieve something in life, be sure to have a clear picture of your goals. In other words, define your job goals and success metrics. It’s best to write down your key performance indicators, and then consult with your manager or boss to see if they agree to your plan. It would be a good approach to involve your employer in your career development planning. 

Fix Your Blind Spot 

Successful people know the significance of solving their blind spots. You can’t master the art of getting what you want unless you learn how to learn and adjust. Your boss is probably the right person to help you identify your weaknesses or areas where you need to improve. 

If your superiors aren’t proactive in giving regular feedback, be the first to start the conversation. Seek guidance after every meeting or presentation. Keep things simple: work on one area at a time. Listen to your peers and friends when they offer some advice. 

Learn in a Systematic Way 

It’s always a good idea to keep things organized. For example, when you seek feedback, keep a journal. Prepare a list of top competencies or skills that you want to develop. And then rate yourself on each of them with the help of your manager or career development coach. 

Let’s explain this with an example. If you’re a marketer, you might give yourself an A in trade marketing, a B+ in advertising development, and a C in brand development. Now, you should be focusing on the Cs to close skill gaps. Experts in those fields can help you learn quickly and the right way. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to people who previously held your position. 

Let Your Presence Be Felt 

One of the best things you can do as an employee is to increase your visibility with the C-suit. In some workplace environments, employees find it hard to get noticed by seniors through their direct work. So, you should watch out for volunteering opportunities or other business initiatives where you can prove yourself. 

So many workers overlook the importance of taking part in company events. Don’t be one of them. Let your seniors witness your ability to perform outside your traditional job role. 

Adapt Quickly 

Your company might need experts in areas of increasing importance. For example, your company may be introducing a new technology to streamline its various business operations. If you’re good at learning and implementing new technologies, you should come up and play your role and help your managers. If your company is facing an emerging issue, you can stand up and propose solutions. Your interest and willingness to solve your company’s problems will surely bring you promotions and other career opportunities. 

Get Clear on Your Next Step 

Visualizing your entire career path with clarity is only the first step. Whether you want to get that promotion you’ve been striving for or planning to start your own business, identify the pathway to get from where you’re right now and where you want to be. Here is a simple practice to do so: put yourself at least 5 years into the future and write down your resume as you envision it. 

Get Help 

It is a good idea to see things both from your perspective and others’ perspective. If you’re not confident in your career direction, seek mentoring. The perspective of an expert career development coach is invaluable. Therefore, try to find a mentor who could guide you and bring clarity to your vision. 

If you know someone who has what it takes to provide objective guidance, reach out to them. Focus on building a good relationship rather than bombarding them with non-stop questions. Find opportunities to have quality discussions over coffee or at the company’s lobby. This is how you build relationships organically. 

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Final Thoughts 

It might take you some time to learn the art of getting what you want in your career. Also, strong functional skills take time to develop. Besides, you’re likely to face plenty of resistance, both internal and external, to achieve what you want. All you have to do is stay committed to your goals and keep going. 

Your skill set is your most precious career capital. So, take time to develop them. Lack of clarity or jumping from one job to another too quickly wouldn’t allow you to develop the functional expertise you need to have a remarkable career. You’re more likely to succeed in this DIY world if you take initiative and stick to your well-thought plan. 

“The key to success is to start before you are ready.”  - Marie Forleo

Talent Pool: A Strategy In Its Own Right

Let’s start this post by stating the obvious: Every single company out there wants top-tier talent. But when you are searching for suitable candidates and hiring the perfect fit, don’t miss out on building a talent pool.

What is a Talent Pool? 

Preparing your company for the road ahead can be intimidating with so many competitors and limited talent to hire. With a talent pool, you can change the scenario.

A talent pool is a group of qualified candidates who can be your future hires. It is that part of your recruitment strategy that focuses on filling positions that don’t presently exist. It prepares talent acquisition professionals for demand by adopting proactive recruitment instead of reactive. 

Companies that have one, have an organized pipeline of talented, qualified candidates that can be their future employees. 

However, merely creating a talent pool doesn’t make it effective. Nurturing and maintaining interactions within the talent community and building deeper connections for improved employer value proposition is equally essential.

Why Do You Need to Build a Talent Pool? 

One of the most frequent complaints we hear from our clients is the lack of talent they find while recruiting. But that’s not the only scenario they encounter. There are times when they find more than one qualified candidate for a job role. Having a talent pool can help make the right decisions in both scenarios.

Imagine every time you had a job opportunity; you can save the details of qualified, top-talent candidates who are really interested in working with your company; it can also take the load off your talent acquisition team in several ways. 

Here’s why you need to build a talent pool and elevate your talent acquisition strategy:

How to Build a Talent Pool? 

Track Your Talent Inventory 

This is the cornerstone to successful talent pool building. Begin by mapping the talent that you already have and what you may need in the future (both short-and-long-term). Assess the skillset of your current employees and how you can add to it as you advance. However, as you track and map your talent inventory, leave enough room for flexibility. 

Sourcing Talent 

Next comes the vital step of finding the right candidate. To create an effective and proactive talent pool, ensure that you are looking for candidates in the right place. 

A talent pool in itself will not be helpful unless it is updated. Stagnant talent pools are worse than not having them in the first place. If you are not keeping your it up-to-date with candidates’ skills, availability, and experience, you are better off without a talent pool. That’s because wrong candidate information may do more harm than good. 

So, as you consider investing in a talent pool, aim for a vibrant community that’s not static and pushes your company toward its long-term goals.

Any talent that doesn’t make it to your hired list needs active engagement to add value. Today's world is so interconnected that you can’t afford to lose great talent to your competitors. Furthermore, it is crucial to create a positive candidate experience to strengthen your employer brand. And constant, healthy interactions with potential talent can help you do that. 

Building a Talent Pool: Best Practices 

Improve your recruiting flow with talent pools built around these best practices:

Inform Them Before You Include Them

When it comes to building a talent community, make sure that you inform the rejected but talented candidates that you may consider them for future positions at your company. In some countries, it may be a legal obligation. But even if it’s not, mentioning that you are interested in hiring them should a suitable opportunity arrives is an excellent way to build rapport.

Don’t Welcome Everyone

Don’t confuse a talent pool with a talent database. While the former includes information on just the top talent, the latter includes it all. Your talent pool, therefore, should only comprise the top-tier candidates to help you wield its power. 

Use Technology

The world of HR tech has been a wonder for hiring professionals. By employing the right technology, you can easily segment your talent with techniques like recruitment segmentation. And the right tools can also help you better engage and nurture different talent types by automating interactions. 

So, go ahead and make your talent pools more effective and relevant by using technology to manage your talent.

Get Help to Build a Vibrant Talent Pool

Let’s face it: not all companies can build and grow a vibrant talent pool without the right support. If you find yourself in a similar situation, let Wiggli be your friend. With our total talent management system, we can help you find the cream of the crop and include them in your list. 

How do we do that? Our exclusive nomenclature based on predefined skills rather than tags enables our expert team to use the same terms without losing top-tier talent in the crowd. Our system also allows us to incorporate a structure that doesn’t move with access to the candidates’ resumes.

Additionally, our pools work with unique identifiers so that you get talent without duplicates. At Wiggli, we help companies create stronger, successful talent pools that are not passing fancies. 

Ready to Drop That Archaic Recruitment Process?

Today’s candidates live in an agile recruitment world where the entire globe is their workplace. To win top talent, drop the archaic recruitment process with proactive recruitment. 

Connect with us, and we will help you implement a Total Talent Management strategy so that you don’t lose out on the best talent. Ever.

Essentials of a Successful Employer Brand

As a business leader or HR professional, what is your plan to compete effectively in the war for talent? How will you convince great people to join your organization and stay? If you don’t have a strong employer brand, it will become increasingly difficult for you to meet your HR goals down the road. 

This blog post will simplify the concept of “employer branding”, why it is important, and how to build a strong employer brand to achieve your business goals. 

What is an Employer Brand? 

Before we dig deep into employer branding, let’s quickly define what is “employer brand”.

Employer brand refers to your company’s overall reputation. What do your existing or potential employees think about your company as a place to work? In other words, your employer brand is your employees’ perception of you as an employer. 

There are so many factors that collectively develop that perception; your hiring process, culture, employee benefits, etc. 

What is Employer Branding? 

Employer branding is the process of creating and managing your employer brand. Whatever your company does, intentionally or unintentionally, helps your employees create an overall perception of your company. 

Employer branding is the way you present your company to internal employees and job seekers. The better you are at employer branding, the more likely you are to find and hire talented people. 

If you want your business to attract top-tier talent within your industry, you or your HR leaders must understand the importance of employer branding. Why? Because skilled people don’t just jump at the first job they come across. Instead, they look for an employer with a personality that they can trust and recognize. 

Is your employer brand recognizable and trustworthy? Do you find it easy to find and hire talent with great ease and speed? If not, it’s high time for you to reimagine the way people think of your company. The objective here is to make your company more attractive for your existing and new employees. 

That’s where you need to focus on your day-to-day people management activities, company culture, and values. Most importantly, analyze the way you treat people. Employer branding is an opportunity for you to introduce your company as an incredible place to work. 

Why Your Employer Brand Matters 

Studies suggest that your employer brand can have a direct impact on your talent acquisition efforts. 83% of employers believe that employer brand plays a key role in their ability to hire talent. It’s not just about attracting talent but retaining it. 

Let’s take a look at some important stats to understand why your employer brand matters: 

These stats are certainly enough to understand how crucial it is to have a strong employer branding strategy. Employer brand matters if you want to hire and retain the right people. 

Building your reputation as a credible employer is absolutely essential when it comes to today’s competitive market for top talent. 

Your reputation as an employer will have a strong impact on whether or not qualified candidates decide to join your company. If your workplace doesn’t meet your ideal candidates’ expectations, they will be happy to join your competitors. Therefore, you can’t afford to have a bad reputation as it will hinder your efforts to scale your business and ensure future success. 

A whitepaper from Linkedin indicates that employer brand becomes important when your audience is young and global. 

But what are the constituents of an employer brand? What makes a strong employer brand? Let’s answer these questions. 

Defining Your Employer Branding Strategy 

Now that we understand the significance of a strong employer brand, here are the fundamentals of a good employer branding strategy: 

1. Define your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

The employer value proposition or EVP defines how an organization wants to be perceived by its employees. It encompasses your core values and benefits that make up your employer brand. Defining your EVP is a fundamental step in defining your employer’s brand strategy. 

Your unique value proposition should make it clear to your current and future employees why they should choose and stay with you. Simply put, answer this question: why should people choose to work for your company? This statement should be realistic and attractive. 

It’s not about the compensation your workers get. Instead, it’s about defining your company’s purpose and positive impact on the world. It’s important because people don’t just work for monetary gains. They want to know whether or not their work is meaningful. 

Here are examples of EVPs from globally know employers: 

2. Know where you stand right now 

Have you ever thought about your current business processes and their impact on your people?  You might not be fully aware of what your employees and job seekers think about your company. The best thing you can do is conduct an employer brand audit and review all of your recruiting and marketing channels. 

The process may involve analyzing your social media presence, the application process, candidate experience, your messaging, and chatter about your brand. Address the following questions: 

3. Engage your current employees 

Your employees are your greatest asset. You can turn them into your brand ambassadors. 

When candidates want to learn more about your employer’s brand, they would like to hear it from your employees. So, leverage your people and share their testimonials on your website. 

Another great way to engage your employees is to encourage them to highlight company events such as giveaways on their social media profiles. For example, you can ask them to simply share pictures on Facebook or Instagram with your branded hashtags. It’s a fun way to share your company’s culture online. 

4. Develop a strong onboarding process 

The first thing your new hires go through is your onboarding process. Do you want to make a positive impression? If yes, think about your onboarding process and improve it. People who go through a bad onboarding process are less likely to stay with you. 

While the hiring process does have an impact on your employer’s brand, be sure to have a great onboarding process. Early engagement indicates that you’re determined to bring about employee success. 

5. Encourage learning opportunities 

A workplace must not be a place where everybody feels stagnant and dull. 

Do you know the leading reasons why people left their jobs? According to a study, the number one is boredom.  And it’s not hard to make your workplace learning and growth-friendly. 

Create learning opportunities for your employees to help them learn new skills. It’s also important to challenge your employees and help them avoid boredom. 

Offering coaching and mentoring services can also make things easier for your workers as they would have someone they can turn to if they have questions or concerns. 

Offer continuous employee development programs. Your employee will feel motivated when you invest in their professional growth. And that’s a good way to stand out. 

6. Focus on diversity and inclusion 

Diversity and inclusion are key factors that determine how your company is seen by employees, applicants, and other stakeholders. 

If everyone doesn’t get equal treatment and access to resources, or if a certain segment of people feels uncomfortable at your workplace, it will be difficult for you to build diverse teams. Companies that take diversity and inclusion initiatives build stronger workplace culture and are more likely to achieve their business goals. 

Your HR department and managers can play a key role in implementing a healthy D&I strategy. When you implement a well-thought-out D&I strategy, it eventually increases your talent reach. 

7. Measure your efforts 

Don’t forget to track the results your employer branding strategy is producing. Analyze what’s working and whatnot. Here are some key employer branding metrics you must be tracking: 

A good employer branding strategy will help you perform well in terms of these metrics. So, be sure to measure your performance and make necessary adjustments whenever needed. For example, if your hiring process is time-consuming, try to streamline it with HR tools. 

Implementing a smart talent management solution will automate certain HR processes and help you track your performance. 

Final thoughts 

Use your employer brand to reflect your popularity, reputation, viability, and visibility in the employment marketplace. Your employer brand might not get the attention it deserves, but it’s critical for your business success. 

Digitalization: Ride or Die

The way an organization creates, manages, and consumes information has a huge impact on its bottom line. That’s exactly why an increasing number of enterprises, small businesses, corporations, and non-profit agencies are looking to turn their information into the universal language of computers. In other words, they are using digitalization to transform the way their business processes work. 

As a business executive or IT leader, you might be feeling an urgency to act now and become a digital business due to the pandemic. However, it’s hard to find success when it comes to the digitalization of a business, even with the abundance of new digital tools and platforms.

While the majority of business leaders prioritize digitalization, two-thirds of transformations are not successful. The lack of managerial support and employee resistance are two of the leading factors that hinder digital transformation. 

But what is digitalization anyway, and why is it so important? What role does digitalization play in the recruiting industry? What can go wrong when a company tries to take a step toward digitalization? 

This blog post will answer these questions in great detail. Before we dig deep, let’s define some key terms. 

Digitalization

What is digitalization? 

Digitalization has many definitions. Here is how Gartner defines the term: 

“Digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities; it is the process of moving to a digital business.”

From an academic perspective, digitalization often refers to digital communication and its impact on social life. From a business perspective, digitalization refers to the use of digital technologies to change business models and open up new growth and revenue opportunities.

Why is digitalization so important? 

The limitations of the physical world are the reason businesses of all sizes have started using digital means. From reaching new customers to hiring great talent, technology can help you skyrocket the pace of your growth. 

Impact of digitalization on society 

Businesses can’t materialize sustainable growth unless they digitize their business processes. But how does digitalization impact society?

There’s a hot debate among economists and policymakers about the potential impact of digitalization on society. One of the major concerns is how growing digitalization is affecting wages, jobs, resource efficiency, health, and security. 

If we take the health sector, for example, computers have become intelligent enough to check for signs of cancer, a task typically performed by a qualified radiologist. It’s just one instance of how technology outsmarts humans. So far as jobs are concerned, technological advances will continue to impact jobs and salary levels across sectors. 

Effects of digitalization on society: 

As a business, you can easily come up with a better plan to address these issues at an organizational level. 

Digitalization

Recruitment and the role of digitalization 

As a recruiter, you probably spend most of your time reaching out to potential candidates, sending emails, and scheduling interviews. You visit various sites to post jobs and try to browse through endless resumes and spreadsheets. In short, you invest a lot of your time but achieve little. 

What if a smart tool or software automates most of your repetitive tasks and streamlines things that are hard to manage manually? What if technology can help you find and connect with better talent?  

If we look at digitalization from an HR perspective, recruitment tech can make your life easier. As an HR manager or recruiter, you should digitally transform your hiring and talent management efforts. 

Why? Because digital transformation will help you simplify various tasks while improving efficiency through data and automation. Digitalization in recruitment guides organizations to solve complex recruitment challenges such as the need for hiring the right people in a short time. 

The following are some of the changes that digital transformation can bring:

Handling high-volume recruitment 

Millions of people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. It’s predicted that recruiters will receive a higher volume of job applicants down the road. What’s your plan to improve your high-volume recruiting strategy? 

It’s exciting to see how software can sift through thousands of applications and shortlist candidates quickly. So, despite the increase in applicant volume, you can stick to high hiring standards and get things done with great speed. 

Improved metrics 

Analyzing or gathering data can be a daunting and time-consuming process. The worst part is that you might end up generating inaccurate information. Recruiting tools, on the other hand, not only produce valuable data but also make it actionable. With real-time analytics, you identify gaps and take action in a timely fashion. 

If you want to execute a top-notch, well-directed recruitment strategy, get ready to adopt digitalization. In other words, equip your team with digital tools that offer a simple-to-use dashboard and help them draw conclusions faster. For example, metrics analytics can help you understand who your ideal candidates are and what kind of content drives them to apply. 

Check out Wiggli to get some inspiration! 

Enhanced team collaboration 

Does your HR team have the capability to collaborate remotely? A good tool will enable you and your team to perform a variety of tasks remotely. For example, you can assign tasks to your people and see progress while they work from home.

Think of implementing a cloud-based recruitment platform that could present one picture to everyone in a team. Before you choose a system, be sure it meets the unique requirements of your team. 

Access to talent 

Digital recruitment solutions are designed to help companies find the right candidates faster than traditional hiring methods. For example, you can post a job with one click and advertise it in places where your ideal candidates are likely to hang out. LinkedIn and Facebook are two of the most popular places for recruiters to find new talent. 

If you’re new to digitalization, don’t hesitate to experiment and see what works for your organization. 

Digitalization

How companies should implement digitalization 

One of the outcomes of the Covid pandemic is the infusion of data-enabled services into our lives. However, organizations need to be more strategic when it comes to digital transformation. Here are some tips for repositioning your business in the digital economy: 

Adopt a people-first approach 

Technology helps us achieve more, but you need the right human skills to make good use of it. While digitalization is eliminating outdated jobs through automation, it has created new jobs and growth possibilities. 

To implement digital transformation strategically, we have to upskill and reskill our workforce. Simply put, your innovative ideas are useless if your team doesn’t have the skills to use them. So, as a leader, think about investing in your people who have to go through the transformation. 

Soft skills are crucial  

As mentioned earlier, digital transformation is about people rather than technology. Therefore, focus on soft skills. Organizations are looking for data scientists and software engineers, but what they shouldn’t miss are people who can be trained easily. 

To make your company more digital and data-centric, invest in curious people who love to adopt. We’re not sure about the key future hard skills, so the ideal way is to focus on people with a hungry mind, people who are most likely to develop new skills. 

Drive change from the top 

The idea of grassroots change is attractive, but the reality is quite the opposite. Change is likely to happen when you start from the top. It doesn’t mean you have to create a culture of fear or an autocratic structure.

All organizations need to do is understand that they cannot bring about big changes unless they start preparing their top leaders. The values, integrity, and mindset of senior leaders stand out. 

We talk about hiring the best talent, but the key is to find people who can manage talent and make them work toward a common business goal. 

Use data insights to make decisions 

The discussion about data often revolves around concepts like AI, machine learning, and other computer intelligence. These concepts are exciting, but your people need to have the skills to use that data and turn it into meaningful insights. Most importantly, you should be able to act on those insights. 

If you think hiring the best data scientist will resolve your issues, think again. Because the solution doesn’t lie in the brainpower of your top people, but in a data-driven culture. What your organization does, it must live, breathe, and act according to data. 

Take your time 

We often face a trade-off between speed and quality. If you can’t afford to fail fast, try to succeed slowly. If you don’t have a culture that encourages innovation and experimentation, you have to go slow and think of your long-term objectives. Learn from your failures in the short run. 

Digitalize your recruitment to stay competitive 

The process of hiring the right candidate is often time-consuming and involves many processes. And we know how manual recruiting processes eat up plenty of resources and time. However, digital technologies can solve your longstanding recruiting issues once and for all. 

Need an example? Check out Wiggli, a total talent management solution that makes it super easy for businesses to digitally transform their recruitment processes. From recruitment marketing and ATS to candidate relationship management and vendor management, Wiggli is a perfect technology for any business that wants to go digital without facing the risk of failure. 

It’s pretty much what our blog title says: ride or die. If you really want your business to survive and flourish, be ready to embrace digital transformation. It’s the only way you can stay ahead of the curve and serve your customers and people with a better experience. 

Digital Job Hunt: Convincing Behind a Screen

2020 was a tough year for both recruiters and workers. Lockdowns across the globe caused more than 114 million people to lose their jobs. However, the first half of 2021 has brought us hope and new energy to rethink the way we hire or get hired.

While the pandemic is still hurting the world, it’s time to move on and be a part of a steadily recovering economy, and start your digital job hunt.

Whether you want to go back to your physical office or look for remote work opportunities, you have to come up with a solid job-hunting strategy. If you’re struggling to find your dream job, don’t give up. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can convince employers and recruiters in the digital age. Whatever version of “normal” comes in the post-pandemic era or whatever situation you’re going through right now, you need to be more flexible and adaptable in order to succeed. 

Tips For Attracting Recruiters in a Digital Job Hunt 

The impact of the pandemic has started to lessen. However, businesses still feel reluctant to hire new people. In uncertain times when the job market is overwhelmed with skilled people seeking jobs, you must be able to stand out from the crowd. You have the opportunity to impress a recruiter throughout the hiring process from sending job applications to interviews.

Here is what you can do to leave a great impression on recruiters and land a great job in your digital job hunt: 

1. Be Flexible 

In 2021 and beyond, employers and professionals will be able to expand their reach as geographical restrictions are no longer a concern for many businesses. No matter where you live, you can take on a remote job anywhere in the world. This means you can broaden your job search and look beyond your traditional way of finding a job. A survey concluded that 42% of job seekers are open to a contract, gig, or part-time position. 

Job switching is a common practice and more acceptable than ever before. If you’re unable to find stable, long-term employment, you should consider short-term stopgaps. People working in the leisure and hospitality industry are hit hard by the economic shutdown. If you’re one of them, you can use your existing hospitality skills and join another industry like customer support. 

The future is flexible and you must embrace it. 80% of women are looking for flexibility in their next role. The same study found that 81% of UK employees feel that flexible working makes a job more attractive. 

You want the perfect role with rewarding work, a short or no commute, and a generous salary. Since the market is murky, being flexible will help you refine your job research. 

2. Apply for the Right Jobs 

Most of the applications recruiters receive are made up of applicants who don’t even remotely qualify for the job. Do you want to waste your time applying for jobs that aren't meant for you? Of course, not. Unqualified applications also make things difficult for HR managers who have to screen through a pile of resumes. 

So, look for a job that is close to your ideal position and the best fit for your situation and career goals. Make sure your next job aligns well with your goals. 

To make life easier, create a profile of your ideal job. Just like the way companies define their ideal customers. You should identify what type of employer would be good for your work style. Start with evaluating your past job experiences. Ask yourself the following questions: 

More information about what you want will make it easier for you to determine which job would be ideal for you. Don’t waste your time applying for the wrong jobs. And when you find your ideal job, do your best to convince the hiring manager that you’re a good fit.  

Did you know an average job application gets 7 seconds of review time? You have to make recruiters spend more time on your application and consider you as a potential candidate. 

3. Create a Cover Letter that Gets you a Job Interview 

The primary function of a cover letter is to help recruiters know you better. Therefore, take your resume as an outline of your career and cover letter as a brief description. Design custom cover letters in a way that elaborates on your strengths and skills, something that goes beyond your credentials and work history. When you create a powerful, custom cover letter, it shows that you’re serious about the position. 

Most candidates don’t spend time creating custom cover letters for each job they apply for. However, you should spare some time to create custom cover letters explaining why you’re a good fit for the job. Here are some quick tips for creating a good cover letter: 

4. Demonstrate Learning Agility and Resilience during your Digital Job Hunt 

The job market is recovering differently by industry type and geography. We’ve seen some pretty drastic changes to how organizations get the work done. They’re increasingly relying on technology to automate and streamline various business processes. Simply put, they’re quickly changing the way they do things. When things change that fast, candidates need to show some learning agility and resilience.

Do you have what it takes to be a successful employee in the age of digital transformation? Are you competent enough to adjust easily to change? Your career success largely depends on your ability to adapt. That’s exactly why experts take adaptability as a core competency of agile leadership. As a candidate, you have to understand the circumstances in which organizations are restarting their business operations. 

Resilient candidates recognize changing dynamics and make quick adjustments to propel change. Besides, companies need people who are resilient and capable of performing well in challenging situations. 

5. Be Ready for an Initial Phone Call 

Considerate employers don’t want to waste your or their time. So, they often start the hiring process with a quick telephonic interview. It’s a good tactic to narrow down the list of potential candidates. So, be prepared for that mini-interview. Your employer might ask to talk about your salary expectations. 

Try to give a direct and clear answer when asked about your expectations. In most cases, employers set the salary range based on multiple variables: salaries of coworkers, local job market, etc. Employers must come up with a salary range for the positions in their job postings. Why? Because the best candidates don’t want to play games or waste time. 

6. Learn How to Nail Your Virtual Job Interview 

Conducting job interviews on Zoom has become a common practice. Recruiters prefer to use virtual interviews as they are health-friendly and convenient. As a candidate, your job is to make the best impression. 

For this, you must learn how to present yourself on an online interviewing platform like Zoom. The good thing about virtual interviewing is that you can connect with recruiters from the comfort of your home. However, it’s important to know how to overcome all the challenges associated with online job interviews. The following tips will help you simplify Zoom job interviews: 

7. Develop an Online Networking Strategy During your Digital Job Hunt 

The use of online networking and social media has been growing for years. The internet has developed into a central place for everyone from students and professionals to business leaders. Therefore, you need to have an online networking strategy and all the tools you need to build a career.

The Digital Job Hunt Journey

The job market is improving as countries are picking up their Covid vaccination drive. The second half of 2021 will bring in some good news for both employers and workers. While many companies have already started hiring and resuming their business operations, others will soon start hiring again. So, get yourself ready for your next job-hunt campaign. You’re so close to getting your dream job. Just be prepared to grab the right opportunity. 

Most importantly, learn how to convince through a screen. Your digital presence matters whether you’re a freelancer, a job seeker, a contractor, or a full-time, in-house worker. 

Wiggli your comprehensive guide to a successful career

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