• Be proactive, seek out your employees and ask them to think about the best people they have worked with.  Depending on the role you are trying to fill, ask questions like “Who was the best manager?” or “Who provided the best customer service?”.
• As part of your orientation process, ask new hires for names or at a minimum, talk about the importance of referrals to your Credit Union.
• Network, or better yet, blog with other Credit Unions and employers to see what is working for them.  Brainstorm, and share best practices.
• Provide an inexpensive gift like a gift card or movie tickets.
• Provide recognition.  Be creative – use what works best in your Credit Union.  A newsletter, staff meeting, etc.
• Brand your referral program.  Create a slogan, remind people the reason behind their referral.
• Set goals.  Motivate, and raise awareness.  Make a chart or graph touting results.
• Give a rotating plaque, put their picture in it, put it in the lobby.
• Lunch with an Executive.  Either one on one, or ask your CEO to hold a quarterly luncheon – include those who have referred candidates and those that have been hired through referrals.
• Say thank you! Remember to stop by to say thanks, or pick up the phone if you’re in a different location.
• Hold a drawing for those employees that have referred candidates.  Give a free vacation day, talk about a motivator!

Check out the newest recruiting blog to enter the blogosphere – The Talent Buzz, and a post on creating an engaging experience for candidates on your career site.  The Talent Buzz also has a LinkedIn group for HR and Recruiting professionals, and features a link on the with recruiting jobs.

CUhire has partnered with Standout Jobs to offer the Reception service, FREE! This free service allows Credit Unions to create a career site in minutes, and leverage the interactive capabilities of the service including a blog, polls, workplace news, and more.

If you are considering hiring a recent grad, check out "How to Hire a New Grad:  Lessons from a Gen-Y perspective."

And last but not least is an article from ERE highlighting Employee Referral Program Killers.

So, we’ve all heard the example of hiring “A” players, passive candidates, or even Michael Jordan.  Would we expect these individuals to come to any specific job site, find your specific opening, and apply? Not to mention, wait weeks for our process.  While arguments can be made either way about the differences between active and passive candidates, the fact of the matter is a variety of Credit Union job sites exist, and have very different models.

The primary advantage of partnering with CUhire for posting Credit Union Jobs is what happens the second you hit the submit button.  No, you don’t have to wait 24 or 48 hours for your posting to be approved, or live on the site.  It’s immediate, and the cross posting to Monster, Jobster, LinkedIn, and other sites begins shortly thereafter.  And, payment is secure, on-line, and instant.  We like  to refer to it as another On Demand service!

Once a job is submitted, our Talent Scouts begin proactively searching – and marketing to candidates from a variety of databases, associations, professional networking sites, user homepages, and blogs to drive targeted talent to your posting – both active and passive.  What’s the catch? There is no catch.  As Sharon mentioned, it’s $185 for a 60 day posting and it includes it all.  Post your Credit Union Job now, or contact us for more information.

In the end, it’s the results that matter.  Our tagline isn’t Credit Union Talent – On Demand for nothing! Post a job now, or contact us for more information.

Up next is a great article on ERE titled "To Catch a Thief".  It provides several easy to use sourcing ideas. 

Last up this week is a post on Recruiting Fees.  If you like the approach, research CUhire’s Total Recruiting Solutions for Credit Unions, and our approach to Executive Search which is all backed by a 2 year guarantee. 

About the webinar, from the registration page:

• Gen X and Gen Y make up the core demographic of social networking sites [i.e. Facebook and MySpace].  Generating an estimated 90 million viewers every month, between business, industry, professional, and internet groups.
• According to the bureau of labor statistics the United States will face an overall labor shortage, continuing for decades.  In 2 years, the shortage of skilled workers is expected to hit 10 million.  By 2030, the estimated shortage is projected to hit 35 million.
• By 2015:  Hispanics will make up an estimated 15.9% of the labor force, up from 13.7% in 2006.  African Americans will make up 12% of the labor force, up from 11.4% in 2006.  Asians will make up 5.1% of the labor force, up from 4.4% in 2006. 
• By 2012 people of color will make up 35% of the workforce, and by 2015 students of color will make up 47% of college enrollment.
• An estimated 3.3 million white collar jobs and $136 billion in wages will shift from the United States to low-cost countries by 2015.
• People with disabilities aggregate income tops $1 trillion; they are the largest minority population in the United States that spans all other minority groups.

Integrating an overall workforce and diversity plan – as well as aligning it to your business strategy is critical.  While "planning" alone is not enough, questions you should integrate include:

• How will we successfully compete for our unfair share of future talent?
• What is our value proposition?
• Are we prepared and equipped to attract, hire, develop, and retain the talent needed to meet our business and member objectives?
• What sets us apart?
• What are the implications for our business?

Remember the buzz years ago about "the war for talent"? The best days are in the past as competition for critical talent will only intensify.  Are you prepared?

“Y”er’s are shaking up the workforce as some know it.  With the boomers on deck to exit the work scene, that leaves X to take Y under its wing.  Are Xer’s prepared? 

Growing up with world war II era-born parents, Generation Xer’s were told – “Go outside and play – use your imagination,” to “Share the soda with your sister/brother”, and “It’s ok if you didn’t win – you can always try next time”.  They were told to buck up, and to save their pennies for a rainy day.  

What a difference compared to today’s Generation Yer’s, who grew up with television galore, video games, and barely knew life before there were cell phones – do they even remember pagers?  And don’t forget – everyone gets a trophy – just for participating!  Does the phrase “I want it all, and I want it now” ring a bell?

But how are these new generation college grads making it in the workforce?  Some sources say they’re extremely over-confident – setting off their other generation counterparts.  Do we need to start giving bumper stickers that read “I Interviewed at “ABC Company” Today” to coincide with their mom’s and/or dad’s that read “My Child is an A-Honor Roll Student”?  Although, they do have a huge amount of technological suaveness – a saving grace for sure in this day and age, while other generations sometimes struggle to keep pace – especially those who have been out of the workforce for some time raising kids.  Technology is definitely in this generation’s corner.

How do companies compete for Generation Y talent that could just as easily be harbored into an on-line mega success overnight?  Take a look at Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter.  After all, that is what this generation is notorious for – wanting it all, and wanting it now.  What are companies doing these days to compete for this generation’s techno-talent, in an ever-shrinking workforce trying to keep social security alive?

As we switch over to Generation Y gear, it is easy to see a transition from business as it used to be – 9-5, 40 hours a week, to what it will soon become – or has already become.  Shorter hours, telecommuting, working from home, or inevitably, working from the beach.  Companies have been transitioning toward this new workforce paradigm on how to hook-line-and sink Generation Y talent – making benefits more appealing and the work place more attractive to this younger crowd – posh break rooms, easy-access coffee lounges, and bicycle races – indoors!!  I’ve seen verbiage on company websites referring to on-boarding as taking the company for a test-drive for one’s career, or referring heavily to a menagerie of college year experiences – friends and all – in order to invoke that warm feeling that can just be transferred to one’s new career – something Generation Y apparently can’t get enough of. 

While there are opinions everywhere on the generation gaps, trends, and challenges, I came across a few related stories here, here, and here.

How is your company adapting to Y new hires?  Tell us about it!

Happy Friday.  I found the following free webinar for building effective referral programs.  The program is being put on by Kennedy Information, and is sponsored by LinkedIn.  The best part – it is FREE!

From the Kennedy site:

• What are the common denominators of the best employee referral programs?


• Learn referral tools for your business like how people get referred to hiring managers or recruiters, how to forward a job posting to your networks, and how employees can add a link from their LinkedIn profile that says “We’re hiring.”


• How to plan referral programs and who should be in charge


• Recognition and motivation tips for effective employee referral programs


• How to train in house employees on up to date referral programs


• See how LinkedIn allows people to refer their connections for positions.

Here is another post on low cost or no cost employee referral program tips that also provides several great ideas within the recognition component of a referral program.

Enjoy the weekend!