But, the good news is that you don’t need to entirely reinvent the wheel when it comes to modern recruitment strategies. Rather, all it takes is tweaking your existing strategies and investing in a more enjoyable and flexible candidate experience. So, read on for tips to help you create an engaging and successful hiring process that will help you land the best talent available.

@CaliperCorp says by focusing on these 3 areas, you can better attract, #recruit, and retain top #talent. Read more on their latest blog:
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Meet Candidates Where They Are

Today’s job seekers use a plethora of career sites, social media platforms, and talent exchange networks to find and apply for jobs. What’s more, many candidates today want a job application process that is quick, simple, and able to be done from anywhere. So what does this mean for you, the recruiter? 

Whenever possible, aim for quick apply functionality or mobile applications. This will help you reach out to a broader pool of talent and help ensure you avoid a lengthy application process that discourages people from applying. Recruiters would also benefit from utilizing numerous social media platforms and career sites to attract and hire top talent. Make sure to post job postings across all sites that you utilize to be sure that potential applicants see and interact with your posts.

Did you know: Roughly 79% of the working population won’t see your job posting? Expand the sites and networks you promote open positions on to better reach this demographic.

Find A Structure That Encourages Top Talent To Stay

There’s no denying that Covid-19 has transformed the way we do business. First, people had to adjust to working from home quickly, and the perks of being in the office were replaced promptly by the benefits of a flexible work environment. While there were undoubtedly some hiccups along the way, most organizations found solid ground to rebuild their frameworks. At the same time, their employees clocked in from their home office, couches, and kitchen tables. 

Now, after having had a taste of the freedom and flexibility that comes with remote or flex work formats, it’s clear that employees want some of these freedoms to stay. 

While a fully remote format might not work for every business, employers can work with their teams to find ways to implement some more ownership of what their work experience is like. Maybe the best option for you and your team is to have a flex work schedule, where part of the week is done in the office, and the other part is done from home. Maybe your employees want a bit more flexibility with what time they get their tasks done in a day. In 2021, a great competitive advantage for recruiting is offering support and tools for employees to create a healthy work-life balance.

When it comes to the war for top #talent, @CaliperCorp says you need to pay attention to these 3 areas to beat out the competition:
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Focus On The Candidate Experience

We’ve said it before, and we will continue to say it again — providing a stellar candidate experience is crucial for you to succeed when it comes to recruiting. 

The candidate experience can make or break your ability to attract and hire top talent. When you fail to provide the resources, tools, and support necessary to have an efficient and enjoyable application process, you risk losing out on highly qualified candidates. Not only can you lose out on a great applicant, but 72% of candidates who have had a poor application experience are likely to share that experience with others. This means that your employer reputation is at risk of taking a hit, and as we all know, bad news can travel quickly.

Did you know: 60% of job seekers would abandon an application if the process is too lengthy or complex. Keep your process simple; it benefits everybody!

To avoid this potential trouble, recruiters need to invest in a positive candidate experience. What does this look like? A positive candidate experience engages with candidates the moment they interact with your job posting and nurtures them throughout every step of the hiring process. Your application process needs to be simple. You need to ensure you maintain consistent communication with applicants to explain what they can expect regarding responsiveness and procedures clearly. Remember — it’s always better to overcommunicate than it is to leave a candidate wondering what comes next.

Looking Towards The Future

After a year of sudden changes and unexpected adjustments, recruiters are ready to ramp up their hiring efforts and stack their teams with the best talent on the market. While the fight for talent will be tough, there are some quick and easy ways you can tighten up your strategy before you dive in. With the right processes in place, you and your hiring team can easily nudge out the competition when it comes to attracting and recruiting top talent. 

Our team of experts is here to help you recruit and build a strong, qualified team. By utilizing our science-backed pre-employment assessments, you can be sure that your new hire is up for the job and a good fit with your organization’s culture. To learn more about our Caliper Profile and other personality assessments, reach out to our team and see how we can help you build a better, more qualified team. 

@CaliperCorp has advice for how to #recruit and #retain top talent in a post-COVID workplace:
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1. Offer Flexible Work Schedules

At the start of the pandemic, businesses and organizations scrambled to adjust to remote work scenarios. Meetings that once took place in the office were now being held virtually from living rooms, home offices, and kitchen tables. Now, with over a year of remote work under our belts, employees are finding that the newfound freedom and flexibility is something that they crave in their careers.

With vaccination efforts rolling out and a return to normalcy on the horizon, organizations are starting to ramp up their hiring efforts. Still, a lack of available and qualified talent on the market means that competition is fierce. While an entirely remote format might not be an option for all companies, finding ways to create flexibility in scheduling and the workday will be crucial for attracting and hiring the modern job seeker.

How can employers weave some flexibility into their structure if they plan to return to the office?

There are plenty of options that people can embrace, such as flex scheduling or hybrid work formats. In a hybrid model, employers create a schedule that allows employees to work from home for a portion of the week and the office for the remainder of the time. This allows some of the freedom that employees felt over the past year of remote work while also allowing for in-person collaboration and communication.

Another option that some employers are embracing is flex scheduling. With flex schedules, employers dictate a range of hours in which employees are expected to complete their workweek. For example, an employer might allow employees to work anytime from 7 am to 6 pm during the week, granted that they complete a total of 40 hours of work by the end of the workweek. This gives some flexibility in their days to work around personal commitments, appointments, and family needs. The key to using flex scheduling, though, lies in clear communication. Ensure that all employees clearly dictate the hours they will be working so that everyone on their team knows when to expect responses.   

2. Use Social Media to Source Candidates

Having a solid online presence in today’s recruiting space is essential for attracting and hiring the best candidates. 79% of job seekers are using digital platforms to connect with businesses and gather information about a potential employer. Curating a strong employer brand that resonates with your workplace culture can help you gain a leg on the competition and attract the most sought-after talent.

When it comes to young professionals, 41% cite using social media as a platform to search for and inquire about job opportunities. Employers should be utilizing their platforms to post about open positions and recruit both passive and active candidates. Chances are you are already using social media to recruit potential employees — 84% of employers say their recruitment efforts involve using social media to some extent. By advertising open positions across a range of job boards, your website, and your social media channels, you can expand your reach and create a wider talent pool.

The competition for top #talent is sure to be fierce, but with these 3 tips from @CaliperCorp, you can be sure you are attracting and #retaining the best candidates. Find out more on their latest blog:
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3. Modernize Your Benefits

In 2021, employer benefits are focusing more on flexibility and employee wellness. The in-person benefits of your office pool table are no longer relevant if your employees are working from home. As you start your recruitment efforts, take some time to review the benefits you offer employees and find ways to reinvigorate your benefits package to reflect the needs of modern workers better. Some benefits to consider include:

• Technology stipends — if your organization is continuing to work remotely, consider offering your employees a stipend to purchase technology or resources that will help to create a more enjoyable and productive work environment. Employers can cover some expenses, including a stipend for internet and WiFi, printing supplies, or other office supplies. 
• Childcare and caregiving support — over the past year, many employees have expressed the importance of having childcare or caregiving support from their employers. Working parents have the additional stress of providing care for their younger children, and 40% of working women have considered leaving their jobs due to increased caregiving responsibilities. To help retain these valuable employees and reduce the stress they face, employers should consider offering childcare services or benefits such as extended parental leave or paid family support.
• Mental health support — 70% of working professionals have said the past year was the most stressful of their career. Heightened levels of stress and anxiety can cause employees to drop in productivity or feel signs of burnout in their role. When employers offer mental health support such as telehealth and telemedicine benefits and stress management advice, employees will often see lower rates of stress in the workplace. 
• Mentoring programs — mentoring programs are a cost-effective way for skilled employees to train and guide new hires. What’s more, employers who implement mentoring programs see significantly higher retention rates than companies without a set mentoring structure. 
• Student debt assistance — the mounting student debt crisis affects millions of employees, hindering their ability to save for retirement and other financial goals. Thanks to recent provisions in stimulus packages, employers can continue to offer assistance for employees with student loan repayment programs.
• Emergency savings funds — this past year demonstrated to many the necessity of having an emergency fund to cover the cost of unforeseen financial struggles. Many employers are looking at offering resources to educate employees on managing finances and creating a fund to draw upon in times of need.

COVID-19 has affected many of our old processes, including how we recruit and retain employees. As your organization begins to ramp up your hiring efforts, make sure your strategies reflect the wants and needs of modern job seekers. 

With Caliper’s Precision Series, you can maximize employee strengths and develop areas of improvement through practical skills development — resulting in engaged, productive employees. Reach out to our team of experts to learn more about our science-driven solutions. 

But the culture of your organization doesn’t always reflect the climate of your organization. The company’s mission, diversity initiatives, incentives, and perks all make for good culture on paper, but does the climate in your workplace reflect the culture you hope to have? Do your promises live up to your reality?

Does your #OrganizationalClimate match your #OrganizationalCulture? @CaliperCorp explains what's the difference, and what to do to make sure they're aligned. Learn more in the latest from their blog:
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The terms organizational culture and organizational climate get thrown around a lot, often interchangeably. But they’re not the same thing — and the distinction is important.

What is Organizational Culture?

Simply put, organizational culture is your company identity. It’s your values and the norms that have arisen organically over time.

Common Values Include:

• Curiosity – Embracing the desire to be continually learning and growing
• Quality – Assessing accuracy and logically thinking over situations and problems
• Innovation – Risk-taking and introducing new ideas
• Outcome Orientation – Focusing on overall results and achievements
• Diversity and Inclusion — creating space for minorities, women, those with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

For example, a bank might have,what would be considered, a more traditional company culture. A corporate bank is a structured environment, as the banking industry is heavily regulated by well-established laws. Banking is an old industry, which suggests the culture has had a long time to develop and is firmly ensconced.

At a bank, you’ll likely find a culture where people are expected to follow proper channels and defer to the chain of command — where being experimental in your methods and practices would be less favorable and where staff members present a calm, courteous face to the customer so as to convey trust and reliability.

On the other hand, a company like a tech start-up is likely to be more collaborative and unstructured — where disruption, innovation, and entrepreneurship is not only welcome, but also encouraged. Disruptive conflict, wild ideas, and challenging traditions might even be a key value in their culture. Everyone from the company president to the newest intern may be able to communicate laterally and casually.

Finding employees who match your values and exhibit natural behaviors that fit within your organizational goals is key to crafting an organizational culture that’s built around the things that matter most to your business.

How the Pandemic May Change Company Culture

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, many workplace conventions have been upended. A lot of people are working from home indefinitely, changing the way we interact with our coworkers, managers, leadership, and how we structure our work. Our idea of work/life balance has been recalibrated.

And born out of the pandemic comes another re-focus on values: The Black Lives Matter movement has challenged employers to take a closer look at diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and examine how they actually work with employees. Your company may say they value diversity — but do your underrepresented groups feel included? Is every seat at the table equitable? It’s an important place to review whether your organizational climate reflects the culture you aim to foster.

Defining Organizational Climate

Organizational climate is the way people experience the work environment. What is it like to work there? How do individuals feel when operating in that culture? How do business conditions, management decisions, and the actions leadership affect the general mood? When you consider the collective experience of all the talent in the organization, you’re evaluating climate.

Revenue swings, for example, can affect climate without changing the culture. If you work for a company built around a culture of process and efficiency, and then revenue drops, the solution would likely be to double down on improving processes and efficiencies — this might mean cutbacks in other areas, consolidation of responsibilities, or increased workloads. As a result, employees may start to feel resentful or despondent that their bonuses were canceled, coworkers were laid off, or they’ve lost certain perks or benefits. In this scenario, the culture stayed the same, but the climate changed.

If your company has a diversity and inclusion initiative, how many people from underrepresented groups have you actually hired? What positions do they hold? How many of those individuals are in managerial positions or within leadership? It’s one thing to have a diverse staff, but if every group isn’t represented through every department and at all levels, does the climate really reflect the value your organization claims as part of their culture? Your organization may have the diversity, but you can’t leave out the inclusion.

How Coaching Impacts Climate

An important part of fostering an organizational climate that is representative of your organizational culture is through leaders who embody those values and exhibit them throughout their work. A shift in mindset — from manager to coach — helps leaders not only demonstrate organizational values, but also listen to what’s happening throughout the workplace and help promote and build a climate where employees feel seen, heard, and supported on their way to achieve the desired culture.

Bonus Material: Check out how Caliper Essentials for Coaching can transform your leadership strategies as well as develop and strengthen your employees.

How does a coaching mindset help managers build a better #OrganizationalClimate? @CaliperCorp discusses why #CompanyCulture is lead-by-example:
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Issues That Arise With Organizational Culture

Problems of organizational culture arise when the existing culture is detrimental to achieving business goals or realizing the organization’s ideal state. For example, a tech company where the culture is collegial, collaborative, and academic — and where behaviors that are brash, autonomous, or cut-throat are discouraged — may be an engaging place for easygoing managers and low-key product engineers to work. However, the tech world is highly competitive and disruptive, and while internally, a tech company such as this may flourish, they may find themselves unequipped to deal with the characteristically more aggressive and venturesome competitors within the industry.

Other drawbacks to organizational culture include:

• It can become too entrenched, making it difficult to adapt or change
• It may ostracize employees who don’t feel like they fit in, or cause people to isolate themselves from coworkers they can’t relate to
• May form cliques or biases
• May make it difficult for employees to present opportunities for improvement or express concerns

Problems of Organizational Climate

Problems of organizational climate arise when you’re not paying attention. At companies that seem relatively healthy, management tends to chug along and maintain the status quo. However, many organizations are vulnerable to slowly escalating problems because they aren’t tuned in to the daily experience. It may be a problem with communication and messaging, general dissatisfaction with leadership and business decisions, or deeper structural and procedural flaws that are fomenting frustration and harming engagement and satisfaction.

It’s a good idea for business leaders to keep a finger on the pulse of the organization, so to speak, and not allow themselves to be blindsided. Employee surveys are a good way to get a broad sense of staff members’ prevailing thoughts, and survey results can serve as a springboard for programs around improved transparency, greater collaboration, better alignment of talent, or greater potential to address business concerns.

Employee surveys can address a number of different areas, all answers/results providing a clearer picture of how motivated employees are. Areas the survey may cover are:

• Individual feelings and beliefs
• Whether employees feel properly represented and seen
• How well leadership demonstrates and promotes company values
• Whether employees have the resources and support they need
• How employees fit in with their managers and team members
• Any additional open-ended concerns, suggestions, or ideas

By taking steps to ensure a positive culture and a healthy climate, management can both move the company forward and perform the preventative maintenance needed to maximize business results.

Caliper has the tools and expertise to identify and correct problems of culture and climate within your organization. Contact us today and tell us about your ideal future state. We’ll help you get there.

The unexpected onset of Coronavirus left many employers unprepared for a company-wide move to the home office, and many are finding it challenging to stand on solid ground while we all get used to the new normal — at least for the time being — so, what should businesses focus on today for their remote teams, and what should they be thinking about for the coming weeks?

Has your team gone fully #WFH during the #coronavirus outbreak? @CaliperCorp lists 4 things you can do today to help your team adjust, and 4 things to think about for the near future:
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What Needs to Happen Today

1. Get Them Set Up At Home

First and foremost, do everything you can to make sure your employees can work comfortably at home, safely practicing social distancing with as little need as possible to leave home to complete their work. Make sure they have the equipment, technology, and set up at home to accomplish all their normal work. Make sure they have a way to join video calls and instant message their team as needed to keep the normal lines of communication flowing.

2. Understand Your IT Needs

Is it critical that they have their calls forwarded? Do they need a special network connection? Figure out what your technological limitations are for setting up a remote team, what you can solve, and where you need to get creative. If you can’t get a landline hooked up, can you forward their calls? If they need a VPN to access their workstation remotely, how can you make it faster and easier for that to happen on a large scale?

3. Set Expectations

Make sure managers, teams, and individuals have a clear understanding of the new telework expectations: Will you have daily video check-ins? Will they send their daily agenda each morning? What’s going to be the standard method of communication? Set rules and expectations up front so that nothing falls through the cracks and no one has to play catch up later.

4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Remain visible, even when no one’s at the office. Employees will be looking to their leaders to signal how things should operate, set the tone, and pick up queues for how nervous, excited, or frustrated they think they need to feel. So keep communication lines open — because there will be lots of questions! — and remain optimistic that this will be a productive time and an opportunity for some unique remote team-building.

Is your team ready to #WorkFromHome? @CaliperCorp has 8 tips to ensure your time during #coronavirus isolation goes smoothly, stays productive, and has contingency plans in place:
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What Needs to Happen Tomorrow

1. Keep Your Employees Engaged

Loneliness is a big problem for remote workers, and those who aren’t used to staying home every day might find the transition difficult after a few days, and after weeks, they’re at risk for burnout. Isolation is difficult, so check in with employees regularly to make sure their needs are being met, even at a distance. Continue your regular conversations, have employees join meetings via video so they can see their coworkers, and discuss the obstacles and roadblocks they run into as they spend more and more time outside the office.

2. Encourage Virtual Socialization

We’re all in this together, so use this as an opportunity to strengthen remote team bonds. Schedule virtual coffee breaks, virtual happy hours, and get some creative Slack channels going. Encourage employees to share tips and photos of how they’re staying occupied during isolation: What new recipes are they trying out? What books are they reading? How far have they gotten on that puzzle? We’re all going through a shared experience, so encourage teams to relate to connect.

3. Anticipate Sick Leave

No one might be sick today, but it’s important to remember that we’re in the midst of a pandemic, and sickness is inevitable. Have a plan in place should there be sudden sick leave with team members out 1-2 weeks time recovering. How will you prepare teams to be ready on short notice? What tools and resources do they need in order to seamlessly pick up work

4. Be Prepared for the Long Haul

At this moment, no one is sure how long things will last, but some scientists believe we might be confined to our homes for a few months rather than weeks. And it’s likely to have lasting change on the way we work. Make decisions now for your remote teams that are sustainable and scalable instead of looking for a quick fix. By treating this like it’s long-term, you’ll make more sound business decisions today, and see better results tomorrow.

In the meantime, take this opportunity to check in with your employees. Motivation, consistency, and clear communication are key to success during this time, and individuals will be leaning on their managers, coaches, and leaders more than ever.

To help facilitate conversations, gauge motivations, and help each employee find their productivity through their natural abilities and inclinations, the Caliper Essentials for Coaching helps managers and leaders but the right tools into the right hands, and can help make your transition to remote teams smoother and more successful.

Reach out to our experts today to learn more about the ways Caliper can help your business stay strong and productive through uncharted waters.

In 2015, Airbnb became one of the most notable companies to tackle the topic of employee happiness by hiring someone whose role was specifically dedicated to managing and improving their employee’s experiences. At the time, they transitioned their Chief Human Resources Officer into their shiny new position, the Head of Employee Experience. 

The Head of Employee Experience combines traditional human resources processes and the responsibility of focusing on their new initiative — the “workplace as an experience” vision. Airbnb worked to achieve this vision by creating a group of employees in most offices that worked as a “ground control,” focused on bringing the company’s written culture to life. 

Your employee’s experience is not just tied to happiness but also #productivity throughout the workplace. @CaliperCorp sheds light on why you should be promoting #EmployeeHappiness in your organization:
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So why are companies focusing so much on employee happiness and their experience at work? Beyond ranking well in Forbes’ Best Places to Work List, there are a number of benefits that outweigh the cost of investing in employee happiness. However, most offices can’t afford to hire a Head of Employee Experience. Often, departments delegate responsibilities to a single person or a team of individuals to ensure that tasks don’t fall through the cracks. At the end of the day, you want your employees to be both happy and productive. So, what are you doing to promote their happiness?

Productivity, happiness, and your bottom line.

A report titled The Financial Impact of a Positive Employee Experience dove into the correlation between financial returns and employee satisfaction in their current role. It was found that companies who ranked in the top 25% reported nearly three times the return on assets, and doubled their return on sales. These findings make it clear: Your employee’s experience is not just tied to happiness, but also productivity throughout the workplace. You can drastically improve your company’s bottom line by increasing your employees’ experiences. A happier workforce is a more productive workforce, which in turn creates a more profitable environment. 

Bonus Material: See how the Caliper Essentials for Coaching can improve employee morale, confidence, and creativity.

If you notice that productivity is low and it seems you’ve done all you can do to promote employee happiness in the workplace, take a look at your hiring practices and see if there needs to be more precision when hiring. Sit down and take the time to assess gaps in your hiring process, and determine ways in which you can improve. Moving forward, this can tremendously impact your employees’ future happiness and productivity.

A work-life balance is integral toward fostering a happy workforce. Being able to separate work and personal life provides untethered freedom, allowing employees ample time to unplug and recharge. Finding small, simple ways to promote a healthy work-life balance can help combat burnout and can help your employees feel as though work doesn’t permeate every aspect of their lives. When employees aren’t having to worry about work outside of the office, it increases their drive. Allowing employees to recharge gives them the opportunity to come in with a fresh attitude instead of being bogged down. Having a clear break between life and work is an easy way to promote happiness.

Engagement, happiness, and a retained workforce.

The average cost-per-hire for companies is $4,129 per new employee, according to Hire by Google’s latest research, and the cost-per-hire of executives is exponentially higher. Recently, the Work Institute looked at trends in employee turnover and predicted that in 2020,  1 out of every 3 workers will leave their current jobs. When it costs nearly a third of an employee’s salary each time someone leaves their position, it is critical for companies to find ways to engage and retain their current human capital. 

Employees are more likely to stay in an organization that offers opportunities to create meaningful relationships with their coworkers. @CaliperCorp offers insight on how #EmployeeHappiness benefits your company:
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Employees are more likely to stay in an organization that offers them opportunities to develop in their professional careers and create meaningful relationships with their coworkers and supervisors. Developing and enforcing friendships can have a great impact on your organization. Work friendships help employees to become more engaged and more innovative. 

A highly engaged workforce has resoundingly positive effects on your company. Employees will have higher ratings of profitability, productivity, and satisfaction in their roles. Additionally, a highly engaged workforce is 59% less likely to move onto a new role at a different company. Retaining your top talent will help your bottom line — rather than spending your budget on hiring and onboarding new employees, you can invest in your current workforce at a much more cost-effective rate. Take this cost-savings approach when it comes to factoring in your budget for employee happiness. 

Ask your employees for suggestions.

Your employees know what they want out of their employer better than anyone else. Take the time to ask why they enjoy their jobs, and what they would like to see changed. Doing so offers valuable insight that you can’t gather anywhere else. The classic “suggestion box” isn’t a groundbreaking tactic, but at its core, it opens up the discussions that are necessary to understanding the mindset of your employees. 

Offering your employees the support and opportunity to ask questions and suggest improvements in your organization can serve as a big win for your company. This strategy allows your employees to tap into their resources, technical savvy, and creative expertise. Their suggestions may highlight things you’ve missed in your organization, or uncover tools and resources that your employees need to become more productive and successful in their jobs. 

By inviting employees’ best ideas, you are continuing to foster and promote a more collaborative culture that sparks creativity. 

Tip: Incorporate a suggestion box in your organization. Each month, choose one suggestion and utilize this as a way to improve your company, whether big or small. Your employees will not only feel heard and appreciated, but this is also a simple and quick way to increase employee happiness. 

It might be strange to envision happiness as something you can offer to your employees, but by tweaking different aspects in your workplace, you can find ways to both not only improve your organization and benefit employees. It’s possible for your employees to be happy and productive in the workplace, and it all starts with active listening and ensuring that your employees feel engaged and valued. 

Caliper offers tools and resources that your company can use to assess, track, and improve employee engagement in your workplace. Get started with our scientifically-verified assessment and reports, and see how Caliper can help transform your workforce.

So we’ve compiled a list of 10 things you can do to hit the ground running and start January with a refreshed and productive mindset.

1. Master Your Performance Reviews

End-of-year performance reviews are typically unavoidable – and essential –  for most companies. These reviews offer a chance to reflect on individual performance and an opportunity to plan and prioritize responsibilities for the year ahead. But year-end performance reviews must be approached with care and deliberation. Shockingly, 45% of HR leaders do not believe that performance reviews are an accurate way to track and rate the quality of work from an employee. In the past, executives often utilized a top-down approach to these conversations, using labels and terms to classify employees strictly on their work.

Instead, approach these reviews with a different outlook. Utilize them as an opportunity to build stronger relationships between managers and individuals, and encourage two-way feedback. A more open conversation can lead to statistical advantages: Managers who receive feedback and recognition from employees demonstrate greater profitability. By opening the dialogue to include not only employee strengths, but also opportunities for growth, concerns they may have, and their personal goals, managers can create an environment of collaboration and trust that will help start 2020 off with increased enthusiasm.

2. Catch Up On New Regulations

The end of the calendar year marks the beginning of some new federal regulations surrounding labor laws and compliance requirements. The Department of Labor delivered a final rule on overtime in late September, with the new ruling taking place starting January 1, 2020. Schedule time at the end of the year to read up on the specifics of these new laws and ensure your company prepares for the changes that will occur.

3. Carve Out Time for Introspection

The end of the year can feel like a hectic race to the finish line. Make sure to schedule some time for you and your department to reflect on the past year. Ask yourself important questions that help you take inventory of the things you’re doing well, and what could use a little refresh in the new year:

• Are we asking the right questions during performance reviews?
• Can our employees succeed with the tools we’ve provided them?
• Are there ways we can make our reviews more efficient and effective?
• What does our hiring pipeline look like for the new year? Are we prepared?
• Is our onboarding process effective for 2020 new hires?

Work with the members of your department to get solid answers to these questions and create a map for how you can better yourselves in 2020.

January 1st offers a fresh and clean start for your #HRDepartment. @CaliperCorp helps you prepare for #2020 with these 10 tasks:
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4. Highlight Performance and Goals

Gather the team and run through the highlights of 2019. Celebrate accomplishments, acknowledge employees who have exceeded expectations, and garner excitement for the new year by outlining goals for 2020. Research has proven that employees have increased motivation and productivity levels when they feel valued and appreciated. Use the end of the year as a catapult to start January off right by providing employees the recognition they deserve.

5. Concentrate on Unfinished Tasks

January 1 offers a fresh and clean start to a new year. Use the time before the end of the calendar year to tie up any loose ends. Clear out your email inbox, file that paperwork that’s piled up over the holidays, and take a moment to be thorough before you close the books on 2019.

Quick Tip:  Use a year-end checklist. Research has proven that checking items off lists leads to increased productivity — check off an item, get a surge of motivation. Challenge your team to finish as many tasks as possible and you will start 2020 with a clean slate and refreshed mind.

6. Organize Your Calendar Early

Digital marketing and social media have transformed the way we conduct business, however, the face-to-face time with other industry experts and clients is still as crucial as ever. Look ahead to next year and find opportunities to put yourself in front of clients — both returning and potential ones. One great way to accomplish this? Sign up to attend industry events and conferences.

Conferences are great opportunities to introduce yourself to people in your industry and learn new things to refine your team’s skills throughout the year. Staying on top of the latest trends and technological advancements is essential for maintaining your brand and status as an industry expert. Make 2020 the year for professional development.

7. Balance the Budget

The year is winding down, and that means it’s time to lock in your 2019 spending and plan for next year’s budget. This task can often be overwhelming when there are multiple expenses and changes to the staff and benefits throughout the year. Using membership-based models like a Caliper subscription makes it one step easier by ensuring your talent budget stays reliable throughout the year by offering a regular monthly rate you can count on to build out a predictable budget that’s easy to manage.

Did you know? Clutter has been proven to lead to increased levels of stress, anxiety, and an inability to regulate emotions as effectively. Prepare your #HRDepartment for 2020 by completing these 10 steps from @CaliperCorp:
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8. Declutter the Workspace

A clean desk leads to a clean and clear mind. Encourage employees to declutter their mental state by first decluttering their physical ones. You might not think that overflowing stack of papers is affecting your work; however, research has shown that it does negatively affect you in more ways than one. Clutter has been proven to lead to increased levels of stress, anxiety, and an inability to regulate emotions as effectively. By scheduling time to clean up around the office, departments can help to better the emotional and mental states of your team while increasing productivity. Feeling overwhelmed with clutter? Check out this article for 20 quick tips to start the cleaning process.

9. Review and Refine

Spend the last few weeks of 2019 touching on the things your department accomplished throughout the year. Regroup as a team to review your HR processes and refine them leading into 2020. Some questions to kick-start the conversation:

• What roadblocks did we run up against this year? What do we need in order to avoid them next year?
• What were the missions and goals of our department? Were these reflected in our work?
• What needs to be done now, so we can start the first quarter strong?

Challenge your department to view themselves from an outside perspective. Work as a group to find areas that could use improvement, and focus your efforts on key strategies for success in the new year.

10. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

The mindset of each employee plays a factor in the attitude of the entire team. It is important to try to combat what psychologists call a “fixed mindset.” Fixed mindsets limit one’s ability for creative and professional growth — they train your brain to become static and stagnant. By stepping out of your comfort zone and challenging your team to try new things, you can foster a positive tone in the office.

The results of this will benefit you personally, as well as professionally. 30% of all executives consider a continuous willingness to learn essential for professional success. With technology continually changing and job responsibilities updating each year, a mindset toward growth will become invaluable for employees across all industries. Encourage employees across all departments to think re-set their minds, think critically, and get creative as we look to 2020.

Preparation for the new year is crucial to start with a productive footing. Take the time to organize and prioritize your task list and goals so your team can better identify opportunities for growth, improvement, and innovation. For more information on preparing for 2020 and how to reach your talent management goals in the new year, reach out to Caliper experts today and get started.

Show Gestures of Appreciation

It’s human nature to want to know that your work is valued, and a sign of appreciation can do just that. You may ask, “what’s happening on the opposite side of the spectrum?” A lack of recognition can send an employee running for the hills. A stunning majority (79%) of employees even go so far as to note a lack of appreciation as a reason for leaving their job.

Keep your employees happy and engaged by showing them how much you truly appreciate their hard work and dedication to the organization. Of course, grand gestures like a company outing or a delicious catered lunch are nice, but something as small as a “thank you” email or donuts in the morning after a difficult project will go along way.

Embody a Growth Mindset

In today’s candidate-driven market, 86% of professionals would leave their job to explore a better opportunity for professional development. That statistic proves that a growth mindset is critical to keep employees excited about their job.

Housing employees in a dead-end job with no room to learn or grow is a surefire way for them to dread their daily work. Instead, offer these eager individuals the chance to expand their minds and their careers. Career development doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of a vertical jump on the company ladder. While the position on the next rung up is full, offer training sessions in new technology, more complex tasks, and projects, or the opportunity to pass their knowledge onto a new employee.

Promote Positivity in the Workplace

One person’s attitude can impact the whole workplace. That is why it is so important to cultivate a positive work environment. Use a top-down approach to ensure upper management is setting the right example for all employees. Be sure to encourage a respectful, inclusive, and supportive team. Employees will love working at a job where they can embrace an optimistic mindset each and every day.

Plus, when your employees enjoy a positive work environment, your company will reap the rewards. Positivity and productivity go hand in hand. Need we say any more?

Create a Work-Life Balance

Salaried employees are often walking the fine line between work and life. Many times, they feel obligated to respond to emails or take client calls after their 8-hour workday is over. Create an environment where employees feel as though they can leave their daily tasks and projects at the office when they cross over that threshold. Although after work hours communications may be important in the case of an emergency, encourage employees to ignore emails without “urgent” or “emergency” in the subject line once their daily shift is complete.

This is a game-changing attribute that can teeter workers between love and hate of a job quickly. Employees surveyed note good work-life balance as the third attribute they are looking for in an organization, after salary and security. Workers want to feel comfortable leaving their work at the office.

Encourage your employees to fall in love with their jobs – it’ll benefit them and the organization! Use these 4 tips to create an environment that will have candidates loving the company and employees feeling privileged to be working there. Discover how Caliper’s scientifically-validated and data-driven insight can help you navigate a success path. Get in contact with our team today.

Think in terms of focusing on new products, building your workforce, what a competitive advantage looks like and how to create new markets or exist in high growth markets. The problem is companies are clinging to a mindset where they must brush off their book of core competencies and start over each year. They go out and spend thousands of dollars on consultants who come in and recite the same framework and ideology as everyone else, which undoubtedly sparks that a-ha moment. That moment turns into a year-long action plan that ends up getting scrapped halfway through Q3, only to start again when January rolls back around.

But why?

Core competencies should be built in a way that shifts over time and tells the story of how a company takes a product and evolves with changing times.

Let’s dive in and discover a few core competency myths that your company should ditch this year!

Myth #1

One of the biggest myths when it comes to core competencies within an organization is that it’s a list of predefined characteristics. While there are common themes, each company has their own set of values and purposes which ultimately decides what matters most.

Myth #2

Another myth that ties into a company and their strategic goals are that many companies believe execution achieves strategic alignment. This is generally when a company focuses on what’s accomplished without understanding how it fits into the bigger picture. When companies hit critical mass and grow to a point where departments exist within departments, a company’s values get muddled with competing initiatives. While it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s important to understand that the entire company is on the same page and every employee is working to achieve the main competencies of the company.

Myth #3

Which leads us into our third myth, the idea that top-bottom management is always the most effective management style. More and more companies are starting to shift their focus on practicing bottom-up leadership styles which are more of a collaborative work environment. Up until this past year, companies would decree from the boardroom and hope that it’s carried out through the various levels of management and ultimately passed onto the worker bee who focuses on the execution of tasks over the development of associations and business metrics. Bottom-up leadership allows those who are closest to the execution the ability to provide insights that might not be known to the ones building the strategy. Don’t be fooled by decades-old traditions of standard business hierarchies by falling for the top-bottom management style.

Myth #4

Our last myth that you should ditch this year is the idea that your company needs to have a long list of core competencies in order to be successful. Not only will a long list get lost in the shuffle and divide your attention, but it’ll muddle what core competencies are meant to be — the competencies aligned with the core company values crucial to creating the culture you need. The fewer the competencies, the easier it is to apply them throughout the organization.

Don’t overthink the process and focus on areas where you can deliver the best value. By doing so, you’ll be able to retain a competitive advantage in your industry and leverage your strengths instead of your weaknesses.

Core competencies require a considerable amount of time and a number of resource commitments to implement effectively but can provide success in improving talent management.

Take control of your company and reduce the risk of bad hiring decisions with Caliper’s Essentials Competency Reports.

The challenge for scientists studying celestial objects is not entirely different from that of business leaders and HR professionals seeking an understanding the talent in the building: With the unaided eye, it’s difficult to get a clear view. What you need are special instruments to bring the important details into focus. Astrophysicists use space telescopes to collect their data. But what can organizations do to identify job-performance potential?

First, a brief, possibly embellished, history of space telescopes:

On April 24, 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope to study the stars. Hubble sent pictures down, and everyone went, “Holy crap; outer space is huge.”

Then they said, “You know what? We can see stars and gas clouds with this thing, which is cool and all, but what about planets in other solar systems? Exoplanets are simply too small and dark for a 45-foot-long, workaday space telescope like Hubble to detect.”

That spelled Hubble trouble, folks.

I may be skipping a bit, but then they launched the Kepler Spacecraft on March 7, 2009, at 3 in the morning! The neighbors called the cops, but it was too late. The Kepler was already finding exoplanets.

Then, on April 18, 2018, NASA launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which features the most advanced planet-finding tech on the market. Like, you can’t get this stuff at a store. You have to order from a space-telescope website. NASA forgot to turn it on until July 25 (they say that was intentional, but …), and then it finally started taking pictures last month. It already found two planets! Not bad. One of them is 3.5271752 x 10¹⁷ miles away, according to my offhand mental calculation.

So what does all that have to do with employee development? Well, how about an even briefer history of hiring people? The first job interview happened about 5000 years ago, give or take. The resume was introduced 500 years ago; that’s it.

We’re still trying to hire and develop people using an innovation from 500 years ago. What did the telescope look like 500 years ago? It didn’t look like anything because it hadn’t been invented yet.

What companies need are tools far more advanced than interviews and resumes for identifying job performance potential, yet which do not cost $50 billion or whatever a space telescope goes for these days. Such a tool would be a data-driven, scientifically validated instrument that can measure people’s intrinsic strengths and limitations in a job context, reliably predict job performance, and serve as a foundation for coaching, development, and career planning.

Such a tool might be called Caliper Essentials™, a report suite that takes the results of a person’s Caliper Profile assessment and presents the data in an easy-to-read, practical format. There would be one report for selection, a second for coaching and development, and a third for the new hire or existing employee to use as a customized personal guide to self-awareness and professional growth.

Well, what do you know? Someone has already gone ahead and invented the Caliper Essentials report suite. I should’ve checked before I started writing this.

It turns out the Caliper’s Essentials assessment is even more valuable and useful than I predicted! Sure, it gives managers and HR people insights into individual performance potential, but the data presented in the report can also support team development and enterprise-wide talent-planning and development initiatives.

For example, an employee who has been assessed by Caliper can be plotted into a Team Roles report that shows managers if people are in the right roles and where there might be gaps on the team. Another option for identifying talent gaps is the Talent Audit report. And for a broader, more interactive view of the internal talent pool, organizations can compare and contrast assessment data using Caliper’s Analytics platform.

One assessment!

Finding out what really motivates candidates and employees is powerful. Not only does such data allow business leaders to make more informed hiring and promotion decisions, it enables more effective coaching and development that, in turn, fosters higher levels of employee engagement. Ultimately, Caliper Essentials reports are about helping your team members realize their performance potential.

You don’t always need space telescopes to see stars. There are plenty right in your office and in your candidate pipeline, just waiting to be discovered.

[Note: Caliper is not affiliated in any way with space telescopes, space programs, space agencies, Plan 9 from Outer Space, or anything that happens outside Earth’s atmosphere.]

This article doesn’t pretend to be a comprehensive answer to addressing the talent shortage. By considering these 3 tips against your current talent-acquisition methodology, though, you might think of a few ways to refine your approach and drive better candidates to your door.

Shall we?

1. Thoroughly review and revise your job descriptions and postings

No one can deny that technology has changed and will continue to change the business landscape. If you work in HR and are involved in job postings, you know that IT-related positions need to be updated regularly as systems and software needs evolve. But are we digging deep enough and making sure job descriptions and job postings are intriguing to job seekers?

Prospective employees aren’t energized by reading a list of tasks they have to perform, and they are often discouraged by experience requirements that, frankly, tend toward the implausible. Like, “Must have 7 years’ experience as a Kindergarten Teacher + a master’s degree in survey design + 10 years as a Plant Manager.”

Perhaps that’s a slight (and slightly silly) exaggeration, but it’s not entirely distant from real job postings floating around out there. Maybe now is a good time to review your job postings. Do you really need ten years’ experience to be good at something? Are all the people in your company with ten years’ experience good at their jobs? Unlikely. Has anyone done a scientific study proving that three years’ experience performing a task is appreciably different from seven years’ experience?

Today’s workers are more enthused and excited about positive work cultures and opportunities to practice their talents. “Use your tech skills and creativity to help us design innovative software” is far more inviting than “Incumbent will perform coding and testing tasks, 40%.”

Think about what it takes to be successful today in the role. What motivations, interests, and personality attributes result in good performance? Lead with that.

2. Implement organizational changes that improve your status as a destination employer

“You call that a tip? Are you kidding? Reinventing my entire organization is a tip?”

Okay, maybe it sounds complicated, but we’re really talking about modernizing some policies to stay abreast of cultural trends and developments.

“Old habits die hard” is a cliché for a reason. The status quo is status quo. In other words, it’s perfectly normal for an organization to do things a certain way because it has always done them that way, and human nature drives people to reflexively distrust that which is new and different. But we’re trying to fix a problem here, and sometimes we have to start with ourselves and work our way out.

There are still many organizations without a realistic work-from-home policy, for example. Managers still—incorrectly—assume people who work from home are goofing off. The same goes for flexible hours. Younger employees want more flexibility and to let technology work for them to improve their employment experience. The business world is irrevocably moving toward a more flexible, virtual work environment, and organizations hoping to attract and keep talent must adapt.

A lot of companies still maintain the strictly hierarchical organizational structure of decades past as well, which tends to result in an environment that is formal and restrictive. In other words, an environment that might not appeal to workers who seek a flatter, more empowering structure that fosters engagement and creativity. Sure, suggesting that someone change an ingrained organizational culture is a bit beyond the scope of a “tip,” but it may serve to inspire some thought and reflection about the image employers are presenting to prospective candidates.

3. Stop looking in the same places for talent

The biggest block a lot of hiring managers have in looking for talent is their own ingrained tendency to overemphasize past experience. Many of them believe industry knowledge outweighs other factors and worry that inexperienced candidates can’t be taught.

Less experienced people can be taught, in fact. They’re smarter than many managers think, and they may even bring some fresh ideas from an outsider’s perspective. You know what you really can’t teach? Intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation is a stronger predictor of performance than past experience. Every department has a story about that one person who “got it” right away and within six weeks was showing the veterans how to do it. That superstar you’re looking for who gets it right away? That’s the person with intrinsic motivation that aligns with the job. Those veterans who turn in a mediocre performance year in and year out … they have experience.

If you seek those whose intrinsic motivations align with job requirements, instead of the same people kicking around the industry for years (let’s face it, the good ones aren’t coming available), you have a whole new world of candidates. Recent college grads, people from other industries, job fairs, people returning to the work force after a family break… these are all potential top performers when placed in the right roles. Don’t throw out their resumes and cover letters because they haven’t worked in your industry. Examine the role in depth, determine the personal attributes needed to succeed, and find the candidate with the right internal wiring.

Caliper’s assessment tools are designed to show you which candidates align best with the positions you are looking to fill… with a high degree of predictive power. So when those applicants come knocking, give us a shout. And don’t forget to ask about our brand new assessment report suite, Caliper Essentials™. Scroll down for contact information.