Do Unto Others

This is a short blog post with just a note on work/life/living. I work with so many different people from so many different cultures & it always amazes me that the saying "you get more bees with honey than vinegar" is true. Just a reminder that in recruiting new people or in managing existing people you must treat them well & with respect. By doing so you will go further in your career than if you use others as a stepping stone to personal higher aspirations. My belief is that I can only get ahead by driving the success of those under me as I can't be promoted until others are ready to fill my shoes. Are you living by this rule?

Thursday News Day: Global Campus Recruiting

As per my article on Tuesday of this week, I’m focused on international global recruiting best practices as a theme right now. Despite all of my best searches, the information available online on this topic is shockingly limited. The best article I could find to share is from 2010; however, it does have some strong points that many companies are still not doing half way through 2011 and it is less than 1 year old. Read here for tips & tricks and know I will be working on many more articles on this topic moving forward.

If you have any great articles or resources on global recruiting beset practices, please include them as a comment in the below to share with myself & other readers.

Employment Branding:

 “Global Recruiting in 2010: Trends & Best Practices”

-          Featured on: slideshare  

-          Writer:  Kevin Wheeler

-          Publishing date: Aug 25, 2010

-          Link: http://slidesha.re/dm81lO

Good webinar with a 5 trends & best practices for global recruiting.  Major trends include globalization = ubiquitous mobility, shortages of key skills, recruiting is internet dependent & recruiting remains local. This article includes good statistics, research & recommendations for any recruiting manager building a campus recruiting program.

Happy reading! Any resources/articles/webinars you can share about global recruiting? What are your challenges? Learnings? Best practices for global recruiting or taking global plans & implementing on a local level?   I would love questions/ideas/thoughts as inspiration for future blog articles.

Global Campus Recruiting Best Practices

As I’m working internationally this week in Europe, I was inspired to share information about campus recruiting at a global level. As many of my readers know, my specialty is building campus programs & I have developed & successfully run campus recruiting programs in over 12 countries from North America to Asia to Western Europe and Eastern Europe. It may shock you that students around the world essentially want the same things – enjoyment of work, development opportunities, exposure to leadership, work/life balance. Though the cultures of each country influence the practices/students, best practices in student recruiting essentially do work globally. Building the right programming is important to find that perfect new hire!

Though many global companies build management trainee or global recruiting principles, there are some things to keep in mind that work globally & some things to consider in tweaking your programming for each individual market. Read on to find out more!

From my experience, here are some best practices for building campus recruiting programs in multiple countries:

-     Strong employment branding website with information about a day in the life at your company. Remember, your website should ENGAGE with students. Think blogs, twitter feeds, YouTube videos of your office, testimonials etc

-     Key messaging/job offerings that speak to students. Knowing what students want & ensuring your offering speaks to these categories is important. Look to local/nation surveys on student values to build out your messages

-     Campus Ambassadors, students who work a set number of hours per work promoting job opportunities with your company, helping to build your brand on campus & generate referrals.  I have seen this program work around the world. The key factors are training them, have ongoing management & KPI’s (key performance indicators) that they are rewarded for meeting.

-     Referral based programming works! Track referrals to applications & reward based on results.

-     Campus events are so important for building up your brand on campus and recognition among students. Job fairs, information sessions, company presentations, case competitions etc are a great way to engage students.

-     Relationships with Career Centers – Career Centers can make or break your experience on campus. Getting to know your contacts and  educating them on your company’s offering is very important as they will help market your campus events, promote your company to influential students & help you gain access to deans & professors

-     Relationships with Deans/Professors are very important. Guest lecturing in class rooms, supporting with real business cases to supplement curriculum and seeking referrals from influential professors will help gain traction with the right students.

-     Supporting student groups. Find those groups that are part of your target market and work to be a key advisor/support. Do not just provide sponsorship dollars but instead work to provide the group mentors, internships, and/or business advice as this will be a better use of your sponsorship dollars. By spending time with these groups you will get to know the top students you want to recruit for your company.

-     Giveaways are not a key part of a campus program. They are supplementary to educate students on your EVP (employer value proposition) but a cool giveaway is not going to sell a student on applying to your company

 Things to tweak on a country by country basis:

-     Consider Internet Access

o   Some countries outside of Western Europe & North America have limited internet access or slow speeds. Having a length application process that relies heavily on internet access/online testing may decrease your applicants and candidate engagement in some countries. Consider this access to technology when tailoring the application for each country.

-     On Campus activities really differ per campus. Some schools allow for class presentations by other students and some don’t. Know what’s allowed in your country & per campus to meet your KPI’s.  Work with your career center to understand what works best on their campus. Tailor this metric not only by country but also by school.

-     Postering/handouts – many schools internally have different rules about what is allowed on posters or if posters are even allowed to be hung on campus property. Ensure that you allow local offices to determine these nuances before ordering global quantities with a set design.

-     Timing – even within a continent, the countries may have very different calendar years. Your recruiting season in England and Germany are very different as German students don’t go back to school until October versus August/Sept in England. Thus, your timing for applications, interviews and job offers will be sensitive to each country.
-     Social media sites/usage varies per country. Ask your recent new hires what social media sites you should be using!

I hope these tips help you understand what global recruiting best practices work on a global level & what needs to be tweaked locally. Cheers & happy recruiting!

Thursday News Day: Employment Branding

As I’m currently consulting in Europe for clients, I was inspired to discuss global campus recruiting in this week’s articles. Despite my BEST goggle searches, I didn’t find any relevant articles about global employment branding or campus recruiting … this of course inspired next week’s post about campus recruiting and global best practices. For this week’s article (as it is Thursday News Day!) I have included a good piece about employment branding as knowing the basic principles in building your EVP (employee value proposition) will help set you up for understanding global best practices for campus recruiting.

Employment Branding:

 “Employment Branding: The only long term Recruitment Strategy”

-          Featured on: www.ere.net

-          Writer:  Dr. John Sullivan

-          Publishing date: Jan 7, 2008

-          Link: http://bit.ly/Wfj0a

Though this article is a couple of years old, it really highlights the basic principles of employment branding and those principles haven’t changed. The way you execute on your brand has evolved but this is a good introductory read to the key components of and long term benefits of employment branding. The author quotes that typically companies only spend 5% of their budgets on employment branding… which camp do you fall into?

I hope you read over this solid employment branding article so that in my next few posts about campus recruiting & global recruiting, you understand the benefit of having a EVP prior to hitting campus. Shockingly, I found very few other articles about campus recruiting unless they were tied to a company as a pitch document. Looks like I found a new wealth of things to write about! Stay posted over the next few weeks for posts on campus recruiting & global student behaviours.

International Business Travel Tips

I am writing this week’s post from Moscow, Russia where I am spending a week consulting with a client on their new grad hiring programs. Over the last few years, my international consulting work has taken me away from Canada anywhere from 50-70% of any given month.  I absolutely love the travel as it has allowed me to work in over 12 countries around the world from North America, Asia, Western Europe & Eastern Europe & allowed me to see so many beautiful places.  Here are some of my tips for successful international business trips.

Visas: Check the country’s consulate website to determine if you need a visa to enter a country. Start this process EARLY as it is typically very time consuming

Payments: Your hotels should all be paid via credit card = easy to expense. You should ALWAYS have foreign currency cash with you for things like tips, taxis etc.

Organizing/Planning Travel:

·         Print ALL of your confirmations (handy when people don't speak English)

·         Flights: When traveling internationally (especially to Europe) it is almost ½ price to book a round trip ticket versus a one way ticket. It is highly recommended to use a travel agent to book your flights with multiple destinations as they can make it a round trip versus a bunch of one-ways and can save you hundreds or even a thousand dollars. They also know the best international airlines to use.

·         Hotels: If possible, use client hotels where they have a discounted corporate rate.

·         If there are multiple airports, check with your client which is the closet to the hotel/office

·         Check with your client to understand travel needs for that country (ice. Will they arrange a car/taxi from the airport for you as this is safer etc?)

·         Make a plan on what you want to review with your client. Have a list of items to review to make the most of your time as you don’t see your client face to face very often! Save all supporting documents on your laptop, in an email & on a USB key. Computer problems often happen when you are around the world!

Doing your research/Knowing the Culture of the Country you are visiting:

·         When you are in these countries on international business, it is important you do your research about local customs and business practices. Many of current business practices are influences by religions in countries (i.e.: Confucianism in China etc)

o   Example: In China (and much of Asia), it is important to hold a business card with 2 hands to give it to a client. The Client will also accept it with 2 hands. You must have the card facing your client. If you are receiving a business card, you must read it and comment on their role or ask a question of clarification to show that you are acknowledging their role or title. This demonstrates respect.

·         These are important things to know as it shows you understand their culture & thus are more likely to be successful in your consulting efforts.

Staying in Touch:

·         Check with your clients and see if they can set you up on the internet in their office (they typically have to work with IT)

·         Investigate if you can purchase a hotel room package that includes internet.

·         Use SKYPE instead of using a hotel phone. Hotel phones (especially in Europe) are VERY expensive even for local calls.

Packing:

·         Ensure you plan out the # of business & casual days you have. Plan on wearing bottoms (pants/skirts) more than once with different tops to save on packing room. Ensure you check with your client about the office dress code.

·         Ensure you check the electricity of the country(s) you are visiting & pack the proper converter and transformer. Not all countries are the same! For those women out there, know when to use a transformer or you will set your straighter on fire!

·         I always put power bars/granola bars in my suitcase as when you are overcoming jet lag & traveling with a language barrier, it is nice to have snacks at hand

·         Always pack a business outfit in your carryon in case your suitcase is delayed (glad I did this one on this trip as I needed it). Don’t forget shoes etc

Overall Tips & Tricks:

·         Ensure you have a photocopy of your passport & the visa of the country you are visiting (if applicable) on you at all times. Only leave your passport at the hotel if you have a safe in your room or at the front desk

·         If you like sightseeing, it is recommended you personally buy a guide book (Lonely Planet etc) or do online research on the city/country you are visiting so you know the sights to see. Try and plan at least 1-3 day of your trip to see the city. This will allow you to know the country better & relate better to your client

o   It is also recommended to ask your client for advice on sightseeing. They will typically be pleased that you are planning some personal time to see their home country/city.

o   Plan this BEFORE you go so you have time to build this into your itinerary. If you plan on staying 1 extra day of personal vacation time/1 night of a personal hotel – this is much cheaper than if you plan on coming back as that includes your whole plane fare!

·         Try and plan an evening meal with your client to build that personal relationship. This is so important with international clients as you don’t get a lot of face time with them and need to make the most out of lunches during the day & an evening meal to build a personal relationship. Find common ground in casual conversation as well as discussion business.

These are just a few of the things that I do to prepare myself to work in another country. I hope this post finds you well rested & well prepared for any international work you had ahead!

Here's a photo of me after 20+ hours of traveling yesterday when I went for a walk to the Red Square here in Moscow before a busy week of meetings. Don’t forget to take in the local sites - you never know if you will be back!