Tips And Tools_Larsen by Denise Spacinsky

Tips for Effective Staffing

Denise SpacinskyPartner & Director, AmericasLarsen GlobalizationPresentation to ATA-TCD Scottsdale AZMarch 2010

Larsen Globalization’sSessions at ATA-TCD

March 19th Session1:30pm

March 20th Session1:30pm

TOPICS:

Survey Results on Staffing in the Language Industry

Barriers to Growth

Scaling your Team

TOPICS:

Language Business as a “People” Business

Perspectives on Global Talent Pool

Calculating Cost of Hiring & Not Hiring

Practical Tips & Advice

Language Companies are People Companies

Language Companies are really ‘people’ companies.

Language Companies run on the talent of internal teams and freelancers performing the essential services of the business.

We want to see Language Companies value the way they evaluate and hire the people that work in their companies for success.

Wearing Many Hats in Small Companies

As a small company every person is important, and each wears many hats.

In early stages business founders and owners executed almost all tasks on their own. With growth comes change. And new people.

The idea is to be comfortable handing hats to others to wear so the Owners/Managers can focus on the business from a strategic vantage point.

The Competition for Talent

There is a global marketplace forlanguage industry talent.

Your challenge is to seek out proactivelythe talent that you need that will serve yourcompany.

Expanding Virtually & Globally

Virtual WorkersAs more small businesses come to depend on mobile or virtual workers – IDC Research predicts that the number of mobile workers will increase to 850 million worldwide by the end of 2010, and 1 billion by 2011

Global operationsIn the US, visa limitations can complicate bringing global talent to US locations. However, a major trend in our industry is to have independent individual contributors located in various places around the world. Visas for visitors and short term stays are much easier to attain.

A Typical Hiring Process

A usual process that companies go through to find new talent is chronological:1. Tapping Friends and Family2. Asking around in your professional network, on Facebook and Linked In3. Placing an ad/post a job around on a few sites to gauge interest4. Sign up with a Recruiter

A Simultaneous Approach to Hiring

We encourage you to do all of this simultaneously!

When we – as Recruiters – receive a job from a new client they have often been looking for weeks or months (one client looked for 18 months before coming to us!). It’s already late for your needs.

Doing everything simultaneously speeds the hiring process up significantly.

+ + +

Costs to Consider in Recruitment

I recently blogged about ways to calculate costs related to hiring and not hiring and came up with the following:

Cost of Recruitment Delay (CORD)

Cost of Recruitment Execution (CORE)

www.larsenglobalizationblog.com

Costs of Recruitment Delay (CORD)

Building off of the idea that when there is a significant delay in hiring for a professional that your company needs, there is an impact.

Here are some numbers to consider:

Delay hiring your new Sales person and it will cost $4350* per day in new business.

Delay hiring your new Project Manager and it will cost you 2% of that annual salary per day.

Delay hiring in Marketing and you miss 50 new companies per day who may have otherwise learned about you.

Delay hiring in Management …well… it might be okay to delay getting new Managers…

*based on $1M annual quota

Costs of Recruitment Execution (CORE)

Many organizations consider cost of advertisements, materials, and salary of recruiters, but there are many other factors that inflate the true cost to hire an employee. The Cost of Recruitment Execution (CORE) Calculator gives you a bottom line assessment of what it costs to hire an employee - one that includes hard and soft costs, apparent and hidden costs.

We estimate is that it costs about $1K/day for a company to recruit internally per position but it’s best that each organization do their own math to be sure.

Calculator gladly made available upon request to [email protected]

Ideas To HelpYou Staff

Refining your Job Descriptions

Reviewing Resumes and Profiles

It’s Not Just About Resumes Anymore

Interviews and Evaluations

Managing the Process

Refining Your Job Descriptions

Be sure to include:

• Job or position title• Department where the position sits in the

organization• Who the position reports to• Direct reports if the position is supervisory• P/L responsibility if applicable• Salary information• Geographic location• Information on possible Visa sponsorship• Mention if relocation is offered• List of company benefits • Brief job summary with the general

expectations in this position• List of responsibilities• Skills required for the position• Some points on profile and related details

Your job description needs to be compelling, interesting and well-written

• Talk about the company• Talk about how important employees are to

the company• Mention the great corporate culture• And the opportunity for growth, education,

etc.

A little humor never hurts either – it is very contemporary and gives a light familiar impression of your company

The Basics AND…

Fantastic Job DescriptionJob Description Excerpt #1

“Working with us is a whole different thing. Because whatever you do here, you play a part in creating some of the best-loved technology on the planet. And in helping people discover all the amazing things they can do with it.

You could call it work, or you could call it a mission. We call it a blast.

We’re looking for the best. People who are smart, creative, up for any challenge, and incredibly excited about what they do.

In other words, you know, the kind of people you’d want to hang around with anyway.”

Apple

Fantastic Job DescriptionJob Description Excerpt #2

“We are a place to explore potential, obliterate boundaries, and push out the edges of what can be.

We’re looking for people who can grow, think, dream and create.

We thrive in a culture that embraces diversity and rewards imagination.

We seek achievers, leaders and visionaries.”

Nike

Reviewing Resumes & Profiles

Fun Recruitment Factso You can expect to review on average 120

resumes for per open positiono You may shortlist about 35 first round

candidateso Of these, 6 might respond favorably to

discussing your positiono You may interview 4 of themo You will likely go through 3 or more full rounds

of this process before extending an offer to a candidate

o It can take anywhere from 3-6 months to hire the right candidate for your position

It’s Not Just About Resumes Anymore

Searching Tipso Resumes only tell part of the storyo It’s a good idea to review online profiles in:

o Linked Ino Twittero Facebooko Blogso and just Google them

o Also, you can look for images and pictures to put a face with the name

Interviewing and Evaluation

Interviewing Tipso It’s okay to start with a phone screen or two with a

new candidateo Be focused and organized in your questions o We recommend a measurable evaluation process –

maybe numeric based – for your interviewingo Don’t go on first impressions (aka: your ‘gut’) onlyo Absolutely have a conversation with any candidate

that looks like they might have what you need to learn more about them. Try to avoid over-screening based on resumes alone (they do not always capture the full story)

o Stretch the boundaries of the criteria you have for a position – don’t just look for 100% match but also consider potential, candidate interest in growth or change opportunities

o When you find awesome talent – hire them! They will add value to your organization (and will not go to your competition)

Managing the Process

Organizational Tipso The process is really complex – be sure

you are organized. There is a lot of communication and information to keep track of.

o Keep things moving quickly – a candidate who is interviewing with you is seriously in the job market and is at risk of being picked up somewhere else

o Offer timely and detailed feedback about candidates after interviews – we don’t want anyone suffering due to silence

o There are gracious and professional ways to pass on a candidate. Please be gentle.

o Don’t worry about salary upfront – experience tells us that when a company and a candidate want to get together, everything is negotiable

Localization Engineer• Must not be surprised on first day when programming does NOT include flying

shapes and colors on your computer screen and cool background music like in the movies.

• Must keep in mind that not everyone understands Localization Engineering, nor gives a <insert expletive> about computers, technology, or whatever else you do when you sit in front of your computer 23 hours out of the day.

• Must be able to deal with non-Engineers at least once a week without getting completely frustrated trying to describe the inner workings of translation memory technology.

• If you do get completely frustrated you must not resort to creating a virus that destroys company property and/or data.

• While dealing with non-Engineers, you must not act condescending. These non programmers can, and will, probably kick your <insert body part>. Even the girls.

Job Description – Another Sample

Thanks.

Denise SpacinskyPartner & Director, AmericasLarsen GlobalizationPresentation to ATA-TCD Scottsdale AZMarch 2010