File 1: We’re excited to launch our Workforce Therapy Files Podcast!  We thought it would be best to give you a brief, behind the scenes introduction to how this podcast concept evolved.  We’re actively work in the recruiting and staffing space.  Our conversations will benefit any business leader or HR professional challenged with building the right team, while managing large staffing requirements on a tight implementation schedule.  Oh, and it might be a good idea if you knew a little about the 3 of us, as well.

Who Are These Professionals?

Jamie Swaim, SPHR – Founder of Parcel, a team of HR consultants.  She’s worked in human resources for over 23 years.  She’s been involved in the entire HR lifecycle from pre-hire to retire.  Her experience involves working with a range of businesses from start-ups to Fortune 5 organizations.

Molley Ricketts - CEO & Founder, Incipio Workforce Solutions.  Incipio partners with companies for recruitment and retention efforts.  She’s spent over 25 years in recruiting.  She’s worked in compliance-oriented industries such as banking, down to third-party recruiting for the small business owner.

Jason Heflin – Owner, Crowd South.  Crowd South is a marketing agency heavily focused on workforce solutions and employer branding solutions.  Recruiting teams aren’t trained to be marketers, so this creates an inherent gap between the target audience and the company attempting to effectively recruit from that audience.  They have a successful record of working with Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies to help them to achieve their recruiting and staffing objectives.

What Inspired the Idea of Launching a Podcast?

Jason explains how the three of us have a solid track record of partnering together on various client projects.  Sometimes the group works together, while other engagements may not involve all of us.  What we realized is that we are encountering organizations with common challenges.  We bring a tremendous level of experience and perspectives often leading to effective solutions for our clients.  Based on this realization, we decided to bring it together in a podcast format to share information, tips and advice and third-party perspectives.  The idea is to provide some guidance, as well as an opportunity to lay the foundation for a conversation with prospective clients.

What’s Behind the Title, Workforce Therapy Files?

We understand how frustrating many HR-related challenges can be, because we actively work in this space.  We want the episodes to provide “therapy” for those who are feeling overwhelmed.  Sure, it’s a little tongue and cheek, but it’s real, right?

For those trying to recruit and hire hundreds or thousands of new employees and building retention programs, there’s not simply a formula.  Maybe, you’re feeling as if you’re left to figure it out on your own.  We going to help by sharing the knowledge we’ve developed over the years.

Does It Feel Like the Fight of Your Life?

Jamie recounts how exasperated an HR professional felt in describing her current assignment.  It sounded great at the outset, but this individual quickly learned that the tasks and expectations were going far beyond the picture originally painted.  This person was at her wits end just trying to keep up with the day-to-day grind of her role and the environment.

Spending 70-80% of your awake hours at work can be emotionally draining.  If we can provide a path to improving the candidate and employee experience, it has a direct impact on those individuals and our communities.

The Problem May Not Be What You Think It Is

Molley describes how easy it is to focus on an arbitrary metric, rather than fully breaking down the actual needs and understanding how to best satisfy those company requirements.  She comments on how it may a deeper issue that’s actually driving the problem set that needs to be addressed.

For instance, could it be something within the company culture that’s driving turnover?  What’s the cost to the bottom line if it’s not effectively addressed?  You may benefit from a different perspective enabling you to uncover a better way to reach a solution.

The market itself has evolved.  How you hired in the past may not be effective in today’s environment.  Mid-level managers and below may pursue multiple opportunities, simultaneously.  If your process isn’t efficient, you could easily lose out on the chance to hire a particular individual.  There are processes, tools and technologies available to make your communication flow much more in tune with the expectations and needs of today’s prospective employees.  You have to engage early and consistently.  We can help you to do that sooner rather than later.

Is Your Company Ready?

There are many situations in which the team is assigned to manage aggressive recruiting and hiring goals, but the company hasn’t adequately provided the right tools to achieve these goals.  Ensuring the proper strategy has been built, before the initiative is launched, is often overlooked.

As this podcast evolves, you’ll hear us talk about metrics and performance, but we’re also going to focus on the overall experience, employee/candidate sentiment, the impact the challenge has on those who are tasked with implementing these recruiting, hiring and retention programs.  Do they have the proper tools, budgets and/or constraints, as well as expectations?

What’s the Real New Hire Journey?

Focusing on those critical first few days after the new hire steps into the role is a key activity.  What made them take the initial step to apply for the position?  How did you curate that communication?  Are you delivering on the promises that were inherent in those conversations about culture, roles and responsibilities, and other expectations?

It Doesn’t Have to Feel This Way

In closing, Jamie comments about how she’s looking forward to helping HR professionals get back to what made the role so much fun, in the first place.  That’s much better than the state of mind she typically encounters; namely, exhaustion.  It’s not supposed to feel like you’re in the fight of your life.  As she says, “Connecting people with awesome opportunities is supposed to feel pretty magical.”

So, there it is.  That’s what the Workforce Therapy Files, an Employer Solutions Podcast, is all about and why we want you to follow along with us.  We’re three different professionals with our own unique experiences and perspectives.  We’re going to bring it all together, along with a little irreverent humor, because sometimes, you just have to laugh about it.

Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We’re here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this episode insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!