Dear all,
This is a great article by Dr. John Sullivan
One of the primary questions in the minds of candidates is "Where
will I be two years from now?" Unfortunately, most recruiters and
managers respond to that question with meaningless generalities like,
"You'll have lots of opportunities." In fact, what candidates actually want
is a realistic preview of where they are likely to go over the next two
years if they join the firm. If you want to dramatically increase your
offer acceptance rate, give applicants a "Where You'll Be" profile!
What's A "Where You'll Be" Profile?
A "Where You'll Be" profile is a sales tool designed to
convincingly demonstrate to an applicant the kind of opportunities a top
performer might expect at a firm.
The profile is a brief preview of the kind of learning, growth,
and economic opportunities that a new hire might reasonably expect to
have during their first 1-5 years of employment at the firm. It's
designed to excite candidates with some actual examples rather than just
meaningless platitudes. Some of the key elements in a "Where You'll Be"
profile include:
a.. Skills you are likely to gain/improve
b.. The type of projects you're likely to work on
c.. The level of people you're likely to be exposed to
d.. The type of flexible work options you might have
e.. The economic rewards you are likely to get
It's A Profile, Not A Promise
A "Where You'll Be" profile is designed to show the kind of
opportunities top performer might experience in this particular job class.
It is not supposed to be a recruiter's "BS" sheet. Instead it is derived
from a compilation of the actual experiences of top performers in this
job class.
The profile can be developed based on information obtained
through a series of interviews, surveys, and focus groups with top performers
and their managers (in this targeted job classification). By
identifying the actual opportunities that a new hire might experience, you put
realism in your profile and you avoid wild "guesstimates." Since this is
a profile of what opportunities top performers have actually had, it
makes the lawyers less nervous (of course a disclaimer statement stating
that the past is not always a predictor of the future is always
attached as part of the actual profile).
Elements Of A "Where You'll Be" Profile
The content of a "Where You'll Be" profile should vary with the
wants and the expectations of the job applicants. You should start by
surveying your top candidates about their job expectations. You then need
to provide specific information for each of the areas in which they
have a high level of interest in your profile. For example, some of the
"Where You'll Be" areas for a software engineer position might include:
1.. Skills And Learning Opportunities
a.. Technical skills you might acquire
b.. Software languages you might learn
c.. Management and people skills you might acquire/strengthen
d.. Classes, industry events and seminars you might attend
2.. Projects And Growth Opportunities
a.. The number and variety of development projects you would
likely participate in
b.. The number and type of projects that you might lead
c.. The likely number of horizontal transfers
d.. The number of promotions you might get
3.. People Exposure
a.. The number of teams you are likely to participate in
b.. The number and level of executives you are likely to
interact with
c.. Key customers, suppliers, strategic partners as well as
industry and government officials you will be exposed to
4.. Work Options
a.. The likelihood of being able to take part in flexible
work options (flextime, work at home, job sharing)
b.. The likely number of horizontal transfers opportunities
into new (non-software) functions or departments
5.. Economic Opportunities
a.. Percentage of possible salary increases
b.. The range of likely bonus awards
c.. The number of possible stock options they could be
granted
d.. Also consider including estimates (based on past
performance) of the total economic value of their bonuses, stock options and
salary
6.. Challenges And Risks
a.. The number, type and level of risks they will be allowed
to take
b.. Opportunities to have their own personal ideas funded
c.. Opportunities for public and company wide exposure and
visibility
d.. The impact on the firm (it's products and customers)
their work is likely to have
7.. Tools And Equipment
a.. Software they will have access to
b.. Hardware and technology they will have access to
Potential Variations Of The Profile
1.. Provide ranges.
Rather than just listing the highest levels of achievement and
rewards in the profile an alternative is to list the possible ranges a
new employee might expect. My preference is to focus on the highest
levels likely to be obtained by a top performer. Although both average and
top performers like to know "where they will be," by listing the higher
levels obtained only by top performers you can then use the profile as
a motivator to encourage current average performers to become top
performers!
A profile can also be done for a single "average job" at a
firm, rather than doing separate profiles for each major job
classification. The obvious disadvantage is that a single profile (that averages all
jobs into one) requires such a large degree of combining opportunities
that the profile is not likely to excite top performers.
2.. Show them that "people like me" work here.
In addition to wanting to know "where they will be," applicants
often want to know that "people like them" already work for the firm.
You can help show them that by providing demographic profiles showing
that people from similar
a.. Schools
b.. Neighborhoods
c.. Ethnic backgrounds
d.. Former employers
e.. Age categories
currently work (and excel) at the firm. In addition, specific
"success story" individuals that started two years ago can be profiled
to "personalize" the statistics.
Retention
Incidentally, the research for your "Where You'll Be" profile
might show that the actual growth and learning opportunities in your jobs
are lacking. If this is true, you can use the "gap" data as a starting
point for revising your people practices and for making your jobs more
challenging and exciting both for new hires and for your current
employees.
Next employees can be asked to provide information on what
frustrates them and what motivates them on the day they start their job. From
that list, their manager can develop customized "learning, challenge
and growth" plans to ensure that they actually get "where they want to
be" within their first and second year.
"Where You'll Be" profiles can also be used for motivating and
retaining existing employees that are continually getting external "Where
You'll Be" offers (promises) from (external) recruiters!
Conclusion
If you treat applicants like potential customers you soon realize
that it is essential that you provide answers to their questions about
your "product." By providing them with a realistic job preview of what
they can expect if they become top performers, you can both excite them
and also improve the odds of them saying yes to your offer. The profile
can be put on the firms jobs page or be a paper document that is handed
to applicants.
It takes courage to act "outside the box." Unfortunately, most HR
people lack that courage. If you are going to recruit top talent, you
need to take risks and to act differently than your competitors. Cisco
has done an "economic rewards" "Where You'll Be" chart for awhile (don't
they lead in just about everything!). Now it's time to expand the
profile (and add non-economic elements) in order to make it a complete sales
tool.
From India, Pune
101This is a great article by Dr. John Sullivan
One of the primary questions in the minds of candidates is "Where
will I be two years from now?" Unfortunately, most recruiters and
managers respond to that question with meaningless generalities like,
"You'll have lots of opportunities." In fact, what candidates actually want
is a realistic preview of where they are likely to go over the next two
years if they join the firm. If you want to dramatically increase your
offer acceptance rate, give applicants a "Where You'll Be" profile!
What's A "Where You'll Be" Profile?
A "Where You'll Be" profile is a sales tool designed to
convincingly demonstrate to an applicant the kind of opportunities a top
performer might expect at a firm.
The profile is a brief preview of the kind of learning, growth,
and economic opportunities that a new hire might reasonably expect to
have during their first 1-5 years of employment at the firm. It's
designed to excite candidates with some actual examples rather than just
meaningless platitudes. Some of the key elements in a "Where You'll Be"
profile include:
a.. Skills you are likely to gain/improve
b.. The type of projects you're likely to work on
c.. The level of people you're likely to be exposed to
d.. The type of flexible work options you might have
e.. The economic rewards you are likely to get
It's A Profile, Not A Promise
A "Where You'll Be" profile is designed to show the kind of
opportunities top performer might experience in this particular job class.
It is not supposed to be a recruiter's "BS" sheet. Instead it is derived
from a compilation of the actual experiences of top performers in this
job class.
The profile can be developed based on information obtained
through a series of interviews, surveys, and focus groups with top performers
and their managers (in this targeted job classification). By
identifying the actual opportunities that a new hire might experience, you put
realism in your profile and you avoid wild "guesstimates." Since this is
a profile of what opportunities top performers have actually had, it
makes the lawyers less nervous (of course a disclaimer statement stating
that the past is not always a predictor of the future is always
attached as part of the actual profile).
Elements Of A "Where You'll Be" Profile
The content of a "Where You'll Be" profile should vary with the
wants and the expectations of the job applicants. You should start by
surveying your top candidates about their job expectations. You then need
to provide specific information for each of the areas in which they
have a high level of interest in your profile. For example, some of the
"Where You'll Be" areas for a software engineer position might include:
1.. Skills And Learning Opportunities
a.. Technical skills you might acquire
b.. Software languages you might learn
c.. Management and people skills you might acquire/strengthen
d.. Classes, industry events and seminars you might attend
2.. Projects And Growth Opportunities
a.. The number and variety of development projects you would
likely participate in
b.. The number and type of projects that you might lead
c.. The likely number of horizontal transfers
d.. The number of promotions you might get
3.. People Exposure
a.. The number of teams you are likely to participate in
b.. The number and level of executives you are likely to
interact with
c.. Key customers, suppliers, strategic partners as well as
industry and government officials you will be exposed to
4.. Work Options
a.. The likelihood of being able to take part in flexible
work options (flextime, work at home, job sharing)
b.. The likely number of horizontal transfers opportunities
into new (non-software) functions or departments
5.. Economic Opportunities
a.. Percentage of possible salary increases
b.. The range of likely bonus awards
c.. The number of possible stock options they could be
granted
d.. Also consider including estimates (based on past
performance) of the total economic value of their bonuses, stock options and
salary
6.. Challenges And Risks
a.. The number, type and level of risks they will be allowed
to take
b.. Opportunities to have their own personal ideas funded
c.. Opportunities for public and company wide exposure and
visibility
d.. The impact on the firm (it's products and customers)
their work is likely to have
7.. Tools And Equipment
a.. Software they will have access to
b.. Hardware and technology they will have access to
Potential Variations Of The Profile
1.. Provide ranges.
Rather than just listing the highest levels of achievement and
rewards in the profile an alternative is to list the possible ranges a
new employee might expect. My preference is to focus on the highest
levels likely to be obtained by a top performer. Although both average and
top performers like to know "where they will be," by listing the higher
levels obtained only by top performers you can then use the profile as
a motivator to encourage current average performers to become top
performers!
A profile can also be done for a single "average job" at a
firm, rather than doing separate profiles for each major job
classification. The obvious disadvantage is that a single profile (that averages all
jobs into one) requires such a large degree of combining opportunities
that the profile is not likely to excite top performers.
2.. Show them that "people like me" work here.
In addition to wanting to know "where they will be," applicants
often want to know that "people like them" already work for the firm.
You can help show them that by providing demographic profiles showing
that people from similar
a.. Schools
b.. Neighborhoods
c.. Ethnic backgrounds
d.. Former employers
e.. Age categories
currently work (and excel) at the firm. In addition, specific
"success story" individuals that started two years ago can be profiled
to "personalize" the statistics.
Retention
Incidentally, the research for your "Where You'll Be" profile
might show that the actual growth and learning opportunities in your jobs
are lacking. If this is true, you can use the "gap" data as a starting
point for revising your people practices and for making your jobs more
challenging and exciting both for new hires and for your current
employees.
Next employees can be asked to provide information on what
frustrates them and what motivates them on the day they start their job. From
that list, their manager can develop customized "learning, challenge
and growth" plans to ensure that they actually get "where they want to
be" within their first and second year.
"Where You'll Be" profiles can also be used for motivating and
retaining existing employees that are continually getting external "Where
You'll Be" offers (promises) from (external) recruiters!
Conclusion
If you treat applicants like potential customers you soon realize
that it is essential that you provide answers to their questions about
your "product." By providing them with a realistic job preview of what
they can expect if they become top performers, you can both excite them
and also improve the odds of them saying yes to your offer. The profile
can be put on the firms jobs page or be a paper document that is handed
to applicants.
It takes courage to act "outside the box." Unfortunately, most HR
people lack that courage. If you are going to recruit top talent, you
need to take risks and to act differently than your competitors. Cisco
has done an "economic rewards" "Where You'll Be" chart for awhile (don't
they lead in just about everything!). Now it's time to expand the
profile (and add non-economic elements) in order to make it a complete sales
tool.
From India, Pune
Namaskar Rajatji,
Feeling of Uncertainty in modern life is the biggest stressor. However, Indian wisdom says that good or bad future is certain. To illustrate, in 1478 B.C. after the Mahbharata war Gandhari cursed Lord Krishna of complete destruction of Yadu dynasy 36 years later since then. Lord Krisna smiled and when asked about the reason of smiling he replied-it is destined to happen. It happened and Dwaraka sunk to see in 1443 B.C.
So one can very well plan but the exact future can not be visualised. I may be wrong.
regards,
Jogeshwar
From India, Delhi
Feeling of Uncertainty in modern life is the biggest stressor. However, Indian wisdom says that good or bad future is certain. To illustrate, in 1478 B.C. after the Mahbharata war Gandhari cursed Lord Krishna of complete destruction of Yadu dynasy 36 years later since then. Lord Krisna smiled and when asked about the reason of smiling he replied-it is destined to happen. It happened and Dwaraka sunk to see in 1443 B.C.
So one can very well plan but the exact future can not be visualised. I may be wrong.
regards,
Jogeshwar
From India, Delhi
Namaskar Mahantaji,
thanks for your insight esp on historical facts...however my gut feel says that the above approach brings a fatalistic outlook to life..which may harm a person or demoralise a manager...it's easy to judge on the past but should we cloud our minds with same way on coming future?...nay i disagree..
Warm regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
thanks for your insight esp on historical facts...however my gut feel says that the above approach brings a fatalistic outlook to life..which may harm a person or demoralise a manager...it's easy to judge on the past but should we cloud our minds with same way on coming future?...nay i disagree..
Warm regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Dear Rajatji,
Thanks for posting your view very clearly. In fact, the difference is of eastern and western thinking. You are inclined to subscribe to the western view. But I do not think that the eastern conviction can be uprooted in any case.
Once Chhatrapati Shivaji was very much disgusted by looking after his kingdom. So he went to his guru and said- I want to give up administration.
The guru instantly said-O.K.
Shivaji asked- Whom to transfer the administration?
The guru replied- To me.
Shivaji instantly said-OK as he was sure.
Now the guru said- Now the entire kingdom is mine and I appoint you as my representative. Please look after it.
Shivaji was relieved of his stress.
Regards,
Jogeshwar
From India, Delhi
Thanks for posting your view very clearly. In fact, the difference is of eastern and western thinking. You are inclined to subscribe to the western view. But I do not think that the eastern conviction can be uprooted in any case.
Once Chhatrapati Shivaji was very much disgusted by looking after his kingdom. So he went to his guru and said- I want to give up administration.
The guru instantly said-O.K.
Shivaji asked- Whom to transfer the administration?
The guru replied- To me.
Shivaji instantly said-OK as he was sure.
Now the guru said- Now the entire kingdom is mine and I appoint you as my representative. Please look after it.
Shivaji was relieved of his stress.
Regards,
Jogeshwar
From India, Delhi
A good one ..
Yes you are right that i subscribe to western thought esp of being responsible for your actions or Karma..
Can you please enlighten us as where do thoughts of Western & Eastern converge or have a common grounds.
Regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Yes you are right that i subscribe to western thought esp of being responsible for your actions or Karma..
Can you please enlighten us as where do thoughts of Western & Eastern converge or have a common grounds.
Regards,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Dear Rajatji,
namaskar.
Acculturation is a process with following stages:
1. Awareness
2. Diffusion
3.Emulation
4.Integration
5. Assimilation.
This happens spontaneously. VADAMS(vocal and dashing members of the society) of the dominant culture may resist the the elements of subdued culture but the common members in any society accept and reject the elements of any culture on the basis of utility. So spontaneous experimentation is going on and let us wait for the final stage of assimilation.
regards
From India, Delhi
namaskar.
Acculturation is a process with following stages:
1. Awareness
2. Diffusion
3.Emulation
4.Integration
5. Assimilation.
This happens spontaneously. VADAMS(vocal and dashing members of the society) of the dominant culture may resist the the elements of subdued culture but the common members in any society accept and reject the elements of any culture on the basis of utility. So spontaneous experimentation is going on and let us wait for the final stage of assimilation.
regards
From India, Delhi
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