2011 EEO Trust presentation notes on Gender Balance

By Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
(world renowned diversity expert and author)

BUSINESS CASE

• Business has moved from centralised ‘Pyramid’ structures to decentralised and global ‘Pomegranate’ structures.
• Global social change requires changes from both women and men
• OECD statistics show that when women are forced to choose between work and giving birth, they chose work, which is why birth rates have been dropping in western countries
• There is a flip occurring in the US workforce with job losses mainly being with men in the recession and so there’s now a majority female workforce
• The male / father role is changing too, not just women’s, so we need to consider everyone
• Despite majority numbers of females in the workforce / education, and the employment rate of men declining, the upper ranks remain male dominated and unchanged – Why?
• In Europe: 30-35% of managers are women
• In the US: 38% of managers are women
• In Asia: both extremes with -10% and 40%+ are female (high in China, Philippines & Thailand, low in Japan & Korea)
• TREND: Target hiring of female talent in low female dominated workforce countries as they are educated but likely to be frustrated and therefore more willing to relocate
• Women make up 60% of all graduates so the competency issue is wearing thin with regards to promotion
• Women are now the majority customers and main purchase decision makers for almost every sector and for multi-parties, so companies should be exploiting this opportunity in their marketing strategies
• Total female incomes are expected to grow from $13T in 2009 to $18T in 2014, compared to China’s expected GDP of $4.4T in 2009 to only $6.6T in 2014
• Economic growth will be driven by women which creates huge opportunity – yet more companies are focused on developing business relations with China than women?
• Promotion trends show over 80% of men are promoted compared with less than 20% of women despite there being a 50/50 spread of both genders entering employment

DIFFERENCES

• Feminism – the adaption of women to become men has caused retention problems and hasn’t worked
• 21^st century – gender balance requires adaption of organisations and depends on gender bilingualism
• Differences to manage – career cycles, communication styles and power/political competence
• Current Career Cycles of Women:

1. Young – Ambitious, outperforming men in education, expect / demand equality and having it all
2. Culture shock in their 30’s, personal pressure and professional competition as is average time to start having babies but is traditionally when companies start leadership programs for staff
3. Women’s careers start to peak in their 40’s compared to men who peak in their 30’s

IMPLEMENTATION

• Stop fixing women with policies, groups, training, coaching… as it hasn’t worked
• Women are not a minority or a gender diversity – it’s either balanced or imbalanced
• We need new language and new ways
• Don’t ask women to solve gender issues – ask the right people e.g. management / leaders
• Make gender bilingualism a management competency so leaders are responsible for gender balance
• Future business change / growth will depend on the WEB (technology) + WOMEN (gender balance) + WEATHER (climate change)
• Approaches to management competency will require a transformational shift:

1. Gender balance
2. Men / Women initiatives
3. Making leaders accountable
4.  Provide skills to manage both genders

• Remove maternity leave and replace with paternity leave

         – It takes a family to raise generations

         – Encourage men to contribute to parenting and other household responsibilities

• Provide flexible workplaces for both genders
• Realise that the majority of talent is women at all levels so the issue is a promotion gap

FINAL THOUGHT

• Imbalance in any direction isn’t good which is why we need to work towards Gender Balance

We recently had the pleasure of catching up with our friend Kevin Wheeler about the future of work.

He said the most worrying employment trend developing globally, is the V-shaped Recession

We are seeing lower skilled jobs such as customer service in full employment whereas in the middle range, roles such as admin and manufacturing positions, are increasingly being automated, outsourced globally or simply done away with.

And then talent shortages are developing in IT, Engineering, Finance, Medical industries because those with specialist skills are very scare and in huge demand.

Kevin refers to this emerging trend as Credential Creep

Employers requirements are increasing with unnatural inflation although the job’s description hasn’t changed.

Kevin explains this is a response to wanting fewer people to do more work, deal with changes & new technologies.

But this is a bubble that surely has to burst soon as the people simply aren’t there, and unemployment or talent shortages will continue to increase otherwise.

Kevin suggests the answer lies in companies lowering their expectations and training new employees themselves.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

We have moved from the “War for Talent” to the “War for other people’s talent” Bill Boorman

Information is growing exponentially.

The latest buzz word is “BIG DATA” – the huge amount of data that’s out there but currently inaccessible because we don’t have the technology tools to search this information as it’s incomplete.

Google don’t really know how much information is out there – they are either guessing or limited in their access to it and different search engines produce different results so use other options.

FUTURE OF RECRUITMENT = SOURCING:

• Google can predict with 98% accuracy rate – who you are, where you are, what you’re doing

• Currently there is lots of waste and variables in recruitment search results

1.    We need more efficient search techniques
2.    Decisions will become based on analysis and aggregating data

• Imagine a world with face / voice / multiple language recognition search results

1.    It’s already possible with the CIA who are monitoring every phone call into the US
2.    Soon everything you put online will become searchable – imagine the possibilities

• Data search and analysis is the new DNA of a recruiter – we either embrace it or fall behind

• The CV and jobboards like Seek and TradeMe will become irrelevant if they don’t adapt to change

• You can’t use the same approach to find different candidates

•  Develop a strategy to target:

1.    who you’re looking for
2.    where they are and
3.    how to approach them

• Already over 66% of people are either not looking or only passively looking for work

• By controling the variables, you can increase your ability to recruit the right people

• Anyone can access information – The magic (and our competitive advantage) happens in our ability to convert people into hires

• It all begins with engagement and leveraging relationships / information

Recently I attended the World Bloggers and Social Media Summit in KL, Malaysia so I thought I’d share my 4 key takeouts with you:

NUMBER 1

The most interesting presentation at the conference was listening to How Social Media Played a Crucial Role in the Great Earthquake of Japan. The leader of KIBOW Project explained how with phones cut and mass media focusing on the broadcasting the destruction, Social media was used for:

1. real time communication between loved ones
2. providing eye witness reports
3. raising critical donations and
4. then getting help immediately to those in need.

NUMBER 2

It’s wrongly thought that Social Media is a quick and easy marketing tool. It takes time to create real business results and shouldn’t just be left to one person.

1. Develop a strategy to identify and achieve your goals
2. Research the sentiment of your brand
3. AND ensure everyone in your company understands and supports this strategy

NUMBER 3

The CEO of AirAsiaX challenged us to rethink Social Media ROI. You wouldn’t ask for the ROI of your mobile phone so why measure the ROI of Social Media? He said “don’t measure it, just do it”. No amount of social media matters without delivering real value and doing something truly unique

NUMBER 4

Business blogs should be about creating quality content to build trust.

1. Give business tips not press releases
2. Start asking questions rather than making statements
3. Invite people to participate and
4. Reward response through recognition or a simple thank you.

Social Media is an exciting communication channel that’s here to stay. We at Frog Recruitment encourage you to embrace it to become an integrated part of your ongoing business strategy. And as always we welcome your comments and feedback along the way.

I recently read a great article on the Recruiter Daily about the Ten New Year’s Resolutions for the Modern Recruiter by Rice Consulting’s blogger Jonathan Rice which got me thinking about  what would be the 10 New Year’s Resolutions for the Modern Employee? Hopefully this abridged and adjsuted list will help you prepare and stay on top of things in the year ahead.

1. I will tidy my desk and endeavour to keep it this way throughout 2011. Afterall a ‘tidy desk is a tidy mind’, well we can only hope!
2. I will finally make friends with my inbox which will remain at a manageable level, actions will be swiftly followed up on, files will be organised, and the Delete button will be used regularly.
3. I will learn to pick up the phone or have more face to face meetings with people rather than resort to email, to maximise relationships, avoid miscommunications and clogging up everyone else’s inbox.
4. I will make sure that I am properly prepared for meetings by being there on time and ready to go with an agenda outlined and actions promptly followed up on.
5. I will make time for regularly breaks in my day and at least prize myself away from the computer to eat a proper lunch in an appropriate setting.
6. I will remember the passion I had for my job when I first started and show genuine interest, enthusiasm and diligence in everything I do. Or I will look for new career opportunities and follow my true passions in life.
7. I will seek out ways and make time to continuously develop and improve myself, both professional and personally.
8. I will manage my stress levels by creating a balance between work and life responsibilities, maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise.
9. I will be open to change, new ideas, sharing  information and helping others within my network, so we can all achieve together.
10. I will be confident, productive and proud of what I achieve this year. Let’s make it our best year yet!

Source: Ten New Year’s Resolutions for the Modern Recruiter by Rice Consulting’s blogger Jonathan Rice

Many of these social media services can be integrated via social network platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics says Social Media “are fundamentally changing the way businesses and consumers behave, connecting hundreds of millions of people to each other via instant communication. This is a massive socio-economic shift that is fundamentally changing the way consumers and companies communicate and interact with each other.”

To compliment his book Erik has produced a fascinating You Tube video called Social Media Revolution with some powerful facts about social media.

To highlight a few stats:
•    96% of new millenials have joined a social network
•    Facebook has topped Google for weekly traffic in the US
•    The highest growing segment on Facebook is 55 to 65 year old females
•    80% of companies use social media for recruitment with 95% of those using LinkedIn particularly

Erik feels “we don’t have a choice on whether we do social media or not, the question is how well we do it” So is Social media a fad or a fundamental shift in the way we communicate? Well the common thought is that if your business is embracing social media now then it is likely to still exist in 5 years, so that’s reason enough for us @ Frog Recruitment. It is clear by the way we have brought social media into our everyday and business lives that it is here to stay, so we have decided to embrace it rather than try to bury our heads in the sand and hope it goes away. It’s a continuous learning curve but we’re excited by the opportunities and possibilities it presents both in recruitment and for our business in general.

2.    Like
A web or physical presence where customers can get to know you without any commitment

3.    Trust
Your marketing materials and sales presentations must be designed to communicate your core message of differentiation with complete clarity.
Here starts the nurturing stage of educational opportunities, free reports, ‘how to’ check lists, information seminars to attend etc.
Can everyone in your organisation deliver your core message in a confident and consistent manner?

4.    Try
Create a way for your customer to sample your business at low risk e.g. trial offers, seminars, evaluations, guarantees, providing low-priced options…

5.    Buy
How you fulfill the order, deliver the work, communicate throughout the process and ask for payment determine whether you are trustworthy or not in the eyes of your customer. Expectations are everything!
Good idea to develop an orientation process – explains everything and identifies everyone in case of problems.
Is there a clean process by which a project is handled?

6.    Repeat
The key factor in creating repeat sales, expanded sales and long term loyalty is to make sure your customers are getting the most value from your products/services.
Commit to teaching customers the proper way to get the most from your product/service. E.g. ‘how to’ materials.
It’s essential to have a customer feedback process to fix gaps in service and improve next time.
Do you have a results review process – to upsell or cross sell?

7.    Refer
The last stage is for your customers to become total advocates for your business.
Allow your advocates to participate in your business and come together as community e.g. discussion panels – solutions & challenges, customer advisory/referral boards, encourage participation in marketing & business strategies, hold networking events, educational seminars etc

Source: Abridged from John Jantsch’s “The Referral Engine” book – must read!

Overview of presentation “Refresh; Retrain; Re-use: A Fearless Forecast for 2010 and Beyond” by Kevin Wheeler, Founder and Director, Future of Talent Institute @ Australasia Talent Conference 2010

“As a globally recognised speaker, author, teacher and consultant in employee development and strategic talent planning, Kevin provided an enlightening wrap up to the Conference outlining his predictions of the key organisational trends and talent issues set for 2010 and beyond”

TECHNOLOGY

Used for learning, organisational development, recruitment, sourcing etc, it’s the backbone to everything we do and there’s no stopping it. Value judgements have no place where technology is concerned as it’s about how we choose to use it that makes all the difference.

THE EMERGING WORLD IS All ABOUT… CHOICE!

• Dynamic, ongoing
• Flexibility
• Scenario planning
• Accepting change
• Proactive
• Building communities
• Anticipates needs
• Assumes nothing
• Focus on virtual
• Openness – privacy will not be an issue

Click here to view Gartners Hype Curve which Kevin referred to

PERSONALISATION

The new trends is towards the Individual i.e. personaliation vs corporation. It’s all about customisation, targeted information, personalised / unique experiences e.g. Starbucks – staff are trained to remember who you are and what coffee you order.

Microsites will become more and more popular as the new trend is towards personalisation on the web regarding content e.g. CNN have a new video page which customised the information you read and personalising what you see.

“The Power of Pull” by John Hagel is a great book which Kevin recommended that talks about moulding a company to fit the individual, amplifying individuals and leveraging collaboration, teamwork and social networks.

MOBILE

• Most challenging technology to master as time and place are irrelevant
• It’s about getting things accomplished anywhere, anytime
• My way, not your way
• Flexibility is paramount
  e.g. information, communication, purchasing, education, lifestyle, entertainment, food, transport
• How do you handle all that choice? We need new skills!
• We have seen mobile to be less important in New Zealand, so far

PROPERITY

• Moving from physical wealth to TIME and CHOICE preferences
• It’s the reason why people work for themselves
• There’s no justifying to anyone about how you use your time
• Letting go of prosperity is liberating and essential in the emerging new world

BUILDING LIFESTYLE

• Personal branding vs corporate branding
  e.g. blogs, tweets, profiles – all form identity
• Recruiting people will become based on their personal brand
• It’s a conscious activity vs unconscious reputation

TRANSPARENCY

• We demand it of others but not of ourselves. Why?
• Small towns have no privacy
• We are moving into a digital village with social networks where privacy is reduced/removed and we have to learn to deal with it
• Gen Y get it!
  - They realise that the more you tell the less others are interested.
  - They put themselves out there and don’t care what you think
  - They realise no one is perfect and don’t pretend to be or have illusions that others are
• Open information and communication
• It’s about sharing and collaborating
• Nurturing, organic environment vs mechanistic, restrictive environments

CONVERSATION

The new world will be about having a conversation and engaging in true discussion. Learning will be done through being engaged and part of the process such as simulations, online experimenting etc, plus through technology, with regards to how we think, deal and respond to things e.g. www.videojug.com ‘how to’ video which is fun, short, quick and engaging. The rise of EQ (Emotional Quotient) importance will put emotion into our lives and be seen as a strength rather than a weakness.

PROMISE

It’s about ethics and integrity – making and living up to customer promises. You must be ethical if you’re transparent so not having privacy is really good for ethics as it’s your reputation on the line and therefore everyone will act differently if they have to be honest.

We must learn how to be honest with candidates as people are good at reading the bullshit. No true relationships are built on lies – It’s now easier to lie vs being honest. Why? Creating real communities of people who want to work with you will be the new focus.

SUSTAINABILITY

• Indispensable with retaining talent
• Reuse, retrain, refresh, recycle people
• Enough is enough, simple is good
• Move forward in more productive ways
• Hire as few people as possible through assessments, upfront thinking, broad skill base etc
• Fewer people available so have to adapt
• Focus on cultural fit in pre-screening as skills can be taught
• Outsourcing recruitment will replace a critical / internal workforce

FORECAST

• Everything will go mobile – the iPad is just the beginning!
  e.g. interviews, assessments, training will all become mobile
• Everything will become virtual
  e.g. work, play, relationships, learning
• Roles, work, learning will all become Personalised – phone numbers will be your new address
• Crowd sourcing, tagging, networks will be used to find people
  - tagging people with clouds of information
  - recruiters tap into that information
  - gives a better picture of people and who they are
  - replaces recommendations
• Retaining / engaging through learning, networks, communities, intangibles
  - people will become deeply connected to their organisations
  - you can guarantee lower turnover if people feel connected and a part of it
• Removing walls to become virtual
• Removing titles and jobs for roles e.g. creative, technical
  - transferable skills will be better recognised for fluid career movement
• Shrinking organisations will move towards more outsourcing and contingency work
• Metrics will give way to measuring, assessing, improving processes in recruitment, learning, value of roles and people’s ROI

BRING IT ON – the only attitude to have for future!

“Social media has given employers a raft of new ways to connect with potential employees. The challenge lies in working out what to use, and when. It’s also important to understand who you’re targeting – for example, Ernst & Young’s award-winning grad recruitment Facebook page has been a huge success.”

Employment branding is about creating an experience. Recruitment marketing is used to align your business with its key branding and communications messages. Ernst & Young built a strong social presence on Facebook as  tactical way to attract candidates / customer to their brand.

MARKETING CHALLENGE
1.    Increased competition
2.    Flat enrollment in accounting
3.    Low awareness of non-accounting areas
4.    Reaching international students

WHY FACEBOOK?
•    Differentiated themselves from the competition
•    Enabled them to communicate with their target audience
•    Relevant medium for their target audience
•    Would enable experience marketing e.g. interactive video content
•    Would enable viral marketing – spreading the word and peer recommendations
•    Facebook’s growth has been significant
•    First to use advantage

SPONSORED FACEBOOK PRESENCE OBJECTIVE
•    To build their employer brand
•    Present a unique value proposition
•    Drive traffic to their website
•    Build consensus and leadership support
•    Develop corporate guidelines to address potential risk for their stakeholders
•    Consolidate the key messages and branding allowed to talk about
•    Allocate resources

CONSIDERATIONS
1.    Tone of voice
– who you are and how you want to come across
e.g. polished, professional & fun

2.    Content
- develop a project plan of what you want to produce
- develop value topics, events, tips etc
- main aim is to encourage engagement
- profile people in your organisation
- refresh content regularly e.g. every 2-3 weeks
- keep it brief
- encourage user generated content

3.    The Wall
- most important section on Facebook
- ask questions
- daily monitoring
- aim for 24 hour response time
- delivering experience of working at your firm
e.g. authentic videos of genuine people/staff

4.    Engagement ads
- targeted ads in target market
- simple headlines / content
- drive users to specific content
- promoting applications
- embed video into ads
- promoting new programs
- utilising Facebook polls which are fun + probing – creates interaction
- status updates
- updates to fans

5.    Campaigns / Competitions
- to create viral awareness and generate new fans

6.    Viral Marketing
- students are influenced by their peers so you want them to recommend you

7.    Supporting Roles Assigned
- Project Manager
- Recruiters as spokespeople to respond and promote your business
- Marketing & Comms Team to sign off on content
- External PR firm to develop content and film shoots

8.    Managing Posts
- constantly monitor your page
- respond / manage negative comments/feedback
- state on page what is allowed to be posted / what is not
- delete spam and inappropriate content quickly
- preserve authenticity at all times

9.    Integrated marketing campaigns
- don’t let this be a standalone site
- tie all your campaigns together to create consistency and awareness

10.    Measuring success – ROI tracking:
- fan growth
- applications / awareness
- page engagement
- external feed to website
- feedback
- Facebook reports
- awards / external validation

STRATEGY
•    Be clear on your purpose and outcomes
•    Target your audience appropriately
•    Engage your internal stakeholders
•    Devise a budget for advertising
•    Develop continuous content and ongoing site management plans
•    Develop a holistic and individually targeted strategy

Check out: www.facebook.com/eycareers