The social media channels are frequently represented as the new silver bullet for communicators of all ilk, from recruiters to advertisers, from corporates to bloggers with a cause but is it an innovation that will truly launch recruitment into a new sphere of effectiveness and impact? At a recent Think Tank in the UK on the future of innovation in recruitment, effective technologies combined with the importance of personal “human” interaction and the power of “story telling” took centre stage as the best solutions for tangible ROI and success.

We were not surprised at the findings that web-based technologies can save time and indeed money when it comes to search, but when it comes to placement, human interaction by a skilled and experienced practitioner is essential.

The Secret to Innovation in Recruitment

Recently at Barclays in Canary Wharf we had a fascinating Think Tank about the Future of Innovation in Recruitment. Again as always it was a who's who of global brands and international recruitment leaders. It was interesting for me that most recruitment leaders perceived social media as the recruitment innovation that they felt they should be discussing but few of the direct recruiters in attendance could demonstrate tangible ROI or success from social media activities to date. This presented an interesting picture for me as in one breath some leaders recognised that most innovation was happening around social media but then in the next they dismissed its immediate value as they had not experienced much tangible ROI.

The following is the first in a four-part series on leadership trends for 2012.  We hope that you will find the articles enlightening and that you will be able to apply these strategies to make your business more ‘sticky’ to your employees!

Talent retention through ‘soft’ skills

Holding onto talented staff is a key factor in the stability and growth of any business. This should be one of the top three business priorities for 2012. A startling survey of 2 000 employees conducted by the Hudson Institute in 2000, found that one-third were no longer committed and planned to leave their jobs within two years, 39% were uncommitted but planned to stay anyway and only 24% were committed and intended sticking around for another two years.

Most retention strategies fail because they predominantly or exclusively focus on money. What people want is revealed in why they leave. Studies show that employees don’t resign from organisations – they resign from bosses. People are likely to respect and stay with sensitive, competent leaders who have strong interpersonal skills. One tends to work with, rather than under, such a leader.

Today’s article is so relevant to all of us at Fusion Consulting, as after 4 great years, we have outgrown our office space and have moved into new offices. We love the fact that we can now “breathe” in a space designed to meet our team’s requirements - a work space with good flow, a chill area to relax, have a meal and catch up, and comfortable and spacious meeting rooms.   

We are sure you will agree how important our workspace is as it is almost our ‘second home’ in terms of the time we spend there during the day! When choosing office space remember that even though you may think of yourself as an ‘organism’, your companies, no matter how big or small is made up of many individuals, with different personalities.  For example, there are:

-    the techies – who are comfortable with IT blurb and software jargon and are happiest when sitting behind a computer

The following is the second in a four-part series on leadership trends for 2012.  We hope that you will find the articles enlightening and that you will be able to apply these strategies to make your business more ‘sticky’ to your employees!

Leadership by example

Free State University vice-chancellor Jonathan Jansen, espouses spiritual and emotional qualities as key to exemplary leadership:

‘I have learned that leadership is not only technical and muscular; it is also spiritual and emotional. The textbooks are wrong. Strong leaders are in touch with their own emotions and the emotions of their followers. They know that the “bottom line” can only be achieved by relating to the spiritual and emotional lives of people.’

Empathy is an invaluable leadership trait in motivating and inspiring people. This sensitive and emotional quality never gained recognition in a hard masculine business environment but the advent of female leaders has changed that.