We’re Only Human 48: How to Use Hackathons and Coworking to Engage Employees

Hackathons are often seen as a tool for creating new software products, but did you realize that they could be used to create a more engaged workforce as well? 

In today’s show, Ben interviews Toni Eberhart, Executive Director for Urban Engine. In the show, they talk about how things like coworking nights, hackathons, and other social activities can help to crosspollinate ideas and create more satisfaction for technical talent. 

In a time where it’s harder than ever to attract and retain highly qualified technical workers and engineers, is a hackathon the secret ingredient to employee engagement? 

Toni recommends that employers look for places, platforms, and programs that allow employees to practice creative autonomy. It’s not just about creativity for its own sake, it’s about learning, connecting, and collaborating. 

 

Links: 

Connect with Urban Engine: http://urbanengine.com 

Check out the Artificial Intelligence for HR book

Case study of ADTRAN for using hackathons for employee engagement

If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out episode 8 (enterprise HR innovation) and episode 10 (your employees aren’t innovative enough). 

3 Candidate Experience Trends You Should Know

Candidate experience is a booming business. Anyone with the ability to create a more positive experience for a company's job applicants is in a great position right now, and that won't change any time soon. In the last ten years, interest in the candidate experience has grown exponentially, as evidenced by Google Trends data.

On top of that, we're seeing more evidence that the candidate experience is more than just a “nice to have” for businesses serious about profitability. One HR Open Source case study of Virgin Media highlighted the company's transformation, detailing just how the firm was able to attribute more than $7 million in revenue to its improved treatment of candidates during the hiring process. This combination of factors is most likely why “candidate experience” was one of the top three priorities for recruiting leaders in the latest Lighthouse Research Talent Acquisition Sentiment Study.

In 2019 and beyond, we expect to see some specific ways this part of the talent acquisition world continues to evolve.

Video is integral to hiring processes

hiring candidate experience trendsVideo is huge, both for businesses and consumers. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world (with greater traffic than AOL, Bing, and Yahoo combined!). Netflix and other video streaming services now account for the majority of internet traffic worldwide. We have come to expect and appreciate video on many levels, but it hasn't yet made its way deep into the hiring process.

In one 2017 study, our team at Lighthouse Research found that candidates most want to see hiring managers in videos, not the stuffy “company overview” content that the majority of companies share. Additionally, with greater competition for talent, some companies are now offering video tours of workspaces to help attract the interest of potential candidates. Video is a powerful substitute for in-person experiences, and it's infinitely more scalable, as well.

Video is going to be increasingly woven throughout the hiring process, creating a more personalized and seamless experience for all candidates.

Assessments are appreciated, but…

We've long been told that candidates hate assessments in the hiring process. They slow things down, they muddy the waters, and they don't add any perceivable value to the overall experience.

The truth is, though, candidates actually do like assessments, but only if they actually give them a chance to show how qualified they are for the job. In other words, don't throw them a generic personality test and expect them to be happy. Instead, look for ways to allow them to demonstrate their job-related skills and knowledge.

For instance, don’t ask software engineers to…

Check out the rest of the piece over on Clara Labs.

Does #HR care more about employees or protecting the company? [Reader Question]

I love answering questions from readers, because they encourage me to explore topics I might otherwise not touch on, such as today’s discussion. Have a question of your own? Share it and I’ll try to work it into the schedule!

Does HR care more about the employees or protecting the company?

HR’s Primary Role

When someone is hired into the HR profession, their primary role is to support the “people” functions of the company, such as hiring, training, and retaining employees. It’s funny if you think about that being the primary responsibility set, because we know that managers select candidates, often recommend workers for development, and are the reason that 80-90% of workers leave the organization, Regardless, that’s our job: tie the business objectives with the people process objectives to the degree we can.  Continue reading →

We’re Only Human 47: Using Mission-Focused Learning to Improve Learner Engagement

Recent research from CLO Media shows that the number one performance metric reported by Chief Learning Officers for learning initiatives is employee engagement. But is this the right metric? Does engagement truly encapsulate how people learn, the impact on the business, and other critical factors? 

To answer this question, host Ben Eubanks sits down with Sam Herring, VP and General Manager for Intrepid by VitalSource. Sam has a long track record in learning technology and services and a well-rounded outlook on the profession. In the conversation, Ben and Sam talk about the pros and cons of engagement as a learning metric, how mission-focused learning can lead to better results, and the importance of learning journeys. 

If your team is thinking about how learning can partner more closely with the business this year and in the future, Sam’s insightful takeaways at the end of the show offer some spectacular guidance to that end. 

Follow Sam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/samuelherring

Check out Intrepid Learning online: https://www.intrepidlearning.com/learning-library 

Check out Ben’s newly released book, Artificial Intelligence for HR: http://aihrbook.com/buy 

New Year, New Book, and a New You!

Wow.

This is the first day back at work for many after the winter holidays are coming to a close, and I hope those holidays were rejuvenating for you and those you care about. The family and I enjoyed some much-needed time off, and weather here in Alabama was nice enough to get out in shorts this weekend for time at the park, bike rides, and more. A great way to refresh things for a great start to the year.

The family and I have been celebrating as my new book, Artificial Intelligence for HR, came out just before the new year. I have been humbled to hear some wonderful feedback from the people that have already been reading the book. I am honored! I won’t be pushing the book heavily in the coming months, so if you want to read some fun stories, learn about the trends in HR, and understand what the advent of AI within recruiting, training, and more means for your job, this is your chance to get the book. If you’re reading it and would be willing to add a review on Amazon, I’d be very, very grateful (we could work out a signed copy, if you’re interested).

Finally, this is a new year for YOU as well. Are you certified? Are you thinking about getting certified? Is this the year you pull out your own “state of the union address” for your own company’s leadership? Maybe you have decided that this is the year you step it up on the strategic front, creating more value for your employer and a more meaningful HR practice as a result. Is this the year you toss the “HR” term completely in favor of one of the newer titles, like “employee experience” or something else? I’d love for you to share what your big goal is this year for you and/or your team.

As always, my team and I try to create content, tools, resources, and other helpful information for you on a regular basis. If there’s something you need or want that you haven’t found yet, just throw in a comment below. This is a new year, and we’re in this together, my friends.

-Ben Eubanks, Founder, upstartHR

We’re Only Human 46: New Methods for Educating the Future Leaders of HR

Today, everyone is fascinated with talking about the “future of work.” But who is the future of work? That’s right–students. The kids (we’re old enough to call them kids, right?) that are coming up behind us are going to truly BE the future of the workplace.

In today’s episode of We’re Only Human, Ben takes the opportunity to sit down with a long-time friend, Matt Stollak, to talk about these ideas. Matt teaches HR courses at St. Norbert College, and he takes a very different approach to the classroom than most professors.

If you are hiring new HR professionals or if you’re looking for ways to train some that you’ve recently brought on staff, Matt has some great ideas for how to go beyond the academic approach and make it very practical and real. This is *real* learning. Get ready to take notes, because class is in session. 

Connect with Matt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/akabruno

 

Using Employee Feedback to Guide Decision Making

manager feedbackAlmost every conversation our team has with business leaders touches on today's pace of change. That pace often prompts employers to make quick decisions, but the problem is those are not always made with the right data on hand.

For example, you're looking for ways to educate your workforce and provide them with the information they need to excel. But you're using last year's employee feedback survey as the basis. How do you know those insights are even relevant today?

Additionally, we have inherent psychological biases that affect our decisions. These biases can influence us to make flawed decisions based on extraneous factors like when we heard about the issue versus the actual importance of it. To counter these issues appropriately, organizations need to be more intentional about listening for problems and acting on them.

THE POWER OF LISTENING + ACTION

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

– Epictetus

The engagement problem in the workplace is one that HR and business leaders know all too well. A significant majority of workers are marginally engaged, if at all, and only a small minority are highly engaged in their work. It's the workplace equivalent of trying to row a boat by yourself with most of the other rowers either sitting idly or actively paddling against you.

Check out the rest of this article to find out the Three C’s to better listening.