The ROARing Twenties at Talentoday
To be honest, at Talentoday, the new hire experience means entering into a workplace of organized chaos. As many rapidly growing companies can relate to, having a world-class employee experience means that you’re in a balancing act between fostering employee development and driving business results. For Talentoday, we didn’t do it without some help. Following Talentoday’s acquisition by Medix in late 2018, the team adopted a new ambition for achieving results as a double bottom line company, meaning that we focus on both our profit and purpose.
Why do we do what we do?
Early in 2019, the team sat down and asked one simple question, “Why do we do what we do?,” to better understand the purpose of why we really come to work everyday. On an individual level, the Talentoday team is home for industry experts, ranging from software development, to cognitive science and operations, but being a double bottom line company means getting to the unified core of why each person has decided to put their passion into Talentoday. On its surface, the question posed a number of answers from “to provide the best psychometric assessment” to “having the best user experience”, but getting to the true core — our core purpose — it came down to the single idea of “empowering growth.” For our team, we come to work each day to empower the growth of the clients and members that we serve, but also to empower the growth of each other by putting our core purpose at the forefront of our employee experience.
Rally for Success
Working on the Talentoday team, each person is given the freedom to contribute to cross-departmental goals. It may seem out of character for a developer to be updated with sales objectives, but at the end of the day, our goals are connected. Meaning, all people are given visibility into company-wide goals and can contribute by making connections or sharing past experiences, thus winning as a team.
With our departments being highly specialized, creating a proper outlet hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve been able to make strides by offering an open platform through company meetings and communications, while providing an open invitation for feedback. Our team’s contributions are without a doubt how we achieve success, but following those contributions with recognition is key.
Recognition creates space to reflect on how we achieved success while celebrating the wins. It’s important to note that recognition can come in many forms, such as a ROAR (statement of recognition) or a cruise down the Seine, but no matter the size of the success — or the size of the recognition — it’s important to stop and celebrate.
The Only Constant is Change
By the time this article is published, it would be no surprise if within our team, or product, something has changed, but that doesn’t scare us. Change means that we’re striving towards our goals. Product development doesn’t stop, client needs change, and technology improves, so it’s safe to assume that employee needs are evolving in sync. Adopting an idea of constant change has allowed us to take a holistic approach to our employee experience. Remember the balancing act metaphor at the beginning? At Talentoday, our employee experience is a combination of industry best practices, business needs, and real employee feedback, with the goal of fulfilling our core purpose and ultimately people choosing the Talentoday team as their employer of choice.
To date, we’re not far into 2020 and it’s been a busy year for Talentoday — while some may call it ROARing! With a beautiful new office and growing team, we look forward to keeping our chaos organized, employees engaged, and product innovative as we take on the new year.
If you’re looking for more information on joining the Talentoday team, contact our HR department at recruitment@talentoday.com and or visit our Welcome to the Jungle page for current openings!
Employee Recognition to Turn the Holidays into the Season of Company Culture and Commitment
The holiday season can stir up a whirlwind of emotions inside and outside of work — from happy to excited, and for some, stressful. During the holidays, companies and teams may celebrate with special parties and events, but offices can also become ghost towns, with many employees taking additional time off. Adversely for some industries, the holiday season may be their busiest time of year.
Through the high points and low points of the holiday season, what can managers do to keep their employees motivated, while enhancing their commitment to the organization in the new year?
Make it Personal
Some organizations may have the luxury of being able to provide company-wide holiday presents and/or year-end bonuses, which can help with the overall sense fulfillment for employees. However, many companies do not have this option, or they feel like company-wide gifts may seem impersonal.
According to Great Place to Work, “It is key that employers focus on how they can make authentic and meaningful recognition part of their management philosophy in order to retain top talent and encourage high performance.” For managers, knowing that a need for unique recognition is important, the holiday season creates an opportunity to motivate employees on an individual basis to end the year strong!
Recognition Without Breaking the Bank
As can be seen by Talentoday’s assessment, individuals’ motivations are unique. While some people are heavily motivated by money, others may be more motivated by external recognition, or the ability to socialize.
To recognize individuals on your team, it could be as simple as writing an email or handwritten note, highlighting accomplishments throughout the year. Additionally, during the holiday season, employees may have the burden of hectic travel or spending their holidays away from their loved ones. For those teammates, consider giving them snacks for the road, a good book, or recommending a podcast to pass the time. For employees that will be spending time away from family and friends and missing their hometown, consider specific items that would remind them of home, such as candies, drinks, sports memorabilia or photos. Lastly, for employees who spend much of their year traveling for work, this is a great opportunity to provide a gift than can be shared with their family, such as a gift basket or a gift card for a meal together.
Establish Employee Commitment
Unfortunately for some organizations, the phrase, “new year, new me,” can often signal individuals looking to start a new job in the new year. Similarly, the start of the new year often means that new company budgets are established or replenished, allowing organizations to actively recruit.
Knowing this, the holiday season is a great time to ensure and re-establish commitment to the organization. Outside of recognizing individual achievements and rewarding employees on a more personal level, organizations can use this time to come together and reflect on the past year and provide transparency on goals for the upcoming year. Furthermore, outside of company-wide meetings, managers should be frequently engage employees by, “creating a respectful and trusting relationship with their direct reports, communicating company values and setting expectations for the day-to-day business of the organization,” as they play a key role in overall employee engagement.
As organizations are wrapping up their year-end initiatives and gearing up for 2020, it’s never too late to think of unique ways to serve and recognize the people giving back to the company on a daily basis. Whether a company is small or large, personalized actions or recognition can go a long way and can be done with little to no budget, allowing all employers a fair chance to motivate their teams this holiday season!
Be Unique: One Size Does Not Fit All
The idea of the “employer brand” is becoming exhausted with a flurry of best practices and standards, but we believe the exhaustion relates to companies being out of touch with what employees are really experiencing. Today there is a need for a holistic and authentic approach across the company’s brand, as the company’s employer brand is central to attracting talent and retaining employees. So, how do we bring new life to the “employer brand” at a time when social interaction is being digitized? What if restoring human relationships was the solution?
By returning to its core values, and purpose, companies can start a new foundation and ensure that it’s attracting talent that match its unique company culture. This fact has been a compressed reality for so long that, in France, the Pacte Law has been enacted to help with the transformative challenges and mutations that companies are facing by emphasizing on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the introduction of a new moral pact between a company and its social and environmental ecosystem. QED
Distinctiveness is the lasting differentiation
It is therefore vital for companies to reconnect with their ecosystem by working on identifying what makes them unique and what makes their team(s) exceptional. Through reconnecting with their ecosystem, companies will be able to identify their distinctive image and identity. Which will help them to transparently communicate their authentic purpose and true holistic employee experience — attracting and retaining the right people who share their values and integrate into their sub-culture.
Human Centricity
Given the importance of company culture, and how today it is becoming central in human resource strategy, we’re seeing a number of recruiters utilize soft skills (skills related to interpersonal behaviors) when screening and shortlisting candidates. In fact, by shifting their focus to soft skills, companies get the opportunity to revisit their own values and create that distinctive, strong, social and moral pact that candidates can identify with and employees feel empowered by.
Developing a “People Skills” Directory
Each company is unique, each profession is unique, and the chemistry of the employees is unique.One the many ways to achieve coherence and that goal of distinctiveness is the creation of people skills Directory. An index that list employee behaviors which is intrinsically what makes a company’s culture unique. Conclusions can be used to create that authentic employer brand while evolving overtime based on employee feedback.
To attract the right candidates, foster engagement and retain employees, HR professionals can use elements of their company culture to answer the questions “which projects will naturally speak to employees?” and “on which projects will individuals naturally perform well?” to bridge the gap between employee values and the company’s goals. Ultimately, this will allow companies to create a healthy and remarkable work environment, a strong social pact, a strong culture, and a structural — sustainable — economic growth.
The Importance of Company Culture and How to Hire the Right Fit
6 tips on hiring employees who wont run for the door.
Everyone likes to wake up wanting to go to work! And every company wants their employees to be motivated, productive and loyal. One of the biggest factors in fostering a hard-working, happy team is by not only creating a vibrant company culture, but also making sure new employees fit into your company’s unique style. Whether your company is a more casual, “8–5”, family friendly environment, or a high pressure, career lifestyle, competitive, highly results-oriented workplace, using smart recruiting tools like predictive analytics to evaluate candidates will help ensure the perfect match.
Programs that foster company culture like flex time, happy hours, volunteer work, recognition opportunities, cross departmental “lunch and learn” events, competitive pay structures and opportunities for bonuses all make employees less likely to take calls from other companies.
“Culture is the number one contributing factor to every single aspect of the employment relationship — from both the employee and company perspective,” says Amber Rhoton, Owner/President of Owner and Chief HR Advisor for Amplified HR. “A strong culture is the fastest way to weed out under-performers and cultivate superstars.”
Here’s how to find the perfect match for your company’s culture and avoid costly hiring mistakes. Job searchers, listen up to increase your chances of getting hired!
- Ask candidates to take a personality test such as Talentoday’s which in a few clicks provides a comparison of the candidate to your current workforce and is designed to allow you to get an idea of who a person really is and what motivates him or her.
- Have multiple people speak with the candidate to see how well he or she meshes with different personalities. Also, meet a candidate on several occasions on different days and times to gauge the consistency of the fit.
- Watch how a candidate interacts with the receptionist. It may seem minor, but you want to hire a genuinely nice person. If someone is cold or rude to the person they are first meeting in the lobby, it’s not a good sign.
- Check references, and not just the ones a candidate gives you. Dig a little deeper and find an objective opinion on someone’s past performance and potential fit. It’s hard work but will pay off to avoid hiring the wrong person.
Observe how smoothly offer negotiations go. If a candidate negotiates heavily and isn’t easy to work with during that process, it’s a sign they aren’t the right person for the job. - Ask the hard questions. If you know your company’s culture requires night and weekend work, find out how a candidate will handle that. Be transparent on all the down sides of a position and when someone is still excited to join, you’ll know they’re right for the role.
“Match your applicants with your culture and the rest will fall into place,” says Rhoton. It’s way more important, in my opinion, than skill set or experience.”
By ensuring your new hires match your company’s dynamic, you’ll not only reduce your turnover but also increase engagement and overall performance of the entire team. And with today’s easy-to-use candidate-culture matching technology, there’s no excuse not to!
