To Make Hybrid Work, Solicit Employees’ Input

Summary.   

As employers establish their hybrid-work plans, they need to get serious about adapting to employees’ needs by soliciting their input along the way. With workers having so many options in terms of workplaces, they’re unlikely to stay employed long at an organization that doesn’t value their opinions. The author offers specific questions to ask to get the input you need from your employees.

The hybrid workforce will introduce flexibility that millions of people never had before the pandemic. Already, we’re seeing new experiments in how people work with the increasingly popular three-days-in-the-office, two-days-remote workweek. This hybrid work model covers place, but companies need to start paying more attention to process and, most important, people. No matter the hybrid work configurations they end up favoring, employers must get serious about adapting to employees’ needs by soliciting their input along the way.

Complete Article at HBR

Recruitment: Tredence to hire over 1,000 professionals by 2022

Founded in 2013, Tredence claims to have maintained a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50 per cent.

Data science and AI engineering company Tredence has announced that it will hire over 1,000 technology and analytics professionals in the next 12 months, as per the company's statement.

Since its Series A funding of $30 million in December 2020, Tredence has recruited over 500 staff across various roles and skill sets. This extensive scale-up has resulted in the company reaching the milestone of 1,000 employees worldwide. The job opportunities offered by the company include data analysts, business analysts, data engineers, data scientists, data product owners, cloud platform developers and technical architects among others.

Founded in 2013, Tredence claims to have maintained a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50 per cent. “This enhanced focus on hiring is part of our strategy to invest in and build a strong talent pool of analytics and engineering professionals to drive value for our clients,” said Shub Bhowmick, CEO and co-founder of Tredence. The company had recently announced an employee stock buyback program of $3.5 million.

Complete Article at People matters

It’s a new world - Digitization and Engagement

 

In 2013, Gallup Organization did a study on over 1.4 million employees to determine that organizations experienced 22% higher productivity when the employees showed a high level of engagement. We often restrict consumption of digital medium to mainframe systems & software, employee training, communication, operational activities, etc. However, in this COVID hit world, one missing link to employee productivity is the usage of digitization for employee engagement. Traditionally digital employee engagement means celebrating festivals online virtually with few sessions on health and self-development or discussion forums with management teams. But the role of digitization in employee engagement is beyond that. Employee engagement through digitization can improve productivity from all directions. This article will look at how one can use digital platforms to engage employees differently in remote work conditions, leading to higher productivity.

Socialization: Irrespective of the generations and employee personalities we deal with, human beings like to interact with colleagues, although limited but regularly. Few studies have confirmed that informal relationships help employees feel better connected to organization and give them a sense of control over their work environment. With the current remote location work environment, the same is not possible. Working in silos reduces engagement and impacts productivity. Hence, organizations have to come out with informal forums of interaction for employees apart from doing digital engagement activities. The use of digital platforms will resolve the problem. Slowly, organizations have to create such platforms that must replicate features available in popular social media platforms, in a professional context. These innovative platforms would connect employees with each other, enabling sharing of thoughts and ideas and would facilitate discussion and sharing views with each other. This will not only increase team bonding in remote work conditions but will restore the interpersonal connection increasing trust and synergy.

Complete article at People matters

How to Pitch Yourself to an Employer and Secure an interview

Contrary to popular belief, pitching yourself directly to employers can give you an advantage over other applicants. Here’s how to do it:

1) Get your timing right.

You should plan to pitch yourself to the employers you want to work for as early as possible in your job search, regardless of whether there are current openings that align with your skillset. More specifically, if you’re applying to internship programs that require you to be in school, it’s important to start applying months in advance. Otherwise, you might miss out on your window of opportunity.

Pro tip

If you’re a college student who is looking to have a full-time job lined up, start reaching out to employers at least 12 months before graduation.

2) Identify key players at the company (or the hiring manager’s boss).

Once have chosen a place you want to pitch yourself to, don’t just shoot out an email. First, do your research. Narrow down a specific team within the company that you would like to be a part of. Key players have the power to connect you, and if they do, you’re much more likely to get a response than if you were to reach out cold.

Once you find a contact you want to reach out to, it’s time to request an informational interview. Message your key player, either on LinkedIn or through their work email. 

3) Nail your informational interview.

Now that you’ve landed an informational interview, make sure to do some research on the person you have reached out to. You’ll get the most out of these connections if you build relationships around shared values, and it will be much easier to carry a conversation if you and the other person are discussing topics you’re both passionate about.

Pro tip

Another option is to reach out to a junior member of the team on LinkedIn, express your interest in their work, and ask if they’d be willing to speak with you. After forming a relationship, you can then ask your new contact to connect you to their manager. This person can also give you tips around how to best communicate with the manager.

4) Connect with the hiring manager.

Hopefully, by this point, you’ve secured the hiring manager’s contact information or been introduced formally by a key player at their company.

Now it’s time to send your first email. In this message you have a few goals: Introduce yourself, express interest in their company, explain the value you can bring to their team, and request a meeting. While it should be clear that you are interested in a job at their company, don’t ask for a job offer in your initial email.

Pro tip

In general, the higher up the recipient is on the corporate ladder, the less time they’ll have to read your email, and the shorter your email, the better.

5) Follow up (if necessary).

Once you’ve sent your first email, be patient! It’s okay to follow up, but don’t overdo it, as you might risk annoying the manager. Wait at least a week before reaching out again, and when you do, keep it short

Pro tip

If you still haven’t heard back after multiple emails, try adding the hiring manager on LinkedIn. A LinkedIn notification might be the reminder that prompts someone to finally respond to your emails.

6) Sell yourself. 

If the manager accepts your invitation to meet, congratulations! You’ve basically landed an informal job interview, and you should treat it as such.

This first meeting, like any job interview, needs to be a two-way conversation, not just an opportunity for you to list your accomplishments, so show up prepared with questions to ask them. I recommend starting with questions about the company’s business needs, their priorities, and the direction their team is heading in.

7) Don’t be put off by a “no.” 

Rejection is unavoidable, but don’t mistake it for failure. Sometimes, “no” really means “not now.”

Pro tip 

If your ideal role doesn’t exist, pitch a new role. Don’t underestimate the power of having internal allies who can advocate for you.

Last piece of advice…

When you are on the job hunt, it doesn’t hurt to set up job alert emails or to apply for job openings you find online. However, proactively reaching out to hiring managers will give you more advantages over the other applicants. Once you’ve built these relationships with employers and people who can influence hiring decisions, you’ll be more likely to receive notice about upcoming openings before they are posted online, and you’ll have access to more insider information that can help you strengthen your candidacy.

Complete article at HBR