Survey Reveals Trends and Challenges for Hiring Veterans in Austin, Texas

In 2013 the Workforce Readiness Sub-Committee, Transition2Position (T2P), conducted a survey of the Austin Human Resource Management Association (AHRMA) membership to identify veteran hiring trends in Austin, Texas for the 2012 calendar year and a representative sample of AHRMA organizations responded. 

“We were pleased to see that 84% of the employers we surveyed have hired veterans in the last few years.  So we know that their views are reflective of

what’s happening with veteran hiring in the Austin workforce,” said T2P committee leader, Ramona Oliver.

Oliver added that one of the most insightful findings is that most Austin-area employers may not be that concerned about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder when hiring veterans.  “You hear so much about PTSD in the media.  We wondered what respondents would say.  Our strategic partners who provide veteran transitioning services were extremely interested to know that only 27% of employers have concerns about PTSD.”

Another key finding of the survey shows that translating military skills to civilian job experience and transitioning from military structure are the biggest obstacles to the civilian employment of veterans in the Austin area.

The T2P committee has created an onsite repository for documents/material/websites that provides information on best practices for hiring veterans.  There on the AHRMA website, you will find the results of the AHRMA Veteran Hiring Trends Survey, as well as information about the Department of Labor Veteran Work Opportunity Tax Credits and a helpful veteran hiring toolkit.  From time to time, the committee will add other materials that may be helpful to you in hiring veterans in your workplace.

You can find these resources by clicking HERE.  

Note:  Look for the list of links called “Veterans in the Workplace Resources” under the heading “Workforce Readiness Subcommittees” and “Transition 2 Position.”

To go directly to the AHRMA Veterans in the Workplace Survey, click HERE.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ramona Oliver at t2p@austinhumanresource.org.

Getting More out of Employee Appraisals in 2014

by Connie di Primio, Customer Account Manager at Halogen Software

Where has the year gone? It is almost time for employee appraisals again. As an HR professional, you are in a strategic position to help managers and employees recognize and reap value from a process that for many feels like a necessary administrative evil. And, while you are at it, why not use the process to gather valuable information to help with your organization’s overall HR strategy?

An essential part of an integrated talent management strategy
Employee appraisals bring the most value when, rather than seen as isolated events, they are integrated as an essential element in a comprehensive performance management process that itself is part of an end-to-end talent management strategy that includes recruitment and selection, rewards and recognition, employee development and succession planning.

Potential insights from employee appraisal data
There is much information that employee appraisals can supply to help drive an effective Talent Management strategy. Collect and analyze performance appraisal data across the organization to:

Identify high performers who may become part of a high potential candidate pool that can provide successors to critical roles.

• Identify areas of high and low performance within the organization. Examine these closely  to determine the best strategy for taking advantage of strengths and mitigating weakness.   
• Assess leadership. Appraisal data can yield important information about the supervisors and managers who deliver them. A single manager with consistently highly rated employees may be one with effective leadership who can be further developed and advanced and/or serve as a mentor to those who may be struggling with the process. A caveat to investigate is whether the high ratings represent real data or are the result of an “easy grader” who doesn’t understand or value the performance appraisal process.
• Similarly, supervisors and managers whose employees are consistently poorly rated may need help in learning to coach their employees to higher performance or, if they are “tough graders,” in recognizing and appraising good performance.
• Identify training and development needs. Appraisal discussions can be opportune times to discuss employee development plans. By rolling up development information, HR can identify training and development needs to make the best use of the training budget. A pattern of low performance in certain skill areas can also be a clue that training and development is needed here.
• Identify retention risks. Consider providing tools and instruction to supervisors and managers to enable them to assess levels of retention risk among high performing employees and those in critical roles. Just opening the discussion with employees about their ambitions and passions can go a long way to encouraging employees to stay in an organization that wants them to succeed.

Getting good data

The old adage “garbage in / garbage out” certainly holds true when attempting to gain insights from performance appraisal data across an organization. Fortunately, the steps that HR can take to ensure good data will also help managers and employees get the most out of their annual appraisals. Here are some ideas to improve the employee appraisal process:

• Provide descriptions and rating criteria for critical competencies. This will help managers and employees to identify and understand what key competencies are required for success in their current role as well as one they may have their eye on for the future. Include descriptions of observable behaviors that indicate lacking, developing or proficient levels of the competencies.  
• Coach managers in the process and hold them accountable for giving effective appraisals. New managers in particular, especially those who are now appraising their former colleagues, will need help in evaluating performance and providing effective feedback.
• Gain input from multiple sources. Provide tools so managers can solicit performance input from employees themselves as well as key customers and teammates who may be able to fill gaps in the manager’s knowledge of their employees’ performance.
• Invite feedback on the process from managers and employees for continuous improvement.

Taking the necessary steps to ensure you get good, high-quality data out of your performance review process in 2014 will yield some great results that will help drive your business forward.

Upcoming Presentation: Why Should HR Care About Social Media?

by Bryan Chaney
(Reposted with permission by http://careerconnects.org)

As the founder of CareerConnects and producer of the second HR focused event, I am proud to feature Curtis Midkiff, Director of Social Engagement for SHRM.

Curtis and I met originally online, then in person at an HR event in Austin two years ago. He works tirelessly to increase awareness of the power of social media in HR, and to help practitioners leverage it more effectively.

Have you struggled with the technology, the time, or the legal ramifications of using social media? He will address the fears and failures that some human resources professionals have faced and overcome. Don’t miss his session “Why Should HR Care About Social Media.”

You can earn HRCI credits for attending the Austin HR strategy event. Tickets are limited, so get yours through AHRMA today.

_______________________________________________________________
 

Bryan Chaney is a global talent branding and attraction strategist. He has most recently led employment branding and social media for corporate recruitment at Aon. He serves on the board of Social Media Breakfast in Austin and founded careerconnects.org, Find out more at http://about.me/bryanchaney.

Stepping Stones: A Taste of Integrated Talent Management

by Renee Polk, SPHR, AHRMA 2013 President-Elect, Stepping Stones Coordinator

“The flavor of this presentation is Texas BBQ—simple, meaty, humorous, interactive and probably messy.”  

This is how Dan Medlin, Talent Acquisition Leader for Samsung Austin Semiconductor, and Scott Beardsley, Market Manager for Technology Navigators, described their recent Stepping Stones to Enhanced Leadership session on Integrated Talent Management.  Their 4-hour morning session focused on proactive strategies for “getting, keeping and growing” employees as an overlapping and continuous process that is both a human capital and business imperative.

Sounds impressive, but does the process work?  Dan and Scott have refined their “Texas BBQ” of talent acquisition and human resources management for a combined half-century of success.  Dan brings experience in corporate staffing, agency recruiting and as an independent headhunter.  Scott brings experience in contingency search, contract staffing, recruitment process outsourcing, professional services/consulting and corporate staffing.  

So, what did the Stepping Stones participants say about the session?

“The class was excellent. The speakers were knowledgeable, engaging and very well prepared. They gave us a detailed road map to build a successful talent management program. I love their top-down approach. I feel that I know now where to go and what to do. “

“Talent management is a very broad topic and the presenters did a nice job of covering the end-to-end integrated topic.  Their direct experience made the subject very interesting.” 

“The class gave us a general framework and a detailed action plan. We will use the framework for our company and prioritize the actions. It will take time to implement what I have learned during the class, but we can start, one piece at a time.” 

“Our recruiting process sometimes takes a while and I hadn't kept in touch with candidates in the past unless I had something to tell them. Now I will keep in touch with the top candidates regularly, even if it's just to tell them we're still working through our internal process.” 

“Even though we're a small company and can't afford a large, fully integrated applicant tracking system I found out there are some low or no-cost programs that may work for us. I've put implementing a system on my list.”

Stepping Stones to Enhanced Leadership is a 2009 Pinnacle Award-winning program created by the Austin Human Resource Management Association (AHRMA) leadership to establish a pipeline for AHRMA’s Board of Directors, provide professional development from best-in-class subject matter experts, and enhance workplace engagement and strategic partnership of program participants. Program participants attend nine (9), 4-hour workshop sessions focusing on a variety of strategic leadership topics.  Stepping Stones sessions are certified for Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) credit.