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Madwire’s Glassdoor ratings could hardly be any better, which is why in 2016, they ranked first for both Highest Rated CEO and Best Places to Work in the US – and remained high on both lists in 2017. Because both lists are based on quantitative measures of employee ratings, it’s often the qualitative traits that influence employees to accept job offers and stay with a company.

These ‘soft’ factors like mission, culture, people and transparency motivate employees

to show up to work every day – and their reviews on Glassdoor reflect that.

To understand what drives culture at a winning company like Madwire, we sat down with CEO and co-founder, JB Kellogg. We hope some of the culture advice here will inspire you to work on your company’s mission, culture, people and transparency in new ways within your organisation and on Glassdoor.

Culture in Transition

GD: How can you establish company culture if it is not readily identifiable, and how can you revamp outdated culture?

JB: I’d start with the leadership team and get their ideas and buy-in. Then discuss who you want to be, what you want the culture to look like and how you can make it happen! Consider making some changes to your workspace, branding/logo (if outdated), handing out some free ‘swag’, etc. Something to show you’ve made a shift and are investing in culture.

Have an all-hands meeting with your team, tell them you’re investing in culture. It’s your goal to have a great place to work, ask for their ideas and what they’d like the culture to be, etc.

GD: How do you integrate different cultures after a company acquisition?

I think it helps to do some team building events, company parties, etc. to get people mixed together and build some bonds. Maybe put together some nice videos for these parties which tell the story and showcase the value of both sides. Make sure everyone understands the overall mission and is behind the cause.

[For more actionable advice from today’s top company leaders, read 11 Tips From Top CEOs.]

GD: How do you create a unified culture when many employees work from home or other remote offices?

That can be difficult. But we’ve found being active on social media, sharing client stories, making sure everyone understands the mission and how it’s making a difference is key. Also, meeting for a company party/event every 6 months (max) is always nice to reconnect, celebrate successes, review future goals/plans, etc.

[Learn more about clever ways to engage with all types of employees on social media.]

GD: If your culture is negative, but you already have a clear mission and a variety of perks, how do you start improving it?

JB: I think you need to start with getting honest feedback from your team as to what they think needs to change in order to change the culture from negative to positive. Then review that feedback with your leadership team, be open to it – not combative – and understand that whether you like it or not, perception is reality and something needs to change. Then put a plan in place to make the changes needed to build a positive vibe.

[For more ideas about how to improve your culture, download the Culture Codes of Best Places to Work.]

Taking Action on Culture

GD: What can be done in the interview process to make sure that a new hire will build on/add to company culture?

JB: We try to see who will fit our culture right from our application (which is not your normal app). We also have a bunch of videos on our apply page to help people understand our culture and if it’s a good fit before they even apply. Then, in the interview, we dive deeper into who they are and if they’ll be a good fit almost more than their actual skillsets.

[Want tips for executing great interviews? Check out the Master Interviewing Tool Kit.]

GD: What are some practical steps you can take to turn things around when employees start to seem disengaged?

JB: We recommend talking to them one-on-one. Be honest with them and let them know you’ve noticed they’re not as engaged anymore. Show them you care and ask them what you can do to help get them back on track. Be open to their honest feedback. Once you gather all their ideas, put a plan in place to re-align and press forward fully engaged.

[For more on how to engage your employees year-round, download the Complete Guide to Employee Engagement Activities.]

GD: How do you build a great culture without creating an environment where staff become unproductive or lose focus?

JB: Make sure to keep your production/sales goals high so everyone continues to press hard and stay focused along the way. Do goal celebrations, etc. so people are rewarded for their hard work. Do NOT have parties if you miss a goal. They will start to understand that success = reward.

GD: What are some techniques for building a culture of accountability?

JB: We have a motto of ‘Execution Excellence is our standard and our standard is non-negotiable’. We take this very seriously. If somebody cuts corners or does not do their part, they do not last long. We look at three things: attitude, effort and performance. If attitude and effort are good, we’ll give somebody a lot of time to get better with regards to performance. But if effort, attitude or both are weak, we have a pretty short leash. It’s a pretty simple process for determining how much time you give somebody to get on track.

GD: How do you gain traction in establishing mission, vision, and goals?

JB: We have an all-hands meeting every Friday which is only about 15 minutes but keeps everyone on the same page.

Reviews and feedback

GD: How do negative Glassdoor reviews affect company culture internally and externally?

JB: Negative reviews can and will eventually happen. The key is how you respond. Stay professional, don’t be combative. Lay down the facts. Defend your case, but be fair/kind. Take responsibility if you did in fact mess up and make it clear you’re thankful for the feedback and used it to make sure those issues are corrected, etc. Negative reviews can actually be a powerful positive for you if you respond the right way. So don’t’ be afraid of it. Overall, if you do a good job with culture, the negative reviews will be few and far between.

[For more guidance about responding, download How to Respond to Glassdoor Reviews.]

GD: Did you have an internal company campaign where you asked your employees to post their reviews on Glassdoor?

JB: We generally ask employees after their annual reviews if they’d be open to providing their feedback on Glassdoor if they’ve not already done so. We do not require it.

GD: What kind of data do you use when trying to get buy in or more investment in company culture from the top?

JB: Generally employee turnover stats, employee satisfaction stats (from surveys), Glassdoor ratings/reviews, etc. If you track these things, you can compare year-over-year improvements, etc.

[Want help getting started with Glassdoor analytics? Here’s what you should be tracking and why.]

GD: What are the benefits of retention?

JB: For us, the time/cost of training a new person is high. Plus interviews, hiring process, etc. are time consuming for other leaders/managers. Generally, we don’t see a new employee perform at veteran level for at least 12 months. The first 6 months are really slow. Experienced employees perform much better for us and drive more revenue. Plus, they can do more work in less time and do not need to be micromanaged. So it just makes sense to try to keep people around vs. hiring new people constantly and starting from ground zero.

For insights from 2017’s Highest Rated CEOs and their CHROs, download 25 Tips From Top CEOs. And learn the Culture Codes of Best Places to Work from winners like SpaceX and Clorox.

The post In-Depth Culture Advice from CEO and Co-Founder of Madwire appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

A popular meme says, "People don't leave companies, they leave bad bosses." This can certainly ring true as to why good leaders leave.

However, this simple maxim generally does not speak to the full reason a person decides to leave their leadership role. While the sole reason a person departed may be because their boss made it so unbearable that one more day performing under their helm seemed impossible, the likelihood is that a combination of reasons drove them out the exit door.

Here are five reasons why good leaders leave:

1. No new challenges. The initial challenges that rev a leader's engine include things like turning around an under-performing staff, eradicating business unit silos or building revenue and profits in a declining territory. During periods of change, transformation and growth, a strong and motivated leader performs at their peak. Their mind constantly is tasked with creating, innovating, fixing and dialing into the problems at hand. Each day is an adventure, each milestone achieved a small victory, and quarterly and annual goals reached become a marathon accomplished.

If a leader awakens one day to find their teams' performance declining, business units fully connected and collaborative, and revenues and profits soaring, they may feel an initial sense of pride and overall accomplishment. However, if everything is humming along and their problem-solving prowess no longer is needed in order to keep performance sails full, then they become restless.

Because their leadership inspiration does not come from managing and maintaining, they begin to put their feelers out for the next challenge, either internally or externally at a new company. This moves us to reason number two.

2. No internal opportunities for advancement. If your company does not offer opportunities for leadership to advance and grow their careers, then it is likely leaders will not make a career out of your company. Or, perhaps your organization does encourage promotion and leadership movement, but some of your key leaders feel stuck, because the next rung up currently is filled by someone who plans to retire in that position, which may be another two to five years, or even more.

Or, perhaps your leader has maxed out in regard to promotion opportunities, and there really are no apparent roles for them to move up or even sideways to a more interesting, invigorating, growth opportunity. It's not always about advancing to a particular role, but sometimes just about growing one's talents and skills and stimulating one's mind beyond their original role.

This may mean revamping their existing role, custom-suiting it for the individual leader, even if a traditional advancement role is not at-the-ready available.

3. Overworked. Leaders are known to acclimate well to undulating environments. This includes contributing considerable intellectual and physical commitment to their jobs when a new product is rolled outwhen there is an uptick in customer activity or during seasonal and marketplace fluctuations.

In fact, while the rigor of working long days, traveling out of town and/or bringing home work on the weekends may tax their lifestyle, they are ready for such innate job stressors and are committed to the ultimate goal. This generally includes achieving revenue objectives, growing their customer base, building a more sustainable business and ultimately, increasing their own salary and compensation bottom line.

However, if the work stress consistently increases but the rewards consistently decrease or become flat, the leader becomes weary and acutely aware of the imbalance. Not only do they start calculating the return-on-investment and begin to notice diminishing returns, but they also feel the wear and tear on their personal and family lives.

As the situation mounts, so does their interest in other companies and other opportunities.

4. Lack of trust. When leaders witness the winds of corporate change shifting and blowing them around like rag dolls, but are not being clued in by the people they report to as to what is happening, and why, they begin to lose trust. When trust begins to crumble, so does their commitment and loyalty to the enterprise. An executive recruiter's advancements, therefore, become more appealing.

5. Bad boss. Dictatorial bosses, bosses who micromanage, bosses who refuse to listen to innovative ideas, bosses who are always right and never wrong, bosses who berate, bosses who back-stab and bosses who never uplift but are quick to reprimand earn a reputation for being both uninspiring and stressful.

If you take any one of the four reasons above and add in the fact that a bad boss is piloting the enterprise, the odds increase that your leaders will begin defecting.

Sometimes, a bad boss is enough to inspire a good leader to jump ship; sometimes, it's another reason, and often it is a combination of several reasons that ultimately define why your high-performing leader decided it was time for a new home.

The post When Your Leaders Leave, Do You Know Why? appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

When you're looking for a great candidate to fill an important role, it's easy to get swept up by a stellar application. But while a well-written CV filled with impressive accomplishments is certainly a promising sign, it's important to remember that it's just one factor. To really understand whether a candidate would be the right fit, it's always a good idea to talk to the people who know best: their references.

"It's important to speak with a candidate's references because often times, a resume doesn't paint the entire picture of a candidate's experience/background," says Jane Pesch, Senior Staffing Manager at recruiting firm WinterWyman. By speaking with a candidate's references, "hiring managers can learn about projects they assisted with, get a better idea of how they interact with team members and ask about intangible items like punctuality and ability to meet deadlines."

Best Practices to Keep in Mind

Before you grab your phone, though, there are a few things worth keeping in mind. First of all, it's a good idea to give the candidate at hand some visibility into how you conduct reference checks.

"I always ask the candidate if I may contact the reference and if they are aware I will be doing so," says Jeannette Seibly, founder of business advisory firm SeibCo and author of "Hire Amazing Employees."

And while it may be tempting to perform a backchannel reference - i.e., reach out to somebody who you know has worked with a candidate but is not listed as an official reference - experts generally recommend against it.

"A reference really shouldn't be done without receiving consent from the candidate first. This source may not be a reliable representation of the candidate. It also doesn't help to foster or establish a sense of trust if the candidate is hired but then finds out that this reference was conducted unbeknownst to them," Pesch says.

Finally, make sure to provide enough context for the reference to be helpful.

"Clearly identify the role you are considering the candidate for so the reference contact can articulate strengths and weaknesses related to the role and position criteria," suggests Kim Brecheen, workforce development manager at American Fidelity Assurance Company.

And of course, avoid any discriminatory questions about a candidate's personal life, such as their age, familial status, religion, etc.

6 Questions Worth Asking

So what exactly should you ask references? Here are some of the top suggestions experts shared.

1. How would you describe the candidate's reliability and dependability?

Recruiters often expect qualities like reliability, punctuality, self-motivation and the like to be givens in a candidate, not differentiators. But that doesn't mean you should simply assume that a candidate possesses these traits without checking first.

"This is key to finding out if the candidate is able to complete projects assigned, adhere to deadlines and arrive to work on time," shares Dana Case, Director of Operations at MyCorporation.com.

[Related: 11 Interview Red Flags to Watch Out for]

2. What are the candidate's strengths and weaknesses?

There's a good chance you'll ask the candidate what their strengths and weaknesses are during the interview itself, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't also ask their references. The similarity between the two responses can show you how self-aware a candidate is, and can also give you better insight into whether or not the candidate is a good match for your particular company and the role at hand.

In addition to asking about strengths and weaknesses generally, Seibly recommends going further to ask "why were these important in that work culture? What did [the candidate] do well? How did they handle mistakes?"

"Remember, no two companies are exactly the same… what was a problem in one company may not be an issue in another company," Seibly adds.

3. What was one of the candidate's most memorable accomplishments while working with you?

The difference between a good candidate and a great candidate can often be traced back to whether they regularly went above and beyond their everyday responsibilities - something this question does a great job of shedding light on.

"Ideally, the reference should be able to recall a time (or two) where the candidate took initiative on a project or displayed leadership skills that resulted in getting the job done and the outcome," Case says.

4. What type of work environment do you think the candidate will most likely thrive in and why?

Remember: When you're interviewing a candidate, you're not just trying to figure out if they're the right person for your company. You also want to verify that your company is the right place for them. If your company isn't the sort of place where a candidate can thrive, they're much more likely to perform at a lower level or leave the company more quickly.

This question "will help you observe whether the candidate will function well in your work environment," says organisational consultant Laurie Richards.

If the reference describes an environment different than your own, it shouldn't necessarily be automatic grounds for dismissal - but it can "expose areas to explore further" with the candidate to verify that they are indeed eager to work at a company like yours, Richards says.

5. What skills would you have liked to see the candidate develop to reach their full potential?

Very rarely will you encounter a candidate who meets every one of your desired qualifications, but asking a question like this "will help identify voids in the candidate's skills," Richards says. If the prior knowledge of the missing skills is critical to the success of the role, you may want to move on to a more qualified candidate. But otherwise, it can help you figure out how you can assist the candidate's professional development and, perhaps even more importantly, "assess the candidate's willingness to work toward improving in those areas," Richards adds.

[Related: ]

6. Would you recommend this candidate?

It's a straightforward question, but one that shouldn't be ignored. Some references may feel obligated to highlight positive things about the candidate when asked about their strengths and weaknesses or accomplishments, but with a question as blunt as this, it will be much more apparent whether they are truly enthusiastic in their endorsem*nt of a candidate - perhaps the best predictor of a candidate's future success.

"You can also provide [them] with an option to email you additional comments if they feel like any extra information might be helpful," Pesch adds.

Learn More

10 Reasons to Advertise on Glassdoor

The post 6 Questions You Should Ask a Candidate's References appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

As you may be aware, the European Union (EU) is starting to enforce a new data protection regulation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), beginning 25 May 2018. The GDPR is designed to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.

What We’re Doing to Address GDPR Compliance

Glassdoor is actively working to address GDPR compliance for all our EU resident users. As we approach the 25 May 2018 enforcement date, Glassdoor is conducting the following:

• Mapping an overview of all our systems to document the use of personal data.

• Introducing an updated Privacy and Cookie Policy that reflects our notice obligations under the GDPR.Starting today and over the next couple of weeks, we are sending all users and employers an email notifying them of the updated Policy.

• Reviewing and revising our vendor agreements and implementing new processes to address the GDPR sub-processor requirements.

• Making technical changes to our platform that will enable us to support the GDPR’s requirements and enhanced data subject rights.

What Resources Are Available about GDPR and Glassdoor

We encourage you to visit glassdoor.com/GDPR for further information about GDPR and Glassdoor. This dedicated site features a variety of useful resources, including an FAQ for Employers that address questions you may have about how GDPR impacts your relationship with Glassdoor. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, or have other questions, we welcome you to reach out to us directly at gdpr@glassdoor.com.

The post How Glassdoor is Complying with the EU's GDPR appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

It is clear that candidate behaviours have changed over the last few years: the days of companies having the pick of the talent have gone and it really is a candidate-driven market as we see an increasing skills shortage across hard-to-fill roles. It paints a pretty bleak picture for an internal resourcing function, but this is where sites such as Glassdoor can really add value to your resourcing strategy.

We have seen an increase in candidates citing Glassdoor as a reference point for their decision-making process (what we are calling "informed candidates") when choosing a company to work for, and not only with the dreaded millennial candidate but also increasingly at a senior level. Only last month, we had an Associate Director join our business and fed back that our Glassdoor reviews helped to separate us from our competitors. While that is a positive story, I am sure there are plenty of candidates who go on to Glassdoor and will see a negative review, or a moan about our performance review process or something that generally says Grant Thornton is not the agile, flexible and enterprising environment that our resourcing team believe it to be. So what can we do about this? The answer: engage and embrace it.

We appreciate that we don't always get it right for all people, and actually, that acknowledgment on sites such as Glassdoor is often enough to turn one person's negative experience of working here, into a positive for a potential candidate. We open ourselves up to people's opinion and then start a dialogue. This is real-time, unfiltered feedback…it is so valuable. We have taken examples of negative feedback around issues such as speed of process and shown this to our hiring managers to refine a process and improve it. It isn't rocket science but the simple fact is that the candidate marketplace has become a customer market, and we need to engage and listen to what our customers want.

Equally, we have seen benefit to those candidates that have used Glassdoor to help them with their research around a company. These informed candidates are the recruiter's dream…they are already bought into the values of the organisation, they are aligned to our purpose of shaping a vibrant economy and are in general well prepared. Put simply, the time that our recruiters need to invest in the informed candidate is less than that of candidates sourced from elsewhere.

When you have a candidate like this, the interview process tends to be better, not just for the candidate but also for the hiring manager. The interviews are of course about technical ability, but hiring managers are finding that they are having better quality conversations around the non-technical things that makes for a successful career at Grant Thornton.

So the cynic may say that Glassdoor is giving rise to some sort of "super millennial" that can 'blag' through an interview and come across as engaged and bought in and everything a hiring manager could ever want, when we all know that the reality is that a millennial candidate won't stick around and be a nightmare to manage (we read this rhetoric everywhere, so it must be fact!). Well, our reality is that the "informed" candidate is having the opposite effect - they are sticking around longer, they are obtaining above average performance reviews, they are connecting with our purpose and ultimately having a bigger impact on our business.

We are investing in advertising on Glassdoor for exactly this reason, we want to ensure that our resourcing strategy focuses on bringing in the highest possible quality candidate in the most commercial way.

Sam Harrison is a Resourcing Team Manager at Grant Thornton UK LLP. This article was originally published on LinkedIn Pulse. Reprinted with permission.

Learn More & Download

How to Recruit the Informed Candidate

The post How Glassdoor Can Add Value to Your Resourcing Strategy appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new set of rules governing the data privacy of people in the EU, which can affect recruiters working around the world.

These new rules go into effect on 25th May, 2018, and because the recruiting industry relies heavily on personal data, many recruiting firms and individual recruiters will be affected by GDPR, no matter where in the world they operate.

The fines for violating the terms of GDPR are formidable, so recruiters need to understand how they may be affected by the new rules and the steps they need to take to be GDPR compliant.

What is GDPR?

Essentially, the terms of GDPR mean that if you use the personal data of an EU 'data subject' without their permission, then you will be hit with a massive fine, even if you are doing business across the globe.

GDPR also outlines new rules for 'data controllers' and 'data processors' who use the personal data of EU 'data subjects', (any person within the borders of the 28 countries in the EU), and require new conditions to be met for data security, transparency and obtaining the consent of data subjects before using their data.

If you aren't sure what constitutes 'personal data', or what a 'data controller' or a 'data processor' are, we've collected a glossary of GDPR terms for you and useful information from the GDPR website's FAQs.

Data Controller vs. Data Processor:

"A controller is the entity that determines the purposes, conditions and means of the processing of personal data, while the processor is an entity which processes personal data on behalf of the controller."

This definition is short, but it can be tricky to apply to recruiting.

The data controller is the person or organisation who decides to use personal data for a business purpose, for example, a recruiting firm that wants to use the personal data of healthcare professionals as a business asset.

Continuing this example, the data processors would be the internal employees and/or contracted individuals and organisations that use this data for recruiting operations.

Here are three more examples of who is considered the controller or the processor in some common recruiting scenarios:

1. When a client company provides a recruiter with access to their internal candidate database, the client is the data controller and the recruiter is the data processor.

2. When a recruiting agency gives their recruiters access to a candidate database, the recruiting agency is the data controller and the recruiters using this database are data processors.

3. When an independent recruiter wants to present the personal information of a candidate to a client, they are the data controller and the data processor.

Personal Data:

"Any information related to a natural person or 'Data Subject', that can be used to directly or indirectly identify the person. It can be anything from a name, a photo, an email address, bank details, posts on social networking websites, medical information, or a computer IP address."

Personal data protection under GDPR extends to every person within the borders of a country in the EU, whether they are a citizen or not, but does not extend to people outside the borders of EU countries, even if they are EU citizens.

The definition of personal data differs between different countries in the EU, so you should always check the definition of personal data for the country in question.

Data subjects also have Data Rights, which must not be infringed upon by a data controller or a data processor:

● Breach Notification:

"Breach notification will become mandatory in all member states where a data breach is likely to 'result in a risk for the rights and freedoms of individuals'. This must be done within 72 hours of first having become aware of the breach. Data processors will also be required to notify their customers, the controllers, 'without undue delay' after first becoming aware of a data breach."

● Right to Access:

"The right for data subjects to obtain from the data controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning them is being processed, where and for what purpose. Further, the controller shall provide a copy of the personal data, free of charge, in an electronic format."

● Right to be Forgotten:

"The right to be forgotten entitles the data subject to have the data controller erase his/her personal data, cease further dissemination of the data, and potentially have third parties halt processing of the data. The conditions for erasure, as outlined in article 17, include the data no longer being relevant to original purposes for processing, or a data subjects."

● Data Portability:

"The right for a data subject to receive the personal data concerning them, which they have previously provided in a 'commonly use and machine-readable format' and have the right to transmit that data to another controller."

● Privacy by Design:

"At its core, privacy by design calls for the inclusion of data protection from the onset of the designing of systems, rather than an addition. More specifically - 'The controller shall...implement appropriate technical and organisational measures...in an effective way... in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and protect the rights of data subjects'. Article 23 calls for controllers to hold and process only the data absolutely necessary for the completion of its duties (data minimisation), as well as limiting the access to personal data to those needing to act out the processing."

That's a lot of info to take in, so here's a summary of what data rights mean for recruiters:

• Violating any of a data subject's data rights are a breach of GDPR and result in large fines.
• The personal data of an EU data subject cannot be used without their explicit consent collected in compliance with GDPR. Terms of consent must be presented in 'clear and plain language' and state the intended use for a data subject's personal data. This includes use by automated processes.
• You will be required to provide a breach notification to the supervisory authority overseeing the data rights of potentially affected EU data subjects if your security is breached and you possess the personal data of EU data subjects. This notification must be provided to the authorities of effected EU countries within 72 hours of finding the breach.
• You are required to delete personal data that is no longer relevant to the original purpose for processing. However, since your purpose is 'finding and presenting candidates to clients', data may be stored on data subjects who have given consent for this specific operation to data controllers.
• Candidates that are EU data subjects may request that you send their personal data to another data controller or request that you delete their personal data and halt the further use or dissemination of this data by third parties.
• Data controllers must adhere to 'privacy by design', and have data security as a main design element of any system storing and safeguarding personal data.

Who does the GDPR affect?

"The GDPR not only applies to organisations located within the EU but it will also apply to organisations located outside of the EU if they offer goods or services to, or monitor the behaviour of, EU data subjects. It applies to all companies processing and holding the personal data of data subjects residing in the European Union, regardless of the company's location."

What are the penalties for non-compliance?

"Organisations can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover for breaching GDPR or €20 million. This is the maximum fine that can be imposed for the most serious infringements, such as not having sufficient customer consent to process data or violating the core of Privacy by Design concepts.There is a tiered approach to fines (e.g. a company can be fined 2% for not having their records in order (Article 28) notnotifying the supervising authority and data subject about a breach or not conducting impact assessment). It is important to note that these rules apply to both controllers and processors - meaning 'clouds' will not be exempt from GDPR enforcement."

How GDPR Will Change Recruiting

Any recruiter that regularly or even periodically works for clients in the EU, will need to have the consent of data subjects and compliance with GDPR as a top priority.

Even storing the personal data of an EU data subject without their consent is a violation of GDPR, and recruiters doing business in the EU must ensure that all data tools, contacts lists and other data being stored does not contain personal data that has not met the GDPR terms for consent.

Here are the new terms of consent under GDPR:

"The conditions for consent have been strengthened, and companies will no longer be able to use long illegible terms and conditions full of legalese, as the request for consent must be given in an intelligible and easily accessible form, with the purpose for data processing attached to that consent.

Consent must be clear and distinguishable from other matters and provided in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it."

This new requirement means that all companies trading in the personal data of EU data subjects will be issuing updated terms of consent to data subjects before using their personal information, for example, as an entry in a candidate contact list.

Recruiting companies should not worry about the ATS and other candidate data tools they use being offline, or being offline for long, as these data companies have been preparing for GDPR compliance for years. That being said, recruiters should not assume that their data resources are compliant with GDPR until this has been confirmed by the data provider in question.

How to Prepare for GDPR

All recruiters are responsible for following GDPR regulations, but companies that control large amounts of personal data related to recruiting will have the most extensive work to complete in preparation for GDPR.

Recruiters should prepare for GDPR by checking that any personal data resources that they use (applicant tracking systems, contacts lists, professional networks, etc.) are compliant with GDPR.

Recruiters who regularly work with the information of EU data subjects should create 'use of personal data consent agreements' that can be sent to candidates residing in the EU.

Recruiters should also perform an audit of the candidate data that they have on file, as storing the personal data of an EU data subject without satisfying new conditions for consent is a violation of GDPR.

Here's a quick checklist to help you prepare for GDPR:

• You have asked data resource providers, such as the providers of the contacts lists you use, for proof that they are or will be compliant with GDPR by the 25th May, 2018 deadline.
• You have conducted an audit of the candidate personal data that you or your company possess, and have confirmed that you are not using or storing the personal data of an EU data subject without their consent.
• You have conducted an audit of your data security to ensure that the personal data of all candidates (including EU data subjects) is protected sufficiently to satisfy the conditions of 'privacy by design'.
• You have updated any privacy contracts you use for candidates in the EU to ask for consent to use personal data in your recruiting operations, including a description of these operations 'using clear and plain language'. This updated contract should be sent to any EU data subjects in your candidate databases.

Even if you are a recruiter operating outside of the EU, you need to be sure that a forgotten entry in a candidate database isn't putting you at risk for a massive fine.

Recruiters and recruiting companies use an incredible amount of personal data, so it is in your best interest to perform a GDPR compliance audit of the data resources that you use and the candidate data you currently possess.

Additional GDPR Resources

GDPR is a complicated subject, and it's understandable if you still have some questions about the related changes.

We've collected some resources that can help answer questions you may have about GDPR and to help you learn more about the regulations:

GDPR Frequently Asked Questions

What is Personal Data?

What is a Data Processor and What are the Duties of A Data Processor Under GDPR

Glossary of GDPR Terms

Final GDPR Text

The post Everything You Need to Know About New EU Privacy Rules appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

While employee engagement is getting plenty of buzz - and it should - many employers' programs are missing a crucial component. Engagement should begin in the earliest stages of the recruitment process. The recruitment experience influences engagement one way or another, so a strategic approach will make sure that experience sets the stage for a long and rewarding relationship between employer and employee.

If you're still working to convince colleagues of the benefits of employee engagement, you can share some of these facts. PWC's 2015 Employee Engagement Landscape Study found that a strong engagement program can reduce turnover and absenteeism, and increase productivity, collaboration, innovation, customer service, quality and safety. According to their research, companies with highly engaged employees have:

• 33% percent higher profits
• 51% lower turnover rate with satisfied employees
• 250% better performance-related business outcomes (yes, two hundred and fifty)

With benefits like that, why not weave engagement into your recruiting practices? There are two key ways to do this: first, hire for engageability, and second, start proactively engaging candidates at first contact.

Engageability: The Drive to Dive In

Engageability refers to traits that candidates possess or don't. It isn't about years and years of experience, but rather about a combination of the basic necessary skills and strong motivation to dive in, start contributing on day one, and learn quickly. For instance, a new accountant probably needs a couple of weeks of training before they start making general ledger entries. However, an engageable individual should be willing and able to help out with basic tasks, such as reconciliations, even while being trained.

Common sense tells us that engageability will vary from position to position. An engageable operations supervisor, for example, should have the ability to remain positive and solution-oriented throughout a shift. A candidate who is easily flustered won't stay engaged for long. But there's more to it.

Your Best People = Your Best Models

To stay on top of a highly competitive job market, savvy recruiters are borrowing ideas from marketing to attract the best talent. Marketers create buyer personas to help them target their messaging, and this is a great tactic in recruiting. It's also not as difficult as it may sound . . . just use your top performers as models.

Suppose your best software developers are passionate about taking on new challenges and enjoy getting involved in areas beyond their specialty. With that persona in mind, an interviewer might ask candidates to describe a time they solved a particularly sticky problem.

Based on more than 30 years of engagement research, Dr Jack Wiley, Chief Scientific Officer of Engage2Excel and Professor of Psychology at Manchester University, has determined that almost all highly engaged employees share the motivation to go above and beyond. Another engageability gauge is to ask candidates to talk about a time they took initiative or went the extra mile.

The Call of Culture

In addition to hiring for engageability, make sure candidates are engaging with your company's unique culture from the first touch. Communicating your culture effectively helps lay the foundation for solid engagement moving forward. It also helps ensure that every candidate has a positive experience with the company, even those who aren't a cultural fit. They may not become employees, but they could be potential customers or even strategic partners.

A compelling employment brand is important and should be general enough to apply to any position. To truly engage your target candidates, craft a message using the candidate persona. Thinking again about those software developers, your first message shouldn't be "Join a growing company with great benefits." Pretty much everyone in the market is pitching that. Differentiate your open position by leading with something like, "Take on meaty challenges and learn new technologies."

Engagement from CV to Retirement

According to Dr Wiley's research, an effective engagement program is well integrated across the full employment lifecycle. It also incorporates the key engagement drivers he has identified: Recognition, Exciting Work, Security, Pay, Education and Career Growth, Conditions and Truth - or RESPECT. But it doesn't wait until after the hire.

The 2017 Trendicators™ Report, based on a survey of 940 active and 507 passive job seekers, provides insight into the perceptions, preferences and behaviors of these two groups. It turns out that active candidates can be turned off if recognition and praise are missing from the hiring process.

We all like praise, but it seems to be particularly important to the largest generation in the job market today, millennials. Of that cohort, 81% consider recognition and praise during the pre-hire phase as being Very Important or Important. Compare that to 55% for Gen X, 39%for Boomers and 31% for Gen Z.

As you interview and interact with candidates, make a point of acknowledging accomplishments. A simple compliment brings a human element into the process, and may make a big difference.

Research Your Audience

All this suggests that the better you understand your candidates' needs and wants, the more you can optimise sourcing, recruitment marketing and onboarding activities. In fact, misunderstanding can undermine the goals of engagement.

Millennials' reputation as job-hoppers is a good example. A survey by beyond.com found that 81% of millennials surveyed described themselves as being loyal to an employer. However, only 1% of HR professionals surveyed believe millennials to be loyal to employers.

Could it be that millennials move frequently because engagement programs are based on what is important to Gen Xers or Boomers? It may be time to review your program to ensure it appeals to the wants and needs of multiple generations. No strategy or program can be all things to all people, but you want to be sure you are working with valid information and assumptions.

To Get Respect, Give RESPECT

Most of us agree that a robust company culture and successful human capital strategies address each RESPECT driver. What may be new is the powerful idea that employee engagement starts before a candidate has even read your position posting.

About The Authors:

Kim Shepherdjoined Decision Toolbox, a 100% virtual organisation providing recruitment solutions, in 2000 as CEO. Decision Toolbox and its parent company, Engage2Excel, offer the industry's only recruiting solutions that optimise engagement throughout the talent acquisition process and career lifecycle. Today, Kim is chairwoman and leads the companies' growth strategy, primarily through developing partnerships and alliances, and as an active member of the Los Angeles and Orange County human resources communities. A recognised thought leader by HR organizations nationwide, Kim regularly speaks on topics such as recruitment best practices, recruitment process outsourcing and the virtual business. She authored The Bite Me School of Management, a book journaling her business journey and the challenges she has overcome, and Get Scrappy, a business book that provides a new perspective on personal and corporate growth. Learn more at dtoolbox.com.

Tom Brennan is Manager, Creative Services at leading nationwide recruiting firm, an Engage2Excel company. For more than a decade, he has played an integral role in developing strategic marketing materials designed to attract top candidates for Decision Toolbox clients. Founded in 1992, Decision Toolbox provides cost-effective, high quality and innovative recruitment solutions for companies nationwide. With unparalleled rigorous quality controls and a 12-month candidate guarantee, Decision Toolbox has long set and surpassed industry standards. For more information visit www.dtoolbox.com and find Decision Toolbox on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

The post Employee Engagement Starts Earlier than You Think appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

No two generations are the same. The attitudes, passions, strengths and weaknesses of each generation are moulded by the world around them. Political influence, economic factors and technological change all converge and produce a new set of individuals who see the world in a way that generations before them never have.

Forward-thinking organisations acknowledge this. They know that this will ultimately impact the way they work and, as such, they adapt their company’s processes to recruit and get the most out of younger generations.

Right now, millennials are the focus of most organisations, but there is a new generation just around the corner, ready to take the corporate world by storm. This is, of course, Generation Z, who will constitute a fifth of the workforce by 2021. Famously, Generation Z is the first to grow up completely immersed in technology. They are accustomed to abundant, free information and instant, real-time feedback.

If you anticipate hiring members of Generation Z, it will be important to know their talents, adapt your performance management processes and engage young talent. Here are a few trends to keep in mind as Generation Z enters the workforce.

The relationship between manager and employee will be more important than ever

Generation Z will have a serious impact on the relationship between manager and employee. Sources agree that as a generation, they have high expectations and are unlikely to remain with a company if managers are aloof and detached. Companies have already begun eliminating yearly performance reviews and replacing them with more regular feedback sessions. This is a great sign for Generation Z, who have grown up in an age where advice and feedback are easily requested and readily given. To keep their generation satisfied and motivated, managers will need to be constantly available.

Generation Z isn’t fragile. They desire feedback regardless of whether or not it is good; they only ask that it is constructive and instructive. According to one source, 52% of Gen Z and Millennials believe honesty to be the most important quality in a leader, which means that managers will have to be specific with their feedback. Generation Z is also extremely project-oriented and efficient, as long as they know what is expected of them and how they are performing. For this reason, it is likely that weekly feedback sessions will become the norm. During this time, Gen Z employees and their managers should discuss current performance and any relevant issues, as well as both short-term and long-term goals.

Managers will have to be less hands-on

Though managerial input is important for Generation Z, as a whole, they are generally self-reliant. They work best with an element of personal freedom and don’t wish to be micromanaged. For this reason, managers will have to act more as a coach than a strict authoritarian. Managers will get the most out of their Generation Z team members if they simply give instructions, then take a step back and allow them to achieve that goal without constant supervision. On-demand feedback and check-ins will help to keep performance on-track, but hovering over shoulders will only result in frustration and disengagement.

Work-life integration will become more common

Everyone knows the concept of work-life balance, but this is quickly becoming an outmoded concept. This is due in no short part to the prevalence of technology and the ease of communication. We no longer work traditional 9-5 hours — 24% of employees check work emails during their private time and one in three employees check their work emails every single day while on vacation. Similarly, we want to keep in touch and utilise social media at work. This is particularly true of Generation Z, who are regularly referred to as ‘digital natives.’ They have never existed in a world without mobile phones and computers and for this reason, they don’t understand why there should be such a division between work and play.

Moving forward, it is likely that rather than having a solid barrier between work and home life, they will be integrated. Traditional office hours may fall by the wayside and, to compensate, there will be a higher emphasis placed on the achievement of goals. We are already seeing examples of this, with companies such as Netflix and Virgin, who have introduced the idea of ‘unlimited time off’. Staff can take as much holiday time as they like and the time isn’t tracked, but managers keep strong tabs on whether objectives are being met on time and to standard. Policies such as this require higher amounts of trust from the company and an equal amount of responsibility from the employee.

Organisations will need a clear route of progression

For Generation Z, career progression is a critical aspect of performance management. They are generally known for their entrepreneurial spirits; they’re driven and want to succeed. They also place a huge emphasis on personal growth. This means that rather than trying to attract them with the promise of money, a larger focus will likely be placed on a clear path to leadership; this is the only way companies will have any hope of retaining determined, ambitious workers of the new generation.

The good news is that Generation Z are prepared to work for it. In fact, over 75% of them expect to have to work harder than previous generations to achieve career satisfaction. Performance management systems of the future will need to emphasise ways by which employees can diversify and take on new responsibilities, which will do far more to motivate them than a simple yearly bonus.

Generation Z want to know they’re making a difference

In a very significant way, work will play a large part in the average identity of a Gen Z individual. They don’t just want a job that pays the bills; they want to know they are making a difference. They are more interested in following their passions than making money and, if they don’t feel they are having an impact at their company, they are likely to leave for a company that will appreciate them.

If Generation Z is to function well in an office environment, organisations will need to ensure that they don’t feel like an anonymous, superfluous element. Good organisations will make efforts to show Generation Z employees that they’re part of something big, and that they’re an integral aspect that keeps it moving. For this reason, managers will be more likely to have contextual conversations with them regarding goals, and how individual goals align with overall corporate objectives. This will give them a chance to see how important they are in the scheme of things, which will help to keep them engaged — and ultimately, help your business

About the Author:

Stuart Hearn has twenty years of experience in the HR sector. He co-founded plusHR, a leading UK HR consultancy, and previously worked as International HR Director for Sony Music Publishing. Stuart is currently CEO of Clear Review, an innovative performance management software system.

The post How Will Generation Z Affect the Workplace? appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

You can love what you do at your job. You can be passionate about the results. But if your company’s workplace culture doesn’t suit you, you’ll still dread going into work most days. That’s why smart companies care about creating a culture that will help their employees feel happy and productive.

For a closer look at what goes into a happy company culture, let’s take a page out of one of the world’s favourite book series: Harry Potter.

Hear me out.

As a quick refresher if you aren’t a hardcore fan, Harry Potter attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Hogwarts student body is quartered into four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

Students are sorted into one of these houses based on common personality traits and shared values. For example, Gryffindors are typically brash, bold and competitive, while Hufflepuffs are hardworking and value teamwork. Harry is sorted into Gryffindor.

All four houses are in competition with one another. The students are awarded points for their houses based on academic achievement, performing good deeds and general good conduct. The house that is awarded the most points throughout the year wins the House Cup.

So think of Hogwarts as the marketplace and Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin as competing companies with distinct company cultures.

Venngage, a graphic design software, recently sorted 54 tech companies into the Hogwarts house best suited to them based on company mission and value statement. In the end, the companies were pretty evenly split between the houses.

There are actually some valuable lessons about company culture that can be pulled from how Hogwarts operates. With that in mind, here are 7 things Harry Potter can teach you about company culture.

It’s important to have shared values

While all four Hogwarts houses value excellence, how they achieve excellence varies depending on each house’s particular set of values.

For example, Hufflepuff values hard work and group success over individual acceleration. Meanwhile, Ravenclaw values the perfection of one’s craft through diligent study.

Gryffindor also values teamwork, but Gryffindors are also notoriously competitive and tend to value taking quick action over careful planning.

Every job will have parts that you wish you didn’t have to do—even a job that you love—but it should still align with your personal morals. If something you’re doing doesn’t sit well with you, then you should be able to bring it up with your management.

That’s why it’s important to find a workplace with values you can get behind. These values should inform every project your team embarks on and every major decision your team makes.

A clear mission statement will guide your team

At the start of each new year at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat sings a song about the four houses at the beginning of the sorting ceremony; the song introduces the core values of each house. This reinforces the house values for the existing students as well as introducing them to the new students.

The same idea can be applied to your team. Your company’s core values and mission statement should be listed somewhere easily accessible, and they should be repeated in meetings, in internal documents and in decision-making processes.

Working with different mindsets can make problem solving easier

Harry becomes good friends with Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw student who is considered a bit odd, even by her fellow housemates, but whose unique perspective helps Harry to overcome multiple obstacles.

While having a shared mindset can help keep a team unified, it’s also important to be open to different mindsets. After all, new ways of thinking can spark innovation.

According to research at Stanford University, people are more innovative when their workplace fosters an environment of growth. So when people are able to try new things, offer and receive criticism, and master new skills, they will be able to produce better, more inventive work.

Find a management style that works for you

The professors at Hogwarts embody a range of different teaching styles. Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster, directs the school with wisdom, kindness and a steady hand. When Dolores Umbridge steps in as Headmaster, however, she takes a much more controlling and militant approach to leading.

You can imagine which one most students preferred.

From my experience, management can really make or break a job. Finding a company with a management style that you respect and appreciate is important; you should be able to trust that the person you’re reporting to will make sound decisions. A great manager will know how to get the best out of their staff.

Be open to collaboration with other companies in the market

The competition between the four houses at Hogwarts is quite fierce, particularly the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. This is a basic tenet for good business in general: you want to be aware of who your market competition is and where you stand relative to them. But it’s also beneficial for your team members to look for opportunities to collaborate with other companies in the market who aren’t your top competitors. This not only keeps your team’s finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry, but it also introduces you to different approaches that may inspire the way your team works.

There is no one perfect approach to company culture

Hogwarts is strongest when the students and faculty stand united; it’s how they defeat Lord Voldemort, after all. Despite their differences, they unite around a common cause.

While a company should hold true to its values and mission statement, there should also be flexibility within the dynamics of your team. If something in your team isn’t working, or if there’s something that you see another company doing that works better, then don’t be afraid to pull inspiration from them to help your team perform even better.

A magic team is formed over time

It’s very rare for a perfect team to come together right away. Even the strongest, best-performing teams have growing pains. But when you find a workplace where you click with the culture, you will feel comfortable sharing new ideas, taking risks and growing your skillset. Luckily for us mere muggles, building a great team isn’t sorcery; but it is important to suspend disbelief from time to time and let the magic happen.

For more ideas on how to keep your employees engaged throughout the year, take a look at the strategies outlined in our blog post on the subject.

The post 6 Lessons About Company Culture From Harry Potter appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

It’s no secret that feedback is hugely important in the workplace. Giving and receiving useful feedback is a key part of both personal and organisational development. It impacts individual growth and allows people to work on self-improvement, while also pushing people towards organisational goals.

We’ve put together a handy overview: All You Need to Know About Feedback, From A–Z.

Anonymous vs non-anonymous feedback

It’s important to decide whether feedback conducted with a tool should be anonymous or have names attached—there are benefits to both. With anonymous feedback, particularly when directed upward, people may feel they can be more honest with their responses; whereas non-anonymous feedback keeps the conversation open, allowing for easier follow-ups. It’s important for you to decide which option your organisation feels will most benefit your feedback process and help your team work most effectively.

Biases & Performance Reviews

Conducting performance reviews can be a helpful process if it’s as objective as possible. Unfortunately there are some biases which can affect the credibility of reviews when not handled well. Biases such as the halo/horn effects, primacy & recency effects and stereotyping can impact how people conduct reviews and can have a huge difference on the feedback people give out, making reviews less valid.

Carol Dweck & The “Growth Mindset”

Psychologist Carol Dweck talks about mindset, specifically a ‘growth’ mindset compared to a fixed one. In terms of receiving feedback, mindset can make a huge difference. People with a fixed mindset see their intelligence and personality as unchangeable, so are more likely to respond emotionally to constructive feedback as it’s like a personal insult. Those with growth mindsets will instead see feedback as an opportunity to develop and improve their skillsets. However, it’s important to keep in mind that people can change their mindset through practice.

Deloitte

This year, professional services network Deloitte joined the ever-growing list of companies ditching the annual performance review in favour of more effective practices. The company instead places emphasis on ensuring that more regular feedback is of use and helps employees to develop.

Engagement & Feedback Culture

How engaged people are at work can make a huge difference to their productivity, motivation and happiness levels while at work. Creating a workplace culture that embraces the importance of honest, real-time feedback can make a huge difference in the way people perceive their life and role within the organisation. Open, honest communication among all employees not only means that people have useful feedback to help them improve, but that there is also a feeling of trust and respect in the workplace. Implementing a great feedback culture will improve engagement in the sense that it makes people feel they can offer input without judgment or backlash, and really help the company on its path to success.

Follow ups

No feedback process is complete without a follow-up conversation. Making use of people’s input means the whole process has a useful outcome. It can be effective to schedule follow-up meetings or simply make time to discuss feedback over coffee once people have had time to digest what’s been said. This means that not only will wires not be crossed but that discussions can take place as to how best to use the given feedback, allowing for people to develop and work more effectively.

Goals

It’s important for a number of reasons to have goals to reach towards. Using feedback to help create goals can be a really useful process; that is, taking away key points and using them to establish your focuses for the next month, quarter or year, can make the feedback process even more useful.

Honesty

An open feedback culture creates a working environment where people feel they can have an honest conversation with their co-workers without fear of backlash. It’s a key part of maintaining a work culture that makes people feel comfortable and actively helps everyone improve and develop at the same time. If people are used to being honest with one another, giving open praise when applicable and constructive feedback when it’s needed, it makes for a productive, comfortable and constantly improving work environment.

Improves skill sets

In analysing the results from a 360 Review, patterns in people’s feedback may arise. For example, if all of someone’s co-workers mention that they lack a certain skill or could improve in one specific area, it’s time to start working on those skill sets! Having specific skills to work on makes post-feedback development much easier and provides a good focus.

Juniper: No more performance ratings & reviews

Juniper completely revamped its performance review process—and the company must have done something right! The changes resulted in 82% of employees feeling that their reviews were now valuable. The company eliminated ranking and instead aims solely for employees to meet expectations in four fundamental performance elements, placing focus on people’s purpose and individual achievements and how feedback can impact future performance.

KPIs

A key part of performance management is setting useful goals for team members. Using company KPIs to create goals can be a great practice, as it ensures people are on track not only to individual achievements, but that those accomplishments align with organisational goals.

Leadership development

Having upward feedback in place is a great place to start in terms of leadership development. Managers receiving feedback means they are given an opportunity for development that they otherwise may not have had. Gaining feedback from team-members is a valuable opportunity to improve as a leader and ensure that the way you interact with your team is as beneficial as possible for everyone.

Millennials

With modern workforces being made up of a large amount of millennials, real-time feedback is more needed than ever. Millennials generally value more frequent feedback than previous generations and prefer to be updated on things in real-time, rather than having to wait for scheduled times to discuss their progress or achievements.

Not personal

It’s important to separate feedback from your personal relationships with co-workers, particularly constructive feedback. Whether giving or receiving it, it’s critical to approach feedback as something that aids performance and development, not as a personal attack.

Ongoing process

Feedback should be a process, not an event. Approaching it as something that happens only as a yearly performance review, or stops outside of scheduled meetings, means it becomes a task, not an ingrained part of company culture, and can mean people become less willing to engage with it. Ensuring that feedback is a regular part of people’s working day is the key to making it useful, whether through use of a real-time feedback tool, regular 1-on-1’s with managers, or simply encouraging a culture where employees give open praise and are receptive to constructive comments.

Professional development

Using feedback to create goals keeps a clear focus and keeps feedback useful. Setting professional development goals is a great way to ensure continued development and growth and an ongoing sense of direction outside of simply day-to-day accomplishments.

Questions

Asking your team members for their input is one great step towards having a feedback culture that works. But it’s also important to ask them questions to follow up or add to the feedback you’ve already received. Ask people for their opinions on changing practices within the company, follow up on the feedback they’ve given you by asking how they think you can use it to further improve and generally let your team know that you value their input.

Real time

Feedback is most useful when it’s conducted within a realistic time scale; it’s not so beneficial to hear that something could have been improved six months after it took place. Discussing things in real-time means that actionable solutions can be found and feedback can actually be useful in establishing what improvements can be made.

SMART goals

Using feedback to establish goals for the upcoming period is an especially valuable practice when you create SMART goals (ones that are specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and timely.) SMART goals mean that you have a great focus going forward and have something to strive towards that is useful and within reach, without being overwhelming or unobtainable.

Three-sixty

360-degree feedback is on the rise in the modern workplace. And for good reason. Simply receiving input from managers is no longer enough. Getting an all-round perspective by gaining input from those you work closely with makes so much more sense in terms of being able to actively use feedback to improve.

Upward feedback

An important part of 360-degree feedback is that it includes upward feedback; i.e., people are able to provide feedback to their managers and supervisors. This is a great opportunity as a manager to gain insight that otherwise wouldn’t be available with a conventional top-down feedback process. Giving team members the opportunity to express their views and suggestions to managers means that not only do people feel more involved and valued, but also that everyone, managers included, gets the chance to receive and respond to both positive and constructive feedback which helps them improve in their role.

Value your team

It’s so important for people to know their work is valued and appreciated. Having a real-time feedback culture in place that means that people get regular, timely updates on their work and achievements not only means room for improvement when constructive feedback is given, but also that people have the opportunity to hear regular praise and appreciation when things go well.

Weekly meetings

While it’s a great practice to schedule meetings after performance reviews or when periodic feedback has been given, it’s also great to engage in weekly meetings with your team, either as a group or on a 1-on-1 basis, to discuss any issues that have arisen, publicly praise what’s gone well and keep up to date with people’s progress and development.

toXic feedback

Whilst giving constructive feedback is useful for development, when toxic feedback finds its way into the mix that’s where things can go wrong. It’s important to acknowledge the difference between them, and separate constructive feedback from toxic feedback that will not benefit you and your development.

Yearly performance reviews: a thing of the past

Annual performance reviews are now widely accepted as a fairly useless practice. A conversation which only involves one manager and takes place once a year doesn’t make much sense when it comes to being able to use feedback to improve daily practices and performance. Viewing feedback instead as an ongoing process that helps evaluate things shortly after they happen is much more suitable and effective.

Zenger Folkman research

Research from Zenger Folkman found that 74% of people who received constructive or negative feedback were already aware of the problem raised and were not surprised it had been brought up. Keeping the conversation open with employees can make the difference between a team of people who are aware of their issues in the workplace but are unaware how to tackle them, and one that is on track to improving and overcoming issues and difficulties.

So, there you have it. Your A-Z guide to feedback. Try Impraise today to easily implement real-time, 360-degree feedback in your workplace!

The post The A-Z of Feedback appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

Are you hoping to expand your team? You know that graduates are almost fighting for work after university, but would it be worthwhile for your company to hire one? Lizzi Hart of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau runs through the 10 reasons why hiring graduates can benefit your company.

10 Reasons You Should Hire a Graduate

1. Graduates are keen to learn and progress.

If you're new to both a job and the working world in general, you're bound to be very keen to do your best. Recent figures even suggest that Millennials will be the first generation to earn less than their parents, so with the odds against them, working hard to impress will be more important to these employees than ever before. Plus, they've just left academia, so will be primed to learn even more in order to succeed.

2. Graduates will take a lower salary...

…in exchange for experience and training, of course. We're not talking about cheap labour here, but with little to no experience, they aren't expecting a huge wage. A competitive salary for a graduate within their industry will be enough. Anything higher will be more appealing, but with not much more cost to your company's payroll - something worth considering if you can't find the right people.

Related:How to Recruit & Retain Gen Z

3. They have a different outlook.

Younger generations will have different perspectives on life and will be able to contribute new, innovative and fresh ideas. Not to mention, they're likely to be more in touch with current trends, and have different views, which will help to inject a younger voice into your organisation and increase diversity.

4. A graduate is willing to adapt.

As this is their first job, they will want to impress. Don't think this means they can work a 60 hour week on a 40 hour contract, but they will be open to extra hours, new opportunities, and helping out in as many ways as possible. Plus, due to a probable lack of home commitments (in comparison to your more experienced colleagues), they will be more flexible with their free time and might be more able to attend an evening event at short notice or travel.

5. Graduates are a clean slate.

It's probably their first proper job and potentially their first experience of full-time office life. This means that you're able to teach them from the get-go how to work, and how to approach company issues, rather than trying to mould someone with pre-existing habits. When you hire a graduate, they are often referred to as a "blank canvas".

Related:40 HR and Recruiting Stats for Today

6. A graduate will question the way things work.

Fresh graduates are likely to be inquisitive, and with their university studies still fresh in their minds, they'll be used to questioning how and why things work the way they do. This will push your company to question its existing (and potentially outdated or inefficient) approaches.

7. A graduate hire has market knowledge.

If your market happens to include younger generations, hiring a fresh graduate will gain you first-hand market knowledge. This will help your company to appeal to their peers, and understand more about how they operate, and what will grab their attention.

8. Graduates are more comfortable with technology.

Millennials in general, especially recent graduates, will be more comfortable with technology due to the ubiquity of tech during their youth.

Related: Gen Z - A Guide for Recruiters

9. They're probably used to multitasking.

Social media and the multiple communication channels that graduates and students are used to mean they're well-versed in multi-tasking. For example, my childhood involved: watching TV, chatting on MSN, playing games on my PC, "doing" homework and constantly updating my social media accounts - and mostly simultaneously. Want a multi-tasker? Hire a Millennial.

10. Graduates can have competitive (and impressive) backgrounds.

A degree alone is no longer enough in today's graduate market, so many students and graduates are building up their extra-curricular portfolio in order to stand out from the rest. If you choose to hire graduates and can offer an attractive job package, the candidates you hire will be very grateful for the work, and relieved to have found a job, especially a graduate one.

Learn More

10 Hacks for Hire for Hard-to-Fill Roles [Infographic]

The post 10 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Graduate appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

Perhaps you’ve noticed business isn’t ‘as usual’ lately and you’ve realised that a staff member or two haven’t quite been performing up to scratch. Underperformance in employees can have a huge domino effect if it’s not dealt with and could result in serious issues like profit loss and decreased team morale.

We’ve looked into what constitutes underperformance, causes, how to identify an underperforming employee and the necessary steps to amicably resolve the issue.

What Is Underperformance?

Underperformance is when an employee is performing their duties below the required level expected. The following points underline some of many examples that classify as underperformance:

• Failing to perform duties to a high standard/altogether
  
• Non-compliance of work policies and procedures
  
• Bad behaviour that negatively impacts others in the workplace.

What Causes Underperformance in Employees?

Lack of Growth Opportunities

Employee goals vary — some may just be after job stability whilst others may want to progress within a company.

The reassurance of growth opportunities is imperative to driving motivation. If there is no ‘progression’, no matter which form this is presented in, then employees can display attributes of underperformance.

Lack of Variety

Lack of variety in the job can lead to everyday tasks becoming mundane. This, in turn, causes a lack of inspiration which affects the standard of work that’s churned out.

Lack of Communication

If you’re not receiving the right communication — whether that’s related to job performance or critical HR updates, this can lead to burnout and unclear goals.

Work-Related Stress

This occurs when employees are unable to work properly due to stress which can manifest physically and mentally — affecting overall job performance.

Lack of Settling in Period

The onboarding process in a new job is critical. Time restraints and seasonal changes can affect how much time and money goes into settling employees in. However, shortening this process for the sake of profitable gain can damage their ability to perform tasks in the long run.

[Related:Onboarding New Hires]

Personal Issues

Some issues can be so serious that they impact our day. When employees feel down due to issues outside of work this can seriously affect their ability to concentrate, especially when they feel like there’s no support system in place.

Bad Working Environment

This isn’t necessarily aesthetic — if the general vibe in the office is negative and highly-pressured, then this can have a negative effect on an employee’s ability to cope with the team.

Lack of Challenges

If duties are monotonous, it can be easy for employees to slip into autopilot. This means work output can take a serious beating and appear lackluster.

Lack of Incentives

It’s a great feeling when you go above and beyond to achieve your targets, but if there’s no incentive for the achievements, this can cause employees to feel unobligated to achieve more in their role.

Unclear Goals/Lack of Direction

Expectations of the job should be highlighted both in your interviews and on the job. If changes need to be made to the job, then this must be communicated, not expected — as this can cause significant confusion.

Lack of On-the-Job Resources

Not being able to perform the job properly can increase job pessimism, especially when it’s been justified why resources are needed.

[Related:For Better Financial Returns, Invest in Employee Satisfaction]

Developing a Plan With an Underperforming Employee

Each scenario will require you to deal with things differently. If the issue is solely with an individual, then taking the following steps ensures fair treatment:

• Approach the employee in question and ask how things have been going and ask if they have anything they wish to talk about.
  
  • Some employees will feel able to disclose what could be bothering them, which makes developing a plan much easier.
    
  • For those who are unaware of how their actions are impacting the business, it’s the right time to bring up a few concerns and strategise a plan.
    
• Write down the issues and agree on a plan together. SMART targets are a classic but fantastic way to set goals.
  
• Should any of the issues be rooted in personal problems, then offer to be a listening ear and advise on employee support through your HR department.
  
• Ensure every conversation thereafter is kept positive yet constructive

[Related:Employee Engagement Trends You Can’t Ignore]

How to Provide Feedback to an Underperforming Employee

Addressing underperformance head-on is key to resolving underperformance, and so feedback must be constructive to aid employee development.

Below are some dos and don’ts of giving feedback to an underperforming employee:

Dos:

• Be specific and constructive with feedback
  
• Be observant of any patterns that lead to underperforming behaviour
  
• Be encouraging and explain how making positive changes will improve their development as a whole
  
• Be kind, always.

Don’ts:

• Pile on everything that needs improvement. Focus on one or two manageable issues at a time.
  
• Show negative emotions. It’s easy to feel frustration; however, this exudes too much pressure.
  
• Use ultimatums or absolutes, such as “if you can’t get this to me by the end of the day, then there’s no point in coming back”

Steps to Take if No Improvement Is Made

An employee can, unfortunately, make no progress despite a plan and support system in place. If this is the case, then a formal route will need to be actioned.

It’s important to make the employee aware that disciplinary action can be taken if no improvement is made. To be certain you’re dealing with your employee fairly, ensure you comply with employment law.

Consult with your HR department how you should go about the procedure. Generally, the following pattern is followed:

• Invite your employee to a meeting in writing, ensuring you give them enough notice before the meeting
  
• State in writing that the employee has the right to be accompanied by a witness
  
• Ensure you list the reasons why the disciplinary meeting is taking place, using dates of past events if necessary, to back up your decision
  
• During the disciplinary, give the employee the opportunity to defend their claim and provide evidence as to why they don’t’ deserve a warning or dismissal
  
• Let the employee know they can appeal the decision in writing if they feel it is unjust

Christina Attrah is Copywriter for The Hub Events – a leading provider of management and leadership courses across the UK.

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