It began with a conversation.  Perhaps more aptly, it began with two veteran recruiters dreaming about what might be possible.  We wondered—is it possible to leverage technology to put more of the human element back into the recruiting process.  We chose the Chinese word “Guanxi ([guan-shee]” as the metaphor for what we believed needed to be added back into recruiting—personal relationships.  So if you have been following the talent community development narrative about our work at Microsoft Entertainment & Devices, we have shared how these dreams are becoming reality.  And as we conclude the annual update to the recruiting and sourcing industry, I will describe how Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Painful (Pun Intended).

To recap, we are discussing Microsoft’s approach building pipelines and talent communities in a three articles series.  The articles are entitled:

1. Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Rewarding
2. Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Challenging
3. Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Painful

In the first article of this “Being on the Cutting Edge” series, I discussed our success (rewards) from the standpoint of the recruiting industry accolades, but also from success enjoyed by Web 2.0 Recruitment Marketing Platform within our division at Microsoft (which is the most important).   And we identified an “SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Gap”—the inherit tendency of SEO Platforms to primarily attract active prospects because it uses search engine key word searches to put jobs in front of the target audience (and miss 75-80% of the potential target audience).

In the second article of the “Being on the Cutting Edge” series, I discussed some of the challenges our talent community development and social recruiting initiative experienced.   The article examined “the challenges”—from the process, the technology and finally, the human perspective.

In this article, the final installment—“Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Painful”-I will explore what one Microsoft staffing leader called—creating under the corporate microscope.  A second area of pain is the introduction of “another change” into change-ridden staffing environment.

Creating Under the Corporate Microscope

The first years of this talent community development pilot project went unnoticed from a Microsoft perspective.  The initiative was funded by a business group at a divisional level with a handful of stakeholders.  Then we were discovered and our world changed.  (It wasn’t like we were really “in hiding” as I chronicled our story in Sourcecon and presented at Sourcecon 2008).  But somehow we were below the corporate radar.  And with discovery came visibility.   And with visibility came additional stakeholders.  And then the questions began.  Microsoft is successful because of a diversity of thought and perspective.  One tends to lose sight of that during periods of scrutiny, vetting, and review.  Let’s just say, the work on the pilot program slowed while internal conversations transpired.

On a personal note, it was difficult to share the work with others.  Intellectually, I understood that this was not “my project,” but releasing the workstream to people that did not have the same emotional investment was challenging. It is said, “What isn’t fatal, makes one stronger;” in that context, I am still standing.

The upshot of the “corporate microscope” was very positive.  My boss was promoted as a reward for his great work.  I have a new boss who is engaged and passionate about the social recruiting and talent communities.  I have a new teammate, who will focus on managing our target audiences for the communities we are building.  Our recruitment marketing platform vendor was selected to roll out the platform Microsoft-wide.  Some great minds at Microsoft will add valuable input to the workstream and the final version of the platform will reflect their influence.

“Another Change”

One of the initial concerns for the talent community workstream was the introduction of personal relationships into a recruiting process comprised of a series of transactions.  And Microsoft Staffing is very effective at those transactions.  I need to add that we reward recruiters on the basis of the quantity and the quality of those transactions.  But the obstacles to introducing a change doesn’t stop with transactional process, there are other significant barriers.

Microsoft Staffing is already in a state of change.  First, it was OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) and a goal to be “best in class” of that process.  Second, Microsoft was migrating to a new ATS (applicant tracking systems) platform and rolling out a global solution.  And with the ATS came to a multitude of process changes.   Third, Microsoft downsizing was impacting the staffing organization, as we became a “do much more with a lot less” environment.   So you can imagine how welcoming any suggestion of a new process that enhanced personal relationships was in this bandwidth constrained atmosphere.  Our initiative was just seen as another change.

What is interesting about resistance to change is that it shifts from the analytical to the emotional very quickly.  Even the most well documented facts are discounted and we revert to the way things have always been done.  Please let me explain.

There are two major changes that impact talent identification and the success of a recruiting program.  The first change is that there is a trend for job seekers to use search engines (key word searches) to find new jobs and move away from job boards.  And the second is a shortage of top talent that is actively seeking a new job.  Simply from a qualitative and quantitative standpoint, there are not enough prospects to meet Microsoft’s demand.

Armed with this new paradigm shift, I can show numerically the trend over the past few years is that job seekers have moved from job boards to search engines to conduct their job searches.  Further, 95% of our jobs are on the first page of Google (the Holy Grail in SEO), so they are being seen by prospects.  In spite of the imperial evidence and persuasive research, a recruiter under pressure to fill a job will still request permission to use a job board posting instead of trying something new.

In the instance of the shortage of talent, I note the trend of the past 3 years of the millions of people flocking to online social networking sites and congregating in communities.  Based on the available research, the target audiences that we covet have congregated into online communities.  Seems simple and compelling-engage the target audience online and find the additional talent that is needed to meet Microsoft’s demand.  Again, a recruiter under pressure will revert back to a comfort zone of running ads (aka “posting and praying) and waiting for someone to appear.

Perhaps, there is a more complex underlying issue. Dan Pink in Drive writes:

“Behavioral scientists often divide what we do on the job….into two categories: “algorithmic and heuristic.” An algorithmic task is one in which you follow a set of establish instructions down a single pathway to one conclusion.  That is, there’s an algorithm for solving it.   A heuristic task is just the opposite.  Precisely because no algorithm exists for it, you have to experiment with possibilities and devise a novel solution.”

So in Pink’s thinking, the algorithmic solution of a job board outweighs the more heuristic solution presented by a recruitment marketing platform where options are numerous and creativity is rewarded.  We are still working on a heuristic solution that appears algorithmic (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Perhaps, there is a third method of dealing with change the 21^st Century—we just need to let go of the banana. The moral of the well know story of the monkey trap fits well into the dilemma that we face when accepting change.

It is said that when you want to catch a monkey one effective method is to anchor a bottle on the ground.  The neck of the bottle needs to be just large enough to a monkey’s hand to fit through.  Then, all you need is to put a small banana in the bottle and wait for a monkey to pass by.

When a passing monkey sees the banana reaches his hand into the bottle, and grabs the banana.  But then the monkey discovers that she cannot get her hand out of the bottle while holding the banana.

The person that set the monkey trap can walk up to the monkey, put a burlap sack over her head and capture the monkey.

Before getting caught, the monkey could release the banana and escape.  But most monkeys hang onto the banana until the sack goes over their heads.  Why?  It is because the banana has value to the monkeys and the monkey is unwilling to let go of that value.  Basically the banana is worth more than their freedom or their life.

I think people do the same thing.  People are much the same – we hold many “bananas” that keep us trapped – because we just won’t let go.  While the job boards held value in the past, their usefulness in attracting active job seekers has passed.  Instead of the banana, it appears engaging prospects in online communities would hold more value.

As we enter the third year of this talent community pilot, I am still more convinced than ever that our original thesis that a “technology touch” needed to be augmented by a “human touch” that is so valued by the target audiences has proved accurate.  Our recruitment marketing platform is doing its job—managing the distribution of jobs to a web of social networking and micro-segmented talent pools.  The final phase of the talent community rollout will focus on the “human touch.” The “human touch” will allow us to maintain contact and cultivate ambient relationships that will allow Microsoft to be part of a target prospect’s employment conversation when the time is right for them.

The “human touch” involves integrating talent community workstream into the lives of the recruiters that I support. At Sourcecon 2010, I am going to discuss how Microsoft is  Employing Talent Communities to Rehumanize the Recruiting Process. I hope to see you in San Diego.

This is the first of a series of three articles discussing Microsoft’s approach to building pipelines and talent communities.  The articles are entitled:

1. Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Rewarding
2. Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Challenging
3. Being on the Cutting Edge Can Be Painful

One year ago, I began a discussion of our work at Microsoft by suggesting that “Building a 21^st century talent community requires using the right mix of recruiting art and science. “  I felt “we needed to dip back into the prehistoric art of developing relationship with prospects.”   I noted that while a “21st century recruiting technology” optimized a “technology touch” it is the “human touch” that is so valued by the potential prospect pool. I concluded “the challenge with ‘human touch’ is that it doesn’t fit well into our transaction based recruiting model. “

As we end the second year of this talent community pilot program, the tension between the “technology touch” and the “human touch” has become increasingly evident.  In fact, I believe the third year of this pilot rollout should be coined “The Year of Guanxi.” ([guan-shee] the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence in Chinese society. As I reflect on our work for past year, it is evident that we have reached our goal of creating a platform that exhibits a very thorough approach to “technology touch” by creating a job distribution network that reaches deeply into active and passive talent pools.

Venues|Platforms for Evangelism

From the beginning, we have shared the work on this talent community pilot effort with the recruiting industry as a method of inviting feedback and fostering sharing of best practices with similar projects that are ongoing in the recruiting industry.  It has been quite a year of evangelizing our work.  We have enjoyed positive feedback from our initial presentation at Sourcecon 2008 to Human Capital Institute webinars to CareerXroads and Corporate Sourcing Leadership Council; SMA Event, HR Executive Forum, and other related venues.

Another purpose of these articles is a preview of our presentation for the Fall 2009 ERE Event, where our talent community pilot will be discussed in the broader context of Web 2.0 Beyond the Social Recruiting Hype: Microsoft’s Approach to Building Talent Pipelines and Communities.

Accolades

The accolades for our pilot have been very re-enforcing and flattering.  ERE acknowledged our work with a “Most Strategic Use of Technology Award ” and industry thought leaders like Dr. John Sullivan called our work “pioneering.”

Microsoft Goals

Internally, at Microsoft, two of our corporate staffing goals are sourcing|recruiting the best candidates in the world and enhancing the candidate experience at Microsoft.   While external acknowledgement is very complementary, how we perform alongside Microsoft goals and commitments are all that matters.  In this talent community pilot, we see an opportunity to fulfill those goals.

Web 2.0 Recruitment Marketing Platform

At a high level we are creating a Web 2.0 Recruitment Marketing platform for our jobs that will be distributed to search engines, social networking sites, blogs and other relevant sites.  In this manner, we will reach deep into talent pools with a “technology touch.”  We will enhance the candidate experience by direct outreaches to micro-segments of our target audience and by establishing talent communities that will enhance the “human touch.”  It is at the intersection of art and science that success is realized.

The “technology touch” of the Web 2.0 Recruitment Marketing sits on the Jobs2Web platform.  Not only do we employ their unique dynamic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) technology, but we take advantage of total power of this platform to connect jobs and social networking sites as well as a CRM-orchestrated targeted outreach.  We not only reach the active job seeker, but we capture passive seekers who visit the site and sign up for our email alerts, RSS feeds or any of our talent communities which allows us to maintain contact and cultivate ambient relationships with these prospects until they are ready to go deep with an employment conversation with Microsoft.

And best of all, we can measure every aspect all the moving parts using Jobs2Web Recruiting Dashboard which gives us visibility to all activity and exact sources of all candidates that come to our talent community (without asking the prospects) which helps us to know what sources are providing the best quality and quantity of candidates in the highly fragmented Web 2.0 World.

How We Measure Success

For the active (and a percentage of passive) prospects, success is measured by our jobs “being seen” or “being found” in the keyword search results.  The chief reason to “optimize” our jobs is because job seekers primarily use search engines to look for a job (as opposed to job boards).  The highlight outlined below illustrates the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of our jobs on Google (which enjoys 70% of the market for job searches).  As the graph demonstrates-97% of our targeted recruiting keywords (i.e. Seattle Developer Jobs, Washington .Net Jobs, Washington Tech Jobs, etc.) show up in the first page of Google search results.

To reach our ultimate goal of sourcing|recruiting the best talent in the world, we must use this “technology touch” to reach into talent pools that can be described as causal, passive or non-looking job seekers.  When you think about active vs. the more passive job seeker, we have to remember that only a small percentage of the job market is actively searching for a new job at any point in time.  The graph below illustrates this point.  This graph was created using 2006 Bureau of Labor Statistics (the last official year), so we could conclude that the active job seeker market must be greater today given the high unemployment rate.  So let’s say it is 20% today.  Even at that level, that means that 80% of the available talent is not actively looking for work.

If we view the Job Search Cycle from a slightly different angle, we are able to see a more discreet method of classifying active vs. passive job seeking. The Recruiting Roundtable suggests we add the filter of” difficultly to source” as we move from left (easiest to source) to right (the most difficult to source) on the graph below.

The degree of difficulty to source adds a deeper dimension to our thinking.  So rather than just active or passive, we think about “gettables” and the “ungettables.”  Most recruiters have antidotes about convincing a person not seeking a job to take a look at their opportunities.  So I think that it makes sense that we can convince someone to look at a job.  In fact the Recruiting Roundtable recently published a study that 83% (I have no idea why it is not 100%) of active job seekers would consider other jobs, while 42% of passive job seekers will consider other jobs.

It is difficult to project how many people will respond to “technology touch” vs. the “human touch.”  Research tells us that even passive prospects engage in active prospect behavior.  To that extent, we are able to connect with the “gettables” that may be casually or passively looking, the reach of technology touch will be far greater than just optimizing our jobs for the active job seeker.  The “gettables” that can be reached by our SEO activities are highlighted in red below.  The overall reach of our technology touch is depicted in green.  How we reach the prospects in the green shaded area will be discussed next month.

To achieve the Microsoft goal of sourcing|recruiting the best candidates in the world, we must reach deep into targeted talent pools.  Using the technology touch of our Recruitment Marketing platform, we are able to reach out to a greater targeted audience.  The first step in how we measure success is with search engine optimization of our jobs that will be viewed by gettable talent.  At the same time, we need to remember our second goal of enhancing the prospect|candidate experience.  Next month, we will look at our second step, which examines how our Recruitment Marketing Platform connects social media as well as targets micro-segments of the target talent audience.