Trend to Watch: Increased Focus on Performance Management

The year 2020 will mark fierce competition among employers who want to hire and, more importantly, retain the best talent at their organizations. After all, unemployment in the U.S. is hovering at near-historic lows, with the most recent Employment Situation report from by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics illustrating that the unemployment rate within the executive, managerial and professional labor market was just 3.3 percent.

Click to watch the video.

“In 2020, companies will want to ensure their performance reviews are specific, frequent, tied to relevant work and are as practical as possible,” says Annette Wehrli, director of leadership and organizational effectiveness for MRINetwork. “This helps both the organization and employees have candid conversations about progress, development and goal achievement.”

For decades, the prevailing wisdom has been that a big annual review at the end of the year is enough to let employees know how they're doing. However, this is no longer true - employees are demanding more frequent and detailed feedback on their work, and managers are responding by making their review practices more flexible and engaging. If your company hasn't updated its performance review practices, it runs the risk of losing top talent to companies that build feedback into their regular business functions from week to week. Also, you'll miss out on the valuable chance to identify and develop employees' professional skill sets.

With 2020 just around the corner, here are some tips to revise your company’s performance review practices in order to succeed for the coming years:

1. Make performance reviews an ongoing conversation

The first step to ensuring employees are poised for success is to move the performance review from the annual model to one that’s more of an ongoing conversation. Instead of saving comments for the annual review, find ways to provide feedback and discuss priorities with employees on a regular basis. You could hold biweekly, one-on-one check-ins with employees, discuss goals or accomplishments at the beginning or end of each quarter or provide opportunities for group discussions at weekly team meetings.

According to Forbes, this will change these previously dreaded discussions to welcomed, productive dialogue, resulting in more actionable successes. “Before making the change at your company, put a specific plan in place. Meetings can be less formal but should still have a clear framework, including benchmarks and opportunities for setting goals,” according to the publication. “The focus should also shift from year-over-year progress to continuous personal growth, setting the cultural precedent that employees are rewarded for growing and learning, not just annually.”

2. Embrace offering employees a career path at your organization

Career pathing is a comprehensive process in which managers partner with employees in taking an honest look at their career goals, skills, education, experience and personal characteristics. A plan is developed for achieving what is necessary in each of these areas in order for the employee to advance within the company, providing both employees and employers with a clear understanding of what it will take for workers to move from their current position to where they want to be. Through this process, employees are empowered to take ownership of their career performance and to align their career goals with the strategic goals of the organization.  Career pathing essentially helps companies retain top performing staff by showing them a personalized pathway to advancement.

“By showing employees a tangible, achievable path to growth within your company, you increase the likelihood of improving employee engagement, which leads to greater productivity, happier workers and less attrition,” says Wehrli.

To do this, it’s important to reserve time during more regularly-scheduled performance review sessions to sit down and learn about the employee's professional aspirations at the company. Then, you should put together a tangible plan for helping the employee reach these goals in a timely and proactive manner.

3. Make transparency and feedback a part of your culture

The performance review, historically, has been thought of as a one-way street. Managers are giving employees their review and it ends at that. However, this is an antiquated approach to performance management. Instead, your company should seek to foster a culture of transparency and feedback for all.

Reviews that benefit both employee and employer are based on honest, open communication, and this is only possible when there is a culture of workplace transparency. Employees should feel comfortable expressing their concerns, and criticism should be communicated in a way that is constructive. In addition to being able to offer feedback to managers, the performance review should also include feedback from fellow colleagues and others at the organization (not just one manager).

According to Forbes, “One review from one manager doesn’t really paint a full picture of an employee’s holistic performance. The review process should involve the peers they work with every day and at least one direct report, when applicable.”

4. Make sure that performance reviews are fair

Too often, employees can discount a manager’s review of their work as simply opinion. That is especially the case if the review goes poorly. The benchmarks employees are judged against should be realistic and fair instead of nebulous and entirely subjective.

“Managers and employees should work together to establish metrics for success, so that once reviews occur, there’s an objective way to discuss and evaluate performance,” says Wehrli. “By doing this, the employee is likely to be more open and receptive to their manager’s feedback, and be more involved and motivated to succeed within your organization.”

In conclusion, 2020 is the year in which drastically changing your performance review process is essential for your company’s continued success. With unemployment so low and companies fighting for the best talent to bring to their organizations, you must do your best to enhance your performance management process to retain employees and set them up for success.

The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com

How to Hire More Effectively in a Tight Labor Market

National unemployment remains at record lows, especially in the executive, managerial and professional labor market. In fact, unemployment in this sector has been hovering around 3.3% most recently, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. As a result, many businesses are struggling to find the best talent, with the necessary skills for their open roles.

Click to watch the video.

If your organization is struggling to find top talent in this tight labor market, here are some strategies you can follow:

Consider expanding your criteria for the ideal employee. Cast a wider net of candidates. Instead of looking for only people with a very specific background or special training, it’s important to widen your search when hiring during a difficult labor market with low unemployment.

“In a tight job market like this one, it’s important to be flexible with the required background and expertise you’d like candidates to have,” says Simone Mazzeo, program manager of talent attraction for MRINetwork. “Instead, also consider people who may have the skills from another sector that can apply well to the job at hand. You’d be surprised at just how effective these employees can be.”

For instance, someone can have an exceptional educational and work background in your precise industry sector, but still fail at your organization if they aren't a good cultural fit, or if they don't share your core values. Therefore, you need to factor in the type of person who will fit in among your employees with the mentality they need to thrive, and the interpersonal skills, perhaps not listed on their resume, that will help them become part of the team.

Notably, many employers feel that hiring a candidate with transferrable skills is a strong way to hire. According to the 2018 MRINetwork Performance Management Study, nearly 80 percent of the employers surveyed, somewhat agree or strongly agree that finding quality, industry-experienced talent is more difficult than ever, and that their companies are more likely to hire people who have transferrable skills, but lack industry experience.

By considering those with transferrable skills, you can significantly expand the number of applicants and focus on harder to define skills, such as cultural fit, ability to work with teams and communication ability, which might be just as important for the role, but are much harder to learn than specific, technical skills. As a result, you’ll find yourself interviewing candidates who may not fit a traditional hiring profile, but who instead can thrive at your firm with some industry-specific training.

To cast a wider net, you should focus on the job descriptions you post for every open role. After you draft them, revisit the requirements to determine if they’re all absolutely needed. For example, you may realize that some of the technical skills or professional requirements are simply nice to haves, but not truly essential to the worker’s success at your company. If that’s the case, don’t make them absolutes and you’ll find yourself with more candidates for your open roles.

Increase the types of perks and benefits you offer candidates to entice them to accept your job offer (once you get to that stage in the hiring process). When you’re facing an especially tight labor market, any little edge over your competition such as sign-on bonuses or benefits can impress and get a candidate to choose your company over a competitor.

“Ensuring your company has benefits that fit the needs of the next generation workforce is one of the most important things you can do to set your organization up for success,” according to Forbes.

Some perks you may want to consider adding to your organization include:

• Relocation assistance: If a candidate is looking to move to join your firm, you can offer to help pay some of the costs, including flights, moving expenses, and even rent.

• A monetary sign-on bonus: This can be an attractive way to get strong talent to you firm as it’ll show that your company truly respects a person’s experience - and is willing to put money down to prove it.

• Helping employees pay off student loans: With student loan debt the highest it’s ever been, employees can truly benefit from this perk. This will illustrate a desire by your organization to support workers’ lifestyle needs and their education.

• Paid days off (PDO): Potential candidates want to ask about PDO, but don’t want to appear overly interested in time off, in comparison to the responsibilities of the job. However, they do want to know their hard work is recognized with the ability to take time off. They especially appreciate their birthday as an additional day off. Take the awkwardness out of these conversations by proactively discussing your vacation and paid time off policies with applicants.

• Gym membership and other health benefits: Work-life balance is an important part of any job. Candidates will appreciate a company that wants to take care of them not only financially, but physically as well.

“By presenting these types of perks, you’ll provide candidates with even more reasons to accept an offer with your organization,” says Mazzeo. “Candidates will see that the company culture focuses on the well-being and happiness of its employees, and this can be a great attribute that both attracts new hires and retains people for years to come.”

Plus, as Forbes notes, these types of benefits will be especially attractive to millennial employees. “Companies that offer these benefits will attract and retain the best talent - and prevent significant turnover costs as well,” according to the publication.

In sum, applicants have numerous options in a tight job market, so it is imperative that the way your organization approaches them and the advantages that are offered give candidates every reason to want to join your company.

 The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com

Video: Here's what you can learn when a top candidate rejects your offer

You think you’ve found the perfect candidate to fill an open role at your organization. After reviewing their resume, conducting rounds of interviews with your recruiter, hiring manager and company leadership, you’ve made an offer. You’ve even checked the candidate’s references and completed salary negotiations. Everything looks like it’s going well and that the candidate is about to accept the offer ... That is, until they don’t.

Click to watch the video.

You’re surprised and disappointed by the rejection. While the candidate gives a valid reason as to why he/she can’t accept the role at your company, you’re still upset. But instead of letting it get to you and your human resources organization, you must bounce back and learn from the experience so that you can grow as a business.

“Making an offer to a candidate, only to have it rejected, is always difficult.” says Simone Mazzeo, program manager of talent attraction for MRINetwork. “This is especially the case if you don’t have a second applicant who can fill the role. Instead of placing all the blame on the candidate that rejected your offer, use the experience as a powerful learning tool. You and your firm need to carefully analyze what happened so you can avoid a similar situation in the future.”

Here are some tips to help you move forward after a top candidate rejects your offer:

Revisit your interviewing process as a firm. If a candidate rejects your offer, it might be because they did not have a good experience during the interview process. Maybe one or more of the interviewers failed to impress or didn’t adequately answer the candidate’s concerns. Or it could be that the interview process was extremely drawn-out and grueling and left a bad taste in the person’s mouth. Then, when it came time to think through the offer, they simply didn’t feel comfortable with their perception of your firm’s culture reflected in that process.

To help, you and your organization should look carefully at how the entire interview process is structured and implemented. That way you, recruiters and hiring managers are on the same page when it comes to language you use when meeting candidates, the types of questions you ask, and, maybe most importantly, the way you describe the company in order to accurately (and enticingly) market the position and the opportunity.

“Get together with key stakeholders during your interview process,” says Mazzeo. “This is absolutely critical if you want to make offers to top talent in a competitive job market and have them accept. You need to come across as a united front and inspire people to want to join your firm. That means you must hold their interest. Are you asking them what their interest level is in each step of the process? Otherwise, you’ll lose out on people who will help your business succeed.”

Determine if you have an employer branding issue. A lack of compelling employer branding or a sense of the brand experience is another reason a top candidate might reject your offer. For instance, a candidate may not feel excited about what your organization has to offer them. Maybe during the interview process, they didn’t see the potential for career growth. Or the company felt antiquated and not a good fit for their personality. If your organization feels stale, unappealing or otherwise not exciting, then it’s likely a candidate will simply reject your offer without a second thought.

To address this, you need to ensure the company has a solid social media presence, a consistent media voice, and the company website and marketing materials are updated. This will provide the “wow factor” for prospective candidates from the very beginning, enabling the organization to inspire interviewees with specific examples of a strong company culture, growth opportunities, and a highly professional interview process.

Here are some topics to cover in the interview to help prevent rejected offers:

1. Company History. Know your company’s history and be able to articulate your value proposition during the first call or meeting.
   

2. Company Culture. Find out what type of culture the candidate wants and go into depth on your culture. What did they like about their current company culture? What didn’t they like? Is that why they are leaving?
   

3. Compensation. Be prepared to discuss the compensation range and benefits. While you may have already screened candidates around desired salary, it’s important to talk about other benefits and perks that are available to applicants. This is another opportunity to promote the advantages of working at the company.

“You want to make the right offer to the best candidate,” says Mazzeo. “To ensure you’re interviewing top talent that will be engaged in the process, strongly consider partnering with a recruiter to find A players that will move your organization forward. He or she can represent your brand effectively and present candidates to you that are thoroughly screened and informed. Not only will this weed out weaker candidates, it’ll also help you experience fewer rejections from seemingly strong contenders.”

In sum, while a rejected job offer can throw a damper on a critical position you need to fill, there are several actions you and other on the hiring team can take to lessen the chances of this happening. By partnering with a recruiter, bolstering your interviewing process and employer branding initiatives, as well as simply looking out for red flags, you’ll make offers to stronger candidates who won’t leave you scrambling to fill open roles at your organization.

 The Trevi Group | www.TheTreviGroup.com | “Executive Search for Technology Professionals”

Video: How to confidently conduct your next candidate interview

When it comes to interviewing, there is often the assumption that hiring managers know how to interview candidates in a meaningful way that provides clarity around applicants’ expertise and overall fit with open roles. However, depending on their experience interviewing, managers can be just as nervous as candidates. After all, hiring managers are human too. That’s why it’s important for new or inexperienced managers to be very well prepared to avoid any possible jitters.

Click to watch the video.

“If you’re a manager who’s new to hiring or someone who may be unsure of how to get the most out of the candidate interview, there are measure you can take to feel more at ease,” says Simone Mazzeo, program manager of talent attraction for MRINetwork. “By leveraging measures such as coaching from your preferred talent partner, making sure you’re highly prepared by reading through each candidate’s resume and cover letter, and simply putting yourself in the candidate’s shoes, there’s much you can do to feel more confident.”

Here are some tips managers new to interviewing can follow:

1. Preparation is key. It’s not surprising that doing your homework can pay off when you’re in a high-pressure situation. That’s definitely true for an interview that you’re conducting. One key way to prepare for the interview you’re about to conduct is to gain a deep understanding of the person’s job experience by reading and re-reading the person’s resume, LinkedIn profile and cover letter.

Also, try drafting some questions you want to ask before the interview so that you have an idea about what you want to ask. You can even jot down notes on a copy of the person’s resume to help.

1. Get coaching from your preferred talent partner. If you want to really ensure you’re never nervous for a job interview again, simply ask for help from an expert. Recruiters and other members of your company’s HR team are well-versed when it comes to interviewing potential candidates. Therefore, simply tap them for advice before the interview date. They can coach you on ways to perform best under pressure by doing mock interviews with you, reviewing the types of questions you ask, and answering any questions you may have about the process.

“When in doubt, it never hurts to ask the recruiter who is connecting you to top candidates, for a little assistance,” says Mazzeo. “Their jobs are dedicated to finding and hiring the best talent for the company, so they’ll be more than happy to assist you as a hiring manager trying to fill an open role.”

1. Enjoy your time with the candidate. Instead of having the interviews seem like a stuffy, extremely formal experience, you can make them more of a conversation. While it is, of course, very serious business to hire a strong candidate for your team, you’re both only human at the end of the day. You also want to make candidates (and yourself) feel at ease so you get a stronger assessment of each person’s unique skills and abilities during your time together.

In sum, you can ease the pressure and stress of conducting candidate interviews by preparing yourself through research, working with your talent partner and HR team to learn more about interviewing and by keeping the interview itself as conversational and light as possible. By following these tips, you’ll find all-star employees in no time (and be less nervous)!

 The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com



Video: How a great employee referral program can help you promote your employer brand

It’s no secret: Employee referral programs can greatly help your organization find and hire top talent. After all, where best to find potential new employees than by tapping into current workers, who share your firm’s values and who are already helping you run a successful business? “Employee referral programs can be an effective way to hire talented people, and they can also be invaluable in the current talent acquisition environment, in which open jobs outnumber qualified candidates,” according to SHRM. However, securing talent through a strong employee referral program doesn’t just help you hire strong new employees. It can also be a powerful tool to help you promote your employer brand.

Click to watch the video.

"These types of initiatives are extremely powerful tools that can help you promote your employer brand and attract strong talent into the recruiting process," says Kathryn Budd, director of human resources for MRINetwork. "When applied consistently, employee referral programs can also be a great retention tool that translates into huge costs savings on recruitment and investment in employees over time."

What does an effective employee program entail and how can you start one at your company? SHRM notes there are a number of things you can do, including:

1. Give employees the tools they need to refer: This can mean putting together a positive culture around employee referrals and being able to track these efficiently in an HR portal so that you can effectively review the entire referral workflow.

2. Set expectations and guidelines: Additionally, SHRM recommends that you should “make sure employees understand the referral program's guidelines and expectations, including who is eligible to participate in the program and receive rewards for referrals.” Also be sure to include EEOC language to make it clear that the referral program is not discriminatory in any way.

3. Provide incentives: To help boost employee support in referring all-star talent, you should ideally put into place monetary inducements (if someone gets hired and stays for a set period of time). Make sure these incentives are paid in a predictable, timely and public manner and. To facilitate this, HR staff should set up automated payments in their HR information system.

Other guidelines to follow include holding leaders accountable and being transparent throughout the process with employees, providing feedback, and, importantly, marketing the program far and wide. This last guideline means investing in the marketing and communication plans to boost how many employees at your organization actually participate.

This is extremely important when trying to promote your employer brand. But, how is the term defined? According to SHRM, employer branding “is an important part of the employee value proposition and is essentially what the organization communicates as its identity to both potential and current employees.”

Moreover, it includes many things about the company, including the “organization’s mission, values, culture and personality,” according to SHRM. “A positive employer brand communicates that the organization is a good employer and a great place to work.” Notably, the article also states that an employer brand greatly affects the “recruitment of new employees, retention and engagement of current employees, and the overall perception of the organization in the market.”

So, what are the specific ways referral programs can help?

First, a strong referral program, as noted above, includes clear expectations, guidelines and a powerful marketing plan of action. As a result of this communications push, employees will know in-depth how to speak with former co-workers and friends who they want to refer. This strong professionalism instantly makes your company look like a worthy organization and one that many will want to join because of this, leading to increased interest.

Second, your company should be investing heavily in communications and online content in order to promote your employer brand on your website, social media platforms, public relations and through other promotional materials. As a result, people will covet the chance to be referred and interviewed because they’ll know even more about the company.

“An employee referral program is a win-win situation for you and your organization,” says Budd. “You’ll create both a powerful commitment to hiring the best people as well as an employer brand that truly shines.” This will also signal to your firm’s clients and other external stakeholders that your organization has robust systems for attracting the talent that will drive performance, further establishing confidence in your products and services, and ultimately a more successful business.

 The Trevi Group
www.TheTreviGroup.com
Executive Search for Technology Professionals

Career Pathing: Key to Attracting the Best Talent

When a candidate applies to a job at your organization, chances are they’re unhappy at their current company for a number of reasons, including a poor manager or a need for higher earning potential. However, a desire for upward mobility is the top motivation for a job search, according to 30% of candidates in the 2019 MRINetwork Recruitment Trends Study.

Click to watch the video.

Some additional drivers include:

1. Seeking more compensation: 25%

2. Didn’t like their boss: 19%

3. Contract assignment ended: 15%

4. Switched to a different industry or sector: 13%

It’s essential to anticipate this top job change motivator and to have prepared strategies in your interviewing and hiring processes that respond to this driver.

“With nearly one-third of prospective applicants trying to advance their careers through a job change, it’s imperative that discussions around career pathing become a central part of the interview process,” says Nysha King, public relations and employer branding lead for MRINetwork. “From your website to the interview and post-interview steps, emphasize just how important career growth is at your organization.”

The following are strategies you can follow to illustrate the ways you, as the employer, can ensure a potential employee succeeds at your business:

Demonstrate that your company prioritizes career growth. Illustrate that commitment on your company’s website, career site and any external marketing and PR channels, as part of a deliberate employer branding strategy. For example, you can show that employees at your firm have fulfilling careers by highlighting stories of individuals who have advanced through a series of promotions within a culture that fosters recognition of excellent performance.

More specifically, you can post videos and publish blog posts on your site that showcase stories of advancement. These, in turn, will be read or viewed by prospective candidates.

“Telling powerful stories of workers who have really advanced and grown at your company is key to finding candidates who will feel confident in accepting an offer,” says King. “Whether through videos, social media or PR, tell these stories and make sure applicants can easily relate to these experiences.”

Proactively communicate during interviews your company’s commitment to providing career advancement opportunities. Don’t wait for candidates to ask about advancement opportunities; clearly promote it during interviews. Have interviewers highlight your organization’s track record of giving raises, promoting and consistently supporting talented employees. Additionally, ensure interviewers provide personal accounts of advancement, and highlight data or statistics around promotions or annual raises. If your organization is struggling in this area, be honest and discuss the steps being taken to address this.

“Train your employees so that they can eloquently answer questions about job advancement,” says King. “It will pay off by keeping star candidates interested and excited about your company.”

Ultimately, candidates want to know they’ll grow in their position at a new company or at least have the opportunity to tackle new challenges. Demonstrating evidence of this through employer branding can leave a lasting impression with potential new hires that makes them want to join a team that celebrates success.

 The Trevi Group | www.TheTreviGroup.com | "Executive Search for Technology Professionals”

The No. 1 recruitment metric employers track when assessing a new hire's effectiveness

After completing multiple rounds of interviews and presenting a job offer to a promising candidate, the work has in many ways just begun. Now that the new employee is starting at your organization, it's crucial that you help ensure their success.

Before that process begins, you’ll also want to determine whether you can effectively track the productivity of that new associate. “Making the right hire is crucial for your business’ future,” says Kathryn Budd, director of human resources for MRINetwork. “That’s why tracking a new hire’s effectiveness is imperative - and something you should weave into your human resources process from day one.”

In fact, according to the 2019 MRINetwork Recruitment Trends Study, there’s one recruitment metric that stands out among the rest when trying to gauge a new hire’s effectiveness: performance tracking. Nearly half (48 percent) of employers said it was their top benchmark for assessing a new hire’s effectiveness.

Meanwhile, other factors include:

• Tracking the source of successful candidate hires (35%)

• Source and quantity of candidates who were offered a position (33%)

• Time to hire (32%)

• Interview-to-hire ratio (31%)

• Fall-off rates: new hires who accept offers, but don’t show up for the first day of work (27%)

What does performance tracking of a new hire mean? It’s the process of evaluating how well an employee is doing at your organization through a variety of strategies, tools and resources.

However, this isn’t always clear-cut. For example, according to a Forbes article written by CEO Robert Glazer, the definition of success can be murky. “Fit and performance remain gray areas for many business leaders,” he writes. “Situations arise where it’s clear that something has gone wrong, but no one is sure if the problem is with the employee or with management.”

That should never be the case at your business. “It’s extremely important to clarify your company’s definition of success for new employees,” says Budd. “That way, you can find and implement strategies to efficiently track performance.”

For instance, one study cited by Forbes found that “the process matters.” It continues that the performance review process “can be viewed as uncomfortable, unfair and uninspiring.” To help improve it and, “make sure employees accept the feedback, managers must acknowledge the individual identities of their workers and their specific contributions to the organization over time.”

Here are strategies to consider when tracking a new hire’s effectiveness:

1. Conduct performance reviews that are holistic and well-documented

The first way is through the performance review. According to a Chron.com article, written by financial writer Joseph DeBenedetti about the methods of tracking performance, “Standardized performance review sheets allow managers to track employees’ fulfillment of, and progression toward, operating objectives over time.” These can take into consideration both technical skills as well as information about a person’s interpersonal abilities.

However, you should also create a culture where employees, especially new hires, receive ongoing feedback and check-ins. This is especially important for younger talent. As one Forbes article on the transformation of worker feedback notes, “Ongoing reviews have been a better way ... to stay on top of professional development and opportunities for improvement rather than talking about it once a year.”

Therefore, offer continuous reviews alongside the more standardized annual review to give employees the more regular feedback they need to succeed.

2. Take peer reviews into consideration to see how an employee works with others

Conducting peer reviews and appraisals is a second strategy to follow. You can conduct these by speaking with multiple employees and managers about the new hire’s work, reporting trend data from these conversations to “identify favorable and unfavorable patterns of behavior,” according to the Chron piece.

“Conducting 360-degree review procedures are important because they help give your talent the opportunities needed to truly thrive,” concludes Budd. “By setting these up, employees will have the tools they need to succeed from day one with your company, which will help your bottom line as well.”

Through these strategies, you’ll have a strong grasp on how your new hire is doing at work. This will greatly boost your organization’s efficiency as well as keep your company culture strong for years to come.

 The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com

BLS Employment Situation Report -- for April 2019

For the first third of 2019, the American economy has continued its winning streak. Job growth kept momentum in April that was in sync with the surge seen during March, after a decline in February that, by now, seems more like an anomaly than anything else. According to the latest edition of the Employment Situation Survey issued by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payroll organizations in the U.S. added 263,000 new positions during April. This is over 70,000 greater than March's addition of 189,000 jobs - a figure revised by the BLS from an initial 196,000 - and ahead of the economists' polls conducted by Bloomberg and Reuters.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent, a low not seen since 1969. As noted by The Washington Post, conditions like these constitute what economic experts refer to as "full employment," since businesses in the U.S. ultimately have more open jobs than there are unemployed people to take them. Joe Stagnaro, president of Pennsylvania operations for the trucking and warehouse firm McLane Company, commented on this in an interview with the Post.

"The economy is good, but that's ... difficult for employers," Stagnaro told the news provider. "The people you want to hire are employed by someone else."

He also said that his company was developing an on-site training program so that interested workers who weren't yet qualified for trucking jobs could learn the necessary skills at no cost and eventually take open positions at McLane. The Post reported this and other internal talent development strategies are growing more common.

There was a slight month-to-month drop in the labor force participation rate from March to April, with this indicator falling to 62.8 percent, but since that number is identical to its total from April 2018, it isn't considered alarming by the BLS.

Professional and business services beat out all other American industries in terms of hiring by a sizable margin last month, with a whopping 76,000 jobs added to its payrolls. Administrative and support was the biggest category within professional services jobs to see gains. The next-closest sector - construction - added 33,000 new roles. Healthcare also continued its steady trend of considerable growth in April, with organizations in the field bringing on 27,000 new personnel for open positions. Also noteworthy is the sizable jump seen in social assistance services, which grew by 26,000 last month after not showing any statistically significant growth or decline for at least the past 12 months. Lastly, the federal government added 12,500 workers, and the upcoming U.S. Census is likely to drive that total up.

Although manufacturing saw only minor growth (4,000 jobs) and retail trade lost 12,000 workers in April, these negative shifts were not nearly significant enough to derail the overall trend of growth.

Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents to $27.77 in April. Wages increased 3.2 percent on a year-over-year basis last month, unchanged from the year-on-year pace seen in March. However, when examined in conjunction with other economic indicators, it makes for a favorable assessment of current conditions. Torsten Slok, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities, elaborated on this in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

"[The report is] clearly telling you this economy is still chugging along very nicely. It is inflationary in the sense that wages did go up but they didn't go up as much as we had expected. Goldilocks is the best description of this," Slok said to the business news provider's television channel, effectively calling the American economic status "just right."

The Trevi Group | “Executive Search for Technology Professionals” | www.TheTreviGroup.com

Ensure Your Job Application Process Isn't Eliminating Top Talent

Take a look around, almost everywhere you go it seems everyone is on a mobile device. These mechanisms provide us with 24/7 access and the ability to instantly connect to work, and almost every aspect of our personal lives. It should be no surprise then that candidates expect this same convenience when applying for a job. However, this is one task that many employers haven’t adapted for ease on a mobile apparatus, according to the results of the 2019 MRINetwork Recruitment Trends Study.

Click to enlarge.

In fact, 76 percent of candidates say they expect the ability to submit applications and receive feedback via a mobile device. However, just 30 percent of employers offer a mobile-friendly application process. While that's up from 10 percent who did so in 2015, according to separate analysis from the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), employers aren't transitioning to these on-the-go options as quickly as today’s workers expect.

Josh Ostrega, chief operating officer and co-founder of the software company WorkJam, told SHRM that it's in employers' best interest to invest in the digital era.

"These companies may be missing out on the most qualified prospects," Ostrega explained. "Highly skilled workers don't stay unemployed for long. Enforcing a sluggish application process encourages strong candidates to look elsewhere."

Here are some strategies that you as an employer may want to consider implementing to optimize candidates' experience:

Partner with an industry-specialized recruiting firm

By working in concert with an industry-specialized recruiting firm, you can give your candidates more on-the-go options for applying to jobs, while also gaining access to a larger pool of potential candidates. “The odds of you finding a perfect candidate who is also looking for you is miniscule,” said Chris Hesson, manager of technology training for MRINetwork. “Increase your odds by working with a recruiter who is the expert in your arena and knows the players. A savvy, niched, focused recruiting firm can also help ensure top talent are applying for your jobs via platforms that are on the cutting edge of technology,” This can be especially critical if your company isn’t able to invest in a mobile-friendly process.”

Draw on other tech capabilities

If your organization is able to make some technology investments, consider offering quick-apply options on job boards and social networking sites like LinkedIn. Here, candidates can simply provide their profile link for consideration. If you’re directing applicants to apply through a career site, make sure downloaded resumes can be parsed so that candidates don’t have to make manual entries.

Harnessing the power of mobile technology is a win-win, both for candidates and your company's ability to attract top talent on an ongoing basis. Ensure your organization isn’t losing out on the best in the industry because of a clunky, outdated process.

 The Trevi Group | “Executive Search for Technology Professionals” | www.TheTreviGroup.com

Employment Summary for March 2019

After a wild divergence in U.S. job growth during the first two months of 2019 - more than 300,000 in January and a mere 20,000 in February - March seemed much more in line with America's average pace of labor-force expansion. According to the latest edition of the Employment Situation Survey issued by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payroll organizations in the U.S. across all industries added 196,000 jobs in March. This figure reasonably outperformed the expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who had expected the addition of 177,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the country's unemployment rate held steady at 3.8 percent, in line with previous months during this latest period of American expansion.

Bloomberg stated that a number like this could be a solid indicator of what economic experts around the world have debated for at least the past year - namely, just how sustainable the pace of U.S. job growth really is. According to the financial news provider, job gains throughout the near future will likely be more in line with March's number than with the massive swells seen numerous times during 2018 (multiple instances of 250,000 or more jobs added), but still strong enough to help fuel broader economic growth.

The healthcare industry greatly outpaced all other American sectors in terms of roles created during March, with 49,000 new jobs coming onto the payrolls of hospital systems, ambulatory healthcare services and other organizations in the field. Professional and business services came in second with a total of 34,000 new positions, while food service and drinking establishments added 27,000 jobs. Computer systems design and services, a sector that has seen little major expansion or contraction during these past years of American growth, saw a notable uptick of 12,000 jobs.

On the other end of the spectrum, construction added 16,000 jobs this month - not nearly enough to recover from its loss of more than 30,000 workers during February. Additionally, while BLS considered both the manufacturing sector's loss of 6,000 jobs in March and its gain of 1,000 roles in February as equivalent to having "changed little," some may find these figures worth noting due to the major role that manufacturing's growth played in America's economic expansion over the past two years. Any major positive or negative fluctuations in the months to come will likely draw considerable attention.

Average hourly earnings grew 3.2 percent year-over-year in March, slightly below the market's expectations and also down from February's gain of 3.4 percent. However, the overall strength of the labor market should still fuel healthy consumer spending and keep inflation low. The latter is undoubtedly unfavorable to some, but directly in line with the goals of the Federal Reserve, which seeks to monitor the efficacy and substance of American economic strength in the midst of trade tensions and difficulties in numerous global markets.

Subadra Rajappa, head of U.S. rates strategy at Societe Generale SA, elaborated on this during a live interview with Bloomberg Television.

"This a perfect report for the Fed because it actually corroborates what they've been saying all along, which is there are no wage pressures," Rajappa told the news service. "There's very little risk of wage inflation."

Rajappa and many economists in similar positions (both domestically and around the globe) expect the Fed to reduce federal benchmark interest rates in the near future, moderating the rapid pace of rate hikes seen during 2018. Global trade tensions are considered a likely cause of this.

In fact, the relationship between the U.S. under President Donald Trump and various major economies continues to represent the biggest potential hurdle for the American market, which is otherwise strong, in the coming months. After threatening to close the country's border with Mexico in late March due to his concerns about illegal drugs and immigration, Trump changed his mind April 4, according to The Washington Post: Instead, he said he'd impose major economic sanctions on the U.S.'s third-largest trading partner in exactly one year if the Mexican government doesn't address border-security issues to his satisfaction. The president's intensity regarding these matters has created bipartisan concern about a border closing or restriction's effects on trade.

On the other hand, the South China Morning Post reported that negotiations between China and the U.S. to end their trade war are improving. President Trump met Vice-Premier Liu He, China's leading trade negotiator, at the White House April 4 and said a deal that relaxed tariffs on both sides could be finalized within the next four weeks.

The Trevi Group | Executive Search for Technology Professionals | www.TheTreviGroup.com