We try to keep our blog subscribers current with the latest trends and information on HR software and technology so we want to share three “must-read” articles with you, including a business case for onboarding automation, an article on the pipeline opportunity for diversity in tech and a piece on the importance of hiring for soft skills.
#1: Why Hire People With Soft Skills
John Hollon gives his take on the importance of hiring people with soft skills. First off, what are soft skills? A definition that Hollon likes is the following:
Soft skills is a synonym for people skills; those personal attributes that indicate a high level of emotional intelligence.
Companies across the US say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find applicants who can communicate clearly, take initiative, problem solve and get along with co-workers.
Those traits (i.e., soft skills) can make the difference between a standout employee and one who just gets by.
A LinkedIn survey among 291 hiring managers also found that 58% of them say the lack of soft skills is limiting their company’s productivity. In a Wall Street Journal survey of nearly 900 executives last year, 92% said that soft skills are equally as important as technical skills. And yet 89% said they have a somewhat difficult time finding people with these skills.
Read John’s article here.
#2: Diversity in Tech: The Pipeline Problem (Opportunity)
Diversity in tech continues to be a challenge. A common explanation is the pipeline problem: members of underrepresented groups tend to be less likely to pursue technical careers. But this alone doesn’t explain the full gaps we see in tech, Jared Valdron says.
Another complication, for example, lies in the fact that (technical) workforces are becoming increasingly distributed across geography. Different geographies vary in:
- The population base rates of different groups
- The labor force participation rates of different groups
- The technical working population of different groups
It’s exactly this variation though, that provides an immense opportunity to drive improvement in terms of diversity. Imagine, for instance, that a company knows that some of their locations have large populations of technical women that are not being fully tapped. It could then focus solely on locations with the best-expected results.
The pipeline opportunity describes how varying sizes of technical workforces across different geographies can allow companies to allocate their limited resources more efficiently.
Read Jared’s article here.
#3: A Business Case for Onboarding Automation
Tina Eaton makes a strong business case for automating your onboarding process in this article.
According to talent acquisition firm iCIMS, turnover is three times higher for new employees who are onboarded manually than for those who are onboarded using automated HR practices. Ineffective onboarding has been tied directly to the decision to quit in at least 15% of employees.
In other words: if you have 100 employees, that is 15 employees – almost a sixth of your entire workforce. Depending on their salary, the cost of these turnovers could make or break your profit margin for the year.
On the positive side, Human Resources Today found that effective onboarding can increase retention by as much as 25%.
Onboarding is the second-most impactful HR practice after recruiting. Over 80% of employees decide in their first six months if they’re interested in sticking around for the long haul. And nearly 70% do decide to stick around for more than 3 years – if they participated in a structured onboarding workflow.
As such, detailed, proactive onboarding – especially one that starts as soon as possible – is a major retention booster. Even more so in a market where top talent has their pick of employers.
Read Tina’s full article here.