Dr. Clotaire Rapaille is an internationally revered cultural anthropologist and marketing expert who has spent decades studying cultures, observing consumer behavior and advising companies in their marketing efforts. His book, The Culture Code, reveals his groundbreaking insights on how people act and interact with businesses and each other. Dr. Rapaille is the chairman of Archetype Discoveries Worldwide and is the personal advisor of ten high-ranking CEOs. Fifty Fortune 100 companies keep him on retainer.

Rapaille’s “Culture Code” is the unconscious meaning we apply to any given thing via the culture in which we were raised. Each culture has a different interpretation for the same word. All these codes create a reference system that people unconsciously use. “The Culture Code” offers an understanding of why people really do things. To be “on Code” is to tap into the unconscious meaning behind the word. Being “off Code” may logically make sense, but it runs contrary to the primal understanding.

Rapaille claims that the American code for money is “proof”. He states that money isn’t a goal in and of itself for most Americans. “We rely on it to show us that we are good, that we have true value in the world…we can prove what we’ve accomplished only by making as much money as possible.” We collectively view money as a scorecard of sorts, and many find it difficult to feel successful if they believe they are underpaid.

It would be “off Code,” then, to just preach profitability to employees. The bottom line should be more than dollar amounts or sales percentage. Money is proof of the quality of our work and our quality as people. It is not the goal. Instead, a company’s management must inspire employees to be the best they can possibly be and to make the company as strong as it can be. Done correctly, this will lead to profitability.

Rapaille states that money alone is the worst reward for an American employee as it doesn’t last and is never sufficient. It is, however, a critical component of the reward system. He goes on to say that the most “on-Code” approach is to use money as a positioning system that shows the employee where they are on their career path. He recommends offering a visual representation of the income curve they are on with every promotion. That growth curve is visible proof of their increasing worth. Rapaille also says that a tangible award of some sort (a plaque, new office accessory or even a new office) gives the employee “a tactical experience of his enhanced sense of who he is…These tangible symbols last much longer than money, though they admittedly mean very little without it.”

Mobile technology has changed the way people live, play and work. Phones are not just an option for communication; they are now a necessity for remaining connected to the outside world. The cell phone is generally the one thing people never leave home without. There are a reported 4 billion phone users worldwide, with a estimated 6 billion users by 2013. Contrarily, there are only 1 billion PC owners. More than 3 billion people routinely engage in text messaging via their mobile phone, easily making it the most popular mass media data application in the world.

So what does this mean for recruiters?

Mobile recruitment allows companies to connect with candidates in a much more personal manner. Professionals today, especially the rapidly emerging Gen Y workforce, are constantly on-the-go, meaning less waiting at their desk for a phone call or email from a potential employer. Increasing numbers of job seekers are turning to their mobile devices as a primary tool in their job search. Smart phones—iPhone, BlackBerry, the Google phone and the Palm Pre, for example—can give their users a competitive edge by allowing them to stay informed and quickly react to new job opportunities.

Mobile recruitment methods, such as texting (the universal mobile tool, available on over 98% of cell phones) and job search applications designed for mobile devices, give recruiters the chance to connect with both active and passive job seekers who search for jobs directly from their mobile devices. Incorporating innovative and cutting-edge mobile strategies into recruitment programs ensure that companies are able to connect with job seekers anywhere, anytime.

Keeping employees motivated can be a daunting and frustrating task. One lackluster employee can bring down the entire office’s energy. According to a Gallup poll study, 60-80% of workers are not engaged at work. Even A-players fall short from time to time and without varying methods of positive motivation they feel little or no loyalty and passion on the job. Having a talented team behind you isn’t enough if they lose their focus. HR professionals need to find ways to keep staff members engaged or risk facing a fully staffed yet under-productive company.

Methods of Motivation

There are two basic types of motivation used to incite employee involvement and dedication. Intrinsic motivation is when an employee wants to do something. Extrinsic motivation is when somebody else is trying to convince or makes the employee do something.

Why extrinsic motivation won’t work-

1. It’s not sustainable

Most of the time extrinsic motivation is based on a reward/punishment system. Growing research indicates that if a reward (money, awards, etc) is considered the only reason to engage in an activity, then the job itself is simply a means to an end—the prize for completion. As soon as employers remove the reward, the motivation to work disappears.

2. The law of diminishing returns

If the reward/punishment levels stay the same, motivation tends to drop off. To get the same drive for the next project, employers would have to offer a greater incentive to their employees.

3. It hurts intrinsic motivation

Punishing or rewarding your employees for doing something removes their own desire to do the work. It sets up a pattern where you must punish/reward them every project in order to see results.

So what does work?

In their book, Freedom and Accountability at Work, Peter Block and Peter Koestenbaum state, “It is right and human for managers to care about the motivation and morale of their people, it is just that they are not the cause of it.”

Rather than being the sole source of motivation, the HR professional must help their employees find their own intrinsic motivation.

1. Challenge

People are often best motivated when they are working towards goals that require an optimal level of difficulty to achieve. The idea is to make success probable, but not guaranteed. Your employees should have to push themselves if they want to finish the job.

2. Control

People have a basic tendency to want to control what happens to them. Employees should understand the cause-and-effect relationship their work is having with the progress of the company. It’s imperative that they believe their work will have an effect.

3. Recognition

Perhaps one of the strongest motivators, recognition highlights an employee’s individual achievement within the company. The pride attached to successfully accomplishing and being recognized for something is a powerful motivator and encourages an employee to repeat, if not increase, future results.

Dr. Clotaire Rapaille is an internationally revered cultural anthropologist and marketing expert who has spent decades studying cultures, observing consumer behavior and advising companies in their marketing efforts. His book, The Culture Code, reveals his groundbreaking insights on how people act and interact with businesses and each other. Dr. Rapaille is the chairman of Archetype Discoveries Worldwide and is the personal advisor of ten high-ranking CEOs. Fifty Fortune 100 companies keep him on retainer.

Rapaille’s “Culture Code” is the unconscious meaning we apply to any given thing via the culture in which we were raised. Each culture has a different interpretation for the same word. All these codes create a reference system that people unconciously use. “The Culture Code” offers an understanding of why people really do things. To be “on Code” is to tap into the unconscious meaning behind the word. Being “off Code” may logically make sense, but it runs contrary to the primal understanding.

According to Rapaille, the American code for work is “who you are”. Americans tie their sense of self to their jobs. When we are unemployed the logical concern is wondering how the bills are going to get paid. On a deeper level, when we are “doing” nothing, that means we are nobodies. If our jobs are meaningless, then “who we are” is meaningless as well. Contrarily, when we believe our jobs have value and we are doing something worthwhile, our identity is positively enhanced. This is the most fundamental reason that it is important for employers to keep their employees content and motivated.

Rapaille uses The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company as an example of an organization that understands the value of positively identifying employees. The company refers to its employees as “ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” Ritz-Carlton understands that if it wants to create an enjoyable atmosphere for its guests, it has to start with its own employees. Rapaille mentions that if a cleaning person were to encounter a guest with a problem, Ritz-Carlton gives the cleaning person the power to offer a free meal or free night to improve the guest’s experience. This power gives the cleaning person a “strong sense of motivation” and instills in them the belief that they are part of the corporate mission.

So what does this mean from an employer’s perspective?

By understanding that employees relate their jobs to their own self worth, employers should continually strive to keep their staff inspired and engaged. Regular staff meetings are “on Code,” they connect with the “who you are” idea.  Involving employees in the direction of the company gives them a stronger sense of identity, the feeling that they are critical components of the company’s success.

We put a lot of emphasis on progression. No one wants to feel that their journey is over and they will remain in a stagnant career for the rest of their lives. According to Rapaille’s code, we want to keep working (sometimes even after retiring) because we need to keep working in order to feel like we still exist. Helping your employees understand their career paths would also be “on Code.” When an employee believes that they are “going somewhere” in the company, their sense of self-importance is heightened.

Rapaille claims that looking at a team of employees, as a “Homogenous group that rises and falls together” is a mistake. Offering incentives to the team is “off Code” because it fails to recognize the individual. He doesn’t deny the importance of teamwork, but insists that the team should serve as a support system that allows individuals to become champions.

The hiring process is can be complex and convoluted. With dozens of resumes piling up, trusted HR professionals are expected to serve as company gatekeeper. But how are you supposed to discern among that stack of resumes which one is the “A-player,” that invaluable asset to your team. There are ways to reduce the noise typically seen while hiring; it takes a hiring strategy with depth.

Job Boards:

It’s important to be specific in your recruiting methods. General job-search Web sites are a great way to get the message out that your company is hiring, but it also means that anyone can find the posting and apply. Take into consideration where you post company job offerings. It may be worthwhile to focus on more targeted Web sites. There might be fewer responses but they should be coming from a higher caliber candidate. Some job-search Web sites attract active Boston job seekers with a certain industry focus. Others are for more passive job seekers who are just clicking through. It would be terrible for your company to be overlooked by A-players because of the noise on their end of the hiring process.

Education/Experience:

What do you expect job candidates to know? There are roughly 100 colleges and universities within the Boston area and these schools take different approaches to the same major. Some focus more on theory, while others prefer a “real-world” education.

Have you noticed similarities in experience among top players? What are the repeating internships or former employers?  Look at those organizations as farm teams for your company, producing the most gifted job seekers.

Your Competitors:

Your competitors may be your greatest source of information. Find out where they got their A-players and start hunting them down.

Your Own Team:

Take a minute and look around your own office. Talk to your A-player employees. Chances are they have a few contacts in the same field that also have that star power. A-players want to work with similarly talented individuals, keeping them sharp and focused.

 Developing a checklist of gold standards to keep an eye out for in potential candidates helps cut out wasted time spent looking at mediocre candidates.

Any marketing professional should be able to rattle off the 4 Ps: product, place, price, and promotion, without hesitation. These four elements outline any marketing strategy. But how can they apply to the HR profession? It’s actually very easy to relate these techniques to a recruiting plan. To start attracting talented candidates, try applying these sales/marketing strategy basics.

Product:
What is your company selling? This is not just the products or services offered to consumers, but also the opportunities for an employee. It’s important to clearly define what makes your company a great place to work. Clearly articulate the culture of your business. What is different and special about your company’s core values? Where is your company falling short? Be honest with yourself. Failure to live up to the core values of your brand is bad for all aspects of business, and could leave new or prospective hires wondering why they would want to work at your company.

Place:
The same way that HR professionals form a first impression of a candidate during the interview process, Boston Job seekers form impressions of HR and hiring managers. A candidate is initially rated on their professionalism, qualifications and personality. Many Boston Job seekers are also sizing up their potential employers. A recruiter is typically the first, and maybe only, source of information the candidate has about your company’s personality and brand.

It’s how the office appears to run that influences the opinions of job seekers, so it’s important to have a strong follow-up system. HR representatives have dozens of resumes flooding their inbox and can’t personally respond to them all; setting up an automated reply system is a great way to save time and let job seekers know they reached the right person. In addition, including a timeline lets more qualified candidates know when they can expect a response.

Promotion:
Where are you placing your career ads? Evolving Recruiting Solutions and techniques offer a plethora of alternative forums to make contact with job seekers. Are you aggressively seeking out potential employees or hoping they come to you? Develop and stay in touch with promising leads. Even if there isn’t a perfect position available right then, you may find another opening that person can fill down the road.

Price:
Don’t just tell candidates you have competitive compensation, any company can offer a good salary. Sell the total package; base pay, incentives, benefits, advancement opportunities. Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes. What would make you pick this job? What does the culture of your company have that no one else can offer? It’s important to remember that base pay is rarely the only reason great candidates choose one company over another. Leadership, communication, training and careers opportunities are all critical elements.

Boston Business Journal

October 14th Breakfast Seminar- Boston Harbor Hotel 7:30-9:30 am

“Responding to Corporate Allegations & Wrong Doings”

Navigating the maze of hotlines, whistleblowers, shareholders, and regulators.  People at all levels of a company are often faced with the difficult task of handling allegations of workplace malfeasance on both a corporate and personal level.   These allegations may arise through any number of sources and can take many forms:  purported whistleblowers, shareholder derivative demands, and anonymous complaints to a human resource department or hotline, to name just a few.   Every day the challenges in responding to such accusations grow
 
The BBJ and Greenberg Traurig have put together a panel of experts who will lead a program geared to Corporate Executive Officers and In-House Attorneys, focusing on:

–Identifying Allegations of Wrongdoing;
–Organizing An Effective Investigation and Review Process;
–Issues of Ethics and Conflicts of Interest;
–Navigating the Aftermath with State and Federal Regulators; and
–Instituting Compliance Programs as a Proactive Measure.

 To register for this event click here.  
 
Panelists:

John A. Sten- a Shareholder in the Boston office of Greenberg Traurig, and former enforcement Attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Terence P. McCourt-a Shareholder in the Boston office of Greenberg Traurig and Co-Chair of its Labor and Employment Practice group.

Rosland McLeod-Chief Compliance Officer at Biogen Idec Inc.

Matthew Feiner-Senior Corporate Counsel at Oracle Corporation

Mark Keene-Assistant General Counsel at Bank of America and former Senior Counsel at US Securities and Exchange Commission

While for most, autumn evokes visions of pumpkins and apple cider, as an HR professional, your mind probably races to the dismal realities of flu-season and the disastrous impact it can have on a company.

USA Today recently told of a telecommunications company forced to shut down a busy Kansas call-center when roughly one third of its employees developed flu symptoms.

In September, The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) released the results of a national survey which found that only one in three employers believe they could sustain business without “severe operational problems” if half of their workforce was out for two weeks. Grim!

HR professionals face the daunting task of keeping a company afloat regardless of the sick-roster.  Here are a few tips to keep your office’s attendance numbers healthy during flu season:

• Consider implementing telecommuting and using video conferencing.  This means parents who are home with sick children, or employees recuperating from an illness won’t miss a beat, minimizing the amount of catch-up they will have upon their return, which also minimizes the burden put on co-workers.
• Forgo large conferences to minimize physical contact during outbreaks of flu.  When possible, opt for electronic communication instead.
• Take advantage of a flu-shot program for your company. 65% of organizations already sponsor these programs for their employees.
• Keep absence-control policies lenient!  Employees shouldn’t have to fear disciplinary action for missing work when they are ill.  This kind of rigidity can lead to “presenteeism”, or the condition of being physically present at work, but underproductive. 1.5 work hours are lost weekly to health issues in the office.
• Have a plan! If your company is juggling multiple time-sensitive projects, be sure to have a staffing contingency plan, which could mean using a temporary agency to prevent a break in workflow.
• Take proactive measures to minimize contact.  Send sick personnel home immediately, and routinely clean common areas.  Also be sure your staff has ample antibacterial hand wash and tissues.

To learn more about workplace safety and health issues, please visit: www.cdc.gov/workplace.