Is Your Credit Union Looking for Soft Skills in New Hires?

by Charisse Rockett, PHR

Positive, Reliable, Respectful, Grateful, Professional.  No, this is not a list on how to flatter your boss, but rather what your boss is looking for in employees. These are what's called soft skills – those intrinsic skills that generally are not something you can teach, but are part of an individual’s personality.  CareerBuilder.com conducted a survey recently that reported that “16 percent of employers said soft skills are more important than hard skills when evaluating candidates for a job.” This translates to the fact that not only are your experience and knowledge important and needed, but that personality matters!

According to the survey, here are the top ten most popular soft skills employers want in a candidate:

1. Has a strong work ethic – 73%
2. Is dependable – 73%
3. Has a positive attitude – 72%
4. Is self-motivated – 66%
5. Is team-oriented – 60%
6. Is organized and can manage multiple priorities – 57%
7. Works well under pressure – 57%
8. Is an effective communicator – 56%
9. Is flexible – 51%
10. Is confident – 46%

Analyzing the list above reveals many desirous qualities that contribute to the successful operations of a credit union. Many people who simply list their soft skills, but who don’t actually demonstrate them with examples in an interview, will fail to get the job. Soft skills can be honed only by the employee/applicant. A credit union can teach an employee to perform a task, but cannot teach them to have a great personality!

If your credit union needs help recruiting the perfect candidates, CU Solutions Group offers staff recruiting solutions. 

What Perks are Important for Your Credit Union Employees?

by Joyce Campbell

The area of compensation is one that has expanded to look at not only the dollar piece of compensation, but the “total compensation” package. This part has always been interesting to me, as the additional components of total comp carry different values of importance among organizations and employees. Another interesting component is how these perks and factors have changed through the years, based on technology and the different generations.

Recently, CareerBuilder published a survey exploring what factors are important to employees and what motivates people to stay. With the onset of the new year and the media repeating consistently that  more employees are looking for jobs elsewhere, it is a good idea to know what these 3,900 full-time workers who participated in the survey have to say. 

Factors that are important to those surveyed include:

• 59%               Flexible Schedule
• 48%               Being able to make a difference
• 35%               Challenging work
• 33%               Ability to work from home
• 18%               Academic reimbursement
• 17%               Having an office
• 14%               Company car

 As far as perks, these are the ones most requested:

• 40%               Half-day Fridays
• 20%               On-site fitness center
• 18%               Ability to wear jeans
• 17%               Daily catered lunches
• 16%               Massages
• 12%               Nap room
• 12%               Rides to and from work

 So what, ultimately, are the factors that entice employees to stay?

• 70%               Increasing salaries
• 58%               Better benefits
• 51%               Flexible schedules
• 50%               Employee recognition (awards, cash prizes, company trips)
• 48%               Ask employees what they want & put feedback into action
• 35%               Increase training and learning opportunities

 “What determines job satisfaction is not a one-size-fits-all, but flexibility, recognition, the ability to make a difference and yes, even special perks, can go a long way,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “Being compensated well will always be a top consideration, but we’re seeing work-life balance, telecommuting options and learning opportunities outweigh other job factors when an employee decides whether to stay with an organization.”

Although some of the survey results may not be practical for your credit union or be representative of the needs for your employee population, many of the items listed above are basic fundamentals of doing the right thing. Our society has changed and consequently the work environment has changed. We must respond in the right ways to retain employees and improve morale, which ultimately should lead to a more successful credit union.

More information gathered from the survey can be found by clicking here.
 

Recruit Credit Union Employees (for Free!) with LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become the “go-to” place for job seekers or those looking to network or connect with friends and current or former coworkers. Connections aside, LinkedIn is also a bountiful tool for credit union human resource professionals. 

Like CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com and other job classified sites, you can post a job opening on LinkedIn for a fee. Posting fees range from $125 to $295 per job depending on where your credit union is located and how long you want to post the position. But if your credit union is like many other organizations out there, your HR department is working on a tight budget and those numbers can add up quickly.

     There are two fairly simple ways to recruit new hires for free on LinkedIn:

• Looking Good
  An effective way to find potential applicants for a position is to look for them. In the search box on the top right of the LinkedIn home page you’ll see a drop-down menu. Click on People and type in what position you’re looking to fill and you’ll get numerous people on the site who have that title in their profiles.
  
  For a more specific search, click on “Advanced” next to the search box. This lets you specify parameters like title, industry (there’s an option to select Financial Services), location and more. Just sift through the search results to find likely candidates for your job opening. You’ll even see a BETA testing area that’s unclickable, but shows you what’s coming soon for LinkedIn searching.  
  
• Join the Crowd
  If you haven’t already, we suggest you create a LinkedIn profile and a company profile for your credit union, and then join groups relevant to credit unions as well as any related fields. As a group member you’re able to post “discussions”; they even have a tab for Job Discussions where you can post a job opening. It’s free to post and you’ll want to have a link to the job details, whether it’s a PDF or a link to your credit union’s website.
  
  This form of recruiting relies heavily on word of mouth, which can go a long way in the world of LinkedIn. But the credit union industry is one based on community and the credit union focused LinkedIn groups will definitely help you spread the word!

Whichever way you choose, you’ll be one step closer to finding the perfect candidate to join your credit union family. Plus, it doesn’t put a dent in your credit union’s budget!

Using Social Networks to Recruit Younger Employees

There are millions of people on social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. As a credit union looking to hire younger professionals, it’s your goal to attract the most talented pool of applicants. It’s no longer enough to post a job opportunity on Monster.com or CareerBuilder. According to a July 2011 study by Jobvite, 82 percent of U.S. jobseekers have used social networks and 64 percent have been hired through social networks. Back in March, LinkedIn reached the 100 million user mark. And as the size of its network grows, it’s getting more useful.

If you’re are not already using social networks for recruiting purposes at your credit union, consider this: LinkedIn just launched a one-click “Apply Now” button to job postings, making it even easier and more powerful for employers to post jobs and appeal to a generation of digital natives.
 

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