Looking for Superman or Wonder Woman?
Selecting Talent That Clicks With Your Company
Culture
Develop a profile of a top performer Effectively onboard new hires to lay
based on your company culture
the foundation for long-term success
Build a job description that maps to Engage talent to ensure retention
key skills and expected outcomes
and productivity
Conduct an interview that effectively
discerns talent and fit
Offer a compensation & benefits
package that attracts top performers
Evaluate when to outsource, contract
or hire for an open position
Case Study-Growing Software Firm Leverages SaaS to provide
quick and easy re-fi process for mortgage lenders
Our sample company has been in business for five years. The company has seven employees;
three software developers, the Founder, an SME from the mortgage industry and two interns.
The company has an Advisory Board.
After three years in development, the company is ready to launch a SaaS that will provide a quick
and easy online application for mortgage re-financing. This product will help people stay in their
homes. The real estate industry is in flux and the launch is timely as there is great demand to
keep people in their homes through refinancing.
The company is ready to take the software to market and needs to hire a Product Marketing
Manager to launch the product and take the company to $5mil in sales within the next twenty
four months. The company will be positioned to receive its’ first venture capital investment. The
growth potential is exponential for the next five to ten years to the company’s acquisition. Other
companies in the industry are starting to develop similar products, some of which are larger
more established firms with more resources to get the product to market quickly, but this firm
has a large jump on product development. It is critical to launch now and launch right.
The company must hire a Product Marketing Manager who has extensive experience launching
technology products in the real estate and mortgage industries. No one else in the firm has a
sales and marketing background so this is a critical hire. The FIT is critical. This is go-time, no doovers.
Company Culture
Nimble and fastpaced
Ambiguous with
limited resources
Evolving and lean
Establish company
characteristics
What is the
Work?
Build and launch
marketing plan to exceed
$5mil in sales within 24
mos.
Identify prospects and
evaluate competition,
align stakeholders
Develop collateral, align
with assns, conferences
and next generation
strategy
Establish position
deliverables
Skills Required
3-5 years of
sales/strategic
partnerships, marketing
B2B marketing in SaaS ,
align and influence,
analytical and strategic
Real Estate and/or
mortgage industry
experience
Identify core skill
requirements
Create a Job Announcement that will attract
“A-Players”
Product Marketing ManagerAttn Product Marketing Ninjas:
Read on if the challenge of launching a “First to Market” SaaS for
one of the US’ Fastest Growing industries inspires your competitive
nature. We seek a proven marketing strategist who can act and
deliver on a multi-billion dollar industry opportunity in an
environment that blends science and creativity while fostering a
hands off management style. Exercise your creativity and businessbuilding experience to make an impact and help us grow to the next
level.
Requirements: We seek a performance-proven professional from
the mortgage and/or real estate industry with five years+ prior
experience in B2B marketing and sales, strategic partnerships, in a
technology environment. Must have the unique blend of analytical
and strategic thought, initiative and results-oriented.
Selecting talent – Questions to ask
Don’t ask
 Gender, sexual
orientation, age, ethnicity,
race, religion, marital
status, genetic (medical),
etc.
All Rights Reserved: Premier HR
Do ask
 Experience
 Education
 Gaps in employment
 Traits – relevant to job
requirements and/or
company values, mission,
business objectives,
leadership style
 Accommodations
Do you hire Superman
or Super-woman?
To buy or build – that is the question!
Example of Roles and Recruitment Focus
Recruitment Focus
Criticality to Business
Strategic roles are
critical to creating longterm advantage
Key roles are critical to
delivering results within
next 18 months
Core roles are marginally
critical to business
priorities, but cannot do
without
Other roles are not critical to
any business strategies and
may be opportunity for cost
savings
9
Strategic Hiring /
Proactive Sourcing /
Effectiveness
Maintenance Hiring /
On Demand Sourcing /
Efficiency
Hiring Avoidance /
Efficiency
Example of Organizational Capabilities - Current focus
for Emerging Companies
Current Employee
Job function
Organizational
Mix byMix
Job by
Function
Future Organizational Mix
Current Capabilities
List the top 5 current capabilities
needed within 12 - 18 months
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Leadership and Execution
R&D
Emerging Market Sales
Marketing
Infrastructure – Systems, HR,
Operations
All Rights Reserved: Premier HR
Future Capabilities
List the future top 5 capabilities
needed –3 – 5 years
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Channel Sales
Leadership and Execution
Marketing
R&D
Infrastructure – Systems, HR,
Operations
Develop or procure decisions
Roles
1. Leadership and Execution
Hiring Strategy
1.
2. R & D
3. Emerging Market Sales
4. Marketing
2.
3.
5. Infrastructure – Systems, HR,
Operations
4.
5.
Strategic roles – hire now
and develop (effectiveness)
Key roles –hire now and
develop (effectiveness)
Key roles –hire now and
develop (effectiveness)
Key roles –hire now and
develop (effectiveness)
Core roles –on demand
sourcing (efficiency)
Maslow’s model and Employee Attraction, Engagement,
and Retention
• Career
• Work/Life Balance
• Engagement to the
work itself
• Appreciation for
contributions
• Engagement to the boss
and peers
• Engagement to the
culture, mission,
vision, and values,
and the boss
• Appreciation
Self-esteem
Self-actualized
Social and
emotional
Safety, Security
and Financial
needs
All Rights Reserved: Premier HR
• Physical safety and
security, Health, Life,
Disability, and
Compensation
Which of these is LEAST important to a new employee?
 Clearly understanding responsibilities and how




success will be measured
Finding meaning and a sense of accomplishment
from work
Being a part of the company culture
Building solid relationships with their
team/department
Understanding their benefits (i.e., health
insurance, retirement package, and so forth)
Courtesy Alexia Vernon - 90 Days 90 Ways
– Onboard Young Professionals to Peak Performance
2012
What is the #1 reason employees leave a job?
 Infrequent or unsatisfactory pay raises
 Returning to school
 No longer learning and growing in role
 A fractured relationship with
their supervisor
 An offer from a competitor
Courtesy Alexia Vernon - 90 Days 90 Ways
– Onboard Young Professionals to Peak Performance
2012
How Productive was Jack’s First Day?
9:05 am: Jack sits in a room with several others - listens to a 4-hour lecture on benefits and policies.
1:00 pm: He leaves the meeting remembering little & wishing he’d been introduced to the other new
employees.
1:10 pm: Upon returning to his department, Jack is told to read the 105-page Employee Handbook until his
manager has some free time.
3:00 pm: Two hours later, his manager drops by Jack’s desk, which – because his own computer and
telephone have not yet been set up – is actually the desk of a vacationing co-worker.
3:05 pm: Before rushing off to another meeting, Jack’s manager instructs him to sit with Jill to observe. Jill is
unprepared to train Jack, and
wasn’t even aware someone new had
joined the department.
3:15 pm: Dissatisfied with her recent
performance appraisal, Jill spends most of
the time complaining about the company.
5:05: At the end of his first day, Jack leaves
famished because no one invited him to
Lunch or even bothered to show him where the
cafeteria is located.
Courtesy Novita Training Chicago IL 2012
Top 5 Recommendations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Begin day 1 prior to day 1
Focus on the first impression, lunch, key and manager
relationships & engaging first day task
Give new employees a sense of achievement
Let them address their anxiety
Introduce the aim for the rest of the week
Courtesy Alexia Vernon - 90 Days 90 Ways
– Onboard Young Professionals to Peak Performance
2012
Engagement survey indicators
 Salary.com hosted a survey in 2009 conducted by Novacrea
Research and Green Global Resources with 1,264 employees
across the U.S. and136 HR professionals
 Respondents were from a broad slice of industry, government
agencies, and not-for-profits
 32% of employee respondents were in companies of less than
100 employees, 23% in >100 -500
 50% of the employees were boomers, 40% gen X, 8% were gen
Y, and 2% were traditionalists
All Rights Reserved: Premier HR
Conclusions and Recommendations
What Employees Want…
What You Can Do…
• Career Dev. & Advancement
• Career Dev. & Advancement
• On-the-job learning
• Job rotation program
opportunities
• Lateral career paths
• Mentors
• Job crafting program
• Pay and Recognition
younger employees
• Pay and Recognition
• Pay for performance
• Clearly articulate performance
• Formal or informal employee
expectations
• Strive for transparency in pay
structure
• Set separate budgets for
employees recognition (e.g.,
spot bonus, team rewards)
recognition
18
• “Encore” program: mentoring
Conclusions and Recommendations
What Employees Want…
What You Can Do…
• Communications
• Communications
• Two-way communications
• Establish a communication
• Kept informed of company
strategy
• Leverage technology (e.g., Web
2.0, Wiki, blogs)
• Communicate company mission
and values
happenings
• Personal-company value
alignment
• Work/life Balance & Affiliation
• Flexibility of work schedules
• Feeling connected (socially)
with coworkers
19
• Work/life Balance & Affiliation
• Support flexible schedule
program
• Explore implementing internal
social networking site
Maslow’s model and Employee Attraction, Engagement,
and Retention
• Career
• Work/Life Balance
• Engagement to the
work itself
• Appreciation for
contributions
• Engagement to the boss
and peers
• Engagement to the
culture, mission,
vision, and values,
and the boss
• Appreciation
Self-esteem
Self-actualized
Social and
emotional
Safety, Security
and Financial
needs
All Rights Reserved: Premier HR
• Physical safety and
security, Health, Life,
Disability, and
Compensation
Employee Compensation/Benefits
Paycheck/Salary
o Section 125
o Budget for cash bonuses
Innovative approaches
o Defined benefit (cash in lieu)
o Deferred compensation
o PTO and Vacation
o Flex schedules and telecommuting
o Common shares/ownership & rewards
Executive/Key Employee compensation
o Buy-Sell, Indexed life insurance, UL, future growth products
o Disability/LTC
o Benefit carve-out
Courtesy Rood & Dax – Benefits Done Right Inc 2012
Incentives and Recognition (Appreciation)
tied to results (examples)
Incentives – targeted
performance
Recognition – awards based
on targets/results
 Link incentives and bonus
 Patent awards
awards to Company
financials and individual,
team performance
 Define rules of eligibility,
100% payout, and
threshold performance
metrics
All Rights Reserved: Premier HR
 Product launches
 Projects
 Sales revenue ach
 Market share ach
 Spot awards
 Career opportunities
Employee Health Benefits
Group health coverage
o Governed by CA Law AB1672
o Affordability + value add services
o Benefits carriers pay for extras
o Communication/branding
Voluntary Benefits
o Dental/Vision/Life
o Disability/Supplemental & Gap
Executive/Key Employee Benefits
o Continuation/Cobra (36 months)
o Cash in lieu
Courtesy Rood & Dax – Benefits Done Right Inc 2012
PPACA & the Supreme Court Ruling
Courtesy Kaiser Health News 7-18-2012
Key Implemented Programs
 Small business tax credit
 Dependent coverage provided to age 26
 No pre-ex condition exclusion under age 19
 Prohibits lifetime maximums on all plans
 No cost-sharing for preventive services
 Over-the-counter drugs no longer reimbursed through
health FSA, HSA or HRA unless prescribed by a doctor
 Contraception covered under preventative effective on
or after August 1, 2012
Courtesy Rood & Dax – Benefits Done Right Inc 2012
PPACA Employer Penalties - 2014
Employers who do not offer affordable coverage:
 Less than 50 employees (including part-time FTE)
no penalties apply
 Penalty 1: If the employer does not offer coverage
 Penalty 2: If the employer does provide medical
coverage
 No penalty for employers paying 60% or more or
employee contribution less than 9.5% of annual
income
Courtesy Rood & Dax – Benefits Done Right Inc 2012
Top 5 Traits of Great Leaders
 Vision
 Passion
 QCAT
o Q = Quick. Be quick but not hasty.
o C = Committed. Be committed to your decision but not rigid.
o A = Analytical. Be analytical, but don't over-analyze (Too much
analysis can cause paralysis.)
o T = Thoughtful. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but don't
be obsessive.
 Team-builder
 Character
Lessons From the Top: The Search for America's Best Business Leaders, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks
Questions?
*************************************************************************************************
Evelyn Milani
President and CEO, Avanti Recruitment Solutions
emilani@avantirecruiters.com
(916) 429-1077
Jennifer Green
Principal, Premier HR
jennifergreen@premierhr.net
(916) 248-5222
Carolyn Lewis
Benefits Done Right (formerly Rood & Dax)
clewis@benefitsdoneright.net
(916) 568-2345