Bridging the Workplace Generation Gap

The modern workplace is more diverse than ever and with diversity comes new opportunities and challenges.  One challenge today’s workers and managers are encountering is the Workplace Generation Gap.  Workers of different ages bring inherent preferences related to work expectations, communication styles and priorities.  While treating everyone fairly is of first importance, this doesn’t mean everyone responds best to a cookie cutter approach from management, and understanding people from their point of view is critical to leading them effectively.  Whether you are a new grad seeking your first job, a senior citizen re-entering the workplace, or a manager tasked with getting the most out of your multi-generational team, understanding the unique needs and wants of your coworkers can make you more appreciated, happy and effective in your job.

Ageism and It’s Negative Connotations

While considering the implications of blending workers of various ages in the work setting, it is important to define Ageism and avoid its negative connotations.  Ageism can be defined as the recognition of stereotypes associated with individuals or groups based on age.  In a negative sense, Ageism can be applied in a discriminatory (and illegal) fashion when such stereotyping creates biases causing employers to steer individuals into (or away from) workplace opportunities based on the individual’s age.  The goal of this article is not to focus on the negative implications of age-based discrimination, but to identify strategies where people of different age groups can work well together. 

Generation What?

Various titles have been applied to different generational groups in the U.S. over the last 100 years.  Among the most common are the following: 

1. The Silent (or “Greatest”) Generation – Born from 1928 to 1945 – This group of Americans lived through the Depression and World War II.

2. Baby Boomers – Born from 1946 to 1964 – This generation was part of a population surge and witnessed the United States ascend as an economic and military superpower following WW2.

3. Gen X – Born from 1965 to 1980 – Gen Xers have enjoyed increased opportunities for financial growth and entrepreneurship.

4. Millennials – Born from 1981 to 1996 – This generation grew up during the Information Age and is highly proficient with technology.

5. Gen Z – Born from 1997 to 2012 – Gen Z Americans have never known a world social media.

Labor Force Participation By Age

Statistics slightly vary by source, but U.S. Labor participation by age follows the bell curve model below. 

An Aging Workforce

As indicated above, the majority of U.S. workers are aged between 25 and 54. However, a new trend is increasingly apparent – the average U.S. worker is getting older.  While statistics vary from industry to industry, the median age of full-time employed U.S. workers today is over 42 years of age.  This is more than 5 years older than the median age for American workers in 1990.  This trend of older people working longer (or re-entering the workforce) while younger people are waiting longer to start working only seems to be accelerating. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics which shows the 55 and older group moving from 36.7% employment in 2021 to 41.1% employment in 2022 (an 11.99% increase) while the 16 to 24 age group went down from 50.1% employment in 2021 to 41.5% employment in 2022 (a 17.7% decrease) during the same period.  And, this is not unique to the U.S. as many other developed countries are experienced the same trend.

Older workers are staying in the workforce longer while younger workers are waiting longer before engaging in full-time employment.

Some of the factors keeping older workers in their jobs longer are listed below.

1. People are living longer and new work settings (and the kinds of work being done) are allowing older workers to be productive in their jobs later in life.

2. Some older workers are choosing to work longer embracing the personal challenges and identity associated with work.

3. Other older workers are working longer out of necessity for financial reasons or to support other family members.

Meanwhile, many young people are waiting longer to engage in traditional, full-time jobs.

1. In a competitive labor market demanding experience they do not possess, some young people are opting to pursue advanced education or training before pursuing their careers.

2. The extension of medical insurance eligibility under family plans to age 26 (previously 18 for non-students) has made it possible for young people to delay entry into the workforce.

3.   Non-traditional forms of making money through social media are emerging which give young people alternative ways of supporting themselves while maintaining life balance.
   

Bridging the Gap

Every individual brings unique talents and preferences.  In competitive environments like our current business and labor market, the goal of good companies is to bring out the best in everyone and the good news is this isn’t an either/or question.  While stereotypical advantages and challenges can be associated with people of different age groups, there are hiring and leadership practices which foster positive work experiences regardless of your age strata.  It is possible to create a work culture appealing to one group without alienating another.  In fact, when a company makes the effort of taking care of one segment of their population, it is appreciated by other employees even when they are not directly benefited by these changes. We recommend the following strategies as best practices for attracting and retaining employees of all ages.

Positive Culture – Everyone aspires to work for a company that is both successful and caring. People are your greatest asset, and investing in them makes your company stronger. Your workplace should foster an open and inclusive culture where everyone has a place, goals are clear, and people are trusted to do their jobs.

An Environment Of Respect – The modern workplace brings challenges and stressors of many kinds – meeting deliverables, dealing with unpredictable changes, turning a profit in competitive markets, to name just a few, but within the walls of your business (even if they are virtual walls), there must be a climate of respect between co-workers regardless of hierarchy, age or any other dimension.  When this can be established and maintained, there is a sense that, whatever challenges may come from outside of the business, you can handle it TOGETHER.

Manage People How They Want To Be Managed – Regardless of a person’s age or tenure, different people expect and respond better to different management styles.  Rather than taking a cookie cutter approach to management, each manager should customize their style to each reporting employee in terms of how objectives are communicated and monitored, and the amount of support needed.

Stability – While each employee may have different expectations of what equates stability to them, people like employers with a clear vision of what they do best and plans for the future.  Articulating and reinforcing these goals builds confidence in your team and shows them their contributions matter.

Training – Most employees appreciate the opportunity to add new skills or get better at some of the things they do already.  Training is an investment that raises the bar for everyone and demonstrates the company’s long-term commitment to internal development. 

Mentorship – An easy way to bridge the generation gap is to pair experienced people with those less experienced and cross train them so skills can be transferred.  Everyone has something to bring to the table, and everyone has something new they can learn.  Taking this to another level, progressive companies create job sharing situations where diverse groups leverage individual strengths to solve problems together.

Career Planning – Providing options for various career paths and customizing them to align with each employee’s personal goals demonstrates long term commitment to your people and allows them to project themselves into new and more interesting roles as defined training objectives and work achievements are realized.  

Work/Life Balance – Employees of all ages are recognizing the need to find harmony between their time devoted to work and their personal time.  While some people strongly identify the things they do at work as self-defining as to who they are, others want to compartmentalize work as a means to enable the life they want to live outside of the office.  Good companies should strive to help individuals realize the balance they are seeking within a framework that ensures company goals can also be achieved.  Remote work and flexible hours are one example of how companies are evolving to give employees more freedom to get their work done in a way that is beneficial to the individual worker and to the company.  Defining project specific work which prioritizes objectives over how or when the work is fulfilled is another way of giving your employees to have more control over their work/life balance.  

Diversity in other areas – Fostering a culture that is inclusive of people from many different groups will also be helpful in bridging the generational gaps that may exist in your company.  Demonstrating that your company encourages and is supportive of good workers regardless of their demographic differences shows your commitment to support everyone.

Moving Forward

Treating people how YOU would like to be treated has always been the standard for interpersonal relationships, but diversity in today’s workplace asks us to move to a higher standard of treating people the way THEY would like to be treated.  Nowhere is this more obvious than when we engage with people of different ages as we commonly do in the modern workplace.  As you get to know them better, you will find they probably have something they can teach you!

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Confessions of a Data Engineer: One Man's Journey

Job Opportunities for Cybersecurity Professionals.

Learn about the best job opportunities on the market for Cybersecurity professionals and discover the experience Enspire Partners’ clients expect.

The job prospects for Cybersecurity professionals are strong. In fact, the number of Cybersecurity jobs is climbing fast, from 3.5 million worldwide in 2020 to 4.1 million in 2022. 

But specific roles in Cybersecurity vary, and it can take time to figure out which niche you want to target. We’re identifying the top Cybersecurity jobs for 2022, 2023, and beyond, plus what you can do to land a great position. 

NOTE:  Some clients refer to Cybersecurity as Information Security (or InfoSec) or IT Security. We will use these terms interchangeably, but the roles described below apply to each of these areas.

Top Cybersecurity Jobs for 2022 and Beyond

The following positions are organized according to entry, mid-level and advanced positions. Each section explores what’s involved with each job and projected compensation. 

Entry-Level Cybersecurity Positions: may be obtained through certification and training, although you will need strong technical aptitude and job-specific skills.

• Information Security Administrator - Salary: $80,000+
  An Information Security Administrator has a relatively wide range of responsibilities. They’re responsible for protecting the organization from threats and helping individual users and departments maintain high Cybersecurity standards. 
  
  In many companies, the Information Security Administrator becomes the escalation point where users, from management to new employees, interact with the InfoSec team. Most candidates for these roles have some experience supporting networking environments and have obtained certifications and some practical training in Cybersecurity fundamentals.
  
  Job responsibilities for an InfoSec Administrator include:

  • Maintain Cybersecurity tools and monitor the network

  • Research the latest Cybersecurity trends

  • Identify, document, and report successful breaches

  • Help users properly implement Cybersecurity technologies and protocols

• IT Auditor/Security Process Analyst - Salary: $75,000+
  Auditing functions exist in many IT areas, and Cybersecurity has an increasing demand for IT Audit professionals. IT Auditors are responsible for analyzing and assessing a company’s technological infrastructure, ensuring processes and systems run accurately, efficiently, securely, and in adherence to regulations. 

  IT Auditors with a Cybersecurity focus have many of the following job responsibilities:

  • Establish and ensure compliance with Information Security standards for all employees, contractors, vendors, and suppliers.

  • Documentation and mapping of business processes and supporting IT functions.

  • Applying established audit standards throughout the infrastructure.

  • Auditing and assessing all aspects of the company’s network applications, including software, programs, security, and communications.

  • Creating and maintaining reporting and metrics of audit results.

• Penetration Tester - Salary: $80,000+
  A Penetration Tester, often referred to as a “Pen Tester,” systematically identifies weaknesses in an organization’s Cybersecurity system by designing and simulating attacks on the company’s IT systems. Penetration Testers may have developed some of their skills in social settings outside of the workplace but usually have previous Programming or Quality Assurance experience.

  For example, a Pen Tester may design an assault on:

  • Company databases containing sensitive information

  • Cloud resources, such as applications the organization uses to do business

  • Web applications the company makes available to its employees or customers

  • An organization’s website, including testing how it reacts to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which involves overwhelming it with fraudulent requests

Mid-Level Cybersecurity Positions: In many companies, the most significant factor when determining who qualifies for advancement to higher-level positions is experience. The following positions typically require previous experience in these roles and specific certifications, such as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Many of these roles also branch off into areas with a niche focus.

• Cybersecurity Engineer - Salary: $110,000+

  Most Cybersecurity Engineers have previous experience in the Cybersecurity Administrator role outlined previously. The Cybersecurity Engineer leverages this experience to research and implement leading-edge tools to mitigate the risk of a devastating cyber attack. Deciding which technologies a company needs to use to protect its digital assets is central to the Cybersecurity Engineer’s job. 

  Typically, they will be hands-on with most or all of the following security tools:

  • Firewalls—both hardware and software

  • Intrusion detection systems

  • Identification and authentication systems

  • Antivirus software

  • Web application firewalls, which specifically safeguard web apps from attacks

  • In addition to choosing the best tools, the Cybersecurity Engineer ensures these technologies are installed, maintained, and updated correctly.

• Vulnerability Management Specialist - Salary: $120,000+
  The Vulnerability Management Specialist leads the InfoSec Team in developing proactive measures to understand and prevent unauthorized penetration of the company’s information systems. Vulnerability Management attempts to anticipate and interdict attacks that may have never occurred previously. 

  Vulnerability Management Specialists job responsibilities may include:

  • Devising and leading White Hat vs. Black Hat scenarios to anticipate hacking attempts proactively. Because of these responsibilities, the Vulnerability Management Specialist may also manage the Penetration Testing Team.

  • Reviewing databases, servers, and devices to analyze how an attacker might penetrate the system and develop strategies to stop such attacks.

• Incident Response Specialist- Salary: $120,000+

  The Incident Response Specialist develops contingency plans in the event of a successful systems breach and is responsible for managing the Incident Response process in the event such a breach occurs. 

  Incident Response job responsibilities may include:

  • Developing the Incident Response strategy and communicating it to stakeholders across the country.

  • Representing the InfoSec team in the event of a breach and effectively implementing IR plans and procedures.

  • Helping law enforcement officials as they investigate a cyber attack

  • Recovering data that’s been stolen or lost due to damaged hard drives

  • Manages post-attack analysis and remediation procedures.

Advanced/Senior Cybersecurity Positions: In addition to hands-on skills with the previous roles outlined, more senior roles typically require management and strategic leadership responsibilities.

• Security Operations Manager - Salary: $150,000+

  The Security Operations Manager oversees the Security Operations Center (“SOC”), a centralized unit dealing with security issues on an organizational and technical level, integrating people, processes, and technology to provide an optimal security posture. 

  Position responsibilities may include:

  • Defining, recruiting, selecting, and managing various roles identified previously within the financial and business restraints available.  

  • Being a Thought Leader in innovative concepts of continuous improvement for all corporate security apparatus and processes.

• Chief Information Security Officer - Salary: $200,000+

  In response to an awareness of the need for Cybersecurity and the growing headcount employed by clients, a new C-level Executive role called the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has been created. This is a strategic position at progressive companies with a segregation of duties distinct from the traditional CIO/IT management team and “a seat at the table” in C-level decision-making. 

  In addition to other responsibilities, the CISO is responsible for:

  • Developing the overarching Cybersecurity strategy from the company and blending various teammates in the InfoSec organization and matrixed areas of IT to ensure a safe and protected IS environment.

  • Communicating and prioritizing these initiatives to other Executives and Business Leaders

Other Cybersecurity Positions

With the dynamic growth we are experiencing in Information Security, no list of titles and responsibilities could be exhaustive as companies recognize the increased need for Cybersecurity personnel across all levels of the enterprise. Some interesting areas we are seeing companies explore include Data Scientist Security Specialist (using Data Engineering techniques to classify high-volume attacks and vulnerabilities to enable the InfoSec Team to parse between high-priority threats and things not as critical) and even implementing Cybersecurity Standards in the manufacturing setting with PLC and firmware devices. No doubt, this escalation of the war in Cyberspace will continue as companies endeavor to protect their information assets while nefarious actors around the globe are constantly developing new methods of skirting defensive measures. 

How to Get a Cybersecurity Job

The best way to land a Cybersecurity job is to leverage your current IT experience to move into a new role with a Cybersecurity focus. Training and certification are prerequisites for many openings, but there is no substitute for real-world knowledge when it comes to Infosec positions.  

One practical way you can gain this experience is to join an ethical hacking group so you can learn how systems are attacked and defended in the corporate world. You should volunteer for any Infosec-related projects at your current job or seek out non-profits in need of IT resources and offer to help staff tasked with technology responsibilities.

Enspire Partners’ Cybersecurity Center of Excellence

In response to client demand, Enspire Partners has developed a Center of Excellence associated with Cybersecurity. Our goal is to connect companies interested in growing their Cybersecurity capabilities with the best people and training resources available. Please join us for upcoming webinars on this topic and reach out to us directly if we can assist you with talent in this highly competitive space.

Learn What Companies Expect with Enspire Partners

With the deep connections in the IT industry and the agility of a high-volume staffing firm, Enspire Partners is uniquely qualified to assist you with all of your cybersecurity staffing needs. Connect with me today at tonyf@enspirepartners.com.

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Remotely Aware

It has taken me a while, but I’ve come around to letting my staff work remotely.  If you haven’t, or if you are insisting on your staff returning back to your office after working remotely for a while, I hope you take the time to consider the hard lessons I learned as a manager who believed in-office work was best for your company and employees.

The truth is, I thought my employees wouldn’t be effective working remotely because I was convinced I wouldn’t be effective working remotely.  After all, I was the guy who insisted on reporting to an empty office in 2020 when everyone else was in lockdown.  In fact, I had to argue with my partner it was safe for me to do so since I was the only person there.  Why?  I had spent every working day in the office for the last 10 years and thought I would be distracted or lacking some document or file I needed if working from home.

So, the moment restrictions were lifted in Georgia, not only was I working in the office, but my team was too.  It wasn’t about trust, I said, but the nuances of the recruiting business that made us “better” if we heard secondhand conversations with clients and candidates through our thin office walls. If it matters, I believed strongly in what I was telling them…

But, change, as they say, is the only real constant, and early this year my business partner confided to me that he intended to retire this summer.  Besides losing a key member of our team, other decisions had to be made.  One of these involved the future of our office. Because while we had rented our space for the last ten years, my retiring partner was the owner of the space, and we needed to decide whether continuing to rent or going remote was the better option for our remaining teammates.

One factor that drove the decision to go remote was our need to hire additional staff with my partner retiring.  We had needed to grow the team already in 2022, but with my partner – who wore several hats – retiring, we definitely needed to add staff.  It immediately became clear adding staff, even in the nice area where our office was, was a lot easier if remote work was available.  So, we made the decision to work from home in mid-May and had all systems in operational by June.

A month and a half into our new normal, we’ve learned a lot about working remotely.  Maybe you learned these lessons two years ago, but here is my feedback on working from home and, also, managing a staff remotely.

You can expect your team to be more productive working remotely. As already stated, I expected a dip in productivity when working remotely, but (the three most difficult words to say…) I was wrong.  Like the rest of my team, we dedicated private space in my home for an office and installed technology to keep us all connected and secure.  No doubt, my commute is better, and I am all business once I walk down the steps to my home office.  It is true “you never leave the office” when working from home, but I get more work done now that I work from home.  It’s Sunday, and I am writing this blog about working from home, while working from home…

You will be able to recruit and retain better candidates by working remotely.  Finding and keeping the best people is much easier if you can hire remotely.  It is hard to find qualified candidates for almost any job in the U.S. in our current labor market.  Companies are struggling to find candidates regardless of their position’s experience and compensation requirements.  There is a finite number of people who are right for your opening within commuting distance of your office.  But, as a recruiter, if you let me fill your opening with anyone in your town or region (who can report in occasionally), or, better yet, if you let me fill it with anyone in the country qualified to do the work, you will see the volume and caliber or candidates available to you change dramatically.  With this change in approach, you will be able to hire smarter and happier people.

On the other hand, candidate retention gets increasingly difficult when your competition allows work from home, but you don’t.  On this topic, I also have experience unfortunately.  After carrying (and caring) our team through the pandemic, I lost two key teammates in early 2021 to work from home opportunities as soon as the market rebounded. 

If you want to attract the best people (and you want to keep your best people), let them work from home.

Productive work from home arrangements can be achieved with effective management and technology.  When I approached one of my Sr. Recruiters – who lived only one mile from our old office – with the question of the how effective she could be working remotely, she pointed out she had worked from home before, but the biggest changes needed were in us adapting our management style and technology tools to enable the transition.  Collaborative tools facilitating high touch between people in your organization exist if you will use them.  I thought I needed all of my people down the hall (“within yelling distance”) from me to maintain the pulse and pace of our team, but we connect just as well through Microsoft Teams or similar tools.

Better work-life balance is possible when working remotely.  By now, it may not surprise you I am old school enough to believe work-life balance shouldn’t be a primary goal in the workplace, but more of a bi-product of it.  That is, if we are all about balance, who is focusing on the work?  But I’ve come to understand working from home does foster more work-life balance (and sometimes less work-life balance, as well).  Time and what you do with it is everything, and I just seem to have more of it when working from home.

I have clients who have been told by their executives that employees, after working remotely for some time, now will be required to go back to regular office hours.  I imagine they think this is best for one or more of the following reasons:

• Some people can’t be trusted to work remotely, so everyone should be required to work in the office.

• Some people – because of their specific jobs – must work in the office, so everyone should be required to work in the office, especially if that someone who must work in the office is the manager.

• They have a big, empty office, and management wants to see people in that office doing office stuff.

Of course, there are fallacies in each of these arguments, and they don’t outweigh the very valid reasons outlined above of why working remotely WORKS for both the company and the employee.   

Whitfield retires, Enspire Partners announces expansion

Brian Whitfield, one of our founding partners, retired in June.

After beginning his career as a Developer, Brian moved into staffing leadership more than 25 years ago. During this period, he built and sold three different IT staffing firms and was responsible for placing over a thousand people, many which became long-term customers.

For Enspire Partners, Brian has been responsible for managing our recruiting staff and running back-office operations. Combining his real-world experience and good business sense, Brian has been a key contributor to our company for the last ten years. His leadership through the most challenging months of Covid lockdowns was critical to our business. Enspire Partners wouldn’t exist without the hard work and leadership which Brian provided, and we already miss working with him.

Brian is an avid diver and underwater photographer. He has spent more than a year of his life in Cozumel on one week vacation stints and plans to spend a lot more time there and exploring Europe during his retirement.

With this announcement, we have been able to bring on additional investors to our business funding an expansion in our recruiting staff and enhancing our technology systems. Some of this is necessary to cover the many roles Brian performed for us, but our goal is to use this opportunity to significantly enhance the reach and quality of our services as we begin our second decade of helping clients and consultants.

Once more...You get what you pay for!

I am obsessed with decorating my house for Halloween. Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, we had over 150 kids to come to my house, and this year, we are planning for more…

As I write this blog, it is September 2021, but I have been thinking/planning/purchasing Halloween items on-line for the last three months. (Fortunately, my wife doesn’t read this blog.)

Last year, Home Depot came out with one of the most iconic Halloween props ever - a twelve foot skeleton with these creepy eyes that seem to follow you. This animatronic became an instant classic to people like me. It sold out so quickly that a black market of sorts was created where this item, which originally sold for $195, was being resold at sites like eBay for over $1000. Then, this year, Home Depot raised the bar even further.

The companion piece to the 12’ skeleton this year is a 12’ “pumpkin inferno skeleton”. If you haven’t seen it in person at Home Depot, google those three words to get a feel for this beast. It has a pumpkin head, a glowing “inferno” chest and its body seems to be formed from twisted roots. It also has the same creepy eyes as the skeleton, and did I mention it’s TWELVE FEET TALL?

The problem is, it is $295. And, while I could find the money to buy it, I understand divorce attorneys are even more expensive nowadays, so I decided it was best to just say no.

But, fate had something different in mind for me, and eight weeks ago - when most people weren’t obsessing over Halloween - Facebook pushed an ad to me where I could buy this same prop for $100 direct from China with no shipping cost. Better yet, I could buy both the pumpkin creature AND the skeleton for $160 total (or $80 each)! Thinking outside of the box, I convinced my business partner that he “needed” to buy the skeleton for $80, which would allow me to get the pumpkin prop for $80 - what a bargain!!

After paying for these items, I received an email receipt written entirely in Chinese - not English. Maybe this should have been the first clue that something was off…

Four weeks later, without additional correspondence from my supplier, I sent them a note asking for an update. That day, I saw another ad on Facebook promoting the same items - this time for $29.99! Uh oh, I thought, I’ve been scammed because you can’t even ship these items from China for $30. So, I stopped payment on the card. That same day, however, I received an alert that the U.S. Postal Service was anticipating a delivery for me from, you guessed it, and think how Donald Trump would say the word: CHINA.

Nevertheless, I thought even this could be part of a scam, and hearing nothing further, I reconciled myself to having no pumpkin inferno skeleton this year. Life went back to normal - and I found a few other ways to spend my $160 for Halloween - until a month later, last weekend, actually, when I received notification that USPS had a package to deliver to my office on Saturday. Looking back at the tracking history, they had shipped this package from China to New Jersey. From there, it had made its way to Atlanta, then to my local post office in Suwanee, Georgia.

I was excited on several levels. First of all, I was getting this incredible prop. Next, I was getting it at a fantastic price. And, maybe that price was $0. I would happily pay the $80 for each of the two pieces, but I wasn’t even sure they were organized enough to ask for it having gotten the items to my doorstep only after I stopped payment over a month earlier. And, I have to admit, I felt pretty smart to have bought this item for $80 when other suckers were buying it for $295 (or $1000+ on eBay).

I watched my phone obsessively waiting for the alert these items had been delivered to my office and was ready to drive over and secure them in the office until I could get a truck to bring my prop home. Only later I got a notification they had attempted to deliver it, but no one was there (and they would attempt to deliver it on Monday).

I was disappointed I didn’t have my new prop in hand, but now it was only a matter of time. (I have to be honest, I had harbored doubts this was really going to happen until the United States Postal Service confirmed delivery of the package.) I debated whether to go to the post office on Saturday to try and get it, but knew I didn’t have a vehicle big enough to receive both packages anyhow.

So, on Monday, I told my office manager to be on the lookout for this delivery. I told my staff - who already know my Halloween obsession - the long story I have told you so far, and we all kept an eye out for the delivery. To be honest, I didn’t want to leave for lunch in case we missed them again.

After watching my phone all day for a status update, and thinking way too much about all of this, I had an epiphany of sorts. I told my co-workers, who must have been tired of hearing about this already that the only way I could be scammed would be if they shipped me a twelve INCH item instead of a twelve FOOT item…

Within the hour, my Office Manager came around the corner with a curious look on her face…she was holding a small sealed package. After opening it, I took the picture you see below. (For reference, my hand is not twelve feet long.) Good news: they had shipped me not just one skeleton and one pumpkin prop, but three of each of them. Bad news: they were only eight inches tall.

After getting over the initial shock, I have to admit a begrudging admiration to the scammers for their commitment to their craft. After all, they could have shipped me a brick - or nothing at all - but no, they went to the effort of manufacturing replicas of the Home Depot item in miniature so they could say I had received the item they sold me.

Besides warning you not to buy Halloween props from China, I want to remind you that you usually don’t get more than you pay for. This is especially true in today’s labor market. In my business, we have an unprecedented number of openings to fill for our clients. Fortunately, our clients are coming to understand in this highly competitive market that you need to be responsive to good candidates and you have to pay them well to attract them (and pay your current employees well to retain them).

As a recruiter, I, too, am learning to recalibrate expectations for both the candidate and employer in our new normal. While things may be quite different than they were a year ago, our goal hasn’t changed - we match good candidates with good clients.

And, yes, they may not be 12’ tall, but we do promise they are life-size.

Trick or Treat?

Charity starts with you…and usually isn’t tax deductible

During the pandemic, I’ve taken up a new sport – disc golf.  If you’ve never heard of it, it is played like regular golf except you throw Frisbee style discs into metal baskets.  It has some of the benefits (and frustrations) of golf, but is a little less expensive until you start buying hundreds of different discs – each  with different functions – as I have in my attempts to get better at the game.

After playing disc golf for several months, I began to notice a car at a local course where I play regularly, parked in an inconvenient spot for me.  It was at the end of the parking lot about 300’ from the tee area where I would throw, and while off the grass, it sat exactly on the line I needed to throw my disc to approach the basket.  And, every time I came out to play, it was parked in that same spot!  Frankly, I was frustrated someone would park a car there and force me to throw a bad shot in order to avoid it.

One day late last year, as I was ready to throw from this location, I noticed someone in the car.  So, I decided I was going to ask him to move his car.  After approaching the vehicle, I realized the person was an older woman.  I told her I was about to throw my Frisbee and asked her to move to be sure I didn’t hit her car.  She explained if I hit her it, my throw would be “out of bounds”, but knowing disc golf rules, I informed her it was normal to throw a wide angled “hyzer” shot that way, and it would only be out of bounds because she was parked in the one spot in this huge lot where she was in the way!  She then told me she had been having some battery problems and couldn’t move the car and proceeded to get  out of her car and walked off (I guess expecting I was going to hit it).  One thing was obvious – if I did hit her car, I wouldn’t be the first person to do it.  It had many dents from flying discs!  Not really having a clue as to what had just happened, I went back to the tee box and over-corrected my shot once more to avoid hitting her jalopy.

It was only later in the round I came to my senses and realized what was going on.  That car had been there for months – it was broken down and not going anywhere, and the woman I just ran out of her “home” was living in that car.  In my defense, I have to say this park is in an affluent area in Alpharetta, Georgia.  You don’t see many homeless people here, and it seemed unlikely someone could be living in a car (permanently) in this municipal park.  Nevertheless, I felt bad about the whole exchange and decided I would give her some cash.  

When I approached her the second time, it was clear she was on her guard given our first interaction.  And, when I offered her $20 she asked me “what she could do with it?”  In effect, I think she was asking what she needed to do for it, but after I assured her she could do anything she wanted with it, she accepted it gratefully.  After the ice was broken, she warmed up and complimented me on my red Mustang.  It turns out, this lady, probably in her early sixties, was bright and well-spoken.  She explained to me this parking lot was actually a FEMA site where people who needed assistance could come and stay with access to electricity and water. 

As December approached, my wife suggested we could do something more for this woman and provide her with a nice Christmas.  So, my wife helped to put together several bags of essentials, snacks, clothing and some cash for this lady.  Not even knowing if she would still be there – although she had already lived in this spot for most of 2020 by my observation, we approached her again.  This time, she immediately recognized my car.  We gave her the things we had for her and had a nice conversation about her situation.  We learned her name is Emily.  What was most striking to us was this woman didn’t seem much different than us.  She clearly was an intelligent person who seemed to have fallen on some bad times.  There was no apparent substance abuse and she was making the best of a difficult situation.  To be sure, we probably had doubled her net worth on earth with the few things that we gave her.  When I saw her tags were due in January like mine, I commented we must have the same birth month.  (Fortunately, someone had helped her push the car out of a direct path to the disc golf basket.)  That night was very cold, and my wife and I both wondered what it must be like to live in a car while we were in our comfy bed…

Having told this story to my mom, my mom offered a used, but very nice coat she had dry cleaned for me to take to Emily.  January had a lot of rainy days, so I didn’t get out to the disc golf course for several weeks, but I made my way there yesterday intent on giving Emily the jacket along with some snacks my wife had provided.   Once more, she recognized my car, and as I got out, I noticed she had an envelope in her hand.  After thanking me for the coat, she gave me the envelope.  Surprisingly, it was a birthday card for me! 

She told me:  “I remembered it was your birthday, and I thought you might come back some day.” I think both points are meaningful.  She thought enough of me to remember my birthday was in January, and she expected I just might come back again some day (even if it was the middle of February).  In the image of the card above, you may be able to see she had re-purposed her own birthday card for me.  I guess you could say someone gave this gift to her; she then gave it to me, and now I am able to share with you!

Last year was challenging in many ways and still many political and socio-economic divisions in our country remain.  Not surprisingly, most people want to claim the moral high ground and believe their opinions, values and beliefs to be correct and good (even God inspired).  I am reminded of the words of Abraham Lincoln spoken during the Civil War, when he said: “In great contests, each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God.”  It is natural to claim moral superiority, and like most people, I’ve expressed strongly what I think is “right” for our country (and in some ways, my opinions of what is right for other people).  But, the truth is, it is easier to improve my own behavior than to change everyone who disagrees with me. 

If I really believe in helping others, I don’t need to wait on Congress to legislate it.  I can do it myself.  As my business partner at my company has often said:  “Charity starts with you…and usually isn’t tax deductible.”

If you want to feel thankful today, help someone who has less than you. Their reaction will probably blow you away, just like it did me.  It truly is better to give than to receive.  We have things we throw away which could change their lives.  Whether you give your money, your stuff or your time, you can change someone’s life.  At the very least, I expect you will change your own.

Contract to Hire - a Win-Win in Tough Times

Over the last couple of weeks as we begin to navigate the changing business norms resulting from the pandemic, we have put together a couple of contract-to-hire engagements with our clients matching them with highly qualified candidates who start on my company’s payroll as consultants with the plan of converting to the client’s payroll in the future. Contract-to-hire (CTH) engagements are projects where a client has a need for a permanent resource, but is unable to add headcount to their payroll immediately. Obviously, many companies find themselves in this predicament at this time. We have found there are definite advantages in CTH engagements both for companies with critical resource needs (but limited ability to hire people currently) and for candidates anxious to get back to work.

A workaround that “works” - Many companies are working under hiring freeze restrictions at this time, but are short of specifically skilled people. Contract-to-hire gives clients immediate coverage of these needs without officially taking on additional headcount.

Faster turnaround - Clients appreciate that CTH allows them to get a highly qualified person in the chair working as soon as the their background check is cleared without the usual HR on-boarding process. Candidates see this approach as the quickest way for them to get to work and their next paycheck.

Quality people/quality employers - There are some exceptionally talented people who are available right now directly as a result of the pandemic. Companies that engage candidates this way have access to some of the best and brightest people on the market. Some highly experienced consultants who typically don’t work in perm roles are interested in such programs and can dramatically improve the talent level on your team.

CTH saves you money - In most CTH engagements, we are able to build into the margin the placement fees which typically occur when companies hire through an agency. Rather than paying the fee upfront, clients pay in “installments” on every hour billed. Because we are able to create a win-win scenario for the candidate and the client, rates under CTH usually are less than the average bill rate paid in pure contract engagements.

Try/Buy - Often, the contract period under contract-to-hire engagements is seen as an evaluation period - both for the client and the candidate. While this generally is the case, we encourage both clients and candidates to not enter into these kinds of engagements unless they both are in alignment in moving forward with a perm offer at a future date. Our agreements allow the client and candidate/consultant to negotiate and move into a direct hire situation as soon as both parties are ready and able.

I would encourage companies to consider contract-to-hire engagements as an effective way to fill critical requirements, save money on recruiting fees, and improve the overall quality of people in your organization. We’ve been effective at negotiating these kinds of engagements recently and can provide both the structure and the candidates to make it work for you.

The New Abnormal

Every business, family and person is learning to adapt to changes precipitated by the Coronavirus outbreak.  This morning, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, described our situation as “the new abnormal”.  Things are so dynamic tomorrow may cause us to adapt to our newer abnormal.  Change can be difficult in the best of times, but we all are learning on the fly how to make the best of things and (maybe, just maybe) find ways to do things better.

Working Remotely – To be honest, as I write this blog, I am the only person in my company working in our physical office space today, and that’s because I haven’t yet mastered the work from home concept and I’m not wearing pants (OK, that last statement is NOT true).  We discussed how to do this better today on our conference call.  Some takeaways were:

• Make your home workspace mirror your office setup with all of the peripherals, office supplies, etc. you need to do your job;

• Use a dedicated, quiet area and avoid distractions as it is really not possible to do two things well at the same time; and

• Insure your email system, documents, etc. are in sync as version control on multiple platforms is difficult to manage. 

• Don’t neglect system security.

Spring Cleaning – This is a good time to do things you have put off for a while.  In addition to the honey-do list around the house, in our business we are encouraging clients to identify short term projects that have been on the backburner we can help them knock out during this time. 

Available Talent – In the ERP staffing space where we are focused, there are very good people available for assignment right now.  If you are a client needing help now or in the near future, we can sort through a lot of talent to find the best fit for you.  At the same time, we are asking for consultants to show flexibility in their rates and patience with client turnaround as we position them for work.  We are open for business and still matching good people with good companies.

Family Time – One of the benefits people are experiencing during this period is we get to spend quality time with our families (and pets).  After all, you can only watch Netflix and YouTube so much!  While we are distancing ourselves from strangers, the idea of shared meals with loved ones is back in vogue.

Taking stock – Times like these make us prioritize what really matters in our vocation, family and faith.  Most of us have more time to actually think during this time…  If you are like me, there is a lot of stuff which seemed important a few weeks ago that you now find you can do without.  Watching prepper videos – yes, I admit it, it’s become an obsession – I’ve learned “the Rule of Threes”:  you can live up to three weeks without food, three days without water, three hours without shelter and three minutes without oxygen, but you shouldn’t live three seconds without hope!

We will get through this crisis and be smarter and more resilient because of it.  You may be experiencing other benefits as you go through this season in your life.  Please share with us any thoughts you would like and give us some ideas on how you are coping with your new abnormal.

Enspire Partners' response to the COVID-19 crisis

 With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), we at Enspire Partners extend our thoughts and prayers to people and businesses in the U.S. and abroad who are dealing with this crisis.  I am writing to assure you the services we provide, as well as the health and safety of the people and businesses we touch, is our highest priority.  In response to COVID-19, Enspire Partners will insure business continuity during this period while staying in alignment with the recommendations of the CDC and of the clients we support.

• In response to the recommendations by our national and local leaders, the internal staff at Enspire Partners is working remotely with the exception of key personnel who are monitoring systems in the office. We are prepared to work remotely as long as necessary until the risk is mitigated.  Whether we are in the office, at the client site or working remotely, Enspire Partners is working hard and will continue to maintain our core business functions of helping our clients, fulfilling their needs and managing back-office financials to pay our team and bill for services.

• We are in contact with our clients where we have consultants traveling regularly.  In all cases, our clients already are following CDC recommendations regarding travel and monitoring the situation in the their individual locations to determine whether further travel restrictions need to be applied.  Our clients have put in place remote work procedures for their employees and our consultants which are active now (or can be activated in the event of personnel in a specific client location testing positive for Coronavirus).  If any of our consultants are required to travel to areas the CDC has restricted, Enspire Partners will work with those clients affected to establish remote work options for our consultants until such locations are cleared. 

We appreciate the initiative and teamwork demonstrated by clients, consultants and staff as it relates to COVID-19, and Enspire Partners will be proactive and flexible in addressing any challenge which may emerge in this unprecedented period.  If anyone needs additional communication on this topic or the expectations of a specific client you are supporting, please contact me or the person at Enspire Partners working with you.