We all pay thousands of dollars on school to gain expertise in a particular field and advance our careers. Despite spending all this money on education, many workers do not have a proper grasp on how to be productive. Productivity is one of those things that can’t be taught properly in a classroom. The same methods don’t work for everyone, people achieve it through trial and error, and there is always something to be learnt from great success stories.
Inc.com recently released an article featuring the work styles of 16 highly successful CEOs. These CEOs share their tips on how to squeeze as much as possible out of the 24-hour day. (literally. CEO Jordan Zimmerman of Zimmerman Advertising goes to bed at midnight and wakes up at 3:30am everyday…to bike 25 miles.) After reading Inc.com’s article, I have compiled some tips on how to streamline your workday. Unsung heroes of HR and recruiting, gather round and receive thy pearls of recruiting productivity wisdom.
1. Never remove a job posting just because the position is filled.
Kevin Ryan, CEO of AlleyCorp and founder of Gilt Groupe, promotes the mindset that you should never be satisfied with the output of your team. He says, “If we have 10 engineers or 10 directors, one of those is No. 10. Is there someone out in the market who is much better than our 10th person? The answer is generally yes.”
Keeping a job posting up does two things. First, it allows you to continuously compile a list of valuable candidates to fill future job needs. Second, you will keep your employees on their toes and motivate them to produce their best work. The idea should not be to cut and shred employees on a whim, rather to remind your team that they must earn their position each and every day.
2. Leave some holes in your schedule
The workday is filled with unexpected events. Meetings run longer than scheduled, an important business contact wants to reschedule or suddenly finds an open hour for you, etc. Scott Lang, CEO of SilverSpring Networks, tries to leave 50% of his day unscheduled for unexpected events. While leaving 50% of the workday unscheduled seems unfathomable for most of the professional world, it is still possible to partition an hour or so a day.
A packed schedule will inevitably run behind, so save yourself the stress of being late and account for the unexpected. Not only will this allow you to capitalize on time-sensitive opportunities, but it also gives you time to reflect on big-picture goals and industry trends.
3. Alphabetize your priorities
When you are faced with a pile of resumes, e-mails to respond to and different tasks to accomplish, you have to start at the top and work your way down. Barbara Corcoran, a panelist on ABC’s SharkTank and CEO of Barbara Corcoran, Inc., uses an alphabetized priority system to help her take care of tasks in order of importance. Tasks marked “A” are time-sensitive and top priority, “a” tasks are time-sensitive but not top priority, “B” tasks are important but not time-sensitive, and “C” tasks are small things that have no big-picture impact.
(In a similar sense, we offer a grading system that is built into our applicant tracking system. The software automatically helps to classify applicant resumes into classes of A,B,C and X depending on different selection criteria. A system like this saves you precious time by showing you only the most pertinent information!)
For a busy professional, it is sometimes unreasonable to give your full attention to every single thing that comes your way. Prioritize and take care of the big issues.
4. Make sure everyone is in the loop
Jordan Zimmerman, CEO of Zimmerman Advertising, has a 10 minute phone call with each of his big clients everyday. These phone calls keep both client and company on the same page in terms of project direction and deliverables, which cuts down on time lost to tweaking an end product because there was a miscommunication.
As an HR manager or recruiter, you should constantly be in contact with the team leader, CEO or department manager whom your hiring decision will directly influence. Keep them abreast of hiring methods and pipelines so that when you do make the final hire, everyone is happy.
5. Master e-mail hotkeys
Charles Best, CEO of DonorsChoose, figures he saves 2 seconds every time he uses a hotkey shortcut in lieu of clicking on a pulldown menu. Saving 2 seconds here and there adds up to a significant time chunk, as Inc.com‘s helpful graphic shows.
If you are a gmail user, simply go to Settings and switch keyboard shortcuts to on. Google offers this handy guide of all the different gmail shortcuts.
If you try out any of our recommendations and find them helpful, let us know! If not, give us your feedback on any productivity tips and tricks that you use to maximize the workday. At HRMDirect we are constantly thinking of new ways to improve the recruiting and hiring process, and your feedback is what helps drive our ideas. As always, good luck!
