Hiring Incentives in a Red-Hot Market

There were more than nine million job openings in the US at the end of May, according to the Labor Department. With the market continuing to pick up, many employers worry about retaining their current employees and are struggling to attract new ones. Consequently, many companies are offering incentives and perks, such as signing bonuses and continued education reimbursements.

According to economist AnnElizabeth Konkel of the Indeed Hiring Lab, postings highlighting some sort of hiring incentive have more than doubled since last July. Additionally, job postings that say "urgently hiring" or mention hiring incentives are on the rise. "People are really trying to get workers and they are trying to get creative," Konkel said.

With added perks and incentives being thrown a candidate’s way, there are many things to consider when evaluating a new role. Andrew Seaman, a Senior Editor for Job Search & Careers at LinkedIn News, reached out to Human Resource experts for their opinion on how to determine “what all of these offerings mean to you as a job seeker? Which perk will actually mean something to you when you’re in the job?”

The key to success:

• Knowing what you want

• Being realistic

• Doing your research

• Evaluating the total offer package

• Considering the company’s culture

When considering a new role, what is the biggest factor to you? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Salesforce is everywhere, but where is it going?

We’ve seen a number of blockbuster acquisitions made by Salesforce in the last five years. As recruiters, we view these shifts as opportunities to support our clients with their new requirements for niche Salesforce experts in the burgeoning space. Let’s take a look at some of the recent acquisitions and how those shifts have affected the Salesforce talent markets.

First, the MuleSoft acquisition from 2018. With the ebb and flow of bundling and unbundling in SaaS, middleware integration tools like MuleSoft are set up for success in periods of growth. Post-acquisition, we saw an immediate need for MuleSoft developer contractors amongst our partners. 3 years later, technical MuleSoft talent continues to be a hot commodity amongst our partners and end clients. Demand for onshore MuleSoft developers and architects continues to outpace supply.

Next, let’s look at the Tableau acquisition of 2019. At first, we didn’t see an immediate uptick in our clients requesting Tableau experts and we also saw a drop in client requests for Einstein experts. Over time, we started to see ‘experience with Tableau’ pop up on more and more job descriptions, especially Salesforce Business Analyst or Business Systems Analyst roles. But now with Tableau’s newest business data and analytics platform, which incorporates Salesforce Einstein’s predictive modeling and machine learning technology, our partners are turning to us for Tableau experts. We anticipate the Tableau consulting space to grow in the coming years.

And most recently, Slack. While we have yet to see clients requesting Slack experts like they had previously requested MuleSoft Developers and Tableau Consultants, the leadership behind Salesforce has been bullish on the Slack acquisition.

Benioff was recently quoted saying that Salesforce is “going to rebuild all of our technology, once again, to become Slack-first to help our customers have a harness to work in this new world.” Benioff also said that Slack improved Salesforce's Service Cloud case close rate by 26% (La Roche).

But maybe the Slack acquisition won’t present as many opportunities to solve talent problems for our clients, because the Slack integration solution will already be baked into the Salesforce platform, while MuleSoft integrations or Tableau implementations will take more of a heavy lift from partners or the end clients.

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We want to hear from you! Let us know if you disagree with any of our takes or if we missed something. Which acquisition do you feel will make the biggest impact on the Salesforce talent ecosystem moving forward?

La Roche, J. (n.d.). Salesforce CEO: We're going to rebuild all of our technology to become Slack-first. Yahoo! https://money.yahoo.com/salesforce-ceo-marc-benioff-on-slack-acquisition-135151402.html

A Look Inside Salesforce CPQ with Hiren Shah

Are you interested in getting your hands dirty with Salesforce CPQ but you’re not sure where to start? As B2B eCommerce sales continue to grow, so does the demand of Salesforce CPQ Consultants and Developers. We had the pleasure of connecting with CPQ Architect, Hiren Shah, to give us a breakdown of the trends and benefits of being hands-on within Salesforce CPQ. Hiren is a Salesforce CPQ rockstar who owns his own CPQ Consulting and Solutions company, B2B-Matrix.

What is Salesforce CPQ and what does it do?

Until a few years back Salesforce only went as far as Leads → Account →Opportunity.

[Salesforce] then acquired a company named Steelbrick that now helps them go one step further in the Lead to Cash cycle by providing the ability to Quote, so we now have Leads → Account → Opportunity → Quote.

Of course within Quoting, there is a comprehensive capability to be able to configure the product (The C in CPQ) and to be able to Price it (the P in CPQ) to address various scenarios.

Who uses Salesforce CPQ?

If an organization currently uses Salesforce CRM, they are using some form of Leads → Account → Opportunity, and if they are doing upwards of 50 quotes a month, and have at least 5 persons quoting, then it would be a good candidate to consider Salesforce CPQ.

What are some benefits of using Salesforce CPQ?

The logical next step would be increasing efficiencies assuming you have the Opportunity Management in place. Once you have the quoting process in place, it sets you up for subsequent steps of Orders and Billing, so the Lead to Cash journey can be orchestrated:

Leads → Account → Opportunity → Quote → Order → Invoices

What trends have you been seeing in CPQ?

There are numerous CPQ solutions, even on the Salesforce platform itself. The market share of Salesforce CPQ has grown rapidly primarily due to a very low cost of entry. For example: a 5 user license may be about $300 per month.

In response to this growth, consulting companies have started offering quick start CPQ where in for about $10,000 in services, they can set it up so that the organization can start quoting out of Salesforce

How or why did you first start working with CPQ?

During my tenure at SAP in the 1990s, we did Quoting, Pricing, & Configuration and fulfillment. We just did not call it CPQ at that time.

What is your favorite feature?

The ability to set up the user friendly product structures, filters and guided selling to help the sales user generate accurate quotes quickly.

When screening CPQ candidates, what are some of the “Must Knows” for someone who claims to be an expert in the space?

I am not much of a fan of quizzing candidates on whether they know a particular menu path or how to do something in CPQ. I am more interested in knowing the approach that one would take in terms of understanding the requirement and being able to propose solutions.

For example, instead of saying how you want to do your quoting, it is more productive to say, I have understood your current process and I propose this solution and this is the reason why.

Looking to grow your CPQ skills? Salesforce CPQ Admin Fundamentals and Salesforce CPQ Basics on trailhead is a great starting point.

Pride Month: Getting Involved

All of June, LBGTQ+ communities come together all over the world to proudly celebrate their identities and experiences in what is known as Pride Month. While there has been significant progress toward equality for the LGBTQIA+ community in more recent years, the collective community continues to face various forms of exclusion and discrimination.

A simple Google search to find your local LGBTQ+ Center is a great way to get involved, not just during the month of June, but throughout the year. These local centers are often overlooked, especially in rural areas, and can be life changing for youth. If you are interested in getting involved outside of your local community, below are just a few of the national nonprofits working tirelessly to advocate for equality, provide access to health care and support, protect basic rights for the LGBTQIA+ community, and eliminate discrimination, that you can get involved with.

Advocacy

• Out & Equal Workplace Advocates - Out & Equal is the global convener, thought leader and catalyst actively working to achieve workplaces of equality and belonging - supporting LGBTQ+ employees and leaders who thrive in their careers and lives and achieve greater impact on the world.

• GLAAD Inc. - GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.

• Pride Foundation - Pride Foundation fuels transformational movements to advance equity and justice for LGBTQ+ people in all communities across the Northwest.

• SAGE - A national advocacy and services organization that’s been looking out for LGBT elders since 1978. We build welcoming communities and keep our issues in the national conversation to ensure a fulfilling future for all LGBT people.

Health Care

• AIDS United - AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. AIDS United envisions a time when all people, governments, and organizations commit to ending the epidemic and strengthening the health, well-being, and human rights of everyone impacted by HIV.

• Resource Center - Resource Center is a trusted leader that empowers the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) communities and all people affected by HIV through improving health and wellness, strengthening families and communities and providing transformative education and advocacy.

Legal Services

• Transgender Law Center - Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation.

• GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) - Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation. GLAD is committed to fulfilling this mission with urgency and perseverance. To succeed, we will lead boldly and be guided by the following aspirational values.

• American Civil Liberties Union Foundation - For nearly 100 years, the ACLU has been our nation’s guardian of liberty, working in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. Whether it’s achieving full equality for LGBT people, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age of widespread government surveillance, ending mass incarceration, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people from government abuse and overreach.

Social Support

• The Trevor Project - The Trevor Project is the leading and only accredited national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people under the age of 25. The Trevor Project offers a suite of crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as a peer-to-peer social network support for LGBTQ young people under the age of 25, TrevorSpace. Trevor also offers an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, a legislative advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and conducts research to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.

• Point Foundation - Point Foundation empowers promising lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential - despite the obstacles often put before them - to make a significant impact on society. Point is the nation's largest scholarship provider to LGBTQ students of merit; granting more than 400 scholarships since 2002. Point promotes change through scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development, and community service training. Upon completing their tenure as scholars, Point Alumni have access to the Point community, resources, and leadership programming. Point continues to explore ways to support LGBTQ students, such as a Community College Scholarship Program (initial funding thanks to Wells Fargo), assisting LGBTQ students in their final year at a community college who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. For 2018-2019, Point is providing financial and programmatic support to 98 students.

Hireforce is committed to advocating for equality and work towards eliminating discrimination in the workplace, with the individuals and corporations we partner with, and in our everyday lives.

Minimizing Distractions, Increasing Optimization

Whether your job is fully remote, you’re in the office, or you’re beginning to phase back into going into the office, there are endless distractions that keep you from focusing fully on your work.

We all face distractions every day that lower our productivity and increase our stress. Adopting new habits can help you control these distractions. Make it clear to people when you don't want to be disturbed, remove yourself from distracting environments to find somewhere quiet to work where you can focus, and keep your to-do lists clear and manageable.

Being able to limit these distractions can help you minimize the amount of context switching you’re doing on a daily basis.

Context Switching

Context Switching is breaking your focus on the task at hand to think about something else such as reading an email or slack notification or responding to a text. Context Switching occurs when you abandon your current task and move on to another task without completing the first.

Negative Effects of Context Switching

• Context switching steals up to 80% of your time.

  • Most workers spend an average of 1 minute and 15 seconds on a task before some kind of interruption.

  • Multitaskers take 50% longer to finish a given task.

• Context Switching damages your brain

  • When we repeatedly tackle multiple things at once, information is processed in the wrong parts of the brain, messing up our thinking patterns permanently.

    • One study found that performing multiple cognitive tasks simultaneously can lead to declines in IQ scores of up to 15 points.

    • Another study found that the brains of heavy multitaskers had “smaller gray matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex” which explains their reduced cognitive control performance.

  • Heavy multitasking has been proven to weaken your memory.

• Context Switching lowers the quality of your work

  • Focusing on one task at a time = 100% of your productive time available

    • Task switching between two tasks at a time = 40% of your productive time for each and 20% lost to context switching ₁

    • Task switching between three tasks at a time = 20% of your productive time for each and 40% lost to context switching

Minimize Interruptions and Avoid Constant Context Switching

1. Time Block Your Day

   • Time blocking is the practice of planning out every moment of your day in advance and dedicating specific time “blocks” for certain tasks and responsibilities.

     • Start with your high-level priorities

     • Add blocks for reactive tasks each day - responding to email, Slack, etc.

     • Place buffers in between tasks - If you assume you can switch gears on the spot, you’re going to end up frustrated and behind schedule.

     • Schedule your breaks, not just lunch

     • Overestimate how long things will take (at least to start) - don’t be over-optimistic with your day until you have a solid understanding of what you can get done in a given period of time

     • Tell people what you’re doing - make sure the people around you understand what you’re working on, when you’re available, and set realistic expectations on communication and collaboration.

     • Revise as needed - try to be as realistic as possible when you set your schedule but be prepared to move things around or throw it out for a day if a priority task needs your attention

2. Build a Habit of single tasking during your day

   • Focusing on one task at a time can make you up to 80% more productive than splitting your attention across multiple tasks

3. Turn off Notifications on email, slack, iCloud messages, etc.

   • Define in your time block when you will check email, slack, etc.

4. Take Breaks

   • Use breathing exercises to combat stress. The anxiety of too many tasks makes it easier to context switch. Instead, take a few minutes to try a simple breathing exercise that will calm you down:

     • Sit somewhere comfortable with your back straight

     • Close your eyes and begin breathing through your nose

     • Inhale for a count of two

     • Hold your breath for a count of one

     • Exhale gently through your mouth for a count of four

     • Finish by holding your breath for one second and then repeat

   • Stretch, workout, or go for a quick walk. Even small moments of exercise during the day can help you stay focused for longer. If you can take a break outside, fresh air has been found to increase focus and balance.

   • Watch a funny video or something else relaxing. Breaks don’t have to be ‘productive’. Doing something you enjoy is a great way to quickly break out of the cycle of work and recharge your focus.

5. Disconnect from "Work Mode"

   • Record your progress. Start by acknowledging what you accomplished, tasks completed, time spent on Focus Work.

   • Organize any uncompleted tasks. Put everything in a place so it won’t pull at your attention, this could mean adding to your to-do list, updating your calendar, or setting reminders.

   • Glance at the week ahead. Take a second to make sure there’s nothing big on the horizon you’re forgetting. The goal is to convince yourself that you don’t need to ‘check in’ later when you’re trying to relax.

   • Acknowledge that the day is over. Do something to signal that you’re finished for the day. This could be closing your laptop and putting it away or even saying the words “Workday complete”.

You’re never going to be able to remove all the distractions in your daily life, but you can certainly make great progress against context switching and minimizing distractions. Start with building one or two habits into your daily life and grow upon that. 

₁ Context switching: Why jumping between tasks is killing your productivity

  MacKay

  https://blog.rescuetime.com/context-switching/