CTHRA Symposium—4 Trends in Cable HR

Multiplatform. HR managers in the cable industry have to be a lot more proactive now. Job seekers are on various platforms, whether PC, tablets or smartphones, said Jennifer Tracy, Bright House Networks’ senior director of talent acquisition and diversity at the CTHRA Symposium last week. Mobile is increasingly becoming one of the major platforms for job seekers, according to Mary Grace Hennessy, COO of recruitment marketing company SmashFly Technologies. Due to the expansion of mobile data devices, “the channels you use to reach out [to job seekers]…the devices you use to reach channels…are changing,” Hennessy said. But she warned against going mobile only, because people still like the big screen. The key is to be multiscreen, interactive, human and tech savvy.

 

Shortage of Technical Talent. Despite continuing to be a bit sluggish, technical hiring has been a bright spot in the overall slow job market, several attendees at the Symposium said. The demand for technical experts is even higher now as companies work to transition to all IP networks. Though employers have yet to see a major shortage of tech talent, they might feel some pressure in their recruitment and retention efforts.

 

Hiring Our Heroes. With less than half of veterans in the US are in the workforce now, they have the potential to be a major resource. The cable industry, teaming with the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is looking to tap into the veterans community with job fairs and dedicated vet career websites. “It’s all about public private partnership,” said Bryan Goettel, director of communications with the Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s “Hiring our Heroes” program. “It’s all about bringing as many partners as possible.” Employers have started to recognize the “intangible quality” of vets, he said. One of their key qualities is leadership skills, which can be valuable assets in a corporate environment, Comcast’s executive director of talent acquisition William Baas said. The Chamber has teamed with NCTA and CTHRA to host a job fair for vets on June 11 at this year’s Cable Show.

Integration of Recruitment Technology. Here’s a key lesson learned from Bright House’s Tracy: Invest in the right tools. That means identifying the right technology partner. In Bright House’s case, it’s SmashFly Technologies. The SmashFly recruitment marketing platform has been integrated with Bright House’s system, enabling recruitment ad distribution, contact relationship management and tracking real time recruitment marketing metrics. The integrated platform also enables HR managers to quickly and easily build a SEO jobs site that will drive candidates to apply for jobs through Google and other search engines. A value-added service by SmashFly is the ability to create online talent community, which allows employees and candidates to stay connected with the company, Tracy said.