Talent Management Now

What Message Does Your Employer Brand Convey?

2012-01-27T11:26:00.007-05:00

I have to tell you that I do not profess to be a marketing expert. However, I can say that Strategic Human Insights are experts in helping companies hire the right people for the right roles and helping with organizational efficiencies.

Read on because just like the picture says, your employer brand is important to the life of your company whether YOU believe it is or not.

Some companies don't seem to understand that they not only sell products or services to customers but potential employees are paying closer attention to the messages a company touts about themselves. Its not just the advertising messages your marketing, PR and ad agency put together either. Your current OR past employees have a definite say about what type of company you are to work for. And now with social media positive or negative information about your company will be shared quickly.

Case in point: McDonald's twitter campaign went terribly wrong earlier this week. I won't belabor the point but follow the link to read the way it back fired.

Recently I also heard about how Swift Transportation (a somewhat un-sexy business) has recently changed their career site to reflect more of their company culture and showcase illustrated pictures of their real employees. Take a look at their site and you'll not only find out about the company and their story and current clients but opportunities to be a driver. And if you're a little nervous about applying you'll get some reassurance about their mentoring program (really? at what most of us think is a trucking company?) The Swift career site also shows opportunities working in their terminals or dispatch area and also give you the opportunity and encourage you to apply at every click of the mouse.

Now that you have seen how one employer didn't do such a great job a managing their brand and one that looks like they are really trying to attract a new type of employee, I'd like to challenge you and your leadership team to take a hard look at the messages your employer brand is sending to potential employees.

Like my mom always said, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

Accountability and The Workplace

2012-01-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

It's 2012 and the most important word in business today is Accountability. It means your employees are liable for their own actions. Lack of accountability on your employees part directly affects other team members and definitely has an impact on your business.

Hopefully by now you have given your employees an annual check up or performance review. No doubt you will have made sure they know exactly what they are going to be held accountable for this year.

What's that? Oh, you haven't actually told them what they will be held accountable for. Well, I see this as a problem, Mr. CEO or Ms. Business Owner. The problem is this, if your people don't know what's expected of them AND how they are going to be measured then how do YOU know if they are helping your company be profitable?

When you create an accountable organization then you eliminate current or future problems that may arise in your workplace. You don't want poor performance to go unchecked. If managers don't correct performance issues quickly then you have the potential for your good employees to walk out the door.

Letting all employees know what the organization goals are is a good place to start. Once individuals can see how their department goals make up the larger organization goals people will be more willing to play their part being more accountable so the company can be profitable.

Having an accountable workplace isn't easy but these additional tips should help.

Personal accountability is important but holding others accountable is equally important
Management accountability affects the organization. Make sure your team is working together on all fronts. It will make holding individuals accountable a lot easier.
Training if you need it, it may help the concept sink in faster for some people.

Bob Woodward said it best, "It was accountability that Nixon feared" And we all know what happened to Nixon.

2012 Workplace Trends

2011-12-17T15:33:00.002-05:00

At the end of the year there is always much discussion about what's going to be hot in the New Year. This year is no different with several human resources magazines discussing what's trending for 2012 in Talent. Talent Management Magazine had a write up about five workplace trends for 2012. While not every company will make even the slightest change some are making the commitment to move forward in a bold way. What type of company do you work for?

There will be a movement from management principals to leadership values. This statement says that employees are savvy and while they have been waiting in the wings to make changes if they were able to keep their jobs during this past three year weirdness, they are watching you leaders. Employees want to work for companies that actually walk the talk.

A focus on the workplace culture as a way for the company to grow the business. A lot of companies are starting to invest their time and money in their employees. These companies know that engaged and happy employees means happy customers that continue to return, time and time again.

Diversity within organizations. I don't think this one ever went away but companies are trying to do a better job of hiring people who are representative of the customers they are trying to reach. Seems like doing this has been good business all along.

More virtual work or, technology, can't live with it; can't live without it. The younger generation and hey even some of us NOT in the younger generation; want to integrate work with our life. So more companies will be figuring out ways to make this happen for their employee population. Good, bad or indifferent technology is here to stay and can make our lives easier; even our work lives!

Flatter organizations. Heck hasn't this BEEN happening since the 2008 crash? Since technology helps us get information faster, it means we can have access to information quicker; none of that chain of command stuff from the old days! This will present a new challenge for managers; learning how to better manage their teams because now it really is all about the team. It's no longer about "I" and we all know there is no "I" in TEAM!

As I asked earlier what type of company do you work for? Business Owner, CEO's and Leaders need to remember the tide always turns. Since 2008 it's been in favor of the businesses, as the economy picks up, employees tides will be rising. Companies need to do everything they can to retain the right people in the right roles.

Cost of a Bad Hire

2011-12-08T10:43:00.001-05:00

In February 2010 I posted some statistics about the cost of a bad hire. Today an infographic about Cost of a Bad Hire Infographic was posted on Recruiter.com about a software service, Resoomay that allows recruiting agencies and employers to screen candidates and interview via video.

As an update to my February post I thought you might find this example thought provoking. Check it out (as well as my February 2010 post) for yourself and as a business owner or CEO you'll be shocked at how much it actually costs your organization to hire the wrong person.

After all employee retention STARTS with recruiting and hiring the right people for the right roles and making sure you have them in the right positions.

You can find out more about how Strategic Human Insights can help you make better hiring decisions via the Strategic Selection process.

Happy Holidays and Happy Hiring!

People Make Things Happen

2011-12-03T10:38:00.001-05:00

In less than a month we'll be in the new year. By now most businesses have (hopefully) set their strategy for 2012. Most likely as a business owner or CEO you have finished or (hopefully) will finish your employees annual reviews (at the latest) this month.

Your business drivers most likely include Marketing and Innovation. Things such as money, time, the product or service you provide all make things possible for you and your clients. But your people are what make the business actually happen. If you are looking to increase your business this year or provide better service to your clients, start with your people. The more you know about your employees the better performance you can help them have which in turn benefits the company.

I recommend as part of your annual review process all your employees take assessments; either update the ones you are already using or start this year using them. Employee assessments help you have a better understanding of what motivates your people and what their behaviors are going to be. Employee assessments also help with performance management and succession planning.

When the first day of business arrives in 2012 you want your employees to enter the building knowing what you expect of them and and what they should be spending their time on. The only way to hold your team accountable for results is to provide them the direction and vision you have set for the company.

Don't end 2011 without a plan to help your business by helping your employees. You'll be a lot farther along than your competition and you'll have better retention among your staff. If you have any questions or need help implementing a performance management system, retention or succession planning strategy, give us a call we can help.

Motivation and Your Employees

2011-10-18T11:39:00.000-04:00

Motivation

In their most recent HBR Blog, Carolyn Dewar and Scott Keller discuss the four motivation mistakes that most leaders make.

Leaders think employees care as much about the company as they do
Everyone is not motivated by money
Your people want you to listen more
Focus on the positives not just the negatives

We see these types of mistakes in many of the small to medium sized companies we work with. What most businesses seem to forget is to find out up front what motivates the individuals they are hiring. Ideally you want to know this information so you can ensure the employees motivation and values are in alignment with the job they are going to do as well as the company values.

If the new employee values are in alignment with the company values then the employee WILL care as much about the company as the leaders do. How will you know if the employee's values are in alignment with your company values? You'll most likely want to have your leadership get together and decide what values your company wants to stand for. Then you can use this criteria as part of your strategic selection process.

Now you are wondering is it as simple as asking them what motivates them? Some people already know they are motivated by money. Most likely these are sales people and lets face it, you want sales people motivated by money. The more they sell the more your company makes and ultimately the more they make. But for those that are NOT motivated by money the best way to figure out what does motivate them is by using a motivators/values assessment
Once you know what motivates your employees then you'll know how to reward them which in turn leads to retention.

Employees want leaders to have empathy and to listen to them as well as offer help without taking responsibility for their job. Sometimes all your employees want is just to know you have heard what they are saying.

Finally, your employees don't want to be beat over the head with all the negative things that may be happening in the business. Sure there is going to be bad stuff, but please try to focus on the positives. Maybe a team or division did something out of the ordinary for a customer or another employee came up with an idea that the company decided to implement. These are the types of things employees want to hear about. There is always room for improvement. If you only focus on the need for improvement you miss all the good things that make your company the reason people work there in the first place.

Who Are You REALLY Hiring?

2011-10-13T14:17:00.001-04:00

When it comes to hiring most people you interview are going to be who they say they are. But there is the off chance that who you think you are hiring isn't really who shows up for work. It all sounds very cryptic, however if you incorporate these few simple rules during your hiring practice you'll be assured you are getting the right individual.

In addition to benchmarking your job (or using Strategic Selection as I like to call it) You want to make sure you conduct a thorough interview with your applicant.

Conduct a thorough interview: The main reason to conduct and interview in the first place is to make sure the applicant has the right qualifications (sure you see them on the resume but you want to get more information about their experiences) Its highly recommended that you use a behavioral interviewing methodology to ensure that the person does have past experience within the areas you need them to have experience. Don't just ask the easy questions, make sure you dig deep and are satisfied with the answers your applicant has given you.
Don't forget to document: Documentation of the application, the interview and ultimately the complete employee record. I'm saying here that yes, documentation can save you OR it can burn you. Because you have been using a consistent hiring process for ALL your applicants you'll be fine documenting their answers to your behavioral questions. Just make sure you are not making any notes about things that are not job related; relax you'll be fine.
Remember the background check: If you are going to conduct background checks I highly recommend you have records searched in all 50 states. Sometimes applicants will have outstanding warrants against them in OTHER states besides the one YOU live in. They have no problem signing your application that all is correct because MOST companies that conduct background checks ONLY do it in the current state. The applicant figures if the employer is not smart enough to check other states that is too bad for them. I've seen these situations happen. Trust me, have your background checking company look at all state police records.

Its not too late to start using a consistent hiring process. Just follow these few simple tips outlined to have a smooth interviewing and hiring experience. If you have more questions you can always give us a call or drop us an email.

Relax, you'll be fine.

Before You Hire Another Person

2011-09-23T13:20:00.026-04:00

This week a lot of information has come out about some EEOC/OFCCP updates as well as Employment law suits based on the the use of pre-employment assessments. I am going to try to break down the information in an easy format so you get what you need to keep yourself and your company out of trouble.

BEFORE you start to think about filling your open positions it's critical that you have a standardized hiring process in place. Ideally this would be a scalable process because after all, your company is going to grow, right? Take a look at the steps I have outlined below. These will help you get started and stay out of hot water.

Benchmark your jobs. In addition to the must have job skills (specific degree, specific language needed, etc) you must determine key accountabilities for each role. The key accountabilities are what you plan to hold the new hire accountable for in the coming year.
Pre-Screen. Interview the identified candidates with the right job skills. Its highly recommended that you standardize the questions for this first interview. If the candidate meets these requirements move them to step #3.
Pre-employment Assessment OR Office Interview. You have a choice here. Since you have completed a job benchmark and have the key accountabilities for the role, you can 1) have the now applicant take a (validated for hiring) Pre-employment assessment and if they are a match with the benchmark bring them in for a 2nd interview. OR 2) you can interview them face to face THEN have them take the Pre-employment assessment. (I vote for assessing first then you don't have to burn your people's time bringing them in for an office visit because you know they already don't match the key accountabilities)
Final interviews will take place then you'll complete reference checking and any background checking process you already have in place.

Final thoughts:

The key items here are making sure you treat everyone that applies to your company consistently and follow the same process for every individual. You must also use Pre-employment assessments that have been validated for hiring. AND when you evaluate your applicants for each position, you must use a standardized consistent hiring and interview process across the board.

Companies get in trouble when they arbitrarily assign qualifications to a position that are not job related for the position. Don't beleive me? You can check out a recent article by Dr. Charles Handler of Rocket Hire called "Busted A Decade's Worth of Data on EEOC/OFCCP Action on Assessments & Selection in a recent post on ERE.net.

Firing via Telephone

2011-09-08T14:28:00.014-04:00

For such a short week an awful lot has happened in the world of business. Stocks have been on a wild ride for the short week and are rallying again. Then there is the firing of Carol Bartz former CEO of Yahoo.

A LOT of news articles and blogs have been written about the firing of Carol Bartz. Everyone has a different angle on why she was fired or should she have been fired and finally one asking is the Yahoo board really to blame. I am personally irritated that the Chairman of the Board of Yahoo, Roy Bostock for firing her via telephone.

I know you are going to tell me to quit my whining. But put yourself in the shoes of the fired person. My opinion is that no matter how bad your company thinks you stink at your job or your performance stinks YOU deserve to be fired in person or counseled in person, NOT via the telephone. What this says to me is that Mr. Bostock didn’t have the guts to look her in the eyes and tell her she was fired. This act alone speaks volumes about the culture and values of Yahoo.

Maxwell Wessell(@maxwellelliot) over at the blog on HBR has some good thoughts on his post about the Yahoo board being to blame for the Carol Bartz hiring and firing. And I think he is correct, if it’s up to the board or a committee of people to hire someone you would think they would start at the beginning to determine what type of person they actually need to move the company forward.

You’ve read it here before; I am talking strategic selection or job benchmarking. If the board had a agreed on the competencies, values and behaviors they needed for a CEO to take Yahoo into the next two – ten years they would have had a better chance of getting someone that had the abilities needed for the future Yahoo. And then they could sit back and give the person the time to make those changes happen.

As they say in the Wizard of Oz, start at the beginning then stay on the yellow brick road and you will find your way home and get the CEO of your dreams.

4 Key Employee Strategies to Improve Your Business Success

2011-09-04T15:38:00.008-04:00

In business today there are few companies that have long tenured employees. Companies that have long tenured employees already know the four key strategies for improved business success. If you are just starting a business or your current business is looking for a way to leverage your longer tenured employees these strategies should start you off on the right track.

A strong knowledge base: Employee longevity plays an important role for any company with customers. Long tenured employees have a wealth of knowledge and history of your company and products and services that can be passed to newer employees. When you retain this knowledge and put it to use in daily operations, productivity naturally increases. Success becomes part of the day-to-day business.
Pass down skills: Long tenured employees pass their skills onto more junior employees; when they do your business runs more efficiently and smoothly. When problems arise, the long tenured employee most likely has encountered a similar issue in the past and will know exactly how to fix the issues quickly.
Add stability to your workforce: Long tenured employees build confidence and morale for your organization. First your newer employees see that there is a path to move up in the organization and secondly your customers like speaking with someone that has helped them in the past.
Better productivity: Knowing the ropes and showing co-workers makes your long tenured employees invaluable in the daily operations of your business. Years of experience has shown them shortcuts that lessen the time it takes to get some things done. Long tenured employees also know how to reduce waste within the daily operations.

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg for you to improve your business success through your long tenured employees. Some questions for you to ponder are:

What are you currently doing with your new employees from on-boarding to succession planning that will eventually turn them into a long tenured employee?
What kind of environment are you providing for your employees to thrive and grow?

Addressing questions such as these is the goal of keeping employees as long as possible. After all you are in business to be successful. If you don't take time to develop employees for the long term just remember your competitor is looking for a weakness in your business strategy. It's time for you to outsmart your competition with a long tenured employee strategy.

Keeping Your People Keeping Your Clients

2011-08-08T15:36:00.011-04:00

In the Sunday, August 6 New York Times there was an article about a fast-food company that was doing something unique with their employees. Not so unique for some industries but for the fast-food industry where turnover can be close to 300% in a year, they are being unique.

The story goes like this Pret A Manger tried the old way of hiring people. Just like most fast food companies, they considered the reward the fact that they gave you a job. When the company had to shut stores, pull in and regroup they decided to do some things differently.

Pret A Manger decided a major focus for them would be customer service. In order for the company to give the best customer service possible they decided to hire, pay and promote on qualities such as cheerfulness. I'm not sure if they did a benchmark of their Customer Service position (in a previous post I wrote about this) but believe it or not a quality such as Customer Focus can show up as part of your company culture and an important part of the job.

While Pret A Manger is proving fast-food doesn't have to be accompanied by snarls and slinging food across the counter. They are thumbing their noses at other fast-food places that still hire the "old fashioned way" AND they have decided to draw a line in the sand and differentiate their organization.

I know if I have the choice of spending my money at a place where the cashier smiles or spending my money at a place where I'm treated like an intruder, all things being equal I'll take the smiley cashier experience thank you.

Are Job Descriptions Dead?

2011-08-04T10:22:00.011-04:00

With hiring starting to pick up, we'll start to see the same old boring job descriptions we've seen for the past twenty plus years posted on career sites and in print ads. Don't get me wrong, job descriptions are NOT dead, as much as most of us would like them to be. Companies still need those old fashioned descriptions for legal purposes. But I would like to point out there is a better way to attract the right people for the right jobs.

First the legalities. A job description should include the minimum requirements needed for the role. I'm talking college degrees, years of experience any physical demands within the role, hours, etc. You get the idea. You can find a ton of these job description samples on the SHRM website.

What I would like to do is challenge you to think of Job Benchmarking as a better way to get the right people you want in the right role. Or as I like to call it Strategic Selection. Yep you read that right, Strategic Selection. What is it?

Strategic Selection (aka Job Benchmarking) is a process that allows the stakeholders (people that interact with this role on a daily basis) to decide what the right attributes or competencies for the job are.

It's quite a simple process. Simple but POWERFUL! Powerful because it allows the company to decide for themselves what a successful accountant, sales person or customer service rep looks like for THEM. What's interesting is a great sales person at company "A" won't necessarily be a great sales person at company "B".

We're talking different cultures here people! Every company has their own unique culture and operating style. Everyone won't be a match for the company OR the role. Once the company has decided what attributes are best for the role the benchmark is complete. NOW you can start assessing your candidates against the benchmark. You don't benchmark how Mark or Sue did the job before. Because guess what, Mark or Sue may not be A players. That's why we say Benchmark Jobs NOT People.

What's powerful for an organization is when everything syncs; the benchmark with the right person in the right role. The company becomes more productive and profitable. Company profitability is what it's all about. May your organization live long and prosper.

Unemployed Need Not Apply?

2011-07-26T07:20:00.005-04:00

I heard yet again this morning that Monster is allowing companies to post jobs that say if you are unemployed do not apply. (Similar things have been written all year long) I also heard that New Jersey is banning these types of ads in their state. Thank goodness SOMEONE has a brain in their head.

These types of ads remind me of similar ads search firms would run in the late 1980's and early 1990's that were "rouse" ads; not "real" jobs but a way to get you to come in and "apply" so these firms could have you in their database for a potential future job. But I digress, and you may not have even been in the workforce at that time.

What really got me fired up is: WHY on this earth would ANY company be stupid enough to post an ad like that? My answer? Because human resources doesn't want to do their job AND the company obviously doesn't care about their Employer Brand.

I sympathize with Human Resources departments. I understand that they are overwhelmed with applicants at a time their staff's have been cut back. The smarter way to keep your employer brand in tact AND find the right applicant for the job is to have a BETTER hiring process.

Part of your hiring process should include some form of job benchmarking and employee assessment of applicants to find THE best person for the role, not just any person.

If you don't allow the unemployed to apply for your jobs you just might miss THE best person to fill the slot. If you truly care about your company and how it is perceived you'll stop this nonsense of not allowing the unemployed to apply. In the end you might even feel good about the profession you decided to work in.

Mid-Year Check-Up

2011-07-01T12:51:00.013-04:00

How does a leader cultivate an attitude that will cascade throughout the organization to get results? By taking stock of our business and thinking about how we want it to grow. Altering the life of the business starts here, and if employees are truly engaged and meeting goals it sets the tone for the rest of the year.

In every industry there are businesses that really stood out in recent years. The ones that weathered the fluctuating economic landscape and pressed on to produce growth were driven by flexible people who were able to adapt as events unfolded. These leaders held themselves personally accountable for managing the changes that impacted their organization. This is the attitude that leads to innovation and profits.

Mid-year is a great time to check in with your employees to see where they are with regard to the goals that were set at the annual performance review. Don't waste this opportunity to get your people engaged to finish the year strong. I have provided some tips below to help you manage the mid-year check up process and keep your team on track.

Mid-Year Performance Checklist

As we reach the mid-year mark, businesses are wondering if their employees are actually meeting the goals they set at the last performance review.

Employee performance reviews allow for communication to develop between business owner, managers and employees. Although managers seek to ensure employees conform to position requirements and responsibilities, they should also pay attention to the feedback provided by employees during the review process. A checklist prepared before an employee performance review can make sure the company and employee benefit from a mutually respectful exchange of ideas.

Set up a meeting for the mid-year review with each employee
Ask employees to prepare a summary of their accomplishments since their annual performance review. Assess their performance of competencies, draft some objectives for the rest of the year and think about career aspirations. (If your process doesn't already include self-appraisals.)
Review and discuss goals they have met and set a plan to reach open goals for the rest of the year
Set development plans to assess and close skill gaps and set training goals as needed for the remainder of the year
Provide feedback and coaching as necessary for the employee to reach their goals for the remainder of the year

Help your team finish the year strong. If you have employees that need to develop new skills Strategic Human Insights provides an affordable and easy way for employees to manage their own development.

To view a partial list of the e-learning’s take a look at our TTI University solution.

A Leadership Development Challenge

2011-06-09T14:43:00.010-04:00

The science of "health psychology" has a unique perspective on how people make behavioral changes toward healthier habits. One model has been used successfully to overcome bad habits, beat addiction and instill new healthy behaviors.

Is it possible to apply this knowledge to our bad leadership habits? (You know who you are so don't act surprised!) Do you recognize going through any of these stages when you have made changes in the past?

If you were a particularly negative person you may think like this:

Pre-contemplation: I am unaware of anything. There is nothing wrong with me! I have a realistic perspective and everyone else is just too optimistic! I have absolutely no intention of changing my attitude OR my behavior!

Contemplation: I am thinking about it. It has been brought to my attention that I can be a downer when it comes to teamwork and collaboration. I have been thinking that maybe I shouldn't always butt in with my opinion and explanations of why things won't work.

Preparation: I am doing some research on the situation. I have decided that I shouldn't be so negative. I have started observing people I admire, read some books on positive thinking and watched some webinars on how to deliver feedback in a more positive way.

Action: I AM making it happen! The other day I stopped myself from interrupting a coworker's idea. I'm a long way from making this a habit, but putting those suggestions I've studied into practice is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Maintenance: I am focusing on my success. I have changed the pattern of negativity. I now know HOW to acknowledge ideas in a more empathetic manner.

Relapse: Oops, I slipped up! I thought I was doing so well but then a co-worker brought up a touchy subject and I blew it with my unsolicited opinion.

Termination: I am a changed person and it's definitely noticeable! I am starting to strike a good balance. I know how to give constructive feedback!

As leaders the challenge will be to to show you have the courage to let your employees know that personal and professional growth can happen. We just need to open up and see that change is not scarey and lead the way for others to make changes in their lives as well.

The FACE of a Leader

2011-05-16T15:47:00.007-04:00

What do you think makes a "real" leader? I like to think it involves the acronym F.A.C.E. Read what I mean below.

F - Flexibility - People definitely want to follow a leader that is able to bend and flow when necessary.

A - Accountability - You want a leader to be accountable for results but also hold your feet to the fire too. You can't get better if your leader is always letting you off the hook!

C - Clarity - Most of us want our leaders to have clarity around the strategic goals of the company as well as what it takes to get us there as a company.

E - Engagement - Have you ever worked for an unengaged leader? It's not very fun is it?

When you think about the type of leader you want to be AND the type of leader you want to follow think about the acronym FACE and you'll be reminded of what it takes to be a great leader and I hope it inspires YOU to become a great leader!

Retention Issues? Try OnBoarding!

2011-04-22T16:41:00.008-04:00

While the term "onboarding" isn't new, it’s a critical step in the employee life cycle which is more important than ever as organizations continue to focus heavily on the retention and development of their current workforce.

A well-designed, fun and engaging onboarding process has a significantly greater effect on employee engagement and in-turn retention when compared to the mentality of one-day "orientation." The Human Resources Corporate Leadership Council found that companies could increase an employee's level of engagement and potentially improve performance by 20 percent as well as reduce the employee's probability of departure by 87 percent.

Working to foster great working relationships now ensures a more motivated workforce in the future, regardless of economic uncertainties. You may be thinking that developing an onboarding program is a daunting task but it doesn't have to be. We have provided a simple framework to get you started. Make sure you tailor your process to meet your organization's specific needs.

According to research conducted by the SHRM Foundation in 2010, the building blocks of onboarding have four distinct levels, the Four C’s.

· Compliance is the lowest level and includes teaching employees basic legal and policy related rules and regulations.

· Clarification refers to ensuring that employees understand their new jobs and all related expectations.

· Culture is a broad category that includes providing employees with a sense of organizational norms – both formal and informal.

· Connection refers to the interpersonal relationships and information networks that employees must establish.

The study goes on to note that the degree to which each organization leverages these four building blocks determines its overall strategy, with most firms falling into one of three levels.

· Passive Onboarding provides mostly a checklist and brief overview of the organization and the person’s role. These come mostly from the compliance and clarification building blocks of onboarding.

· High Potential Onboarding includes the compliance and clarification building blocks but includes more of the culture piece. At this point the organization still hasn’t completely integrated all of the onboarding parts.

· Proactive Onboarding is an organization wide human resource management systematic approach to your onboarding process.

According to the survey only 20% of organizations ever achieve this level of onboarding.

Take a little time to develop an onboarding process using some of the tips we have provided. If you do your new employees will start their career at your organization more engaged and enthusiastic. They may even decide to stay for the long term!

Ten Strategies to Keep Your Good People

2011-04-17T14:42:00.007-04:00

Incorporate the following steps as part of your talent management strategy and you're sure to have employee retention.

1. Set Expectations; have a clear, concise description of the job and the expectations of the person in that job.

2. Move your talented people around the organization, let them experience other jobs in the company and have the company win by using their talents in different ways.

3. Know your talented employees strengths and physical needs. Make sure they have all the tools, behaviors, values and knowledge necessary to do the job right.

4. Provide your company strategy up front; make sure you have a system in place for distributing important information to your people.

5. Know what your employees can and will do. Give them the opportunity to do those things every day.

6. Identify key players or high potentials and spend time with them. Provide encouragement publicly and privately.

7. Let managers work with their talented people on a development plan and assume a partnership role with the employee, that way everyone knows what's expected of them.

8. Set up town hall and individual meetings to get to know your people. Reconnect with them often as their needs and wants change.

9. Train managers in productivity coaching; hold them accountable for hiring and developing talent within their units.

10. Teach and train managers in the art of High Touch. People want to be respected, recognized and rewarded for outstanding performance.

It's a competitive marketplace out there. If you want to beat your competition you must have a system in place to hire, develop and retain superior performers.

Teams and Trust

2011-03-25T13:51:00.004-04:00

Like many of the best things in life, trust really is free. Doing without trust will cost you dearly, especially in business. What’s at stake is productivity, innovation, and ultimately, profits.

High functioning teams share goals that drive day-to-day activities. Their mutual self-interest greases the wheels of collaboration, but trust is the solid ground they ride on. Capitalizing on their energy and motivation so your team is productive requires that they collaborate freely, and for that, people need to trust each other.

Trust is based on a history of honest relationships. Do people at your company talk directly to a person when they have an issue with them or just complain about that person to someone else? Teams are subtly strengthened or gradually divided by the way simple, everyday differences are communicated.

Unified teams have integrity, demonstrating honesty through actions. Having integrity means that what an individual says and what they actually do are consistent with each other. Can your team count on one another to do what they say they will do?

Teams that operate in the absence of trust are guarded, and by necessity more cautious about everything they say and do. Communication becomes a way to defend and protect oneself, avoiding risk rather than reaching for results. The consequence for your business is more of the status quo, instead of the collaborative risk-taking that exemplifies off-the-charts growth.

Harnessing their inspiration and creativity depends on employees being able to trust each other and their managers. Groups innovate when they are comfortable sharing ideas, exploring “What if…?” and can rely on each other to keep the process moving. They need to feel safe discussing “what’s not working” in the context of exploring ways to make it better. If ideas are often met with cynicism and viewed as a waste of time (“Don’t bother, it’ll never be considered”), you may be missing out on great contributions. Are individuals viewed with respect for taking the initiative to pitch ideas, regardless of the outcome?

The answers to these questions are a good indicator of whether your company is already recognized as a creative industry leader or one that follows trends set by more innovative competitors. When trust levels are high, so is the potential that the talented people you’ve hired will coalesce to become a powerful team.

Grow a Strong Talent Bench at All Levels

2011-03-09T16:06:00.006-05:00

In an article from Harvard Business Review, called When Growth Stalls, by Matthew S. Olson, Derek van Bever and Seth Verry the authors state that: “Successful companies lose momentum for four main reasons. All are within management’s control if spotted in time.” It goes on to identify the 4 main reasons why companies stall; one of them being the lack of a strong talent bench. They characterize this as “a lack of leaders and staff with the skills and capabilities required for strategy execution.”

The authors point to this problem as a self-inflicted wound that is the consequence of promote-from-within policies that have been too strictly applied. They state that a company needs to recruit 10-30% of its senior management from external sources in order to remain healthy.

Can this also create a problem with a succession planning program that is too narrow in scope? If we only look to develop people to fill leadership roles, then we’re not developing our internal talent pools to fill all the vital roles in the organization. Promoting a specialized knowledge worker to a leadership role can create a void in the company, unless you’ve also been grooming a pool of employees to fill the knowledge worker’s role. We sometimes forget the importance of the whole point of talent pool based succession planning; it develops pools of employees with the knowledge and skills the company needs to grow and succeed in all areas, not just management and leadership.

It’s also important to bring new blood and a fresh perspective from the outside. But you can’t rely on being able to do this all the time, especially with specialized knowledge or skills. And every company has them – the one person who knows the product inside out, is the technology expert or visionary, understands the order processing system like no one else, etc. If we only focus on leadership or management roles for our succession planning and talent pool development, we’re putting our future and growth potential at risk.

Where Do You Start?

2011-01-12T14:33:00.009-05:00

Most of us wonder this time of year, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple, just start where you are or start at the beginning!

More important than the question, however, is gaining an understanding of why the question can create such a powerful barrier. Generally what starts this obstacle is a phenomenon known as A to Z thinking. We like to start at A and our mind immediately skips all the way to Z. We become overwhelmed.

Below are some tips to help you break through the obstacle and get to where you ultimately want to be.

Get specific: No wishy-washy goals here. Goals must be specific, measurable and deadline oriented.

Planning: For serious goal attainment, a plan is a must and the plan has to be in writing. Figure out the first set of steps then fill in other steps as you move along. This will keep you from being overwhelmed and eventually able to reach the final destination.

Know the "Why" of your goal: An important part of goal achievement is having a clear understanding of what realizing your goal will mean to you or loved ones.
Take time to visualize and journal about your goal, why it's important, and the thought's and feelings around it.

Prioritize: For the record, your goals and dreams are important, REALLY important. Set a time each day to spend visiting your goal list. It's okay to focus on YOU!

Seek Support: Don't go it alone. Get a support network to help you work through your goals. A coach, mentor or personal Dream Team can help you achieve different parts of a goal or different goals all together.

Find out how Strategic Human Insights can help you achieve your professional and personal goals by requesting a complementary assessment.

Four Things to Do When Managing a Superior Performer

2010-12-16T12:17:00.011-05:00

Smart organizations definitely seek superior performers. CEO's, human resources and recruiters talk about the importance of finding, hiring, and retaining talent. Unfortunately, no one has much to say about what a superior performer actually looks like or how best to manage one!

A Superior performer can bring a great deal to any organization. Research by Right Management showed that top-notch talent can be 2.5 times more productive than their average counterparts.

Superior performers are also multi-talented. They have many personal attributes, behaviors and values that are all in-line with the job. Unfortunately, a mismanaged superior performer will quickly become a "corporate misfit."

Superior performers sometimes become corporate mis-fits and leave an organization because they are chased away by managers who don't understand how to get the most from them.

I have listed four things to do when managing a superior performer.

DO make sure your superior performer understand the key accountabilities of the job. Even a superior performer will have a tough time doing a job that's not clearly defined from day one.
DO make sure they have all the resources they need to give you the superior performance they are capable of. Don't skimp on office supplies, telephones or computers.
Do make sure the door is open for them when they arrive in the morning. Superior performers will often be the first ones in and the last ones out. Don't leave them waiting in the parking lot.
Do make sure they go home on the weekends and take a night off occasionally. Superior performers can easily become workaholics and the resulting stress may slow their productivity.

Superior performers have the ability to be the most productive members of any team. They require a different kind of management. The delicate balancing act of not micro-managing, while giving them all they need to perform requires managers to be aware of just how much these hard workers can do.

Are You Cleaning Up or Are Your Employees Cleaning You Out?

2010-12-11T13:11:00.005-05:00

While attending a conference several years ago, the speaker made a comment that has stuck with me.

“If the only tool you have is a hammer – Every problem looks like a nail.”

Employee selection and retention is one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful residential cleaning company (or other franchise or organization) How well you perform in this critical area will affect your bottom-line. With that said, I still hear owners tell me they can spot a potential good hire by simply “looking at them”. If that were true, those owners are in the wrong line of work. Their services would be in high demand by every company in the Fortune 1000.

If you, as President/CEO of your company reported to a Board of Directors, how would they judge your performance in attracting, selecting and retaining the best talent possible for your organization? Great? Fair? Poor?

I see a few critical mistakes repeatedly with alarming frequency. The good news is if you can recognize them, you can avoid them.

• Are you hiring applicants because you liked them during an interview?
This is probably the number one cause of poor hiring decisions. How an applicant “appears” during an interview has nothing to do with how they will behave as an employee. Today, applicants are far more likely present the face they think you want to see. Further, some of the very worst applicants are the best at presenting this false façade. If you are relying on your “gut”, you will be disappointed regularly.

• Are you having a conversation, or conducting an interview?
Commonly, this is the number two problem during selection. Owners rarely have a standard interview process. If you engage in a conversation, you are giving up much of the control. Keep the interview brief. Use the “exact” same questions with “every” applicant you interview. This may become very boring for you, but they are hearing your questions for the first time. By using these questions, you will develop a radar that will alert you to answers that are outside the norm. Stay in control of the process. You own it. Your business depends on it.

• Are you interviewing everyone that applies?
Set standards and follow them. If, for example, you see on the application that a person had 12 jobs in the last two years, why waste your time. Do you want to be stop 13 on the path to the 14th? Do they avoid listing references? If so, this is a Red Flag. Very clearly, not everyone that walks in your door is a viable candidate. Learn to say, “Thank you for applying. If we’re interested, we will call you.” The process of having a person complete your application and any other paperwork you may require is the easy part. Look at it; measure it against your standards and make a “Go” or “No Go” decision. This is NOT a hire/don’t hire decision. It is a point where you must decide if you are going to go any further in the process. You should apply that same strategy to every stage of the selection process. Once an applicant fails to meet one of your standards, it should be over right then.

• Do not fall in love.
How many times have you been sure you just found the greatest new employee, only to discover he/she was another dud? It happens to everyone. The reason for this is simple to explain. We did not use standards and we let emotion or subjective thinking override our policy and objective data. Clearly, the above information is not enough to turn your selection process to gold. You can improve your odds by increasing the size of your “Tool Box”. Some things to consider:
• Do you analyze your sources of applicants and the quality, by source?
• Are you using criminal background checks for every new hire?
• Do you have a solid drug policy that includes pre-hire testing?
• Are you using a testing system like the Orion System to evaluate potential risk? The Orion System is a pre-hire assessment that accurately supplies objective data regarding the applicants risk levels for the following:

1. Adhering to policy and procedure.
2. Tardiness and attendance.
3. Workplace drug use.
4. Workplace theft
5. Long term employment
6. Customer service
7. Safety and risk avoidance.

If you get nothing else from this article, this you can carve in stone: Hit or miss, on again, off again, hiring policies and procedures achieve results consistent with their use, or lack thereof.

If you are struggling to come up with a plan that can work for you, and can’t quite seem to get there, reach out to those who have been down the path and have developed working strategies to deal with this critical area of your business.

Your employees are often the face of your business. They can make the difference between being profitable or not. Good selection leads to improved retention. There are no “Silver Bullets” or “Magic Pills”. It takes work on the front end. It means holding to your standards and setting high expectations for yourself and your employees. Most importantly, it means doing these things when the world around you is saying – “OH, just hire the next warm body”.

Take Charge of the Process
Take Control of Your Net Profit
Take Charge of Your Expectations
Take Charge of Your Employees Expectations

Do not let the revolving door of employees and customers Clean You Out!

Bill Gelderman is a Managing Partner with Strategic Human Insights you can reach him at Bill@strategichumaninsights.com

Who's On Your Dream Team?

2010-12-09T15:03:00.004-05:00

As we get close to the end of the year I started thinking about what do I need to do to be productive and ready when 2011 gets here? You may be feeling the same way. Maybe you are looking for a new job, or team members to add to your organization, or maybe you are like me, a business owner and thinking about new clients.

Whatever your current circumstances I am an advocate for having a dream team or success team. I’ll share a little about who I have on my team and offer suggestions for some you may want to consider.

My dream team consists of a business mentor, an executive coach and an image consultant. My business mentor is the person I go to when I have specific questions about my business and being on track I am generally on the phone with him several times a week. I like to dry run my strategies or sales calls by him before I venture into the big bad world.

I use my executive coach as a “once a month touch base and a keep me on track” person. She is tough and doesn’t let me slide once I have committed to tasks. She helps me see the forest because sometimes I am knee deep in the trees. She is one tough cookie and I like to say I pay her to be mean to me or tell me the things others won’t say.

My image consultant was a god-send many years ago; I refuse to let her leave my team. As I continue to workout and reduce my body fat I need her to help me pull the professional image together without looking like a little corporate clone. She knows I have a creative flare and high aesthetic so I like it when we add funky pieces to jazz up all that corporate gear one has to wear to meetings.

In deciding who is best to add to your dream team, some questions to consider:

Who do I regularly seek advice from? What kind of advice, career or business? Do you take away insights that you use frequently?
Who serves as a tried and true sounding board for new or crazy ideas you may have?
Who would endorse you without reservation to a new client or employer?
Who do you turn to discuss extremely confidential information, business or career?

You don’t need many people on your dream team and having one may just give you that edge you need in either looking for that new job or building your business.

Trickle Down Integrity

2010-08-20T08:49:00.006-04:00

We've all heard the quote: "These are the times that try men's souls". While that may be appropriate these days, I believe it might be better put:

"These Are The Times That Try Men's Integrity"

All you need do is listen to the news, or read the newspaper, and it becomes obvious that honesty and integrity are in jeopardy. The issue is less about the criminals and the Madoff's of the world and more about our leaders in government and business. It doesn't matter if you are a City Council member, or the owner of the smallest business. The "Oops Factor" is becoming a standard operating function. There seems to be a growing mentality that you (that's a generic "you") can do whatever is most expedient, and if you get caught doing the wrong thing…..Oops I Goofed … is going to solve the problem. Well, that might work once. Unfortunately, I see the "Oops Factor" being employed repeatedly across the business, governmental and personal landscape. Avoiding the political, "Cash 4 Clunkers" is the perfect example. First, we put in One Billion. Then, "Oops, we goofed", and we need another Two Billion. That might be the Grand Daddy of "Oops".

Each of us has an "Integrity Meter" and while you can view yours, others can often see it more clearly. Every time that "Oops" factor is used, the needle on your Integrity Meter moves a bit lower. Your meter is monitored, whether you like it or not. So, who's doing the monitoring? The list is endless. The short list would include your customers (or constituents), your employees (or subordinates) and YOUR family. You might also include your neighbors, your friends and your vendors. All of these people have a vested interest in you, to greater and lesser degrees. They expect, and often assume, you will behave with the highest level of integrity.

Earlier this week I received a check from a client. The client had over paid the amount due. I immediately wrote and mailed a check to this client for the over-payment. It was a small amount and, had I let it go, the client would likely have never noticed. But, if they did notice, I could easily have employed the "Oops Factor". I'm not patting myself on the back for this. I'm sure most would do the same thing. However, this illustrates the ease with which we can drive the needle up or down on our Integrity Meter.

If you deal with a vendor in an unethical fashion, or use deceptive tactics in negotiations, a vendor can simply elect to no longer do business with you. Obviously, the same applies to your customers/clients/voters. Lowering your Integrity Meter will eventually lower your bank account, or stock value, or your vote count. Others are also impacted in different ways. If your employees observe you treating a vendor, or client, in an unethical fashion, you just sent them notice that it's OK. Not only is it OK to treat others unethically, but it's OK to treat YOU unethically. This might manifest itself in a falsified time card, misplaced (Oops Factor) petty cash or worse, embezzlement. If your children overhear a conversation that they know to be misrepresenting the truth, how far a reach is that to cheating on a test at school. Like it or Not----Everyone is watching. If you don't believe that---look on YouTube.

A colleague once told me "Never put anything in an email, or in writing, you wouldn't want read in open court". The point was, relationships change. The co-worker, employee, or spouse, that we are communicating with, and assuming a high degree of confidentiality, can turn on a dime. When that relationship changes, so do the rules. Anything you've said, or done, can now be exposed. However, if we treat the people we associate with in business and those people closest to us, with the integrity "they" deserve, we don't have to worry about what we said, or wrote. (Think - Nixon White House Tapes)

We will make it through these trying times. Don't let your "Integrity Meter" be a casualty.

(This post is brought to you by Bill Gelderman)

Third Quarter Check-In: How are WE Doing?

2010-08-19T14:19:00.006-04:00

In the art world, painting by numbers is not a best practice. But in the business world, nothing provides a clearer snapshot of what’s going on inside a business like the numbers. Thanks to the ease of metrics software, the calculations that paint a picture of what’s working well and what could be better have never been easier to use.

For example, survey after survey in the past few years has shown that job disengagement is on the rise, costing employers a small fortune in wasted opportunity. How much is disengagement costing your business in cold, hard-earned cash? There’s a way to calculate it. One popular but incorrect myth is that “You can’t measure talent.”

That may be true in the art world, but talent in the business world is demonstrated in skills such as personal accountability, time management, problem solving and other highly desirable traits that can in fact be measured. If your business is still hiring candidates based only on a resume and a favorable interview personality, you may have to wait until performance results are in to be confident that you’ve hired someone with a high potential for becoming a superior performer. But hiring managers without the time or budget to waste on unnecessary employee turnover are using talent assessments that give reliable indicators when candidates have what it takes to ramp up to speed quickly and connect their inner motivations to a sense of satisfaction on the job. Are you taking advantage of research-based technologies that simplify your search for right-fit talent?

Calculating return on investment has never been easier. What would the bottom line difference be to your business if your high potential employees were identified and developed into superior performers who can reliably achieve the numbers your business needs for growth? How soon will an investment in targeted skill training pay for itself in revenue-generating results? Moving from surviving to thriving in the post recession economy will depend on having a clear picture of where the business truly is now and what the next step should be. Every business has its own distinct needs.

Call us today to explore “How do we get there from here?”

Creating Fun and A Little Weirdness

2010-08-09T13:29:00.009-04:00

Based on the title you probably think I am going to write about Zappos, the little shoe company that could, and did. Well, you are partially right. While most people already know about Zappos and their unique culture, did you know that there are ways YOU can make YOUR company fun and a little weird place to work too?

If you are a small business owner, large company executive or manager of people you are sure I am off my rocker right about now - talking nonsense about how you too can have a company that’s “fun” to work at. Before you decide to delete me hear me out.

I am not saying you have to have to let your employees bring their dog to work or provide a ping-pong table for them. What I AM saying is your company can be a place known throughout the land as a place that provides an environment where people thrive, and the business grows because people thrive. I bet you didn’t know that Zappos received 25,000 qualified applications for employment in 2009; they only hired 258 people out of that pool. I know you don’t have the bandwidth to review 20,000+ qualified applications, but I have listed below a process by which YOUR Company can become known as a place where people WANT to work.

Create an Employee Value Proposition – Have your employment brand tied to your business strategy. Understand why people want to work for your organization; develop a program that attracts your ideal candidates. By doing this you are consciously creating your company culture.
Make Candidates WANT to work for you – Have a strategic selection sourcing strategy in place to help you get the right talent in the door. Benchmark your jobs – Then you can assess your candidates against the benchmark. This helps you get the right people in the right role with the right skills.
Develop a hiring process, and then follow the process you have already set up. Make sure everyone who is involved in the interviews knows the process and follows it. Hold your team accountable for selecting the best.
Showcase your employment brand during the interviews. Let candidates know why people choose your organization. Remember they want the right place, and you want the right people.
Choose Wisely – Your whole talent management strategy and hire process comes together here. You have assessed and personally interviewed your candidates. Conduct due diligence and references to ensure your team chooses the right people.
On Board them – Have a 90 day integration plan to get people acclimated to the company. If they match the benchmark and fit the culture you are more than half way there. Don’t let them sit in a corner office filing out forms the first day; assign them a buddy. Set a meeting with the hiring manager and bring them and the other new hires together for camaraderie, so they can start off excited about being at your company.

Becoming an employer of choice takes a little effort but the rewards for your organization will be amazing. Take a look at Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 as well as Inc. Magazines Fast 500 places to work. Maybe you’ll be inspired to get your company on one of these lists one day.

Are You Ready for the Recovery?

2010-06-10T09:43:00.009-04:00

A lot has been written recently about the recovery of the economy and how it will translate to your organization. Will you be able to recruit and retain the people you need for future growth?

Your employees will have many more choices and an opportunity to leave your organization as the economy improves. You must have a strategy in place to retain your best talent and attract top prospects to your company.

A study in January 2010 by Deloitte indicated that executives were shifting their talent portfolios from “defensive measures” such as cutting headcount and costs, to “offensive” programs, including retention of critical leaders and workers and increased spending on training and development with a focus on leadership.

It is not too late to put a strategy in place for retention and development; however, as the economy continues to improve, it is critical that you refine and implement this strategy as soon as possible.

According to a recent study by Development Dimensions International these are the top five reasons employees left their most recent positions:

1. Quality of relationship with immediate supervisor

2. Ability to balance work and home life

3. The feeling of making a difference

4. Level of teamwork and cooperation with coworkers

5. Level of trust in the workplace

Now that you’ve read some of the top reasons that employees leave, let’s review the tools you can use to improve retention rates:

1. First, look at all your critical positions. Are there people you know right now that are at risk of listening to the pitch from the headhunters that are at your door? Follow the same exercise for roles that may be need succession plans in the near and intermediate future as well as any new positions that may be in your plans. Once you are armed with this information, you can then head to step two.

2. Next, take all your position categories and order them most important to least important. Then you can start benchmarking each of these roles. As you and the critical team members go through the benchmark process, start assessing all your candidates against the benchmark for that specific role. You may even find that as you finish your benchmarks, some candidates fit better into other roles than they actually applied for. This is the way to build your talent portfolio (pipeline) for the short AND the long term.

3. Assessment tools can help hiring managers deploy employees in positions where they potentially have the biggest impact on the bottom line. Using assessments in your selection process helps you initially hire the right person into the right role with the right skills; using assessments for succession planning/retention helps you move people to roles where they can shine and stay with the company.

4. Don’t forget to provide an on-boarding process and/or manual for your new hire OR the employee you move into a new role. On-boarding helps you decrease employee ramp up time, develop early bonding with a new employee and create the vision for the future.

If your organization does not have the staff or expertise to implement these critical steps for employee retention, we can help. Contact Strategic Human Insights to schedule a complimentary consultation.

**Parts of this post were originally posted on the HBABlog

You Think You Are Buying A Porsche But You're Really Getting A Ford

2010-04-20T10:31:00.018-04:00

Yesterday, I was reminded of an analogy about the use of assessments when considering applicants/candidates. It was one of those things that I liked, years ago, but it had simply fallen from my regular use. Given the importance of avoiding hiring mistakes in the current economy, I thought it was worth sharing again.

Let’s think of your selection process as flying over a highway at 5,000 feet. Your candidates are the cars on the highway below. From 5,000 feet you can see two cars traveling side by side at 70 mph. They are obviously both running and both can maintain the 70 mph speed….., our primary criteria. So, from 5,000 feet there is little or no difference between these candidates.

Now, let’s add a valid pre-hire assessment. This is like the air traffic controller allowing us to lower our flight path to 1,000 feet. As we move down, closer to the highway, we begin to see a clearer view of the two cars. They are both still maintaining the 70 mph, but we notice that one of the cars is a Porsche and the other is a Ford Escort. So what does this tell us?

The Porsche was built to operate comfortably at the 70 mph criteria, while the Escort is likely struggling or working harder to maintain that speed. If we were inside the Escort we would likely be experiencing vibrations and could hear the engine struggling. As we handle inclines of the road, the Escort requires testing its capacity in order to maintain our desired speed. On the other hand, the Porsche is simply cruising along and it’s limits are not being tested. It easily performs at the 70 mph and does not struggle with the inclines. The Porsche was built to perform our criteria with ease, over the distances we wish to travel.

What else do we know from this closer look (1,000 feet)? Now that we can see the differences, we know that the Porsche is less likely to require additional maintenance, based on our criteria. We can expect a longer life cycle and fewer breakdowns resulting from our established criteria of 70 mph. Had we remained at the 5,000 foot level, our selection process would have not been much better than a coin toss and our odds of making the right choice would have been 50%. We are not making a value judgment about the worth of the Escort or the Porsche. We are simply examining which is likely to perform best, over time, based on our criteria.

The use of validated assessment tools will improve your odds and offer a view that is, in most cases, virtually impossible to see in their absence. Whether you are hiring a CEO, Salespeople, an Office Manager, or Entry Level Employees Z=mc²Talent Management Solutions offers a range of validated TTI assessments. These help you see your candidates in a brighter light, thus giving you the necessary information to make a better informed decision, at the 1,000 foot level.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss how employee assessments can help YOU in YOUR business. Please visit us at Strategic Human Insights

HIRE Act

2010-04-09T08:49:00.003-04:00

Employers did you know on March 18, 2010 President Obama signed the "Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act" (the HIRE Act) which creates tax benefits for employers who hire unemployed workers in 2010. Under the HIRE Act, employers who hire unemployed individuals between February 3, 2010 and December 31, 2010 may be eligible for an exemption of the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax contribution for that individual and an additional tax credit of up to $1,000.00.

If you have a mission critical role now is as good a time as any to get the wheels rolling on adding that person. If its a new role consider Benchmarking the position and then assessing your candidates against the benchmark. These two steps will get your talent management process off to a great start.

Putting people back to work AND getting a tax credit; now that's a good thing! But hiring the right people for the right role with the right skills to execute your company strategy? That's just BRILLIANT!

To learn more about how validated assessments can help your selection, development and retention strategies contact Z=mc2.

**To find out more about the HIRE Act you can check out the IRS site.

Cost Of A Bad Hire

2010-02-11T10:50:00.027-05:00

Do you know what a bad hire costs your organization? Some numbers indicate failure so clearly that you can’t help but pay attention to them.

For a minute, assume the role of a senior executive who has just been handed a business scorecard containing performance numbers in five critical business areas. After looking at the numbers below, would the data make you cringe?

70% of users are dissatisfied with the process.
50% of customers regret their buying decision.
46% turnover among new buyers.
46% failure rate of process output selections.
A mere 19% are unequivocal successes (less than 1:5).

It’s Time to Face the Numbers and Facts…

70% dissatisfied — 70% of the external customers (applicants) and 28% of the internal customers (hiring managers) indicate they are dissatisfied with the hiring process (Source: Staffing.org).
50% customer regret — 50% of the processes users (both managers and new hires) later regret their “buying” decision (Source: The Recruiting Roundtable). In addition, 25% of new hires later regret taking their new job within one year (Source: Challenger, Gray)
46% turnover — 46% of new hires leave their jobs within the first year (Source: eBullpen, LLC) and 50% of current employees are actively seeking or are planning to seek a new job (Source: Deloitte).

Some additional data points to consider include:

6% regret hiring decisions — Nearly two-thirds of hiring managers come to regret their interview-based hiring decisions (Source: DDI)
50% new executive turnover — nearly half of new executive hires quit or are fired within the first 18 months at a new employer (Source: Corporate Leadership Council).
Newly promoted executives don’t do much better (40% of newly promoted managers and executives fail within 18 months of starting a new job (Source: Manchester, Inc).
Bottom performers produce less — hiring and retaining below or even average performers have real opportunity costs because top performers can increase productivity, revenue, and profit by between 40% and 67% over average performers (Source: McKinsey & Co.).

Your organization doesn’t have to be another statistic.

You can gain a competitive advantage and cut down on bad hires. By making sure you have the right people in the right roles with the right skills to execute the organization’s strategy.

By assessing candidates and jobs; we can then match candidates who best fit the needs of the ‘job’ and the ‘culture’ of the organization. When this alignment occurs, both the employee and the organization benefit through an enjoyable, productive work environment. When we hire only for skills, we end up firing for attitudes.

Vicki Z. Lauter has been successful in developing talent management solutions for her clients over the past eleven years. Give Strategic Human Insights an opportunity to discuss your current talent challenges and receive a complementary Management/Staff, Motivators and Behaviors employee assessment for a first hand view of how the process works.

Learn the Art of Finding the Right Person

2010-01-12T16:02:00.010-05:00

Organizations throughout the world struggle everyday with placing people in unfilled positions. Corporate

America

is quickly moving from finding warm bodies to fill a position to finding the right person for the job. Doing so is imperative in order to be successful in today's marketplace and to support your talent management process.

We use the TTI system to help clients measure an individuals behaviors, motivators and personal skills needed to be an optimum performer in a position. Likewise the system can measure the behaviors, motivators and personal skills of an individual. This revolutionary tool allows executives and hiring managers to compare candidates and incumbents to a job in thirty-seven different areas. This is the art of finding the right person for the job.

Businesses all over the world are adopting these tools in order to create optimal performing teams. Businesses are not successful because they create jobs for people; they are successful because they find a person to fit the job. Every organization has top and bottom performers, but only organizations using TTI's revolutionary system have optimum performers. Don't be left out!

To see first hand how the system works and receive a complementary assessment contact Strategic Human Insights or 1-866-258-2998.

Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y Oh My!

2010-01-06T13:50:00.010-05:00

Today’s world is filled with labels from political groups, religious preferences and generations to low performers, high potentials and star performers. What does this mean? More importantly, when did we start becoming labeled groups instead of human beings?

Every week articles are published about what to do with certain groups of people. How do we change them; how do we minimize their damage? I challenge each of you to start asking this:

How can I understand people who don’t think the way I think, act the way I act or value the way I value?
What makes me right and them wrong?
What can the different groups bring together to make a better organization?

People are complex and cannot be described by one group or label. As humans, we bring more to our careers than our political or religious views, generational stereotypes and current level of performance category.

So where does a business begin when trying to determine job fit, development plans and succession planning? How can a company be strategic in times that don’t allow for thinking and planning? It starts with understanding a company’s most valuable asset, their people. In order to truly value your team, you need to understand people beyond their typical labels.

How do they think?
What drives them?
How do they prefer to get things done?

We utilize Employee assessments which go beyond typical assessment offerings and explores the total person.

What could removing labels and re-engaging your workforce do to your bottom line and your most valuable asset—people?

Myth: Assessment tools are not necessary or cost-effective for all positions.

Perhaps many of you have heard the argument that assessment tools are only useful for top-level positions. Or that it is cost prohibitive to assess the entire organization. So are assessments important in every level of your organization? The answer is YES.

Any building is only as robust as its foundation. And so any organization is only as strong as its foundational workforce. Regardless of the position, all organizations benefit from understanding every role. A person’s assessment identifies strengths and weaknesses in the individual and the team. We often learn of organizations that identify undiscovered talent hidden within their organization as a result of utilizing assessments. This initial discovery leads to tapping the potential of future leaders and getting them started on the right development path.

When employees are in positions that are not a fit with their skills, the entire organization suffers. The benchmarking process uncovers the key performance indicators that drive results in the job critical to success. By understanding what the job needs and rewards, you should understand the best way to manage people, develop training and implement strategies.

Best of all, benchmarking is a simple, cost-effective way to set the foundation for the leaders of any organization to increase morale, improve employee retention and enhance overall employee satisfaction.

What's More Important: Attitude or Experience?

2009-11-11T14:11:00.019-05:00

Most people in the hiring process place a higher value on the experience of an applicant. However, most failures are a result of attitude rather than a lack of experience. The employee’s attitude is simply not fit for the job.

We tend to hire for skills and fire for attitude. As professionals, we must change our way of thinking and consider attitude first, then the appropriate experience necessary for the position. Remember, the experience may not relate directly to years on the job. An applicant may have ten years of “experience”, but in those ten years, he or she simply has one year of experience repeated ten times, with no growth from year to year.

We should determine what the ideal candidate looks like by considering:
What attitudes are needed for the job? How does the job reward superior performance?
If you had an employee with the right attitude fit for the job, how long would it take to give them the right experience? How can you stop hiring for skills and firing for attitude?

By conducting a job benchmark for the next key position you need to fill you'll be on your way to hiring someone that has the right attitude to do the job. A by product of stopping the cycle of hiring for experience and firing for attitudes will mean your company retention will increase with the people you want to retain. Because you will have the right people in the right role to execute your company's strategy.

If you would like to know more about how the job benchmark can help your organization get the right people in the right roles executing your company strategy contact Strategic Human Insights and our Talent Management Consultants will show you.

Cats, Ghosts and Other Scary Stuff

2009-10-26T15:02:00.011-04:00

In true Halloween fashion I could not resist using the title to represent the different type of individuals that make a team function (or not function) as the case may be for some of you reading this.

In Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he tells us a story about one firm’s executive team struggling with utter dysfunction. Ineffective communication, multiple egos, fear, office politics and judgmental attitudes were all contributing to the absence of dynamics and poor performance. (Sounds like cats, ghosts, well you get the picture)

Have you ever experienced a dysfunctional team in your career?

If yes, you are not alone. Most everyone has either been a part of observed or even faced the challenge of leading a dysfunctional team like the one Lencioni describes. In fact, he says, “Teams, because they are made up of imperfect human beings, are inherently dysfunctional.”

Lencioni’s interrelated model of team dysfunction outlines five areas that prevent success in every team:
• Absence of trust
• Fear of conflict
• Lack of commitment
• Avoidance of accountability
• Inattention to results

But don’t be discouraged. There is hope for all of us experiencing a dysfunctional team. As Lencioni states, “Team building is both possible and remarkably simple. But can also be very painful.” By using assessments as part of your talent management strategy, team leaders can help teams overcome each of these dysfunctions: awareness and communication.

Awareness is more than observation; it is an understanding of what is going on around you. In this case, it is important to be aware of and appreciate the different viewpoints of team members and their work habits, motivators, areas of expertise, mastery in personal skills and motives. Doing so will not only help you build team dynamics, but more importantly increase personal effectiveness so you can accomplish more as a team.

Communication is where it all starts. The importance of open communication simply cannot be overstated as it is fundamental in building trust, managing conflict, gaining commitment, holding accountability and identifying team results. Effective communication involves first understanding your own communication style, understanding others’ communication style and appreciating the differences everyone brings to a team environment.

Teams are, essentially, what drive results. Take a look at the teams you are either in, leading or observing and identify the five areas of dysfunction within your team. What can you do to focus on team building? Whatever the strategy, as Lencioni warns, it will be painful. But the ultimate results will be well worth the challenge.

Keeping Your Talented Managers

2009-09-30T15:29:00.010-04:00

Recognizing and developing talent is a constant challenge for any company. Today's challenge is to produce more, and better results with few employees for customers who demand more value-add for less effort and cost.

Do YOU have the talent to meet this challenge?

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins uses the 'bus' business metaphor. he says great leaders understand three simple truths:

If you begin with the "Who" rather than the "What," you can more easily adapt to a changing world.
If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate them largely goes away.
If you have the wrong people on the bus, it doesn't matter whether you discover the right direction, you still won't have a great company.

Collins maintains executives who ignite the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus, they get the people to take it there. Instead, they first got the people on the bus, (and the wrong people off) and then figured out where to drive it.

Companies regularly fail to recognize the best talent due to a poorly structured approach to management and a lack of identifications of the competencies, skill sets, behaviors, attributes and culture fit required for the positions in their companies.

The following provides an outline for identifying, recognizing and developing talent in business.

Benchmark the job. Identify key accountabilities for the position.
Measure the competencies of the individual in line with the job requirements
Develop and implement appropriate solutions to bridge the competency gaps.

Don't make the mistake of hiring by the heart or by feeling. If you put in place a systematic talent management approach to identifying talent that is right for YOUR organization, you'll be on your way to building a "Good to Great" company and retain your talented managers!

What Gets YOU Out of Bed In the Morning?

2009-09-22T12:50:00.013-04:00

I'm talking about motivation. Do you know what motivates your employees to get out of bed in the morning? With Millennials in the workforce, employers are scrambling to "figure them out." What do they like and dislike? What are their goals? What motivates them? But when you attempt to answer these questions, generalization isn't effective. Each person is unique and it is the understanding of what makes them an individual will will make or break your talent management.

For many this new workforce may be hard to communicate with and understand. The differences between the Millennials, the Baby Boomers and everyone in between create struggle for many co-workers. The situation solidifies the increasing need for effective communication in order to ensure positive relationships that will benefit the company. It often takes time to really get to know an employee and discover their true character, yet you may not have much time before they walk down the street to your competition. It doesn't have to be that hard or take that long to understand and appreciate your employees.

Z=mc2 specializes in solutions that uncover the behaviors and motivators that make each individual unique. By understanding your own behaviors and motivators, then appreciating the behaviors and motivators of others, anyone, regardless of their generation, can increase effective communication, making a significant impact on the success of the company.

Ten Strategies to Keep Your Good People

2009-09-06T14:46:00.010-04:00

Incorporate the following steps as part of your talent management strategy and you're sure to have employee retention.

1. Set Expectations; have a clear, concise description of the job and the expectations of the person in that job.

2. Move your talented people around the organization, let them experience other jobs in the company and have the company win by using their talents in different ways.

3. Know your talented employees strengths and physical needs. Make sure they have all the tools and knowledge necessary to do the job right.

4. Provide your company strategy up front; make sure you have a system in place for distributing important information to your people.

5. Know what your employees can and will do. Give them the opportunity to do those things every day.

6. Identify key players or high potentials and spend time with them. Provide encouragement publicly and privately.

7. Let managers work with their talented people on a development plan and assume a partnership role with the employee, that way everyone knows what's expected of them.

8. Set up town hall and individual meetings to get to know your people. Reconnect with them often as their needs and wants change.

9. Train managers in productivity coaching; hold them accountable for hiring and developing talent within their units.

10. Teach and train managers in the art of High Touch. People want to be respected, recognized and rewarded for outstanding performance.

Arm Yourself with Succession Planning Initatives Before It's Too Late

2009-08-26T17:21:00.011-04:00

We have all heard the hype on the baby boomers and the void they will leave in the workforce. In addition, the growing skills gap and talent shortage leave many organizations concerned about the future. This very concern has fueled a talent war as companies compete for highly skilled executives and superior performers to fill the void.

You don't have to take shelter yet. Succession planning is your best defense if you seize the opportunity to let your best lead the future before it's too late.

Succession planning isn't about replacing the CEO. It is an ongoing process of identifying and developing your current employees so they are ready to acquire key roles when the need arises. Knowing the career goals, behavioral strengths, motivators and personal skills of employees will help you identify the next company executive. Then, implement a leadership development program where your leaders of today are coaching and molding the leaders of tomorrow. Investing in your dedicated employees is a cost effective approach that will avoid the inflated market for top executives and yield long-term results. Succession planning can also lead to employee retention.

What is your long-term approach to battling the war for talent and having a talent management solution? Will you fight on the front-line, or build a succession planning strategy within?

Create a Shared Culture as Part of Your Overall Talent Management Strategy

2009-08-09T15:56:00.014-04:00

Health care leaders need to employ patience and persistence if they're going to create a beneficial, shared culture in a growing system.

Consistency
Health care systems with a strong culture ensure that their environment is represented in all of its offices or operations. To achieve this, the organization must apply and measure the same processes, policies and rules throughout the field. If there is a significant variance, then the culture will not be seen as important or a contributing factor to the organization's success. Everyone within a system contributes to its culture, whether through support, neglect or subversion.

Fostering a Connection
Cultural transformation is not something that can be forced on people in a short period of time. Culture influences human behavior and is also a reflection of group behavior. Rules and policies can be implemented or enforced, however culture is how employees think and respond to the surrounding actions and behaviors of managers, customers and others; they are connecting with their environment.

With hospitals having to make compensation decisions influenced by patient satisfaction scores, strict guidelines, working with accreditation agencies and so much more on a daily basis, if the overriding culture isn't strong, the result is a lack of consistency in policy adherence, hospital performance , and patient care. All of these can have a subtle, negative influence.

A shared culture is a very powerful contributor to organizational performance. A culture with an emphasis and reward structure on factors such as customer service, quality, equitable promotions, meritocracy and results will have high employee morale, good attendance, frequent new idea generation and low employee turnover.

There is no simple formula for developing an 'ideal' culture--it needs to be established over time. I have listed the following standards that can contribute to a shared culture:

- A common set of demonstrated values that are important to the organization; its people and its customers.

- A shared understanding, across all levels of the organization, of how the values and culture contribute to the value proposition of the system.

- Consistent use of policies, practices and processes, particularly talent management practices, which reinforce the shared values. Performance measures based on the values are incorporated with performance management criteria, which are in turn integrated with rewards, recognition and promotion criteria.

- Open and frequent communication across the organization as to how the values and culture contribute to organization, team and individuals success (such as outstanding achievement award, results directly related to demonstrated values and so forth)

- Managers at all levels who "practice what is preached."

It takes tremendous synergy on behalf of the managers, employees and customers to create a positive shared culture. Values have to be established and practiced, all communication has to be clear and consistent, and time has to be allowed for everyone to acclimate and contribute. If these steps are taken the desired shared culture will ultimately emerge within the organization.

Four Key Steps to Develop Future Leaders

2009-07-29T09:25:00.002-04:00

The changing demographics of our country have been making headlines. As the population ages and baby boomers begin to retire, labor shortages seem imminent and in some cases, potentially catastrophic. Most of the forecasts focus on a dwindling pool of applicants for entry level positions. However, leading edge health care organizations also have to be able to replace key leaders with little interruption to the business.

A number of hospitals and health networks are turning to leadership development and succession planning to help prepare for the talent shortage. This deliberate process develops current team members to the point of being able to replace senior leadership as needed. By thinking ahead and incorporating strategic programs, organizations can keep patient satisfaction high and work-flow smooth even during major transitions.

A large hospital system in Florida recognized a missing piece of the puzzle - individuals who were promoted from within often weren't given the tools to manage others. Their Emerging Leader Program tackles that issue by providing participants with a comprehensive one year program which includes the didactic and clinical, along with a mentor to help them learn how to not only manage others, but also successfully handle their new leadership responsibilities.

They have created a road map that can be used at any level across their organization. The program allows them to develop their own leaders in order to keep their best people.

I have provided four key steps for developing future leaders:

Development plans should include standardized best practices that everyone is measured by. Employees should know the factors they are being evaluated on and outcomes depending on their performance as an individual and a team. Create the right benchmarks and then evaluate objectively. This can be achieved by having a talent management strategy in place.
Strong communication skills are essential. Strong performers should know how to run a meeting and have the ability to handle tough conversations.
Be consistent. Agree on measurement standards and let them be known. Employees want consistency, which gives them a chance to be prepared. Once standardized tools are in place, you can evaluate easily and objectively if problems arise.
Hold employee retention meetings for high performers. Discuss the overall goals of the organization and ask what can be done to keep them happy and working for your organization.

Despite shifting demographics, organizations have a choice. If they want to thrive on a long-term basis, it is essential to implement strong learning and development efforts for team members. Planning effectively, for the future starts by investing in your current talent now.

Facing Talent Challenges Today

2009-07-22T12:16:00.002-04:00

To meet today’s challenges, companies world-wide are searching for ways to do more with less. While many strategies offer streamlined processes and ways to add value, the biggest opportunities to meet this challenge lie within the talent themselves and are critical to future success:

• Finding the right talent
• Retaining your top performers
• Ensuring your best employees have the opportunity to thrive

Managing talent can be tough, but it doesn’t have to be. The key is to understand the current needs of the organization and what each unique individual brings to the job to help you make tough talent decisions.

While education, experience and intelligence are important, you simply cannot uncover the true picture of human talent without conducting a total person analysis that includes an assessment of behaviors, values and personal skills. Together, these areas present a more in-depth approach to truly understanding an individual’s unique characteristics and how they apply to performance on the job.

In particular, employee assessments will reveal HOW someone will behave through their natural style in dealing with four different areas: problems, people, pace and procedure. With a better understanding and appreciation for people with different behavioral styles, communication can be enhanced, conflict can be reduced and a better job fit can be made. With an assessment of motivators, you can reveal WHY people act, or what drives a person to take action. People can be managed more effectively in an environment where their motivators are naturally satisfied. Finally, an assessment of an individual’s personal skills will allow you to determine WHAT specific talents your employee will naturally excel in and can ensure you are leveraging the skills they bring to the table. Different than hard skills, such as engineering techniques or medical procedures, personal skills are more intangible, such as teamwork, personal accountability and self management.

Together, this total person analysis will give you a more complete picture of personal talent so you can make tough decisions with support, rather than relying on education, experience and intelligence alone. How would a total person analysis benefit your talent management initiatives in hiring, leadership development, succession planning or team building? You'll never know until you try it.

Is Ready, Fire, Aim Your Talent Management Strategy?

2009-07-08T14:22:00.002-04:00

Many businesses are still practicing talent mismanagement through "fire, ready, aim" rather than "ready, aim, fire!" Although you might get lucky and this approach may work, implementing a more logical and effective talent management process for selecting top talent is the key to your company's future success.

The approach starts with a clear definition of the key jobs your company has to fill. You will have a much better chance of finding the right fit for a job if you first define the job, then hire the talent that matches the job. This concept is still too new for many businesses to grasp.

Your organization can take advantage of a time-tested strategic selection process that has proven to be beneficial for many companies in the typical "unlucky" hiring situation. Using the benchmarking process we help you define jobs and identify matching talent with factual, unbiased measurements. The next time you have an open position assess the job first and quantify its top three to five key accountabilities. The result will be a guide for objectively assessing and hiring matching talent.

Increase your "luck" in finding the right person for the job by adding this logical employee assessment methodology to your current hiring process to help prevent poor hires and the related drain on your business. Investing in an effective talent selection process will be a valuable decision in the future of your business.

People or Teams?

2009-07-01T16:42:00.001-04:00

Many will agree that people are the most important asset of an organization. More importantly, however, is how well those people work together to accomplish the common goal. Whether a company has thousands of people working in various locations worldwide or just a handful working in one small office, teamwork is vital to success. So, how can you ensure that your teams are performing at their fullest potential? How do people contribute to the team differently? Have you built effective teams?

To begin answering these questions, you must learn how to really understand each member of the team to identify their work style and how it compares to others in the group. You also need to look at the inherent strengths that each person brings to the table. By having a Talent Management process in place to assess each person you'll know what attributes, values and behaviors motivate each individual of the team.

Once you understand the team work and members, you can not only build a team with the most effective combination of strengths, but you can also learn how to leverage each individual’s strengths for a dynamic team that works at its highest potential. Only then will teams reach goals that have been unattained by individuals, work at levels of productivity no single person can achieve or impact the bottom line more effectively as a group. In fact, maybe we should revisit the assets of an organization. Perhaps TEAMS are more important than people on their own?

Retaining the Right Talent to Reach the Next Level

2009-06-21T14:21:00.002-04:00

In today’s economy, every business executive, owner, CEO and president should be asking themselves one important question: “Do I have the talent to take this business to the next level?”

If the answer is no, you probably want to begin looking, but if the answer is yes, then employee retention should be at the top of your list. With employee retention statistics that prove your best employees may be sitting on your payroll while patiently waiting for the “right” job, you need to be sure that you are managing employee retention with specific individuals in mind and long-term goals in place.

Employees Are Not All Alike

A good manager knows the strengths and weaknesses of their employees, but do they know what motivates them? In employee retention studies, TTI found that money is NOT the reason most employees leave a job, which seems contrary to popular belief. In the latest study of over 19,000 job seekers, only 19% said money was the reason they were looking for a new job. Instead, more popular reasons included stress, mismanagement, lack of room for advancement and lack of employee development.

In order to effectively manage employee retention, it is important to determine the core values of each individual. What drives them to take action? What keeps them engaged and motivated? What needs do they have that should be fulfilled on the job? For example, let’s assume Sally is a salesperson for a medical device company that sells a new health care device to hospitals. What motivates Sally to get out of bed each day, put on her suit and give a great sales pitch? Perhaps she knows that each time she introduces better technology to a hospital, she impacts the lives of many every day. Or, maybe Sally’s personal goal is to be the top salesperson in the company. Yet another possibility is that Sally comes from a family of salespeople and takes pride in following in their footsteps. Whatever the case may be, the important thing is to know what motivates Sally and ensure that employee retention strategies cater to her unique, personal motivators.

Employee Retention Must Fit Corporate Goals

Developing an employee retention strategy that is specific to each individual must start with an in-depth look at the company’s long-term goals and what it needs for success. What is the next level? What skills do you need to get there? Who has those skills and what skills are missing in the company? While it is not an easy task, it is an important step in the process of creating an employee retention strategy that will help you meet your long-term goals. Perhaps you will find that job roles should be re-organized, skills of certain employees are better utilized in another way, or certain employees are key to future success. Once you have determined how your workforce needs to adapt to meet company goals, you can implement an employee retention strategy that ensures you have the right people on the bus in the right seats to help your organization reach the top.

Managing Employee Retention with On-Boarding and Training

2009-06-03T16:15:00.000-04:00

Managing employee retention is one of the biggest challenges many companies face. With so many employee retention strategies out there, it is often difficult to determine which one will work for you, your company and more importantly, your employee. The good news is, improving employee retention doesn’t have to be as hard as you might think, but it must be something that is a concern from day one, not when you start to feel an employee slipping away.

When you consider the employment cycle from beginning to end, it is apparent that training and on-boarding is the most crucial aspect of retention. A company can hire the best candidate who is destined for success, but it is up to the employer to give them the training, attention and motivation it takes to build a dedicated superior performer. Without it, the employee is not likely to build a strong connection with their new employer and will quickly feel under-appreciated, unimportant and simply lost in the shadows of the organization.

A lot of effort should go into creating the appropriate material for a new hire and the manager should schedule enough time to properly facilitate the on-boarding process. Too often, an employee shows up for the first day to an empty desk, gets a tour of the office, meets their co-workers and is back at their empty desk with a handbook to read. Meanwhile, their manager is tending to daily responsibilities and tied up in meetings, checking in with the new employee just before the drive home. A more successful approach would be to present the new employee with training materials that provide everything he or she needs to know in order to understand exactly what is expected for success on the job, in addition to educational material and corporate policy guidelines.

Great training material and a dedicated amount of time is a great start to managing employee retention, but to truly make the on-boarding experience effective, refer to the methods you used to select the candidate in the first place. Typically, an assessment component is used that measures the individual’s personal skills and work style in the same way that it measures the job’s demands and work environment. If not, consider conducting a complete job and talent assessment program that will give you a true understanding of both the job and the individual and contribute to the success of your training and on-boarding efforts.

Listed here are some key steps your organization can take before hiring through on-boarding your new employee.

Complete a job benchmark; this compels the company to focus on the job and allows for an unbiased process that lets the job talk. This process will establish key accountabilities which provide a detailed job description and outline what is expected for superior performance. Once you truly know the job, you can complete a job assessment to determine the skills it requires and the work environment it provides. With this information, your recruiting efforts will be more effective and you will know exactly what you are looking for in the ideal candidate. The job benchmarking process will give you concrete information that you can use in your training and on-boarding process, including the key responsibilities of the job, the behaviors and skills that will lead to superior performance, and how the job naturally motivates an employee. Sharing this information with the new employee will ensure that they know exactly what they are responsible for and understand the characteristics that lead to superior performance.

Implement an assessment that measures the new employee’s personal characteristics and skills. If the manager already knows how to communicate with them, what motivates them and what skills they have and need to develop, the training and on-boarding process will be much more efficient and your new employee will hit the ground running. Be sure to incorporate the information revealed in the assessment results right into the on-boarding process. Not only will it benefit the manager, but this information also helps the new employee understand themselves and leverage their strengths while being aware of their weaknesses.

Finally, the job and talent assessment together provide a great way to compare the new hire to the job. This comparison will allow you to manage employee retention with a training and development program that focuses on key gaps and leverages areas that show promise for success. Including this component in the on-boarding process will ensure that the manager is developing the new employee in areas that are required by the job and not areas that will hinder performance.

The assessments used in the job benchmark and selection process are crucial components to successful training and on-boarding programs that manages employee retention. The assessment results will provide turn-key development material that help the new employee not only understand and appreciate the characteristics they bring to the job, but also understand how their characteristics compare to the job’s requirements in the same key areas. However, not all assessments are alike and there are many factors you should consider in choosing the assessment that fits your needs. A reliable assessment tool that is designed for use in selection should:

Have strong validity and proven success for its use in selection.
Measure various aspects of an individual, such as behaviors, motivators, personal skills and task preference.
Provide a direct comparison between the individual and the job in the same key areas.
Include a specific job benchmark process that is used to create key accountabilities and is designed to eliminate bias and let the job talk.
Be quick, convenient and easily administered.
Provide results that can be used as development material and helps the individual understand his or her qualities and how they compare to the job’s demands.

The Definitive Guide to Recruiting

2009-05-21T16:01:00.000-04:00

Harvard Business Review recently published an article called The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad
written by Claudio Fernandez-Araoz, Boris Grousberg and Nitin Nohria; it is a call to action for all companies.

The research was conducted throughout 2007 and included interviews with CEOs of major global companies; followed by additional interviews with their Human Resource managers along with a quantitative survey of their current HR practices. A second survey of executive search consultants was conducted in the summer and fall of 2008.

The authors state that hiring gets a failing grade since most companies react to hiring situations as emergencies they explain it might be why so many companies recruit so poorly. They found that "hiring practices were disturbingly vague and that respondents relied heavily on subjective personal preferences or on largely unquestioned organizational traditions, often based on false assumptions." The executives they surveyed also held widely differing views regarding the desirable attributes of new hires. These executives also disagreed on whether it was best to hire insiders or outsiders, on who should be involved in the talent acquisition and recruiting process, on what assessment tools were most suitable, and on what the keys were to successful hiring and retention.

Many (43%) of the executive search consultants surveyed reported that their client companies considered the number of years of relevant work experience to be one of the top reasons for hiring a particular candidate; 24% gave similar weight to the ability to collaborate n teams and 11% factored in a candidates readiness to learn new things. The authors go on to state that "it's one thing to take a poor approach to hiring. but what really stands out is that many CEO's do not recognize their recruiting situation for what it is."

The final result is that despite a universal acknowledgment that hiring good people is a key source of competitive advantage they could only find a few companies that excel at one or more aspects of the hing process and just a handful that come anywhere close to hiring "gold standard."

My take away from this article is that all people come to a job with a unique set of behaviors, attributes and values; organizations big and small need to understand what makes a candidate tick and where the best match is for a candidate and the company in the three key areas I mentioned. When and individual's behaviors and values are aligned with the right roles in an organization magic happens for both parties; everyone wins and isn't that what makes organizations great?

Once you read the article weigh in and let me know what you think.

Where the Candidates Are

2009-05-14T13:56:00.000-04:00

Recently I was asked to speak to a group of recruiters about New Media Trends For Engaging Candidates. About a month before my talk I decided to go to the streets (Internet) and ask individuals currently in a job search (or not searching but open to new opportunities) where they are spending their time looking for a new opportunity in today's market.

I have included in this writing my survey findings and wanted to share them with you. If you are in Human Resources or Recruiting and you are looking for additional places to source candidates these are just some suggestions of places you may want to check out.

Respondents By Industry

Total number of respondents - 206

Job Search Status

Very little difference by age group or employment status
60% employed full time or self employed
33% not employed but looking for work
38% of employed and self employed indicated that they were actively looking for new jobs

Media Usage

New Media – job boards and networking sites (Monster, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc)
Traditional Media – Networking and Recruiters
18 – 25 were the only group to use traditional media only
All groups used both types of media most frequently (80+ percent of the time)
65+ only represents 3 respondents
The fastest growing age group on Twitter is: 35-49 there are 2,935,000 or 41.7% of the people on Twitter
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/twitters-tweet-smell-of-success

Types of "New" Media Used

18 – 35 biggest users of Craigslist, Facebook and Twitter
Twitter was almost exclusively the realm of 18-25 year-olds (until discovered and popularized by high profile celebrities, including Oprah)
All age groups use LinkedIn, but most heavily used by 36- 65

Networking & Recruiters

100% of 18 – 25 (10 respondents) reported they used networking
Approximately 75% of the remaining age groups reported networking
Use of recruiters highest among 36 - 65

Some Additional Comments From Respondents

"Monster and CareerBuilder have always irritated me because posting anything there has typically resulted in being inundated by the spawn of Satan (i.e., recruiters)"
"Social media is great for the big picture but there is nothing more effective than personal networking."
"I have blindly submitted my resume online but with very little success. Networking provided the results."
"You just have to do it all - you're marketing yourself and the bigger the audience, the better the results."
"I think the future lies in sites like Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites."
"I usually try to find someone I know via LinkedIn in the company I am applying to and try to get my resume in front of an actual recruiter

This post is just a "little slice" of where candidates are currently looking for new opportunities. If you haven't been using any of the sources mentioned it's worth a look to see if they will fit into your recruiting strategy.

Happy hunting!

Hiring for the Long Term

2009-05-11T16:50:00.001-04:00

Before launching a search for a senior-level manager, take time to figure out the skills, personality and values that will best fit your organization.

In today’s throwaway society, many organizations believe if they get two or three years of employment from a new hire, they have recouped their investment. In reality, organizations incur tremendous expenses in hiring and training higher-level managers and the only way to maximize the return on this investment is to retain productive employees.

To get the most out of hiring, an organization needs to strategically align its hiring needs with the talents of the individual. By investing on the front end of the hiring process—before advertising for a position and interviewing candidates business leaders create greater accountability for the open position within the organization and reap maximum return by retaining a candidate who can produce results and grow in their organizations.

Disposable Employees

Studies have proven it costs an organization more in time, resources and overhead to hire for the short term. A 2001 survey by the Hay Group, “Employee Retention Dilemma,” estimated that turnover can cost employers as much as 40 percent of annual profits.

According to Bill Gelderman, president of The Steering Group Inc. “All of us come to a new job with natural strengths and challenges. By assessing candidates and jobs, we can match those candidates that best correlate to the needs of the ‘job’ and the ‘culture’ of the organization. When this alignment occurs, both the employee and the organization benefit through an enjoyable, productive work environment. When we hire only for skills, we end up firing for attitudes.”

Take time to figure out what sort of person—as well as what set of skills—your organization needs. Envision the kind of candidate who will be ideal for your organization years down the road. Then, and only then, go out and find that person.

On the other hand, if you haven’t projected the future of this position, maybe you don’t need a permanent employee. Hire a contract employee instead.

Strategic Selction

I strongly recommend that organizations develop a recruiting strategy for open positions, one that they use each time they need to fill a senior management position.

Start the process by gathering all key stakeholders together to discuss the ideal candidate. Ask yourself the following questions:

- What is this employee meant to accomplish?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of this position?
- What personality will be the best fit for this position?
- Which departments will be communicating with and through this individual?
- What are the business goals of this position, and how will this person’s performance be evaluated?

Once you’ve answered these questions, devise the ideal candidate characteristics through a system of benchmarking. Benchmarking helps you identify the behaviors, values and culture of a job, as well as the specific responsibilities and expectations for the open position.

Furthermore, creating a benchmark based on current top performers can be an unexpected minefield. It is not uncommon to discover that performance improvements are possible by benchmarking the job itself, not the manner in which a current top performer is doing the job. If your current staff consists of B-level performers, and you benchmark them, your future expectation will be more B-level employees.

Candidate Assessment

When you’re ready to interview candidates, have applicants for the position complete an assessment to determine their fit for current and future roles in the company. All candidates will be compared against the benchmarks to determine the best fit for long-term success within the organization.

The process helps focus on the strengths of individuals and on the challenges of the position. It also helps streamline the interview process, so all involved in hiring know the goals of the position as well as the method for evaluating the new employee’s performance. Candidates whose natural talents and skills align with the needs of the position become an organization’s best choice for long-term employment.

Assessments should also be used during performance evaluations. This is a valuable aid in determining promotions or lateral moves within the organization.

A Better Approach

Short-term “fill the job” thinking often results in having people in positions that are in conflict with their natural talents and values. This commonly leads to burnout.

When employees find a natural match between their strengths and the needs of the position, they flourish. Going into a new role with accountabilities clearly spelled out instills a sense of confidence and focused motivation for employees. They feel in control of their success and responsible for the betterment of their organization. There is a stronger sense of loyalty, thereby establishing long-term opportunities for continued employment with the company.

Everyone working toward the same business goals ... that’s just crazy enough to work.