Developing the Recession-Proof Workforce

The latest labor statistics help tell the story of the continuous churn in the workforce. Unemployment was 5 percent for April; the annual average for 2007 was 4.6 percent. The rest of the story is that the most talented employees are coming and going as usual, because hiring does not stop even in a down economy. They will do what they believe is best for them. And among the departures may be some of your top talent. When you agree that the only way to compete is with the best people, try some of these ideas to manage and keep the best:

Build a recruiting strategy that operates all the time – not only when people leave. If you shop for talented people only when you see turnover, you will be presiding over a system where jobs either stay open too long or you hire in haste (and repent not too much later). Remember this equation: Open positions = poor productivity. Poor productivity = both customer and employee dissatisfaction. Jobs left open too long = a financial drain, not a savings. Jobs left open for extended periods also may create more openings.
Be a matchmaker. Make sure of the person-to-job match from the very start; do not hire someone who "sort of" works and hope for the best. Do not rely on your instincts. Do not hire someone because he or she is charming or just like you. Smart business leaders use assessments to guide them.
Know your employees. Find out what their dreams are, and help them realize those dreams by developing their skills. Knowing what they want starts at recruitment and continues throughout an employee's career.
Cross-train. When superb workers know how to do many things, you can place your employees strategically. Challenging your best people in this way lets both people and organizations grow.
Find creative ways to reward excellence. If the bonus pool is limited, you can make the award more meaningful by giving it to those whose performance is stellar. Spreading it out equally among all employees, even those that did not perform so well, diminishes the meaning. Your best people expect to be recognized. Also, be innovative beyond financial rewards. If you know what your employees value, figure out ways to see they get it. Some ideas: Extra time off, challenging training for new jobs, flexible hours.
Get out of the way and let your excellent workers perform their magic. Keep your door open but do not micromanage. You might learn something new as well.

Q. When Are Assumptions Good? A. Never, When Options Exist

Even employers with the best of intentions are guilty of assuming too much. As they see workers of different ages, genders and racial makeup working side-by-side, they might think that this one fits in a group that wants to multitask at a fast pace because she is young, while her counterpart from another generation is interested in slowing down.
As we learn from experience, assumptions are often wrong. That young person may prefer devoting her attention to one workplace issue at a time, while her older co-worker is the multi-tasker. Many things, including life stages, could affect each of them. And if a leader changes work assignments based on erroneous assumptions, he could end up with disgruntled or absent employees, high turnover and unfinished projects.
The only truly effective method of managing diverse employees is to look at each one as an individual and to understand what motivates them. Then, coach them regularly to get the behavior you want.
Last month we stressed the importance of coaching and how effective coaches connect with individual employee needs. Supporting our goal of knowing what it takes to engage our workers and coaching them regularly to higher performance levels is research we conducted with The Concours Group and Age Wave. The findings, published in the manual WHY We Work, helpfully define six different segments of employees working in our organizations. This research found that different groups of people need different things to remain engaged on the job. This finding is widely relevant because most organizations, especially large ones, contain some of each group.
Briefly, the six worker segments include:
1. Fair and Square Traditionalists, who make up the largest part of the workforce at 20 percent. They are loyal and traditional, as their name implies, and want their work to provide stability and a secure future.
2. Stalled Survivors, who represent 19 percent of the workforce. These workers see their jobs as a necessity. It is not the most satisfying part of their lives. These are often a firm's younger workers.
3. Accomplished Contributors, about 17 percent of the workforce. These loyal players often go above and beyond. They place a high value on teamwork.
4. Demanding Disconnects, 15 percent of our workers. As their name suggests, they are the least satisfied with work and the least committed to it.
5. Maverick Morphers, also about 15 percent of the workplace. These workers are generally young, like excitement, and do not fear taking risks.
6. Self-Empowered Innovators, about 14 percent. These employees make up the most engaged segment of the workplace and derive personal satisfaction from the job.

Transforming a Culture through Coaching

Watch coaches on the sidelines of a game. Collaborative coaches coax, urge, ask questions and draw diagrams. The team gathers around. Conversation is open and transparent.
Bosses differ in their approach. They direct, tell and make statements.
That we are more and more using the word "coaching" to describe what goes on inside today's progressive work environments is no accident. Leaders today specifically chose the word to describe the same kind of teamwork that occurs during a sporting event. New leaders envision their jobs as eliciting – in lieu of demanding – the best performance possible from the team.

In the third addition of THE HEART OF COACHING: USING TRANSFORMATIONAL COACHING TO CREATE A HIGH-PERFORMANCE COACHING CULTURE, author Thomas G. Crane describes the structure for creating the level of trust and support needed to work with the different generations that perform side-by-side in many of today's businesses.
He urges leaders to get out of the old-school "boss" mindset to adopt a broader, collaborative model, which he sees as a key to survival in our fast-changing economy.
Crane describes the differences between the boss and the coach this way:
While the boss is pushing people for higher and better performance, the coach is asking questions of his/her team members to find out what they think needs to happen next.
The coach invites creativity and fosters confidence, while the boss tells people what to do – no thinking required.
While the boss focuses only on the bottom line, the coach is looking at both performance and results.
The slogan of the boss might be "Never let them see you sweat." The coach is not afraid to sweat, or to show that he does not know all the answers; he asks questions designed to elicit the best information from the people doing the job.
THE HEART OF COACHING leads coaches and their teams to a common language, shared culture and people-oriented learning. The coaching is not just from coach to team members; it travels up, down and sideways, from manager to direct report and back, manager to manager, peer to peer – almost any direction you can think of.
The author is a consultant and speaker who helps leaders develop new workplace cultures by embracing coaching as a primary method of communication designed to enhance both individual and team effectiveness. He has worked for the last 18 years in small and large organizations.

ABOUT THE BOOKTHE HEART OF COACHING: USING TRANSFORMATIONAL COACHING TO CREATE A HIGH-PERFORMANCE COACHING CULTURE240 pages Publisher: F T A Press ISBN-13: 978-0966087437

Effective Coaching

10 Steps to Effective Coaching

1. Recognize the important differences between coaching and performance reviews.

2. Teach that all coaching is a standard part of development, not a punitive action.

3. Listen well, ask questions and speak clearly, using language that everyone understands.

4. Always focus on the behavior, never on the person.

5. Know where the manager wants/needs to go. This will help you develop a road map.

6. Remember that you do not control the process or the manager's behavior.

7. Be a trustworthy partner and confidante. Do not gossip.

8. Act as a sounding board when necessary.

9. Support your partner's self-esteem. Never laugh at fears or worries.

10. Coaching is a process. Commit your time and patience for the best results

Workforce Crisis the Next Generation

We are facing a talent shortage of unparalleled number, how will your company survive?

Through savvy use of flexible work arrangements, innovative learning opportunities, and creative compensation and benefits programs, companies can meet the unique needs of each employee cohort:

Mature (55+ years old): Many older employees want to remain productive, even after traditional “retirement” age. Learn how to keep their capabilities, company knowledge, and customer connections working for you.

Midcareer (35-54 years old): Too many talented employees find their work increasingly routine and feel squeezed between their professional and family obligations.

Young ( 18-34 years old): In competitive labor markets, your most able younger employees won’t hesitate to job-hop for better opportunities elsewhere. How to keep these workers engaged and loyal to your firm?

Wise Managers Enjoy the Season

Top Ten Reasons to Manage Performance Year Round
1. Complacency is a disease that plagues business. And guess what? It's contagious. The people in one department see their colleagues in another department slacking off right before or right after the company party, and they decide to do the same. Someone meets his goal for December and decides he can tread water in January. His counterpart takes the cue, whether she met her goals last month or not. Believe me, this illness spreads -- and quickly! -- once it gets started. The only known cure is to wash your hands of it from the start to keep it out of your organization.

2. Procrastination is complacency's cousin. The Big P sets in once people are already infected with complacency. Its symptoms include putting off the most difficult tasks from day to day, doing the easy things first, and busying yourself throughout the day with ONLY the easy things. Soon we forget the difficult tasks altogether. The cure? Control The Big C. If you keep that infection out of the workplace, The Big P is easier to manage too.

3. Habits are hard to break. That's why we want only good ones in the workplace. But if you let bad ones grab a toehold, even for a little while, they might just gain a foothold. Soon they have hoisted themselves all the way into your business, and the veteran hard worker who started coming late one Monday now makes a habit of it then and on Fridays too. Or the manager who "forgot" to use a key recruiting assessment tool once or twice now overlooks it all the time. One study suggests that given time, bad habits become learned behaviors, and we lapse back into them when we're under stress. Since stress is a normal part of the work environment, maintaining good work habits is a discipline we need to observe daily.

4. Set a good example for new workers. Bringing in new staff is a regular event at many places, even during the holidays. Put yourself in the new hire's shoes: How will she view the office partying the last half of December and all of January? How do you want her to see YOU?

5. Set an example for everyone. Closely related to showing the new person how work is done in your office is showing everyone else – your colleagues, your boss, your direct reports. Adopt a professional demeanor and it's likely to be viral – in a good way.

6. Manage performance while other business is less "busy." Perhaps some of the companies you work with have slowed down production a bit. Turn this external hiatus into internal productivity. While you have the time, review the things you and your staff need to improve, then put in place a plan to do so.

7. Control the things you can. This is closely related to items 5 and 6. You might not be able to do anything about another department's departure from the day-to-day routine, but you don't have to join them or beat them. Control your own space by managing well. Maybe it will rub off on the other guys.

8. Your competitors are not snoozing, especially if you are in first place and they are in second or third. If you are not in first place, this could be a good time to redouble your efforts and get there. If you are in first place, remember that old adage, 'The bigger they are…'

9. Find ways to celebrate all year long. Really. Successful companies should reward their employees year-round, not just once a year. Yes, the end-of-year holidays are a special time for families and friends. But if you take the time to praise and recognize your workforce regularly, your business will reap the benefits year-round and expectations for unending special holiday treatment will lessen.

10. It's a kindness to your organization and to all of your employees to show off a well-managed workforce all of the time. Consider it a beautifully wrapped gift to everyone, including you.

Happy New Year!

Executive Briefing (Part 2)

Did you know that in the United States theft by employees leads to over 36,000 business failures every year?

Employees steal, on average, $10 for every $1 taken by shoplifters.

Absenteeism costs a 50-employee business $31,000 a year. It’s surprising how often organizations fail to recognize how much simple absenteeism effects them.

It is important to know that the people who cause these problems are found in large numbers in your applicant pool. You need information and protection.

You will be happy to know that you can obtain extensive information and protection in a safe, easy, and cost-efficient manner through the use of assessments.