Business Survival Toolbox

Developing the Recession-Proof Workforce

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:29:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:58:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:53:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:04:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:46:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:39:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:02:00 +0000

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.

Six Truths about Employee Turnover—truths 4-6

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:16:00 +0000

Truth No. 4: More Money Is Not the “Silver Bullet”Talented workers want to feel they are being paid comparably to what other companies pay for similar work in the industry. They also care about being paid equitably with others in similar positions making comparable contributions. When these two conditions exist along with interesting and meaningful work, acceptable working conditions and good management practices, the prospect of making a little more money in an another organization where these softer factors are unknown is usually not enough to pull the employee away.
Truth No. 5: Managers Hold Most of the Keys to Keeping the Right TalentOne recent study showed that 50 percent of the typical employee’s job satisfaction is determined by the quality of his/her relationship with the manager. Many companies are floundering today in their attempts to improve employee retention because they have placed the responsibility for it in the hands of human resources instead of the managers. Many companies have begun to measure managers’ turnover rates and vary the size of their annual bonuses accordingly.
Truth No. 6: Reducing Turnover Starts with CommitmentThe organizations that achieve the most dramatic reductions in turnover and maintain those lower levels are usually the ones where the top executive or owner makes it a priority. Even when the top executive is not committed, however, one committed manager can still make a difference.
Adapted from—KEEPING THE PEOPLE WHO KEEP YOU IN BUSINESS: 24 Ways to Hang on to Your Most Valuable Talentby F. Leigh Branham (AMACOM; October 2000)

Six Truths about Employee Turnover—Truths 1-3

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:39:00 +0000

By F. Leigh Branham
Truth No.1: Turnover HappensAchieving zero percent turnover is not realistic, especially in today’s job market.
Truth No. 2: Some Turnover Is DesirableZero percent turnover is not desirable for a couple of reasons. First, if all employees stayed and the organization grew steadily, most employees would be at or near the top of their pay ranges and salary expenses would be extremely high. Secondly, new employees bring new ideas, approaches, abilities, and attitudes and keep the organization from becoming stagnant.
Truth No. 3: Turnover Is CostlyMost managers know that turnover is expensive, but two-thirds of 1,290 managers were unable to quantify the cost of turnover when asked in a recent poll. The cost of hiring and training a new employee can vary greatly—from only a few thousand dollars for hourly employees to between $75,000 and $100,000 for top executives. Estimates of turnover costs may range from 25 percent to almost 200 percent of annual compensation. Costs that are more difficult to estimate include customer service disruption, emotional costs, loss of morale, burnout/absenteeism among remaining employees, loss of experience, continuity, and “corporate memory.”

Executive Briefing (Part1)

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:43:00 +0000

“Have you ever made a conscious decision to hire a non-performer?”

Of course, the answer is “no,” so how, then, do so many poor performers get hired?

To answer THAT question, let’s begin with an examination of the traditional hiring process as practiced by most employers today.

This is a process that has from one to three components:

The first component is Historical Information. It consists of resume, past employment, education, personal references, and – maybe – a background check for verification. I highly recommend background checks before making a formal offer of employment. It helps create a legal safety net that protects you and your company

To help prevent this from happening, most companies add the second component, The Interview, which deals with the present. The information gathered in the interview revolves around the first impression a candidate presents, and our judgement are generally based on gut feeling, appearance, and personality. Unfortunately, we try to get all of this information in a very short period of time.

The biggest cause of bad hiring decisions is when those decisions are made.

That’s right – according to a study conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management, as reported in USA TODAY, 63% of all hiring decisions are made in the first 4.3 minutes of an interview.

That means that too many people are hired solely on their ability to make a good first impression. Let me suggest that when you are hiring, you are not trying to find a friend – you are selecting an employee. You might want to make a note of that… You are not trying to find a friend – you are selecting an employee.

JOB MATCH, the THIRD COMPONENT, is the most important, but least understood, element of the hiring process, and can only be achieved by assessing both the job and the individual.

Remember, the only way we can make our best hiring decisions is to consistently use ALL THREE COMPONENTS.

As Unemployment drops, employee theft may rise?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:09:00 +0000

By Noelle KNOX
The New York Times (Sep. 1998)
.
One of the few disadvantages of a robust economy, human resource administrators say, is its effect on hiring practices, especially among retailers. The nation's unemployment rate has held at well below 5 percent this year. The shrinking labor pool, consultants say, gives employers fewer hiring choices, exacerbating other changes in employment patterns that have contributed to worker theft in recent years.
"The employment base is low, and retailers are not getting a lot of people who are extremely qualified," said David Johnston, director of training and research for LP Innovations, the loss-prevention subsidiary of J. Baker Inc., a Canton, Mass., retailer that owns the Casual Male Big and Tall clothing chain. "If the company doesn't have an effective screening program, they're going to get whoever comes in off the street."

Retailers reported a surge in employee theft last year, according to the latest National Retail Security Survey by the University of Florida. The companies in the survey attributed 47 percent of all lost cash and merchandise to the light fingers of their workers, up from 41 percent in
1996.
If the survey results are accurate for the industry as a whole, workers stole $13.3 billion of the $28.1 billion in cash and merchandise that retailers lost last year. By comparison, shoplifting -which gets far more publicity as a source of retail crime - accounted for only $9.6 billion, or 34 percent. The remainder was lost to vendor fraud and administrative error.

To deal with theft problems, more retailers are running employee back-ground checks through organizations like; the United States Mutual Association, a clearinghouse on theft and fraud cases.
Robert Ralicki, vice president of marketing for United States Mutual which counts Sears, Roebuck and Gap Inc. among its subscribing companies~ said it had 2.5 million cases of employee theft in its database. That number, he said, should double within two years as more retailers contribute information.

"Retailers have limited resources they can devote to background checks for entry-level personnel," he said, "but they' want to know if John or Jane Doe has a track record of dishonesty before they give them access to their cash and merchandise."
According to the University of Florida study, an employee who steals will take an average of $1,058 in cash or merchandise in a year, while a shoplifter will walk away with an average of $212.

High turnover, another a bettor to theft, also dogs the industry, because an entry-level retail job no longer is seen as a first step on a career path. And working conditions at retail jobs also can lead to a discontented work force.

Steve Kasserman, a loss-prevention officer at the Bi-Mart Corp., a discount chain based in Eugene, Ore., has his own explanation for this kind of thinking. "If you pay someone $6.50 an hour to stand on their feet," he said, and to take whatever insults the public dishes out for seven to nine hours a day, "they get mad, and eventually they'll take it out by stealing."

Why Use Employee Assessments

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:23:00 +0000

Historically, employers have depended on resumes, references and interviews as sources of information for making hiring decisions. In practice, these sources have proved inadequate for consistently selecting good employees. Ninety five percent of your applicants will “exaggerate” to get the job and most hiring decisions will be made in haste during the first 5 minutes of an interview. Because of this 66% or your new hires with be disappointments in the first year.

When selecting people for promotion, otherwise excellent employees have too often been miscast into roles that they could not perform satisfactorily and the “one size fits all” approach in training has failed to product the desired results. As a result two of three employees would rather work somewhere else and one of three business will be sued over an employment issue.

Clearly, an essential ingredient in making “people decisions” has been missing from the formula. Turnover costs thousands for every departing employee and studies have shown eighty percent of employee turnover is avoidable. It makes sense in today’s working environment to use every tool available to make your hiring choices. Many companies now spend extra time and money when it comes to hiring, coaching and training employees. They do background checks, check references, do drug testing and use employee assessments in this process. They realize the importance of assessing new and existing employees.

How Effective Is Your Sales Force

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:43:00 +0000

In today’s corporate environment, organizations face many challenges with identifying, developing, retaining and leveraging top performers. In fact, the number one priority for companies with an interest in human capital is talent acquisition and retention. When it comes to talent acquisition and retention of sales representatives employers find this position the most difficult to fill. Because of this situation, organizations must rely on a select few to maintain sales effectiveness.

In a survey of over 1000 company’s research shows that:
85% say too few sales people meet their expectations.
80% have high turnover in their sales department.
90% need more sales.
95% want more sales

More than 50% of those individuals in sales positions are not suited for sales. Another 25% may have the skills to sell, but are selling the wrong product, are in the wrong industry or do not fit within their employer’s corporate culture.

This situation is more common than you might think, but imagine if you could predict results before they happen “Sales drive companies and top sales performers drive sales.”
Think of the competitive advantage you could gain by predicting who will become a top sales performer.

Job Fit A Paradigm Shift

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:44:00 +0000

A business consultant once defined Insanity: As doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!

That statement best defines our efforts to hire and train employees in our working environment. We use the same procedure over and over again, but rarely get the results we want. How many times have you hired an employee and discover that he or she could not do the job? And, in an effort to keep that employee, we modify the job. Even after doing that we are met with non productive employee, or an employee that just leaves the organization. The bottom line is that trying to fit the job to the employee is rarely successful, yet, we do the same thing over and over again.

It is time for a paradigm shift—by matching the employee to the job. Look around your organization—do you have employees that consistently out perform other employees? (a top performing employee can be 4 to 8 times more productive that a bottom performing employee) What is it about that top performer that allows them to be so successful in the job? If we could take a snap shot of that employee, we would discover that they have a certain learning style, a certain interest, and certain behavioral tendencies that allow them to be product at what they are doing within the job. You may have several employees that are top performers! Doesn’t is make sense, to assess those employees and use the results of the assessment to create a benchmark or a pattern for success. Then start screening and hiring to the benchmark? If you could clone your best employees wouldn’t you do it?

No Employee Turnover-Is that good?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hill) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:44:00 +0000

No turnover or low turnover may be costing your hundreds of thousands in bottom line profits.

In today’s work place, you can find many articles on how much employee turnover is costing you. There are even ways to calculate the cost of turnover. And the bottom line is that we all know that employee turnover is costly.

But we rarely consider the employee that quits the company but continues to come to work, and collect a paycheck….Or the disengaged employee(s) I know you have encountered these people…and why is this a problem?

When a employee quits and leaves, the cost is measurable and more importantly it allows the company to move forward with new and possibly more productive workers.

A disengaged employee will continue to hurt your bottom line for years. Who knows how much damage this type of employee can do you your customer service reputation, or how many employees he/she can drive away from you company, or how they affect your overall product quality.

How can you identify a disengaged employee?
Have you ever run into a situation where you have or had an employee that manages to do just enough each year to “get by” on performance evaluations? You know, they do just enough to keep from getting fired, but there performance is below that standard that you really want?
Or how about the employee that complains most of the time, is always negative towards other employees, or negative towards management, or most importantly negative toward your customers?

Signs of a disengaged employee can be, constantly late for work, frequent absences from work, poor quality work, does not follow the work procedures, constantly complains about work or other employees, an employee who always causes problems, or is critical of others.
In summary, we often think that employee turnover is the worse possible situation, but in reality Employee Disengagement can cost you 10-20-30 times as much money.