“What businesses need to succeed now is their own army of entrepreneurs – an internal force of committed, creative employees. With the army strategy, employees are empowered to develop an owner’s mindset and take initiative.

80% of Americans would like to be the owner of a successful small business, compared to only 14% who desire to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

A major tenet of the army philosophy is that with the right training, resources and encouragement, everyone can become more entrepreneurial.

To create their own army of entrepreneurs, companies can follow these four guidelines:
- Establish and nurture culture: Culture isn’t optional. To truly build an army of entrepreneurs, companies must have the right practices and outlook. The four elements of a core culture include authenticity, commitment to people, commitment to the business and continuous effort.

- Create a nudge: a nudge is a harmless bit of engineering that attracts people’s attention and alters their behavior in a positive way, without actually requiring anyone to do anything at all.

- Teach employees the business: While many business are focused on teaching employees the skills they need to do their jobs, an army approach is focused on teaching the business: how it makes money, where clients come from, why they stay or go, and other big-picture issues.

- Maintain momentum: inertia is the enemy; there are three key components to keeping the energy alive: compensation, morale, and communication”

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“It should hardly come as a surprise that the employees who go above and beyond – who invest that discretionary effort – are among the most engaged.

It’s very difficult to have profit without engagement…and that engagement, once established, can see a company through leaner times and help to build it back up.

In fact, given the strong link between poor performance and disengagement, a good place to start might be the 15% who are disengaged but staying put! When companies are busy and the job market favors employees, remember that your engaged employees are watching you. You need to keep them engaged without hauling dead weight.

Employee satisfaction is an outcome, not a goal. You may bolster engagement by offering good salaries and benefits, but ultimately the goal is high performance, not satisfied employees. The last thing that anyone wants is a staff populated with satisfied underperformers.

Help employees understand why they are important to the company and give regular feedback. The result is higher engagement as well as higher performance.

Make sure that goals are measurable. Specific goals have a greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal.

Having goals and achievements in a system not only improves communication around performance but also enables organizations to foster better collaboration and align goals across the organization.”

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“Every job posting is different, but a good first step in creating any job posting is to understand the search behavior of the candidates you want to attract.

Currently employed candidates and those looking for highly specialized positions tend to use more filters and more specific criteria in their searches, in an effort to minimize the amount of time they spend sifting through jobs that aren’t exactly what they’re seeking.

Unemployed candidates and those seeking positions that don’t require specific experience tend to search using fewer criteria, and will frequently enter a location as the only criterion. They have more time to browse long lists of positions, viewing every position that interests them.

Once they do find your job, it’s important that your posting provides the information they need to be able to make the decision to apply. Job seekers see location, company quality and security, corporate culture, duties/responsibilities, work environment, schedule/hours, and salary as most important pieces of criteria when they are deciding whether or not to apply for a job.

You should also think about providing information such as special sign-on advantages, perks, bonuses after completing licenses, etc. that will make your postings stand out.”

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As talent professionals, we faithfully believe that 360 feedback will help managers change their behaviors or at least increase their motivation to change. Unfortunately, those expectations are completely unrealistic.

Feedback does not lead to change. Research says that feedback often creates negative emotional reactions that inhibit change and, in one-third of cases, actually worsens performance.

Research says that when confronted with that perception gap, we will diligently try to excuse it or explain its cause. We aren’t resisting feedback; we’re experiencing what’s called cognitive dissonance. Our mind works hard to preserve our carefully developed self-image. When feedback conflicts with that image or could cast us in a negative light, the natural reaction is to reject it.

Comparison to norms isn’t helpful. We respond best when given information about only our behaviors, not when those behaviors are compared to others.

To make 360s work, we need to find the simplest science-based way to help managers change their behaviors.
- Focus on the vital few: Help managers quickly understand their two or three priorities for change by clearly stating these in the report’s first few pages.

- Don’t rate them; tell them how to change: Include direct statements of exactly how to change that behavior.

- Don’t include normative data or self-ratings: Don’t let your curiosity about how you compare to others get in the way of actually changing their behaviors.

- Use transparency to drive accountability: Using data is actually the most powerful way to drive accountability for change.

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The following are 8 tips for ways to save time on nonselling activities:

01.) Keep office routine to a minimum. Do paperwork before and after the best selling hours.

02.) Keep the number and length of refreshment breaks to a minimum. Keep meals a reasonable length.

03.) Avoid slow starts in the morning and early quitting in the afternoon.

04.) Avoid the impulse to stop selling when the weather is good or bad, when sales are off, or when you have made a good sale.

05.) Avoid personal business during the prime selling time.

06.) Watch customer service. Some is essential, but avoid the nonessential service or work that can be turned over to someone else.

07.) Learn to say no. Refuse jobs that reduce your selling time without adding to your sales success.

08.) Make time for your personal life, but budget the time you spend on outside activities, home and family, and your job. Give each one its fair share of your time.

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The following are 15 tips for ways to save time during the call:

01.) Be sure of the objectives of your call.

02.) Prepare your sales presentation carefully to reduce the time needed to reach your objective.

03.) Send letters and literature in advance, if practical, to prepare the prospect and reduce the time needed in the presentation.

04.) Have all presentation material in order and complete to prevent fumbling during the call.

05.) See the right person, ie: the one who can make the buying decision.

06.) Qualify the prospect early. Don’t waste time if he or she proves to have no need or interest in your proposition.

07.) Get right to the purpose of your call. Friendly conversation has its place, but it consumes productive selling time.

08.) Keep leading the interview toward your objective. Be courteous when listening to the prospect’s personal remarks, of course, but stay in control.

09.) Sell your full line if this falls within your objective for the call. Any additional sales now are made with zero travel and waiting time.

10.) Sell other applications to prospects within the same firm. A second call on the same day means zero travel time.

11.) Make notes of details that should be remembered. They may save an extra call later, prevent errors in processing the sale, and provide the information you need to make the call more productive.

12.) Try to close early in the presentation. If that doesn’t work, it will give you information that will help you close on the next try.

13.) Close on the first call whenever possible to save unnecessary callbacks. Don’t assume that you have to call more than once to make a sale.

14.) When you reach your objective, leave. Just as you save time by getting into the presentation quickly, you save time on your next call by getting away as soon after the close as possible.

15.) Take buyers to lunch on occasion. In addition to the goodwill it generates, it can save time on your sales presentation if handled properly.

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The following are 11 tips for ways to save travel and wait time:

01.) Use a map. Reduce travel time by routing daily calls to avoid as much back-tracking as possible.

02.) Plan each day’s calls to concentrate your effort in the same general area to keep travel time to a minimum.

03.) Select the kind of transportation best suited for the area to be covered. Taking a taxi or walking may be better than driving your own car in some cases.

04.) Make appointments to assure the interview. This reduces waiting time and unnecessary travel for a return call.

05.) Follow up with phone calls as you go along to confirm appointments and make new ones.

06.) Make friends with gatekeepers. They can often persuade the buyer to see you sooner or drop hints that will help you plan your presentation, such as who else in the firm you should see, what products the firm needs, etc.

07.) Use waiting time for planning and record keeping.

08.) If the wait will be long, ask permission to make another call and come back later. If necessary, make another appointment, rather than cut into the next call’s time.

09.) Minimize emergency calls from customers. Try to get permission to call later when you are in the area.

10.) Use the telephone instead of making a personal call for marginal accounts. Often a phone call can help you pick up routine orders between personal calls.

11.) If possible, plan your travel and meals while buyers are at lunch.

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The following are the final 11 of 21 tips for saving time through planning and preparation:

11.) Eliminate needless calls. Ask if the in-person call can be made the next time you are in the customer’s territory.

12.) Keep paperwork to a minimum, and find ways to reduce it. Do the paperwork outside of prime selling time.

13.) To improve the sales presentation, keep records and review them before making the call. Avoid unnecessary callbacks. Use efficient forms for reducing the amount of paperwork needed to give the desired essential information.

14.) Keep a sales record to see which accounts and merchandise produce the best sales. Compare results with time spent on each account.

15.) Fill out a call report after each call to be sure you have all the facts that will help you on the next call. Keep the report simple.

16.) Keep a time record for a few weeks to see where you spend your time. Study it to see what can be eliminated and what can be shortened.

17.) Keep a reminder file with folders for each day of the month. Drop in items that keep you from forgetting appointments and important details to cover on calls.

18.) Keep customer and prospect records on cards or sheets. Record information on the firm: whom to see, what the firm buys, what you have sold to the firm, etc. Use it for planning calls.

19.) Review each day’s performance. Where could it have been improved? What worked well that could be repeated? What leads did you get that should be followed up?

20.) Check to see if you have all supporting presentation material before you leave for a call to prevent the need for another trip or wasted time during the sales presentation.

21.) Keep in contact with your office regularly to get word of changes or developments that might affect your schedule, save a trip, or be something you might want to share with a prospect.

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The following are 10 of 21 tips for saving time through planning and preparation:

01.) Schedule your selling activities as far in advance as possible monthly, weekly, and daily.

02.) Know where you are going each morning and why.

03.) Firm up your day’s schedule the evening before.

04.) Fill in the daily schedule with cold calls and prospecting to be done in the same areas in which you’re making your customer calls. Do not let them keep you from making more profitable customer calls, however.

05.) Plan replacement calls to substitute for those that might be canceled. Keep a second choice identified as a backup.

06.) Don’t assume that buyers can’t be sold during the conventional lunch hours. Find out which ones are available during the middle hours of the day, and schedule calls accordingly. You will find less competition then.

07.) Some reps like to set aside a part of each week, say Friday, for prospecting. This gives assurance that it will be done.

08.) Determine the best time to interview certain buyers. Schedule calls and appointments for these times, and build other calls in the same area around them.

09.) Analyze your accounts and rank them by potential business. Spend more time on the better accounts and less on the others. Get rid of accounts that are unprofitable. Use the telephone more often.

10.) Screen prospects carefully. First call on those who are most likely to buy or have the most potential.

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“No one likes to be taken for granted. Customers are people. They like to be appreciated. But be careful. If you only say thanks when it’s time to renew a contract or make a sale, your customer may not want to extend or expand the relationship.”

01.) Contact customers when it’s not necessary.
02.) Let your customers know how much you like working with them.
03.) Ask your customers what you could do to make working with you easier for them.
04.) Tell your customer’s story to others.
05.) Pass along leads.
06.) Do something a little extra.
07.) Make suggestions for improving your customer’s operations.
08.) Pass along helpful information.
09.) Lend a hand.
10.) Utilize the power of recognition.
11.) Be candid when asked for your opinion.
12.) Show your loyalty.
13.) Don’t cut corners.
14.) Come to a customer’s defense when you hear criticism.
15.) When something hasn’t gone well, let your customers know what you would like to do about it.
16.) Respond reliably.
17.) Leverage the power of free.
18.) Take the initiative.
19.) Keep your word.
20.) Show respect.

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“Now more than ever, organizational leaders realize that the right talent in the right roles will lead to operational and business success.

Talent leaders at forward-looking organizations are going a step further. They are identifying pivotal leadership roles within their organizations and using their high-potential and succession planning processes to ensure the right people are deployed into these roles in order to realize more immediate, tangible and positive results.

These roles are readily identifiable because a change in a pivotal leader’s performance will have a significant impact on an organization’s performance. Weak performance in a pivotal role can create great risk for an organization’s mission, objectives or results, whereas high performance in a pivotal role often provides greater competitive advantage and improved operational results.

Important roles are necessary to carry out key business processes or operations. Pivotal roles also are necessary, but they are utilized specifically when performance improvements can significantly impact a company’s strategic, financial or operational results.

Organizations should develop and use a strategic assessment management process that:
- Determines pivotal leadership roles for current business priorities while recognizing that these positions may change as business strategies change.
- Assesses incumbent leaders and potential successors to gauge skills, strengths and weaknesses.
- Creates a succession planning process that is directly tied to pivotal roles versus generic leadership levels.”

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“Most often, particularly under stress, the basic elements of humanity – fear, greed, ignorance and ego – come to the forefront. The other side of human nature is balanced through values, hope, insight and creativity. In the end, reasoning seldom is unaffected by these other powerful forces.

People can achieve material goals and career ambitions, but that does not guarantee happiness. Unless they are retiring, they’ll always be striving to fulfill and maintain personal goals to money, status, and power.

Goal achievement is more a function of will than intellect. If your people have the will to work through adversity for the good of the organization, you have an irresistible force on your side. Call it what you will – engagement or commitment, if you like – but intelligence, skill and knowledge are not enough.

Most organizations have not been able to keep creative people long because organizations require and reward followership.

Strategy and, eventually, success are founded on objective analysis of purpose and goals.”

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“The abundance of overqualified talent applying for jobs below their education and skill levels is yet another lingering effect of the lackluster job market. But this pool of job seekers should not perceive their over qualification as a burden, and talent managers should realize that, if properly managed, these workers can offer more than managers expect.

Although many are simply grateful to be working right now, overqualified employees still need to be strategically placed and supervised by talent managers to ensure they’re adequately challenged.

The rise of overqualified talent in companies is not surprising. These mature and skilled individuals are just as productive as their less skilled counterparts when placed and led properly.

Organizations that hire overqualified employees need to find more meaningful work for these employees, challenge them and accommodate the types of skills and qualifications they have.

According to David First, VP of learning and development at Suffolk Construction Co, “You want to have a culture in you company where people aren’t going to be threatened by being challenged, think being challenged is a good thing and believe having very talented people below them is a positive. You want to take the best people you possibly can and challenge yourself as an organization to keep them engaged and happy in their positions.”

There are several benefits that come from hiring an overqualified candidate. When an employee with a lot of work experience joins an organization, he or she brings a lot of experience.

Additionally he or she can become a source of inspiration for other employees who may want to learn from that employee’s experience.

Someone who has proven to be talented, experienced, hardworking, energetic and has aspirations is very beneficial to a company.

As we progress into economic recovery, that bench strength will become increasingly important. Today’s overqualified hire will be the perfect person for a higher-level position in 12 to 18 months.

In order to form an agreeable, lasting relationship, both the overqualified employee and the employer must be honest and forthcoming with information.

Experienced, highly qualified workers have a lot to offer, so rather than looking at the worries in hiring someone who’s overqualified, hiring managers should focus on what they’re getting, which, if properly managed, can be a better asset than imagined.”

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“Conventional wisdom holds that a business chooses a strategy, creates an organizational structure for it and only then fills the structure with people. But a growing number of companies are showing that this is backward.”

“Realize that strategy and execution come from the minds of people and focus first and foremost on developing the people who will lead them into the future.”

“These are the companies we call talent masters. They are obsessed with building talent. Their senior leaders spend at least a quarter of their time trying to help people grow and expect all leaders to make talent development a top-of-mind activity.”

“Here are several ways to improve your own talent management:

- Get senior leaders involved in selecting talent: Hire not only for functional or academic expertise, but also for teamwork, interpersonal behavior, intellectual honesty and temperament.

- Drill to the specifics of each leader’s talent: Build your skill in reviewing people and getting to their core talent by practicing it repeatedly.

- Use business reviews as people reviews and vice versa.

- Don’t judge performance by numbers alone.

- Give frequent, honest feedback: Engage in knowledgeable and meaningful dialogue. Feedback is best when it is targeted, constructive and candid.

- Sort mismatches from failures: Is a leader’s problem a fatal flaw or merely a development need?

- Consider what the leader leaves behind.

- Think creatively about where a person will excel: Horizontal moves can be great accelerators of growth. Average performers in one job may be high performers in another. It’s a matter of finding the right fit.”

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“Success is looking forward to getting home and seeing the people you love.”

“Success is sitting down to pay the bills and knowing that you have enough money to cover them, this month and next month.”

“Success is knowing where to turn when it seems that there’s nowhere to turn.”

“Success is having interests or hobbies to call your own.”

“Success is waking up in the morning and feeling good.”

“Success is turning out the light, slipping under the covers, and thinking to yourself, ‘It just doesn’t get much better than this!’”

“Success isn’t calling home from work for the fourth time this week, apologizing because you’re going to miss dinner with the family again.”

“Success isn’t hurrying into the house and hiding behind closed doors or the television set.”

“Success isn’t having all the riches in the world and still trying to figure out how to have more of all the riches in the world.”

“Success isn’t physically going to a worship service and mentally writing a to-do list for when you get home.”

“Success isn’t all work and no play.”

“Success isn’t burning the candle at both ends and living on a diet of food.”

“Success isn’t spending mental energy figuring out how to explain why your project isn’t going to come in on time.”

“Success is directly related to having a balanced life. Take the time to examine your life and take small steps to gain balance.”

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1.) You cannot predetermine what will or will not work in your marketplace!
You must analytically test various premises and run with the winning approach.

2.) Running “institutional advertising” is virtually always a waste of money.
The only purpose of advertising or marketing is to generate sales. It is either profitable or unprofitable, based on sales dollars generated.

3.) You are a salesperson, not an entertainer.

4.) Evaluate your advertising’s performance as you would your salesperson’s.

5.) Every aspect of your marketing should be built around offering more than your competitors.

6.) Read every direct-mail piece that comes to your mailbox – because direct-mail advertising is the most critical test of advertising’s effectiveness.

7.) Failure to test one headline against another is pure stupidity. Failure to use headlines or their equivalent is even worse.

8.) Human nature is unchanging.
Products, language and levels of sophistication evolve, but people still want security, beauty, health, happiness, riches, services – benefits!

9.) Be specific

10.) Every ad must tell a full story using as much copy as necessary.

11.) Make it irresistible for a customer to patronize you by offering such risk-free trail propositions.

12.) Integrate all the back-end selling, cross-selling, upselling and other techniques into one master strategy.

13.) Education is a powerful marketing tool.

14.) Tell people what to do.

15.) Marketing is the ultimate financial leverage.

16.) Radio, television, magazine and direct-mail advertising should all be designed in the same careful way a salesperson maeks a pitch to a prospective customer.

17.) People don’t appreciate what you’ve done for them – or will do for them – unless you tell them.

18.) Only a tiny handful of companies understand the huge advantage a bonus can bring to the sales proposition.

19.) Turn the tables on the risk factor with a complete “safe-purchase” guarantee, since the customers usually see the risks being borne by them – not the merchant.

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“The average business loses 15% of their clients on an annual basis.”

“With the cost of gaining new business five times that of keeping current clients, it’s wise to do all you can to keep your clients coming back for more.”

“In order to thrive in business, it’s important to make each client feel important.”

“You start by expressing gratitude for their business.”

“Follow up every transaction with a thank you note.”

“Schedule a follow up phone call within a few days of every service. Ask your clients if they’re still satisfied with the service you provided and how you can improve.”

“When clients do have a challenge with your service, listen carefully to what they say.”

“If the challenge takes days or longer to resolve, call or e-mail the client frequently to let them know your progress.”

“If you service can be scheduled periodically, put a reminder program in place.”

“Building client loyalty is all about providing service…whether it’s the service itself or your time in considering their needs doesn’t matter. What does matter is to make them feel good about continuing to do business with you.”

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1.) Prepare to handle more inbound calls.
2.) Always know how prospects found you.
3.) Know who else they may be contacting.
4.) Know your own Website cold.
5.) Be aware of your position on the Web compared with competitors.
6.) Know how much prospects know when they call you.
7.) Don’t waste their time, but…
8.) Don’t assume they know everything.
9.) Prepare to move quicker to qualification and defining specific needs.
10.) Use your Website as support for information, demos, and electronic brochures.
11.) Customers are smarter; treat them that way.

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“In the workplace, we expend far more energy on behaviors – how people should do things – than on valued accomplishments – the goals to be achieved. Don’t focus on behavior – instead begin with accomplishment and work backward.

We require careful observation, analysis and consensus to establish the ideal. Next, we identify exemplary performers, those achieving measured accomplishment closest to the ideal. Finally, we compare their accomplishments with average performance.

The potential for improved performance is the ratio of the worth of exemplary performance to that of typical performance (PIP = Wet/Wt). The greater the PIP, the greater the potential for improved performance for an entire group.

Deficiencies in accomplishments are ultimately caused by management system weaknesses. By selecting performers best suited for the job and providing the best conditions and resources to accomplish the job, wasted effort is reduced as valued accomplishment soars.”

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“Offering employees experiential, hands-on learning opportunities is at the core of job shadowing. Shadowing affords an observing or prospective employee the chance to be immersed in the actual job environment, making it possible to see an experienced worker apply the skills and traits needed to accomplish the work. An insightful observer also can glean information about the personal characteristics that contribute to success in the position.”

“Pre-hire shadowing arrangements can give job candidates a clearer idea of the realities of positions for which they’ve applied, while also demonstrating how an organization follows through on its employee value proposition.”

“Other potential learning benefits for the new employee include exposure to the tools required for the job and their proper use, introduction to the technologies used in job execution, and opportunities to establish relationships and network with the shadowed employee and his or her work team, manager and other colleagues.”

“Post-orientation job shadowing can reinforce engagement, strengthen on-boarding and training processes and shorten new hires’ time to full productivity.”

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“Leadership is a four-ring circus, complete with occasional clowns inside the rings. This is why it is the most studied process. There is no end to the models, hypotheses and theories.”

“There are four interlocking rings of activity: knowledge, development, management, and measurement. They are not linear.”

“Knowledge: An effective leader needs three types of knowledge: the market, the organization, and the self.”

“Development: The leader also has to be accountable for management growth and succession.”

“Management: Effectiveness is doing the things that are essential for the growth and success of the enterprise. It is a matter of allocating resources in ways that ensure long-term, sustained success. Effectiveness is evaluated in terms of new product and employee development, market share and revenue growth. Efficiency is managing processes in ways that incur the lowest costs while leaving sufficient muscle for future growth.”

“Measurement: Strategic metrics are organization-wide macro-measures of profitability, customer retention and growth in revenue and human capability. Operational metrics deal with process costs and time cycles, quality and quantities. Leading indicators look at issues that predict future outcomes, such as leadership quality, management readiness and employee engagement.”

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“The 70/20/10 ratio is based on a Center For Creative Leadership (CCL) study conducted 30 years ago that asked a small group of executives to recall their most significant developments. Researchers reported that 70% described on-the-job experiences, 20% pointed to relationship-based growth, and 10% cited formal learning, such as classroom training.”

“The old ratio isn’t a strategy and isn’t very useful.”

“It overstates the role of experience in development.”

“The hiring manager deduced that one candidate had a full 10 years of rich, varied learning while the other had only one year worth of learning and repeated the same lessons for 10 years. No guarantee on the job alone produces real growth.”

“The old ratio understates the value of learning from others.”

“Things are different now, and old ratios based on historical realities may not neatly apply. Experience can still be powerful, but employees need more precise thinking and discipline in application. Social networking and informal learning are rising as new modes of knowledge and skill building. And what used to be called classroom learning has evolved to be more relevant, more compelling and more accessible on your desktop.”

“If you need a numerical model, here’s my 1-2-3 approach: Great talent development is one part focus on the jobs and people who matter most to the business strategy; two parts disciplined reviews of assessment and calibration with the rigor of financial budgeting; and three parts using all contemporary developmental methods to engage, inspire, inform and build talent.”

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“Our default response in life is not to experience happiness”

“Our default response in life is not to experience meaning”

“Our default response in life is to experience inertia”

“The thing we do more often than anything else is to continue to do what we’re already doing”

“Inertia is so powerful that we can’t even hit the remote to turn off the TV, even when we no longer want to watch it.”

“The most reliable predictor of what you will be doing in five minutes is what you are doing now.”

“Very few people achieve positive, lasting change without ongoing follow-up. Unless they know at the end of the day, week or month that someone is going to measure if they’re doing what they promised to, most people fall prey to inertia. They continue doing what they were doing, and as a result, they don’t become more effective. On the other hand, if they know someone is watching or evaluating them with follow-up questions, they’re more likely to change.”

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“To establish a true independent contractor relationship, the economic realities should show that the worker possesses some special skill and that he or she controls the methods and means of exercising that skill. If the individual’s duties involve only standard skills and the company controls the person’s wages, a court is more likely to find a traditional employer-employee relationship. In this case, that determination may lead to unanticipated liability for overtime pay.”

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“Since December, the economy has added about 130,000 jobs a month, barely more than what is needed to keep up with population growth, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Meanwhile, the number of job openings advertised online has grown by more than 400,000, to 4.2 million, according to the Conference Board, a research organization. That increase continued a trend that began in the spring of 2009.”

“Recruiters say they are having trouble finding candidates for many skilled positions, and once candidates are found, hiring managers are taking longer to pull the trigger.”

“Positions that typically took two months to fill before the recession are sometimes taking four times longer, recruiters say, as hiring managers are holding out for better candidates.”

“We’re seeing a problem of companies unable to find the right skills in the right places,” says David Arkless, president of corporate and government affairs for Milwaukee-based staffing firm Manpower Inc. For a position that would have needed two or three candidates a couple years ago, now companies want five or more, he says. “Companies want to make the hire count.”

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“Have you known people who just won’t accept the facts of their situation?…On the one hand, they want something, such as recognition or power, but on the other hand, they can’t come to grips with the requisites of their position. One might say they are unwilling to pay the price for success.”

“When it comes to delivering professional services, the traits include:
- Intelligence: Understand the rules of playing the game
- Perception: Successful people are insightful
- Skills and Knowledge
- Courage: You can’t be afraid to talk to people, even those who are blunt, insensitive and driven to perform
- Desire: You have to want success badly. Whatever you aspire to, be it resources, position or achievement, you can’t take no for an answer
- Salesmanship: Present a value proposition in a manner that can be understood and accepted”

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“Your reputation is people’s recognition – or rejection – of your identity and achievement.”

“The rest of the world, by definition, always has something to say about it. But you can influence it.”

“It takes courage to realize that, in some cases, other people’s view of us may be just as accurate – or even more so – than our own view of ourselves.”

“It’s taken me a while to figure out why so many of us neglect our reputations. It’s not that we don’t care. We care a lot. It’s that we confuse our need to consider ourselves to be smart with our need to be considered effective by the world.”

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“In today’s world, intellectual monogamy is much more possible. Celebrity and recognition more often lie in a single expertise, leading to a decline in the number of people commonly acknowledged as modern polymaths.”

“In the post-recession environment, the need to do more with less and develop sophisticated, adaptive human capital practices make generalists more important, not less.”

“To be truly effective as a talent executive requires deep knowledge of multiple fields – and the ability, curiosity and interest to explore new and emerging practices.”

“Specialization is necessary; don’t get me wrong. Organizations still need people with deep experience and focus in discrete areas. But to fulfill the promise of integrated talent management, talent leaders need to know and do it all.”

“Interest, ability and experience will only take you so far.”

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“Productivity has leveled off in the months since. Now, with positive economic news and encouraging job reports starting to come in, many burnt-out workers may be looking to do more with less somewhere else.”

“According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the quits rates, defined as the rate at which workers voluntarily leave their jobs, steadily climbed throughout 2010 after dropping to a low in October 2009. In the fourth quarter of 2010 alone, nearly 2 million workers waved goodbye to their employers.”

“Worker pay continues to lag behind corporate profits as companies hoard cash, and skittish bosses may not yet be ready to turn on that faucet.”

“If you haven’t already, it’s time to turn up attention to the workforce. While overall unemployment has hovered near 10% for a while now, the rate for high-potential talent is closer to 6%. The broad war for talent entered a cease-fire with the financial crisis of 2008, but the battle for high-potential talent kept raging.”

“Now that many workers returning their focus to the future, identify high-potential talent and develop customized programs to show them a tempting career path. Show them why your company is the best place for their future. Develop creative, low-cost ways to engage and develop them. There’s no shortage of tools at your disposal now, from traditional mentoring to virtual coaching and e-learning.”

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“One of the biggest mistakes high achievers make is overestimating their contributions to a success, thus crediting themselves with an achievement that does not rightly belong to them.”

“It’s tempting, almost irresistible, to gravitate to the nearest successful example at hand to calculate our achievements, but it may not be the most meaningful representation of our abilities.”

“Apply a stress test to each achievement by asking yourself:
- Is this what happened, or am I filtering it through some inflexible personal preconception or belief?
- Am I exaggerating my role in the achievement?
- Am I discounting other people’s contributions to the achievement?
- Am I going too far back in time? Is the achievement still credible, or it is just old?
- Am I attaching too much weight to a recent event simply because I remember it more vividly than an older event?”

“By increasing our understanding of achievement – what it means to us and what it means to the world – we can increase our mojo, that positive spirit that starts from inside and radiates to the outside.”

“We can strive for achievement that really matters to us and let go of achievement that does not create happiness and meaning in our lives.”

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Awareness is merely having knowledge. It is a registering of the senses. However, alone, it is insufficient to effect change except in limited situations.

Awareness is the first milestone.

Acceptance is the second milestone. While awareness is the possession of knowledge, acceptance internalizes this awareness, transforming it into something personally meaningful.

Acknowledgment is the third critical state. Now, not only is there awareness of the issue and personal acceptance of the implications, but also an understanding that “I have a role to play”.

Valuing is the next vital link in the chain from awareness to performance. By now, the message has sunk in. Thinking, “We…I…ought to do something about it,” represents a leap from interested spectator to involved actor.

Action transforms abstract desire for change into actual activity.

Support means moving beyond personal behavior to helping others.

Advocacy is the ultimate state in the awareness-to-performance journey.

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Great managers create an engaged workforce, and an engaged workforce leads to customer loyalty.

Three foundational elements were identified to help align the members of Petco’s front-line management team with the business and simultaneously give them what they need to be successful, to be part of the bigger picture and to know that their contributions make a difference.

1.) Connect Managers to the Big Picture: By providing a big-picture look at the business, managers can make clear connections between their activities and the business functions they ask direct reports to complete, creating a system where each person plays an integral part in the workflow process.

2.) Empower Managers: Every interaction must be considered a coaching moment.

3.) Make “Stop” More Important Than “Start”: By identifying responsibilities that can be stopped or moved elsewhere, a powerful message emerges about priorities and commitments.

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1.) Start before day one

2.) Make it interactive and fun, not stuffy!

3.) Socialization: Organizations that don’t focus on acclimating new employees to their corporate culture are at a significant disadvantage. Employees who know what to expect from their company’s culture and work environment, make better decisions that are more aligned with the accepted practices of the company.

4.) Extend it beyond day one: Studies have shown that extending onboarding beyond the first day, preferably from 3 months to 1 year, can significantly improve the overall experience and the resulting engagement and retention of your employee base.

5.) Assign a mentor

6.) Get the manager involved

7.) Measure the impact

8.) Automate the process

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Generation Y may be going through a reality check thanks to the economy, but ideals and expectations cannot be shelved forever. Employers must take a long-term view to engage, train and challenge their youngest employees.

Economists say the recession is officially over, but it doesn’t feel like it for most of us.

Generation Y – also known as the millennial generation, born in 1981-2000 – is not immune to the effects of a down economy. In 2006, the Pew Research Center discovered that 50% of 18 to 29 year olds were employed full-time. That percentage dropped to 41% in 2010.

But Generation Y makes up approximately 30% of the US workforce, the second largest group behind baby boomers.

When the economy starts showing significant improvement, boomers who normally would have left in a more orderly progression may begin leaving in greater numbers.

Generation Y seeks to develop the skills that will make them attractive to any number of employers, at any time. If they’re not satisfied with their employer’s efforts to train them, deliver opportunities for senior management visibility and offer job flexibility, they will leave.

Knowing that job hopping will be a natural occurrence among millennials, let’s examine how an employer can proactively develop younger employees from the day they start, which will help identify future leaders and ensure that even if they do leave, millennials will describe the organization to others as an employer of choice.

Engaging millennials needs to begin before they walk through the door as new employees.

Further, for baby boomers, a bully boss may have come with the territory and may have been tolerated. Members of Gen Y are more likely to take their creativity and skills elsewhere if they feel under-appreciated.

Parents of millennials did not bully them into completing activities or run a dictatorship within their households. They served more as trusted, hands-on coaches and advisers, encouraging their children on the soccer filed, providing guidance on complicated school projects and helping navigate the college admissions process.

Gen Y employees expect the same type of mentoring and safe environment from their supervisors.

Development should involve opportunities to share proposals with senior management and conduct presentations in front of peers and supervisors. Allow Gen Y employees to nurture and grow ideas without fear of failure, or to be “intrapreneurs”.

While all generations like workplace flexibility, members of Gen Y often do not place boundaries between work life and personal life. They prefer to come and go as it fits their schedules.

Working for a company that values their ideas and fuels their career growth is important to Gen Y employees, but they also want an employer that has a social conscience. Corporate social responsibility and a philanthropic mindset matter to millennials. This is a generation that grew up recycling and participating in community service projects.

Millennials embrace the immediacy of the online universe and all it has to offer – and that means more than just posting their latest news on Facebook.

For employers, Generation Y’s connection to this vast digital universe can have ramifications for millennial recruitment and retention.

The key to providing an exceptional work experience that delivers for both parties so that when a millennial employee leaves, that person speaks highly of the organization. A past employee often becomes a new client as new as a key advocate – or badvocate – to recruit new talent.

Millennials may not be company employees for life, but in a sense, they will be the company’s reputation for life. Make it count.

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A shrinking talent pool and new technology are changing the shopping experience.

Retailers should look at a solution that provides the following:

- Recruitment Forecasting: Determines projected needs, defines quarterly hiring volumes and aligns top-performer profiles to talent needs.

- Candidate Sourcing: Creates approved requisitions based on demand, defines advertising and conducts internal and external sourcing.

- Candidate Screening and Assessment: Performs screening and preliminary assessment, coordinates hiring manager selection and notifies non-selected candidates.

- New Hire On-Boarding: Defines the human resources package for the job, confirms the candidate and tracks referrals and bonuses.

- Contingent and Contract Management: Determines a preferred supplier list with the client and provides direct access to key contingent labor partners to quickly on-board, manage and off-board.

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“No one can reject you without your consent.”

“Ritualize your phone time – make an appointment with yourself to call during set times.”

“End everyday with a win.”

“Write your phone number as you leave it on a voice message. This ensures you are saying it slowly enough for the person on the other end to write it down as well.”

“Treat the screener as you would the buyer.”

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“In studying 4,658 actual business technology buyers, research organization Marketing Sherpa found more than 50% admitted to short-listing a vendor after receiving a well-timed and relevant phone call.”

“Cold calling is the fastest way to increase your sales pipeline, your company’s revenue , and your personal income.”

“Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes helps you better understand their though process – which enhances your ability to discern and discuss what may be of value to them.”

“Value is not what you say it is; it is always what the buyer perceives it to be.”

“The easy way to provide possible value is to answer the following questions:
- We make it easier for companies to ________________________.
- We cut down the amount of time it takes to __________________________.
- We help eliminate the dreaded tasks of ______________________________.
- We cut down on the hassle of _____________________________________.
- We lessen the stress of __________________________________________.”

“Define your company’s differential advantages. Answer the following:
- What sets us apart is __________________________.
- What makes us different is _______________________.
- Something that you will get from us that no one else offers is _________________.”

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- Broad-based experience
- Years in practice
- Original thinking
- Excellent references and reputation

“To say you can’t afford time with a top adviser is to doom yourself to mediocrity and insignificant rewards. A top adviser differs from a would-be because he or she will:
- Not offer a canned solution from a limited repertoire
- Test your thinking on traditional approaches
- Know how to help you find the true problem before prescribing a solution
- Suggest alternative courses of action that fit that unique situation
- Articulate the solution for others who have to implement it”

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1.) Value and personal work satisfaction does not translate directly to the level of seniority or responsibility in the organization
2.) Personal satisfaction is as important if not more important than performance assessments, wage, and rewards/recognition
3.) The level of commitment one puts into their role has positive correlation to job satisfaction levels
4.) If an employee is happy with what they are doing, he/she will give more effort and feel more dedicated to the job and the company
5.) “Giving 100%” is not a cliche but a way of life

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1. Positive Values
2. Relaxed and Productive Atmosphere
3. Commitment to Excellence
4. Open and Honest Communication
5. Cooperation, Support and Empowerment
6. Sense of Humor
7. Compassion, Respect and Understanding
8. Flexibility
9. Positive Reinforcement
10. Emphasis on Health, Family and Environment

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* 107 trillion – The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2010.
* 294 billion – Average number of email messages per day.
* 1.88 billion – The number of email users worldwide.
* 480 million – New email users since the year before.
* 89.1% – The share of emails that were spam.
* 262 billion – The number of spam emails per day (assuming 89% are spam).
* 2.9 billion – The number of email accounts worldwide.
* 25% – Share of email accounts that are corporate.

Websites

* 255 million – The number of websites as of December 2010.
* 21.4 million – Added websites in 2010.

Web servers

* 39.1% – Growth in the number of Apache websites in 2010.
* 15.3% – Growth in the number of IIS websites in 2010.
* 4.1% – Growth in the number of nginx websites in 2010.
* 5.8% – Growth in the number of Google GWS websites in 2010.
* 55.7% – Growth in the number of Lighttpd websites in 2010.

Domain names

* 88.8 million – .COM domain names at the end of 2010.
* 13.2 million – .NET domain names at the end of 2010.
* 8.6 million – .ORG domain names at the end of 2010.
* 79.2 million – The number of country code top-level domains (e.g. .CN, .UK, .DE, etc.).
* 202 million – The number of domain names across all top-level domains (October 2010).
* 7% – The increase in domain names since the year before.

Internet users

* 1.97 billion – Internet users worldwide (June 2010).
* 14% – Increase in Internet users since the previous year.
* 825.1 million – Internet users in Asia.
* 475.1 million – Internet users in Europe.
* 266.2 million – Internet users in North America.
* 204.7 million – Internet users in Latin America / Caribbean.
* 110.9 million – Internet users in Africa.
* 63.2 million – Internet users in the Middle East.
* 21.3 million – Internet users in Oceania / Australia.

Social media

* 152 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse).
* 25 billion – Number of sent tweets on Twitter in 2010
* 100 million – New accounts added on Twitter in 2010
* 175 million – People on Twitter as of September 2010
* 7.7 million – People following @ladygaga (Lady Gaga, Twitter’s most followed user).
* 600 million – People on Facebook at the end of 2010.
* 250 million – New people on Facebook in 2010.
* 30 billion – Pieces of content (links, notes, photos, etc.) shared on Facebook per month.
* 70% – Share of Facebook’s user base located outside the United States.
* 20 million – The number of Facebook apps installed each day.

Videos

* 2 billion – The number of videos watched per day on YouTube.
* 35 – Hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute.
* 186 – The number of online videos the average Internet user watches in a month (USA).
* 84% – Share of Internet users that view videos online (USA).
* 14% – Share of Internet users that have uploaded videos online (USA).
* 2+ billion – The number of videos watched per month on Facebook.
* 20 million – Videos uploaded to Facebook per month.

Images

* 5 billion – Photos hosted by Flickr (September 2010).
* 3000+ – Photos uploaded per minute to Flickr.
* 130 million – At the above rate, the number of photos uploaded per month to Flickr.
* 3+ billion – Photos uploaded per month to Facebook.
* 36 billion – At the current rate, the number of photos uploaded to Facebook per year.

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They also state that: “A well-designed, fun and engaging onboarding process has a significantly greater effect on employee engagement and thus retention when compared to the old school mentality of one-day ‘orientation.’ In fact, the Human Resources Corporate Leadership Council found that increasing an employee’s level of engagement could potentially improve performance by 20% and reduce the employee’s probability of departure by a whopping 87%!”

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“At Deloitte, one of the keys to successfully tapping into a talent pool of candidates with nontraditional backgrounds is to seek out key competencies or attributes that make employees effective on the job.”

“Various analytical skills, people interface skills, communication skills, some things you think of when you think of EQ – the ability to read and interact with others and influence others – those attributes can obviously [come from individuals] from a wide array of backgrounds and majors,” said Diane Borhani, national campus recruiting director at Deloitte.”

“Deloitte eliminates the ambiguity around external hires’ performance capabilities by ensuring they have base line competencies and abilities.”

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“One major chlalnege talent leaders face is helping people develop their power skills. These include promoting themselves and their agendas, displaying confidence and being able to understand others’ points of view.”

“The qualities that make someone a good leader are not necessarily the qualities that would get a person into a leadership role int he first place.”

“Talented people clearly see when they look at the world around them that this isn’t completely true. People receive promotions based on credentials, experience and their relationships with their bosses, not just their job performance. Sometimes not-so-nice people win the race to the top, and individual and organizational interests can and do diverge.”

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“I want to thank you SOOOO very much for helping (which really doesn’t sound like a big enough word under the circumstances!) provide an unbelievable Christmas for our Soule School family”.

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Several weeks ago, we reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had opined that inquiries concerning employees’ or prospective employees’ credit worthiness “should be avoided because they tend to impact more adversely on minorities or females. Exceptions exist if the employer can show that such information is essential to the particular job in question.”

Now, the EEOC has dropped the other shoe, filing suit against an employer which allegedly rejected job applicants based on their credit history, with a “significant disparate impact” upon African Americans. (Those wishing to learn more about the important subject of adverse impact discrimination may wish to consider becoming a CPC or CTS.)

According to the New York Times, “sending a sharp warning to employers nationwide, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Kaplan Higher Education Corporation …, accusing it of discriminating against black job applicants through the way it uses credit histories in its hiring process.”

An EEOC spokeswoman stated that “credit histories were not required to show responsibility, they were compiled to show someone was not paying the bills, which is not always the same thing.” As an example, she cited someone who had been paying bills for years, but became unable to do so because of a job loss or family medical emergency.

Needless to say, Kaplan disagrees, stating that ‘the checks are job related, and a necessity to ensure that staff handling financial matters, including financial aid, are properly screened.”

The EEOC is seeking (1) a permanent injunction against the use by Kaplan of credit histories in employment and hiring decisions; (2) lost wages and benefits for anyone who was denied employment because of a credit check; and (3) an order compelling Kaplan to make employment offers to those individuals.

We cannot predict what the court’s decision might be, but we recommend that NAPS members only perform credit checks if they are certain that the information to be revealed is “essential to the job in question.”

Leading Technology Firms Agree Not to Restrict Their Solicitation of Competitors’ Employees

Many of you have run into a situation such as this: you feel you have the ideal candidate for a client, and the candidate is eager to move. However, your client tells you it must reject the candidate because it has agreed with the candidate’s current employer that the two companies would not poach employees from each other. You may now have a basis to convince your client that its agreement likely violates the anti-trust laws.

The United States Department of Justice had conducted a year-long investigation into the conduct of six technology giants – Apple, Google, Adobe, Pixar, Intel and Intuit. Many of these companies had entered into agreements with each other under which the companies would place certain employees on a “do not call” list, and agreed that they would not call any employee on the list for the purpose of soliciting employment. While the companies disagreed with the Justice Department’s position that this was an unlawful restraint of trade, they agreed to discontinue the practice.

The Justice Department stated that the agreements against cold-calling “diminished competition to the detriment of the affected employees who were likely deprived of competitively important information and access to better job opportunities.”

We have continuously advised state and local associations, networks and other groups of staffing companies to rethink any policy they might have that restricts their members right to hire employees of other members. This case presents yet another reason for doing so.

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- There are over 80 million members on LinkedIn
- 3 million new members join per month; that’s 1 new member every second!
- Professional are on LinkedIn because it allows them to manager their professional identity, build and maintain their professional network, and access valuable knowledge, insights and opportunities
- Only 10-30% of professionals are actively looking for a job; LinkedIn also gives access to those not looking
- Can search for professionals in positions with specific requirements (systems, certifications, etc.)
- Allows you to quickly target and find candidates with direct experience
- LinkedIin features members worldwide, with 52% from from the USA and 22% from Europe

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- “Social judgment can be described as the ability to analyze people and situations and then amke good decisions based on the information collected. After all, our impressions of others are the basic building blocks of our interpersonal competence. Whether right or wrong, based on long-standing relationships or brief encounters, we instinctively construct mental models of every individual we meet, and those models shape our hiring decisions, our negociating tactics and our daily interactions.”

- “Think of this as peripheral vision, the ability to detect and respond to events within one’s line of focus and beyond it. People with social judgment find ways to see around corners and anticipate what might be coming next.”

- “Observe individuals in action. Physical signals such as posture, eye contact, movement of hands and feet, and voice control are revealing. These behaviors are often magnifiers for personal anxieties, unresolved conflicts or hidden agendas.”

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- “Far fewer employers have yet broadened their policy to include bans or restrictions while driving on texting, use of other electronic devices, eating, reading, writing, non-work related passengers, loud music, applying make-up, shaving, reaching into the glove compartment or under a seat and other such distractions.”

- “New Hampshire, with its motto of ‘Live Free or Die’, is the only state that still does not require adult motorists to wear seat belts. However, in 2001 New Hampshire became the first state to enact a general distracted driving law. Under this law a driver can be fined for ‘careless and negligent driving,’ which is defined as a person in ‘control of a vehicle in motion…simultaneously performing another task or tasks which the driver knows or reasonably should know are likely to prevent…full attention to the road or from becoming aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk’.”

- “Companies need to recognize that they can no longer encourage employees to multi-task while driving, nor can thye tacitly approve this behavior by ignoring it.”

- “A Company should establish and enforce a clear written policy prohibiting whatever distracted driving is banned by any state in which its employees may drive. In addition, companies should consider prohibiting any conduct whatsoever that could distract the employee from giving their full attention to the task of driving. In addition, employees should consider technology that can prevent the use of cell phones or texting on company devices while driving, and prohibiting the use of other personal electronic devices while behind the wheel.”

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“One of the clear themes that developed from this snapshot of employee attitudes during tthe belly of the recession was a strong sense of dissatisfaction. Individual contributors reported that they felt disengaged and stagnant, lacked development opportunities and overall were just waiting out the tough times and hoping the music would start playing again soon”.

“In most organizations, this would lead to massive, costly and disruptive turnover. Individual contributors far outnumber leaders, and these workers usually comprise the majority of any organization’s population. When individual contributors begin to leave, it’s likley that customers will notice. Customers will feel the pain as they wait longer to talk to a customer service representative on the phone, find out their favorite consultant is leaving for a competitor or are on the receiving end of a mistake made after a high performer departs. Colleagues left behind will, once again, be asked to do more – breeding the same kind of negative feelings that drive people into the job market.”

“Ensure that each employee understands how his or her role contributes to overall business goals, and offer opportunities. A sense of purpose on the job helps combat feelings of stagnation and builds engagement. An exciting opportunity will energize an employee and also demonstrate that he or she is valued and trusted with the task.”

“Organizations may want to increase the availability of training on interpersonal skills. Providing opportunities to increase soft skills increases engagement while also building skills that are critical to team and individual success.”

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Henry Glickel was honored for his support of The Richard Stockton College’s Black Faculty and Staff. “Several members of the Council of Black Faculty and Staff were instrumental in enriching my education during my tenure at The Richard Stockton College and it has been a privilege to show my support and appreciation over the years,” Glickel said. “I owe a great deal of my success to their guidance and inspiration.”

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1.) “Can you describe a typical day for someone in this position?”
2.) “Could you talk about the history of this position?”
3.) “What were the major strengths and weaknesses of the last person who held this job?”
4.) “What are this position’s biggest challenges?”
5.) “In what area could your team use some improvement?”
6.) “What are the prospects for advancement?”
7.) “How would I be evaluated?”
8.) “Who are the most successful people in this company and why?”
9.) “Why do you enjoy working at this company?”
10.) “Do you have any reservations about me or my ability to perform this job?”

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Surveys indicate that between 60 and 70% of professionals are considered to be passive or semi-passive candidates.

Recruiters can use these tips to differentiate themselves and demonstrate consultive value to hiring clients by coaching them toward passive candidate hiring success:

1.) Pace Appropriately: Building trust takes longer with passive candidates, so don’t force the relationship. Encourage managers to set a conversational tone in the initial dialogue.

2.) Measure the Balance: Coach managers to share stories of how the company has delivered on the candidate’s hot buttons with current employees. Better yet, invite an employee to tell the candidate her story.

3.) Avoid the Hard Sell: If a candidate isn’t ready to engage in next steps, express that the door to future discussions with you is always open. Ask for permission to stay in touch and then do so.

4.) Honor Confidentiality

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Myth: There is no room for small staffing firms today
Reality: Small companies are more nimble and react to changes faster

then large organizations. Innovation and proactive approaches are also easier to implement. Small firms are locally owned and can often develop special relationships with their clients that others can’t. The key as noted earlier is having quality staff that can do these things. Also the small specialty niches referred to above are often overlooked by larger companies.

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- Recruiters use personal and corporate pages on Facebook and LinkedIn to announce openings and network with prospective clients
- Recruiters are beginning to use Twitter to announce employment opportunities; job seekers can subscribe to their Twitter feeds to get notification when positions are available
- Some companies use a corporate Facebook page to communicate new programs or policies
- Some companies use a corporate blog and video sharing to keep employees around the world engaged in the corporate officers’ semiannual meeting

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Baby boomers number 76 million, and millenials – also called Generation Y – 75 million, but there are only 41 million Gen Xers. Gen X eventually will have to replace retiring boomers, and there just aren’t enough of them. When the recession ends and baby boomers retire, this demographic problem could turn into another economic disaster. Yet there are some boomers who failed to adequately save for retirement and will continue to work into their 70s and beyond.

According to stereotypes, boomers think Generation X needs a stronger work ethic, and Gen Xers see the boomers as self-absorbed workaholics.

Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1976, range in age from 34 to 45. Corporate America’s C-Suite is currently about 60% boomers and 40% Gen Xers. But there is a problem; “Some boomers are going to remain in the workforce a lot longer,” said Jonathan Magid, co-author of Why Leaders Fail. As a result, increasing numbers of high-potential Gen X executives may bail because they feel they have no place to go in their organizations.

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Regardless of your company’s size or budget, social media should be considered a part of your overall strategy. Before you move ahead with a robust social media plan, it is important to evaluate the knowledge and comfort level of your recruiting staff, review how you are spending your budget and acknowledge your team’s commitment, or lack thereof, to monitor and maintain an updated and interesting online recruiting presence.

The key to social media is building relevant and useful relationships. The relationship can be between your recruiters and potential candidates, your customers, your staff and beyond. In the talent acquisition world, the new recruiting landscape reaches beyond Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, MySpace, and Twitter. Other effective recruiting tools include aggregators such as Indeed and Simply Hired.

“Recruiting in 2010 is more specialized and more difficult. Traditional methods are not the best anymore.”

Social media tools are best used with a commitment to strong relationship building and follow-up.

If you are not prepared to put in the time and effort, it can be as much a negative as a positive.

“You have to leverage your employees in using a social media tool. You can’t be afraid that they will say something negative. The transparency will greatly affect referral programs, and increase pride in your organization.”

“Social media sites are not going to always lead you to a direct result, but it should be part of your strategy to brand your organization and yourself personally.”

“If someone is considering social media, the first recommendation is to develop a strategy that considers objectives, resources, integration with corporate marketing, media and IT plans, and such issues as security and privacy.

Here are some basic strategies you and your staff should follow to develop a social media recruiting strategy:
1.) Know your staff: are you or your recruiting staff comfortable using social media?
2.) Review your budget: is social media really free when you add up the hours of employees effectively or ineffectively trying to use these tools?
3.) Tread gently: don’t move ahead or abandon all your proven recruiting methods
4.) Be specific
5.) Keep track and fine tune: optimize your jobs on your site so they appear in natural search engine results
6.) Stay true to your employer brand: your employer value preposition should clearly define who you are as an organization and why someone would want to join your team

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On-call workers: a pool of workers called to work as needed, although they can be scheduled to work for several days or weeks in a row, such as substitute teachers and construction workers. Not to be confused with doctors and others who have regularly scheduled work that might include periods of being “on call” to perform work at unusual hours. On-call workers may be employees or independent contractors.

Outsourcing or contracting out: Transferring management or day-to-day execution of an entire business function to an external service provider. Those working for an outsourcing company may be employees or independent contractors of the outsourcing company.

Temps: Generally refers to employees of a temporary staffing agency who perform work for a third party on a temporary or seasonal basis. Temps generally are “on call” with a staffing agency indefinitely, although their assignments at various workplaces are usually finite. The term may also refer to a full- or part-time employee hired directly to work on a specific short-term project or hired for a finite period, such as a retail clerk brought on board at Christmas.

Employee:Someone hired to perform work on a regular basis at the employer’s behest. Wages and employment taxes for employees are paid and reported to the IRS by the employer.

Independent Contractor: A person or business that performs services for another person under an express or implied agreement and is not subject to other other’s control. Payments to independent contractors must be reported to the IRS on Form 1099. The contractor is responsible for paying his or her own employment taxes.

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For managers to ask questions and listen effectively, to practice mind-set management and set the conditions for true employee growth, they should consider seven pieces of advice.

1.) Make subordinates see that you understand their perspective.
2.) Show subordinates that change is important for the company.
3.) Be willing to make exceptions to the rules.
4.) Show subordinates how making changes to themselves can make a difference for their own future.
5.) Be specific.
6.) Avoid comparisons: While they can compare people when they are runners in a 100-yard dash, they can’t compare them when it’s the 4-by-100-meter relay. In the latter, people with different performance attributes have different roles to play, and this determines the order in which they should run for optimal team results.
7.) Use “I” speak: Bosses should use “I” when giving feedback, making it clear they’re speaking for themselves, rather than speaking some universal truth.

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Question: I work for a company that has its corporate offices in New Hampshire, but also has employees who work out of offices located in Maine and Massachusetts. The Company keeps all employee personnel records in the New Hampshire corporate office. Are we in legal compliance if we follow the New Hampshire personnel file rules, or do we have to treat personnel files for employees in Massachusetts and Maine differently?

Answer: If you follow the New Hampshire personnel file law and rules, you would only be in legal compliance as to your New Hampshire employees. Employers must comply with the particular labor and employment laws and regulations for each state in which they have employees. This means that you must keep personnel records for employees employed in Massachusetts that comply with Massachusetts requirements, and must comply with Maine law for your Maine employees, irrespective of the fact that the personnel files are housed in New Hampshire. Similarly, you must follow the Maine and Massachusetts laws relating to personnel file inspection and copying for employees in those states.

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A Careerbuilder.com online survey conducted in the spring with more than 500 business leaders in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden unearthed the following oddball reasons employees have given for straggling into work late:

- Employee had difficulty adjusting to the climate change from winter to summer
- Employee was concerned about the impact of an impending comet
- Employee’s cat was stuck in the flap of the pet door
- Employee was delayed by volcanic ash
- Employee said a bank robbery occurred in front of his house
- Employee said police were taking fingerprints from a stolen car that block the employee’s car
- Employee said a horse jumped over a hedge and onto the top of her car
- Employee said someone his teeth

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“Several members of the Council of Black Faculty and Staff were instrumental in enriching my education during my tenure at The Richard Stockton College and it has been a privilege to show my support and appreciation over the years,” Glickel said. “I owe a great deal of my success to their guidance and inspiration.”

Since its inception more than a quarter of a century ago, the Council of Black Faculty and Staff has worked to expand the opportunities available to Stockton’s diverse community. The Council has awarded more than $220,000 in scholarship money to deserving Stockton students since 1981.

Sales Recruiters, Inc. (SRI) provides traditional employee recruitment, as well as creative retention and training services. SRI works closely with clients to provide uniquely customized solutions so that they may maintain the highest quality staff.

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After the Chuck Martin speech, Henry Glickel gave an excellent roundtable seminar in which he actually showed how his firm Sales Recruiters implemented such social media improvements as a revamped website, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Henry demonstrated how his firm is tracking the results, which already include new candidates and job orders that can be directly attributed to these efforts.

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Review of Smart Calling-Eliminate the Fear, Failure, and Rejection from Cold Calling
By Art Sobczak

In studying 4,658 actual business technology buyers, research organizations MarketingSherpa found more than 50 percent admitted to short-listing a vendor after receiving a well-timed and relevant phone call.

Cold calling is the fastest way to increase your sales pipeline, your company’s revenue, and your personal income.

Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes helps you better understand their thought process-which enhances your ability to discern and discuss what may be of value to them.

Value is not what you say it is; it is always what the buyer perceives it to be.

The easy way to provide possible value. Answer the following questions.
We make it easier for companies to _______
We cut down the amount of time it takes to _________
We help eliminate the dreaded tasks of ________
We cut down on the hassle of ____________
We lessen the stress of ____________

Define your company’s differential advantages. Answer the following:
What sets us apart is __________
What makes us different is ___________
Something that you will get from us that no one else offers is ___________.

“Prepare to win, or lose to someone who is.” Jeffrey Gitomer

www.wonsalesanalysis.com

No one can reject you without your consent.

Ritualize your phone time-Make an appointment with yourself to call during set times.

End everyday with a win.

Write you phone number as you leave it on a voice message. This ensures you are saying it slowing enough for the person on the other end to write it down as well.

Treat the screener as you would the buyer.

www.pronouncenames.com

Do not ask:
Are you satisfied with what you are doing?
Do you have any training needs?
Are you having any problems?
Is there anything I could do for you?

These questions above force the listener to do too much thinking

Fromm How to get people to do things by Robert Conklin,. The lowest 10% of the salesforce talked an average of 30 minutes during a presentation studied. The top 10% of the sales people talked 12 minutes during same presentation.

From Dr. Robert Cialdini author of the book Influence: Science and Practice, “95% of people are imitators and only 5% are initiators; so people are persuaded more by the actions of others by any proof we can offer.”

Most people desire to remain consistent to beliefs and commitments that they have previously stated.

Researchers at the University of California found that we can process 5-20% faster when we are standing than when we are sitting.

When you are hot, keep at it. When and accomplished objectives are coming easily for you, don’t stop to dwell on success too long. Take advantage of the groove you are in.

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If the Baby Boom generation retires from the labor force at the same time and age as current older workers, the Baby Bust generation that follows, also known as Generation X, will likely be too small to fill many of the projected new jobs, says a report by researchers at Boston’s Northeastern University.

There could be at least 5 million potential job vacancies in the United States, nearly half of them (2.4 million) in social-sector jobs in education, health care, government and nonprofit organizations.

Research indicates that about half of Americans ages 44 to 70 want paid work improving the quality of life in their communities.

Providing opportunities for older adults to work in the kinds of social-sector jobs they say they want will increase the likelihood that they will work longer and help close the jobs gap, according to the report, titled After the Recovery: Help Needed.

“The big question therefore is not simply whether there will be enough jobs for older workers but whether the work will be rewarding enough, both economically and socially, to keep them in the labor force.”

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Since its inception more than a quarter of a century ago, the Council of Black Faculty and Staff has worked to expand the opportunities available to Stockton’s diverse community. The Council has awarded more than $220,000 in scholarship money to deserving Stockton students since 1981.

This year’s honorary chairperson is Stockton’s Provost and Executive Vice President, Dr. Harvey Kesselman, of Mays Landing. The following award recipients will be honored for their contributions, which are making a difference both locally and internationally.
• Lifetime-Achievement Recipient–Dr. David Carr, Galloway, NJ
• Merit Award Recipient–Ms. Yuberky Pena, Galloway, NJ
• Distinguished Stockton Alumna–Dr. Agathe Franck, M.D., ‘02, Fords, NJ

Stockton’s men’s basketball Coach Gerry Matthews, Distinguished Professor of Art Wendel White and Mr. Kenneth O’Reggio ‘92, a member of the Richard Stockton College Foundation Board of Directors, will also be recognized for their dedicated service to the College and community.

This year’s corporate sponsor is Henry Glickel of Sales Recruiters, Inc.

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The Hard Worker
- Always willing to go the extra mile
- Doesn’t give up easily
- Self-motivated
- Interested in feedback and development

The Challenger
- Always has a different view of the world
- Understands the customer’s business
- Loves to debate
- Pushes the customer

The Problem Solver
- Reliably responds to internal and external stakeholders
- Ensures that all problems are solved
- Detail-oriented

The Relationship Builder
- Builds strong advocates in customer organization
- Generous in giving time to help others
- Gets along with everyone

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Primary Reasons Why Firms Don’t Outsource:
- Unable to identify a good potential outsourcing partner (6%)
- Knowledge of outsourcing (9%)
- Lack of internal expertise (9%)
- Unable to measure the financial benefits (10%)
- Internal cultural issues (20%)
- Outsourcing is too expensive (22%)
- Not necessary as we do a good job ourselves (40%)

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- Have on-site previews led by a trained facilitator
- Ensure that the previews reach the applicant’s senses
- Use subject-matter experts to teach the job’s true content
- Tell applicants about the high turnover issues
- Be completely honest about the worst parts of the job
- Schedule the preview early in the hiring process
- Schedule applicants to meet individually with a current high-performing employee
- Include specific information about the local area for relocating employees
- Track the percentage of potential hires that is screened out by your preview
- Build online previews using video and other technology tools

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The Sunk Cost Trap

The sunk cost trap in hiring is triggered by a combination of fatigue and reluctance to admit a mistake. Once a group of candidates has been identified for an interview, there is a natural hope that an offer will be made to a splendid person. After all that work, who would want to go back to square one and start over? Too often, the offer goes to the best applicant even if that individual is not a superior candidate. Starting over because a suitable person was not found casts doubt on those who chose the finalists. If considerable time and professional judgment have been invested in a hiring process, the sunk cost trap has been set.

Ways to avoid the trap:
- Maintain a high bar for the hiring decision: Consider the candidates in light of their fit and ability to contribute to the business.
- Be on the lookout for a sunk cost bias in anyone assessing talent: Talk to them candidly about this and reassign responsibility for the hiring decision if necessary.
- Assign a person to be a devil’s advocate: Ask the devil’s advocate to make sure fatigue or professional ego do not compromise the decision.

Check the blog throughout the rest of the week for other common traps to avoid.

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The Framing Trap

Two hiring managers at different organizations spoke about upcoming assessments for key roles.

# 1: “We absolutely need to get the right person for this job.”
# 2: “This job has been vacant for way too long. We need to get it filled.”

A poorly framed request can undermine even the best hiring process. In this instance, hiring manager # 2 communicated only the urgency of the situation. The urgency conveyed may lead the talent manager to favor a candidate despite significant flaws. If the request is reframed to balance urgency with the need to hire a superior candidate, the talent manager can pull back from making what might have been a bad hire.

Ways to avoid the trap:
- Avoid conveying a willingness to accept a weaker candidate: No matter what urgency exists to fill a slot, communicate the intent to find a superior candidate.
- Make the task manageable: Avoid asking talent managers to “eliminate the weak candidates.” This type of direction is too vague. Specify past experiences, training and job responsibilities that are a good fit with the job.

Check the blog throughout the rest of the week for other common traps to avoid.

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The Status Quo Trap

There is a strong pull to maintain the status quo because breaking from the status quo means taking action. When we take action, we take responsibility, thus opening ourselves to criticism. Unfortunately, in many businesses, mistakes due to an action taken tend to be punished more severely than mistakes due to inaction.

Ways to avoid the trap:
- Use the recession as a chance to upgrade: Don’t assume the new person must have the same skills and background as the person being replaced.
- Consider individuals from different industries or with different degrees: They may have highly relevant but undervalued skills. Do not close the door because their background is atypical for the position.

Check the blog throughout the rest of the week for other common traps to avoid.

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The Anchoring Trap

Recently, talent managers have struggled to assess candidates who have been laid off from previous jobs. What might historically have been considered a red flag is now a common reality. These individuals may fall prey to the anchoring trap when disproportionate weight is assigned to the first significant information received. While being lad off could be a meaningful piece of information, it is far from a defining indication of the quality of an individual’s work – particularly in the midst of this period of high unemployment.

Ways to avoid the trap:
- Be open-minded: Fully explore candidates’ contributions at previous companies
- Be careful describing a job candidate: Avoid overemphasizing a single fact that might skew the decision-making process and ultimately lead to the wrong call. Highlighting a particular fact can make it difficult for subsequent assessors to develop a complete picture of the candidate.

Check the blog throughout the rest of the week for other common traps to avoid.

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Technical Expertise

Don’t go in armed with just a bursting-at-the-seams brag book. In pharmaceutical sales, the importance of technical knowledge far surpasses any number of brilliant closing techniques you may have. “You need to know pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, everything,” said Kennedy. “All employers expect it.” The best candidates are those with sales experience in another sector who also carry a degree (or two) in science. Henry Glickel, a search executive at Salem, N.H.-based Sales Recruiters, also said that entry level hiring is very strong right now. Especially in the southeast, where the population is growing, he said, there are many opportunities.

Click here to read the entire article.

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“Most of us recognize that employee engagement is not an option; it’s a business imperative that can be traced directly to the bottom line. Top employee engagement levels correlate to better performance, and the payoff in revenue, earnings, productivity and other key business metrics is substantial.”

He believes that what is now being widely acknowledged is the vital role corporate social responsibility (CSR) can play in building and enhancing employee engagement.

In surveys conducted in 2008 and 2009, 85% of respondents indicated that “meaningful work that contributes to a better society and healthier environment” is the biggest driver of engagement.

In a 2009 poll by staffing company Kelly Services, “a company’s ethical behavior was cited as an important factor in deciding where to work by 97% of 7,000 people surveyed. 53% said they would take a pay cut to work for an employer with a reputation for caring about employees and the community.

Arkes goes on to explain that “employees are people, and people want to make a difference. They want to work for companies that care about them, their families, their communities and their causes that are important to them.”

“Aligning employee recognition, incentive and gift programs with the organization’s values and mission as well as corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives is an obvious opportunity. In tight financial times, ongoing, meaningful rewards and recognition provide a low-cost way to raise morale and encourage higher performance because these small actions are visible and tangible.”

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Here’s some experts from the article that I found interesting:

- Talent management is a sophisticated practice, one requiring a broad, strategic view of the organization’s goals. But in today’s fast-paced, rapidly changing business world, it’s sometimes the small details that can make a difference.

- What’s required is a redefinition of micromanagement. A better term night be micro-macro-management: making targeted decisions and investments that smartly use resources and limit cost, but yield a significant return.

- Then there’s microrecruiting. Given the vagaries of the economy, many employers are loath to take on a large number of new employees and kick the hiring engine into high gear. Instead, they are hiring more selectively rather than broadly. In the past, corporate recruiters partnered with recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) providers who did the blocking and tackling involved in sourcing, recruiting and managing candidates, allowing internal staff to focus on more strategic talent initiatives.

- In this era, where risk can run high and competitive advantage can evaporate seemingly overnight, it may be time to reclaim micro-management from the dark side. Increasingly, it’s the small details that drive the big results.

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Here are ten tough questions to answer to figure out what critical traits new employees should have:

1.) What single characteristic is considered most important by hiring managers in a potential candidate?
2.) If there are two equally well-qualified candidates for a job, what determines the final choice?
3.) What are personality styles, traits, and habits of those who get promoted or seem to be the most highly regarded in your organization?
4.) If an employee were asked what adjective most accurately described the best employees’ personalities, what word would they choose?
5.) If a customer were asked to describe the culture of your organization, what would they say?
6.) How do you deal with poor-performing employees?
7.) Who is considered the most valuable employee in your organization? What distinctive traits or characteristics does s/he have?
8.) How do major decisions get made? Are they made by consensus, a majority viewpoint, or a single person?
9.) What do you expect a good employee to have as general career aspirations?
10.) What does an employee have to do/demonstrate in order to be considered for a promotion?

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Five qualities that we need to bring to an activity to do it well are motivation, knowledge, ability, confidence, and authenticity.
Five benefits that we may receive from doing an activity well are happiness, reward, meaning, learning, and gratitude.

Professional Mojo: What I Bring to This Activity

1.) Motivation: You want to do a great job with the activity
2.) Knowledge: You understand what to do and how to do it
3.) Ability: You have the skills needed to do the task well
4.) Confidence: You are sure of yourself when performing this activity
5.) Authenticity: You are genuinely enthusiastic about the activity

Personal Mojo: What This Activity Brings to Me

1.) Happiness: Being engaged in this activity makes you happy
2.) Reward: This activity provides material or emotional rewards that are important to you
3.) Meaning: The results of this activity are meaningful to you
4.) Learning: This activity helps you to learn and grow
5.) Gratitude: Overall, you feel grateful to be able to do this activity and believe it is a great use of your time

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Financial education is defined as any workplace initiative, program or resource designed to provide employees with information on how to manage their financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being.

According to the survey:
- Large organizations were more likely than small organizations to provide financial education (75% vs. 51%)
- Organizations with multinational operations were more likely to provide financial education than those based only in the United States (72% vs. 61%)
- Publicly trade companies were more likely than privately owned companies to provide financial education (76% vs. 58%)

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1.) Job Security: Works are focused on avoiding unemployment in this weak labor market. Many feel their professional skills and importance to their organization’s success increases their chances of not getting fired.

2.) Benefits: The unstable economy and the rising cost of health care, along with faltering retirement benefits, make offerings from employers more important than ever.

3.) Opportunities to Use Skills: Employees feel better about their jobs when they are utilizing their abilities and contributing to their organizations.

4.) Organization’s Financial Stability: This factor is increasingly important at a time when many companies and industries thought to be stable have collapsed or needed federal bailouts.

5.) Compensation: Due to the economic climate, many companies are radically changing the way they pay and bonus their workforce. Some have frozen wage increases and reduced worker hours to avoid layoffs.

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HR leaders need to take extra precautions when letting workers go:
- First, look for warning signs from workers
- Set the neutral room up beforehand, so it’s obvious where the HR executive will sit and where the employee being terminated should sit (furthest from the door)
- Depending on the severity of the situation and if the employee has made threats before, HR should consider having a police officer or private security work present.
- HR professionals should also be prepared with one-liners or phrases that can help ease a tense situation – a bit basic but it can help diffuse a volatile worker.

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Here are 3 levers of real value where the cost of investment is minimal, but the payoff is inestimable:
- Formalize Flexibility: Many companies allow all employees to propose their own flexible work programs and measure the results. Putting the burden on employees to manage their flex-time frees managers from over-managing these arrangements.
- Keep Career Development: Research shows that stimulating and challenging assignments represent the number one reason talented people love their jobs.
- Re-Create Pride and Purpose: Employees are motivated by a desire to give back to the world, and they seek employers who allow them to do so on company time.

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For more information, download the following PDF’s:
- Conference Agenda
- Conference Overview

You can also review the event on line at http://www.aa-isp.org/boston-event.php.

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- More than 40% of seniors said the current economy has had some kind of negative effect on their ability to retire.
- More than 50% of seniors are concerned that their overall network worth may no longer be enough to sustain their retirement.
- 86% said they had a reasonable understanding of their net worth, and 50% said their net worth had declined by 10-30%.

Such losses have caused many seniors to consider retiring at a later age than originally planned.

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As employees depart, HR professionals use the exit interview process as a tool to help protect intellectual property. Signed copies of confidentiality agreements should be presented to maintain confidentiality of records, electronic files and information learned while working at the company.

Employers should have each departing employee sign a document representing that he or she has returned all documents, computers and electronic storage devices, and that he or she has not made copies of such records.

If departing employees are given severance, any mutual release terms included in the severance agreement should be expressly known and unknown claims by the employer pertaining to the use or disclosure of its confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets.

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1.) Model the Way: Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals.
2.) Inspire a Shared Vision: Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.
3.) Challenge the Process: Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve.
4.) Enable Others to Act: Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.
5.) Encourage the Heart: Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.

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Working in HR often requires confronting challenging situations and communicating tough messages. Unfortunately, we can confuse people by being too obtuse or avoiding difficult conversations altogether…This ambiguity is unfortunate and has adverse consequences. High-potential employees are romanced away by other firms because they don’t know about the bright futures they have wit their present employers. When HR isn’t clear on the right position or is inconsistent across the enterprise, it reinforces the perception that it is soft-headed and fragmented.

These 3 guidelines can point yo in the right position for your organization:
1.) Are You Confident in the Call?: Can your managers make quality calibration judgments? Do your managers have a good handle on what the critical needs for future roles are?
2.) Is it Useful For Employees to Know?: In an aggressive, performance-oriented culture, employees should know their prospects.
3.) Can the Message Be Delivered Well?: To what degree can managers deftly inform employees about their potential?

As the talent sitters for the organization, we shouldn’t be muddled about communicating potential. Take the position of telling if your managers can make good judgments and inform employees well and if transparency is useful to the employee and the organization. If you can’t respond as confidently in these three aspects, take a mixed or no-tell position.

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By the time the downturn ends, many employees who stayed on the job out of fear will move to greener pastures. To avoid an exodus of top talent, organizations must embrace a new concept of employee loyalty that promotes employee and company interests in tandem.

An innovative strategy to retain top talent centers on the concept of employee loyalty, but not in its traditional sense:
- Loyalty is no longer synonymous with retention. Just because employees stick with it doesn’t mean they are engaged and therefore as productive as they could be.
- Employee loyalty no longer means one-directional communication. It is not just an employee being loyal to his managers and the company.

Employee loyalty should be thought of as circular communication. It starts with leaders creating initiatives that will earn employee loyalty.

Leaders need to examine what their employees are saying – and feeling – about their organization and its leaders and why.

Leadership development should discuss the importance of transparency. At this point in the global recovery, leaders need to be as transparent as possible. Now is not the time for ambiguity. Leaders need to be open and forthright with employees about the company’s direction and goals. That way, employees believe in the company’s health and understand where things are going, and they can be a part of its emergence.

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Here are 10 steps for developing an integrated hiring process that includes prescreening for cultural fit:
1.) Analyze the culture
2.) Develop a strong brand
3.) Use properly validated assessments
4.) Conduct behavioral based interviews
5.) Include auditions, role-play
6.) Learn the law
7.) Produce meaningful metrics
8.) Train interviewers
9.) Keep good records
10.) Monitoring: HR’s critical role

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Social networking sites allow recruiters to establish relationships with candidates while promoting their company and leveraging relationships into placements down the road. Social networking is social sourcing that leads to social recruitment, and don’t treat them separately!

According to a recent survey, nearly 70% of companies use social networking or social media to support their recruitment efforts. Additionally, recruitment and human resource professionals are using a variety of online sites to research candidates: LinkedIn (76%), search engines (67%), Facebook (44%), and Twitter (21%). Responders reported that 24% of candidates disclose their social networking presence when applying for a job.

The bottom line is that social networks can be utilized to gain a competitive advantage in an already competitive industry. As candidates seek out person-to-person relationships with recruiting professionals, the need for a well-crafted networking strategy is a necessity for recruitment success.

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1.) Acknowledge that one can’t mandate accountability, only demonstrate it.
2.) Determine what a lack of accountability is costing the organization.
3.) Address barriers to accountability within leadership such as in-fighting and power struggles, and set expectations.
4.) Get educated on accountability and develop a common understanding, vocabulary and set of tools and techniques.
5.) Make clear agreements for accountability and discuss consequences upfront.
6.) Commit to “calling out” a lack of accountability.
7.) Communicate a top-down accountability message to the organization – and live it.

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Online gaming may not become central to a company’s talent strategy, but there are lessons to learn from the allure of online role-playing games…While perhaps not as thrilling as online gaming, the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies offers news way to build collaboration and engagement in organizations and motivate people to accomplish increasingly challenging tasks. These technologies can be used to improve talent processes through:

1.) Collaboration and social networking that connect people and help them feel more engaged and less prone to leave.
2.) Social networking to locate candidates and build deeper succession plots.
3.) Social networking analysis to identify key employees whose contributions to organizational success might not show up in traditional performance reviews or job hierarchy.
4.) Analysis of contributions to collaborative knowledge sharing and other portfolio techniques in performance assessment.

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Here are a few examples of how to promote company loyalty:
-Develop a monthly business update: The update should communicate the company’s specific objectives and overarching strategy and how employees are meeting these goals.
-Create an internal weekly newsletter: The newsletter should highlight employee and project successes such as new business wins – and why they won, including what the team did better than competitors – and employee and organizational awards and recognitions.
-Enable direction communication to the top: Allow employees a way to communicate with top management – ideally the CEO.
-Promote company-sponsored volunteer opportunities: Organize ways for employees to be part of the community
-Conduct an informal learning program with a lunchtime speaker series: The presentations should cover topics and skills of relevance to overall business objectives and individual skill sets required to meet those objectives.
-Allow flexibility: In today’s world, flexibility is important for nearly all workers, and employers must recognize this.
-Support healthy lifestyles: Encourage and support a healthy lifestyle for employees.

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“The internet has now evolved into a powerful communication tool led by sites as MySpace and Facebook…and replaced the encyclopedia as the primary source of research and reference material.

The concept of social networking is not new. People have always wanted to gather and talk about things that interest them. As social creatures, we seek others who have common interests and ideas, and the internet provides a forum for the process.

Consider these facts: Facebook now has more than 400 million users and LinkedIn has more than 60 million. These numbers clearly show that people want to connect with each other. People are willing to share information about themselves provided they control both the content seen and who sees it.

When it comes to recruiting, a social network is really just a pool of potential candidates, or a community of talent, not a static database of candidates.

Today’s candidates are also different than those of even 10 years ago. They are faster than ever. Using e-mail and job aggregators, candidates can learn of jobs as soon as they open and will often respond immediately. They are also better connected: through social networks such as LinkedIn, candidates share information about companies, interviewers and recruiters.

Recruiters need to communicate quickly and honestly while using social media. They must be willing to answer candidate questions and engage in an ongoing discussion about the company. Bottom line: recruiters are competing for top talent, and they need to sell candidates on jobs.”

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“She would probably be talented and skilled, knowledgeable and adaptable. She’d be highly motivated and a quick learner, able to acquire and apply new knowledge and strategies rapidly. She would possess the people skills needed to work with diverse groups of people, and at the same time be financially savvy with a highly developed business acumen. She’d likely inspire other workers by her actions and be an expert communicator, able to take complex information and make it understandable for a wide range of audiences.

Talent managers need to be knowledgeable about the broader business and be able to apply that knowledge flexibly. Talent managers need to be strategic executors, paying attention to precision and detail. They need to be multifaceted, able to connect with a diverse array of people at all levels in the organization.

Our people are more diverse, more disparate, and in many cases, more unattached to their organizations, both physically and psychologically.”

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- Pillar 1: Investing Is Not Nearly As Difficult As It Looks
- Pillar 2: When All Else Fails, Fall Back On Simplicity
- Pillar 3: Time Marches On
- Pillar 4: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
- Pillar 5: Diversify, Diversify, Diversify
- Pillar 6: The Eternal Triangle
- Pillar 7: The Powerful Magnetism Of The Mean
- Pillar 8: Do Not Overestimate Your Ability To Pick Superior Equity Funds, Nor Underestimate Your Ability To Pick Superior Bond And Money Market Funds.
- Pillar 9: You May Have A Stable Principal Value Or A Stable Income Stream, But You May Not Have Both
- Pillar 10: Beware of “Fighting the Last War”
- Pillar 11: You Rarely, If Ever, Know Something The Market Does Not
- Pillar 12: Think Long Term

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This Year: Health reform provides tax cuts to many small businesses to help cover the cost of employee health insurance, if they choose to do so. Eligible employers will receive tax cuts worth up to 35% of employees’ premiums – and roughly 60% of America’s businesses will qualify.

2014: In 2014, the health insurance exchanges begin, which make health insurance more affordable and accessible for small businesses and the self-employed. By joining a large pool, small businesses will be able to shop for high-quality, affordable coverage that large companies enjoy today.

2014: Building on the tax cuts that begin this year, in 2014 small business owners who purchase coverage through the exchanges can receive a two-year tax cut for up to 50% of what they contribute toward their employee health insurance premiums.

2014: Starting in 2014, many middle-class small business employees who do not receive insurance through work will be able to receive tax credits to purchase insurance on the health insurance exchanges. For example, an individual who earns $43,000 or less, and a family of four who earns less than $88,000 will be eligible for these tax credits.

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“1.) Get an Edge: Look at your industry’s biggest cost and time constraints and challenge the conventional thinking in those areas of the business.
2.) Own a Phrase: Brand is about owning a word or two in the minds of your market. And how do you know if you own the phrase? Google it and see if your company shows up.
3.) Hyperfocus: Align the entire company around a single measurable priority each quarter.
4.) Control Your Cash: Growth sucks cash, so construct a business model that fuels your growth without the needs of outside capital. You’ll sleep better knowing the business can fund its own growth.
5.) Write!: Flood the digital market space with blogs, white papers, YouTube videos, and Twitter messages that align with the phrase you own.
6.) Pulse Faster: If you want to move faster, pulse faster. The executive teams of the fastest-moving companies huddle daily, as if in constant crisis mode – driving on priorities, metrics, and data gathered from the market.”

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“The right employees understand the business, drive change, build commitment in others and consistently achieve results. They have demonstrated that they are agile at learning and have shown potential to take on broader scope or handle greater responsibilities. Talent managers should have a valid and reliable process to identify and track these employees. Leaders should know who they are and should take personal responsibility for their development.

Typically, pivotal roles are not related to organizational hierarchy, require unique skills that are scarce in the marketplace and are not a large percentage of the employee population. Employees in these roles usually exhibit a wide range of performance – not everyone can do these jobs well.

It is counterproductive to spend scarce time and resources conducting stay interviews with employees who block change, are not agile at learning or don’t achieve consistent results.”

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Based upon the study results, HR Professionals plan to:

Increase Usage
1.) LinkedIn
2.) Social Media (Facebook/Twitter)
3.) Employee Referrals
4.) Corporate Website

Decrease Usage
1.) Agency – Retained
2.) Agency – Contingency
3.) Online Job Boards
4.) Career Fairs

Stay the Same
1.) Online Job Boards
2.) Employee Referrals
3.) Corporate Website
4.) Online Resume Databases

No Plans to Use
1.) Ads, Broadcast (TV/Radio)
2.) Online Videos
3.) Open Houses
4.) Ads, Print (Newspapers)

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“What follows are 13 suggestions to acquire support, increase effectiveness and build your performance professional competency repertoire.

1.) Read articles and circulate them to colleagues and clients.
2.) Target individual, open clients with whom you can collaborate.
3.) Attend professional performance improvement conferences to share your experiences and learn from others.
4.) Develop in-house projects that enhance and support your performance improvement goals.
5.) Take a senior manager to lunch and share your performance improvement aspirations.
6.) Enroll in external courses and programs related to performance improvement.
7.) Join workplace learning and performance organizations.
8.) Link into external groups and participate in communities of practice.
9.) Establish relationships with internal and external mentors.
10.) Celebrate performance improvement successes.
11.) Even if not directly called upon, informally assist others in their performance improvement projects.
12.) Document what works.
13.) Submit for professional awards.”

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“Because resumes are not considered official legal documents, the temptation for candidates to place half-truths or full lies on them may grow as the tight job market drags on. Below are some of the top resume and interview fabrications, according to Chicago-based outplacement consultancy Challenge, Gray and Christmas:

Education: Listing a degree from a school never attended; inflating grade-point average and graduate honors; citing a degree from an online, non-accredited “education” institution.

Job Title: Making up a title or boosting an actual title by one or more levels in order to get better salary offers.

Compensation: Inflating current or previous salary and benefits to secure more money from a prospective employer.

Reason For Leaving: Saying it was a mass downsizing when the discharge was based on performance; saying he or she quit when he/she was asked to leave; underplaying or completely hiding poor relationships with superiors.

Accomplishments: Overstating one’s contributions to a team project or company performance; claiming to have receive a special recognition; exaggerating the level of participation in an important aspect of the business.”

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“When 2,199 employed adults were asked, in a multi-response survey, to list the traits of a successful manager, the top four responses were:
1.) Approachable – 89%
2.) Respectful – 89%
3.) Encouraging – 80%
4.) Reasonable – 80%”

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“The sales world is changing, and Inside Sales is taking on an ever increasing role in the success of organizations,” explains Larry Reeves, the AA-ISP’s Chief Operating Officer. “This is overwhelmingly supported by recent studies that indicate corporate America is growing their year-over-year inside sales positions by 15%, while field sales are flat or decreasing. Today’s Inside Sales Professionals are top notch individuals proficient in a wide variety of skills that were never part of the sales role a few years ago. The face of sales is changing . . . and Inside Sales Professionals are leading the way.”

“I am pleased to be able to offer insight into the challenges facing our industry at this critical point in our economy,” Glickel said. “Now more than ever it is important for leadership to come together and share ideas and solutions and I look forward to meeting with these industry experts as we forge ahead in this dynamic industry.”

The Summit will feature more than 25 industry experts, including Trish Bertuzzi, Founder of The Bridge Group, Josiane Feigon, founder of TeleSmart and best-selling author of Smart Selling on the Phone and Online; Anneke Seley, author of Sales 2.0; and the AA-ISP’s Founder and CEO, Bob Perkins. In addition, Olympic Gold Medalist, cancer survivor, and motivational speaker Jeff Blatnick will address attendees on the topic of achieving sales goals in 2010.

Sales Recruiters, Inc. (SRI) provides traditional employee recruitment, as well as creative retention and training services. SRI works closely with clients to provide uniquely customized solutions so that they may maintain the highest quality staff.

The AA-ISP is the only association in America formed and dedicated to advancing the industry of Inside Sales. It does this through promoting inside sales best practices and inside sales tips for business practitioners. It also promotes inside sales careers and inside sales jobs in what is already becoming the fastest growing segment of sales and marketing. For more information please visit: www.aa-isp.org.

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