Tips for Overcoming Degree Requirements in Job Ads

Marlene Sharp gained loads of business development experience working in the animation industry. "However, my degrees -- a master's and a bachelor's -- are in the arts," explains the Los Angeles resident. "Job postings advertise for a person with my marketing, business and legal affairs experience, but the possession of an MBA seems to be the deal-breaker. I've been rejected for at least one job outright because I lack an MBA."

Sharp isn't alone. In today's buyer's market, employers have reason to be picky when it comes to credentials and degrees.

"Companies that do this are usually trying to use the ad as a strong qualifier to cut down the massive number of resumes they receive," explains Bethel, Connecticut-based job coach Judi Perkins. "The company hopes the list of requirements will deter the bulk of the unrealistic submittals."
But if you've truly got everything it takes to do the job except the certification or degree, it's still worth applying. Here's how to increase your chances of landing an interview.

The Job Posting-Resume Match Game

"Match as many requirements from the job spec as possible," says Barbara Safani, author of Happy About My Resume: 50 Tips For Building a Better Document to Secure a Brighter Future and owner of the Career Solvers in New York. "If they request that you know a certain software application that you don't have experience in, compare it to something similar that you do know or showcase a success where you had no knowledge of another application but learned it quickly. If you do not have a particular degree, show how you have been successful in your role despite this."

From that, develop talking points to use in your cover letter and interviews. "These provide examples of how you have on-the-job experience in the various skill areas sought for the position," says Jenny Schade, president of JRS Consulting in Wilmette, Illinois. 

Do You Have a Mole in Your Professional Network?

As with any job search, it pays to have someone on the inside, or with inside information. "Seek out your network and identify anyone that you may have a direct or indirect connection with who can help you secure an audience with the hiring manager or at minimum the company's corporate recruiter," suggests David Kimmelman, general manager of careers and jobs for CourseAdvisor/Avenue100 Media Solutions, a leading analytics-based performance marketing company in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Being recommended by someone the interviewer trusts can go a long way to establishing your credibility and get you in a door that might otherwise be closed.

While you've got them, review your bona fides with your connections and ask them for suggestions on how to market yourself. "It's often useful to have someone else read the resume and the job description to see if the two match," says Daisy Swan, owner of Daisy Swan & Associates, a career coaching and consulting firm in Los Angeles. "Is the reader able to get it? If not, changes need to be made to more clearly get the skills and experience on the resume in an easy to digest way."

This done, you can start making contact.

Extreme Career Makeover?

It's also important to showcase your ability to learn new things. "If at any point in your professional life you have reinvented yourself career-wise and/or made significant changes in the industries you have worked for, make a point to demonstrate it," Kimmelman says.

This helps prospective employers see that you can evolve and expand your skills and knowledge. This shows that even if you don't have the credentials they're looking for, you can quickly pick up what you need. Having references who can speak to your adaptability is also a great idea, again for the third-party credibility.

Project Confidence

Finally, don't underestimate the importance of your attitude throughout the entire job search process. "Don't feel defensive or fearful that you aren't up to par -- it shows in your behavior, your choice of words and your tone of voice," Perkins says.

"If you have most of the requirements and success stories from your previous jobs, then you have something to contribute," she concludes. "Focus confidently on what you've got rather than worry about what you're missing."

 

By Margot Carmichael Lester, Monster Contributing Writer

A Succession Planning Exercise

Review your senior leadership positions. You might take the top 2% or 10%; whatever is a logical method to review your organization's top tier talent. It might be that you review all director and above positions, or VP and above. You may wish to review only positions in a certain pay grade and above.

 

As you review these positions, find out if there is a person or persons in the organization who could take that individual's position should it become vacant. Document who could fill the void, and/or make note if there is no one who could fill the position, should it become vacant. You might also make note of any imminent retirements in any key positions over the next few years as well. Once complete, you will have a clear understanding of which positions you need to plan recruiting for and when that recruiting might be coming online. Make this a subset of your strategic workforce plan.

 

After you complete this top talent succession planning exercise, compute the following ratio:

 

Numerator: the number of top-tier positions with at least one fully qualified person who is ready to take the place of the incumbent.

 

Denominator: the total number of top-tier positions assessed.

 

This is what Jac Fitz-enz refers to as the "human capital readiness level." According to Fitz-enz, "this is the percentage of key positions with at least one fully qualified (competent) person ready to take over now. Applying the readiness criterion to key positions yields a picture of what he calls the organization's "general human capital health."

 

As you make plans for succession over time, your ratio will go down. Track and measure this and share with your executives. This is a highly strategic exercise and of great value to your organization. Planning our workforce for the future, especially our key leadership positions, are the most important outcomes recruiting leaders can deliver to our organizations.

 

Thanks to by John Elliott / ere.net

Motivating Without Bonuses

Keeping Your Team Happy Without Cash

The practice of paying bonuses is not dead. In the financial sector, many banks have continued to pay bonuses - they use the somewhat circular argument that they need bonuses to retain good people because their competitors are paying bonuses. But in some companies and industries, bonuses are not an option.

So, if you're a manager in this situation, what are your options for motivating people without cash bonuses?

In this article, we'll look at some creative strategies for motivating and rewarding members of your team in a down economy.

Tip: Some jobs attract large bonuses. Others don't. Significant bonuses are usually awarded when an individual's exceptional actions or initiative have a direct impact on the organization's revenue, which is why top salespeople will typically receive large bonuses. By contrast, even senior managers in machine organizations may receive little in the way of bonuses - the success of the organization comes from people doing their everyday jobs smoothly and efficiently, and is not necessarily attributable to the exceptional initiative or performance of any one individual.

Non-Cash Financial Incentives

One of the most common non-bonus ways to reward and retain star employees is with stock or stock options. So, what's the difference between them?

• Shares/Stocks - Many companies offer workers a set number of shares as a reward for good performance, or as a sign-on bonus. Workers can do whatever they want with these stocks: sell them, or hold onto them and hope that the value will increase.
  
• Stock Options - Stock or share options give workers the right to buy stock in the future at a predetermined price. For instance, a company may promise to sell its people shares at a price of $45 one year from now. If they work hard and the share price is $75 after a year, then those workers can buy the stocks at the lower price - and then immediately sell them for a big profit.

Now, there are advantages and disadvantages to offering shares and options.

One of the biggest advantages has to do with worker motivation. The Employee Ownership Foundation recently conducted its 18th annual Economic Performance Survey. They found that 88.2% of the companies surveyed stated that their employee ownership programs helped the company. And, in a study they conducted with Rutgers University, they found that employee ownership programs increased sales, on average, by 2.3% per year. These programs also helped to increase staff retention compared with companies that did not have such programs. When workers feel they have a stake in the company's future, they're usually willing to work harder and stay in their jobs. This can be a big benefit for organizations.

Also, stocks and stock options are a great way to save money, especially during an economic downturn. Offering shares to workers allows companies to reward their teams without the financial cost of bonuses. This type of reward also helps align personal goals with company goals. After all, people get a bigger reward if the company does better, so it only makes sense that they work harder.

One big disadvantage, though, is that stocks and stock options aren't as attractive in a down economy, simply because people are so unsure of what the market is going to do. After all, what do workers do if the company offering a $45 stock option does poorly later in the year, so that when the team is able buy the shares, they're only worth $25? In that case, no one wins.

Another disadvantage is that existing shareholders - the owners of the company - often profoundly dislike stock grants and stock options. After all, if managers create new shareholders, they're diluting existing shareholdings - i.e. reducing the share of any profit that the existing shareholders will get.

Existing shareholders will only be happy for managers to award stock options if they, the existing shareholders, are likely to receive more as a result than they'd lose were it not done. There are only certain types of business and certain business situations in which this is likely to occur.

Tip: If you'd like a more in-depth look at performance management, and how to align team goals with corporate goals, see our members' articles on Performance Management and KPIs and Understanding Strategic Compensation.

Non-Financial Bonuses

If you're in a company that used to pay bonuses but doesn't do so now, there are many other motivational rewards you can offer.

Start by finding out what your team members really value as individuals, because this might not be what you think. By taking the time to determine what's really important to your people, you can offer rewards that really mean something to them.

Here are a few non-financial bonuses that companies can offer their people in this down economy:

• Flexible Scheduling - Many people, especially those with families, would really appreciate a shorter or more flexible workweek. So, consider offering people within your team the option of working four 10-hour days, or of cutting back on their hours entirely. This might be a welcome reward. Also, letting them leave early on certain days is another possibility.
  
• Additional Vacation Time - Many companies offer their people increased vacation time, as well as extended time off (sabbaticals), instead of bonus checks/cheques. People can use this time to spend with family, take a long trip, or even go back to school.
  
• Telecommuting Options - If your company doesn't need everyone in the office every day, why not allow trusted team members to work at home? Working from home is often more comfortable, and it can save workers money on gas and lunches out.
  
• Additional Training - Some people might really value improving their education or work skills. Offering them classes or extra training might be appreciated.
  
• A Relaxed Environment - Some companies are starting to let their team members go without shoes. (No, we're not kidding!) Letting workers walk around in their stocking feet (keeping their shoes at their desks in case clients come in) is not only relaxing, but it also helps them feel more "at home" with one another. You might think about relaxing the dress code as well.
  
• Volunteer Time - Many companies offer their team members one or more paid days off each month to volunteer at an organization that really means something to them. This is a great way to raise morale, and help your local community at the same time.

For more ideas on how to motivate your team creatively, read our articles Rewarding Your Team and Managing During a Downturn (members only).

It's important to make your team aware of the financial value of these benefits. For instance, if you offer your team an additional week of vacation, how much is this worth to each of them? Let them know the numbers so they can appreciate how much these benefits are "worth."

When Your Team Wants Cash, But Can't Have It

Inevitably, some team members will be really upset that they can't have a "traditional" financial bonus, particularly if they're depending on it financially. And while you must acknowledge their feelings, it's important to be honest with them.

Make sure workers understand the company's financial situation. The more your team knows about what's going on, the more likely they'll be to make allowances. So, communicate openly.

Work with your staff. If you really want to retain someone, then examine how you can give that person more money without a bonus. For example, could you provide a company phone or car, saving the person money?

If you have to, be totally - and brutally - honest. If people know that their bonuses will cost themselves (or one of their colleagues) their jobs, they might realize that the bonus is not that important after all.

Tip: Be aware that you risk losing genuine star performers to your competitors if you stop paying bonuses. You either need to accept this, or you may need to fund an exceptional bonus, recognizing all of the anger and dissatisfaction that this may cause to other people. This can be a painful dilemma for managers!

Key Points

When the economy is struggling, it's even more important to retain your best workers. Make sure they're happy - there are plenty of ways to keep them motivated without a bonus check/cheque.

Stocks or stock options are always a great idea if your company can offer them, but this alternative might be less appealing when the market is down. Other rewards - like flexible scheduling or additional vacation time - might motivate your team more, and they won't cost your company much, particularly if business is slow.

 

Thanks to James Manktelow / Mind Tools

Top Ten Reasons Why Policies and Procedures Don't Work

We always start our Well-Defined Processes Class by asking the participants "what's wrong with your policies and procedures where you work?" and we always get the same answers.  Students come to the class from different industries, companies, and geographies and yet we still get the same answers every time.

People tell us how hard it is to keep their procedures up-to-date.  Information gets stale fast and it is difficult keeping procedures current and relevant without becoming outdated.  One reason for this is that the procedures are too long in the first place.  If you have a 35-page procedure then, yes, it is difficult to keep all 35 pages up-to-date.  Especially, if the procedure is unclear, overly complicated or just too difficult to understand in the first place.

Another reason procedures are not current is because they are not followed.  If your people were using the procedures then they would get updated with the latest information.  An unused procedure is one that is not updated either.  Revisions are an indicator of usage and revisions help to create effective procedures.

Why don't people follow procedures?

Perhaps your people can't find your procedures.  Maybe they don't even know you have a procedure.  And when they go to look for one, if they can't find it on the server where it is supposed to be they figure you don't have one.  That means your configuration management is suspect.  An uncontrolled procedure implies your system is out of control.

I have also seen procedures that were too simple or generic.  If your procedures are not offering helpful information then your employees will not have a reason to use them.  Poorly written procedures are just as bad as a procedure that are too generic.  If your procedures are incorrect or wrong, of course people will not use them.

Sometimes procedures are just poorly designed without a good format to navigate your way around.  An inconsistent format that changes with every department can confuse the readers.  It helps to think about who procedures are written for when designing your procedures.  Procedures are training aids.  So, frequent users don't really need the procedure at all.  Occasional users need a reminder of what needs to get done and novice users need a lot of description.  Perhaps more than you can or will want to put into a procedure.  In this case novices should use the work instruction.

So what are the Top Ten Reasons Why Policies and Procedures Don't Work?

1. Procedures are out of date.
2. Procedures are too long and wordy.
3. Procedures are unclear, complicated or difficult to understand.
4. Procedures are not used or followed.
5. Procedures are hard to find or locate.
6. Procedures are uncontrolled or out of control.
7. Procedures are too generic, general or simplistic.
8. Procedures are incorrect, wrong or poorly written.
9. Procedures are poorly designed or hard to navigate.
10. Procedures are inconsistent using different formats.

How to make your procedures work for you

I couldn't leave you with just the problem.  To understand how to make your procedures work you need to fix each of the problems.

1. Develop a system that keeps your procedures current using intranets, social media constructs (blogs, wikis, SharePoint), software, or new knowledge management systems.
2. Keep your procedures short and succinct so it is easier to update them.
3. Use pictures, graphics, and examples to illuminate what you expect.
4. Incorporate your procedures into the job at the point of use.
5. Develop a system with easy access (see 1 above), make them searchable online, or make them part of the job (see 4 above).
6. Revision control is required for ISO and must be part of the job (see 1 & 4 above).
7. Eliminate generic procedures entirely and save paper.
8. Keep procedures updated and useful and they won't be wrong (see 1 & 4 above).
9. Create a common format as part of your document control.
10. Discipline the organization to follow your procedures.  If they are part of the job then they are more likely to be followed (see 4 above).

Now you know the secrets to writing effective policies and procedures and ensuring that they are used.

Thanks to Bizmanualz

Managing the Five Styles of Communication

Your employees need to be able to interact with end users, staff from other departments and members of the executive team not only to solve technical issues but also make a case for investments or projects your group deems critical. However, everyone has a different communication style, which affects their relationships with others and the ability to collaborate.

As a manager, understanding individual approaches to communication can help you maximize staff performance. Here are five common types of communicators and tips for helping them communicate more effectively:

The Over-Communicator - This person shares too much information. For instance, when asked to summarize progress on a project, he or she gives you a whole host of irrelevant details, such as the amount of time it took to install every application on a desktop.

You can help minimize this problem by setting clear guidelines: "Due to time constraints at this meeting, discussion of your requests for the 2010 budget should be limited to three minutes" or "Please keep status reports to between 300 and 400 words."

The Under-Communicator - You're often left confused after communicating with this individual because you are given little information. The key to helping this person become an effective speaker or writer is to set specific objectives. For instance, rather than saying, "Tell me about your discussion with XYZ vendor," try: "After talking to XYZ vendor, e-mail me details about the product, pricing and ease of implementation, as well as your opinion about whether it's a good option for our needs."

Sometimes people give succinct responses to questions because they think you're too busy to want additional information, so explain when you value the finer details.

The Poor Communicator - Not everyone is equally comfortable communicating both verbally and in written form. An IT professional might get extremely nervous when training a large group on a new application but provide a brilliant written document explaining the software instead.

In these situations, try to tap into individual strengths as much as possible while also doing your part to help the person improve the area in which he or she is weak. Small investments in training often can make all the difference in allowing a Poor Communicator to boost his or her skills.

The Aggressive Communicator - You want employees who are passionate about their work, but Aggressive Communicators often take it too far; refusing to listen to other perspectives. Managers need to stay on top of this type of behavior and set limits, especially during brainstorming sessions where all ideas should be encouraged. If the person has a valid suggestion, recommend the individual submit to you a formal proposal in writing. This gives the employee an outlet for sharing ideas while enabling discussions at meetings to move forward.

The Passive Communicator - This staff member is the quiet type, who tends to agree with what is said, doesn't voice his or her opinion, and rarely commits to a strategy or idea. While it may be nice to have someone in your group who doesn't make waves, you also want an active participant in the team's success.

To encourage greater involvement within the group, remind the person of how critical it is to speak up and also make an effort to ask for the person's feedback. Recognize, too, that the person could be nervous offering candid comments in front of others and may become more vocal if allowed to share his or her opinions one-on-one or in writing.

Remember that your employees' communication skills and style reflect on you and your department. If people can't get the information they need from your staff, they are likely to see your group as unhelpful or ineffective. Do your part as a leader by being clear about expectations, working to bring out the best in your staff, and supporting training and mentoring as improvement strategies. At the same time, recognize that much will come down to the individual's desire to succeed, so consider including communication abilities within performance review criteria.

Thanks to Dave Willmer Is Executive Director Of Robert Half Technology / CIOupdate

Burnt Toast

It is hard to refute that relationships are like glass mirrors that need to be handled with care. A thoughtless word or a careless action can harm a relationship beyond repair.

This reminds me of an incident that happened when I was a little girl. As usual my mom returned from work very tired. Even I was able to understand how hard the day should have been for her. She prepared dinner for us.

 

After some time my dad joined us for dinner. My mom placed a plate of fruits and very badly burnt toast in front of him. I noticed it and felt bad. I thought my dad would not like it. But he surprised me by reaching for his toast with a smile; he looked at me and kindly asked me how my day was at school. He went on silently smearing butter and jelly on the toast and ate it with relish! I wondered how he could savor it.

 

I heard my mom apologizing to my dad for burning the toast. His reply was simply, "I love you darling. I liked it."

 

When I went to kiss him good night, I asked him if he really liked his toast burnt. He embraced me and said, "Dear, How tired your mom should have been to let the toast become burnt? A little burnt toast is not going to hurt me. You know, imperfect things do have their places in life. Am I the best man in the world? Am I in any way better housekeeper or cook than your mom? Perfection is always a target and we should keep on moving towards it. We are always in the midst of imperfection and trying to improve. We should not hate imperfect things and imperfect people, though we should passionately try to become perfect."

 

That night I lay awake for a long time, pondering over what my dad had said and the truth in his words.

 

I learnt that sincere and ceaseless attempt to become faultless did not necessarily imply anger and hatred towards imperfection; it is the most important principle to develop and foster healthy and lasting relationships in life. My dad is no more but his words of wisdom guide me for ever. He always said and meant – "Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you".

 

All of us should learn to take the good and bad, the ugly and beautiful, the friendly and inimical factors of our relationships with equanimity; thank God for His Grace, and pray to Him to bless us; to help us progress with love towards perfection. He alone can give us a relationship that is not so fragile as to get broken by a burnt toast. For any relationship, let it be that of parent and child, husband and wife, teacher and student, boss and employer and so on, if we make the foundation of 'understanding' strong, we can definitely move towards perfection and no imperfection can impede us.

 

Thanks to Sarda Mohan / K S Venkataraman Is the Associate Editor, Dynamic Youth Online Magazine.

Observation

1st year students of MBBS were attending their 1st anatomy class. They all gathered around the surgery table with a real dead dog.

The Professor started class by telling two important qualities as a Doctor. The 1st is that Never Be Disgusted By Anything About Body, e.g. He inserted his finger in dog's mouth & on drawing back tasted it in his own mouth.
 
Then he said them to do the same. The students hesitated for several minutes. But eventually everyone inserted their fingers in dog's mouth & then tasted it.
 
When everyone finished, the Professor looked at the said: The most important 2nd quality is Observation; I inserted my Middle finger but tasted the Index finger. Now learn to pay attention. 
   
Moral: 
Life Is Tough But Its A Lot Tougher When You Are Not Paying Attention.

 

Why Effective Networking is Now More Critical than Ever

Whether you are seeking a new job, looking to create job security in your company, or interested in building new client relationships for your business, networking is now more important then ever.

While I am a true believer in continually nurturing and building our relationships—not just when we're experiencing tough times—today's challenging business environment underscores the need to consistently put your energy and strategies into the fine art of networking.

The relationships we continually build and nurture with people over time are the ones that are there for us no matter what—because we have been there for them. Even though we live in a high-tech world, we need to think in terms of "high touch."  Ask yourself:  "How often do I touch base, to say hello or thank you, to my clients/customers/advocates/friends?  What actions can I take to stay on their radar screens?"
 
Be creative as you think of ways to take care of the people with whom you have worked hard to build trust and advocacy. This goes back to delivering the type of service and value that is priceless. It is going the extra mile and taking the "high road" as I like to call it.  (There is less traffic there anyway!)

Follow my simple "I.N.C.E.N.T.I.V.E" system, outlined below, to create your own "networking everyday life model" to continual success.

I:  Be truly Interested in others. Do this with sincerity and Integrity.  Nobody likes a phony.  One tool I use a lot is Google Alerts, which I set up for people I want to be able to touch base with often.  This allows me to monitor ideas and interests that pertain to them.  When you receive a Google Alert about one of your contacts you will stay "in the know" and can drop them a note or call with information and news of interest to them.

N:  Nurture your relationships through knowledge acquired over time.  I have a list of many topics that I use to get to know people. Here are a few that help me stay connected and reach out with an article, thought, suggestion, or idea that people might find of interest:

• Birthday
• Hobbies/interests
• Favorite foods/restaurants
• Vacation spots
• Kids
• Pets
• School alumni
• Special holidays
• Job promotions/moves
• Whom you refer them to 
• Whom they refer you to 
• How you met
• Likes
• Dislikes
• Professional Organizations
• Understanding what motivates them
• Knowing what their concerns are in business
• Knowing what keeps them up at night and how you might help them

C:  Connect and communicate in an ongoing way—not just when you want something—but much more important, to provide news, insight, and advice or to just provide a sympathetic ear.  Continually create value for your relationships. Be clear and connect with them in the way they prefer (i.e., e-mail, text, phone, etc.).  I always ask my contacts, "What is your preferred method of communication?"  This shows that you are really listening to them, which too often is a forgotten art.

E:   Execute.  Quite simply, do what you say you will do. Too often, after all is said and done, much more is said then done. Under-promise and over-deliver. Take the time to follow up on everything that you say you will do and surprise and delight people by doing so.  I always make a list to be sure that no matter what, I follow up with everyone and deliver what I have promised.

N:  Network! To me the word "network" is huge and means many things. I say that "networking" is part of the "S" factor:  sometimes it is strategic and structured for the events you attend—so be prepared. Most of life, however, is serendipitous networking, so you must be ready for every opportunity to meet, connect, reconnect, and help someone else. Everywhere and every day we meet people who can give us information that will be of interest to one of our contacts or trusted advisors or advocates. So keep your eyes and ears open and also be sure to continually Nurture your relationships. I can't emphasize this enough.

T:  Trust is the key to any relationship in good and bad times. Work hard to continually build trust with your relationships, which takes Time.  Talk less and listen more; you'll learn a lot.  Remember, we have two ears, but only one mouth!  Do your homework and research consistently, so that when you do speak, you'll be able to offer a suggestion or helpful bit of advice.

I:  Take the Initiative to reach out and connect with people. If we wait for someone to call or e-mail or meet with us, we might wait a long time. Of course as we build and develop these relationships, true Integrity is key. My Dad always said, "With integrity nothing else matters and without integrity, nothing else matters."  I live by this credo—and it is so true.

V:  Continually create Value with those in your life. What are you delivering to them that makes you stand out? Also Value relationships with people who have given and continue to provide support to you. Make sure you let those people know how important they are to you. Be Visible and make sure they can easily find you so you will be there when they need you.

E:  Energy and Enthusiasm are essential keys to continually building relationships that last. Take care of yourself so your energy can remain high.  Plan and prepare for each day by setting goals and by measuring how well you attain them. One way I do this is to set a specific goal each day for different clients or relationships. Something as simple as calling three extra people with a message of goodwill or a piece of information, sending three extra e-mails with the same type of message and, I'm a big believer in pulling out pen and paper to write a short note of thanks, a greeting of hello, or a simple "thinking of you" message.

Live life with a "networking eye and ear" and more opportunities will present themselves to you, I promise.  You'll find that the more you give to others, as you incorporate the "everyday networking model" into your life, the more successful you will become.

Thanks to Andrea Nierenberg is president of The Nierenberg Group / AMA

Never, Ever, Ever Hire Grade B or C People in Your Management Team

Simon Calver, CEO of LOVEFiLM, Explains the Importance Of Hiring the Best People.

 

We all know, but sometimes forget, that people want more than money to stay (or at least grade A people do anyway!)

Small business owners are at a disadvantage because of an unknown brand–so if you are a small business, you need to draw talent in from a winning management team. Talent will join you if you can stand next to a proven and potentially disruptive management team

Grade A people hire Grade A people–Grade C hire more Grade C people (or lower!)–as a leader, make an investment in surrounding yourself with a Grade A management team–because then grade A will cascade down the organization!

Find people with passion, and a track record of achievement!–this is essential–Why would somebody achieve for you if they haven't achieved in the past!

Remember overachievers have a habit of overachieving–but the opposite is true too!

We're all in sales–but don't oversell when you're recruiting!–it leads to major disconnect. Tell it as it is, but again, as all leaders should be doing, sell the vision and the hope.

 

Thanks to HumanResourcesIQ

What's Wrong With the Boss?

Managers already have their hands full leading their teams through uncertain and turbulent times. Even worse, more than a quarter of employees would like to see them get fired.

This was the key finding of a recent Adecco survey. The underlying factor prompting this level of employee contempt is frustration and feelings of demoralization and being out of the loop as a result of the recession.

"It's obviously a tough time for everyone," said Rich Thompson, vice president of training and development at Adecco North America. "When you're in a recession period and decisions have to be made, the lines of communication seem to be less open simply because the level of strategic information increases."

More than half of all respondents went so far as to say they didn't think their bosses were honest. 

"What happens is you've got these managers or leaders who will say, 'I think we're going to be OK' [while] all along strategic conversations are happening that they're not in [and the] next day they wind up downsizing 10 percent or 5 percent or whatever the case," Thompson said. "So there's this tinge of dishonesty - this belief that 'well, he knew all along' - [when in fact] they didn't. Any time people are directly effected, personally [or] professionally, by changes - whether it's pay cuts, layoffs, decreased benefits and flexibility - there's this idea that it's 'them versus us' and 'I can't trust them.'"

Needless to say, the recession has greatly affected the dynamics of the relationship between managers and employees.
 
"In times like these, employees want to know more about their status and it promotes the 'Where do I stand and how does this affect me?' [type of] questions," Thompson said.  "Slow markets force managers and leaders to have more of these tough conversations. Unfortunately, they may not be equipped [and will likely] take the path of least resistance - and that really causes a lot of turmoil and dishonesty."

The recession has created the need for more conversations regarding employee status, Thompson explained.

"The good managers are saying, 'If we're going to be in a recovery sometime soon, I need to make sure my A-players know they're my A-players, and that I'm providing them with career development opportunities to make sure they're ready for the recovery," he said.

Progressive organizations realize talent is their greatest asset, and the best managers set their sights on long-term retention of talent, he explained.

"The [managers] that are going to get ahead of the curve are the ones who are saying, 'We have to make sure to mend the relationship with those who are still with us - especially the ones we want to keep," Thompson said.

There are two fundamental steps bosses can take to improve their reputation and win back their employees' trust.

"The most important thing is to communicate with A-players - make sure the future talent of the organization knows they're the future talent of the organization," Thompson said. "Secondly, [managers] need to do some sort of talent assessment and identify gaps or deficiencies they have and [determine] how to help them ready themselves for the recovery so they're not just surviving, but they're put into situations where they can be successful. A lot of that comes with training, leadership development, etc."

While there is much to be gained by investing in individuals, it doesn't always have to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Thompson explained.

 "Investment can be time, attention and development; it can be making someone a mentor; it can mean including somebody on a task force; it can be taking somebody to lunch," he said. 

Thanks to Deanna Hartley / Talent Management Perspectives

Can You Handle the Truth?

Managers have gotten into some bad habits. In the name of getting along, they've coated information in whitewash and obscured the hard facts. Instead of being open, honest and transparent, they encourage anonymous feedback and hide behind 360 assessments.

Susan Scott, author of Fierce Leadership, argues that many of today's management best practices are actually holding us back. Worse yet, there's a fundamental disconnect between what managers say and what they believe.

"Our practices include not only what we do, but what we believe, because it's our belief that drives our behavior that produces results," Scott said. "It's very difficult for them to behave differently and to sustain that behavior if what they believe underneath doesn't support it."

Moving forward requires awareness, honesty and the courage to act, what Scott calls fierce leadership. The first step is to develop "squid eye" — the ability to spot signals that foretell potential problems.

Scott co-opted the term from divers who scour the sea floor in search of squid. Beginning divers often have difficulty spotting the creatures because of their camouflage, but soon develop "squid eye" — the ability to identify the signs of their presence.

"I want people … to be able to spot the 'tells' that indicate we're headed in a good direction or a bad direction," Scott said.

The ability to spot these corporate "tells" will allow companies to adjust their practices in order to operate more effectively individually and in teams and drive performance. Scott identified six "worst" best practices that are key tells that a company is headed in the wrong direction, including hiring for smarts, legislated optimism and anonymous 360-degree feedback.

Scott said the way 360s are used in most organizations fails to provide meaningful feedback that improves individual and organizational results. Anonymous feedback indicates an organizational belief that it's risky to disclose what you are thinking or feeling or that people can't handle delivering or receiving the truth.

"When an organization gives the message quite overtly that we are unable to give one another feedback candidly face to face … then you have to ask where else in the company does anonymity live," Scott said. "Where else in the organization are people withholding what they think and feel, and what price are we paying for that?"

On an individual level, anonymous feedback lacks context and meaning. The person receiving the feedback often struggles to understand what to do with the results because he or she has no idea where it is coming from. More importantly, Scott said people lose the opportunity to build meaningful relationships.

"The language of anonymous feedback is colorless and soul-killing, and I just don't see any life or intimacy or humanity [in it] that could truly enrich a relationship," Scott said.

That failure to establish and enrich relationships is what costs organizations in the long run. The inability to have a candid conversation about performance leads to a tendency for relationships to flatline and fail, Scott said.

"A key premise of fierce conversations is that our careers and our companies and our relationships succeed or fail gradually, then suddenly, one conversation at a time, and secondly, the conversation is the relationship," she said.

Rather than anonymous 360-degree feedback, Scott suggested that companies practice face-to-face feedback, 365 days a year.

"Unfortunately, we don't care enough to do the hard things that also happen to be the right things because we are not connected with people at a deep level," Scott said. "If you want to become a great leader — or a great human being, a great parent — you must gain the capacity to connect with your colleagues, with your customers, with your community at a deep level, or lower you aim."

Scott said that those relationships — our emotional capital — are our most valuable currency. Executive suites are littered with the corpses of brilliant people who flamed out because they failed to recognize the importance of human connectivity.

"We might be technically proficient and very smart and very well-intentioned and bomb if we don't know how to connect with our colleagues and our customers at a deep level, if we don't know how to have the conversations that need to take place," Scott said.

Those authentic conversations tackle reality, provoke learning, resolve tough challenges and enrich, rather than devalue, relationships. But Scott cautioned against immediately pulling the plug on anonymous feedback. While it's not difficult, having a conversation that tackles these challenges requires preparation and training.

"You just need to be shown how to do it and then practice doing it on real issues," Scott said.

The ultimate goal of eliminating anonymous 360 feedback, and the other "worst" best practices, is to create a transparent, authentic performance-driven culture.

"Leaders need to examine their practices and look at the results their practices are producing," Scott said. "Where they love the results, then obviously their practices are working. Where they're not getting the results they want, perhaps … it's time to clear the windshield."

By Mike Prokopeak / clomedia.com

Groups Cannot Be Homogeneous

No group can be defined as homogeneous with regard to values, attitudes, and lifestyles. Consequently, advertisers have segmented this massive market in a variety of ways.

1) Grey Advertising splits them into two groups: those with family oriented values and those seeking fulfillment more through personal experiences than, for example, owning a house and car.

2) Lowe Marshalk agency characteristics three groups: the "leading edge" (born in the 1940s) the "middle group" (born in the 1950s) and the "laggards" (born after 1960). The middle group is self directed, almost selfish in its purchasing behavior and other activities, because of its large size and the intensely competitive school and job conditions that its members experience.

3) N W Ayer agency describes boomers as: satisfied selves (well educated, optimistic, enjoy traveling, open to new ideas), contented traditionalists (conservative, home oriented, upset about the impact of the women's movement) worried traditionalists (poor self image, fret about losing jobs and being crime victims, slow to try new products) and sixties in the eighties (aimless left over flower children relatively low standard of living)

Another way of viewing this group relates the socioeconomic conditions (whether scale or downscale) under which they were raised and those in which they presently find themselves. Each group's consumer behavior may be described briefly as follows:

Realized (were raised upscale, still upscale).Prefer high the toys to traditional luxury goods but expensive durables as professional necessities. Trendy buyers of whatever brand is currently in.

Gratified (were downscale, now upscale) A split shopping style. As economic shoppers they wait for sales and shop at out-class outlets, warehouse membership, clubs, and factory. As upscale shoppers, they buy durables that match their own image rather than just what's popular.

Satisfied (were downscale, still downscale). Scrimp and save to splurge on some luxuries for home. Buy high line, small ticket goodies that offer cheap thrills. Wait for sales.

Agonized (were upscale, now downscale) Compensatory buyers of high-line furniture appliances, accessories, and personal effects rather than prestige home and automobile. Buy experiences they deserve to break the routine, buy "socially visible" name brand goods, but in membership warehouse clubs or factory outlets.

Baby Busters: The number of children born to the average woman of childbearing age (age 15 to 44) has varied from 2.1 during the great depression to 3.7 in 1957 during the height of the baby boom to 1.8 in the mid 1970s to 2.1 in 1990, thus the characterization of the current period as the baby bust. Marketers are concentrating on the new generation of "baby busters" who are also known as "after boomers" and "flyers" (fun loving youth en route to success). They were born between 1965 and 1974, and although younger than the boomers, they have plenty of discretionary income. The following traits typify these groups: (1) they value tradition, religion, and formal rituals, such as proms and lavish weddings; (2) they are preoccupied with success in school and careers; and (3) they are materialistic.

For the US population to level off and reach zero population growth (ZPG), ,the birthrate would have to remain at a rate of 2.1 or less for several decades. One forecast for US population shows an increase until 2035 to 291 million, followed by a decline to approximately the present level by the year 2150.

Although low fertility seems here to stay according to most demographers, marketers can expect to see a new baby boom even with current fertility rates. This will be due to the increased number of annual births from the large pool of baby boom women who have deferred childbearing and because some women are having children earlier, in their twenties.

Thanks to Citeman Network Business Management Articles

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

I Am Not Your Friend If.....
You Have To Think Before You Speak To Me!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

My Presence Ever Makes You Feel Uncomfortable!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Have To Thank Me For Everything I Do For You!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Have To Say Sorry For Everything That You Don't Do!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Have To Ask Me For Favors!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Think I Would Not Be Curious To Know Your New Philosophy Of Life!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Go By What I Say And Do Not Understand What I Don't Say!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Think That Listening To Your Dreams Would Put Me To Sleep!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Think That Seeing You In Pain, Would Not Bring A Tear To Me!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Think I Do Not Remember The First Time We Met!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Don't See The Thousand Ways I Try To Make You Happy!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Don't Realize How Your Smile Brightens Up My Day!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Would Rather Keep Quiet When You Really Wana Talk!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Hesitate To Ask Me To Stay Back When You Think We Should Be Together!

I Am Not Your Friend If.....

You Take Too Much Time To Tell Me What I Mean To You!

Am I Your Friend????

Why Cost Per Hire Is A Dumb Metric & Quality Of Hire Is Not

In all the brouhaha about great new sourcing initiatives and Web 2.0 tools, how much have your recruiters and hiring managers improved their ability to hire great people, not average people?

In my opinion, we've downplayed what it really takes to be successful in our profession — recruiting, counseling, and closing top people who have multiple opportunities, and making sure our hiring manager clients don't blow it.

To start refocusing on the right stuff, I'd like to nominate quality of hire as the metric to assess recruiting department performance, and relegate cost per hire to the second page.

I believe cost per hire is a misguided means to judge recruiting department performance. For one, it rewards the wrong things and ignores quality of candidate and quality of hire. For another, it's far too tactical and narrowly focused. Worse, improving costs could degrade quality.

This is a strategic mistake of huge proportions that too many HR and recruiting managers miss entirely.

These problems go away if the focus is on measuring quality of hire first and quality of candidate as a subset. Even if recruiting is reluctant to take on the responsibility of maximizing quality of hire, it must be responsible for setting up a system to measure it. While important, measuring quality of hire is not straightforward.

Here are some ideas on how to get started on thinking about how to do it:

Yves Lermusi, the CEO of Checkster, believes good reference checking before (external) and after the hire (internal 360°) might be the best way to measure, monitor, and improve quality. He might be right, but from what I've seen, if the measure of candidate quality pre-hire is different than after the hire, you're not measuring the same thing. Regardless, Yves' point of measuring candidate quality post hire and monitoring are absolutely essential. So you should check out Checkster as a means to do this.

Here's another perspective. I was speaking with a senior recruiting manager with a Fortune 100 company the other day. She told me her company conducted exhaustive post-hire performance reviews at the 90-day, 6-month, and 9-month time periods for new hires. These reviews were based on comparing the new hire's performance against the performance objectives of the job. If the person fell short here, the review was expanded to include an in-depth competency evaluation. This approach seemed spot on to me. However, the recruiting manager told me under-performance was generally attributed to lack of understanding of real job needs before accepting the offer and problems with culture, especially with the working relationship with the hiring manager, once on the job. This strengthens the argument of measuring pre- and post-hire quality on the same performance standard.

However, some differ on this view. For example, after a recent ERE article I wrote on a related quality of hire article, someone sent me a detailed LinkedIn message describing his company's approach to measuring the quality of their candidates by sourcing channel. It consisted of a detailed scorecard examining a set of criteria that mapped to the traditional job description. This included things like quality of the academic background, quality of the experience, depth of industry knowledge, and the like. This is probably not too bad, but I suspect that this was not the focus of the interview. But none of this gets at the issues involved in a post-hire quality assessment. For example, the person could be a fine person with all of the experience and academic requirements noted, but someone who was no longer motivated to do the type of work required, or someone whose style was not compatible with the hiring manager's.

From a pre-hire standpoint, some might argue that the traditional competency or behavioral-based interview is a great way to measure pre-hire quality. My 30-year concern with this is that it still ignores job performance and managerial fit. Being competent to do the work doesn't mean being motivated to do the work. Nor does competency or behavior measure a person's ability to prioritize the work, handle too much work, work under pressure, work with different resources, work with comparable teams in similar situations, or work with a weak manager.

For me, it's pretty easy to conclude that if you want quality of hire to become a useful measurement tool, you must start by measuring pre- and post-hire on the same basis. Further, the measurement standard you should use must be made on some comparison to real job needs. (Send me an email if you'd like a copy of a performance-based talent scorecard from my book, Hire With Your Head (Wiley, 2007).) This means candidates need to be measured before they're hired on their ability and motivation to perform the actual work required, including fit with the hiring manager.

If pre- and post-hire quality measures are different (up or down) it means that the assessment process is flawed. So it's important to use feedback from the post-hire quality assessment to change how candidates are assessed. I suspect that few companies do this; regardless, that's a major reason and benefit for measuring post-hire quality. Then once pre- and post-hire quality assessment are the same and you have a good system for tracking quality of candidate and quality of hire, you can then move on to the more strategic quest of maximizing quality of hire. This includes improving your recruiting and sourcing skills in tandem, and tracking quality by sourcing channels, recruiters, and even hiring managers.

The whole point of this article is to suggest that quality of hire is a much more important measure than cost per hire in measuring recruiting department performance. While cost is important to track, it shouldn't come at the expense of quality.

Focusing on the internal budget of the recruiting department is insignificant in comparison to the impact the thousands of people the recruiting department hires has on their company. What's more exciting is that the tools are now available to actually measure and maximize hires, rather than just talk about it.

By Lou Adler

Is Interpersonal Attraction A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

The mystical-sounding 'acceptance prophecy' is simply this: when we think other people are going to like us, we behave more warmly towards them and consequently they like us more. When we think other people aren't going to like us, we behave more coldly and they don't like us as much.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy because if we predict acceptance we get it, if not we don't. It's also an intuitively appealing explanation for how people come to like (or dislike) each other. But the question for psychologists is whether it is really true or just a neat fairy story.

The waters are, of course, muddied by all the usual individual and cultural differences—some people care more about other's acceptance and some people are naturally more accepting—but let's set those aside for a moment and just imagine two people who are identical except that one expects others to accept her and one expects others to reject her.

What the research has found, according to a new paper just published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, is that one part of the acceptance prophecy has strong evidence to support it, while the other part does not. Until now.

The first part, in a model put forward by Dr Danu Anthony Stinson at the University of Waterloo and colleagues, is that the interpersonal warmth people project predicts how much others like them (Stinson et al., 2009). For psychologists this is uncontroversial; people take better to others who are genuinely warm with accurate judgements about their warmth made in only 30 seconds (Ambady et al., 2000).

Pleased to Meet You

What has proved more controversial is whether anticipating acceptance really does increase the interpersonal warmth that people project towards others. It's this question that Stinson et al. (2009) set out to test by manipulated people's expectations about a person they were about to meet for the first time.

They told 14 of 28 men recruited for their study that the attractive woman they were going to meet was nervous and worried about how she would be perceived by them. Quite naturally when these men found that the woman was nervous and insecure it made them feel better in comparison. This had the effect of making the men much less anxious about the interaction (actually about half as nervous as judged by independent observers) and consequently much warmer.

In comparison the other 14 sweaty-palmed participants were only given basic demographic information about the woman they were going to talk to, nothing that would calm their fears of rejection. This manipulation created two groups, then, one that was anticipating acceptance more than the other.

What the results showed was that when the risk of rejection was lower, men acted more warmly towards the woman to whom they were talking. This extra warmth also lead to a panel of observers liking them more in comparison with those who were more fearful of risk and therefore interpersonally colder.

So this provides evidence that the acceptance prophecy holds true. In this experiment people who expected to be accepted did act more warmly towards a stranger and consequently they were perceived as more likeable.

Social Optimist Or Pessimist?

There was an exception, though, to the results of this study. One sub-group were not affected by the experimental manipulation to increase how much they expected to be accepted. That's because they already expected to be accepted. These are the social optimists (or at least people who think rather a lot of themselves!).

Social optimists, of course, are in the happy position of expecting to be accepted and finding that, generally speaking, they are. Social pessimists, though, face the dark side of what sociologist Robert K. Merton—who coined the expression 'self-fulfilling prophecy'—has called a 'reign of error'. Expectation of rejection leads to the projection of colder, more defensive behaviour towards others, and this leads to actual rejection. "Uh-huh," mutters the social pessimist, "I knew they wouldn't like me".

And so it goes.

Thanks to Spring Org Uk / Psy Blog

An Excercise In Compassion

"When I worked in a busy office, most of my co-workers kept jars of candy on their desks to enjoy and share with others. Constantly battling the "bulge," I hated these temptations, but nevertheless often gave in to them. I decided to put out a jar of my own "feel good" stuff, with no calories. I bought a beautiful jar with a lid and spent one whole weekend at home cutting up colorful strips of paper and writing down inspiring quotes.

 

I filled the jar and put it on my desk. It took a while to catch on, but soon, everyone was stopping by my "food for thought" jar daily to fill up on something much better than empty calories. They would take one out, read it, smile knowingly, and then fold it up and replace it for the next co-worker. It's something that never needed to be replenished unless, I saw a new quote I wanted to add. If you work in an office environment, try this out and see how much everyone loves it." 

 

Thanks to HelpOthers.org