Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Why Flexible Hours Inspire Performance

"What time do you want me to start work?" That's the question a new hire recently asked me. She looked a little startled by my reply. "I don't care."

But it was the truth. I didn't care—and I never have—what hours are kept by the people who work for me. You could say I'm the opposite of a control freak, in the sense that I have always resisted rules, for myself and for others. Why? Because once you have rules, you have to enforce them—and there's no more tedious task in life.

I'm relaxed about timekeeping in part because I had great bosses early in my broadcasting career. They didn't care about hours either. They trusted that, with a broadcast date in the schedule, any producer would work their socks off to make the best program on time—because that's how you advanced your career. Nobody ever said, "Wonderful timekeeping, shame about the show!"   Read More.

Image compliments of inc.com.
Don't waste a minute tracking your employees' hours. They'll get more done.

Friday, February 17, 2012

5 Habits of Highly Successful Recruiters

What makes a good recruiter great?

While everyone has a different opinion on what success really is (wealth?  notoriety?  the elusive work/life balance?), there are a few themes on what makes a recruiter a big success that keep popping up again and again. Here’s a quick look at what the successful recruiters do...

1.  They track metrics.
At the end of the day, all that really counts is the number of job orders you fill.  But it’s so interesting to look at all of the steps in between.  What factors correlate with increased placements?  Is it the number of cold calls you make per day? Is it sharing jobs with social networks?  Successful recruiters know what numbers they need to hit on the way to their targeted number of placements. (p.s. want to measure your recruiting metrics, but don't know where to start?  here's a great resource --> the metrics blue book.)

2.  They adopt new technology quickly.
Part of closing a new client or gaining the trust of a hot candidate is always being available.  And we are constantly evolving in how we are available to each other. Right now, tech-savvy recruiters are adapting to mobile recruiting in two ways:

a.  Being accessible in mobile web browsers.  People want to do everything from their smartphone.  They want to shop, reserve a table for dinner tonight, and they want to search for jobs.  So having a website that is accessible via a mobile device is a no-brainer.

b.  Being accessible on the go.  As a recruiter or account executive, you aren’t always tied to your desk.  You’re out networking with people, facilitating interviews, and giving presentations.  Having access to your ATS from your smartphone or tablet is a major part of being productive while you’re away from your desk.

3.  They pick up the phone (see item #1)
If you’ve been tracking metrics, then you know that a certain amount of output yields a certain amount of input.  Whether it’s cold calls or touching base with old clients and new connections, dialing out helps bring them in.  Whether they use VOIP technology to slice through lengthy call lists faster, or dial the old-school way, successful recruiters are putting their time in on the phone.

4.  They get there first.
Especially in high-volume contract staffing, the early bird gets the worm.  Presenting a hot candidate means nothing if someone else has gotten there first.  If speed isn’t your game, you may want to work on marketing your exclusivity agreement.

5.  They move forward with purpose.
Whether you work a blended desk, or run a large firm, growth is always a goal, and making more money is always a goal.  But it’s easy to burn out on the way to either of these goals without a core purpose.

Call it a value proposition, call it a mission statement, but your purpose defines why you come into work every day.  It helps you to move past setbacks and disappointments, and helps to make your brand more enticing.  And successful recruiters have a great purpose - to help companies grow by find them great talent.

What do you think?  Do you find these habits present in all successful recruiters, or are they just myths?

Compliments of sendouts.com.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

To Hire Well, Throw Away the Job Description

The traditional way to hire is to decide what Mr. or Ms. Right is like and then go find the closest match. There's a better way.

If you want to innovate, you have to be willing to make mistakes. I take that as a given.  In my new book Brilliant Mistakes, I chronicled scores of missteps and supposedly doomed experiments by the likes of the Wright Brothers, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs and J.K. Rowling—all of which led to great breakthroughs.

But “brilliant mistakes” aren’t limited to iPods, science, and flying machines. They can also be useful in the curious mating ritual known as hiring new staff.  The basic challenge in hiring, as in dating, is to find a suitable match efficiently in an ocean of possibilities.  It’s all about knowing what you want – right?  Well, only up to a point.  Learn More.

Compliments of inc.com.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

8 Things Your Employees Need Most

Forget about raises and better benefits.
Those are important -- but this is what your staff really wants.

Pay is important. But pay only goes so far.

Getting a raise is like buying a bigger house; soon, more becomes the new normal. Higher wages won’t cause employees to automatically perform at a higher level. Commitment, work ethic, and motivation are not based on pay. To truly care about your business, your employees need these eight things—and they need them from you:

1. Freedom. Best practices can create excellence, but every task doesn't deserve a best practice or a micro-managed approach. (Yes, even you, fast food industry.)
Autonomy and latitude breed engagement and satisfaction. Latitude also breeds innovation. Even manufacturing and heavily process-oriented positions have room for different approaches.

Whenever possible, give your employees the freedom to work they way they work best.

2. Targets. Goals are fun. Everyone—yes, even you—is at least a little competitive, if only with themselves. Targets create a sense of purpose and add a little meaning to even the most repetitive tasks. Without a goal to shoot for, work is just work. And work sucks.

3. Mission. We all like to feel a part of something bigger. Striving to be worthy of words like "best" or "largest" or "fastest" or "highest quality" provides a sense of purpose. Let employees know what you want to achieve, for your business, for customers, and even your community. And if you can, let them create a few missions of their own. Caring starts with knowing what to care about—and why.

4. Expectations. While every job should include some degree of latitude, every job needs basic expectations regarding the way specific situations should be handled. Criticize an employee for expediting shipping today, even though last week that was the standard procedure if on-time delivery was in jeopardy, and you lose that employee

5. Input. Everyone wants to offer suggestions and ideas. Deny employees the opportunity to make suggestions, or shoot their ideas down without consideration, and you create robots.
Robots don't care. Make it easy for employees to offer suggestions. When an idea doesn't have merit, take the time to explain why. You can't implement every idea, but you can always make employees feel valued for their ideas.

6. Connection. Employees don’t want to work for a paycheck; they want to work with and for people.
A kind word, a short discussion about family, a brief check-in to see if they need anything... those individual moments are much more important than meetings or formal evaluations.

7. Consistency. Most people can deal with a boss who is demanding and quick to criticize... as long as he or she treats every employee the same. (Think of it as the Tom Coughlin effect.) While you should treat each employee differently, you must treat each employee fairly. (There's a big difference.)

The key to maintaining consistency is to communicate. The more employees understand why a decision was made the less likely they are to assume favoritism or unfair treatment.

8. Future. Every job should have the potential to lead to something more, either within or outside your company. For example, I worked at a manufacturing plant while I was in college. I had no real future with the company. Everyone understood I would only be there until I graduated.One day my boss said, "Let me show you how we set up our production board." I raised an eyebrow; why show me? He said, "Even though it won’t be here, some day, somewhere, you'll be in charge of production. You might as well start learning now."

Take the time to develop employees for jobs they someday hope to fill—even if those positions are outside your company. (How will you know what they hope to do? Try asking.) Employees will care about your business when you care about them first.

Article compliments of inc.com.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Happy Valentine’s Day
“Love is that condition in which the
happiness of another person is essential to your own.”  
Robert A. Heinlein
From Staffing Solutions of Hawaii

Monday, February 13, 2012

Make a Great First Impression: 9 New Rules

It takes more than a firm handshake to make a great first impression these days. Use these tips to make sure you're getting it right.

Basic business truths keep coming back in new ways. One of those truths is that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. We’ve been all told this since we were 2 years old. So why am I even talking about it? Because I see so many mistakes being made in this area on a regular basis. Some are old mistakes, but the new digital era also brings new mistakes.
Here are the new rules for making a great first impression.

Online Presence
It used to be that you made your first impression with a firm handshake, a smile and a pressed suit. Now your first impression precedes you–and it happens digitally.
  • Make certain your picture, profile and position are on your company website–as well as those of any people on your team you bring to a meeting.
  • Have a current and robust profile on LinkedIn. Almost one out of every two executives who are meeting with someone for the first time looks online prior to the meeting–and LinkedIn is one of the most frequently used platforms.
  • Restrict your non-friend Facebook access. There is no sense in letting your personal life drive your first professional impression, even if you think you have nothing to hide.
Your Team
The people who surround you are a clear part of your professional impression. Prospective partners and customers know that performance quality is driven by many people. Good teams create chemistry and confidence in the first impression.
  •  Make sure your team understands all the same rules about grooming, handshakes, dress, smiles and eye contact that you follow. The first impression that your team makes is the first impression that you make.
  • Take the right number of people to a meeting. Base it on the number of people the other company is bringing. If you have too many from your side, you will make them feel overwhelmed; too few suggests a lack of understanding and respect. I like a 2:3 ratio–two of our side for every three of theirs.
  • Congruity is important. You don’t have to look, sound and act exactly alike. You do have to demonstrate some positive chemistry together.
Communication & Details
Because you are sending out so many first impressions before you connect face to face, you need to make certain you get all of the details right.
  • Emails: The agenda, appointment confirmation and logistics need to be managed well. Your emails need to have complete contact information–including names and titles for all attendees you are bringing.
  • Voicemails: Button down the details by making certain to leave the same information that you sent in your email on voicemail as well. You never know which communication technology someone prefers; they may only use one. Better to overcommunicate.
  • What to bring: Bring it all; bring it on paper and digital; and bring more copies than you think you need. That goes for collateral material, presentations and (if this is your thing) delightful parting gifts. Also, make certain everyone on your team brings his or her business cards.
As the world becomes digitally porous, the aperture of perception gets bigger–but our control over it gets smaller. Use these new rules to make your best first impression.
Article and image compliments of inc.com.

Friday, February 10, 2012

5 Ways to Reward Your All-Star Employees

There's no such thing as too much employee recognition. Learn five ways to reward your team.

I hope you’ll agree with me after reading this post that there is no such thing as too much employee recognition. In fact, I would imagine that the average employee at most companies is starving for recognition of any type. Heck, most of them rarely see any feedback at all except for the “dreaded annual review,” but that’s a subject deserving of its own blog post.

Over the course of leading numerous organizations I’ve had the privilege of being a part of, our teams used personality testing to supplement our training of staff. For every type of role, 85 percent or more of the people tested replied that they would be much happier and would work harder if they were recognized for their efforts. This seemed like a no-brainer to me since most of my teachers—at every level of my education—used this strategy wisely.

If you’re familiar with The Carrot Principle, you probably remember reading about how beneficial employee recognition can be to a company’s bottom line. The authors described a study of 200,000 employees that revealed that employee recognition not only increased efficiency, but paid off significantly for the companies that effectively implemented them.  In some cases, these companies’ return on equity and assets were as much as three times as higher than that of other companies.

So, why are so many leaders still neglecting this invaluable practice? I believe many do for various reasons. Here are a few that immediately come to mind:
  1. That is precisely how they have seen it done time and time again in previous organizations.
  2. Most leaders received so little recognition on a regular basis themselves that they have no idea how powerful it can be in growing and retaining staff.
  3. It takes extra effort.
If you’re among the leaders within your organization, you may be able to initiate some change at your workplace. Start by sharing this list of five ways to boost employee recognition. I hope you and your co-workers will like them as much as our staff here at Slingshot SEO does!

Here goes…

Compliments of inc.com.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Despite Expected Hiring Gains, Rate of Job Growth Still Behind 2011

The hiring outlook for February 2012 shows a net gain in employment in the manufacturing and service sectors, although the pace of job creation lags that of January 2011, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for February 2012. 

Hiring will be steady in both sectors in February. Forty percent of manufacturers responding to the survey report they will add jobs in February 2012; approximately 21 percent of service-sector companies responding report they will be hiring.

“Though we continue to see an overall positive rate of hiring for both sectors, the gains are not as strong compared to the same time last year,” said Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, SHRM manager of workplace trends and forecasting. 

Human resource professionals in both sectors reported increased difficulty with recruiting key candidates in January 2012 compared with January 2011. In addition, some new hires will see increases in starting compensation offers.

The LINE Employment Report examines employers’ hiring expectations, recruiting difficulty and new-hire compensation, based on monthly survey responses from private-sector human resource professionals at more than 500 manufacturing- and 500 service-sector companies. Together, these two sectors employ more than 90 percent of the nation’s private-sector workers. Read More

Monday, February 6, 2012

Government Contracting: How Are Small Businesses Doing?

Small businesses who obtain government contracts know that the U.S. government is a desirable client. But how are small companies doing when it comes to landing federal contracts or subcontracts? American Express OPEN’s second annual government contracting survey of more than 700 active small government contractors found they are facing some challenges, partly because federal government contracting spending was down 14 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. Here’s what else the study found:


Small businesses are spending more trying to obtain federal contracts. Learn More.