One of the most costly mistakes for small business owners is making a bad hiring decision.  Losing the money spent on recruiting, the time to interview the candidates, and the time and cost spent on employee training are a few of the major profit-squeezers that result from hiring mistakes.

Some entrepreneurs attempt to reduce risk by hiring family or friends-which in most cases proves to be the worst hiring mistake of all.  It is difficult for most people to accept the relationship transition from family member to employee.  Most often, those friendships will end in resentment and disappointment.  When a veteran small business owner tells you, “Never hire family!” you can bet he’s learned the hard way.

With a little skill and guidance, small business owners can learn much about potential candidates by understanding resumes.  When reading resumes, there are three great things to look for-and two traps to watch out for.

Hiring the Right People

When reading a resume, the three things to look for are:

1.  Industry experience

You’ll make shortcuts in new employee training if your new hire has previous experience in your industry.  You will see a faster return on investment with your new employee when he or she already understands what your customers want.  Prior industry experience also means he or she may have a business following that will result in added revenue for your business.

2.  Transferable skills

Very often transferable skills are as critical as industry experience.  Skills such as customer service, problem solving, sales and/or crisis management are valuable in almost every industry.  Before interviewing candidates, make sure you understand the five most important transferable skills needed for the position you are hiring. Keep those skills in mind when reviewing resumes. Candidates whose resumes showcase those skills should be considered whether they have industry experience or not. An industry can be learned, but great customer service or superb selling skills can only be acquired with time and experience.

3.  Accomplishments

When reading through resumes, look for applicants who write about their accomplishments.  These are candidates who understand the bottom-line initiatives of an organization. A resume that mentions saving time, cutting costs, and solving customer disputes represents someone who can handle your problems as well.

On the flip side, when reading resumes watch out for these two traps:

1.  Unstable work history

Pay attention to the dates on a resume.  While the life expectancy of a job isn’t what it was a generation ago, a string of short-term positions should be a concern. Candidates with too many jobs in too short of a time usually have excuses for all of them-sometimes even great excuses.  But good excuses aren’t the same thing as good reasons.  If you see a consistent pattern of instability, beware!  This may be a candidate who (1) doesn’t get along with authority; (2) loses interest in his job after time; or (3) is just plain inept.  Beware also of unexplained gaps in employment, which may indicate even more serious problems.

2.  Unfocused career path

While it’s quite normal for one’s career path to shift, candidates whose resumes show opposing career directions may indicate uncertainty about their career path.  Look out for candidates who have held contrasting positions like “sales” and “accounting,” or “account manager” and “librarian.”  This may be a candidate who doesn’t know what he wants in his career.  After working for you as customer service rep, he may decide he really wants to be a dog groomer!

With practice you’ll gain expertise at reading between the lines of a resume.  Remember the three great things to look for and the two traps to avoid, and you’ll save yourself valuable time, money and effort in hiring new employees.

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Deborah Walker, Small Business Coach helps entrepreneurs navigate the hiring maze with tips and suggestions on how to recruit, interview and hire the best employees.  Her veteran experience as a former executive recruiter gives her the unique perspective to help you avoid the pitfalls of bad hiring decisions.  Learn how Deborah can help your business at: www.RevenueQueen.com

Many people assume that people leave jobs largely for financial reasons – but that simply is not the case.

Extensive research into employee retention shows that people leave jobs for a combination of factors. Factors which may include -  limited opportunities to develop, being in the wrong job, not feeling valued, that the job no longer fits their lifestyle or indeed a sense that they no longer trust and have faith in their employers. So, to retain staff, you require a strategy that seeks to limit these factors:

1. Recruit the right people in the right way. If you have hired the wrong person, then you are always going to struggle to keep them. You may have hired someone who has the skills and knowledge to do the job, but do they have the right personality and attitude to fit into your business? Is your business able to match their career aspirations or are they going to be looking for the next job very soon? Similarly, if you have failed to “wow” a new employee during the recruitment process then the seeds of doubt may already have been sown by the time they join you.

2. Effective induction, training & development. Inducting people effectively – in whatever format – is fundamental. Get it wrong and you have started to sow those seeds of doubt in their minds in the first few weeks. Beyond that, one of the keys to retaining people is ensuring there are opportunities for people to grow, learn and develop themselves.

3. Involve & empower your people. Gone are the old days of telling people what to do. Modern leaders set the business’s vision and direction but fully involve their teams and empower them to make decisions. Once again it makes people feel valued and feel more connected to the business, which of course helps with staff retention.

4. Ensure fair & consistent performance management. Performance management is not a one-off activity at the time of an annual appraisal. It is the ongoing process of giving feedback to align performance day in, day out. It is about being generous with your praise whilst being constructive and honest in conversations about under-performance. The key is to do it consistently.

5. Provide honest & realistic career management. Career management is all about managing people’s expectations. Listening and understanding their aspirations, offering realistic career options and then delivering on your promises. When the goal posts do move (as they often do) and you cannot deliver, being honest enough to communicate this openly will maintain the trust of your people and help retain them.

6. Offer a transparent system of pay & benefits. Pay and rewards should form a key part of your staff retention strategy How you structure your pay, benefits and bonus depends on your business and your market – the key is that it must be clear and transparent. How much emphasis you place on these financial factors depends on the position the business is in, your marketplace and how well you promote all the non-financial benefits of working for you.

7. Develop & promote non-financial benefits. Retaining people is not just about financial benefits – but about becoming better at developing and promoting all the non-financial benefits of working for your business. Anything from the working environment, facilities, the culture, working hours and the management style can give you an edge. Provided these benefits meet the needs of your people it gives them another reason to stay.

8. Deliver fantastic service to your employees. The key to retaining customers is to provide world-class service to them. Providing your own people with world-class service motivates them to stay. See them as internal customers. Treating them as individuals and delivering to a high standard on the above steps will make a real difference.

9. Create systems to deliver consistent results. Creating systems means that these steps become embedded as weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual activity. They happen as a matter of everyday business – consequently retaining people becomes the norm. Something your customers will thank you for.

Remember, employee retention is a key factor in the long term success and profitability of your business.

Take some time today to think about what YOU could do motivate and retain your team. Then choose at least one tactic to implement this month. It could be the biggest addition you have made to your retention efforts this year.

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Sital Ruparelia, the “Recruitments & Retention Specialist” works with small businesses that struggle with recruitment and retention issues and helps them implement strategies proven to Find and Keep The Right People consistently.  To receive further tips like these sign up to his FREE articles at: www.authenticresourcing.com

Copyright (c) 2007 Mr Sital Ruparelia

Someone recently asked me: ‘Sital; I’ve got a good number of candidates for my vacancy. How do I make sure I choose the right person?’ Here are some ideas that will help you.

Essentially you need to have a really clear idea about what you want, so that you can target your interviewing questions specifically at assessing candidates’ suitability against these criteria, then make an objective decision around this, along with a healthy dose of common sense and instinct.

Many small businesses have a rough idea in their heads about the type of person they are looking for and then have an unplanned, unfocused conversation (the interview) and then hire a candidate that they ‘like’ and have a good ‘gut instinct’ about. But they often realize within days or weeks that they hired the wrong person….

Steps That Help Find the Right Person for the Job

1. Have a full job specification for the role you are filling. What type of experience & knowledge, skills, personality and values are right for the role and your business? What level of ambition are you looking for; how long do you expect someone to stay in the role before they move on? Invest some time now and you will ensure you avoid wasting time interviewing and potentially offering roles to the wrong people.

2. Be clear what your job criteria “look like”. What exactly does “first-class customer service” mean to you? How do you know when you see it? What exactly does “a great eye for detail” mean in your business

3. Interview against these criteria. By all means ask generic questions that allow you build rapport, and be conversational, but also ensure that you ask specific questions that allow you to assess whether the candidate matches up to your requirements. Ask the right questions that will elicit examples and evidence that allow you to test whether the candidate has the traits, skills and experience to meet your criteria What does “first-class customer service” look like to them? Their answer will tell you whether you share the same standards when it comes to the quality of customer service Ask them questions which require them to provide actual examples of when and how they have provided “first-class customer service”

4. Rigorous selection decision. Don’t just hire someone because you ‘like’ them and establish a good rapport in the first 5 minutes – this is a common mistake Don’t make a decision on your own. Get a trusted senior colleague to meet them to give you a second opinion Remember, you are hiring the right person for your business and you have a responsibility to the business and your team to do just that

5. Focus on hiring people with the right ‘core’ values. By that I mean the right personal values, attitudes and work ethic. You can usually teach skills (e.g. IT or technical skills), but you can never ‘train’ a work ethic or the right attitude into someone. That comes with the person and is usually formed in their early years – both from the way they were brought up and also from their early working life.

For this reason I always look at where people BEGAN their careers to see what type of molding they got at the start of their working life.

6. Don’t worry about making mistakes. Interviewing is a skill. Like any skill, whether it’s cooking a meal or hitting a golf ball, it improves with the experience and wisdom that comes from having lots of goes, messing up, learning and implementing that learning You can’t learn to be a proficient golfer without losing a lot of balls in the rough. And you can’t become a top-rated chef without messing up a meal on occasions So go ahead: do lots of interviews and learn as you go along Find the approach that suits your style and ask the questions that fit your business and the positions you are hiring for Once you find your style and are comfortable in an interview situation, in addition to learning to spot the right people, you will start to attract the right people as you will be at your relaxed and confident best – which will make you an attractive proposition to a potential employee.

Following these steps will require you to spend some extra time at the beginning of the recruitment process, but it’s an investment that will save you a lot of time in wasted interviews and loads of time and money from hiring the wrong people.

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Sital Ruparelia works with small businesses that struggle with recruitment and retention issues and helps them implement strategies to Find & Keep The Right People. This is article is an extract from Sital’s successful e-book “Interviewing Made Easy” www.InterviewingMadeEasy.com

Copyright (c) 2007 Mr Sital Ruparelia

Castle Worldwide, Inc. partners with Greater Business Solutions Global of Beijing, China, an affiliate of the Chinese Chamber of International Commerce, in collaboration with the National Retail Federation Foundation, to design, develop, and deliver retail training and certification examinations in China.

Morrisville, NC (PRWEB) January 17, 2010 — Castle Worldwide, Inc., a leading provider of assessment and education consulting services, signed a cooperative agreement with Greater Business Solutions Global of Beijing, China (GBS Global), an affiliate of the Chinese Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), to design, develop, and deliver retail training and certification examinations in China created in collaboration with the National Retail Federation Foundation (NRF Foundation). The courseware and examinations will target corporate employers, vocational students, and graduates of university retail programs. Design and development activities are underway for three tiered training and examination programs. The first program, Retail Operations Management, will be available to Chinese candidates beginning in December of 2009.

Castle joined with its long standing business partner, the NRF Foundation, to provide GBS Global and Chinese retail professionals with the highest quality retail knowledge and certification testing. The NRF Foundation’s national retail standards are being used in the development of national standards for China. US-based retail experts from the NRF Foundation and workforce development and testing experts from Castle recently traveled to Beijing in December 2009 to launch the first program, Retail Operations Management across China.

“Currently, the retail industry in China is growing rapidly despite a shortage of well-trained retail store managers at all levels. This shortage and the lack of first-class training for existing and potential employees has negatively affected the retail marketplace,” said Mark Zhang, President of GBS Global. “The cooperation between Castle, the NRF Foundation, and GBS Global will significantly improve the standards and effectiveness of the Chinese retail industry.”

“We are proud to formalize our relationship with GBS Global and to expand our long-time partnership with the NRF Foundation to bring world-class education and certification to the Chinese retail workforce,” said Jeffrey LaRiche, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Castle. “During our travels to China, GBS Global and its employees and partners have demonstrated deep influence in the Chinese marketplace and a high standard of professionalism and commitment to retail training and certification. This commitment linked to the NRF Foundation’s substantial resources and expertise in worldwide retail standards will provide strong support for the development of retail training and certification examinations in China.”

Castle’s relationship with GBS Global will deliver the benefits of a credential based on global best practices in selling and service, store operations, finance, merchandising, and human resource management that will provide retail store owners significant efficiencies in cost and operations.

“The training and certification programs referenced in the agreement focus on a need that, until now, has not been addressed,” said Rick Phillips, PhD, Castle’s Chief Technology Officer. “The courseware is based on interactive learning methods which will result in higher rates of information retention.” Dr. Phillips and Leo F. Hirata, Chairman of the international business development firm, Dharma Brothers International, presented on the benefits of interactive learning approaches at the 8th Annual Shopping Mall Conference held at the Olympic Village in Beijing in September 2009.

ABOUT CASTLE WORLDWIDE, INC.
Castle Worldwide, Inc. is a highly respected provider of testing and training services for trade and professional associations, corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions. For more than 20 years, Castle has distinguished itself by providing psychometric expertise, technological capabilities and a customer-centric business approach. Castle continually monitors advancements made in the worlds of testing, training and business management to provide its clients with sound solutions and responsive service. www.castleworldwide.com

ABOUT GBS GLOBAL, INC.
GBS Global Inc. is a professional service provider specializing in management consulting, educational training, and workforce development for the retail industry. Working in cooperation with the Chinese government’s commercial and educational sectors, GBS is committed to promoting communication and cooperation between the international retail communities. The members of GBS Global’s senior management team are experienced, seasoned professionals in global retail, finance, educational training, and information technology development who are able to move confidently and fluidly across cultures and who understand the best practices of the East and the West. GBS’s mission to develop effective retail training systems is key to satisfying the need for high quality retail professionals in the Chinese retail marketplace.

ABOUT NRF FOUNDATION
The NRF Foundation is the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation. A non-profit foundation created in 1981, the Foundation conducts industry research, develops education and workforce development programs, professional certification programs and promotes retailing as a career destination. The NRF Foundation benefits retailers, their associates and business partners and allies, and consumers in many ways. The Foundation’s education and career development efforts, including NRF University wired, encourage professional development and excellence in performance of retailing for associates and executives at all levels.

The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry’s key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees – about one in five American workers – and 2008 sales of $4.6 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.

ABOUT DHARMA BROTHERS INTERNATIONAL LTD
Dharma Bros International LTD [DBI is a business advisor for worldwide companies seeking to expand their products, services, and investments into the China marketplace. The founder and Chairman of DBI, Leo F. Hirata, is the China Business Advisor to Castle Worldwide and assisted greatly with the establishment of Castle’s relationship with GBS. DBI is also involved in other high-profiled business ventures in China.

Generation Y (the young men and women born after 1977) are different from other generations in many respects, from their political views to the careers they choose (or don’t choose).  Their presence in the workplace is truly making an impact, causing employers to worry, fret and scratch their head, and asking,  “What do I do to attract the 20-something worker, and once I have them, how do I keep them?”

When it comes to loyalty, the companies Gen Y works for are last on their list.  These millennial leaders are ambitious, and if you can’t find a compelling reason to stick around, they won’t. They will either find a better job , or they’ll move back in with mom and dad (hey…free rent and a packed fridge is not a bad deal after all, and moms and dads are allowing their 20-something age kids to move back home in droves).

Many employers are labeling Gen Y workers “demanding” and “self-serving” (not a smart move) and when you look at the fact that over 64 million workers will exit from the workforce by the year 2010, this puts employers in a talent deficit dilemma.  The pools they have to dip  from are these young men and women from ages 22-30.  So, if you want to attract the young knowledge work, I highly recommend that you stop calling them names and start doing what you can to accommodate their needs, even if outrageous.

The remainder of this article will share with you some information about the companies who I believe are doing a great job in attracting Gen Y into their workforce and a few of the strategies they are using.  As you read this article, do your best to resist the thought of “Well, Google, Intuit or Deloitte would never be my competition…we are worlds apart in location, size, budget and industry focus”.   While it is true that we are all not like Google or Apple, there is one thing that is true:  We are in the age of the “young knowledge worker”, and Generation Y is the most high-performing generation in the history of mankind with more information in their heads and at their fingertips (and they can multi-task), so they can perform a variety of tasks in many business domains and can live anywhere if the job and company cool.  So, in today’s world, any company is your competition, yet the big question is:

“Will Gen Y be working for you or for your competition?”

Here’s my top ten list of companies who are being successful with attracting the Gen Y worker.  As you read through this list, don’t try to bite off everything on this list.  Simply ask yourself “How can I shift my business or organization to include a few of these strategies to make my company more attractive to the young knowledge worker?”

1) Google: Focus on Perks:  Google is unfortunately (or fortunately) raising the bar for each company in the world in the war for young talent.  According to a study done by the Great Place to Work Institute, Google is at the top of Gen Y’s list of companies they most want to work for.  Why wouldn’t when you can gain access to perks including on-site dental and medical facilities, free breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis at 11 gourmet restaurants, unlimited sick leave, and a global education leave program which enables employees to take a leave of absence to pursue further education for up to 5 years and $150,000 in reimbursement.

2) Intuit: Focus on a Rotational Development Program.  Gen Y was born multi-tasking, so boredom on the job can set in quickly.  Intuit has addressed this by offering a cracker-jack Rotational Development Program, allowing new recruits rotation programs in finance, marketing  and product development every 6-12 months.  This program not only keeps young workers engaged but prepares them for future leadership positions in the company.

3) Walt Disney:  Focus on Internships and a Collaborative Culture.  Disney has a rock solid internship program for college students, which includes college credits for the colleges they partner with, which gets young leaders committed to the company before they graduate.  Disney is also built on a foundation of a diverse and collaborative culture, and Generation Y was born playing on teams made up of members from all cultures and walks of life.  The sense of camaraderie makes Disney attractive for Gen Y, because it breeds a familiar sense of teamwork.

4) Deloitte and Touche:  Focus on Leadership Development. Generation Y is very attracted to all aspects of learning and development.  They have been raised on a diet which includes a combination of personal, leadership and team development.  Deloitte and Touche have therefore designed a state of the art leadership program called the Future Leaders Apprentice Program (FLAP), and new recruits are immediately eligible for the program.  Deloitte is also offering a top flight coaching and mentoring program. Because Gen Y has been coached since age 5, they are saying that the coaching and development programs offered by Deloitte  are two of the main attraction points that has them stick around or return later in their career.

5) The Peace Corps:  Focus on Saving the World.  The pay is not so great (as a matter of fact, most Gen Y leaders say it’s lousy), but they are willing to sacrifice pay in orderto do meaningful work on a global scale, to work and live in another country where they can become fluent in a new language and to toughen up mentally and emotionally by doing hard work with long hours.  Generation Y sees companies who are making a significant contribution back to their communities as tops on their lists for future employment.  Teach for America is another hot and growing company that allows emerging leaders the opportunity to teach in failing school districts…another approach to “making a difference” in the world.

6) Lockheed Martin:  Focus on Continuing Education. Gen Y is all about knowledge acquisition and this aeronautics and space company has hit the nail on the head with 20-something recruits by offering a maximum of $7500.00 annual for education reimbursement and full graduate school sponsorship for junior level employees.

7) L’Oreal USA:  Focus on College Competitions and World Travel.  If you have not noticed this lately, Gen Y LOVES a competition, and they are certainly keen on world travel. You only have to watch American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance or America’s Next Top Model to verify this.  L”Oreal has latched onto this idea with its L’Oreal Brandstorm Competition, providing college students the opportunity to compete by putting themselves in the shoes of a L’Oreal Brand Manager.  The competition allows emerging leaders the opportunity to analyze consumer trends while developing a top of the line marketing and advertising campaign for L’Oreal.  The winner receives a trip to Paris and the opportunity to interact with top L’Oreal managers, giving young recruits a leg up during the recruiting and hiring process.  The competition alone creates buzz and a “cool factor” for L’Oreal, which is appealing to 20-somethings.

8) Southwest Airlines:  Focus on Fun.  If you have never flown Southwest, I highly recommend you do it just one time…just for the fun of it.  Generation Y’s mantra is “Live First, Work Second and Have Fun!”, and Southwest’s quirky but fun-loving culture makes it a great first stomping grounds for the young knowledge worker.

9) Nike:  Focus on Fitness.  Nike’s campus is a prime location for Gen Y, who hits the gym at least 3-4 times each week.   Nike is situated on over 170 acres, which includes a fabulous exercise center, playing fields and running trails.  And of course, their “Just Do It” tagline inspires young workers to actually use these facilities rather than sitting at home in front of their computer or the tube.

10) Apple:  Focus on Simplicity.  If you have visited an Apple store lately, you will notice that you will be greeted by a young man or woman under age 30 at the Genius Bar.  Apple is filled with Gen Y employees. The reason? Apple makes things simple.  In a report by Outlaw Consulting, Apple won the number 1 loyalty spot for Gen Y, because their products are as “stripped-down and unadorned as possible” (According to Outlaw Consulting).  To be simple means convenience and speed to the multi-tasking Gen Y crowd.  This audience is also highly dedicated to saving the environment, the concept of excess means that the environment may be harmed even more.  Gen Y is therefore choosing to work for companies like Apple whose positioning is dedicated to the greening of our world.

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Bea Fields is an Executive Coach and the President of Bea Fields Companies, Inc and the Founder of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training. She specializes in Leadership and Team Coaching for high growth companies, non-profit organizations and medium-sized businesses. Fields is the author of Millennial Leaders: Success Stories From Today’s Most Brilliant Generation Y Leaders and Edge: A Leadership Story. http://MillennialLeaders.com

I recently had a conversation with a director of a major
law firm about morale among employees. It was low, and
employee retention was beginning to be an issue.

As we talked, it became apparent that while the lawyers had
access to everything that would help them perform to their
potential, the same could not be said for everyone else in
the firm. People from managers and supervisors to support
staff at all levels felt their contribution was not valued.

The problem was not money. On the contrary, these people
were paid very well, and in fact that may have become part
of the problem. Senior management felt that any unrest in
the ranks could be quieted by simply giving them more
money, and they were quite dismayed to find that was no
longer doing the trick. For them, money was the first and
only form of reward and recognition to offer employees.

Why would they think that, and why would they be surprised
to learn they were wrong?

I wonder how often they actually thought about the feelings
and attitudes of their people, and my guess is — only
when there was a problem. Of course the problem was there
all the time, and growing worse, but they just didn’t
notice.

This situation is unfortunately all too common, and not
just in law firms. There is much discussion among Human
Resources professionals about employee retention, and how
to make sure good and great employees stay around. The
principles are understood, but the practice often doesn’t
match up.

Of course there are numerous specific incentives that can
be implemented, including formal appreciation programs, and
these should certainly not be ignored. Many of these
programs are expensive, and management might well feel
employees are ungrateful not to appreciate them.
Ironically, the root cause of discontent can often be
successfully addressed with no financial outlay at all.

No matter how much money you pay someone, if they are
overloaded with work and constantly stressed by
unreasonable deadlines and treated as if they are
invisible, don’t be surprised when they rebel. Again and
again, studies have shown that the number one cause of
workplace dissatisfaction is that employees don’t feel
respected or appreciated — and those are two different
things.

In another law firm where I facilitated a difficult
discussion between a senior lawyer and his support staff,
one clerk pointed out that the manner in which work was
assigned was offensive. Citing one common task in their
particular area of law, she said, “It takes you just a few
seconds to throw the papers on my desk and tell me to do
it, and for you it’s done. But you forget that for me it
represents two hours of work.” She wasn’t complaining about
the work itself, but felt that her contribution to the
process was not appreciated. As part of a broader picture
of discontent and deepening resentment, this was
significant.

When I visit clients’ offices for meetings, I’m usually
offered coffee, and in this simple situation I can
immediately observe the attitude of the manager or
executive towards staff. One person will introduce me by
name to the assistant bringing the coffee and make the
request in a friendly civilized way; another will simply
buzz the assistant and say, “Bring us coffee in the meeting
room.” This may sound like a small thing, but the second
version demonstrates a lack of respect for the person as a
human being, and when it’s part of an overall pattern, it
can make a huge difference in someone’s quality of work
life.

If you are a Human Resources professional facing morale
problems, you might take some time to observe the
interactions between management and staff. If you see the
signs I’ve been talking about, consider meeting with
managers as a group and pointing out the possible
consequences of their thoughtlessness. Encourage them to
recognize people’s deep human need for respect and
appreciation and take any opportunity they can to meet it.

If you are a manager yourself, consider honestly how you
treat people. Have some meaningful conversation with those
who report to you to let them know you value their
contribution and respect them as individuals.

There’s no financial cost to these initiatives, but the
positive effect on employee retention, morale and
productivity can be immense.

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Helen Wilkie is a professional keynote speaker and workshop
leader specializing in workplace communication. She also
facilitates World Cafe events to enable deep conversation
at all levels in organizations. For more information on her
services, or to subscribe to her free e-zine,
“Communi-keys”, visit http://www.mhwcom.com or e-mail her
at hwilkie@mhwcom.com

Assessments are powerful tools to use in hiring the right
people. They can also improve communications, reduce
turnover and improve retention of top people. Assessments
represent an opportunity to do all these things while
returning the highest ROI of any single people directed
investment you can make!

The following recommendations can help you better utilize
these very valuable tools in a variety of ways.

Recommendation #1: Use assessments to provide information
in the areas that are most likely to result in success or
failure. Assessments add to the elements of experience,
technical skills, accomplishments and education by adding
another dimension to the decision making process. They can
identify Behaviors, Values and Personal Skills that are the
real drivers of success in every organization. Assessments
can provide as much as 33% of the information used in the
hiring process – a critical 33%, since experience has shown
that most people succeed or fail in positions because of
their Behavior Fit, Value/Culture Fit and Personal Skills
Fit.

Recommendation #2: Choose assessments that are designed for
business use, so that your managers and leaders can use and
trust the reports. If your managers don’t feel the
information is specific, directed to their interests, and
delivers value to them in their relationship with the
person assessed, you will lose most of the leverage the
assessment could have. Choose  based on the question “How
can our managers use this information?”  Use assessments to
help make business decisions.

Recommendation #3: Use assessments after candidates have
passed the technical skills, education, experience and
accomplishment phases of the interview process. Do not use
assessments as early knockout tests, unless there are
specific criteria that are absolutely essential to the
success in the job, and that can be measured by very
specific assessment tools.

Recommendation #4: Choose an assessment that provides the
ability to benchmark the position using stakeholders input
as a key part of the front end process. The term
“benchmarking” means a process to help define the critical
elements of the job that  need to be met in order for an
applicant to be considered.. Make sure you select to the
job requirements and not to the experiences of the
candidate pool – don’t let the candidate pool dictate the
position requirements.

Recommendation #5: Choose an assessment that can be handled
administratively with little added burden to your people.
Nothing will ensure the failure of a process more than the
perception that it adds work out of proportion to its
value. Ensure that the means for completing questionnaires
and communicating results is as seamless as possible, and
is not handled as an exception item in the process.

Recommendation # 6: Choose an assessment that has multiple
uses for your organization.  Many of the assessments
available have little value beyond providing some
information about elements of a person’s “personality
profile”. Look for assessments that can help in
establishing development plans, benchmark positions, create
constructive talking points for performance reviews, create
the climate for proactive development discussions, as well
as help get a better understanding of who the candidate
really is. Do the assessments  result in the kind of
information that can be applied in many ways? Are they
designed to make it easy for you to develop, among other
things,  profiles of people who have been successful – and
unsuccessful, in their jobs?

Recommendation #7: Choose assessments that have fast
turnaround and interpretation by a qualified professional.
If you have a person or persons trained and skilled in
interpretation, great. If not, make sure the assessments
you use gain you 24 x 7 access to professionals qualified
in interpretation, and who have a business orientation.
There are a lot of assessments available on the Internet
that provide quick turnaround of superficial information
that looks good when first seen, but that doesn’t stand up
to the hard light of day when it comes to using the
information in the decision making process.

Recommendation #8: Determine the value the assessment adds
to your organization first, then its cost. If the process
does not add value to your selection and development
decisions and plans, any price is too high. I can guarantee
you that the $20 Internet assessments fall way short of
giving you the level of information you need.  Look at
value first, then at price. In the overall scheme of
selection and development, assessments can be the best,
most cost effective people selection investment you can
make.

Recommendation #9: Choose assessments that provide well
documented validity studies. Many organizations become
concerned about the use of assessments because of what they
see as the potential for misuse. In my experience,
inconsistent use of any selection tool can cause problems.
Validity studies provide assurance that the conclusions
reached by the assessments are valid and well researched
and free of biases.

Recommendation #10: Try before you buy. Have people in your
organization take the assessment or assessments you are
considering, then review the results with one question in
your mind – ” How much added value will this information
have in helping me be more successful in making future
selection and development decisions?” You must experience
the process to understand what it can do for your
organization.

It’s estimated that no more than thirty percent of the
organizations that could benefit from the use of
assessments are currently using them.

If you’re in that thirty percent, use these 10
Recommendations to audit value. I can almost guarantee the
assessments  you are using  have greater application than
they are currently getting.

If you aren’t in the thirty percent, use the  10
Recommendations to see how assessments can help your
organization hire the right people in the right jobs. I can
guarantee you will increase your success in selection
through the use of effective assessments. Start today

—————————————————-
Andy Cox founded Cox Consulting Group in 1995 after
extensive experience in leadership positions in Fortune 500
corporations. His focus is on helping clients select,
develop, retain and enhance the performance of leaders and
emerging leaders Click on http://www.coxconsultgroup.com
for more information on the selection of the right people
for the right jobs.

In today’s competitive employment world most people are
interested in “standing out” from the crowd.  But, think
again when it comes to the image you present to your
prospective employer.  What are they looking for?  What
does their culture support?  Will the image you present
blend in – or standout, and which is best?

The answer is really “both”.  Yet, how can you possibly
standout and blend at the same time? And what does that
mean when it comes to your “image” anyway?  Simple…
research!  From the employers point of view the fact that
you have taken time to research your fit and taken steps to
be sure you blend with the culture is what will help you
standout.  So, how do you make this trick happen?

Research is the single most important thing you can do
before gracing the doorway of your prospective employer. 
Check their website – what’s the look?  Formal, casual or
somewhere in-between?  Be sure to view the online photos of
the top executives- what’s their look?  Are they all in
suits and ties – or polo shirts and khakis?  And if casual,
what area?  Is it the Engineering, IT, Finance?  What area
will you be interviewing in?  Many employer websites these
days have a specific area with information to help
candidates get to know the environment before they arrive.

But, don’t end your research there.  Check the newswire and
read articles, view photos.  Network and find out what
others know about the culture.  If local, take a drive to
the company and park near the door.  See what the people
who are coming and going are wearing.  If you’ve got a
recruiter by all means “ask”.  But, also ask if the
recruiter has ever met personally with the individuals
you’ll be meeting with.  Keep in mind that often recruiters
have never set foot on the premises, let alone met with the
client personally.  They may have done all their work via
phone conversations.

Also, if you’re in communication with the Human Resources
Professional check on what they believe is appropriate
attire and if there are any expectations you should be
aware of in advance.  What’s the impression this will leave
with them?  You prepare in advance and pay attention to
details.  And please, the question is not “What should I
wear”? This will sound insecure and nervous nelly.
Instead, simply say, “Are there any specifics that you’d
like me to plan for in advance?  Any particular attire you
would suggest or will there be any presentations expected?
This will allow for a free-flow of conversation.

The idea behind all this research is – you want give the
employer the “feel” that you already work there.  If it is
a casual organization and people are in jeans and polo’s,
you are going to be uncomfortable in a three-piece suit,
shiny shoes and tie included.  Impressive yes; but remember
you want them talking about how well you will fit in and
not “He was fine, but the suits got to go”.  In other
words, don’t leave them talking more about what you wore to
the interview than about what a great fit you’ll be.  Don’t
balk at this – I bet you can probably bring back a memory
right now about someone you remember who walked into an
interview clearly out of sync with the company.  Right?

Women should remember what would take away a good “blend”
too.  Low cut shirts, high thin heels, anything extreme or
loud (patterns, colors, jewelry).  And here is a piece of
advice that stands for both men and women; don’t wear any
fragrance the day of your interview.  You never know
whether the person interviewing you has allergies or may
just be repelled by the scent.  This can end your interview
before it even gets started.

So, with all that said – whether you’re interviewing in
high tech, or vogue fashion – research, research, research
and remember, blend so that who you are will standout.

—————————————————-
About the Author
Robin Ogden is a founder of FiredUP Careers, a career
coaching company focusing on career products and services
for professionals who wish to stay aligned with their
careers, achieve success and truly dig what they do. For
more information about FiredUP Careers and to receive our
FREE ‘career death traps’ report, visit
http://www.firedupcareers.com

Last month, we followed along as Jane and Bob examined
motivation and how each team member is motivated
differently.  Now, Jane and Bob are looking at how to
improve employee retention by creating an environment that
reduces stress while improving energy and morale.

Statistics consistently show that employees leave companies
more often because of unhappiness with their role or
environmental conditions rather than compensation.

What kind of environmental conditions?

Environmental stressors include change (especially big
changes), which can include:

• new department head
• downsizing
• merger or acquisition
• team member challenges
• new job responsibilities or project

Jane and Bob need to be aware that these issues cause
stress.  While there isn’t anything they can do about these
conditions (when you need a new department head, you need
one!), they can be aware that they are stressful.

Then, there are home stressors.

Sometimes stressors are from employees’ home life.  For
example, someone gets a promotion and all the sudden, he is
working very long hours.  Maybe it’s not a problem with his
home life, or maybe it is.  It’s important to be aware of
the possible problems that might arise that could cause
stress.

Having a star employee whose home life is a wreck is
eventually going to become Jane and Bob’s problem at work.
Be aware.

What stress does to a company

Stress causes energy drains in staff, reduced productivity,
increased mistakes, and a reduced amount of patience and
tolerance.  Obviously, none of this is good for Jane and
Bob, the team, the company, the clients, or you.

With many people who are stressed, they don’t communicate
their issues, and so their course of action is flight or
fight.  We already know that stress causes less tolerance,
and minor scrapes or big blowups are likely to occur
somewhere (fight).  Let’s just hope it’s not with your most
important client.

When flight occurs, the employee simply leaves.  Perhaps
the first time you are aware there was a problem was when
she resigns.  By then, it’s too late.

The improving-energy-and-morale part

As we reduce stress, an individual’s energy and morale both
improve.  It’s a direct inverse ratio:  decrease one; the
other increases.

To continue on their path of decreasing stress and
improving energy and morale, Jane and Bob watch for areas
that might increase stress for an individual and then
address it.  Ignoring it and hoping it will go away is more
likely to make the person go away, not the problem.

—————————————————-
Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative
leaders around the world who understand that business needs
a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders
know that powerful cross-functional communication is the
highest priority and the strongest strategy for building
organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit:
http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Progressive companies are increasingly relying upon
employee benefits to attract and retain top talent
according to a new MetLife study.  55% of employers rank
‘employee retention’ as their No. 1 benefits objective.
Unfortunately, the same study showed that only 33% of
workers feel strongly that their company effectively
educates them on their benefits options.  This reveals just
one of the many problems the employers face when confronted
with the daunting task of developing a benefits strategy
and communicating it with their workers.  If you’re going
to use benefits to build a solid workforce, here are the
five most common mistakes to avoid.

Lack of communication

Perhaps the biggest mistake employers make is not involving
the employees during benefits decisions.  Open
communication is key.  Finding out what employees want in
regard to benefits should be your first step before making
any changes.  Communicating your objectives will make
employees an active part of the decision making process.
Different employees have different needs.  Don’t assume
that the folks in the warehouse are interested in the same
benefits as the middle managers in accounting.  This is a
big mistake.

Cutting benefits to control costs

This is often misused because it is a short term solution
to a long term problem and frequently results in high
levels of employee turnover.  While cost sharing is an
important element in a long term benefits strategy, it’s
important to do this over multiple years.  Managed
incorrectly, this is a serious morale killer.  To avoid
this, develop a 3-year cost sharing timeline and instead of
trying to figure out how to cut benefits, focus on
exchanging low value / high cost benefits for high value /
low cost benefits.  Approaching this with a give-and-take
mindset can alleviate most complaints from your employees.

Offering everything but the kitchen sink

Offering every known benefit causes more problems than it
solves.  When you offer every benefit imaginable, you set
yourself up for skyrocketing costs.  Also, down the road
your employees will ask why you never add new benefits.
Instead, consider starting with a simple package and adding
new benefits incrementally.  This will also provide the
advantage of testing new benefits to understand their
impact on your workforce.

Offering the benefits your management team suggests

Don’t assume that feedback from managers will give you the
best idea of what benefits to offer.  While this is a valid
way to gauge several business issues, benefits desires are
often personal and not communicated to managers.
Administering a survey to collect information about what
employees want from their benefits is a simple solution.
Larger companies can form a committee to explore the issue
further and develop champions of the process through
leaders in the organization, encouraging everyone to get
involved.

Taking a short term approach

Anything you do to make short term improvements without
considering long term objectives can be dangerous.  This is
often where an outside advisor can be advantageous,
especially one with a long history in business that can
share experiences that support or refute possible changes.
By focusing on long term goals like employee retention,
productivity, and absenteeism, you can navigate many common
obstacles.

Designing and implementing a benefits strategy can take as
little as two weeks and the long term implications can be
sizable.   As the labor market tightens, employee benefits
will continue to grow in importance as companies seek an
edge to attract and retain strong workers.

—————————————————-
Mike Nacke designs employee benefits for growing
manufacturers to attract and retain top talent, improve
productivity and employee morale, and reduce absenteeism.
He is also the host of Employee Magnetism, the talk show
that offers practical advice on employee retention and
attraction strategies from some of the nation’s top experts.
For more information, visit http://www.mikenacke.com