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Lost In The Trunk

Lost In The Trunk

http://queerslo.com/tag/gay-santa-maria/ by | Apr 18, 2018 | Company Culture, Good Management, Leadership

Miguel Pereira My daughter, Katy, starts cheerleading practice soon. As the lead cheerleader, she wants to wear a great outfit on the first day. She looked high and low for her favorite pair of cheer shorts, but to no avail. Bitterly disappointed, she bought another pair, but still, she wanted to find her favorites.

Then, it struck her. They might be in the trunk of her car. “My trunk is the new junk drawer,” she exclaimed! “I throw everything back there.” Sure enough, upon searching her trunk, there were her beloved shorts along with 2 blankets, a shirt that had also she “lost”, a curling iron, a pair of shoes, and some Valentine’s Day wrapping paper that she doesn’t remember buying.

Katy took a few hours to get everything back to where it was supposed to be, and life appears to have calmed for my teenage daughter.

Does Katy’s struggle sound familiar? Often, we spend an immense amount of time looking for things we already have, only to repurchase and rediscover the item along with a series of other things you had forgotten about. The same can be true for your office, talent pool and business processes.

You know when it is time to clean up when EVERY little task takes way more time than it should. You look for a document but can’t easily find it due to an unorganized filling system. You look for a colleague’s phone number, but it was not entered into your contact database. All these little tasks end up taking an inordinate amount of time; time that could be spent on business activities.

This time of year, I encourage you to shake out the rugs in your business departments, clean up job descriptions, re-organize the filing cabinets, create new habits to prevent the loss of information and start the spring with a new, ruthlessly organized…trunk. You will be glad that you did.

Are your employee rewards really rewards?

Are your employee rewards really rewards?

My daughter, Katy was just selected to participate in a Chem-a-thon, a chemistry marathon through her high school. It is a very high honor… sort of.

For those students who are selected, they “get” to drive on a bus for 1 ½ hours to go take a 4-hour standardized test, then drive back to school for another 1 ½ hours in the middle of the hardest year and the most challenging time of year in high school. In addition, they are still held accountable for other tests, papers and group projects that are due before the end of the year. As Katy so eloquently put it, “You want to be chosen. You just don’t want to DO it. AND, I even have to BUY my own t-shirt!”

So, is this reward really a reward?

While I was at a clients’ office this past week, I overheard some employees complaining about being “rewarded” for being chosen to sit on an advisory committee for their boss. Same thing. They wanted to be chosen, but there were so many extra projects that were required, with no extra time to complete them and no extra resources to get the projects completed. One employee sighed “Working all weekend is NOT a reward!”

Rewarding your employees can be so satisfying for both parties. It can dramatically improve morale and it is a great way to create a culture that all parties love. Just make sure that the reward is actually a reward.

And, please, please PLEASE don’t make them buy their own t-shirts!

Check Those References, Really

Check Those References, Really

This week, I am making four job offers, which is rather unusual for me. After the third interview, once we have selected THE candidate, I call their references. Reference calls are a big debate in my industry. Should you? Shouldn’t you? As one client so eloquently stated, “Why do I want to call a bunch of people who love this person?”

Here is why. Because they love this person.

I made 12 reference calls in 2 days. As a result, my faith in humanity and my ability to interview and hire great people was reinforced. Some of the comments I heard about the 4 candidates about to receive a job offer were:

“I know that you will love working with him as much as I did.”

“You are so lucky to have her!”

“He is welcome back here anytime.”

“What a great guy. If I could hire him away from you, I would.”

Reference calls are specifically designed to get a feel for someone outside of the interview process to give you additional insight into the person you are about to hire. The information that you get can aid in your assessment of a person’s work ethic, likeability, cultural fit and integrity. Good references are eager to help their friend/co-worker/employee get to the next phase of their career. Not only do their words speak volumes. It is a telling sign of a great new employee when their references call back quickly.

Get at least three references from your potential new hires. Ask for bosses and co-workers and tailor the questions to that particular candidate. Then, pick up the phone and call those references. If you feel like I did yesterday, you can make the job offer with confidence.

Happy, happy hiring!  ­­­­

Ready to turn your hiring process to an effective and efficient system that recruits A-list players? Contact Beth Smith to learn more.

How Can You Find An “Unbeetable” Candidate?

How Can You Find An “Unbeetable” Candidate?

I ate lunch with a client at an adorable café in Denver, CO. They had listed on the menu a kale and quinoa salad that included “Market Finds”.
I asked the kind server, “What is a Market Find?”
She smiled widely and replied, “We go to the market every day to buy our ingredients. A market find is whatever we find that looks good at the market that day.” That day the market find was golden beets. YUM!
Her statement suddenly struck me as relevant to interviewing for employees. I teach my clients about the importance of an ideal candidate description, and yet, this server reminded me that we can sometimes be too rigid with our expectations.
When we are hiring for a new employee, we can make the requirements so strict that we miss what is amazing about a person and their potential contributions to our teams. Common examples that I hear for firm requirements often relate to experience levels and skill sets. There are some jobs where specific certifications, education and/or skill level are required, but often employers get hung up on a candidate having a skill set that can be easily taught.
Yes, I am an advocate for having a base line to measure for a great candidate. Be sure to also leave room for “Market Finds” which opens the door to out-of-the-box candidates. These hidden treasures can often be what life is all about, and you can’t “beet” that.
The Greatest Boss. Ever

The Greatest Boss. Ever

Jeremy is a designer for Calvin Klein. He has worked for his boss, Suzanne, for many years in multiple positions and capacities. They have a fantastic working relationship and have for a long time.

Earlier this year, Jeremy’ sister was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer and was given 6 months to a year to live. Jeremy and his sister have always been very close so this was devastating news. For the next several months, Jeremy traveled as often as possible from New York to Texas to spend as much time with his sister as possible, then flying back to go work.

As his sister got worse, death was imminent. In October, Suzanne called Jeremy into her office and said “I want you to buy a one-way ticket to Texas. Don’t come back until this is over. You need to be with your family right now.”

Jeremy got to spend several weeks with his sister before she passed away. He said, “[Suzanne] gave me a gift that I can never re-pay.”

I wanted to highlight a story that shows bosses and employees can be loyal and supportive of each other. We can treat each other as human beings and love each other through the hardest times of our lives. It is called the human experience. This story exemplifies when the work environment and culture are at their finest.

For all the great bosses and employees out there, keep up the good work. And for Suzanne? You are the epitome of the greatest boss ever. Nice work!