by Beth | Dec 18, 2024 | Uncategorized
Over the Thanksgiving holiday a few years ago, my daughter and I were listening to the radio. A song came on that we both love. I began belting out the tune at the top of my lungs and sang along to the chorus of the Zac Brown Band song. I sang “Long Gone” along in perfect pitch (to me at least). My kid laughed uproariously. “MOM”, she yelled, “Those aren’t the words!” I said, “Yes they are!” She giggled “No, really. It’s not ‘Long Gone’. It’s ‘Home Grown’!” She had to Google it for me to believe her.
This misunderstanding happens in interviews for new employees all the time. Someone on the interview team will recount what the candidate said and someone else will have heard the words from the person completely differently. The very first step in the analysis of an interview for the hiring team is to agree to what the candidate actually said. The candidate’s choice of words that they used are very important. For example, “My boss is really great to work with”. Did they really say “with”? Are you sure they didn’t say “My boss is really great to work ‘for’? That simple word changes the entire meaning of the sentence as well as the intent of the comment. The word “with” denotes that the candidate doesn’t acknowledge their bosses’ authority, and if they don’t acknowledge it in the interview, they really won’t when they have direct deposit.
I talk about listening to the exact words all the time to my clients to ensure they get to hire someone who will fit with the company culture, leadership style and even the position itself. If you are not paying attention, you can miss something important in an interview which can lead to a bad hire. You can also really embarrass yourself in front of your beloved daughter.
POWER THOUGHT: Did you really hear what you thought you heard?
by Beth | Dec 11, 2024 | Uncategorized
I recently conducted a training on how to improve the hiring process, and one participant blurted out “What do you do about a brown-noser? We have this guy who doesn’t perform until the manager walks through the door. Then, this guy sucks up to the manager and the manager doesn’t even see it! It is SO frustrating!”
“What do you do about it now?” I asked him.
He said “We call him Rudolph behind his back. Rudolph the brown-nosed reindeer, and we laugh about it. We have to let off steam somehow!”
There are several things about this reindeer farm that are alarming: First, the company has a bunch of reindeer that are getting paid to talk about someone behind their back. This is NOT good for reindeer culture. When your reindeer are focused on the behavior of another, it disrupts the flow of business, and it inhibits teams from performing well – meaning getting the gifts to the people.
Second, this makes the manager, Santa Claus, look inept. All of the other reindeer, who laugh and call him names, are secretly wondering why Rudolph hasn’t been fired. They think Santa is too busy eating cookies to get work done. And finally, there will be reindeer who quit working, because Rudolph doesn’t do his job. Why should I do mine?
A brown-noser is ultimately bad for business, and the last thing we want in our reindeer culture is a reindeer who doesn’t do their job and hides that fact. We have gifts to get out, people! Fire the brown-noser and get back to business.
POWER THOUGHT: When employees laugh about anyone behind their back, you have a culture ruin-er. Brown-nosed reindeers must go.
by Beth | Nov 25, 2024 | Lifestyle
My daughter, Katy, and I would like to wish everyone a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday.
I am so grateful for all of my clients, friends and family for supporting A-list Interviews, as we continue to grow and thrive. A giant thank-you to my team, especially Randy, for a great year as well.
I hope your holiday is full of peace, love, joy and pie!
From our family to yours,
Beth Smith
by Beth | Nov 12, 2024 | Employee Hiring
A few weeks ago, I was invited to my friend Kaylyn’s house for dinner. She had just been able to move back into her house after a flood, and she wanted to show me her new kitchen/eating area.
I sat down on her new barstool at her new counter with a glass of great wine gleefully eating outstanding homemade guacamole and chips. She was on the other side of the counter cooking and drinking a glass of fine wine. She was talking about all the drama around this kitchen renovation, how hard it was, all the moving around, the Airbnb, and how she now LOVES to cook in her kitchen, when suddenly she said, “And I have a double oven. I am not sure why I got a double oven, but I am using it!”
I said nothing as my mouth was happily enjoying the fabulous food, but my first thought was, “I know why you have a double oven. Your four grown children are going to start bringing home significant others, which soon turns into marriage and grandchildren. In the blink of an eye, you will be regularly making meals for 10 plus people.”
By getting a double oven, Kaylyn was preparing for her future.
It’s the same process expanding your business. You have to build some of the infrastructure BEFORE you have an increase in sales, otherwise, you expand too fast and end up with a lot of disgruntled customers. We call this re-investing in our companies. It is taking a leap of faith that “if you build it, they will come”. To be clear, there is fear and uncertainty baked into expanding before you have the sales, but without expansion, you can’t grow.
Kind of like the double oven… if you want to have a big boom in your entertaining at your home, you must prepare for it by having more equipment, more dishes, more room, etc. So, get ready for this next wave of success by buying the double oven and hiring and training your new people.
Success has never tasted so sweet.
POWER THOUGHT: Buy the double oven. Hire your next person. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
by Beth | Oct 28, 2024 | Attitude
The celebration of Halloween has been very hit-and-miss in the workplace, in my experience. Some companies really promote it by buying pounds and pounds of candy and giving out prizes for the best costumes. Some companies don’t celebrate it at all with the mindset of “Please don’t bring candy here! I am trying so hard to stick to my diet!”
But this year, there is something in the air. The fall is so beautiful, the air is calm, and winter is late to the party. Most of my clients are in the mood to do something different, like celebrate.
Here are some of the comments that I have heard from my clients:
“I started buying chocolate mid- September. I NEVER do that!”
“This year, by God, I am dressing up for Halloween. I haven’t done that in a decade.”
We have all been walking around in a Zombie fog the last couple years. In many countries, Halloween is the beginning of the New Year, and it definitely feels that way now. We are all tired of walking around half-dead in a zombie state and looking ghostly.
So, this year, I encourage you to step out of the norm. Make the effort to celebrate in a way that you haven’t done in a long time. Buy the candy and the costume and engage with your employees like you haven’t been able to in a while. After all, the zombie in all of us needs to wake up.
Boo!
Power Thought: Don’t ghost Halloween this year!
