by Beth | Oct 7, 2020 | Employee Hiring, Selecting Good Candidates
Last week, Katy and I were watching the Broncos game against The Jets. (The Broncos won!) In the
middle of the game, we watched a wide receiver make a very difficult catch and drag his toes to make
sure that he stayed inbounds. If he hadn’t dragged his toes, the catch would have been incomplete.
“He has GREAT foot awareness!” Katy exclaimed.
That comment got me thinking… How would you recruit for a wide receiver with great foot awareness?
First of all, just being aware that you must have great foot awareness in your new and improved wide
receiver is imperative. You can’t have what you want unless you know what it is. If you don’t know what
you want, you can easily drop the ball when hiring.
Second, make sure that you add foot awareness to your Ideal List of things that you must have in your
new hire. You don’t want another incomplete pass! Coming up with a solid play book that is written
down is essential to your success.
Finally, clearly communicate what you are looking for to as many people as you possibly can. Get the
message out there, so that your fans can fully support you in your efforts and cheer you on.
Please keep in mind that solid foot awareness is important, but it is equally important that you find
someone who fits in with the team culture. At Boise State, they look for “OKG’s” which stands for: our
kind of guys. The culture fit increases your wide receiver’s chance of success on your team.
When you combine skills and culture fit into your hiring strategy, you are guaranteed a winner.
And everyone wants to be a member of a winning team.
Go team go!
by Beth | Sep 23, 2020 | Uncategorized
For the past few years, every time I went into my bathroom, I would think to myself, I need a new toilet seat. I never did anything about it, because who wants to buy a new toilet seat? I can think of SO many other things to spend my money and time on, so I just made do. And, my cheap plastic toilet seat would wobble, and I would grumble. My stupid toilet seat made noise, and I would sigh. I would stare at it in disgust, because it basically stunk.
Until one day, it broke completely, and I was forced to buy a new one.
I bought the most expensive toilet seat I could find: it is wood, with a lid that slowly closes. It is solid, and it doesn’t creak! I installed it myself, and I am inordinately proud of my new toilet seat! Maybe seems a bit silly, but it really does make a difference in the quality of my daily life, so it feels like a huge accomplishment!
Does your recruiting strategy make you grumble? Is your process in the crapper?
Urine luck! (wink wink)
I find my clients are often in the same boat when it comes to recruiting new employees. It, like the toilet seat, seems like it doesn’t really make that much difference to the overall company and your daily work life. A lot of companies ignore it, even though it stinks, until it breaks so badly that they don’t have a choice but to address it.
Updating your recruiting efforts is a great way to improve your candidate pool and your ability to hire great people. Will this make a huge difference in your daily life as a result? You better believe it!
by Beth | Sep 9, 2020 | Leadership, Lifestyle
I have a friend/colleague named Beth Boen, who is the owner of SHE Leads Group, a business networking group for women business owners. A few weeks ago, Beth called me out of the blue. She does this approximately once a year. She picks up the phone, dials my number and asks one simple question:
“How are you?”
She has no other agenda than that. I always love our conversations: we talk about business, we talk about our families, what is going on with our kids… And every time I get off the phone with her, I think to myself “I am going to do more of this. I am going to reach out to others like Beth does to me.”
As it turns out, “water cooler” talk helps make employees feel more connected to their co-workers and executives. According to this article in the Denver Business Journal, https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2020/06/missing-office-small-talk-researchers-say-it-impa.html these conversations to connect with each other really do affect your well-being at work. “Water cooler” talk can bridge the gap, so that controversial topics are easier to work through. Think about it: when you have a connection to someone, the hard conversation can be easier and the outcomes more innovative. The folks that are more successful at work are ones that engage and connect with each other.
If I am honest with myself, I know that Beth and I have a strong connection, because she reaches out to me every year. And let’s be clear: she is the one that has reached out to me, and it always makes me have a better day.
Let’s all make a commitment to engage in more meaningful conversation like Beth Boen, starting now. Make 2 calls a day for the next 4 days and see how you feel about the state of the world.
I’ll start.
by Beth | Aug 26, 2020 | Employee Hiring
I will never forget the first 70-degree day that I had at my former restaurant, La Iguana. I had owned the place for just a few months, and I had the largest patio in town. When the weather turned just right on a random February day, I drove to work just in time to see a line of people forming out the door and around the block. My stomach dropped to my feet. I didn’t have enough food, enough drinks, enough staff, enough cash to make change in the drawers, and there was a light bulb out in the women’s bathroom.
I called every staff member I had. I barked at them to get their butts over to the restaurant and “Bring your friends!” If their friend had a pulse and fogged up a mirror, I put them to work. I had no processes, no policies, no procedures, no formal way of doing anything, and who in the hell was responsible for that burnt out light in the women’s bathroom???
Why am I telling you all this?
Because sometimes, you just have to hire Mr. Right Now. You have to have some temporary help to get you through the uptick in business.
That first year in business wasn’t a complete disaster, but it was close. For as much business as I had, I bled money. Most people that I hired did not last long, but I got through it. And then I got smart and organized.
If you are frantic, with more workload than you can handle, hire Mr Right Now. Just know that it is temporary, because the skillset that you need when you are crazy busy, is not the skillset that you need when things are running more smoothly. Get through today, and then focus on hiring Mr. Right for the long term.
And check to make sure the lightbulb is working in the women’s bathroom.
by Beth | Aug 12, 2020 | Lifestyle
I have a killer tan. I am especially proud of it this year, because the world is in collusion for me to not have a tan. I have been to 3 different beaches on the east and west coast and all 3 were in some sort of closure. “You can’t sit here ma’am. You can only walk on the beach ma’am.” UGH.
In addition, my neighborhood pool is closed. No water in the pool, and all of the lounge chairs still stacked up neatly along the fence… except for 1 lone lounge chair sitting by itself facing the sun with the best side table right next to it. I have been sneaking into the pool area several times a week and sitting next to the waterless hole in the ground enjoying the sun.
Not much of a summer vacation.
Or is it?
We as Americans are terrible at resting! We have a built in “I must appear busy to the world!” attitude that doesn’t serve us long-term. Just ask the authors of this article on how to build a rest ethic: https://www.fastcompany.com/90515476/how-to-build-a-rest-ethic-that-is-as-strong-as-your-work-one
Taking pockets of time to rest and play is equally as important as working hard. You don’t have to have an exotic vacation to rest and feel rejuvenated. Take a drive. Walk your neighborhood and pretend that you have never been there before. What or who do you see? Sit on your patio and yell across the street to your neighbor. Unplug.
Or you can sneak into your neighborhood water-less pool and work on your tan.
And it is a GREAT tan!
