by Beth | Jul 26, 2018 | Uncategorized
On Friday the 13th, I had a meeting planned with one of my favorite clients. I arrived excited to be there and was greeted by the team having a company lunch.
I asked my client, “What is the occasion?”
He replied, “Flood prevention.”
Oh…Wait! What?
Everyone on to the team laughed as they began to fill me in on the joke. Apparently, the company has a cultural tradition of having lunch on Friday the 13th. The one time that the company did not have a lunch on this notoriously superstitious date, their conference room flooded. So now, they NEVER miss having a company lunch on Friday the 13th…flood prevention!
During lunch, there was a lot of good natured ribbing of one another with a very comfortable banter where everyone was included. It was a lighthearted meal that showed how much of a team this group had become. And, I might add, highly productive and efficient.
Very often, leadership refers to the people who make up the workforce within the company as “human capital”. This reference has always struck me as an odd way to refer to the people, not just “humans”, who sell and produce, care for clients and are essentially the lifeblood of a company. They are so much more than “capital’, they are essential. This CEO is an excellent example of how our workforce should be referenced. He greets his employees by name, asks about their family members and supports whatever fun his people may be having. He never refers to his staff as “human capital”, FTE’s or “current head count”. Instead, he uses words like “team”, “crew” and “associates”, much higher titles of respect and acknowledgement.
If you want to change your company culture, begin with your language. Refer to your staff by name, not as “human capital.” Then celebrate the people who create success with the occasional company lunch, even to ward off superstition. Remember to laugh a lot and chime in on friendly banter. And if you happen to prevent your building from flooding, then congrats… 2 birds, one stone.
by Beth | Jul 12, 2018 | Interview Process
It may surprise you to discover I have been learning to box. When I am sparring, I am notorious for dropping my left hand, which means my face is left unprotected. My trainer keeps telling me that I am going to get punched in the face if I don’t protect myself with the left hand. Do I listen? Eh… sort of…This did remind me of a quote from Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight professional boxer, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” I realized my current plan was to land a punch, not protect myself. To really protect my face, I would have to learn to punch differently. I would have to change the way I do things.
It is so easy not to change methods when life and work are going okay. You skate along for a while following a plan, then status quo sets in. You think about ways to improve or make things better without much action. Then, WHAM! You get punched in the face. NOW you want to change and change fast.
I have a client who hired a woman who had worked for him for years. She was mean to clients, obstinate with her boss, and a stickler for doing things HER way. When a handful of great employees met with my client and told him that they were all leaving because of this woman, he knew he had to do something fast. He had let his left hand drop by keeping her for so long and he got punched in the face with the threat of losing better performing employees.
He immediately fired the employee who was difficult and workplace morale dramatically improved. What took him so long? Change normally requires an impetus. Significant “pain” must be present for the motivation to kick in to make changes, especially when they are perceived as tough to accomplish or hurtful to others.
I say punch bad hiring and firing techniques in the mouth and change your processes. Hire and retain great employees and replace those who are not a fit. With A-list Interviews training program, you will improve your plan and learn how to protect your assets. Don’t wait.
by Beth | Jun 28, 2018 | Hiring Managers, Interview Process, Interview Techniques
A few years ago, I was speaking about hiring to a group of CPAs’. We were discussing the differences between hiring and interviewing, when all of the sudden, a gentleman stood up in the back and shouted, “You know, everyone thinks they can make love, interview and drive.” You could have heard a pin drop. Then, someone giggled, and it was all over after that.
Still, the question remained for me unanswered: What is it about interviewing for employees that makes people think they can do it without having been taught?
When I mention that I am an interviewer, someone will invariably say to me, “I am a great interviewer.” “How did you learn to be a good interviewer,” I ask. “Oh, I am a great people person,” is a typical response. I wonder what being a people person has to do with interviewing, which is a skill set that is developed over time. It is not genetic. You aren’t born into the world knowing how to interview. It requires education, a process and practice.
Yet, the hiring interview, the interaction between a candidate and a potential employer, is the one area in the selection process on which we spend the least amount of time, money and preparation. We don’t train our hiring managers or our HR staff on how to conduct an effective interview. It is expected to be inherent knowledge. As Martin Yate said in his book, Hiring the Best, “… [interviewing] is a dirty secret for many, and a sad comment on old-style management practices that managers are not taught [how to interview]. It is something we feel we are expected to know, or that comes with experience. Couple that feeling with the average ego, and you get ‘It’s easy enough to interview; I know a good one when I see one; it’s sort of a gut feel.'”
With 2/3 of all hiring decisions found to be a mistake within one year, are you sure that you want your ego to lead the way?
It is okay not to know. It is okay to ask for help. Call me today. I have a process and the experience needed to arm you with the skills required to interview (and hire) with confidence and results.
