by Beth | Jul 24, 2024 | Employee Retention
I have a killer tan. I really do. It comes from several long days at the pool this summer and some very strategic lunch hours in the sun. But my goal is to have the “killer-est” tan of them all, and I am going to get that on my upcoming 2-week vacation in Florida.
I am going to be a complete slug in the sun. Lay there, and do nothing but wiggle my toes in the sand. When I am tired of that, I am going to swing through the kitchen to grab a snack, then head to the pool for more slug time. I. Can’t. WAIT!
What I am not going to do is work while I am on vacation like 40% of Americans are doing this summer. There is even a term for it: quiet vacationing. Read here for more: https://www.newsweek.com/millennials-quiet-vacationing-work-1903454
What is an alarming trend among all generations is the fear of asking for time off. This must change.
What we know to be true is that inspiration does not come from being behind a desk. What we know to be true is that people are more energetic when they come back to work after a vacation. And what we also know to be true is that people are tired and burnt out.
So what can you do as a hiring manager? Here are some tips:
- Set the tone. Take your own vacation and don’t work while you are gone.
- Tell your employees that they must take time off and not work on their vacation.
- Make sure that the employees’ work is covered while they are gone.
- Ask your employee how you can support them being able to un-plug on vacation, and then do it.
If you don’t support vacation time, people will take it anyway and not be rested and rejuvenated. And you need that.
You also need the killer-est of tans.
POWER THOUGHT: Make a vacation goal to not work. And remember to wear your sunscreen!
by Beth | Jul 10, 2024 | Uncategorized
I go to the gym 6 days a week, otherwise, the stress monger will eat up my insides. I ride a stationary bike that I have named Mike.
I have a love/hate relationship with Mike. There are days when I walk into the gym feeling great, and I have a horrible ride with Mike! There are days that I feel like crap when I walk into the gym, I walk out feeling like I won the Tour de France. I keep track of food, sleep, water intake, step count, supplements, stretching, and I literally can’t predict how it is going to go with Mike.
Welcome to the world of interviewing.
There are days when you interview several candidates, and you end up with no one to move forward. There are days when you end up with numerous people moving forward, but you can’t tell which kind of day you are going to get. You can keep track of applicants, ads, postings, certifications, and resumes, and you can’t tell what kind of applicant will show up to the interview.
So, what is a person to do?
Here’s the bottom line: what really counts is showing up. Get on the bike and start pedaling. Schedule interviews and conduct them. Have a set time to have interviews every week and keep that time slot on your calendar, just like you keep your gym appointment. Work through your applicant pool one by one, and eventually, your candidate will show up- usually when you least expect it.
And, Mike and I will continue to love/hate each other.
POWER THOUGHT: Mike the Bike has taught me how to manage my expectations…especially on the days that I hate him.
by Beth | Jun 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
When I was in college, I lived with my brother and cousin in a condo right north of campus in Austin, Texas. (Hook ‘em Horns!) Anyhoo, when it came time to study for finals, the boys would suddenly get the cleaning bug. They would scrub cabinets, carpets, toilets, grout, windows, trash cans, seats in their cars, baseboards, the fridge, microwave and particularly, the oven. Seemingly until finals, they had zero interest in cleaning.
Fast forward to today, I am working on book number 5. Actually, I am working on NOT working on book #5. I am doing everything that I possibly can to avoid sitting down to write the damn thing.
Recently, I have scrubbed every cabinet, every drawer, cleaned out every closet, and changed every filter on every major appliance in my house. All under the guise of WORKING. Do these things need to be done? Yes. Do they have to be done NOW? No. Do they have to be done by me? Also no.
To be fair to myself, there are times when doing menial labor can actually spur on the creative process. I have written many a blog while doing dishes, but this is not one of those times. I simply need to sit down and write, or this book will never get finished.
I am Procrasta-working.
Usually, I am pretty good about getting the things done that need to get done. I usually have a list of the top three things that I HAVE to do that day, and I work hard on getting those done first thing in the morning when I am at my best. Not this time.
You didn’t know this, my dear reader, but you just became my accountability partner in getting this book written.
Congratulations.
Cleaning my oven is just going to have to wait.
POWER THOUGHT: Procrasta-working is doing all the things without doing the thing.
by Beth | Jun 18, 2024 | Employee Retention
I was sitting in a client’s office a few weeks back when my client offered me some coffee. We went to the kitchen and there was the most beautiful coffee machine I have ever seen. I made the yummiest, most foamy cup of coffee out of this work of art, and the angels sang.
As I ooh’ed and ahh’ed over this cup of magic, there were 2 other employees in the room. I gushed to them: “Are you just in heaven every morning with this coffee machine?” And one of them replied, “Oh no. I drink coffee out of an old pot,” she announced proudly. The other woman nodded and beamed at me. I looked at her like she had grown a third head and said, “What?? WHY?”. Her answer shocked me: “The CFO makes our coffee every morning out of a pot in his office.”
Several years ago, in their old building, the finance department was in the basement, far away from the kitchen. So, the CFO who came in really early, would make the coffee every morning. The habit stuck.
She continued her story with, “He goes to Target once a week to buy a small bag of this coffee. I don’t know why he doesn’t just buy a big bag.” (“Because it gets stale faster”, the CFO informed me.)
Each of these women have worked for this CFO for 5 and 6 years respectively, and neither has any plans of ever leaving.
Maybe it is the love that goes into each cup of coffee – something a fancy machine can never do.
POWER THOUGHT: The best part of waking up is going to a job where you feel valued and cared for.
by Beth | Jun 5, 2024 | Employee Hiring
When I bought my house three years ago, I decided that I wanted some new dishes to complement my regular white ones. I actually walked into Williams Sonoma and bought 8 blue dinner plates and 8 blue salad plates to go with my blue kitchen. I also bought 8 blue linen napkins to round out the place setting. I was in total bliss.
Every year at Christmas, I host my Vistage group for our Christmas meeting. I have one red and green table and one blue and silver table to accommodate about 16 people. I pulled out my trusty blue linen napkins and alas! I could only find 7.
I looked EVERYWHERE for that missing blue napkin. I thank my lucky stars that one person in our Vistage group couldn’t attend the meeting, so I only needed 7 blue napkins.
But still.
This spring, I cleaned every closet, every cabinet, every crevice, crook and cranny of my house, and I couldn’t find that damn thing anywhere. Finally, I started looking at the Williams Sonoma website to buy 8 more napkins, but my OCD kicked in when I realized I would still be short one napkin.
SIGH.
Then, one night, I was going to Boulder to have dinner with my good friends, Lisa and Michael. It was a hot night so I put on a sundress. I turned around to walk out of the bathroom, and there on the floor in the middle of the bathroom was the blue napkin.
WHAT??? My only guess is that thanks to good ole static cling, it was stuck to my dress.
This exact situation happens in hiring all the time. You search and search. You interview. You lament. You worry. You cling to hope. Until one day, your amazing employee drops in your lap. And then, you are so happy that you forget all the other horror.
You are so happy that you hired a great employee, and I am so happy that I have an even number of napkins. YAY!
POWER THOUGHT: Your napkin/employee isn’t lost. It just hasn’t dropped into your lap yet. Keep searching.
