by Beth | Dec 13, 2023 | Company Culture, Employee Retention, Good Management
I just received an offer from Chase Bank to open a new bank account with them, and they would fund said bank account with $600.00. What a deal! I open an account, and they give me $600.00? I am IN!
A bank account functions like this: You make a deposit, then you make a withdrawal that is LESS than the deposit. This is also what a healthy employee/employer relationship looks like. Think about it: You make an investment in your employee, and they make an investment in you and your company. The bank account is healthy. But what if an employee starts making withdrawals that are more than deposits? For example, they start taking more time off than allotted without a legitimate reason. Or they start missing deadlines. Or you have many clients complain about them. What then?
Most of my clients don’t want to have conflict with their employees, so they will ignore the overdraft fees for a long time. The fact is that an overdrawn bank account is a BIG red flag in relationships. If you feel drained after dealing with an employee, and you can’t get the balance in the account to be in the black, it is time to cut them loose.
In addition, if you aren’t training your people, if you aren’t conducting regular reviews, and if you aren’t honoring people that are doing a great job for you, then you are the one draining the bank account.
The bottom line is this: Both the employer and the employee have to make regular deposits into the joint account in order for the relationship to be healthy, and if that isn’t happening, a change in status MUST be made. You can take THAT to the bank!
POWER THOUGHT: In order to have a bankable relationship with your employees, you must both make regular deposits.
by Beth | Nov 29, 2023 | Company Culture
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 his 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 23, 2023 | Uncategorized
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 for a great year as well.
I hope your holiday is full of peace, love, joy and pie!
Yours in success,
Beth Smith
by Beth | Nov 15, 2023 | Good Management
When I bought my restaurant, the former owner signed a non-compete agreement for a 5-mile radius around the area. One day I was talking to some of my restaurant neighbors, and one of them casually mentioned that the former owner was opening a new restaurant down the street. I felt SICK. I immediately started to panic! I was crying hysterically, because I was so afraid that the new restaurant would steal from me…that we wouldn’t make money due to the competition.
So, I picked up the phone and I called my primary investor. I told him all about what was going on, and then I asked him for advice.
He said, “Let me ask you a question: Is everything perfect within the four walls of your restaurant?”
I said, “Well, no! Of course not! Why?”
“Until everything between the four walls of your restaurant is perfect, then under no circumstances do you pay attention to what is going on outside those four walls. What other people do is none of your business. Quit worrying about what others do. Just worry about yourself and your business.”
That piece of advice changed my life, and it changed my business. I started really organizing my people, my product, my policies. We had less problems, and we had more consistent staff, customers, and I felt more confident in my abilities. But in addition, I have taken that advice into my personal life: quit looking at what others are doing and focus on making everything within my four walls operate at the highest level.
On another note, the owner did open another restaurant, and it was out of business in six months. A testament to focusing within my four walls.
POWER THOUGHT: Once you put your walls up, focus solely on what happens between them BEFORE you focus on what happens on the other side.
by Beth | Nov 1, 2023 | Employee Hiring
A few years ago, I went on a blind date. He texted me first, then he called me. We had a great conversation, and we had so much in common. We both have children and a huge love for animals. As a matter of fact, he had a pet rabbit named Bugs.
I said, “You have a pet Rabbit named Bugs?”
He said, “It was either that or Peter.”
We laughed. A lot. He sent me a photo of himself, and I sent him some of mine. Then, we met in person.
He did not look like his photo. Nice guy, but definitely no second date. I had been catfished.
Welcome to hiring.
Catfishing is the act of deceiving someone else online, and it happens in hiring as well.
When you read a resume, you are reading a document that the candidate most likely didn’t write. In addition, according to Inc magazine, 85% of applicants report lying on their resumes. Read study here: https://www.inc.com/jt-odonnell/staggering-85-of-job-applicants-lying-on-resumes-.html
Which is why I recommend that you don’t read resumes.
You read that right. Don’t read resumes. You make assumptions about someone when you read a person’s resume, and when you interview them, you will err to those assumptions. It is just human nature. We all want to present our best foot forward when we are looking for a new job or mate, so we have the tendency to embellish. It doesn’t make that person bad. It’s just that their qualifications are a bit, well, fishy.
So here is my advice: Instead of spending time pouring over a resume, schedule a 15 minute interview. You get more accurate information, and it is easier to find that amazing candidate that you fall for hook, line and sinker.
POWER THOUGHT: Feel you have been catfished? Throw resumes back in the lake and have a quick 15 minute interview. You will end up with a better catch.
