by Beth | Oct 30, 2019 | Company Culture, Good Management, Uncategorized
Do you walk into your office and see Zombies disguised as employees? Those lifeless bodies that wander around thoughtlessly in packs? Have you ever thought about how they got that way?
New employees are so always excited to start their new job. I have heard many new hires talk about their first day on the job just like they talk about their first day of school… with excitement and a lot of awe. So how is it that years or even months into their employment with a company, they lose their passion for the job?
Because we suck the life out of them with too many constraints and not enough direction. We make it hard for them to do their jobs with petty rules. We don’t spend enough time training our new people, and we really don’t take the time to explain our expectations to them. All of the sudden, we have a lifeless body of the previously excited employee.
If you look around and see zombies on your staff, it is time to take stock in your interviewing process, your training program and your employee handbook. If you are dictating when someone can go to the bathroom, you are running a daycare, not a professional office. It is time for a re-do.
And if that doesn’t work, try chocolate.
by Beth | Oct 2, 2019 | Good Management, Hiring Managers, Leadership
I am excited to be featured on a very important podcast today on the Future of Leadership. Please check it out by clicking the links below:
by Beth | Aug 14, 2019 | Good Management, Leadership, Lifestyle
This year, I’m taking two weeks off work to move my daughter to college. While this brings about a mix of emotions for my family, I know how important it is for me to be there with her to start her journey as a college student. It brings up an important topic that I preach to my clients often – everyone needs time away from work, whether it be for important milestones in their personal lives, or for a vacation that allows them time to rejuvenate, recuperate, and come back to work in a better place!
The fact remains that people need time away from work, even when you own the company, like me. Some of my clients get really excited when a candidate will tell us in an interview that they NEVER take vacations. I actually think that this is a negative. Inspiration rarely comes to someone sitting in their office answering emails. Inspiration comes from experiences and usually those come after office hours.
As a nation, we are not good at taking vacation anyway. We feel that we can’t get away, we can’t unplug or we might miss something. I think we miss things when we DON’T take time off.
So, when your employees want to take vacation time, praise them for it. Say thank you. Then ask them what you can do to help facilitate their vacation time so they are not performing work while away. Not only will they think that you are the greatest boss ever, but they will come back recharged, renewed and inspired. Your business will benefit, and therefore, so will you. Maybe then you can take some time off too.
I will be back in the saddle soon enough, grateful I took the time to be with my daughter on her journey to college, and ready to tackle work with renewed energy and vision. And, with any luck, I will have that killer tan!
by Beth | Jun 6, 2019 | Employee Retention, Good Management
I have a very good friend that we will call Charles who works for a huge global company of around 30,000 employees. Charles has worked for this company for 21 years, and recently decided to resign. Charles felt that he had grown all that he could in his current role and has chosen to move on.
He dutifully called the HR department to respectfully give his 2 weeks notice. He was told that in order to resign, he had to go to the company website, find the HR page and click on the link to resign.
Oh, it gets better.
Then, he had 14 days to “change his mind”. All he had to do was to go back to the company website, click on the HR page, find his resignation and click cancel.
In that 2-week period, no human being reached out to him. No one told his team. There was no one to turn his equipment into. He left with zero fanfare. After 21 years.
Please keep in mind that this company will pay $10,000 for any referral that becomes a full-time employee.
And we wonder why our employees aren’t more fully engaged at work. Perhaps it is time to put the “human” back into human resources.
by Beth | Mar 28, 2019 | Employee Hiring, Employee Retention, Firing Employees, Good Management
I received a call from a potential client who had recently fired an under-performing employee. This employee was wreaking havoc on the work culture, missing deadlines, throwing others under the bus in meetings and not taking responsibility for their actions. Firing this employee was exactly the right move to make.
“So, why don’t I feel better?” he asked.
First, if you ever feel good after you have fired someone, you have lost your humanity and must take a long vacation, effective immediately. In other words, I would worry deeply if you DIDN’T feel bad after firing someone. After all, these are people not cogs.
Second, the relationship is over, along with your hopes and dreams for an outstanding performance from the individual. You would not have hired someone that you did not believe could do the job and do it well. When it does not work out as expected, it can feel awful and be perceived as a failure.
Third, you may now be concerned that you have poor judgement and are not skilled at hiring. You begin to think about the time and energy it takes to search for candidates and to wonder if you will ever find the right fit.
There is a way to feel better and restore your confidence.
Ask yourself:
- Did you observe something during the interview process that you knew could have been an issue, but you ignored it?
- Did you give this person an appropriate level of training to be successful in their position?
- Did you give them coaching and council to improve performance with time for course correction?
- Did you let them know, in no uncertain terms, that without improvement they would be fired?
Only through a thorough review process of a poorly performing employee post-employment, from search to departure, can you identify places to improve hiring and retention.
Then after you debrief, I want you to breathe and cut yourself some slack. Everyone has a bad hire occasionally. You did the best you could in that moment. You will do better next time. I believe in you!
by Beth | Aug 9, 2018 | Good Management, Leadership
I Have A Killer Tan!
Last week, I sat on the beach with sand in my toes, wind in my hair, the ocean roaring in my ears, and a peacefulness that I rarely have. I spent a 2-week vacation with my family, exploring colleges for my daughter, walking on the beach and generally relaxing. For those of you that know me, relaxing is not my area of expertise. In fact, I rarely take vacations. After I flew back to town, I realized that my synapses were firing on all cylinders. I have a renewed interest in interviewing and was completely excited to be interviewing all week for multiple clients!
The fact remains that people need time away from work, even when you own the company, like me. Some of my clients get really excited when a candidate will tell us in an interview that they NEVER take vacations. I actually think that this is a negative. Inspiration rarely comes to someone sitting in their office answering emails. Inspiration comes from experiences and usually those come after office hours.
As a nation, we are not good at taking vacation anyway. We feel that we can’t get away, we can’t unplug or we might miss something. I think we miss things when we DON’T take time off.
So, when your employees want to take vacation time, praise them for it. Say thank you. Then ask them what you can do to help facilitate their vacation time so they are not performing work while away. Not only will they think that you are the greatest boss ever, but they will come back recharged, renewed and inspired. Your business will benefit, and therefore, so will you. Maybe then you can take some time off too.
I am back in the saddle doing the work that I love because I had a fabulous vacation. I am inspired and working on new ways to teach you how to interview better. And in addition to that, I have a killer tan!
