BunburyIt has become an annual tradition to remind my community to let go of those on your team who are not performing. Happy New Year 2018!
As we begin each new year, many of us take the opportunity to re-group and redefine goals for our businesses. This time is often filled with renewed energy to get our lives and work in order. As a part of your new year’s goals, it might also be time to fire that one employee that is not contributing to your company’s vision.
The impact of an unengaged employee on your business can be catastrophic. Decreased productivity, lowered company morale, and miserable working environments have been common complaints by my clients as they come to the decision to relieve an employee. I say start the new year fresh!
For example, a past client had an employee who consistently gave the employer ultimatums. The threats were often “If you don’t do this, then I will quit.” Who wants to work with an individual who is constantly threatening you? The team was struggling to work with the individual, the employer was unhappy with the performance of the individual, yet the concept of firing and replacing this person seemed daunting and ill-timed. When my client finally became fed up, they did indeed fire the employee. I won’t sugar coat the transition. It was hard, uncomfortable and came at a terrible time, but my client knew that this was the right decision for the company.
In addition, the busiest day of the year for applicants looking for a job is the second Tuesday in January. Think about this: the people who are fed up with their work environments are also looking to make a change. So if you want to start the New Year with someone who REALLY wants to work for you, now is the time to make a change.
This week, I wanted to share some success numbers with you. I have a client, MEP Engineering, who I have worked with for some time. They have embraced A-list Interviews and the Response Analysis System™ wholeheartedly. In fact, in their latest newsletter, they highlighted their hiring process as one of the reasons their firm has been so successful this year. This graphic is their own, featuring their statistics from 2016:
In using A-list Interviews’ 3 Step Interview Process, they’ve been able to efficiently screen an average of 50 candidates for each offer they make. They’ve achieved a 21% growth rate in 2016; whereas this source reports the average employee growth rate for their industry is 3.5%. In addition, while the average staff turnover rate for their industry is 13.3%, their turnover rate is 1%.
Figures like that show a rapidly expanding organization whose hiring process not only keeps pace with increasing demand, but is finely tuned to identify quality candidates.
That’s what success looks like.
Congratulations to MEP Engineering on your tremendous growth! It’s been a pleasure to continue working with you. May 2017 be just as prosperous and successful!
You can’t have what you want unless you know what it is… and nowhere is this concept more important than in your hiring process. Here, I discuss just what that looks like, and the difference that makes:
In my early 20’s, I worked as a manager in a retail store, and one of my co-workers was a middle aged woman with three children. After working there for some time, her husband was offered not only his dream job, but also the opportunity to move back to California near both of their families. It was a perfect fit for everyone, and my co-worker and her family were beyond ecstatic.
Our boss, however, was less than thrilled. Rather than share in her excitement, she was furious at my co-worker for leaving the organization. “How could you possibly leave me now?! I depend on you!” This woman gave my co-worker the silent treatment for the remaining 2 weeks of her notice. On her last day, my co-worker hugged me tight and told me, “Don’t stay here for much longer. This is a toxic place to work.”
During that time, I learned one small lesson of what NOT to do as a boss.
I made a vow that when my staff turned in their notices, I would handle it differently. I would tell them how happy I was for their new opportunity and I would ask them how I could help them leave on a good note, with the door left open for the future. Most of all, I would thank them for their service to my business. This commitment to my staff even as they were leaving my employment has served me well in countless ways, not the least of which is the fact that allowing someone to exit on a good note feels good to all parties: you, them, their co-workers, your clients, etc.
Everyone has had a bad boss. Not all bad bosses stay bad bosses; in the case of my former boss, she was under extreme stress at the time, so her behavior had a lot to do with that. (In fact, the business ended up closing several years later.) Today, she and I are on great terms, and I adore her.
Tell me what lessons you learned from your bad boss! Inquiring minds want to know…
For various reasons, I have driven across Kansas several times in the last 3 months. Holy cow, is it boring! Driving east from Colorado on I-70, you soon find yourself with very little to see and even less to do. By the time you get to Hays, Kansas, your entertainment options are limited to the barrage of billboards near the highway or one of the three radio stations within range (two religious and one that plays both kinds of music: country AND western). You are talked out, tired and sick of reading. Internet connection is iffy (at best). There is nothing to see but fields and fields of various grains. You change lanes merely because you need a change of scenery. You contemplate the meaning of “Rock Chalk Jay Hawk”.
You become bored.
And then… something miraculous happens.
Just about the time that I think I am going to pull my hair out one strand at a time, I get an idea. I solve a problem that I have been working on forever or I have a flash of insight into a situation I’ve been frustrated by. I am suddenly inspired about what to do next, and I spend the rest of the trip fleshing out that idea or inspiration.
It. Happens. Every. Time.
In the age of digital media, we don’t allow ourselves to get bored. It’s too easy to distract ourselves with endless TV shows, multiple social media platforms and an infinite number of ways to play solitaire. But we need to be bored: out of boredom comes creativity! When we empty our brains of all our obligations, work, home, family… then and only then are our minds free to move creatively.
The next time you have a problem to solve, drive across Kansas. Leave your phone / TV / computer off for a whole day. Stare at corn fields. Think about the meaning of “Rock Chalk Jay Hawk”. Think about billboards. Think about nothing.
(And if you happen to figure out the whole “Rock Chalk Jay Hawk” thing, come explain it to me when you do.)
It has become an annual tradition to remind my community to let go of those on your team who are not performing. Happy New Year 2018!
Our boss, however, was less than thrilled. Rather than share in her excitement, she was furious at my co-worker for leaving the organization. “How could you possibly leave me now?! I depend on you!” This woman gave my co-worker the silent treatment for the remaining 2 weeks of her notice. On her last day, my co-worker hugged me tight and told me, “Don’t stay here for much longer. This is a toxic place to work.”
For various reasons, I have driven across Kansas several times in the last 3 months. Holy cow, is it boring! Driving east from Colorado on I-70, you soon find yourself with very little to see and even less to do. By the time you get to Hays, Kansas, your entertainment options are limited to the barrage of billboards near the highway or one of the three radio stations within range (two religious and one that plays both kinds of music: country AND western). You are talked out, tired and sick of reading. Internet connection is iffy (at best). There is nothing to see but fields and fields of various grains. You change lanes merely because you need a change of scenery. You contemplate the meaning of “Rock Chalk Jay Hawk”.