There are plenty of great words that start with the letter F that you might use to describe the people you work with and the culture within your organization. Words come to mind such as Fun, Fantastic, Fabulous, Fulfilling, Fast, Fundamental, Fantabulous, Functioning, Fitting, Fashionable, Friendly, Fortunate, Famous, Fortuitous… just to name a few. But there is one F-word that you should NEVER use to describe your work environment:
Family
That’s right. Never EVER use the word “family” to describe the people you work with.
A family is a group of people closely related by blood, and you can’t do anything about that. You can’t fire your cousin from being your cousin if he or she constantly makes poor choices and avoidable mistakes, but you can (and should) fire any person who works for you who does that. I hear it all the time:
“He told me that we were family, and then he fired me!”
“Family doesn’t fire you.”
“She lied. We weren’t family. If we were, I wouldn’t have gotten fired.”
If you are searching for a word that describes your company culture, try some of these: Tribe, Troupe, Village, Community, Group, Team… But don’t confuse your employees by using the term “family”.
Replace that family tree with an organizational chart.
My daughter, Katy, will be 17 this fall. Recently, she was sitting around with her two BFF’s when one girl asked, “Katy, how many boyfriends do you have?” The other girl jumped in with a reply: “I know! She has 3 full-time and 2 part-time boyfriends!”
When the first girl looked puzzled, Katy replied, “Well, I get different things from each of them!” She explained that boyfriend #1 provides freedom and challenges her intellectually, boyfriend #2 brings flowers and is fiercely loyal, and boyfriend #3 is the perfect group date as his best friends are dating Katy’s best friends. As for the other two, part-time boyfriend #1 provides companionship and reliability, while part-time boyfriend #2: is convenient as she sees him every day.
My husband Randy (Katy’s father) said to her, “Katy, do not settle for someone who doesn’t meet ALL of your criteria. You shouldn’t settle, because you deserve the best of the best.”
In hiring, we often see similar situations with candidates. One will possess the experience the employer feels is vital, another will be a proven team player, yet another exudes enthusiasm. Just this past week, one of my clients exclaimed, “Beth, if we could just combine these two candidates, we’d have the perfect employee!”
Since combining two people into one is only possible in science fiction (and those stories almost always end up badly anyway), many people in this position will try to convince themselves to hire Candidate A because he or she is a BETTER fit than any of the other candidates. This path almost always ends up badly as well, except the result isn’t fiction – it’s your business reality.
If you find yourself in this situation, the better plan of action is to re-read your vision for the ideal candidate, redouble your efforts and hold out for the right fit! Remember what Randy said to Katy: “You shouldn’t settle, because you deserve the best of the best.”
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!
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…
There are plenty of great words that start with the letter F that you might use to describe the people you work with and the culture within your organization. Words come to mind such as Fun, Fantastic, Fabulous, Fulfilling, Fast, Fundamental, Fantabulous, Functioning, Fitting, Fashionable, Friendly, Fortunate, Famous, Fortuitous… just to name a few. But there is one F-word that you should NEVER use to describe your work environment:
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.”