HRCleanUp

Experience Matters--Just Ask Circuit City

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the fact that Circuit City was going to begin the liquidation process for its remaining 550 stores--and, it will be putting 30,000 people out of work.  About a year ago, Circuit City actually fired its experienced associates with the goal of replacing them with less expensive less experienced workers--they figured  that the consumer just doesn't care who sells them a $2,500.00 television set.  I wrote about it back in December, 2007.

I hate to say "I told you so" but...

From Friday's WSJ On-Line..."At one point, the company sacked thousands of veteran salespeople and replaced them with lower-paid and less-experienced workers, believing that sales wouldn't suffer as a result. They did, and the damage to revenue – and Circuit City's reputation -- was never undone."

In these lean economic times, letting go of your most important asset...your skilled, seasoned employees, could be a deadly mistake.  The analysis of the benefits that seasoned workers bring to the organization must be a part of of your overall staffing strategy.  See, people chose Circuit City because of the knowledgeable workforce and because many of us don't want to buy from teenagers.  HR, this is where your partnership and knowledge of the line business is so critical--helping organizations understand the dire ramifications of their people decisions is our responsibility.

The cost--30,000 jobs and a great retailer. 

Performance Reviews--Ewww!

Samuel Culbert had a great article appear in the Wall Street Journal the other day titled Get Rid of Performance Reviews!  I couldn't agree more--and many of my students agree with me.

Last week, we were talking about Integrated Talent Management systems.  An ITM is all things talent management--it includes applicant tracking, performance management, succession planning, etc.  When we got to the performance management portion of the lecture, we ended up having a great discussion about the trials and tribulations of the performance management system (and it didn't seem to matter if the "system" was in Excel or in a great web based performance management system).  The students all lamented about the same things:

1. It makes me, and HR in general, feel like the organizational "nag"
2. We have to force managers to complete review
3. Everyone hates the process
4. No one is learning anything--in fact, most managers turn in the ratings so they can process the merit increase before they write the review!

Perhaps it really is time to change the methodology for performance reviews.  As Generation Y and the Millennials come into the workplace regular feedback and performance discussions are critical--how will we meet their needs without a performance management system?

When we do leadership development work with organizations at Profiles International, we focus on coaching and on 360 assessments.  Leader know thyself.  Manager, know your people and play to their strengths and develop their weaknesses.  Easier said than done but many companies out there are trying and we're anxious to help more make a real impact on their people--and their bottom lines.

Life After Real Estate

Sara Needelman interviewed me for her article "In a Sinking Industry, Jump to Another Ship" that appeared in today's Wall Street Journal.  Her piece focuses on the skills gained in previous professions can make people well prepared for a number of careers.  If you would like to read the article, click here!

Does a Vacuum Make A Difference?

It sure as hell heck does if you are a housekeeper trying to keep up with people checking in-and-out of a busy urban hotel.  If you're a guest, you probably never give it a second thought.  Monday's WSJ Career Journal had a great article by Phred Dvorak about happiness at work.  His article focuses on a boutique hotel chain called Joie de Vivre Hospitality Inc. and its Hotel Carlton in San Francisco.  He discusses how worker happiness can reduce turnover.  Sounds simple doesn't it? 

Why don't we start earlier?  Why is it a radical idea to give employees the freedom, and the tools, to do amazing jobs?  I can't think of many people who start a new job planning to be miserable.  Most start a new job because the manager at an old job became intolerable.  And, generally, when that happens it really is in the employee's best interest to leave.  In today's labor market, where finding good people is tough, why shouldn't they?

Studies have shown, over and over, that employees who are empowered to do a good job almost always do a good job.  I'm a big advocate of assessment testing as both a hiring and a coaching tool.  Having more information at the time of hire can help organizations hire a person who fits right off the bat. And, if they do it right, they can create a culture of empowered people who strive to go above and beyond at work.

I know I always look at the housekeepers at a hotel.  I ask myself, "do they look happy?"  And  I notice if they smiled at me when I walked down the hallway.  A "good morning" goes a long way.

Do your employee's say "Good morning!"?

Unlocking the Secrets to Launch Your Career

I'm pleased to announce an exciting event talking place in the Boston area on January 18th and 19th. 

Unlocking the Secrets to Launch Your Career

I'm part of a team that has created a two-day workshop for recent college grads and soon-to-be college grads and their parents!  The workshop contains many of the tips and tricks that I wish I had known when I was just starting out in the world of work. 

I know that there is a need...when I was doing recruiting for Arnold Worldwide, I found that almost all of the job applicants who were applying and interviewing for jobs were woefully unprepared.  They missed some job hunting basics and missed out on some amazing opportunities. 

Many parents think that the college Career Services department is responsible for ensuring that their brilliant son or daughter is able to get a job.  That is far from the truth.  Most college career services staff, while well intentioned, have never worked in Corporate America.  They provide services to help create a basic resume (that looks like everyone else's) and a forum for companies to meet the top 10% of the student body.  What about the other 90%?

That's where we come into the story.

Our seminar will bring together students, parents, corporate leaders, and corporate recruiters--for one purpose--to help job seekers and soon-to-be job seekers unlock the doors to opportunity.  Come check us out at MyCareerLaunchPad.com.  It would be great to see you and your college student there!

Don't Talk Past The Sale!

My friend Shama Hyder who has a fabulous business called After the Launch, sent me an article this morning from the WSJ Career Journal that discusses the fact that talking too much during an interview can cost you the job.  The same goes for any selling situation...don't talk past the sale!

Interviews are SELLING situations and the product is you.

Your goal is to sell yourself.  So think of it this way:

1. The goal of the resume is to get a phone screen.
2. The goal of the phone screen is to get an in-person interview
3. The goal of the in-person interview is to get a second interview
4. The goal of the second interview is the job offer!

Make sure you are prepared for each step in the process.  Have concrete examples of your experience and short stories that demonstrate your skills.  A little bit of preparation can go a long way. 

Respect the interviewer.  Be on time.  Wear a clean shirt.  And check-in with the interviewer from time-to-time...a statement like "are you getting the information you need?" can make all of the difference in the world.

Oh, and interviewers...are you skills at controlling the interview up-to-par?  Remember, you're in charge.  If you need help, contact me.

Fed Up with Recruiting?

Sarah Needleman posted an article on today's Career Journal about Strategies for Answering Weird Interview Questions.  If you want, go ahead and read it and then come back to my post.

I'll wait.

OK, Now that you've read Sarah's article, you've got to agree with me that there is something really screwed up in the recruiting process with a lot of companies.  Study after study proves that the labor crisis is hitting and it is going to continue to get incredibly competitive for top talent.  The type of talent that your organization needs in order to beat the competition.  Or have you just given up?

If you take a look at some of the recruiting websites, like Recruiting Bloggers.com or Career Waymark you'll know that there are a lot of fed-up recruiters out there and at the same time, there are a lot of fed-up candidates.  What are we doing to insure that top talent is getting into our organizations and why would we allow hiring managers and, even worse, recruiters, to treat our candidates the way Sarah describes in her article?

It really boils down to three things.

First, have some pride in yourself.  Take the time to create decent interview questions that are job related.  If you can't think of them yourself, then use a tool to help you.  If you still can't think of decent behavior based questions, then you shouldn't be a hiring manager.  And put on a clean shirt.

Second, have some pride in your company.  They PAY you to do your job and if your job includes hiring people, then do it with pride.  Talk about your company in positive terms.  If you don't have anything good to say, then why do you work there?  Keep your employer out of legal hot water.  My God, it's 2007 and your asking what a spouse does for a living?  WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? 

Finally, there is something called candidate dignity.  No matter who the candidate is, how awful they are, or how unprepared, you need to treat them with respect and kindness.  Why?  BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.  You don't have to hire them but you do need to let them walk out the door with their head held high. 

If you need help hiring then you need me.  Give me a call.

Golden Handcuffs

The Career Journal's Peter Lattman wrote an article about a law firm that was still losing associates despite paying them more and offering them bonuses. 

Does this law firm have a Human Resources Department?  Clearly, if they do, they are not at the decision making table or they don't have a clue about what today's multi-genertional workplace consists of.  Money, while it never hurts, generally never helps an organization improve retention statistics unless the firm is truly paying under-market. 

Retention strategies have to examine multiple satisfaction points.  They include:

1. Pay for performance and internal/external equity
2. Appreciation for a job well done
3. Time to do what I want to do

It is my guess that the law firm that Mr. Lattman was talking about worked its associates to death.  Just the way law firms have always done.  What the firm doesn't realize, or is choosing to ignore, is that while it can buy a lot of things, it can't buy time with ones family and friends.  And Gen X and Gen Y office workers know that time is the most important benefit.  Time to do what one wants to do--for some, that might be working 100 hours per week and making partner by age 30.  For others, it means being home by 7 so they can have dinner with their partner.  And for some it means having the time to compete in a triathlon. 

Retention goes beyond money and it goes beyond a work/life program that HR might institute.  Retention has got to become about empowerment.  Letting people decide for themselves what they want and what they need.  We want everything customized so why not our retention strategy.

Talk About Putting Your Head In The Sand!

The Career Journal recently ran an article where someone asked about the legality of a company policy requiring an employee to pay back the cost of training if they leave before they are employed at least a year.  Why would any company want to create that type of reputation for themselves?  It sounds like the type of policy that  petty, form creating, HR person might create.  In my opinion, there is nothing strategic about it.

Think about it, the labor market is in the midst of a radical shift where it is going to continue to get harder and harder to find the talent we need to get the work done.  So, while we're at it, let's get a lousy reputation on street as an employer who makes the employee pay for required training if they happen to get a better offer.  Employers are going to have to start thinking differently if they are going to be able to survive.

So, let's start by asking two strategic questions:

1. If the job is so bad that people tend to leave after one year, what can we do to make it better?
2. What is the type of employer reputation that we want on the street?  Best or worst?  Somewhere in the middle?

Oh, and finally, if you are going to stick with the policy, you might as well state it up front before the person accepts the job.

The Heart of People's Happiness

The Career Journal posted an article titled "What is at the heart of people's happiness".  The title, and the article, got me thinking about what I do every day.  I focus on how, by hiring and coaching employees, business leaders can improve their bottom line business results.  What I sometimes forget to pontificate is the fact that employees who "fit" their jobs (thinking style, behavioral traits, and career interests) are almost always happier than those who are in jobs that don't "fit".  Think about it...have you ever had one of those jobs that just doesn't seem to fit?  How happy were you?  Chances are good that the job sucked your life energy from you.  Your heath and your personal relationships probably suffered, and to top it all off, it probably wasn't a secret from your boss.

I don't think anyone starts off at a new job planning on doing a bad job or planning to be unhappy.  It evolves over time.  But, if we start with job fit, we're solving half of the battle up-front.  Finding the spot where your skills and interest intersect with a business need is a blissful place. My work with assessment testing helps to find (and define) that intersection.

It's not easy but it works well.  If you are a job seeker and you are asked to take an assessment, do so with an open and honest attitude.  If you are an employer and you are not doing anything more than reading the resume and doing a traditional interview--then you are missing 1/3 of required information for making a great hire.  Consider changing your process.  You won't be sorry.  Fit is the key for both better business success but also employee happiness.