HR Success

To Understand, Don't Be So Smart

2005-10-28T04:57:00.000-04:00

Over the past several months, I have immersed myself into the specifics of online communication, email, e-marketing, interactive advertising, blogging, search strategy, optimization, SMS, collaboration, RSS, Podcasts, social applications, lenses, tags, Internet trends and forecasts. It's easy to become overwhelmed by it all with the frantic pace of (r)evolution.

This morning I deviated from my routine of reading every breaking news article about industry happenings and just sat at the computer with a cup of standard black (with some milk of course) and took a breath. The fact is, ordinary people don't do this. Most Internet users don't take the time to look beyond the image on their screen. They aren't interested in the strategic alliances between Time Warner, MSN, Yahoo! and AOL. They don't give a hoot about click through rates, deliverability, key words, organic content, sample rates, optimization or strategy. They just log on to get the information that they need.

You see, the majority of Internet users are normal. They're not like me. They don't want to know where the Internet is heading or who will own what part of it next year. They just want it to work so that they can find that recipe or job or product or friend.

In the lead up to the launch of messagingtimes.com, I placed an introduction to the site on the domain and invited people to advise me if they were interested in receiving notification of its launch. For a while, I was frustrated by the amount of people who failed to insert their email address before clicking "notify". Last night, I realized that this is the reality of the Internet today. The majority of Internet users don't understand how things work. But that same majority of users are also the majority of subscribers, buyers and community members online today.

Understanding this is very important for anyone who wishes to communicate effectively with people online today. It's important to step back every now and then from the whirling merry-go-round and think of the Internet in terms of the normal user. They're language is different. Their routines are different. They have other interests and motivations.

To really understand the big picture, don't be so smart.

Messaging Overload?

2005-10-23T16:24:00.000-04:00

Via The New York Times

In interviews and surveys many parents say that their children spend too much time in front of computers and on cellphones. Some parents worry that long, sedentary hours spent at a computer may lead to weight gain, or that an excess of instant and text messaging comes at the expense of learning face-to-face social skills. Some complain of having to compete for their childrens' attention more than ever.

A report on teenagers and technology released this summer by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that teenagers' use of computers has increased significantly. More than half of teenage Internet users go online daily, up from 42 percent in 2000, the report said; 81 percent of those users play video games, up from 52 percent.

Instant messaging has become "the digital communication backbone of teens' daily lives," used by 75 percent of online teenagers, according to the Pew report. "Parents are really struggling with this," said David Walsh, the president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, a nonprofit educational organization in Minneapolis that began a program this year to help families reduce screen time and increase physical activity. "As the gadgets keep evolving, they keep consuming more and more of our kids' time. Our kids need a balanced diet of activity, and the problem is that it's getting out of balance. I don't think as a society we're dealing with it yet."

Read Parents Fret That Dialing Up Interferes With Growing Up
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Email: Still the 'Killer App' for Online Communication

2005-10-21T09:49:00.000-04:00

Several years ago, email was considered the killer app. Even with the emergence of RSS and other automated content delivery mechanisms available today, it still is. Why? Because marketers understand the importance of controlling the distribution of their message. Successful marketing involves targeting market segments; and new content-delivery technologies, like RSS, fail to wow many online marketers because it puts control of content into the customers' hands. That's not to say that RSS, podcasting, blogging and other modern vehicles aren't valuable. They provide additional channels for marketers to get their message across; and they provide a great value-added service to customers. They don't, however, allow online marketers to control who receives their message or when they receive it. Email remains invaluable to online marketers, because it enables them to communicate their message one-to-one with targeted prospects and existing customers.

The fact is, email software has evolved over the years in pace with emerging applications like RSS, podcasting, and blogging. Today's email marketing software is not like anything that was available years ago. Remember the Stone Age, when we used the "Bcc" field to distribute our message to groups? Take a look at some of the features that make today's email marketing software the killer app for online communicators today by visiting one of the leaders in the email marketing field: Infacta's GroupMail

Communicate: efficiently, effectively, affordably!

Collaboration: The Small Business Vaccine for Loneliness

2005-10-20T05:02:00.000-04:00

According to a recent poll, small business leaders feel that they are [on their own] when making important business decisions; with 43 percent confessing to loneliness and two-fifths reporting feelings of detachment. With my history of of start-ups and small business experiences over the years, this doesn't necessarily surprise me. At the same time, the solution seems clear. As small business operators, it is essential to collaborate with other professionals with similar agendas to ours.

Perhaps this is a perfect time to invite everyone to visit The Messaging Times website, which will be launched in the not-too-distant future. At the moment, you can provide your e-mail address on the site and will be notified when the community goes live. The Messaging Times will be a collaborative online community for small business professionals and anyone else who communicates online.

Don't be lonely. Collaborate, communicate and innovate!

For more about the study, read: Clearly Business: Small Firms Crave Advice

People Power: Back on Track

2005-10-17T08:48:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted to HR Success. I have been busy developing other projects at The Messaging Times and E-Marketing Today, and I'm afraid that like so many other business bozos, have managed to leave human resources behind. I'm also in the process of launching a small business resource site at The Messaging Times; which will include a blog, articles, stats/research, interviews, and resources for those of us who communicate online. I'll post a note here when the site goes live.

Interestingly, these new pursuits deal with communicating efficently and effectively online; and are, in that regard, HR related. But, alas, like so many efforts today, they deal more with the processes than the people.

I will make a serious effort to keep this space alive to balance the equation and provide a home for those of us who advocate people power!

The debate continues...

2005-09-08T14:23:00.000-04:00

It seems that some people around the Internet are becoming increasingly frustrated by a growing mass of people who are demanding accountability for the slow and unorganized response to Hurricane Katrina, which directly affected 3 States and is causing subsequent stress to several others involved in the relief effort. There seems, for some reason, to be concern for their call for an inquiry into the poorly orchestrated government response in this disaster.

Firstly, let me make it clear that my desire to discuss the lacklustre national response to this catastrophe is in no way politically motivated. I am a non-partisan world resident (having lived in Europe for the last 9 years, Mexico for one year and the US for the remainder of my life) and don't have too much time for politicians in general; be they Democrats, Republicans, Green Party, Labour, or Sinn Fein! I judge people by performance not affiliation. So my disillusionment with our National response in the wake of this disaster is objective, and strictly in terms of my observation that loss of life could have been prevented by swifter more purposeful action on all parts, but mostly through an organized effort orchestrated by my government.

I am not interested in blaming any specific person, agency or party (in Washington, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama). I just want us to be better prepared for tomorrow's disaster. The fact that it might be tomorrow makes the urgency of review critical. Belive me there are plenty of strategists and analysts in our government NOT on the ground in New Orleans or Mississippi too busy helping out. We can multi-task and start reviewing simultaneously.

Obviously, there were and are many people working hard to help people and they are doing it selflessly. But the fact remains that for some reason, there was a delay in adequate response during the first 3-4 days; and in a disaster, every hour is precious. I read about at least 3 babies that died before being evacuated from the dome becuase of the delay. They weren't killed by the storm, they were killed by waiting too long without food or water or transport to proper medical services. Many deaths that occurred after the storm had come and gone were preventable. To this day, there remains confusion about who is orchestrating what and it seems apparent that there are huge gaps in our disaster recovery strategy. A strategy that we were supposedly strengthening over the last 4 years.

I do understand that there are many people with agendas blaming this person or that party; and I agree wholeheartedly that doing so is as lame as doing nothing. It is unproductive, emotional and divisive.

It is also unproductive and impractical to say that hey, we shouldn't expect much from our nation in times of disaster. Talk about poor customer expectations! Goodness, we talk so often about how the customer is king and deserves good service. Well, guess what, I am the customer of my nation's representatives and I expect them to do everything in their power to help me and my family in times of crisis. I will certainly be doing my best to survive and help others to. Every woman for herself is not the best that our government can do for us. We live in a nation that cares for the well being of its people, or at least we did when I lived there 9 years ago. We regularly provide international assistance and relief because we care about plight in the world. I have expectations that we would do the same in America to the best of our ability. It is not a casual issue. If we didn't have the resources or capacity to react better, this wouldn't be an issue. But this is what we do best, or perhaps my perception is based on a good PR and propaganda campaign and we don't really have the capacity that I thought we did. Maybe I've been watching too many movies where America saves the day?

As for people demanding accountability not being part of the solution, well, I suppose we could say the same when people take the time to write about other things like sports and business and other topical issues around blogland. Taking the time to raise concerns about the cluster*&%! of a national response to a storm that devestated a big chunk of our country isn't any worse that sitting around, having a coffee and discussing business theory unrelated to the disaster. Neither are going to help the people suffering today. But at least raising concerns about our national safety might expedite improvements that will help people the next time around. And the next time around could be tomorrow, or the next day. We don't have the luxury anymore to be complacent about inadequacies in our national security and safety systems.

I agree, it's not about politics, it's about Human Rights.

Katrina Aftermath: Delaying a Political Response

2005-09-08T04:40:00.000-04:00

It is interesting to see the Katrina debates surging throughout blogland, across the media, and in every nook and cranny on the internet. The most obvious divide amongst us is clearly a political one, with many people writing defensively about the President's role in the catastrophe and other's demanding his accountability. Another, perhaps related issue that echos regularly in the cyber debate halls is one that involves the timing of demands for accountability. Some say that while there are still people suffering, nobody should waste time pointing fingers.

Many of us are doing whatever we can to help in the midst of this catastrophe. Being in Ireland, I was only able to donate financially to the Irish relief effort (Isn't it interesting to note the contributions from Iran, Afghanistan and Cuba by the way!). This is seen internationally as a massive disaster, and many politically-minded people in the US are saying that the leader of New Orleans boy scout troop 201 didn't do what they could have. This is a national issue and must be addressed immediately. Put party politics aside. I don't care if you have a poster of Bush or Kennedy on your wall, we must objectively get to the bottom of the response fiasco ASAP! Catastrophe doesn't wait around for us to get our act together. We need an effective plan TODAY!

There is plenty of time to discuss the hard issues while simultaneously doing what we can to help. We're all in here blogging. Is it more productive to write "stop talking about what went wrong" than "As a citizen witnessing this atrocity, I demand an explanation!"? It is through public outrage that accountability will be eventually forced. If everyone stayed quiet, this would sweep over and tomorrow would come as it did yesterday. Do what you can and say what you must!

I haven't heard anyone suggesting that the disaster could have been prevented, save environmentalists that equate the force of recent storms to our constant exploitation of our environment. I think that we all respect nature and its power. What many people are saying (listen to the pulse of the media, listen to the pulse of the discussion boards, listen to the pulse of blogs) is that our national response to this catastrophe could have saved lives, many lives perhaps, if it was orchestrated rapidly and professionally. And it wasn't.

Solutions will only come when the hard questions are asked. If I could reach down right now and help someone get out of the flood water, I would be doing that rather than writing this. But I can't, so I write.

One solution might be for someone to consolidate every blog entry written about this horrendous event and publish it for historical record so that the event isn't neatly polished in our grandchildren's text books. All procedes from the book could go to the victims of this catastrophe.

Cultural Icons

2005-09-07T05:25:00.000-04:00

From Tom Peters! Dispatches From The New World of Work

With the tragedy of New Orleans and a still-blooming insurgency in Iraq, do we really need Donald Trump and Martha Stewart as our primary cultural icons?

I believe we are indeed at war (four years next week), and as many have said, the shared sacrifices, save the spike in gas prices and $1 "support our troops" bumper stickers, are about zero.

My Response

It's good to be back! Just returned from my daughter's heart operation and all, thank God, went well and she is doing great! I mention this, because when you spend several days in a Children's Hospital, it puts so many things into perspective.

Regarding cultural icons, the two mentioned fall very short from being any real danger to our society. They do, however, like many others (Snoop Dog, Barbie, etc.), demonstrate our attraction to money and image. Donald, because he represents our desire for financial success and Martha because she represents our desire to impress friends and neighbours with our ability to entertain well.

It is our unbalanced concentration on superficialities that gives these characters in society icon status. The reality is, we breed these desires from an early age. To make a real change, we cannot simply 'select' new icons, rather we must honestly look at what we are feeding our young. Who are their cultural icons and how do those icons affect their view of the world? Our penchant for image, wealth, power, etc. does not spontaneously occur on our 21st birthday. We are habitual beings, and our tendencies for plasticity develop long before we can vote!

I agree with some of the comments that we might not want to get puritanical or stuffy as a society; but if we want more substance in our culture, we must accept that substance is something nurtured from a young age, and not switched on overnight.

The REAL bottom line

2005-08-31T15:12:00.000-04:00

It is sad that it normally takes catastrophies to bring us together in meaningful ways. Unfortunately, even with the recent onslaught of devastation in the world; nature's wrath in the gulf states, the horrendous bridge stampede in Iraq this week (killing over 950, mostly women and children), the continued suffering in Niger, etc., most people will still fail to put things into perspective. Perhaps we become desensitized to plight over time or remain consciously blind to human suffering so we don't have to confront our own chosen priorities as accountable members of the world community. Normally, lasting change takes place only when we are personally affected by disaster.

Imagine if we channeled our mental and physical resources for the betterment of those suffering in the world rather than for our own individual, vacuous accumulation and consumption of things. How comfortable do we need to be before volunteering ourselves to truly meaningful purposes? Talk about Wow!

So, here I sit with sincere sorrow for those starving in Niger, trampled in Iraq, drowning in New Orleans, displaced in Darfur; feeling fortunate that I have health and comfort and a dozen Cinnabons in the pantry because I'm a little peckish.

God bless the suffering and those who dedicate their lives to helping them. I hope that I will be strong enough and selfless enough some day to contribute more of my own energy to alleviate suffering before I am personally affected by it. Until then, I can only express my compassion in words. And words can be as cheap as they are mighty.

Better or Better Off

An Easy Essay by Peter Maurin, Catholic Worker

The world would be better off,
if people tried
to become better.
And people would
become better
if they stopped trying
to be better off.

For when everybody tries
to become better off,
nobody is better off.
But when everybody tries
to become better,
everybody is better off.

Everybody would be rich
if nobody tried
to be richer.
And nobody would be poor
if everybody tried
to be the poorest.

And everybody would be
what he ought to be
if everybody tried to be
what he wants
the other fellow to be.

KABOOM!

2005-08-27T03:57:00.000-04:00

I’m exhausted. For the past several months, my wife and I have invested our hearts, minds and souls into the selling of our house in Ireland while simultaneously planning our relocation back to the United States. We were due to close this coming Tuesday when all hell broke loose this week. The buyers decided that they wanted a reduction in the price by a significant amount 6 days prior to the turn-over. When we asked them what the discount was for, they couldn’t specify but were adamant that it was unfortunately very important to them. They didn’t seem to think that it was important to us at all. I have no problem whatsoever with negotiations on the price of anything at the beginning of a deal, but intentionally waiting to demand a reduction until days before the deal closes, when plans have been made is underhanded and unethical.

Unfortunately, although both parties had signed the contract, they signed it contingent on a satisfactory engineer’s report. That word should not appear in a legal contract! Fair enough, everyone should have an inspection of a property carried out before buying it; but the report, which we finally got our hands on several days after the demand for reduction, clearly stated that the house was in good structural repair and surpassed requirements. It did mention decorative issues, paint splattered on the skirting boards and floors in the house, and a radon barrier in the conservatory that fell short of the edge. The house and conservatory are less than two years old and will be covered by warranty until 2014. There will be no financial cost to us to have the radon barrier checked and corrected if necessary (which is being done next week under warranty I might add).

We considered it odd that the demand for money came only days before closing when the report was completed over a month ago, but our solicitor and the agent selling the house quickly understood why that was. Of course, most people moving house have plans that would normally be costly to change, and normally, under these circumstances, a demand for reduction would be considered, even though unfair.

Obviously, it would have been easier for us to swallow the loss and continue on with our plans for moving; but we took a moral stance and refused to reward their greed. Nobody has the right to extort money from another! So, we had to cancel the Christina Noble Foundation trucks that were coming yesterday to collect our donations, we had to cancel the shipment of our things being sent to the States, we had to cancel the enrollment of our daughter’s Kindergarten class in the States. But most importantly, we had to cancel our emotional high that had reached fever pitch this week as we were beginning our exciting adventure with our family.

What’s so frustrating, is that we went into this deal with full hearts. We welcomed the buyers into our home on several occasions when they showed up unannounced at our door, put the kettle on; invited them to our going-away barbecue so that they could meet their new neighbors; planned to leave a bottle of champagne, a fruit basket, flowers, a refrigerator full of an initial stock (milk, eggs, juice, etc.), and a welcome note wishing them health and happiness in their new home. We were also gifting them our appliances, expensive light fixtures, etc. We were looking forward to a very harmonious exchange. This was our home, it wasn’t some cold, lifeless product on a shelf; and it involved emotion, from the decision to sell it through our preparation to leave it. To them, it was a deal, and no emotion was involved. It was all about the money. We gave them an inch and they wanted a mile. Well, I’m glad to say that in the end, they didn’t even get the inch. They will have a hard time finding a house of this quality at the price that we were selling it for. We, on the other hand, have another buyer already interested and our integrity intact. Needless to say, our neighbors are grateful that they didn’t buy it!

The Moral: Be ethical and fair in your dealings with others. Ill-gotten gains will stain your soul and snuff the warmth from your heart.

Building teams the new fashioned way

2005-08-24T08:25:00.000-04:00

Outdoor team building programs have been around for years. Most people are familiar with rope courses and similar events structured to build trust and teamwork. Recently though, the mass attraction to mental/physical challenges of TV shows like Survivor and Fear Factor have inspired the creation of more creative team building programs for the corporate trainer's goody bag.

"...The new wave of team-building adventures varies from cooking contests à la "Iron Chef" and arts-related activities like playing percussion instruments, staging plays and dancing to outside ventures like sailing and crime scene investigating.

"The fact these activities are colorful and different often makes them suspect and controversial, but they can be perfectly legitimate if they achieve a strategic business objective," said Patricia A. Galagan, vice president for content at the society.

Some employees have become believers. "It really helped with thinking and brainstorming, and being observant," said Clover Stout, a health, safety and environmental protection specialist at Gates, of the mock detective work that began at the Gates plant and fanned out into the town. "At the beginning, nobody wanted to share information - there really was a competition on who could find the clue first. Then we had to work with the other team, and everyone huddled up to share information, and the competition aspect started to go away."

William E. Oden, Mr. Keck's partner at Performance Insights, a consulting firm in Tulsa, Okla., says the exercise, which they developed just last year and call "C.S.I.: You," is by far their most popular. "Nice-looking people from middle management are crawling through Dumpsters," he said. "We had no idea how much people like that. Some men call afterward and ask if their wives can come."..."

For the full article, go to: Team Building With a Twist

Celebrate the path

2005-08-22T10:32:00.000-04:00

Too often in business and in life, we push ourselves strenuously in pursuit of a final objective without appreciating each moment en-route. Whether driving 400 non-stop miles a day to reach Disneyland by Thursday afternoon or exhausting ourselves to meet a project deadline; we often fail to recognize the brilliance of the journey itself. Often, we are either disillusioned with the final product that we hurried to or too tired or stressed to appreciate its value. In life and work it is essential to celebrate the path toward our goals. It is the journey itself that requires effort and the effort that requires motivation and enthusiasm. If we are not enthused on the path toward accomplishment, we will unlikely be enthused by the end product or look forward to starting the next journey. Celebrate the path! "This road is beautiful!" "Look kids, there’s the biggest ball of string!" "This is the best vacation ever!" or "Great effort today team!" "You inspire me more each day!" "Stellar performance this morning!" "We made incredible strides today!" "Don’t let today’s setback frustrate you, you showed great determination, and that determination will ensure our success!" Celebrate the path! Be enthused on the journey! Today, this morning, this hour, this moment is what makes the difference in our life and work. Celebrate this moment and you'll be inspired along the path and beyond your destination.

Ch-ch-ch Changin'

2005-08-19T18:44:00.000-04:00

Albert Einstein said that one good definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I habitually wear my watch on my left wrist. There's no particular reason that I do this, it's just the way I have always worn my watch. Today, I fastened it on my right wrist as an exercise to remind myself to try something different. More specifically, I did it to remind myself to write something today about the difficulty of changing habits.

We all have habits. I generally start my day, much to the dismay of my health conscious family and friends, with a hot cup of coffee. Nothing fancy, just a good 'ole cuppa joe. I also have a habit of greeting acquaintences in the street by saying "How're things?!" The fact is, changing patterns of behaviour that have been practiced for long periods of time is difficult.

Once, while at the bank, the teller innocently asked, "Mr. O'Leary, what do you do?" I replied instinctively by giving her a canned description of my job at the time. I finished my business, said goodbye, and left the bank. Half-way across the parking lot, I stopped as if I hit a brick wall. Standing there, I thought, why do I always define myself by my job? Surely I do so many things in my life. I turned around and marched right back in to that bank to tell the courteous teller about all of the things that I do. Well, no I didn't, but I wanted to. But I did promise myself to not give habitual answers to anything from that point on. To not engage in canned conversations throughout each day.

To improve anything, including relationships with our employees and customers, we have to change our habitual relationships with them. Don't get me wrong, there are some good habits that we have, and I'm not suggesting that we stop doing those good things that work. What I am suggesting is that we start doing them intentionally rather than instinctively. To be conscious of how we greet our receptionist each day or how we conduct our performance feedback sessions. Do not be robotic in human relationships. Be sincere and aware of the moment, every changing moment.

Now, as I said at the very beginning, changing habits is hard. My wife and I have heart-to-heart conversations about our relationship periodically to see how we are both doing. Normally there are several things that we both ask the other to consider. Things that we might have perhaps lost touch with or become lazy at since we last discussed it. The days following our conversation, we both recognize the efforts made in the areas that we discussed and usually say, "hey, thanks for that!". But, after a week or two or three, the old habits somehow creep back in and the old routines generally re-establish themselves. Setting new patterns requires effort.

To realize change, we must be aware of our habits...conscious of our instinctive routines each day. What is your routine each day with the people you work with? With your life partner? With your customers? Every now and then, it's a good idea to put our watch on the other wrist to remind ourselves to be consciously in command of the moments throughout the day rather than to habitually execute our daily routine. Try it! But I must warn you, I'm dying to put the damn thing back on my left wrist!

Have a great weekend!

FREE Teambuilding inside every box!

2005-08-18T18:31:00.000-04:00

Here's a neat team building quickie to use when you want to impress the value of teamwork in your organization.

1. Put a bunch of items in a box. About 25-30 random things (i.e. stapler, tape measure, dictionary, flower, underwear, etc.) will suffice as long as everything can be seen or at least partially seen. Have everyone sit in a circle and slowly pass the box in front of everyone, long enough so they can take a decent glimpse at what's inside, but continually move slowly around the circle.

2. Give everyone 5 minutes to jot down everything that they saw in the box.

3. Ask for a show of hands for how many people have 5 things written down, 10 things? 15 things?

4. Then ask the individuals to form groups of 5 people and pool their lists together. Give them 5 minutes to accomplish this.

5. Ask for a show of hands for how many teams have 5 things written down, 10 things? 15 things? 20 things? 25 things?

It's a brief but effective display of the power of working together to accomplish more. It's also a good ice breaker before a working team begins working together.

The world was flat once upon a time...

2005-08-13T06:17:00.000-04:00

Throughout history we have demonstrated time and time again that the improbable is possible. Why then are we still so reluctant to consider that there is greatness in each of us?

Ryan Hreljac was 6 years old when he heard his first grade teacher talk about the plight of people in Africa who had to walk kilometers every day simply to get water. Ryan, only 6 years old at the time, was inspired and decided that he needed to build a well for a village in Africa. He went home that same day and asked his parents for $70 to do just that. In the 7 years since Ryan was sitting in his elementary school desk, he has raised more than $1 million and supported over 120 water and sanitation projects in 9 developing countries. His efforts are directly impacting almost 300,000 people in the world!

Consider how much better your organization could be if you invested, with all of your available resources, in the untapped greatness of the individuals within it.

Want to get inspired about our capacity as small people in a big world? Go to: Ryan's Well

Boomtown

2005-08-11T12:50:00.000-04:00

"...According to the current projections of the Census Bureau, world population will increase to nearly 8 billion people by the end of the next quarter century, and will reach 9.3 billion people, a number more than half again as large as today’s total, by 2050..."

How will this affect our society and systems? Will we be able to cope with demands for resources, infrastructure, space, etc.? How will our culture respond to inescapable high density developments? Are we prepared?

Communication, period, not periodically

2005-08-09T17:15:00.000-04:00

In a military operation, one of the first units sent into the field, along with Intelligence, is the Communications division. Obviously, sending troops into an area without the capacity to communicate is futile and dangerous. A military with poor communications capabilities is unlikely to be victorious in their mission. The same holds true for business. How you communicate, what you communicate, and who you communicate with will significantly impact the degree to how successful you are in attaining your goals and objectives.

When I was a student in college, the following story was used as an example to demonstrate the importance of effective communication:

One day, a man’s car broke down on the highway. Pulling it to the side of the road, he put on his hazard lights, opened the bonnet, and tried to ascertain what the problem was. After a short while, a woman, noticing that the man was having difficulty, pulled her car in behind his and got out to see if she could help in any way. The man said, "Actually, it appears to be the battery; and if you could give me a push, I could probably get it started, as it’s a manual transmission." The woman, happy to be able to help the stranded gentleman, agreed and started back to her car. As she was walking away, the man said, "You’ll probably have to get it up to 25-30 miles per hour before it will turn over.". "Okay.", she agreed, and continued heading towards her car. As the woman approached her vehicle, the man entered his, put the transmission in neutral, connected his seat belt, and waited. As he adjusted his mirror, he saw the woman backing her car up slowly, stopping, and proceeding to drive towards him, at, you guessed it, 25-30 miles per hour! The amount of the damage was more than 1,500 dollars.

Breakdowns in communication are one of the primary contributors to failure in business. Although we have all naturally communicated since birth, effective communication is a skill that must be developed and continually improved.

Try this test. Ask 20 random people in your organization what the vision of the company is. Then ask what the 3 most important goals to achieve that vision are. You'll be surprised how varied the responses will be and how many people within the organization are unclear about where the company is heading. And yet, we're counting on them to get us there!

Soylent Green: It's PEOPLE!

2005-08-04T07:40:00.000-04:00

After browsing the technology section of the Irish Independent today, I found myself once again awed by several new tech products that were featured. Then, it hit me like a ton of preverbial bricks: Why do we so effortlessy bow to the magnificence of technology when we barely blink at the brilliance of the people who developed it? The wizardry contained within plastic casings was created by our own flesh and blood. Perhaps if designers and developers started wearing plastic suits with cool designs on them, we would recognize the brilliance of our own human contribution more than the products of our efforts?

Ethics in a Godless Society

2005-07-27T13:30:00.000-04:00

Can ethical behavior survive in a Godless society? What motivates people to act ethically when belief in a spiritual afterlife ceases? Can the legal system, on its own, inspire ethical behavior? How does a society divided in belief compromise on ethics?

And you wonder why I don’t sleep much?!

Performance: Step Inside the Batter's Box

2005-07-22T06:16:00.000-04:00

I've often used sports analogies when speaking about individual and team performance. There just always seems to be good examples from the field/court/stadium to draw from. Recently, I discovered Jeff Angus, a man who has gone one step further in illustrating how sports, and specifically baseball, can help managers to build high performance teams! What a game! Management By Baseball

I've also been spending some time on Tom Peters site and must say that it's a great place to exchange good banter with others invested in success. Another highly recommended click! Tom Peters

Have a great weekend!

Business as Unusual: Creating an Environment that Fosters Enthusiasm

2005-07-20T10:29:00.000-04:00

Power down for a few minutes and read something that could re-shape the way you think about conducting your business. Before you do, however, please loosen your tie and remove all existing paradigms from your pockets.

What is it about that song that stirs us so powerfully as we drive down the highway? Is it the rhythm? Is it the lyrics? Is it the voice of the singer? More likely than not, it is a combination of the elements; but one thing is for certain; we are all moved at one point or another by a song. I was absent-mindedly watching television recently when that wonderful promotional spot for refugees aired. You know, the one that is accompanied by the song R-e-s-p-e-c-t, by Aretha Franklin. All of a sudden, my body filled with a spirit of invincibility, power, and righteousness. I felt as though I could change the world for a moment. An hour later, I was slumped in the sofa again, eating nachos with a cloud hanging over me. Thinking about it later, I wondered if it would be possible to create an environment in which that burst of "can do" could be created and sustained in a business setting for an eight hour period, day after day.

The highest compliment that I ever received as a business leader was from a young software localization professional in Ireland. He approached me one day in the office canteen and said, "This is the first job that I ever had where I look forward to coming to work. Thanks." That simple statement had me beaming for the rest of the day. It also prompted me to reflect on the recipe for this success in order to replicate it later. Too often, as business leaders, we blindly accept the notion that nobody, not even ourselves, looks forward to beginning the work week on Monday morning. Conversely, most people’s spirits rise dramatically as Friday afternoon arrives. It seems crazy that we accept this pattern, considering how much time we spend at the workplace each week. Aside from the benefits that enthusiasm and happiness have on organizational productivity, a positive environment will help us to reach personal fulfillment. Here are 5 tips for creating a business environment that stirs the insides and unleashes enthusiasm, drive, and commitment.

Lead by Example

Like laughter, enthusiasm and passion are contagious. To effect an environmental change, leaders in an organization must take the helm and set the course. Think of a family. If the parent of a child is constantly complaining, negative, and pessimistic; chances are that the child will be reserved, unwilling to attempt new things, and unconfident. Business leaders must instill enthusiasm and passion by their example. If a boss starts each day on a positive note with his management staff, they will be more likely, in turn, to do the same with their teams. Don’t evade problematic situations, simply approach them enthusiastically. Maintaining a positive attitude won’t make problems disappear, but it will increase the chances of a swift resolution without jeopardizing the enthusiasm needed to overcome the next obstacle on the path.

But don’t wait for the boss to make the change. Anyone in an organization can initiate action towards a positive environment, but it will eventually require a commitment from the top in order to be realized throughout the organization. If you’re not the boss, but want to make your office a place where you and others look forward to spending your days, take note of the effects that your positive efforts have on your team and relate it to productivity. When you have evidence that suggests a correlation between a positive environment and high productivity (and you will!), submit a report to your superior for consideration. Ask to be invited to the next management meeting to share your views.

Create a Lasting Energy

High energy is one characteristic that effective leaders share. But how do you maintain a constant flow of energy that doesn’t dissipate over time or become periodic? Positive energy doesn’t necessarily come in torrents. Unlike the energy that is derived from hearing that magical song that makes you feel invincible while you listen, lasting positive energy must be controlled and constant. Think of this energy as a calming stream rather than a surging river, it is dependable and consistent. By making small changes in your approach to specific situations, you will eventually create major and lasting shifts in energy. For example, if you normally express your disappointment to people for coming late to a management meeting by verbally, and rhetorically, pointing out that they were late; implement a different approach. The next time someone shows up late for a management meeting, have everyone present applaud as they enter the room, perhaps even a standing ovation. After the meeting, let the person know that you really count on their contributions during management meetings and would appreciate their efforts for making it on time in the future. To often we simply expect that things get done and forget the effort of the individual who accomplished them. By consistently showing appreciation a positive energy will exist even during times of confrontation or disciplinary action. By incorporating small attitudinal changes in enough specific areas, a lasting energy will, like a stream, begin flowing through your organization.

Establish a Human Connection

More than ever before, people are looking for a healthy balance between life and work. This insight gives managers a tremendous opportunity to satisfy individual needs without breaking the bank. One of the reasons that people dread Monday mornings and celebrate Friday afternoons is that they don’t feel connected with, or fulfilled by the workplace environment. By establishing sincere, human connections with members of your organization, a sense of belonging will naturally develop, which will, in turn, foster enthusiasm and a willingness to contribute voluntarily. During my father’s battle with cancer this year, I was called by my mother when things began looking grim. Being in Ireland, I immediately made arrangements to travel to New York, created a desk guide delegating tasks to relevant people, notified senior management, and left the following day to be by his side. When I returned, I was called into my boss’ office and received a verbal disciplinary warning for leaving so suddenly without sufficient notice. How enthusiastic was I after that meeting? Not very. If you want people in your organization to perform enthusiastically for you, it is essential that you connect with them on a human level, understand their human needs, and be genuinely concerned for their well being.

Choose your Battles Wisely

Often, it is the little things rather than the big ones that, when added together, create a negative atmosphere in an organization. To minimize negativity in the workplace, pay attention to those little things that might erode the natural enthusiasm of your workforce. Remember that most people begin their career enthusiastically, excited about their new role and opportunities that might stem from it. More often than not, the deterioration of that enthusiasm is a result of the organizations environment rather than changes in the individual’s expectations or commitment. Realizing that it’s impossible to evade confrontation and even disciplinary action, the advice here is to eliminate the negativity when it’s not essential, and always balance it with consistent positive reinforcement when warranted. I was visiting the head office of my last employer when I noticed several managers positioned near the entrance, annotating times of team members arriving late to work (and I’m talking about 5 minutes late, not an hour!). While it might be good practice to document attendance patterns of your team, is it really necessary to make a show of it? Those arriving late probably were cursing in their car, stuck in traffic, already stressed that they were running behind schedule. Will seeing their manager at the door help them to perform better during the day? Probably not. Rather than attempting to herd your flock abruptly through the gate, inspire them to willingly run there. If people look forward to coming to work, then problems such as poor attendance patterns will eventually reduce without effort. By attacking the same problem abrasively, you will only stifle the enthusiasm required for voluntary improvement.

Celebrate the Path to Accomplishment

Perhaps the most essential ingredient in establishing an enthusiastic and positive business environment is celebrating the path to accomplishment rather than the accomplishment itself. Understanding that the attainment of a goal or objective is contingent upon the success of each step towards that goal or objective, we can create an enthusiastic approach rather than an enthusiastic conclusion. By postponing celebration until the end, we risk losses in enthusiasm in the midst of the process, when it’s most needed. I’m not suggesting that an organization have weekly parties to celebrate another week of work. Moreover, by simply communicating positive advances to the team throughout a project’s life span; and showing appreciation for their efforts on the path to accomplishment, you will encourage them to remain enthusiastic until the end.

Results-Orientated Training Objectives: The Cornerstone for ROI Evaluation

2005-07-19T17:22:00.000-04:00

More than ever before, HR Departments, and specifically training managers, are being tasked with providing justification for each budget dollar/euro/pound spent on training. Furthermore, senior managers are requiring that such justification include Return on Investment (ROI) and transfer of knowledge calculations. The days of accepting the intangible benefits of training (i.e. staff morale, recruitment, retention, etc.) are long gone; and training managers themselves are now in the position of needing some education to learn how to crunch the numbers using formulas like Phillips’ ROI Model below:

ROI(%)= Value of benefits - cost of training/cost of training X 100%

While in academically controlled environments, ROI formulas might produce positive results, the practical use of such calculations in the training business has yet to be successful. Donald Kirkpatrick, a champion of training evaluation since the 1960’s, pointed out that "there are so many complicating factors that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to evaluate certain kinds of programs in terms of results" (Kirkpatrick, Donald L, 1979, p. 89)

The fact is, attaching a formula of any kind to your training evaluation sheets will serve little purpose without a systemic model of evaluation to support it. A 1996 survey conducted by Training magazine revealed that less than half of all organizations evaluated to the results level (over 40,000 training practitioners were surveyed.) In order to incorporate ROI successfully into a training evaluation, a systemic evaluation structure which supports measurement must already exist. The beginning of this necessary, systemic structure involves the development of training objectives that are compatible with a results-orientated evaluation process.

One of the most common obstacles to effective ROI evaluation of training is the absence of defined, measurable objectives. General, non-quantifiable objectives cannot be calculated accurately. To that end, Phillips’ includes the development of tentative objectives as the first of his 18-step systemic evaluation model.

Developing results-orientated objectives

When training for results, you need objectives that can be measured. Effective training objectives respond to needs and guide evaluations. A good objective also helps to make training efforts purposeful…the ultimate goal for every aspiring training manager.

The practice of aligning training objectives to results is more of a paradigm shift than it is an academic endeavor. We must think results from the initial stages of our training program, rather than at the end of it. In this regard, the driving need is responded to by the specific objective that is used as the basis for the evaluation of results.

Specificity is the essential ingredient in developing a results-orientated objective. Not unlike performance objectives that are used for employee reviews, training objectives must outline specific criteria for which a program is developed to accomplish.

For example, a results-orientated objective might be written as follows:

Need: Reduce downtime in graphic artist department resulting from computer problems.

Objective: The network support department will provide front-line computer support training to graphic artists in order to lessen the number of service calls, reduce downtime, and increase production in the graphic artist department. This internal training program will teach graphic artists how conduct a front-line analysis of recurring computer problems and the processes for resolving the problems. Success of this initiative will result in less downtime in the graphic artist department, fewer service calls to Network Support, and an increase in graphic artist production levels.

The example above details what training is needed, how it will respond to the need, who it is needed by, and what the expected outcomes or results are. The more specific your objective, the easier it will be to evaluate quantitatively. In the example above, it would be very easy to obtain pre-and-post program data on the number of service calls, hours of downtime, and production levels; making accurate ROI calculations possible.

Coordinating the effort

When developing results-orientated objectives, it is important to coordinate the effort with all of the key customers involved, to include internal and external training facilitators, trainees, supervisors, and managers at all affected levels. This coordinated approach will help to make training objectives congruent with personal, departmental, and organizational needs and goals.

A coordinated, specific objective will not only provide a backbone for data collection and subsequent quantitative evaluation, it will also help organizations to train strategically, for bottom line needs rather than generalized departmental activities and position descriptions.

Bridging the gap

While development of results-orientated objectives will bring you one step closer toward an ROI-friendly evaluation environment, there are many other factors that must subsequently be addressed to bridge the gap between academic ROI models and seamless, practical business applications. More effort is required in the following areas:

- Industry adaptation of scientifically controlled environments to isolate the effects of a training program. Although pre-and-post testing will support ROI efforts, control groups are necessary to yield the most accurate results.

- The data required for baseline and results measurement must be more easily accessed and useable for ROI training efforts.

- Assigning quantifiable value to the intrinsic benefits of training is difficult, if not impossible.

- Attitudes towards such initiatives fluctuate. Currently, there is still resistance on the following levels:

1. Training managers are often concerned about the complicated nature of ROI and the additional work required to yield meaningful results (especially if training departments are limited in manpower and resources.) There is also a psychological impact when worth must be justified quantitatively.

2. Senior managers are wary about the time and cost of such initiatives, and fear that the required investments in manpower and time will negate the benefits of such an initiative.

3. External training facilitators are somewhat reluctant to share program development responsibilities to suit results-orientated objectives.

4. Trainees are skeptical about the effects that corporate testing and measurement might have on future performance reviews and promotion eligibility

One thing is certain, however. The development of specific, results-orientated objectives will benefit a training program with or without the inclusion of an ROI formula in the latter evaluation stages.

Surprise: Variety is the Spice of Work

2005-07-11T18:34:00.000-04:00

Successful working partnerships are not unlike personal relationships inasmuch as each requires consistent effort to keep the union exciting and mutually fulfilling. While some relish in routines, others require dollops of deviation from the norm - spontaneous spurts of surprise. In the workplace, stepping away from the machine every now and then is actually good for productivity, as it recharges batteries, builds esprit de corps, and exercises lateral thinking. Often, when people step away from what they do day after day, hour after hour, they return with fresh perspectives and clearer minds.

To keep your team on their toes, it is necessary to shift gears every now and then. Here is a list of 5 good ways to make your employees tell their friends and families, "you'll never guess what happened at work today!"

1. Happy Tuesday! Have doughnuts and coffee ready for your team when they come in on any given Tuesday (or Wednesday, etc.) Take 30 minutes to mingle with the team and informally check in on everyone. If you wish, give a inspirational talk or motivating thought for the team to ponder. Tuesday is as good a day as any for something big to happen, make this Tuesday a big day for you.

2. Send a letter home. Send a letter to your team's spouses, partners, mothers, etc. simply saying that you appreciate that person and their contributions to your team and that you understand that there are times when their work can cause disruptions in their personal life and that you appreciate the support that their family provides, which is critical to their success at work. Outline some of the accomplishments that they have achieved at the office and explain why they should be proud of them. As a sign of your sincere appreciation, invite family members into the office for a coffee morning or in-house luncheon.

3. Office Olympics: Some Thursday afternoon, call everyone in for a staff meeting after lunch. Announce that the rest of the day will be dedicated to the Office Olympic Games and that all gold medal winners will receive a pass for a free day off. Have several competitions organized (like WAD Ball: throwing a crumpled piece of paper into a dust bin from selected distances) and give everyone 10 minutes to sign up for their events. This will encourage making quick decisions and simultaneously create an environment of fun, healthy competition.

4. Inspirational Movie Day: Take two hours some afternoon and show a premier of one of the many inspirational movies from the video shop (like Rudy, the story of the small, unlikely candidate for the Notre Dame football team who through persistance and dedication makes the cut and fulfills his dream.) Choose a movie that has a relevant inspirational theme for your workplace. Make sure that you have enough popcorn for everyone!

5. Spring Cleaning: Take a few hours and have everyone join in on a spring cleanup day in and around the office. You might even have the team go out as a group into the public areas outside your office to clean the areas (picking up rubbish, sweeping, etc.) Let's be proud of our place so that we can put our name on the door and know that anyone coming in knows that we take care of things. Give a small talk about first impressions and how taking pride in the little things will guarantee success in the big things. (Remember, it is most important to have the boss right alongside everyone else picking up the dog poo!)

There are so many other things that can be done to put a little spice into the daily office routine. Remember though, that these little distractions shouldn't be announced in advance or necessarily made into regular occurrences. Mix it up and keep them guessing. Eventually, your team will look forward to coming to work just to see what might happen each day!

Plan for Disaster: Survive Devastation

2005-07-08T07:45:00.000-04:00

Good businesses avoid making decisions, purchasing resources, and spending advertising dollars in a reactive fashion. Successful businesses carefully plan these things in advance, as part of a strategic plan for growth. Even successful businesses, however, fail to plan in advance for potential disaster. The American Red Cross estimates that of those businesses directly affected by disasters, to include natural (flood, hurricane, fires, earthquakes, etc.) and man-made (terrorist attacks, chemical spills, industrial explosions) disasters, 40% never reopen for business. In order to be part of the 60% of businesses that manage to survive disasters, it is necessary to plan ahead and develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness strategy.

In preparing your business for disaster recovery (remember, we’re not talking about preventing disaster here, we’re talking about responding to it); it is necessary to consider your human resources, physical resources, operational resources (to include communications), and insurance.

In developing a solid disaster preparedness strategy, begin by asking yourself and your team what is the worst case scenario? How would disaster affect our business? Would we survive if our business was disrupted for one, three, six months? What can we do to respond most effectively to disaster in order to protect our people, resources and business operations?

Several things to consider when planning contingency actions are:

Your People (your most valuable resource)

· Ensure that all employees are familiar with exit routes in the event of fire or emergency evacuation. Conduct drills regularly so that in the time of an emergency, they are familiar and react decisively and without panic. Ensure that your drills cover a variety of possible scenarios as identified in your strategy.

· Ensure that there are enough certified First Aid personnel in your business. Keep their training up to date and ensure that they have the tools (i.e. first aid kits) at their disposal.

· Ensure that all employees read and sign your disaster preparedness strategy and take the time to explain it in detail during staff meetings.

· Assign roles and responsibilities as necessary so that everyone knows what to do when disaster occurs.

Your Physical Resources (Facilities and Equipment)

· Ensure that you identify alternate temporary locations to conduct business in your contingency plan. This might be easier for businesses that don’t have heavy equipment and plant machinery. For manufacturing companies, consider establishing disaster partnership agreements with other manufacturers who might have similar equipment.

· Ensure that you have sufficient and appropriate protective mechanisms in place for your facility and equipment (i.e. surge protectors, sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, etc.) and ensure that a process is in place to check them regularly.

· Ensure that your stock levels are kept at reasonable levels and consider storing a cache of mission critical, hard-to-replace stock in an alternate storage location so that you have what you need to continue doing business. If an alternate storage location isn’t practical, ensure that your suppliers maintain the necessary level of stock in their distribution center in the event that you need it.

Operational Resources (including communications)

· Consider having a back-up generator to use in the event of prolonged power outages to ensure that critical functions can be maintained such as security, refrigeration (especially for laboratories, and cold room environments,) and computer networks.

· Consider alternate suppliers, vendors and shippers in the event that your primary relationships are affected. Establish relationships with alternate supplier contacts in advance and perhaps even make periodic orders with them so that they are familiar with your operations and requirements.

· Decentralize your operations to the degree necessary so that you will be able to continue sales and production functions without disruption if your central base of operations is affected by disaster.

· Ensure that you regularly back-up copies of all operational data; to include personnel records, finance records, customer records, inventory, production processes, and all software and files required to operate your business. Store these back-up copies in a location that is ready to grab in the event of a unexpected and rapid evacuation.

· Create a telephone contact system to relay information to all employees quickly. Use your organizational chart to develop this system and ensure that everyone in the chain has up-to-date contact information for everyone who they are responsible to contact.

Insurance

· Review your insurance cover regularly and update it as necessary. Ensure that there is enough coverage to get you back into business in the event of a disaster. Consider the need for facility, equipment, and contents renovation or replacement.

· Ask your insurance provider if they offer business interruption insurance to cover operating costs in the event of an unexpected shutdown.

The best approach to disaster preparedness is being prepared for the worst-case scenario. Investing a little extra time and money in developing a solid strategy could save you a lot of time and money in the future.

Balancing Acts: Incorporating Work-Life Strategies

2005-07-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

While it might be nice to think that our employees live to work at your company, the reality is that most of us work to live. We might really enjoy our work, but the fact is that most of us have rather full lives before and after we enter the office. For many people, balancing personal, professional and relationship stressors is a difficult act. It isn't surprising that research consistently shows that stress in one area of our life affects productivity in another. For example, if a personal relationship encounters difficulties, work productivity is likely to suffer. Conversely, when there is
unhealthy stress at work, personal relationships are usually strained as a result. Understanding the links between personal, professional and relationship stressors gives us the opportunity to help our team to optimize productivity while they are engaged in work.

It is also important to note that there is good stress and bad stress. To reach levels of high performance in any activity; whether it be sport, education or professional work, we must be pushed by a level of stress that causes a drive within us to achieve. Bad stress, on the other hand, causes us to be inhibited and disrupts our progressive, forward momentum or drive. To that end, if your team member has encountered bad stress before coming to the office (whether it was a fight with her spouse or news of an illness in the family), piling additional bad stress when she arrives in the office 15 minutes late will be counter-productive. Stress management strategies in an organization should be focused on two things, eliminating bad, counter-productive stressors; and maintaining positive stress levels to achieve high performance.

One strategy that many organizations incorporate to help their employees with work-life balance is flexi-time. Depending on the nature of your business, it is possible to re-structure your work schedules to allow some flexibility in regards to start and end times at the office. Allowing your team members a range of hours to start work might alleviate life stress if they are having difficulties balancing the demands of their personal life (getting the children ready for school,) relationship life (having quality time with their spouse each morning,) and work life (struggling to get to the office on time each day.) This flexibility will also allow your team members to have some control in scheduling out-of-work commitments. If an employee can plan to start work early one day they will be free to attend a sports event at their children's school in the afternoon; improving their relationships with family and reducing a build up of stress.

Many companies are very wary of merging the personal and work lives of their employees, fearing that the consideration of personal life will cause disruption and distraction. I have worked with many organizations who prefered to keep work relationships and personal relationships at a distance. Even if there was a social event at work at these organizations, family members were not invited. What these organizations fail to realize though, is that these life elements already co-exist. It is called life. By nderstanding and being supportive of the work-life balance needs of your employees, you will set the
stage for increased performance and healthier, happier and more balanced employees.

HR Strategy: Consistency is Crucial

2005-06-27T03:38:00.000-04:00

While it is important to develop a solid HR foundation and associated strategies, it is even more important that the philosophy behind that foundation and subsequent strategies is understood and adopted by all business leaders in your organization. A strategy will only be effective if it is embraced and implemented willingly and consistently by managers in the business. Going through the motions of the process (the paper trail) isn’t enough. A good HR program is a living system that involves people in the process from development through continual assessment and evolution.

To that end, it is imperative that business leaders and all relevant stakeholders take part in developing the HR framework so that they understand its objectives, approaches, and consequences. It is also important to communicate organizational HR policies laterally and horizontally across the board to ensure consistent compliance and implementation.

I worked with several organizations over the years where strategies, like performance management, were handled completely differently across teams. Some managers stood at the door each morning annotating which team members arrived late; while others greeted late arrivals with a light-hearted quip, like "good afternoon." Obviously, in these organizations, the lack of consistency in approach caused problems. "Why doesn’t so and so have his time annotated? She arrived late last week several times." Much conflict in organizations can be avoided when consistency of approach is realized. Even if certain policies appear rigid to employees, they will be respected if they are communicated clearly and, more importantly, are fair and consistent throughout the organization.

Define your approach clearly and communicate it effectively throughout the organization!

Recruitment: Attracting the Good Ones

2005-06-18T03:58:00.000-04:00

Nobody strives to hire mediocre, under-motivated, disinterested employees. Successful businesses have a flowing cycle of talent, from entry level recruits to internally promoted senior managers. Unfortunately, there are still many companies that approach recurring recruitment needs in a reactive manner. That is to say that many businesses start recruitment efforts after an employee hands in his notice or becomes terminally ill. Worse still, some pay good money to people outside of their organization to find people for them in a reactive manner. While I understand that there are good reasons to out-source recruitment efforts to agencies specialized in finding top talent; the use of recruitment agencies should not BE your recruitment process, especially not in a knee-jerk, need-somebody-next-week manner. A reactive recruitment process will ensure that you attract people who want a paycheck. A proactive approach will ensure that you attract people with the skills and qualities that you desire who want to be part of your team.

An effective recruitment strategy supports the continual building and strengthening of relationships with potential and existing team members. It is a living system of processes that keep the talent force of your organization flowing steadily throughout the ranks with a controlled momentum. In order to proactively keep your new candidate pool full of top notch performers, you must establish relationships with emerging superstars. You don’t need to be a fortune 100 company to successfully seduce top talent.

Every good recruiter is a public relations expert. Every public relations expert knows how important it is to build good relationships. In order to succeed at building a championship team, you must constantly scout new talent that will bring the required energy, enthusiasm and skills to your lineup. The first step in finding good fits for your organization is to define your organizational needs in terms of talent. Where is your company going? What do you need to get there? A clear definition of your short, medium and long term requirements will ensure that you are recruiting not only for the present, but for the future. What skills are required now and what skills will be useful next year and the year after to achieve your goals? What traits and behaviors support your company ethos and team dynamics? Once you define your talent needs according to these and other criteria, you must analyze where such talent is likely to come from and create strategic, proactive links with these areas, be they institutes of technology, associations, universities, clubs, etc.

So, you see the most beautiful woman in the bar. She is everything that you’ve always wanted. She’s smart, funny, loves dogs, plays tennis - compatible in every way with your requirements for a good partner in life. You can’t believe how perfect she is. But how do you approach her without getting the cold shoulder or a glass of Grand Marnier in your face? Whenever you’re looking for a long term relationship; sincerity, respect, and honesty are paramount to your success. Your intentions should not be disguised, your qualities should not be exaggerated, your promises should not be empty. Trying to be something you’re not might attract somebody momentarily, but the relationship is doomed if you’re not genuine from the start. Your recruitment PR package, which might include a corporate introduction presentation for use at university career days, brochures for job fairs, web pages, advertisement copy, etc. should accurately represent who you are, where you’re going, who you’re looking for, and evidence of the qualities that make you a good employer. The biggest testament to your company’s reputation as an employer are references from your employees. Ask your existing employees why they like being part of your team, and use their responses as supportive testimonials within your recruitment PR materials (with their permission of course!) You might find that there are areas for improvement when an internal employee satisfaction assessment is accomplished! But remember, you don’t stop working on the relationship after the wedding. It is important to stay sexy for your existing employees too; and including them in the recruitment process at this stage is a good way to check on their post-induction feelings and attitudes. We’ll talk about other strategies to involve your existing team in the recruitment process, and how doing so can positively impact retention in more depth later. We’ll also talk about the importance of trust in establishing and maintaining good working relationships and how trust building begins before your new employee even begins her first day in the office!

For now, define who you are and what you need to get where you are going; and start fostering relationships with people who can help you get there!

Introduction: The Purpose Statement

2005-06-16T18:47:00.000-04:00

The purpose of this site is to inform, collaborate, share, refer, assist, debate, and learn about human resource management techniques, theories, tools, practices, difficulties, challenges and opportunities. In order for this resource to be effective, it is important that there is a healthy and constant exchange of ideas. Please don't hesitate to contribute your wealth of experience and knowledge by adding your thoughts. Most importantly, don't hesitate to ask for advice, information, or assistance. Remember, the only bad question is the one that isn't asked!

People, by nature, are both very similar and very different. While we all share fundamental basic human needs and characteristics as a species, we are differentiated by a plethora of motivations, fears, aspirations, talents, experiences, and capabilities. To that end, managing people is a tricky business. Years ago, Human Resource Managers implemented organizational-wide, generic processes without any concern for the individualized needs of their team members. Only recently, have we truly begun to understand that people learn differently, are motivated differently, react to stressors differently, and interpret success and fulfilment differently. This understanding has inspired a more person-centered approach towards managing human resources.

On these pages, we will discuss the life cycle of people management, to include the establishment of pre-employment relationships with emerging talent; effective team building, recruitment and retention strategies; inspiration and motivation techniques to optimize productivity; trust building; effective communication skills; practical stress management; conflict resolution; productive performance feedback sessions; empowerment; celebrating the path towards accomplishment; and many more things that are critical in harmonizing individual efforts towards a common goal.

I look forward to your thoughts, suggestions, questions and comments. Remember, be efficient with things, effective with people!