Professional training and development make the difference
Developing your professional skills is an excellent idea in any economy but particularly important when the labour market is highly competitive. With more players on the scene, those who continually invest in their own skills and talents have significant advantages.
One of the most common errors in training is to look for ways of improving weaknesses rather than developing areas of strength. Imagine you’re a top-producing sales professional but profoundly dislike documenting your monthly expenses. Will a workshop on organizing and filing help? Face it: You’ll probably never be an organizing whiz. As long as your weaknesses don’t detract from the quality of your work (remember, you’re a sales professional after all!), forget about overcoming your weaknesses.
Instead, think of training as a way of boosting your strengths and passions so that you can anticipate the highest return on investment. Say you’re a successful business professional aiming at an executive-level position. You may need some graduate education, possibly an MBA. If you’re an aspiring accountant, proper licensing and professional credentials are key to senior roles.
Whatever your profession, leverage your interests and existing abilities to take your career to the next step. Training and professional development require the investment not only of money but also of time and energy. A few ideas to help you be a smart investor and achieve the highest return:
Public speaking events and conferences: Attend speaker events and relevant conferences to update your knowledge of developments in your area. Extend your network at these events.
Do your homework: Get the latest business books that apply to your field. Subscribe to relevant publications: blogs, email newsletters, podcasts, business publications and magazines or scientific journals.
Get the most from your industry association: Most professional associations provide in-depth literature lists and compile overviews of the latest research done in their fields. They often offer valuable seminars and workshops to members.
Find a mentor: Life lessons frequently offer more value than theory. Talk to an accomplished professional in your field ideally about 15 years your senior. Build a mentoring relationship, learn from his or her experience and bounce off your ideas.
Talk to your employer: Most employers understand that continuing education give their staff and ultimately their companies competitive advantages. They may offer financial support or pay for time taken off for studying.
How to use social media participation to turn your employees into ambassadors for your own brand
This article appeared as part of my quarterly column in the HR supplement of Business In Vancouver (July 14 – 20, 2009; issue 1029).
The emergence of social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter has created a critical mass of users who are voicing their opinions online. With distinct online personas, individuals are not only more connected than ever before, they also have started to play a much more distinct role as consumers. User-generated business directories such as Yelp are evidence of who is really in control of brand perception. In an effort to stay connected with their customers, many companies were quick to adapt to this new reality by creating corporate profiles and engaging in social media marketing to build online communities and increase brand visibility. However, the emergence of social media has caused a paradigm shift in the field of corporate marketing and communication: Companies are no longer in full control of how their products and services are being perceived. In the age of Yelp, a brand is only as strong as the most recent user-generated review. Social media participation has become a key to the new reality of corporate branding and communication.
In its recently published Social Media Survey, Vancouver’s 6S Marketing Inc. claims that every second blogger in Canada runs a business blog. One third of these post on both personal and professional topics. The lines between public and private, personal and professional have become more and more blurred; with Generation Y joining the workforce, this trend can only intensify. While some companies have not yet formulated specific rules for social media participation, others have restricted their employees’ access to social media websites during work hours. From a corporate perspective, there are valid reasons to fear employee participation in social media platforms. Most concerns circle around legal uncertainties and worries of inappropriate comments made about the company. This risk-focused approach, however, ignores that employees are often the biggest brand enthusiasts of their own company. Such employees will naturally act as their employer’s ambassadors when participating in social media. Raving employees have the power to create an online buzz around a company that will help raise brand recognition while marketing their company as a desirable place to work.
To ensure that both employers and employees are clear on each other’s expectations with regard to social media participation, and to protect both the company and the employee, guidelines are essential. IBM and Intel are two prominent companies that have successfully developed social media policies that allow their employees to be active online participants. In the case of IBM, a blogging policy was drafted for all employees to discuss internally. After a quick corporate review and final edit, it found approval from legal. When Intel recently announced its new social media approach by publicly posting its guidelines online, the company received raving responses from the blogosphere and was praised for its commitment to employee empowerment. Not only does Intel allow workers to use social media for work purposes, it even encourages them to truly be themselves while doing so. The online buzz IBM and Intel employees have successively created speaks for itself and only suggests what enormous branding and marketing potential is to be unravelled by supporting employee participation in social media. And what can be more exciting from an employer’s perspective than turning your employees into ambassadors for your own company and brand?
Job interview: know how to “wow”
So, you’ve decided to apply for that really awesome job. You’ve managed to impress the hiring manager or recruiter in the preliminary phone screening. “Half way there!”, you might think. Think again. Few job seekers understand that the job interview is where the selection process really begins. Until now, all your desired future employer knows about you are your work history and your educational background. They may have gone as far as to glance at your volunteer experience and hobbies – but don’t take that for granted. On paper, you look like a viable candidate but so do all the others that have also been called for an interview. And chances are the competition is fierce, now that more people are in the market.
Now how do you make it into the round of finalists? A great way to start is by learning from the mistakes your competitors will make. A shockingly large number of candidates simply don’t prepare properly for the job interview. Most companies use behaviour-based interviewing styles in which the interviewer follows the mindset that past behaviour predicts future behaviour. The core of a behaviour-based interview is a set of questions where you are being asked to come up with specific examples. For instance, an interviewer might ask you to tell them about a situation where you had to deal with a particlularly difficult customer. The question is open and invites for rambling on and on. This is exactly what you don’t want to do. Instead, focus on answering any behaviour-based question within 2-3 minutes by following three simples steps:
1. Describe the situation.
2. Describe what actions you took.
3. Explain the results your actions had.
Regardless of the actual content of a behaviour-based interview question, the interviewer will always listen for how you approach a question. Don’t be shy about being specific. The more focused and specific your example, the better. Sure, it’s easy to simply start talking about a topic in generic terms. Try to refrain from falling into that trap. If you need to, take a moment to think about a question.
Behaviour-based interview questions is no secret. An interviewer will very likely formulate questions that key in on those requirements that have already been outlined in the job description. Read the job description thoroughly and think about examples from your experience where you displayed the competencies and qualities the ad is asking for. In addition, try to do some research on your prospect employer. What is known about their work culture? Are there any blogs where (former) employees unveil the unique corporate culture? If you’re applying with a larger organization, take a close look at how the company brands itself on their career and recruiting sites. Preparing yourself for an interview by thinking about situations where you have shown a certain behaviour that is of importance for a position will give you a remarkable advantage compared to other candidates.
Upcoming presentation at HAPPEN Vancouver
I will have the pleasure to be speaking at HAPPEN Vancouver on Tuesday, March 10th about how to make working with a recruiter as effective as possible. HAPPEN is a national networking organization dedicated to bringing together mid to senior-level managers and executives to minimize the time they spend in job transition.
To register for the meeting, please contact Dawna Jones. Happen is a member-based organization. Tickets are $10 for members and $10 for non-members during their first visit.
How a positive, high performance culture will boost organizational profitability
This article appeared as part of my quarterly column in the HR supplement of Business In Vancouver (April 21-27, 2009; issue 1017).
When asked about the reasons for leaving previous employers, a stunning majority of successful high potential candidates come up with an answer that is linked to the lack of a positive corporate culture that values and drives high performance. Surprisingly, money is rarely the main reason why we don’t feel content with our work. More than anything else, it is a question of whether we feel that we are truly a part of our organization and are being valued for the work we are so passionate about. Those of us who are not only successful but also happy with our jobs have a feeling that is more powerful than anything else in the relationship between corporations and employees: We identify ourselves with our work, our team, and our company. Not only is the mere existence of a good organizational culture key to attracting and retaining high performing employees. It also determines just how efficient and profitable each employee will be in their role. The level to which employees are engaged in a positive, high performance culture is a powerful indicator of a company’s overall profitability.
Strong corporate cultures are not built in a day. They are the results of constant, committed organizational activities which function both bottom-up as well as top-down. They can only work when everyone in the organization is on the same page and headed into the same direction. Profitability is an expression for economic efficiency and requires organizational efficiency, which ultimately means individual efficiency. This is common sense for anyone who is in a position that has revenue creation as its core purpose. However, when looking at all functional layers in an organization, not everyone is as focused on the bottom line as the company’s leadership team. The disconnect takes place wherever employees are in roles that do not directly impact the performance of the business. The challenge is to create a high performance culture where each employee, regardless of their actual role, is aware of their individual contribution to overall growth.
In order to create a high performance culture, performance management needs to be incorporated at all staff levels. Whether looking at administrative functions or sales roles – the journey starts with identifying high, yet attainable goals. Economically successful companies are also successful in creating a culture that supports innovative activities through empowerment and recognition. While profit is the fuel for a company on its road to success, recognition is what drives most employees. One key element when setting up a performance management structure is to be unmistakably clear on exactly how each employee’s performance will be measured. This lays out a solid game plan that will allow monitoring the progress. Motivation and ongoing employee engagement will help along the way. Recognition doesn’t have to be monetary; the options can range from tangible rewards to out-of-office activities that involve the whole team.
Clearly defined performance measures ensure that each individual understands their contribution to the entire organization’s success. Positive motivation and active engagement are key to a culture that celebrates success and produces high performance. The current economy provides an excellent opportunity for companies to take a fair look at their corporate culture and realign measures and recognition systems. A culture where employees are passionate about performing at their very best every day ultimately results in higher economic profitability.
Interview on the Bill Good Show
I was very honoured to be on CKNW’s Bill Good Show today in order to speak about the challenges companies are facing during the current recession from an HR perspective. The interview coincided with my article being published in this week’s HR supplement of Business in Vancouver. To listen to the show click here, select January 27th, 11am and fast forward to minute 34.
Go put your strengths to work!
What comes to mind when you think about your last performace review? If your or your employees weaknesses was the main topic of the discussion, you are not alone. Marcus Buckingham – co-author of the groundbreaking ”First, break all the rules” shows that the majority of employees believe that they need to improve on their weaknesses in order to become more successful in their jobs. At the same time, only 17% of all employees feel that they truly utilize all their strengths in their jobs. The result is a vast number of companies that underutilize their employees potentials and a shockingly large number of employees who don’t feel content with what their jobs.
In his book “Go put your strengths to work” Buckingham has developed a concept that offers unprecedented advice to employers and employees alike. His key idea is that individuals need to focus much more on their strengths rather than spending their energy on improving on their weaknesses.
A great way to get right into Buckingham’s strength concept is to check out a recent workshop he produced with Oprah. Eight sessions – around 20 minutes each – to put on your iPod and your gym warm-up will go by in no time!
Retain, hire, empower – progressive HR strategies are make or break factors in a challenging economy
This article was published in Business in Vancouver on January 27th, 2009.
The economic uncertainty that followed the melt-down of the major financial markets has left businesses looking nervously at their bottom line. In the face of shrinking revenues, many companies are considering radically cutting costs in order to stay competitive. Throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, a significant number of companies are experiencing a hiring slow-down, if not a complete hiring freeze. While some are expecting a full-blown recession, others are hoping for the upcoming 2010 Olympics to continue to drive business, and are calling on the relatively large number of innovative entrepreneurs in the Lower Mainland to help withstand this crisis. Whatever the economic turmoil will bring in the long run, whatever its true nature, this is the time to re-assess how to handle your most valuable asset – your human capital. It is your ability to retain and attract the best talent which might easily become the single most decisive factor in determining how well you will weather this economic crisis. Here are a few ideas on how to get a head start:
- Retain your top talent
The good news is, top talent becomes hesitant to move in tough economic times. But don’t take your employee’s loyalty for granted. Smart employees will ensure they have an exit strategy, and will likely take precautions to find something more stable and rewarding. It is important to understand how your best employees react to slower economic times. It is a tremendous challenge to retain those employees that will make your business thrive in times of economic uncertainty. But not only do you want to retain your top people, you also want to reassure your staff that your company is stable, and set up to succeed in this market. The reality of putting hiring activities on hold or drastically cutting jobs means that serious problems will arise down the road when times are again calling for an expansion of your work force. Companies do not only lose appeal as employers if they lay off workers or freeze hiring. They may also limit their ability to develop future leaders.
- Think carefully when you have to dismiss
Tough times can call for unpopular measures and dismissing part of your workforce might become inevitable for the survival of your business. Make sure to focus on assessing performance records as opposed to strictly looking at job costing. The average cost to replace an employee can range anywhere between 30% and 150% of the employee’s annual salary. This clearly illustrates the negative financial impact of employee turnover and should be taken into consideration before radically cutting jobs. What might look like an instant quick fix can become very costly on a long-term basis.
- Go and shop for new talent
Use your competition’s mistakes to your advantage: A lot of them might not be able to retain their most talented people. This is a great time to shop for new talent. The credit crisis has produced exceptional buying opportunities. This concept can easily be translated into the labour market, now that top performers who were previously out of reach are eager to have an exit strategy in place, and become more receptive to new opportunities. Hiring during economic turmoil will also increase your employees’ confidence while setting you up to be way ahead of your competition once the economic circumstances become more favourable again.
- Empower your staff
While there is no doubt about the seriousness of the economic downturn, we are also looking at immense opportunities. Economic challenges come with their own set of rules, and smart businesses recognize that this is a time to gain market share. In order to get ahead of your competition, you need to make sure that you have your whole team pulling in the same direction. Implementing a “war room” culture to actively tackle your competition and empowering your staff to come up with innovative ideas will drive your business and uncover new opportunities. With an empowered team you will gain ground in this market and set yourself apart from your competition.
Attracting new talent will be the natural outcome of a culture that doesn’t see human capital as part of the balance sheet, but as an investment. If done right, an HR strategy that focuses on investing in your strongest assets while implementing a culture of empowerment will help you gain the trust of your employees. Following the law of attraction you will be able to choose from top talent who want to join a winning team. Not only will this strategy help you to successfully navigate through the current storm, it will also ensure that you will be well ahead of your competition once the markets turn around again.
