Keep the Keepers
November 11, 2008
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How is your call center attrition? Here is an article by Don Blohowiak on employee turnover.
Some businesses churn through more than 100% or even 200% of their employee base every year. Others have almost no turnover.
What's the right turnover rate for your payroll?
Even in notoriously high turnover industries, some operators always manage to have a much lower attrition rate (and much better profits).
So again, what's the right turnover rate when it comes to your employees?
The answer is twofold: 0 percent and 100 percent.
You should lose zero percent of the people you want to keep. And you should happily release 100 percent of the people you'd rather lose.
Here's the short course on hitting those numbers.
To get rid of your clunkers, fire them sooner rather than later. You're miserable. They're miserable. Why prolong the agony?
To keep the good ones, pay competitively, but more importantly, be a boss who's hard to leave.
Lead Well® helps organizations to improve measurable results by developing their current and future leaders. For more information, please contact us. By phone, toll-free in the USA: 1-888-LeadWell (532-3935), or 1-609-716-9490. By email, Info@LeadWell.com.
Don Blohowiak, a management consultant and popular conference speaker, is the author of several business books. The executive director of the Lead Well® Institute in Princeton, NJ, he may be reached at http://www.LeadWell.com/.
The Blame Game
October 20, 2008
Here is an article by Roberta Matuson that touches on a subject near and dear to call center managers: employee retention
Lately people have been talking about the increase in employee turnover in their organizations. Here are their responses when asked why they believe this is so. We call this the Blame Game.
- It was simply a bad batch of new hires - If only this were true. Could it be possible that something has changed in your organization? Have the needs of the organization changed but the hiring profile has stayed the same? Have you stopped holding managers accountable for their hiring decisions? Are you failing to provide interviewing training for newly promoted or hired managers?
- The employees we hired were the best of the bunch - If that is truly the case, it's time to begin thinking about ways to increase applicant flow so you have more choices. There are a number of things that can be done regardless of budget. The solution may be as simple as asking your employees for referrals. Or perhaps your needs may require a more strategic approach.
- If they stay for a year we will have gotten our money's worth - Would your stakeholders agree if they knew how much the company is losing whenever an employee walks out the door? Begin by quantifying the cost of replacing an employee when someone leaves your organization. Do you still believe you have gotten your money's worth?
- This is the best we can hire given our pay ranges - Granted, money is usually not the main reason employees leave their jobs. However, let's be real. People want to be adequately compensated for their efforts. If employees are continually leaving your firm for more money, then it's time to look at reallocating resources. You can probably survive if you don't replace the three-year old copy machine in the mailroom with a model that costs significantly more. Take the money saved and reallocate it to your merit budget.
- These are only entry-level positions, so who cares? Your customers care, so maybe you should as well. Companies spare no expenses when it comes to hiring their executives, yet so little is invested when hiring frontline people like cashiers, bank tellers, and receptionists. Clients communicate with these people more often than with the CFO. In many cases, these employees are the only people customers interact with. Perhaps it's time to rethink your position on the hiring of entry-level personnel.
- Our turnover has always been high - Congratulations for maintaining your position. Maybe it's time to give someone else an opportunity to take home the award for high turnover. Right now you've got a bunch of employees in your organization who are thinking about leaving. If you want to keep these people, you must find the root causes of their dissatisfaction. The best way to do so is to ask employees why they are considering leaving. Retention surveys are a great way to quickly gather this information. It's no secret that employees will respond more honestly when this is done by an outside firm, so don't even think about attempting this on your own.
- Even though employee turnover at our company is 40% we are still below the industry average - Would you be so accepting if this year's revenues were down by 40%, even if it were a little better than the industry average? Of course not. You'd be bringing in teams of people to get you out of this tailspin. You can begin to pull yourself away from the pack by paying attention to factors, like employee fit and well-trained managers, which are key contributors to employee retention. Don't know how to approach this? Call in an expert.
- If it doesn't work out, we can always replace these people - Yes, but at what cost? Will your most valued clients hang around while you replace their main contact person for the third time this year? Do you have the resources to source for new candidates or have these people left as well? Consistency is key for most organizations and it's impossible to retain if your workforce is in a constant state of change.
- We don't have the staff to address this issue right now - You cannot afford to wait. You don't have to go this alone. Bring in an expert who can design a strategy and implement a program that will help you prevent this situation from happening time and time again.
- It's no big deal - If this were not a big deal, you wouldn't have finished reading this article. This problem can be fixed if you are open to making changes. What do you have to lose?
It's easy to place blame for employee turnover on all of these factors. However, this approach doesn't position you well to win the game on customer satisfaction, employee retention, and increased profitability. It's your move.
About Roberta Matuson
Roberta Matuson is an expert at creating intergenerational harmony at work. She's President of Human Resource Solutions, a firm that provides consulting and training to resolve intergenerational conflicts and help companies capitalize on the unique generational perspectives of their workforce. She has appeared on FOX's "The O'Reilly Factor" and has been quoted in The New York Times, Boston Globe, and many other national business publications.
Phone Interview Tips - How to Make a Good Impression During a Phone Interview
October 11, 2008
Downsizing and turnover can happen at any time in any industry. Call Centers unfortunately are not exempt from downsizing. Here are a few tips from David Hults about making a good impression during phone interviews.
As the workplace becomes more intense, with more challenges to complete in a shorter amount of time, companies are looking for faster approaches to sifting through the volumes of resumes received for each recruited position. They have found one way to do that with the phone interview. After reviewing the resume for the minimum requirements, they set up a phone interview to eliminate additional candidates and bring the group to a manageable size. And, this is the intent…to eliminate candidates. So how do you stay in the running?
Sarah had not been in the job market for seven years when a re-organization eliminated her position. She was not prepared to begin a career search. She could not even begin to think through how to engage in an interview or sell herself to another employer. She was a bit distraught because she had been exposed to several phone interviews, but nothing seemed to be working.
At first, Sarah found phone interviews easy. She did not have to dress professionally to meet with the interviewer and she did not have to drive to their location. Also, she found that she could work on other things while she talked with the interviewer. On one occasion she even had a sick child at home, and, although that was a little distracting, she thought she handled the interview well. However, she never received a call back. Sarah knew she had to approach this important interview differently, but just did not know how to get started.
To begin, Sarah had to understand that the interviewer had already looked at her technical abilities and specific skill sets. Without meeting those minimum qualifications, Sarah would not have been invited to participate in a telephone interview. Sarah's challenge now was to tackle the interviewer's emotion and judgment about her fit to their culture. She needed to express how she fit by giving examples of her work ethic, habits and behaviors. Although it is hard to sell ourselves and get the interviewer to "like" us when we are not in front of them, it is not impossible to verbally show them charm, professionalism and how we can contribute.
Phone Interview Tip #1 - First, Sarah prepared and practiced for each interview just as she would have done for any in-person interview.
She researched the company and her strategy in answering various interview questions. She thought through how she would talk about the needs of the interviewer as well as her own needs. Sarah made sure her answers and examples were short and concise. She wanted to get right to the point since she did not always know how much time she would have to prove she was the right candidate.
She eliminated any distracting background noise such as children playing, dogs barking, or neighbors mowing their lawn by closing herself off in a quiet interior room. She also turned off her cell phone so it would not interrupt the interview.
She listened intently to the question being asked to be sure that she addressed it without getting distracted on another subject or idea. Sarah identified work habits and characteristics that set her apart from other candidates and communicated them to the interviewer. She knew it was important to relate her relevance to the company and their needs early on.
Phone Interview Tip #4 - When Sarah communicated with the interviewer, she showed enthusiasm in her voice when talking about the job, their company or the industry.
Sometimes Sarah would walk around the room during the interview to keep her energy up. Initially, when she was too relaxed, she would talk about information that was not always relevant - about failure or weaknesses. So staying enthusiastic and keeping her focus on her contribution to the position was key. Sarah also learned to brag a little about her accomplishments and show the interviewer that she was a good fit for their culture.
Preparing for each telephone interview as you would an in-person interview will show polish and professionalism. Keeping your focus on the questions and how you fit the position will make you stand out from other candidates. Be prepared…your first impression, even if only a verbal one, is still a lasting impression.
David Hults author of the book "From Cornered To Corner Office" Overcoming the most unexpected obstacles that stand between you and your career dreams http://www.fromcorneredtocorneroffice.com
Self-Introduction is Your Key to Interview Success
October 11, 2008
Peter Fisher
Once you have been invited to an interview you must get ready to create the image of someone they will surely want to hire above all other job applicants. Everybody has an opinion as to how you do that, but what do you actually do and what do you say? Self-introduction is your key to interview success because you are starting from a baseline position where they have no experience of who you are or what you are like.
Yes, they should have read your resume and cover letter you sent in, but that only gave them enough for them to want to see you in person. Now you are going to meet the hiring manager in person, you have a one-off make or break opportunity to get them to see you as the only person they want to employ.
As you know, interviewers will often rely heavily on their first impressions, to the extent that the interview becomes merely a confirmation of that first impression, either good or bad. So if self-introduction is your key to interview success, the first and most important aim is to create a positive first impression. Everybody has an opinion as to how you do that: look 'em in the eye, give 'em a firm handshake, speak up and don't mumble; know your stuff. All good ideas, but what do you actually do and what do you say?
The way to create a favorable first impression is to be sure you appear confident and open. When you meet your interviewer for the first time, make eye-contact at the introduction and repeat the interviewer's name as you shake hands and thank them for inviting you to the interview. As you get seated, smile to indicate you are ready to get down to business.
What often follows is the invitation to 'tell them about yourself' which allows you to commence your self-introduction that is so important to your interview success. This is the phase where you develop the rapport that will carry you through to the positive outcome at the end of the interview.
Because self-introduction is your key to interview success, you must have previously prepared exactly what you are going to say. This is not some lengthy story about your life, but a short focused statement that sounds interesting to the listener. You make it interesting by keeping it short (less than 3 minutes) and by showing that you are interested in both the job and the organization. This means you need to do some research about the business beforehand.
In your self-introduction you will include some examples of your strengths and achievements which relate directly to the requirements of the new job. This must also demonstrate your personal qualities that you apply when you are doing the job because the type of person you are is often far more important then just having the ability to do a job.
The way you outline your self-introduction, in particular the way you speak, tells the interviewer whether you are confident in your abilities so you must rehearse it well, but don't try to be what you are clearly not - you'll only be found out at a later date. Get a friend to listen to your self-introduction with a critical ear, because if it sounds false it will set the alarm bells ringing with the interviewer who will detect that it is not the real you and destroy the rapport you were building up. Practice speaking faster or more slowly, louder or quietly and try to vary it throughout.
The answer is that the interviewer needs to identify the best candidate to hire, whilst keeping the costs to a minimum and the fewer people interviewed the better. The need is also for the person who appears to be the best 'fit' in terms of both personality and technical ability. Also remember that they may need to justify their decision to hire you, to someone higher!
Prepared well, this self-introduction is your key to interview success because it helps to create that all-important first impression, helps you to build the rapport with the interviewer and satisfies the questions about whether you are the sort of person who will fit in to the organization successfully.
HIRING EMPLOYEES – YOU MUST TAKE A FEW CHANCES
September 22, 2008
This article by Dr. Dewett take a look at hiring with a different light. Please take a few minutes to read the article and see if what you can take back to your call center.
Hiring: so vital but so often neglected. One of the most neglected aspects of hiring is honesty. After you have amassed a huge pile of applications, selected a few to interview and initiated contact – do not feed them a line. It is called a realistic job preview and there is evidence that using them helps reduce unmet expectations after someone accepts the job. It is a nice hedge against turnover.
The “job preview” part is not a problem for most firms. They are accurate in describing the specific duties the person will be asked to complete on a regular basis. It’s the “realistic” part that causes some fumbles. Assuming that no workplace is perfect – I am sure you will agree that is true – you need to tell them not just about the job, but life in general inside the organization. Including some of the warts. I recall an internship I took during my time in business school. I was interviewing with the President of a small software firm. He was trying to impress upon me how frugal the firm was in an effort to manage their cash flow.
At one point he told me to follow him out of his office and into the men’s restroom. As the door opened and a foul odor smacked me in the face he said, “See, the floors are dirty and the urinal stinks. You sure you want to work here?” I did, and thanks to his honesty and candor, there were no big surprises. I knew exactly what I was getting into. Do the same for your candidates.
Down to decision time. Several people have been interviewed and it is time to choose a new colleague. Who do you pick? I like to think about the Safe One, the Superstar and the Rabble-Rouser. If there are enough people involved in the decision making process, my experience tells me that the Safe One usually wins. This is the person who is qualified, though not necessarily the most qualified. He has a nice demeanor and is not obviously a jerk. He likely ranked second or third for many of the people voting in the process.
Safe play, but not likely a superstar. This guy often wins because the Superstar scares people. We won’t be able to afford him. We won’t be able to make him happy and keep him. Secretly, a few think to themselves, “He’ll make me look bad.” Assuming he is also not an obvious jerk, he often loses for these very reasons. Nice job embracing mediocrity. Without a few superstars your organization will not be a superstar. It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all – at least I believe that. If you get burned one too many times by a Superstar, fine, revisit the issue – until then go for the very best one you can get and enjoy the ride.
Finally, we have the Rabble-Rouser. This is a guy with sufficient, if not strong, credentials who is most unlike the prototypical employee currently in the group. He looks different, has a very different educational or professional background, communicates with a different style, dresses differently, who knows. Most people flee from the Rabble-Rouser as someone who simply “will not fit in.” People think they will somehow upset the group’s dynamic. This must be true since they did not fit the norms that were expected during the interview!
The simple point is that sometimes the group’s dynamic needs to be upset. Unlike the Superstar, the Rabble-Rouser has a shot to really improve the place, not due to his wealth of relevant experience, but due to his novel perspectives. At least 5% of your new hires should be Rabble-Rousers. They are an investment in new thinking, an insurance policy against the status quo getting to far out of hand.
Here is a challenge. Do a little analysis of the folks you have hired recently in your organization. Classify each as a Superstar, Safe One or Rabble-Rouser. If you come up with no Superstars and no Rabble-Rousers is it any surprise you have not hit the homeruns you have been dreaming about? Having a lot of Safe Ones is just fine (and often unavoidable, talent is difficult to find). They are good people with good skills – maybe even great personalities that add positively to the group’s culture.
But they should not be a dominant majority. No amount of Safe Ones ever radically changed a company for the better. That is a job for Superstars and Rabble-Rousers. So next time you are lamenting the high price of the Superstar or the ambiguity and risk associated with the Rabble-Rouser, consider this: hiring someone is easy, getting rid of them is often far more difficult. Sadly, we do not have a crystal ball so we cannot predict perfectly how things will turn out. Some Safe Ones and Rabble-Rousers, and possibly some Superstars, might not work out.
Assuming they do not leave or get fired, they can turn into the highly undesirable Dead Weight employee. That is the employee who for whatever reason is an underperformer, for whom no amount of coaching or training will ever help. I do not like to admit it, but pressed, I will. Dead Weight is not completely avoidable, but you can hedge your bet by striving for a few Superstars and Rabble-Rousers.
Article Source: http://www.leadershiparticles.net
Dr. Dewett is a business professor, author, consultant and speaker specializing in leadership and organizational life. As quoted in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, the Chicago Tribune, MSNBC and elsewhere. His new book is Leadership Redefined. Find out more at drdewett.com. Copyright 2008 TVA Inc.
Leadership Tips — When Smart is not Enough
August 23, 2008
I imagine that this type of employee can be found in all walks of life, but I can picture one or two call center employees that match the profile Tom writes about below. Enjoy the article!
By Tom O'Dea
You Know It
Your employees know it too. Your clients really know it. You’ve got one employee whose technical knowledge is unsurpassed. He (or she—for today we’ll make him male) understands your systems better than anyone else. When something breaks, no one can fix it faster. When new capabilities are required by clients, he knows how to build them in.
Everyone knows how smart he is, and everyone dreads working with the guy. His interpersonal skills are the polar opposite of his technical skills. He shows no patience for those who don’t understand technology like he does. If someone challenges or disagrees with him, he becomes argumentative and even insulting.
Your gut is telling you this guy has got to go. But he’s saved your bacon so many times. Clients need new capabilities and you suspect your staff can’t step up to the challenge yet. What if something breaks the day after you let him go? What if he ends up with your competitor? What should you do?
Trust Your Gut
Let him go.
Within a few days after you let this guy go, you will see a dramatic change in your team. They may not instantly replace the loss of knowledge. They will very quickly start having different conversations, and from there the team will grow. They will develop their own expertise; they will work directly with your clients and improve those relationships.
Communicate Openly
Technical expertise can be replaced and it can be developed, though it may not happen overnight. Behavior problems permeate staff, colleagues and clients. Most people will respond when taught good business behaviors, but those who do not must go.
You would not tolerate a single point of failure in your technology. Don’t let it happen in your people.
The organization that isn't changing is dying. For more leadership ideas, along with strategies for managing change, visit
Tom O'Dea has over 30 years of IT experience, with 20 years of senior leadership in IT and Professional Services with multibillion dollar corporations.
Resume Writing Success - The Ten Most Common Strategic Blunders People Make On Their Resume
August 21, 2008
By Jay Edwards
A resume is essential when looking for a job. If you don’t believe me, try conducting your job search without one. Even if your lucky enough get an interview without a resume, you will be faced with explaining why you do not have one when someone ask you for your resume at the interview. More than ever before, employers require resumes. And, more than ever before, employers will use your resume to determine whether not to grant you an interview.
An attractive, strategically sound resume can speed you along on your job search. But beware, there are strategic blunders that you can make on your resume that will hinder your job search and, in some cases, bring it to a screeching halt. With today’s technology, nearly everyone has an attractive print shop quality resume. However, the keys to an exceptional resume do not lie in the appearance, but in content and organization, i.e. strategy. How important is resume strategy? I have witnessed qualified clients who went literally from zero interviews to more interviews than they could handle by changing nothing more than their resume content and organization. If you want to get the most out of your resume, you need to come up with a resume strategy that will work best for you in your particular situation. Also, you must avoid the strategic pitfalls that every resume writer needs to be aware.
Day in and day out, I help people evaluate their resume strategies, and after more than 19 years of taking note of such things, here are the ten (in no particular order) most common strategic blunders I have seen people make on their resume:
1. Being less than a straight shooter. I am more than a little surprised by the number of clients I work with who want to include exaggeration or lies in their resume strategy. Their reasoning is that everyone lies on their resume — that is how you get ahead. Don’t believe it! There is no surer way to put limits on a career than building it on something less than the truth. By lying, you may experience some short term success, but the higher up you, go the more vulnerable you will be to exposure. Companies can tolerate some dings, nicks, and shortcomings in your past far more than they can tolerate being deceived or lied to. The higher up you go, the more thoroughly you will be investigated. Also, at the higher levels, you will run into remarkably skilled interviewers who know how to ferret out half-truths, lies and deceit.
Following old, outdated, and inappropriate advice. One of the most common and most damaging mistakes you can make on your resume is to continue to use the advice from your college career advisors long after it is relevant. They probably told you to, "Keep it to one page! Use short bulleted phrases! Start each sentence and phrase with an action verb!" This strategy may have worked when you were 22 years old with little or no work experience, but this advice has an extremely short shelf-life once your career is under way. Once you get some experience under your belt, you can probably throw your college resume away.
Blindly following absolute rules. The first rule of good resume writing is that there are no absolutes. Any rules you have heard about resume writing can be broken if you have a compelling reason for doing so. There are resume writing guidelines that have evolved for practical reasons, but they are simply guidelines, not absolute rules. If you are getting advice that resumes should always be formatted one way or another, or should always be a certain length, or always contain or omit certain information, take this advice with a grain of salt. Effective resume strategy precludes the limitations of absolute rules.
Using gimmicks to get noticed. A resume is first of all a business document. Being outrageous to get noticed works against a qualified candidate. Employer’s value professionalism over flashiness. You can dismiss any claims to mysteries, secrets, or tricks that will get your resume noticed or read. Like with all forms of print advertising it comes down to content and organization.
Inappropriate style for your industry. Many industries have evolved their own distinctive resume style. If you don’t want to look like an outsider, you need the right resume for your area of expertise. Resumes in some professions may be credentials based, while other professions may have higher regard for hands-on experience. Professions frequently have their own jargon and set of buzz words. Here is a partial list of professional areas with their own clear stylistic variations: technical; legal; finance; medical; academic; entertainment; consulting; art/music/TV/film.
Being overly broad. While I can certainly understand being open to a variety of positions, you can not come across as if you haven’t a clue about what kind of job you want. Resumes that give no direction at all are generally useless. If you don’t know what you are good at or what you want, you cannot expect a potential employer to figure it out for you.
Failure to let loose. If you have a hard time writing good things about yourself, get some help. Your resume needs to be as persuasive as you can possibly make it. You are expected put your best foot forward on your resume. Employers have no problem with that as long as you are not telling them a bunch of lies.
Failure to have a Headline: A Profile/Summary/Highlights section at the top of the resume. Your resume should start out, in as few lines as possible, by telling the reader why he or she should be interested in you. Don’t let any narrow-minded resume traditionalist talk you into leaving this out of your resume. There are many reasons for this strategy, and two compelling are: 1) It gives the potential employer a quick snapshot of the person submitting the resume. They know right away where you are coming from, and have a good idea of what you have to offer them. They can then read the rest of the resume to see if your claims are credible. 2) It gives you an opportunity to generate interest by presenting your skills, abilities and accomplishments right at the top of the resume in the strongest possible terms.
Failure to include accomplishments — both tangible and intangible. The quickest and easiest way to improve your resume is add accomplishments. It indicates that you have done things right in the past and, therefore, are likely to do things right in the future. If you have been working for some time in an area where results are quantifiable and verifiable, such as sales, your failure to include accomplishments will be conspicuous by its absence. Some jobs may not be quantifiable, but you can still include intangible accomplishments. This might include participation in projects, improving operations, formal recognition, etc.
Including negative information. You control what goes in your resume and what does not go in your resume. Though everything that is in your resume needs to be accurate, you do not have to put everything in your resume. To the point: you do not have to include information that can harm you. I like to call this "strategic omissions." For example, if you have significant gaps in your work history, there is no rule that you must put dates of employment on the resume. Will this raise some eyebrows and cause you to lose some interviews? Possibly, but you will you have to decide which is more harmful, to include the dates or omit them. Other common areas for strategic omissions are brief periods of employment, jobs out of your field, jobs held more than 10 years ago, and date of graduation.
For an effective hard hitting, marketing approach to the job search check out www.squidoo.com/003jobsearchtoolbox
Resume Power Words You Need To Use
August 20, 2008
By Victoria Clarkson
Resumes are often difficult for people to write. Attempting to list your experience, qualifications and educational background all condensed into a single page can seem almost impossible. With such limited space it is important that each point listed on your resume lets your potential employer know exactly why they should consider you for the position. To achieve this, certain resume power words should be used.
A power word is a term given to a verb that has been shown to give a positive effect when included on your resume. Many employers will receive dozens, sometimes hundreds of applications for any advertised position. In such cases most resumes received will be quickly scanned in order to create a short list for further consideration. You will want your resume to stand out by using strong, action oriented words and phrases that will catch any employers attention.
When writing your resume it is recommended to list your details in bullet or point form with each statement beginning with a resume power word. This shows you to be an action oriented person who can communicate clearly and effectively.
Below is an alphabetical listing of some resume power words you should try to include in your application.
- accomplished, achieved, advised, acquired, analyzed, augmented, administered.
- briefed, broadened, brought, built.
- communicated, compiled, completed, conceived, conducted, converted, coordinated, corrected, created.
- defined, delegated, delivered, designed, developed, devised, diagnosed, directed, drafted.
- effected, eliminated, endorsed, enlisted, established, evaluated, executed, expanded, explored, extended.
- focused, formulated, founded.
- generated, graded, guided.
- handled, helped. identified, implemented, incorporated, indexed, initiated, innovated, installed, instituted, .
- learned, leased, led, listed logged.
- maintained, managed, measured, mediated, monitored, motivated.
- navigated, negotiated.
- observed, operated, ordered, oversaw.
- performed, persuaded, presented, procured, programmed, promoted, proposed, published, pursued.
- qualified, questioned.
- raised, rated, recommended, reconciled, recruited, researched, resolved, restored, reviewed, revised.
- scheduled, serviced, shaped, simplified, submitted, succeeded, suggested, summarized, supervised.
- tackled, targeted, taught, tested, tracked, trained, transformed, tutored.
- uncovered, understood, unified, updated, upgraded, utilized.
- verbalized, verified, visited.
- waged weighed widened won worked wrote.
It should be noted that you should not repeat the same power word or phrase over and over again within your resume. Also, you will need to choose your words and phrases carefully so that they accurately convey your key skills and qualities.
Victoria Clarkson is a Human Resources Specialist. She shares some important information on resume power words as well as her best tips and ideas on cover letters and job interviews at her site www.MakeYourResume.org.
Is Employee Turnover Killing Your Business?
August 9, 2008
By Joseph Skursky
The high cost of employee turnover is a disease that can ruin an organization. Much like undetected cancer in an overtly healthy-looking person, it destroys from within. There are a number of reasons for this symptom, but for today we’ll tackle the hiring process.
Hard Costs – They Add Up Quickly
A study evaluating the effects of the U. S. Family Medical Leave Act estimates the high cost of turnover for a manager can be as high as 150% of their annual salary. What costs are being evaluated?
• Advertising
• Recruiting fees
• Travel expenses for candidates and recruiters
• Relocation expenses
• Increased unemployment insurance costs
• Administration time – collecting resumes, scheduling interviews
• HR time – orientation, paperwork
• Management time – interviews, training & development
But It Doesn’t Stop There
Soft costs can be difficult to calculate with precision, but often overshadow hard costs. And the cost is more significant based on the critical nature of the position in question. Here are some general soft costs to consider:
• Intellectual property loss
• Loss of productivity during the ramp-up phase
• Morale issues
• Customer Satisfaction – the most important and often the most costly
Turning Around Turnover
It’s been said “Hire hard to manage easy.” Simple enough to quote but tough to follow through when you’re in the final two minutes and your team is down by a touchdown. And the smaller your organization, the more critical this issue becomes. Things like deadlines, mission critical processes, and business cash flow are heavily weighted factors.
Here’s a 5-step process to help you:
1. Match to the job – you cannot put a square peg in a round hole, so why try to make someone “fit” into a position? Pre-employment assessments are ideal to clarify what a “fit” really should be.
2. Structured process designed to screen out at each step – this requires a negative bias toward the hiring process (i.e. rather to pass on a questionable candidate than risk hiring a bad one). Example: One recent client solution was to measure the number of significant employment gaps in the initial resume screening narrowed from 21 to 8. Phone interviews further narrowed from 8 to 5, which were given pre-employment assessments prior to a personal interview.
3. 70/30 Rule – let the candidate do most of the talking. Too often hiring managers in desperate situations try to “sell” the candidates versus determining a clear match for the job. Consequently, they don’t learn enough about who they hire before it costs them.
4. Behavior-based interviewing – discover what they’ve done in the past (without “leading the witness”) to determine what they are likely to do in the future
5. Set yourself up with objectivity as the key ingredient – have an experienced 3rd party participate in the hiring process. This could be another hiring manager or a credible outside source.
Using this formula to recruit only the best candidates, you can prevent costly mistakes and gain a competitive edge.
Article Source: http://www.leadershiparticles.net
Joseph Skursky guarantees that his clients will hire top talent using proven effective interviewing solutions and assessments for recruiting. To discover how you can become more competitive, improve profits, and eliminate costly turnover, go to www.topgradetalent.com FREE Teleseminar – Dominate Your Marketplace, Part 1: Hiring Strategies from Resume to “You’re Hired” at www.topgradetalent.com/teleseminar.htm
Hiring and Retaining Good Employees
July 27, 2008
Hiring good employees is not only important to business, it’s essential
Employees are the heart and soul of a business; they are the mechanism that makes a business run; they are the breath of life that enables a business to be something more than an idea.
A business cannot run unless someone (employees, in this case) is doing the work. Any intelligent business owner should want good employees.
Hiring and Retaining Good Employees
Hiring good employees is not only important to business, it’s essential.
Employees are the heart and soul of a business; they are the mechanism that makes a business run; they are the breath of life that enables a business to be something more than an idea.
A business cannot run unless someone (employees, in this case) is doing the work. Any intelligent business owner should want good employees.
EMPLOYERS NOT THE ONLY ONES TO FEEL THE EFFECT
Bad employees not only affect an employer by driving down sales, costing the company unwanted expenses due to negligence or simple lack of motivation, etc, but they affect the customer as well.
Of course, once a customer has experienced a bad employee, it automatically affects the employer in obvious ways. Although this seems like common sense to most people, it is uncanny how most employers will overlook this fact, whether it’s because of time constraints to effectively deal with the problem or lack of better judgment.
Whatever the case, it is a fact that sales get driven down and production slowed for a reason.
That reason could very well be because of the customer’s lack of satisfaction with whatever service he or she had received and that lack of satisfaction stems from bad employees.
FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO START WITH
This is one of the most important things you, as an employer, can do.
Getting the right people into your company to start with gets things moving in the right direction at the very beginning.
According to Chairman and CEO, Hal F. Rosenbluth, and Consultant, Diane McFerrin Peters, of Rosenbluth International, the third-largest travel management company in the world, “Most of us choose our spouse with care and rear our children with nurturing and compassionate attention.
Yet, we tend to select the people who will join our company on the basis of an interview or two, and once they have joined, they often find that they must fend for themselves.
This contrast illustrates the disparity between the environments of family and work. But, given the amount of time we must spend at work, wouldn’t we all be happier if we took as much care at the office as at home to create a supportive environment?
Wouldn’t we also be far more successful?” (28).
The answer is yes.
THE CUSTOMER DOES NOT COME FIRST
It’s important to remember that if you want quality employees, your company must be of the same caliber.
If you expect to attract an employee who thrives to be as dedicated to the business as possible, doing more than what is expected, and putting forth 110% without any consideration being given to the employee’s personal needs, thoughts, and desires, you are truly fooling yourself.
And, eventually, your business will suffer for it.
It’s obvious to most, by now, that benefits and perks play a large part in attracting employees.
I need not explain the many benefits that a company should make available to attract a good employee because it should be common sense to most, by now.
I will say, however, that attaining a good employee must go much farther than just having a great set of benefits. After all, does a wonderful benefits package actually attract only good employees? Of course not. There must be more to it than that.
For the customer to be served with the best results humanly possible, a more modern approach to the theory of customer satisfaction must be realized which is that the customer should not come first; the employee should.
Therein in itself is one of the most successful ways to attract a good employee.
When a business puts its employees first, many things can happen. To begin with, the employee is happy.
If the employee is happy, the service that the employee provides to the customer will be far more outstanding than if he or she were not happy.
If the service is outstanding, the customer will be happy and that only spells successful results for the business.
This does not mean that an employer must wait hand and foot on the employee.
No, it simply means that careful consideration to what an employee thinks, wants, and suggests should be considered. Do not treat an employee as if he or she is a factory robot working on a clock.
Treat them as people. Treat them with respect by talking to them as people and not “talking down to them” as “employees”. In fact, a good idea would be to remove the term “employee” all together.
One successful company I know of refers to its employees as “associates”, thereby empowering their “associates” with a feeling of more respect and purpose.
EMPLOYEE LEADERSHIP AND FLEXIBILITY A MUST
An open, friendly atmosphere is a must in a workplace. Micro managing, as most already are aware of, is frowned upon.
This is for a reason. When a work environment is open enough for all employees to contribute and offer ideas and suggestions, without ridicule or negative response, this sparks creativity in an employee and, again, empowers them to contribute more to the business.
If everyone feels as though they are a part of the leadership process and not just a worker bee, they will have a satisfying feeling that can go a long way.
Micro managing completely kills this system.
An employer must be flexible. Does there really need to be a rigid schedule? Does lunchtime really need to take place at a specific time?
Who actually needs a clock to tell them when they are hungry? This line of thinking is what is needed in every faucet of business, as simple as it seems.
It makes an employee feel more like a human; it makes them feel as though the business respects them as a person and will put them first. Once that consideration is instilled in an employee’s mind, there isn’t anything that he or she wouldn’t do for a business.
And, when a person looks forward to waking up in the morning to begin working in a place where they feel management gives them respect and thinks highly of them, they will put forth the effort to show appreciation.
HIRE NICE PEOPLE
Experience and degrees are great ways of measuring employees’ qualifications and potential…but ask yourself, are they nice people?
A person can be the most qualified, educated, and experienced possible employee on the planet but if they have the personality of a wet paper bag or of a caged wolverine, it’s guaranteed they’re not going to do much for your business.
Those that have to work with them will be disgruntled on a daily bases and begin putting out a poor performance. The customers that receive service from them will be unhappy and I need not say what happens after that.
Hire nice people. Nice people can do wonders for a business. Sound picky? It is. But, when it comes to your business, can you afford not to be picky?
A nice person can learn anything. Nice people are pleasant to be around and are easy to teach. They are notoriously quick to learn.
So, even if your nice person does not have the skill set that you are looking for, one might consider the possibility of training.
Think about the potential, especially if nice people seem to be rare in your neck of the woods.
HOW DO YOU FIND NICE PEOPLE
This should be obvious. During the interview process, were they down-to- earth or were they focused solely on success, success, and more success?
As crazy as it may seem, the total, success driven fanatic may not be the best option.
Again, the person who seems more like a “person” would be the best candidate for hiring.
In the long run, they will make your business more successful because they would make the customer, as well as those that have to work with them, happier.
Conduct tests and unconventional interview methods. Why should an interview consist of one or two meetings in a stuffy room?
How can we really find out about a person that way? The answer is that we can’t. Instead, how about combining the stuffy office interview one day with another day of playing a game of softball with other, current employees, as Hal F. Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin tend to do within their company?
This would be great for company moral and, at the same time, provide a chance to see how the potential employee reacts in a team environment.
If the person is bent on nothing but winning and becomes angry when other teammates drop the ball or do not hit as far as they should, perhaps this person is not the best employee to have around.
Chances are that their performance on the softball field will reflect their performance in the office. (31-32).
Go for a drive. As again explained by Hal F. Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin Peters, the way a person drives an automobile says a lot about a person’s personality.
Are they overly aggressive and speed through traffic, weaving in an out of other cars, determined to get to the point of destination no matter what the cost?
Or, are they assertive drivers who consider the safety of their passengers and think of alternate routes when confronted with a traffic jam, focusing more on the drive than the destination? (31).
Which person would you rather have working for you? Which person would you rather have serving your customers? If you were a customer, which person would you rather have serving you?
Invite your new, potential employee to a company social event.
Are they the type of person that talks only of themselves and continuously brags about all of the wonderful things that he or she has done?
Do they even talk to anyone at all? These are the folks that either want to gain far more than they are willing to contribute or aren’t willing to gain or contribute.
These are the type of people that will bring your company down. So, some key points to consider thus far:
Consider your employees before your customers.
Not only will the employee put out a far better performance due to feeling respected, but your company will also build a reputation as being “the company to work for”, which will attract other, good employees.
Be flexible. Constraints in the office constrain creativity and work performance. Go for casual clothing, if possible. Let your employee decide when it’s time to eat and take a break.
Be flexible on your employee’s schedule, catering to his or her personal needs. The employee will show appreciation in return, by supplying a good output of production.
Hire nice people. Not one customer in the world, no matter what business you are in, enjoys service from someone with less-than-appreciative attitude.
And, your other employees will not enjoy working with them either, bringing down moral and production drastically. This kind of person will not be willing to strive at contributing to your company; they will strive to contribute only to themselves.
Consider the unconventional when interviewing an employee.
The more often you can set a scenario that a potential employee will not expect or could find to be an unusual method of interviewing, the better.
It will give you a chance to see what that person is really capable of, as a person.
RETAINING GOOD EMPLOYEES
As important as attracting good employees is, it is just as important to retain them.
As always, benefit packages help to retain employees. But, again, this is something that most people are already aware of. Sure, there will be those that will want to stay for the great benefits.
But, is that all you, as an employer, can offer? No.
After spending as much time as you should have in attracting good employees, it only makes sense that you would go to certain lengths to keep them.
Chances are, if you really attracted a good employee, it wasn’t just because of the benefits. And, chances are that your good employee will not stay just because of the benefits.
Benefits, although a positive force, are not the end all and can, at times, be a false sense of security to an employer. Not everyone develops his or her retention decision on a benefits package, at least not the smart employee.
LET THEM CHANGE IT UP NOW AND AGAIN
Let your people explore your company.
Don’t lock them into one, specific type of work, especially if they express desire to try other things.
In today’s job market, job-hoping, as it is known, is a regular occurrence. If you provide your employees with the chance to job-hop “within” your company, this is one way of keeping them there. Give them the opportunity to gain new experience, knowledge, and skills.
This will only enhance your company anyway, by having an employee that can do and handle more. It also increases confidence in the employee and makes their work more satisfying.
The United States military and civil services such as police and fire departments have already figured that one out. They call it cross-training and fleeting-up and it’s a great idea.
COMMUNICATION
Communicating is very important, not only in day to day business, but in retention as well.
People need to feel as though they have a grasp on what is going on within the company. They want to know where the company is going and how they will be part of that process.
They need to feel they are involved in the company. Being part of any planning processes, being able to contribute ideas for the company, and essentially being heard is all part of communication.
Again, this is emphasized in most of the U.S.’s military forces as well, even though they conduct themselves in more of a dictatorship.
Know why your people wanted to join your company in the first place and hone in on that.
Keep that priority of the employee in consideration, always acting on it and developing it, and the employee will want to continue that purpose with a strong sense.
Talk to your people. Not only should you get to know them, you should get to know what they continue to want and think.
And, don’t think for a minute that a person’s desires and thoughts on particular matters will be the same later down the road as they were when they first joined the organization.
Things change, including your employee’s thoughts and desires. Keep up with those changes.
Get feedback from your employee’s. Find out what they think is right and wrong with the company. Provide a feedback forum.
And, most importantly, act on the information you receive from this feedback.
