Social Profiling

Do you use social media to profile your job candidates? Is it even legal to do that? (these are not leading questions, I am actually curious).

It seems Social Media is here to stay. These multiple interactive platforms are an extension of one's personality that cannot be conveyed through a resume or interview. Unfortunately, people can also misrepresent themselves in these forums. People are still getting fired for saying things on Twitter or posting pictures on Facebook. There might be fringe subject matter that can be held against you in the workplace. If people know your political affiliations these things may be frowned upon at the water cooler (without you knowing it).

Do we still need resumes if we have LinkedIn?
Do we still need personality screening if we have Facebook?

Could social media participation actually benefit your job prospects? Maybe you have made meaningful professional introductions or have created a forum to share relevant industry information via social media. It  might be hard to imagine but your blog might actually give you a leg up in the hiring process?

Still many professionals are completing ruling out Social Media in their career development. There are still people who tip a few beers with the I-phone in hand and "tell us what they really think".

Is not a professional organization a collective of personalities? Do we not differentiate our company by the people who work for us. Can we not get to a point where we celebrate personalities and trust our employees to promote our brand?

Will we ever get to the point where it will be completely OK to be a person in the workplace? If you didn't always have to police yourself and those around you would you be a more productive professional?

I have a dream today....that every person in every company can wear what they want, to understand (or disagree with) one another, share their personality, kiss a co-worker and even shed a tear if they need to. Is that so hard to imagine?

Don't Forget to Remember!

~ Dave    

Put Down The Branding Iron

Last Year, I surveyed the top performers in their respective industries. Some interesting facts revealed themselves:
* Over 60% of top performers are of Generation X
* Money played second fiddle to Flexible Schedule & Opportunity for Advancement
* 36% of Top Performers desired employment of 10 years or more
* Recognition from Senior Leaders is the most important Motivator

I presented these finding to a group at a major Social Networking Company. They denied the validity of these results. Their contention was that top talent in the Silicon Valley lived by different rules:
* Generation Y is the top talent pool
* Employees are consistently looking for new career opportunities

The statistics don't lie, but the points of the Social Networking Company are well taken. Any way you slice it, the talent battle is always on. The state of the economy is secondary to business planning. Companies always have to put industry trends aside to find the extra edge. We might want to consider a few things:
* Talent is not Generation specific
* Employees don't want to switch careers
* Cash is not King

Y does it matter?
I understand that career planning is crucial to your organization. You have to know what motivates your employees and how long they plan on sticking around. I must say that most companies idea of retention planning is uninventive at best. We are so quick to brand our companies in a certain way in order to create sex appeal among the talent pool.

Why not just treat people really well? Give them great Leadership to admire and a career track motivated by open dialogue. Why not let your employee culture create itself instead of trying to brand every person as they walk through the door.

Turnover is Never Voluntary
The term voluntary turnover seems like an oxymoron to me. No one joins a company to leave it.

People quit for one of the following reasons:
1. You are not treating them well
2. There is no room for advancement
3. There is no Leadership commitment

People want one career, at one company, for life. You give them a reason to leave...it is best to figure out why and action plan from there.

It's not all about the Benjamin's
In the foreword to his book "Good to Great", Jim Collins pondered how much money it would take to prevent the book's release....he couldn't put a number on it. The old adage, what would you do if you didn't need the money.

People can go make money anywhere. Most people are driven by their occupation, it creates a great deal of their personality. As long as you trust them, empower them, and Lead with purpose....they will stick around.

The survey seems simple and the results shouldn't be surprising.

We get so caught up in generalizing our company and stamping a catch phrase to our recruitment strategy that we forget how to treat people.

You cannot brand kindness. Trust is not just a word on the wall. When you tell people to do something but you can't explain the purpose of the instruction...you give up your Leader badge!

You cannot brand your company to be like Zappos. Zappos is great because they care about people.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Benefits by the Numbers

In October of 2010 I took to LinkedIn to engage the top producers in their respective fields. The intent being to discover what top talent is
looking for in an employer and what said employer needs to retain said
talent.


The survey includes a generational perspective of:
* Benefits
* Pay Scale
* Expected Tenure
* Opportunities for Advancement
* The Importance of Recognition of One’s Achievement

The results clarified some forgone conclusions and debunked others.

Study Summary:
1. Google remains the Employer of Choice
2. Cash is still king, but a fun loving work environment is more important
3. Lack of pay is the last reason for leaving an employer
4. A Bad Boss is the number 1 reason for employee departure
5. Recognition from Senior Leadership is significantly more important than recognition from one’s peers
6. Top performers are seeking long term employment
7. Pay by performance is equally important as salary
8. Employees need to be recognized for their achievements at least once a month

The glaring facts
Our ability to conduct our work day at our own pace, to have a company vision we believe in, an opportunity for advancement and the need to 'have fun' at work are now the driving factors in the job search of those who have options.

What we didn't consider
Money is less a driving factor in employment than it used to be.

Generation Y has been categorized as the validation generation...our survey debunks these stereotypes in indicating that everyone wants to be recognized for their effort (at least monthly).

Despite the 'job hopping' categorization of today's workforce, our survey shows the majority of Top Performers are seeking long term employment (10+ years).

A Bad Boss can drive anyone from any company.

Statistics and case studies are everywhere. The default to many surveys is who is conducting them and what do I stand to lose by being honest.

It is my conclusion that this random survey of the Best of the Best gives us dependable data.

Note to Employers:
Big pay checks and generous benefits do not make up for lack of leadership
Everyone needs to hear Thank You!
Your company culture is what drives retention

Listen and implement requests from the field. Validate effort in a genuine manner. Create fun and a vision to believe in....Lead by Example.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

What Do You Really Want?

I have seen case study after white paper regarding what people look for in a an employer. What benefits are necessary to entice top talent. The bigger question is what really matters to you?:
- Every company has benefits
- Jobs come with a pay check

...the real thing that drives retention is work environment. Call it culture, call it corporate structure.


Culture as it applies to job satisfaction is driven by 3 key factors:
* My Influence on My Success
* The Light at the End of the Tunnel
* Thank You!

You Drive
Would it seem awkward that YOUR motivation would be driven by someone else? The stigma with business motivation is that we ask for tasks from our Manager, they give us a check list, we complete said list ask for another. Is our metric for success limited to paperwork?

You need to expect more...What do you really want?

When you wake up in the morning and think about your ideal job what comes to mind? Are you doing that today? Do you have the ability to do so?

You don't have to quit your job and run off to Alaska. You can, however, apply the following:
1. Find your personal mission in every task
2. Ignore insignificant busy work that does not speak to your larger goals
4. Think big picture
5. Don't allow the miserable to drag you down to their level
6. Stay Positive

What's Next?
- What career path lies in front of you?
- Is there a logical progression to ascend your organization?
- Do you want to ascend your organization?

I have two competing ideologies on the subject of organizational advancement:
* Don't put yourself on the fast track if you are happy where you are
* If you are promised advancement, and passed over, it's time to move on

I know literally hundreds of career salespeople who have admitted their worst professional mistake was going into management. The best individual contributors make more money than their bosses with far less busy work. Managers are often nothing more than baby sitters....careful what you wish for.

Hard Fact: if you have been given a six month window to perform the tasks of your position to ensure a promotion and you do not get that job in 6 months - sharpen up your LinkedIn profile! You are a victim of the old bate and switch...keep talent on board by dangling a carrot. You are either on the list or you are not. If you are not the first choice, success is impossible. Jack Welch would advise otherwise - he is wrong!

Thank You
I don't care which generation you come from. I don't care which role you serve or which industry you are in. The best thing you can hear at work is: Thank You!

The key to retaining top talent: Thank You!
The phrase more important than a pay raise: Thank You!
The ticket to life long loyalty: Thank You!

But you gotta mean it...if you truly appreciate your people they will be perfectly happy with the role they are given, perform beyond expectation and stay at your company forever!

Say Thank You!

In my next posting we will put direct metrics to the aforementioned career objectives through a survey I have conducted.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Keep Fighting

So you lost your job, your husband left you, that big promotion didn't come through, your team lost, your child disappointed you, you didn't get the job you desired.

It's Not Your Fault!

In these times a toil you will go through a 3 step process:
1. Anger
2. Self Pity
3. Action

We are going to skip steps one and two and get to the part in the movie when our hero bucks up and gets back to what he/she is good at.

Nothing disappoints me more than seeing someone act out of character: Those who have lost their hope, question themselves and pass blame. That time is not now! No Brothers and Sisters when you are done reading this blog you will get out of bed, put down the remote, stop searching job sites and go for a walk. It's time to search yourself for what is important, develop a plan to live it and to go after it.

That dream job you want is yours and the promotion you seek is eminent if you understand the following:
Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself!
Beggars Cant be Choosers!
If It ain't Meant to be Don't Force It!

How I Stopped Crying!
I once loved a girl who didn't love me. I spent countless hours worrying about her and around her I consistently acted out of character. She didn't dislike me but she was overwhelmed by my bravado...I showed off when I should have been calmly present...I was annoying to be around. I complained to my friends about the misery of the situation and they rolled their eyes. They knew I could have controlled the situation but I chose not to. They too were annoyed by my bravado. They were right.

So when my friend cried over a boy, I too rolled my eyes. I saw in her the ass I was in said situation and I bucked up. I vowed to put my emotions in check and to develop better communication skills. Sitting in my apartment listening to The Cure did nothing for me. When I got out with my pals and breathed a little fresh air: I was reminded of my incomparable awesomeness...and I never looked back.

Ask (and accept) and You Shall Receive
This may be the toughest job market in my life time and yet I have managed to find jobs for people. Many of them have addressed my offer with "I don't want to do that". Do that 10 times, stay unemployed for a year and then come ask me if that position is still open. I am sorry to phrase it this way but "Beggars Can't Be Choosers". Wake up, get back in the game and upgrade when you can. If someone offers you something and you have nothing else on the table - accept it!

The Colts Have a QB
We would all love to Quarterback an NFL team, play drums for Rush or host a game show. Those jobs are taken by people who dedicated their lives to earning them. I have said many times in this blog that you can be anything...apply reason.

If you want to switch careers, give yourself a 5 year plan. If you want a promotion dedicate yourself to a well planned career track. Blind ambition and misguided action will not pay the rent. Be real with yourself, get in where you fit in and find a way to put what you love into what you do.

Trust me...you can be anyone you want to...you just need to understand how that fits into YOUR plan.

So I can tell you this. The sun will shine tomorrow. You will find someone to love (who deserves you). You will get the job you want. You will ultimately get a promotion.

CALM DOWN! Accept things for what they are, don't force the issue, use your time wisely and always have a plan.

That light at the end of the tunnel is closer than you think. Don't ignore it.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave