April 2010 Archives

Dez Bryant, recently drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, and the GM of the Miami Dolphins, Jeff Ireland, have been discussed all over the talk circuit the past couple days regarding appropriateness of questions during interviews.

If you haven't heard, Dez Bryant was questioned about his mother's background during an interview prior to or during the NFL draft.  Questions arose around whether Dez's mother engaged in illegal activities, specificly prostitution. 

Callers, pundits, and hosts alike have debated this issue for a couple days, and a recurring theme that has come up is that this question might not be morally respectful but certainly is not illegal to ask.

When companies invest significant money in employees, or put employees in positions dealing with sensitive issues or people, tough questions need to be asked.  As Colin Cowherd put it on his radio show, you aren't going to ask the same questions to someone you are paying $40,000 compared to someone you may be paying $40 million.

While the taste and spirit of the questioning by Mr. Ireland is up for debate, its possible motive is clear; when you have someone who has circumstances outside of the workplace that need to be addressed (in this case, Mr. Bryant lives with his mother), questions need to be asked.

Whether it is to get a gauge on what's going on in someone's life that may affect their work, or to get an idea of how someone reacts to difficult situations, or how someone may act in an ethical dilemma, you must ask questions that dig to the core.  It's better to push the envelope and find out what someone is made of then face a scenario where you didn't do due diligence in an interview to find out the facts.

 

Various sources and my own experience tell me that doing one thing at a time can certainly create better results than multitasking.  A student recently did a presentation in one of my classes demonstrating this notion as well. 

For years, I've heard from my peers how good they are at multitasking - I'll be honest, I thought I was good myself.  Until I began my PhD program, I often thrived on having multiple things going on at once.  Now, anytime I sit down to write a paper or do a presentation for my classwork, I shut off all distractions and block out 90 minutes of uninterrupted time (with breaks every half hour) to complete stages of my research and writing.

What I have found is that the more I focus on one thing at a time, the more productive I become, and the more time I have left over for recharging and relaxing.

What strategies do you use to be productive while focusing on one thing at a time?  I'll post responses from readers later in the week.

robert@galaconcierge.com

Here are some comments from readers on ways that they recognize or are recognized on birthdays:

"The head of our company sends a handwritten note to everyone on the staff.  Even though are company has about 1000 employees, that gesture still is in place and goes a long way."

"A personal email from the boss is all we expect on our birthday, and even though some people say that is all we get, it means a lot to me and a lot to my colleagues that she remembers it."

"We don't celebrate birthdays, but we do give our employees their birthday as a floating holiday - they can take their birthday off, or use that day for any day in the month their birthday falls."

"We have a company pool that everyone in our department puts money in to for an office wide birthday party every month.  We all get together after lunch and meet in the dining area for cake, recognition, and small gift cards for each of our birthday celebrants."

No matter your situation, your company always should be recruiting.  Recruiting has become less of a cost center than years past, when it meant traveling all over the country visiting college campuses and hoping to find stars amongst the masses.

Don't get me wrong; on campus visits and recruiting tours still have their place.  But in the off-season, when you may not be hiring, having a strong enough web presence to present your business when you aren't out on the road can help you find talent year round.

Likewise, smaller colleges, international students, or really anyone who might not have access to get out to visit you on-site have a greater chance of finding you and your business if they can find you and your opportunities online.

So next time you strategize on how to recruit, look at all the ways you can recruit, even while you are sleeping

I used to have the worst birthdays; people would forget my birthday, one of my friends might tick me off, or something like bad weather might prevent me from enjoying it.

Many of the biggest issues in HR involve dealing with difficult people.  I spoke recently to a client who had an employee of nearly 30 years who consistently seemed to be scaring off new employees through their demeanor and lack of work ethic.  About a year ago, this same client expressed the same concern about the same employee.

A survey I took a while back that I'd like to share. Something I'd suggest taking advantage of is getting this book and discovering your strengths!

Here are my strengths from the strengthsfinder.com profiler

The Signature Themes report below displays my five most dominant themes of talent, as indicated by my responses to StrengthsFinder, The Gallup Organization's Web-based talent assessment tool.

MY SIGNATURE THEMES:

Responsibility: People strong in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

Arranger: People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Command: People strong in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

Learner: People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Futuristic: People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

To learn your Signature Themes, buy a Gallup strengths publication, each of which provide an ID code that will allow you to take StrengthsFinder, and will help you think about how to best leverage your talents:

If you are a manager, "Now, Discover Your Strengths" will help you think about how you can help other people leverage their talents. 

Q: Why do so many companies do phone interviews vs. in person interviews? Phone interviews seem so impersonal.

A: Phone interviews allow companies to pre-screen applicants, cut down on travel expenses, and enable more flexibility in meeting with applicants.  As a participant in a phone interview, some tips to make it more personal include dressing up for it like you are on an in person interview, using webcam software to connect more directly, and asking the same type of open ended questions as you would in a normal interview.

Next time you have a phone interview, try using one of the methods above, and see how more effective your interviews can be.  Likewise, as a candidate, keeping an open mind to phone interviews can open yourself up to meeting with companies in many different locations without the expense of traveling.  By stressing in a cover letter that you'd like to speak with someone about an opportunity away from your current residence, but are open to relocating, you can put yourself ahead of local talent gunning for the same position.

Courtesy and technology seem to differ from place to place when it comes to the application process right now.  It is important to remember the human touch on both sides of the application process.

Q:  I can't seem to cover my Saturdays at my retail store so we are able to maximize sales.  I have 5 full-time employees who work on Saturdays, and 10 part-timers.  The full-timers either work 8-5 or 1 to 10pm, and the part-timers each works a 5-8 hour shift.  We always seem to run short during our peak period (4-7pm).  Our store is open 10am to 9:30pm.  What do you suggest?

A:  Saturday, and really all weekend, is one of the toughest periods to cover effectively. Since much of retail business focuses on the weekend, you may want to consider altering your mindset around when you schedule your staff.

Given the peak nature of business on Saturday, is it really necessary to bring in your full-timers at 8am?  You may want to consider having them work a 9 hour shift from 9:30 to 6:30 (or 10:30 to 7:30), and cutting an hour off of another day like a Tuesday.  In some cases, you may even want to consider a 10 hour shift if necessary.

For part-timers, in most places a 5 hour shift only requires a 15 minute rest period.  You may want to schedule your part-timers for a 5 hour shift from 1-6 or 2-7 to maximize coverage during that time.

 

 

I'm reading an excellent book called Who's Got Your Back by Keith Ferrazzi.  Keith's first book Never Eat Alone was also one of my personal favorites.

Who's Got Your Back talks to you about building deep personal and professional relationships with others that go beyond social networking and passing relationships.  Keith discusses the importance of having people in your life that you can count on for deep lasting relationships.

One of my favorite themes from the book is his notion of developing candor with others.  As Keith puts it, candor is "the freedom to be totally honest with those you confide in" that "allows us to begin to constructively interpret, respond to and grapple with" sharing hopes and fears with others."

He goes on later in the book to discuss how important it is to talk about your goals and dreams and to revisit your past through seeing why things succeeded or failed before.

Another favorite of mine is his passage on Pg 228 regarding the Dream Team of Ford, Edison and Firestone.  Check it out yourself in Keith's book.

From time to time, I will post recent work I have done as part of my PhD Program.  Here is a recent discussion post that I put together on "The Leadership Challenge"

The most important supervisory challenges in the workplace, according to the Leadership Challenge, include setting the right example, envisioning the future, challenging how things are done, and enabling others to act (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). Thought leaders can't just tell people what to do; they need to be the kind of leaders who actually set the tone of the organization by being the example that they want to see in others. Balancing that day-to day operation with a keen eye on the future once was segmented between front-line managers and senior leaders, but today that role is seen as taking place all throughout organizations.

Developing a structure in an organization that allows others to grown and adapt to change is important to any culture. A closed minded culture at Disney caused near takeover in the early 80's, and a down period after a long period of success in the early 2000's. Each was characterized by an unwillingness among leadership to change or involve others in the growth process of the company. Michael Eisner left the company after a period of success because the board "sought to oust him, contending his clashes with employees and Disney's partners were a drag on the company." (Holson, 2005, pg 8)

The top-down approach that once was rampant in management no longer exists in many places. Employees feel more empowered to be part of the process, and each generation has new needs and wants that the other generations may not have had before. It is critical for companies today (more so than in the past) to embrace the passions of their teams and make each organization lean and efficient to get the most out of everyone.

References

Holson, L. (2005). A Quiet Departure for Eisner at Disney. NY Times. Retrieved 3/8/2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/26/business/media/26eisner.html

Kouzes, J & Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge (4th edition). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

It's so important to nurture the great minds in your business.  If work tends to be mundane, involving your top perfomers in key "future-thinking" work will keep them around much longer than if you let their talents lie dormant.

Many companies will work out ways to "mind their minds" by paying for continuing education, offering reading groups or the like within their business, or generally just involving employees who may feel overqualified to do things to take better advantage of their talents.

What can you do today to mind the minds of your business?