SELECTING WINNERS, INC. "Teaching Companies How To Hire Winners!"
Subject: December Hire Score Newsletter
Aloha and welcome to the December Hire Score Newsletter (I guess I gave
my location away!). I have lots of information for you this month so
let’s get started.
I just finished delivering a workshop for Spectrian Corporation and my
good client and friend Tim Jones. Tim is the VP of Human Resources and
brought me in to work with his Engineering group. You see they don’t
have a lot of openings but Tim, being a strategic thinker, understands
that the few jobs they fill need to be perfect.
The margin for error is so much smaller during slower times. Whereas
during boom times, a hiring mistake might go unnoticed, during slower
times a hiring mistake is like a beacon in the night. Not that you can
ever afford to make a mistake but now it will bring you and your
organization to it’s knees.
This creates the situation, first mentioned last month where the burden
has switched from finding candidates to choosing the best of the group.
Now more than ever, a proven selection methodology is critical to the
success of your company. Our Selecting Winners program is proven to show
you how to have the Right person in the Right job at the Right time doing
the Right things.
I love to ask my audiences this simple question: “What percentage of
your problems go away when you have the Right person in the Right job at
the Right time doing the Right things?” If you agree that the number is
significant, then selecting the right people MUST be a key part of your
strategic business plan. If you don’t want to think about staffing
strategically, you should stop reading now and stick you head back in the
sand.
Here are some of the things you need to do to start thinking
strategically and put your business in a position to succeed regardless
of economic conditions. First, you must understand that it is "always"
about talent. The better your sales people, the better your sales. The
better your customer support people, the happier your customers are.
Next, be on the lookout for the talent to add to or upgrade your
organization. Now, more than ever, there are good, affordable people
available. You should be searching for talent now! This is the time to
expand your sphere of influence.
Here is an example of the non-strategic, small-time thinking that
separates the winners from the losers. I was exploring the website of a
major technology company recently and I went to their employment page.
To my surprise, I found a big notice that said, “No Positions Currently
Available”. What a major opportunity lost. Just think of the number of
candidates the company could have identified (free of charge) for future
use. Why not open a dialogue? Why not build a database of contacts?
Why not expand your sphere of influence? I’ll tell you why ... tactical
instead of strategic thinking!
Next, to succeed facing an uncertain future, you have to choose people
that deliver during uncertain times. You know what I mean. The world
has changed. We are facing more uncertainty than ever before. Given
that this is the world we now live in, you can either be a victim or you
can fight back. Here’s how.
As you begin to evaluate talent, you need to place a priority on those
skills and behaviors that are most valuable in an uncertain environment.
The two that immediately come to mind are: 1. the ability to learn 2.
adaptability. You need to surround yourself with people who quickly
absorb new information and put it into practice. Also, you need people
who roll with the punches. They can quickly and easily analyze
situations, choose the appropriate course of action and adjust as
necessary.
Give me people with these two characteristics and I will take on any
challenge. In today’s market, you have to retain the right to adjust
your business strategy at a moment’s notice. Being burdened with a
workforce that is not adaptable will definitely have an adverse effect on
your thinking and resulting strategy.
The last thing you need to do is to clearly assess your organization both
from the technical and people perspective. You need to understand both
your trailing indicators (sales & expenses) and your leading indicators
(pipeline, sales turnover, etc) to get a clear picture of where your
business is now. (Note: I covered this subject in great detail in my
recent web seminar. The CD ROM is available for $87, send an email to
orders@selectingwinners.com for information)
And, you have to quantitatively assess your current staff. You need to
understand the thinking styles, operating styles and strengths and
weaknesses of your people. There is wealth of data you can collect to
better understand your organization's capabilities. Interview data,
performance management, employee surveys and customer feedback are just a
few. In addition, I highly recommend you use a psychometric assessment
tool to quantify your data. I have mentioned the folks at Effective
Selection Systems to you previously as a great source of tools to asssess
your organization.
I feel this approach is so critical to your success at this time that I
just negotiated the purchase of Effective Selection Systems as part of
Selecting Winners. I am very excited about having a whole new set of the
best, proven assessment tools to integrate with our training and
consulting all designed to help you recruit, select, manage and retain
the best array of talented people possible.
Please visit www.effectiveselection.com to learn more about the tools
available to you and contact us so we can show you how other companies
are succeeding using our solutions.
Next month, I am going to share a real breakthrough I had while doing
some strategic planning for my companies (And I get accused of not
working while I am in Hawaii). I am going to share with you an
interesting way to integrate the entire people lifecycle with your
strategic planning … stay tuned.
Now for a couple of important announcements. First, I mentioned earlier
that the CD ROM of my web seminar is available. This two-hour
presentation introduced my Strategic Staffing 5X5 Predictability System.
The feedback from the attendees was unanimous in their praise for the
unique and usable ideas. If you want to order a copy, send email to
orders@selectingwinners.com and we will get you set up. The price is
$87.
Next, I have talked in the last two newsletters about my experience with
Tim Larkin, the former Navy Seal Combat Trainer. I will be sponsoring a
special session of Tim’s program January 18-19 in Las Vegas. His message
of using an aggressive mindset is absolutely critical in today;s market.
You will receive a separate message from me within the next week with
details. You will not want to miss this.
Finally, we are closing out a year that has been very difficult for many
of you. Our world has changed forever. I don’t think any of us will
ever forget where we were on September 11th. As we get ready to begin a
new year, I want to wish every one of you a happy, healthy and prosperous
New Year. And I want to thank you for coming along for the journey.
Have a great month recruiting strategically!
Barry Shamis
staff@selectingwinners.com
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