Don't Let It Catch You By Surprise

Last week, another client contacted me to help them find a new employee for a critical position in their company. They had exhausted the normal means of finding somebody and now they were looking for more innovative methods for finding top performers. Every day I see other examples that the search for qualified people is getting tougher and tougher. Sure the newspapers report daily the highest levels of unemployed people in several years, but the fact is that many of those currently unemployed are not technically qualified to fill the emerging new job requirements.

Everyday there is more information being published that focuses on the impending labor shortage. The baby boomers are beginning to retire in force and the next generation coming into the workforce is much smaller. It is estimated that we will have ten million fewer workers in the workforce in the next decade. And to further aggravate the shortage, the new people coming into the workforce will not possess the technical education required to fill the new high-tech jobs. Statistics from a new study by David Ellwood, Anthony P. Carnevale and Donna M. Desrochers attest to the decline in growth of the workforce but more seriously point out the significant decline in skilled workers. Their data states that the workforce will be short 14 million skilled workers by 2020. It will already be short by 5.3 million workers in 2010, just a few years away. Including unskilled workers, the gaps will be 7 million workers in 2010 and 21 million workers in 2020. The bottom line is that finding the right people is going to get extremely difficult in the coming years. In fact many hiring managers are already experiencing the impact.

Business owners today need to focus on positioning themselves to contend with this impending crisis. This preparation must be both mental and physical. The mental preparation will come about in developing a new mindset about finding and hiring top performers. Because of the criticality of the technical skills shortage, owners and managers need to be prepared to pay higher salaries and incur more training expenses. The higher salaries will be necessary to attract potential skilled employees and the training expense will be to bring less skilled but available employees up to the level of expertise that is required. The physical preparation will be to take those steps necessary to turn the company into an employer-of-choice so that the business will be able to retain their top performers. Because of the coming shortage, top performers will be sought out by other companies. If your business is not the kind of place where top performers want to work, they will leave you as they will have many options available to them.

The bottom line is that choice is yours and it needs to be made today. Prepare for what is coming or suffer the consequences. Begin today to replace marginal employees and also strategize on retaining your good employees. Whether you prepare for it or let it catch you by surprise is up to you.

TG & Associates Virtual HR Department is set up to help you find top performers or conduct the entire hiring process for you. Call toll free 877-842-7762 for more info.

Spend Your Time Wisely!

A couple years ago, I read an article in Fast Company about Commander Mike Abrashoff, a US Navy officer who took his ship, USS Benfold, from the worst in the Pacific Fleet to the best. I even wrote an article that captured his ideas because I felt they so coincided with mine. I was reminded of that again when I came across a recent interview of Commander Abrashoff. The gist of his success story is that he took the time to listen and learn. He individually met with every sailor (over 300) on the ship and he asked them three questions: "What do you like most about the ship? What do you like least? What would you change if you were the commanding officer?" If they made a suggestion that he felt could be implemented immediately, he would get on the PA system and announce the change. He also met with each of the 24 divisions on the ship and talked about how to make things better. He listened to the ideas and he implemented them as soon as he could. Many suggestions became incorporated in Navy-wide processes because of the increases in productivity that resulted.

Using Commander Abrashoff as an example, I encourage owners and managers that I consult with to take the time to talk to their employees either by walking around or in sit-down feedback sessions. Listen openly and allow employees to suggest ideas and new processes. Since they work with those processes every day, they usually have great ideas. So often I hear that the owner does not have the time to do that, because there are so many other things to do. The Q & A cited below between the interviewer David Creelman and Mike Abrashoff really identifies what is important and clearly responds to the time question.

David - "If you were spending so much time talking to people you must have felt enormous pressure on your time because I'm sure there are a lot of other things a ship's captain has to be doing."

Mike - "Yes, but this activity is one where I can get the biggest bang. Everybody in business today is under the gun; there is a lot of stress and people are working longer hours. A lot of time you get bogged down looking at things in the weeds instead of looking long term. So we made a conscious decision that we would take a short-term dip in getting things done in order to invest in the processes that would pay us dividends down the road."

There was one other reason that convinced me that Mike Abrashoff had the right idea about where to spend his time. Not only was his shipped ranked as the best, the major good news was that his ship had a 100% reenlistment rate. He had no trouble with employee retention. His crew all wanted to be there with him. Communication works. One of the major ways to retain your top performers is to take the time to keep them informed and to keep them involved. Listen and empower them to make the changes that are needed.

 

The past cannot be regained, although we can learn from it;
the future is not yet ours even though we must plan for it…
We have only today.

- Charles Hummel

Tips on Setting and Keeping Goals

I am a big proponent of business owners setting goals and developing strategies to meet them. I also encourage everyone within an organization to have their personal set of goals and the appropriate strategies there as well. But what I find is once they develop their goals, they tend to put them in a drawer where they are not immediately visible and where they can serve as a constant reminder.

Here are a few thoughts on keeping them out where you will be reminded:
1. Once you write them out, why not tape them to your refrigerator, your bathroom mirror or your computer monitor where you will see them every day.
2. Create a screen saver out of your goals and strategies.
3. Put your goals, strategies and timelines in your Palm Pilot or other PDA.

The point is, if you don't keep them in front of you, you will not take the actions that are necessary to meet them. If they were important enough to create in the first place, then they are important enough to keep them where you can stay focused on them. If you don't see them, chances are you won't do them.

"If it's to be…it's up to me."

Job Description Preparation Guidelines

A job description is an essential tool for the management of employees in your business. The job description is the basis for hiring and interviewing to find the right person. It is the baseline for determining the need for training or skills enhancement. It is the standard for conducting performance evaluations. It, of course, can also be instrumental in the settling of lawsuits brought by unhappy employees. The following are some tips on preparing the job description that were taken from the HR Comply Employment Guide and Professional Series that will minimize your liability if the latter situation occurs.

Use the employee. Do not have the employee write his or her own job description, but do obtain the employee's input. It will make it harder for the employee to later allege the job description does not accurately reflect his or her duties if they had a say in the content.

Update regularly. On a regular basis employers should require an employee review of the job description to identify any changes in their duties since the last review of the job description. This could be made part of the performance evaluation process.

Include essential information. There needs to be a balance between too much and too little information in the job description. It should include as many job duties and expectations as possible. Be particularly careful to include any physical requirements such as lifting, standing, walking, frequent overtime, weekends, rotating shifts and exposure to weather and chemicals. Do not include job duties the employee will not perform. If there are too many duties that the employee does not perform, then it is unlikely a judge or jury will be convinced the job description is a reasonable reflection of the responsibilities.

Include special attendance requirements. If the job has special attendance requirements they should be in the job description.

Include unusual job stress. Job stress should be addressed so that applicants and employees have advance notice of any special circumstances that they may be required to handle.

If you need help preparing a job description for your employees, contact us and we can assist you. Go to TG & Associates' Products Page to find 18 different job descriptions already prepared for the Printing Industry and12 job descriptions for the Mailing and Fulfillment Industry.

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Recommended Reading:
"Now, Discover Your Strengths"
By Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton

Peter Drucker once said that the biggest mistake that managers make is, "They try too hard." He felt that they exerted far too much energy on things that were not their strengths. Managers would be far more productive and happy if they did what comes easy…that is if they focused on their strengths. A new book by Marcus Buckingham directly addresses the need to find those strengths. Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton provides a program to show you how to develop your unique strengths -- and those of the people you manage.

At the heart of the book is the internet based StrengthsFinder® Profile which is based on 25 years of research and the psychological profiles of two million individuals. This profile identifies which of 34 dominant themes fit you and which can be translated into personal and career success. As with his first book, First, Break all the Rules, Marcus again provides the tools for developing yourself, your people and your business.

Buy this book Now at Amazon.com

Note: Our Recommended Reading list is available online and now has links to Amazon.com to allow you easy access to purchasing them for your own use.

FYI

National Customer Service Week is October 6-10!

It is always important to be concerned about customer service for both your internal and external customers. The fact that it is going to be Customer Service week is a great excuse for having some kind of a celebration to say thank you to all of your customers. Your external customers will appreciate that you recognize their importance to the value of your business. Your internal customers will appreciate that you recognize that without them it wouldn't even be possible to succeed. In recognizing the internal customers you also demonstrate the importance of their service to the other members of the team.

Here are some other benefits of doing something special:

• It will raise company-wide awareness of the importance of customer service both internally and externally.
  
• It can boost morale, motivation and teamwork.
  
• It is a way to reward and recognize employees.
  
• It lets employees thank their teammates for their support.
  
• And of course it lets your customers know they are appreciated and that you are committed to exceptional customer service.

Managing Generation X

More than 40 million American workers are in their twenties or early thirties, the so-called Generation X. Here are four ways to motivate the Generation X employee:

Debra's Calendar