by Diana Southall | Apr 14, 2019 | recruiting, strategy
- Description is too short or BORING– if it sounds corporate or not interesting most people will not apply
- Not tracking and evaluating your results (such as measuring your cost per application /candidate by paid advertising source)
- Posting your jobs with the same ad at the same sites as you did last year (without researching the “competition” and updating the title/ description to be found and stand out)
- Using national job posting sites when a local site might provide fewer better applicants
- Sending applications to a specific person’s email (less professional and easy to get lost or have a slow response)
- Providing limited or no information about your company (except “good pay and benefits”)
- Including qualifications that are nice to have but not essential (degrees, certifications, specific/ industry experience, provide their own tools, work Saturdays)
- Sending applicants to an initial application method that takes more than 3 minutes and is easy to do on a phone (on paper, too long, multiple clicks to start the application, confusing or just plain ugly)
- Not responding immediately with an email confirmation that includes more details about the job and company
- Being satisfied with less than 10 applicants worth a call when you post a job
- Treating recruiting like an event and running an “ad” when someone quits, rather than running continual advertisements in your proven sites year-round to build a “virtual bench”
Ideally you should conduct a “user experience” audit at least every 6 months or when you have a key position to fill.
Click through all the pages and fill out the forms and see what works great, what is broken, what is frustrating, and think about the messages you are sending to prospective candidates.
With such a tight labor market, you can’t afford to alienate the good prospects.
If you need qualified People to maintain and grow your business in 2019– you need to believe that applicants are your “customer” too and market your job opportunites with as much effort as you do your customer sales process.
Ideally you should conduct a “user experience” audit at least every 6 months or when you have a key position to fill.
Click through all the pages and fill out the forms and see what works great, what is broken, what is frustrating, and think about the messages you are sending to prospective candidates.
With such a tight labor market, you can’t afford to alienate the good prospects.
If you need qualified People to maintain and grow your business in 2019– you need to believe that applicants are your “customer” too and market your job opportunities with as much effort as you do your customer sales process.
by Diana Southall | Nov 5, 2018 | accountability, culture
According to a very informative and detailed Harvard Business Journal chapter, there are 8 different and distinct “Cultures” in organizations.
If you are looking to increase your organization’s performance in a positive way, you might choose to shift your culture to include characteristics from both Results and Caring.
Here are some excerpts from the main article, describing both types and how they can be combined:
Results is characterized by achievement and winning. Work environments are outcome-oriented and merit-based places where people aspire to achieve top performance. Employees are united by a drive for capability and success; leaders emphasize goal accomplishment
Caring focuses on relationships and mutual trust. Work environments are warm, collaborative, and welcoming places where people help and support one another. Employees are united by loyalty; leaders emphasize sincerity, teamwork, and positive relationships.
It is common to find organizations with cultures that emphasize both results and caring, but this combination can be confusing to employees.
Are they expected to optimize individual goals and strive for outcomes at all costs, or should they work as a team and emphasize collaboration and shared success?
The nature of the work itself, the business strategy, or the design of the organization may make it difficult for employees to be equally results focused and caring.
Each of the 8 culture types can be effective if properly aligned with strategy and leadership behaviors.
For a small or mid-size organization, much of the direction is set by one or two owners, and based on their personality and core values.
Clarity around the strategy, core values and then the what and how of expected results is imperative for any organization to function at it’s best. That is why many business planning frameworks, such as the One Page Strategic Plan and Entrepreneurs’ Operating System start with Mission, Vision and Values before even defining Strategy.
As Peter Drucker is credited for saying “Culture eats Strategy for breakfast…”
For more inspiration, see this Slideshare overview of 12 Reasons Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch.
by Diana Southall | Jun 1, 2018 | accountability, action plans, Execution, performance, planning
Is it time to focus and finish your projects for this quarter?
Before you answer, click here to read my article from two weeks ago– “Why Aren’t You Finishing Projects (Part 1).”
Here are my thoughts on “Why Aren’t You Finishing Projects – Part 2”:
The main answer is that you are juggling TOO MANY projects.
Below is my graphic explaining another concept from Todd Herman.
This example shows what happens if you juggle 5 projects, versus tackling one at a time:
This shows you the impact of “context switching”– when your brain and effort is spread across multiple things.
As Todd explains it, if it takes 4 hours to finish one project, and you do one hour a week on 5 project at a time, it takes you 16 weeks to finish Project A.
If you work on only Project A, you are finished in 4 weeks.
Now I realize that some projects take more time and require waiting on other people, but I think the concept is pretty clear.
One finished and implemented project is worth 50 started and abandoned ones.
If you need a bit of inspiration/ motivation to keep plugging on Project A, re-read the article PART 1.
So pick one half-finished project and make a commitment to power through and “get ‘r’ done” by the end of the 13-week quarter.
Image from Todd Herman
by Diana Southall | May 25, 2018 | accountability, action plans, Execution, performance, planning
You, small business manager, want to improve things.
I will bet dollars to Freddy’s Famous Buffalo donuts that you have a “wish list” of projects you want to implement, and you have started some of them.
Yet your office (and mine) is littered with books unread, binders from great workshops, possibly brochures or saved emails with a system or process that sounds great. One you want to investigate that just might make your business operate more smoothly or more profitably.
Hey, we are idea people and we are starters (maybe not finishers).
When you do start something new with anticipation, this most likely happens (image from Todd Herman):
One of the most persistent complaints I hear from employees of small business is that “we don’t finish what we start” and that the owners/ managers are always adopting the latest book advice or stuck in chasing shiny objects syndrome.
Making changes, finishing a project or new process, and getting everyone on board and sticking with it is HARD.
You have to be patient and persistent to make progress, and to stay positive with all the set backs and challenges you encounter.
Four things you can do to start and finish your projects:
- Do ONLY ONE at time (more about this next week)
- Enlist the help of your team– don’t do it all yourself
- Create an action plan with weekly action items and assign tasks to specific people with a deadline
- Meet weekly (same time) to review what is complete, what needs to be discussed/ decided, and what is next
As a bonus– get an “Accountability Buddy” outside of your team/ company (a colleague or a consultant) who will hold you accountable to make progress, keep you motivated, and help you work through the inevitable bumps on the road.
Maybe even decide the reward you will give the team to celebrate– such as a “pizza party” or outing or something nice for the office (plants? Fooze ball table?). This can keep you motivated as you slog through the tough parts and keep you sprinting toward the finish line.
Image from Todd Herman
by Diana Southall | May 2, 2018 | accountability, coaching
The most important step in bringing accountability to your team — be Consistent!
If you don’t “inspect what you expect” … then some things will get done, but many will be forgotten.
One of the most persistent complaints I hear from employees of small business is that “we don’t finish what we start” and that the owners/managers are always adopting the latest book advice or stuck in chasing shiny objects syndrome.
Your team needs your consistent follow-up to help them (and you!) build the habits of professional management.
This means committing to and having your weekly (or monthly) one-on-one meetings, your monthly business reviews and your quarterly business planning sessions.
Lots has been written on the psychology of “change” and building habits– it takes 40 days, 10,000 hours of practice to be an expert, etc.
But it’s not rocket science- make a schedule, stick to it, learn from your progress, refine what works for your team and your business and KEEP WITH.
